Have You Looked At the Common Core Anchor Papers for Every Grade Level? If You Haven't You Should No Matter What You Teach . . .

http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/common-core-state-standards-samples-student-writing-scored-61-trait-rubric

Here's the link and now the suggestion.  You find out some interesting things when you look at curriculum/test objectives beyond your grade level.  My own experience serves as a telling example.  I kept going to meetings for language arts/English teachers and hearing 9th grade English teachers wondering what 8th grade teachers were doing to produce such unprepared students.  I listened and wondered what the disconnect might be because I had the same concerns about my 7th grade colleagues.

My next step was to pull up the objectives for the different grade levels and that's how I spotted the disconnect.  Students in the 9th grade were expected to do more sophisticated grammar, writing and literary analysis tasks and the leap from the objectives in 8th grade to 9th grade were huge so it was easy for me to understand my colleagues' frustration.

Imagine learning as climbing stairs and that in each grade you climb a step and are ready in the next year to climb another step, but because of the way the objectives are written you will need two leap up two steps to become proficient in the next year.  The sequencing of objectives is disjointed. That is what I discovered between 8th and 9th grade. I upped my expectations insuring my students would be better prepared.

The result was that my students came back reporting greater success and less frustration and some of the 9th grade teachers commented that the students were better prepared.

Don't be passive and wait for training modules and the like to be prepared for you.  You can't count on them to provide the complete picture for what is going on in the grade levels around your own and what holes you may want to plug.

I found the web site that used to score writing prompts for free - nifty to score your own writing and your students'. Now Holt has it as a paid service - if your school already uses Holt products - you may be able to get the service for free.  Check it out - it really is excellent in terms of instant feedback and giving annotated advice. Back to my theme: Be sure to look into the objectives of other grade levels (use the link).

If you're feeling really powerful - talk to the librarian about getting some Project Based Learning together.
I worked closely with my librarians throughout my career and have found the book lovers in school libraries, public libraries, chain stores, independent stores are remarkably helpful and resourceful researchers so use these next few days to reach out to these people and make connections.  I even found the book buyer for my local Walmart to be an expert in YA literature - and it never hurts to ask about grants.

Link to Holt - http://my.hrw.com/support/hos/index.htm

Interactive Storytelling and Data Visualization - USA Today and Mobile Technology

I'm sure many teachers are wondering what to do with IPads and how to make them interactive and better learning tools.  I will continue to raise questions about the appropriate use of technology and Common Core which is - despite claims of making student learning "better" - a rather vague term - missing the mark. I believe the vision of the educator or teacher as end user will create solutions. We will design measurable outcomes (testing anyone?) to a level that gets our community to a "best practices" ideal for our students.

My problem with a lot of what I am investigating (reading about) is when students have difficultly with applying/retaining knowledge to engage in problem solving, teachers know the source of the failure is that "true learning" has not occurred. Knowledge has not been tied to an association or knowledge source that the student already has in place, the new knowledge has not been practiced enough so that a memory "key" has been created so that the new and old associations are blended and the brain can access the new knowledge synapse/pathway. In fact, the pathway may not have even been created.

For the above average learner, the new pathway is created naturally for lots of reasons.  Environmentally, their world is not unlike the environment offered in school so the associations created in the classroom match. It's easy for them to create a mental filing cabinet to store the new or related knowledge in with the old.  The term for this is scaffolding.

Scaffolding has been defined in many different ways and work-shopped (sorry for the verb creation, but this one is just too much fun) in various manners, but the main thrust of the practice is to build the logic, file cabinets, associations and keys for the average to below average learners so that new and old knowledge will be linked.

To gain knowledge I have turned to an inspiring Meet-Up group titled: Interactive Storytelling and Data Visualization which is sponsored by USA Today/Gannett Corporation.  It's a wonderful insight into their creative and technical process for a new way of telling a news worthy or timely story and giving the reader a real way to interact with the data that underpins the story.

I am providing the links to four of their projects because I see this use of technology as a way to complete the idea of research, storytelling, creativity and so much more for students.  I hope this will give teachers with IPads and other technology a place to go to find some relevant examples. Sources: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/07/22/coffee-prices-starbucks-cost/12991971/   http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/exp/spelling-bee/index.html
http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/nation/2014/06/12/lies-coverups-mask-roots-small-aircraft-carnage-unfit-for-flight-part-1/10405323/  for this one - you will need to scroll down until you see the outline of the helicopter and the timeline under it - the video is very effective  -  http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/exp/nineties/index.html  This last one is really fun - based on the Matrix - click on the quotes spilling from the top and a nineties factoid will pop up.

