Teacher Organization

This document keeps me from losing my mind! It is so helpful for me to have a specific place to organize my thoughts, questions and "to dos."  I also like being able to schedule tasks to specific days and times of day.

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Now, whenever I have a thought of something I need to do (or should be doing), instead of having it float around my brain and stress me out, I can jot it here and know I will not forget about it. It is extremely helpful to have all of these thoughts in one place that comes with me to and from school, instead of on 23 different post it notes stuck around my life.

I usually keep this on the clip board with my lesson plans.  Sometimes I staple a few blank pages on the back so I can take notes during grade level or school wide meetings.

Data Walls

After reading this article in the Washington Post today, I have been thinking a lot about the data wall in my classroom and what it says to students and families. The only data that is made super public in my classroom is our reading data.

Our Beginning of Year Reading Data Wall

Students are assigned numbers, and those numbers are displayed as they move up in reading levels.  The merits of these displays include goal setting with students and joint celebration.  I do believe that, with appropriate community building and discussion, these boards can be a way to simply celebrate growth and accomplishment.  However as gaps in student achievement develop throughout the year, I know that those students whose numbers remain towards the bottom of the scale may start to internalize this lack of growth.  Students can quickly figure out who belongs to each number, and I often overhear comments such as "Thomas is the smartest in our class!" While the comments are made in a light and happy way, they break my heart every time I hear them.  I try to produce an environment where students know they can get smart by working hard.  In fact that is what these public displays are meant to promote!  However this concept is a heavy one for first graders, and can easily be confused with the mixed messages they are getting from other places.

I have yet to land on one side of this debate.  I think about designing a growth based display, where student levels are left off but levels of growth are celebrated.  I think this could strike the right balance and align well with the message I am hoping to send to my kids.  

The only point I am afraid of losing is the idea of setting a common goal for the class. While growth is important and sends a great message, isn't it also important for students and parents to know where their student's data lies in terms of grade level expectations?  I have no answers to these questions...

Implementing Fundations

Building Words in First Grade

My school began using Fundations for our phonics instruction this year.  It has its issues, but overall I am really enjoying it.  I appreciate the preplanned lessons that provide enough structure to make the phonics block predictable, while still providing enough variety to keep it exciting for teachers and students.  I also love the incredible student materials that come along with the program.  Having a white board, magnetic letter tablet, and student consumables keeps students engaged and empowered.

The main issues I have had so far have been with differentiation. The activities in a given lesson are fast paced, which helps to keep student attention, but the quickness makes it hard to differentiate in a meaningful way.

I have created a number of trick word practice pages that have been a hit in my room.  Check them out in my TPT store.

Do you have any suggestions for those high fliers or slow movers?

Practice and Policy

After a few years of amateur studies of education in the United States, I entered the classroom as an early elementary educator. The learning curve has been beyond steep, and I often wonder if I am ascending at all. My goal is for this blog will serve as a place where policy and practice meet. As I attempt to enhance my classroom by learning more about best practices in early elementary education, I am consistently reminded of the importance of staying informed with what is happening on the macro level. Education reform means so many different things, that I often find myself thinking it means nothing at all. Thankfully, I have found hope in the potential that comes with prevention. Good things are happening both in and out of early elementary classrooms, and intentional change requires a knowledge of both.