The Meet-ups are usually once a month - so I'll keep adding info as it comes to me - but the arc of these stories from playful to serious gives you a taste of how this group is working to increase reader involvement.

On a side note - many of these people are tech wizards and I'm totally out of my depth when they say I did this with Java Script or D5 (maybe Dreamweaver?) Teachers may want to contact the USA Today team and I have a feeling that they would be very open to sharing the creative process and some of the more technical aspects. If you have an interest in doing this - let me know and I'll see if I can put you in touch. I will limit this by saying these are very, very hard working people and you would probably want to have some technology in place and very specific goals in mind.

Can you believe it's almost August? I was always waiting for my room to be cleaned so I could go in and try different room arrangements and make new posters - wishing you all the best as autumn approaches.

If You Want Students to Become Life Long Readers - Read Aloud to Them - Yes, Even High School Students . . .

I will provide you with the link for the following statistics, but here are the shockers: total of American adults unable to read a book above an 8th grade level 50%; total percentage of students who will never read a book again after they graduate from high school 33%; total percentage of students who will never read a book again after they graduate from college 42%; total percentage of families that didn't buy a book this year 80%.  Here is the link: http://www.statisticbrain.com/reading-statistics/  It provides all sorts of statistical data.
Date accessed 7/29/2014

Research Date: July 14th, 2014

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all language, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement. In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis. Consumers of literature make ventures with each piece, innately deviating from literal words to create images that make sense to them in the unfamiliar places the texts describe. Because reading is such a complex process, it cannot be controlled or restricted to one or two interpretations.

Many experts repeat the same messages that I'm about to distill for you -

1.  Read aloud - but short passages - don't kill the passion you are igniting by becoming a bore.  Watch your audience and if they really get into a book - keep reading, but be sure you know where to stop so that you create a cliff hanger and the students are begging you to continue to read.  Invite guest readers or surf YouTube for some readers who have flair if it's not your thing. It's the passion that hooks students. 

2. Have a well-stocked library in your classroom - do mini book talks - share what you are reading, but keep it short. I used Scholastic ordering and points to build a library, but used books and local library sales can also work for you. 

3. Students should choose what they read.  I have already provided you with a form for briefly reporting what they learned or found interesting. Unfortunately, I could never walk out of a book store without spending at least $100. Also, use plays and Scholastic Magazine, if you can, for short "pop corn" reads where students call on each other to read - this can get dull pretty fast so use this idea in a limited fashion.

4. I often read "edgy" books , but left out the naughty words - Stephen King.  Some of my former students told me that these books got them to become readers - so you may want to take some risks in the upper grades. Don't be afraid to use graphic novels and other materials to spark a variety of interests.

5. Younger students may "pretend" read at first.  My daughter has an almost photographic memory so I thought she had started to read, but she had memorized the story.  You may notice that young students seem to develop problems after seeming to master the process of reading, but that is because developmentally, they really are engaging with the reading process and sounding out the words, associating the story line with the pictures and finally comprehending the story.

The Common Core uses a lot of comparing video and text so that will prove interesting and challenging.  I used to use parts of a video to introduce various required readings to get students interested in the plot or characters.  This requirement should make it a natural part of your lesson planning. 

Don't shy away from reading aloud. I read Tom Sawyer aloud for ten years and never grew tired of reading about Becky and Tom being lost in the cave and having only one candle.  It never failed to thrill me or my students.  Get out your favorites and read aloud.  :-)

If You Want To See NO HOLDS BARRED Application of STEM - Watch Bar Rescue . . .

I reported earlier in my blog posts that when I was actively teaching and subbing, I kept up with pop culture. No, I didn't adopt slang or try to be cool, but as an anecdotal teacher and a teacher who believes that getting students to apply learning to "real life" situations helped solidify important concepts, I felt being knowledgeable about any "hook" that I could use to engage students' attention was worth channel surfing.

Over the weekend, I found myself engaged by "Bar Rescue" on Spike TV. Jon Taffer, is not someone I'd like to meet necessarily because he is an in your face kind of guy, but here's why the show is is intriguing.

The opening credits inform the viewer that running a bar and making it successful is based on science and the graphics link up with that idea - even if you could get away with showing just that much, it would be a great way to spark a discussion. Hopefully, students would draw the conclusion that STEM is reality and having all of the pocket skills involved with STEM could earn a them a solid future.

In "Bar Rescue" data is gathered about how the bar is doing and it is gathered in many different ways.  Video surveillance is used, but so is square footage, numbers of customers, table turnovers, profits, the ability of the staff to communicate with one another, the leadership of the manager are all factors in the success or failure of the business. The sharing of the completed analysis of the failing bar is confrontational by design because it makes for drama and drama makes good reality television.

However, the model of the show and the make-over of a business with all the moving parts being put together as data is a really dramatic way to get students to understand the role data plays in decision making - not just for this reality show, but it is the way of the world.

Taffer has another reality show "Hungry Investors" on Spike TV which also has a similar format where restaurants are analyzed as possible investments. I am always on the lookout for ways to engage students to pick up multiple skill sets even though they aren't "in love" with the idea of a career in a field relating to that domain.

Tweens and Teens often have lofty dreams of sports careers, careers as artists in various fields, but the reality is that even students with amazing talent don't often make it and need to foster multiple career plans and realize that every opportunity is one worth taking and every skill is one worth learning. No, teachers can't show "Bar Rescue", but perhaps if teachers watch it - they will see how every scrap of data has relevance in the decision making process.  Taffer is not always right, but he is quick to pick up on the important data that can make a difference and our students would be well-served to become data sensitive in their own world view.

Project Based Learning?? Maker Learning?? How do you manage the time element?

I have always been into Project Based Learning and since my entry into education was as a sixth-grade teacher responsible for all disciplines including art, it was critical to develop learning centers and long-range projects that melded a reasonable choice of objectives for a positive learning outcome.  As my experience grew with contact with excellent teachers and a principal with high expectations, I began to refine the process of developing these types of assignments.

1. Backward Plan - What good can be accomplished with the project? Who will be the audience? How 

    many objectives can you embed and assess? How much time will the project take? How will you 

    insure that groups function properly? Start small - then grow - try a time capsule with predictions based on

   data mining (the new "in" trend).

2. Create Goodwill - Students should have input from the start, find other teachers who can become 

    involved and parents/guardians, be flexible create a calendar of due dates that can be changed and once

    you have a draft plan - involve your administrators. 

3. Keep Objectives/Projects Focused on Some Well-Chosen Incentive(s): career oriented; prize-driven

    (enter contests); have a presentation grand finale - have your students teach other students; use technology

     in a new way; reach out to the community and get press coverage if you can.

4. Justify the Learning - You are responsible - (I don't give a flip about standardized testing when you get

    down to it) - for increasing the reading ability of your students across the board and that means getting

    them excited about it (both fiction and non-fiction); increasing the ability of your students to use data from 

    well-documented sources; increasing the ability of your students to work in small groups either as a leader

    or a contributing member; increasing the ability of your students to speak in front of other people using 

    appropriate visual aids and increasing the ability of your students to write with clarity and purpose to 

    persuade other readers to accept their point of view. 

5. Transferring Learning to New Material - Because PBL and Maker Learning take time, I suggest that you 

     start small and train your students demonstrating how you want the system to work and make the first 

     project one that only takes two weeks at the most. Use a check list of expectations and evaluate students

     using that and allow for feedback. Move on to longer projects and use quizzes and other assessments to

     tackle the idea of transfer.  It is really important that you keep similar skill sets from project to project so

     that students will really "nail" them down.

My colleagues used to call me the Cecil B. DeMille of my elementary school because I was always putting on puppet shows or plays. We had to make the puppets and write the scripts and do backdrops and costuming for the plays. Students and parents/guardians loved it and throw in a few musical numbers and voila - you've really got something ready for prime time. 

Please send me some evaluation forms if you can - I know many of you are gearing up for school and I'd like to know what topics interest you - report cards seemed to grab a lot of attention.  I have a suggestion for long range planning, but it depends on what's expected of you as teachers these days - so send me an e-mail and I'll see what I can find to help you.  

That's what this blog is about - Helping you find easier strategies in this overblown Internet full of unrealistic information and ideas. Giving you lessons and ideas that will help you zero in on giving your students the edge in becoming career-savvy learners with the added bonus that you might have some fun is the goal.  Have a wonderful weekend!  I'll be back Monday!

Can you e-mail current Teacher Evaluation Forms - I need them to help plan what Strategies To Improve and Share - Link Provided for Tips for Avoiding Pitfalls of Social Media . . .

In my quest for up-to-date teacher evaluation forms, I checked out multiple sections from the web site of my former school district: Prince William County Public School in Virginia.  Unfortunately, the only forms I found were old - so I'll need to contact some friends who are still working to see what type of evaluation form is being used and how much it has changed.  I am curious because with IMPACT in the District of Columbia, teachers can be observed up to five times during the school year.  I believe two are announced and three are unannounced or it could be the other way around.  Also, master teachers are able to conduct the observations because as you may imagine, it would be difficult for an administrator to conduct that many observations and keep up with his or her administrative duties. I am curious because with merit pay on the line, home visits, parent/guardian contacts and other items must have been added - probably not as part of the classroom eval, but part of the overall evaluation, so I'm interested in both types of forms. PLEASE help me to target materials and information you need by e-mailing evaluation forms - I would be so grateful.

Probably many items are still key to the classroom evaluation forms: clearly stated or written objectives for the lesson; setting the stage or getting the students interested in the lesson; (this could involve brain research and scaffolding - the realization that learning takes place when new knowledge is linked to something familiar and that learning needs an organizational pattern); modeling the objective or using meta-cognition strategies - mind-mapping or other flow charts; students practice the objective(s) - it's usually a good idea to move from small group practice of objectives to individual performance of some task while you, as the teacher, move about the room monitoring student understanding; students can share some of the output from the group work and then you can use the individual performance as CLOSURE!!  (Google Creately for a huge cache of flow charts - I have never seen anything like it.)

Other areas on the evaluation form had to do with classroom management.  Does the room arrangement allow for ease of movement around the classroom, can all the students see the teacher and material being presented?  Are classroom rules posted?  Were students greeted as they came into the room? Is student work displayed?  Does the student work being displayed have a valid relationship to district objectives? Is the grading or evaluation system clear or posted?  Could a layman walk into the classroom and determine what subject is being taught? Is it clear that the students have an orderly pattern to follow? Are sub plans easily found? Are materials stored in a safe manner?

On the yearly form - teachers had to indicate professional and personal goals and plans for obtaining re-certification points which were discussed in a pre-conference and then followed-up at the end of the year when the whole evaluation packet was reviewed. I hope I've covered most of what's on current evaluation forms, but your input would be extremely valuable.

Here is the link for Social Media Tips from Prince William County Public Schools - I think it's a valuable reminder of what's out there and a good resource. http://studentservices.departments.pwcs.edu/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=313622&sessionid=9a8d60b72e0879c78ee966c3653420d7&sessionid=9a8d60b72e0879c78ee966c3653420d7

No More Book Reports - Encouraging Reading and Involving Parents/Guardians

Assigning book reports is a waste of time.  Half of the time students don't do the reading and no matter how much you work to teach or develop a lesson to help students write decent reports - the final product is either pretty lame or perhaps done by parents or guardians.

I had heard from our reading specialist that 15 minutes a night of reading could raise a child's reading ability by one grade level and I thought that rather than discouraging parents or guardians from becoming involved what if I made it part of the grade.  Not only that - throw in extra credit if they demonstrated, through some kind of recording, that some effort had gone into reading aloud. I developed the following reading record assignment sheet - due every two weeks.  These record sheets are easy to grade and you can even pull names or numbers out of a hat and have students (whose names or numbers are called) give impromptu book talks for extra credit. Here's the Reading Assignment Sheet -

Reading Record Assignment Sheet- 20 Minutes Every Night

                        Name:____________________

 Date/Class Period:_________________

Grade I think I should receive:_____ Points/Grade from Teacher:___/____

Studies have shown that reading something that interests or challenges you for 15 to 20 minutes every night can raise your reading comprehension by one grade level or more.  Your homework every night is to read material of your choice as long as it is not too easy. (Too easy would be something a grade level below this class.) You and your parent/guardian must agree that the reading material is appropriate. You can receive extra credit if you can document reading aloud to another person with dramatic flair. This might be done using your cell phone, computer camera or some other suitable device. Graphic novels are fine/Internet sites are fine– the purpose of this assignment is to encourage a habit of life-long reading. This assignment sheet is to be turned in every two weeks.  You will have read a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes.  Although it is best to spread your reading time out, you may divide up the time in a way that best matches your schedule.  Neatness counts – a sloppy or rushed job will be returned to you to be redone by the following day. No textbooks may be used for this assignment.

 This is worth 40 points Parent/Guardian Verification:                            Points Earned  _____

My child,__________________, (first and last name) has read 4 hours and 40 minutes, or 20 minutes every night for the past two weeks and I have reviewed his/her 10 sentences.  The sentences are facts or reactions to what my child has read. _______________________(parent/guardian signature) ________(date)

This is worth 10 points: Please write a correct bibliography for the main item you have been reading for the past two weeks.( 3 points off for each mistake)  Points Earned ______

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Examples:  Smith, George. Why I Like School. Manassas: Manassas Press, 2013. Print.

 Smith, Sam. “School Is A Good Place To Make Friends.” Washington Post 18 Oct. 2014: C1-2. Print.                                                    

This is worth 50 points: Please write 10 interesting facts or reactions to what you read. You may choose to write 5 very, very detailed facts or reactions to your reading. 

You may use the back of this paper.                                                                  Points Earned______

1._________________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________________

4._________________________________________________________________

5._________________________________________________________________

6._________________________________________________________________

7._________________________________________________________________

8._________________________________________________________________

9._________________________________________________________________

10.________________________________________________________________                                                                                                                   

Here is the link for the Book Club Idea from Scholastic: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sites/default/files/posts/u159/images/book_clubs_using_common_core_standards.pdf

Teachers As Leaders - Teachers In Charge - Why Teachers Should Think About Teaming . . .

When I retired in 2005, I had served on multiple committees and processed many hours of training in a variety of learning strategies and organizational strategies. I continued to substitute teach until February of 2008, and it seemed to me that site-based management had become a less dynamic structure for change and transformed into tasks centered on filling in required data to meet a variety of deadlines.

I felt distanced from the process and that my voice was being lost in the now mechanical answering of teacher satisfaction surveys or collecting surveys from students and parents. Other data sources such as testing, demographic information, number of expulsions, rate of graduation and the like, rounded out the process for a needs-based assessment of budget expenditures.  Following various stories from the media, I sense that teachers as leaders promoting curricular changes and major stakeholders is a role that has been diminished over time - possibly from exhaustion. There is just too much stress from a variety of sources. No finger pointing at this time, but I'm sure that teachers would love to use automatic out-of-the-office responses to various e-mails.

How can teachers drive important decisions regarding training, class sizes, scheduling, overuse of testing with or without a union? What do teachers care about? What would help educators feel empowered? My only suggestion is that when I was team teaching in middle school, we met as a core team and also as a grade-level team and it gave us a voice.  Our core class teams consisted of a math, science, social studies and language arts teacher and we all had the same group of students.  We hand-scheduled these children and met on a daily basis to plan lessons, conduct conferences, discuss any students we felt were having difficulties and do what ever else needed to be done. We divided tasks among us and as the saying goes: "many hands make light work".

Each grade level also met on a bi-weekly basis or as-needed to deal with site-based issues and other tasks such as career day, scheduling, text book issues and general "complaints". The eighth-grade team had a real "beef" with the sixth-grade team who kept getting 7th period planning.  We felt that this was a "reward" that needed to be rotated so that every grade-level got the benefit of having the last period of the day (when middle school students are most likely to be swinging from the ceiling) free.  The spokesperson for the sixth-grade team kept saying that research showed that it was better for sixth-grade students to concentrate on their core-learning subjects in the morning and have their physical activities in the afternoon.

As spokesperson, probably self selected, for the eighth grade team, I finally (politely I might add) asked for the source of this research.  I was told to go look it up and responded that I wasn't quoting any research so I felt it was the responsibility of the sixth-grade team to provide the data and that without such results, a fairer way to treat students would be to rotate the break giving every grade-level a chance for seventh-period planning.  My fellow eighth grade teachers had my back and it was decided to rotate the schedule.  The sixth-grade team never did produce any study backing their claim.

What should your take away be? Amazingly as eighth-grade core subject teachers (12 of us), we considered, discussed and found solutions to many problems.  We produced some policies and handouts dealing with homework, behavior issues and projects that unified us. Because we agreed and put aside minor differences, we presented solutions to school-wide problems that were researched, well-written and benefited students in all grade levels, not just ours.

Teaming with other core subject teachers can strengthen your understanding of individual student needs, but combining that with grade-level teaming can give teachers strength in numbers. If we want to drive positive change and deliver quality instruction, it is mandatory that teachers prioritize what will work in the classroom. Don't be a solitary voice - team up for change.

Grading/Report Cards - Who is it for? What should grades or any reporting communication document and why?

Montgomery County in Maryland has embraced the Common Core and in today's Washington Post, the Metro Section carried an in-depth piece about the debate surrounding the new reporting system. Elementary students receive marks of "P" for proficient, "N" for no progress or only a little progress and "ES" for exceptional work. The feature contains all the information about the changed report card and quotes multiple sources for a variety of opinions.  The bottom line - most parents don't like it and find that it doesn't tell them enough about their child's progress.  They feel it is too general.  The county's point of view is presented by Niki Hazel, director of the elementary curriculum team for Montgomery County Public Schools. She presents it as a necessary step in adjusting to a demanding curriculum. (Here's the link to the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/a-plethora-of-ps-on-report-cards-confound-parents-in-montgomery-county/2014/07/20/70cd9fce-fca8-11e3-8176-f2c941cf35f1_story.html )

In general, the 2.0 Curriculum (Montgomery County's name for their version of The Common Core) needed a matching report card system.  It's hard to relate traditional A's, B's and the like to demanding new Common Core testing that will score students differently.  My understanding from an earlier WAPO article is that to obtain an "ES" is very difficult. Teachers aren't comfortable giving them out. I may be able to find this article or not because I think it's well over a year old - I will take a look, but I'm not even sure what key words to input.  I'll also scan my hard copy files just in case I saved it.

As I recall, there was an implication that teachers reporting a lot of "ES's" and then not producing matching test scores might get a hard look from the administration and central office. The simple logic is Core testing will produce more proficient than exceptional scores and if the report cards and the test scores don't line up - it will indicate grade inflation.  Now this is where my gut starts churning.  Grade inflation has been rampant in my school district and others for a long time. How can this be true?

To understand the concept of grade inflation, you have to understand test design and the standard of the bell curve. Supposedly, if you have designed a valid test to reliably measure the learning of an objective or objectives you've taught, the test scores should, when plotted on a graph with 100 being the top score, produce a bell shaped curve.  This is because the bulk of people are of average intelligence  - around 70%. If your test has the correct amount of difficulty, you should have student results with say: 5% getting A's; 10% getting B's; 70% getting C's; 10% getting D's, and 5% receiving F's.  This is old school thinking, but the way I used it was possibly a little different.

I wanted a bell curve for my first test results because it gave me a true read on my performance. It showed me what I needed to change or fix in my lesson planning.  Then I could redesign the test, use the same one or design an outcome or project-based learning assignment for a second and third pass at the same or similar objectives.

What's more important to communicate with reports: Accurate reporting which should correspond to test results; student success within a delineated scope of important career-oriented skills with additional prompting to develop a strong knowledge base while targeting abstract thinking and personal talents, or curved grades that don't reflect what a student has learned? (Hint - the answer begins with the words - "student success".)

Students have to have a developmentally appropriate level of skill sets that they can apply to any given discipline.  Additionally, a strong knowledge base is part of becoming a functioning member of society. The Common Core is an attempt to drill down to that kind of philosophy, but jumping right on the money-making test bandwagon is corporate meddling and all kinds of test prep companies are advertising to give school districts, teachers, parents and students "free" and then "paid-for" help. If this generation of children learn much it will because of parents, really hard-working teachers slogging it out and clever students, who will survive all of this top-down interference.

Teachers have to get it right, if a student earns a "B" - we are responsible for demonstrating why that student's skill set and knowledge base is above average with our assignments/tests and outside test results have to verify our grades. That is why the bell curve is our friend if we use it as a first look.  I let students retake tests, redo assignments and if a parent/guardian complained about a grade, I told him, her or them - I was happy to give the student, their child any grade they wanted because I feel no great attachment to grades.

I am attached to learning and using grades, tests, report cards as forms of communication.  I hated giving a student a bad grade on a report card.  I didn't mind it at all on an assignment or test because the student could choose to fix it - my grade let them know how he or she did in relationship to my specific expectations which were based on state expectations, national norms and input from the business world. An "F" or a "D" on a report card from me meant a student didn't redo anything after we got together and talked. I had a fair share of A's and B's some C's and only a few D's and F's when report-card time came.  However, test results matched up.  My A's usually scored advanced proficient and so did a lot of my B's and in my career, I only had two students who didn't pass proficient on the first go round, but they passed on the second.

Grades and report cards should clearly and accurately communicate a student's progress to both the child and the parent/guardian.  Ideally, they should create a dialog so that everyone can work as a team and focus on helping the student's learning experience.  Nationally-normed tests send signals to school systems, teachers, parents and students.  These tests can be used at first as guidelines for improvement and as time passes, the tests can become more accurate measures of the school system, the staff and how the student is doing compared to his or her peers.

It would be great to hear from you about your issues with grading, testing and report cards.  The parents in Montgomery County are gearing up to ask for some more narrative reporting from teachers and I know that usually consumes lots of time.  Please jump in and share some thoughts about the grading process.

Yes, You Can Teach Anyone to be CREATIVE! Here Are Two Tricks!

You've heard the whine.  I’m not creative, I can’t write a poem. You can change out the word poem for any genre that involves creative writing.  I know many teachers still use journal entry topic starters, but I don’t know how you interact with your students’ writing.  Do you read every entry, do you have students select certain entries for you to read and then evaluate them in some way? I always had trouble with journals because I felt compelled to read every entry and make at least some positive comment or suggestions.  I finally stopped journals and having students share journal entries because I didn't feel I was getting enough learning bang for the buck. I know many teachers do have a great deal of success with journaling and many students love it, but in many cases teachers don’t read the entries and students practice crummy grammar, ineffective word choice and don’t take the assignment seriously.

I always wrote in my journal (when I was trying my best to keep up with this) when students wrote and shared what I wrote if the time was right. I alternated collecting journals so that at any given time I only had two class sets to read through and evaluate. I developed lists of topics and told students if they were stuck, to just keep writing the word “hamburger” over and over again until something popped into their brains. I guess this bothered me because it felt like going to the piano teacher for my lessons.

I had to play the Mozart or perhaps it was Bach music drills every day with a metronome and I grew to hate them. My wonderful teacher, Mrs. Cho, knew I wasn't practicing them, except for right before my weekly lesson, and that I hated following the dynamic instructions on pieces like the Moonlight Sonata. I played it with gusto and passion and as Mrs. Cho pointed out it was pianissimo.  I wondered if my students felt the same way. Perhaps for some the journals were fantastic and the student loved doing the daily writings, for others it was a chore and for others it created a hatred for writing.  All I know is that once I felt the dishonesty of not being able to read every entry, I couldn't assign journaling any more.

However, I do have a wonderful way to replace it – writing for publication, contests, money making schemes – portfolios.  You can get The Writers Guide on-line and find many ways for your students to write for profit or for publication.  That idea generally gets their attention. How do you teach them to become creative?

Two tricks – students may do this in cooperative groups for practice after you've modeled it creating a whole new version of “Old MacDonald Had A Car” E I E I OOO – And on this car he had a bull horn E I E I OOO – With A Honk-Squeal Here and A Honk-Squeal There – Here a Honk – There a Honk- Everywhere a Honk-Squeal  . . .  (You get the gist!)

The idea is to take an old favorite and change or twist one element of the song or story. (Trick #1)  For instance, what would change about the story, Cinderella, if it were set on the Moon?  No glass slipper, but a space boot in zero gravity.  Change a few characters and add a few plot twists and a whole new story will appear. 

As you work through this process with the whole class, warn students that if their story doesn't flow easily from their brain - that means the twists or changes aren't working and they should try another story and change a different element.  You and the student will know that the creative muse is “on fire” when the new “creative” story almost writes itself.

Now that you have modeled the process with a song, and gone through it with the whole class using Cinderella or some other story that you feel will work with your class, you can have small groups create a rough draft story to share aloud with the class.  Allow student groups fifteen minutes to prepare and give them some sheets of newsprint and markers to use for story-boarding unless they have I Pads and can brainstorm a quick story on their high tech device.

I am making the assumption that this will either be an introduction to a unit on short stories, myths, legends, etc. or a conclusion.  You can reinforce all the elements of fictional writing and stylistic devices such as use of: adjectives, adverbs, synonyms, similes, metaphors and the like.

The groups will come up with some amazing stories – this is a fun lesson and a great assessment tool to see what you need to reteach. Finally, students can be asked to come up with a story on their own to publish for a contest or to try and make money using The Writers Guide or some other source for places to publish. For me, this assignment took time because my student writers shifted to stories that morphed into something they cared about – I told them they never had to stick to the original story – just let ideas grow.

If students saw a movie, show or any other piece of media that “got” to them – it was okay to use it as a starting point.  The finished story deadline was usually around every four to five weeks and replaced journal writing.  It could be a non-fiction piece after we had completed the objectives surrounding fiction and poetry.

How to be creative easy trick #2: Explain how two very unlike things are alike.  This is usually good for writing poetry.  Start with a question on the board – such as:  How is a tree like love?  How is the sun like friendship? Creativity is the smashing together of two unlike things and finding out what they might have in common.

Trees

The solid bark of the dark brown oak tree supports my back.

Sitting quietly, I am content feeling the rough texture press through my shirt.

My tree has always been here in my park. I lose my lonely feelings when I sit beneath its branches.

It makes me believe in forever.

It makes me feel safe in all seasons - in all weather.

My initials are carved in the bark – very lightly.

When the sun sets, you can barely see them - so when I come at night, I touch them with my fingers as if blind and I am at peace. (I will know when I have found true love because her initials will be there, too.)

Although this poem never uses the word love – that is the metaphor it creates – for students in earlier grades, you may want to include both words. (See the last line of the poem that I added in parenthesis with the word love because this is an abstract concept and it may be beyond their comprehension level developmentally.)

You can now banish all whining about lack of creativity in your classes because you have given students the pocket skills: take a familiar story and change one element to create a new story and take two very unlike things and find ways that they are alike.  Simple concepts, but they do take practice.

I have had adults tell me they are not creative and have taught them these two concepts in a minute or two (not real in-depth lessons) just quick illustrations.  This was so they could help their children with assignments. Most parents were very grateful for the simple tips – it was something they could understand and apply. I hope this helps you avoid bringing in a tiny violin to play when your students start to whine.

Sometimes you get validation - thank you Jay Mathews!!! Posters are Visual Aids or Graphic Presentations

You may or may not remember, but a few blog posts ago. I was irate over a column in The Washington Post written by Jay Mathews that had negative things to say about the use of posters. He claimed with some validation, I do feel constrained to admit, that as homework - posters often became more of a project for mom than student.

Imagine my surprise and happiness to read WAPO today and find myself quoted not once, but twice. Wow!
So this confirms two things.  I preached to my students and I mean I was fired up and went into character voices and pounded my desk insuring them that writing formal letters of complaint and thanks were the stuff of magic. I told stories of epic written battles with insurance companies and winning.  I told of writing lovely thank you notes that paid off with surprising and unexpected extra coupons for free dinners and how thanking interviewers after job interviews had gotten my foot in the door. Having a gift for the courtesies, as they are called in The Game of Thrones, is a terrific, pocket life-skill. (I nick-named skills that students could use throughout their lives to be successful as pocket life-skills. I implied that if they mastered these skills (such as letter writing), they could pull them out of their pocket at will and voila, job done.

Here is the link to the article and yes, I have already e-mailed my letter of thanks to Mr. Mathews - it was a blend of formal and informal because I wanted to have a balance of treating him with respect and yet, not making it "over done".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/why-i-was-wrong-to-trash-poster-boards/2014/07/14/bb5ecf34-078b-11e4-a0dd-f2b22a257353_story.html

Teach those letter writing skills - your students will be writing you thank you notes some day. :-)

Non-Fiction Writing Graphic Organizer - It's Like Going From Morning to Night

Fiction and Nonfiction - How the two are alike - A chart Provided Making the Comparison

Do you see a connection between the structures of fiction and non-fiction? If you were able to make this connection evident to your students starting in middle school or earlier grade levels, would it help them understand the content, thesis or message and translate this understanding into more classroom participation?

This was an idea that I played around with and tried with some success with my eighth graders.  I suggest this dichotomy to you because it matches one of my ideological beliefs. Teachers must find ways to deliver instruction using simpler models to build confidence and comprehension as our classrooms fill with students of different abilities, different skill levels and basic knowledge.

Here is a brief sample of what I came up with. Admittedly, the chart below is not a perfect comparison of how fiction and non-fiction match. If you are trying to build a bridge between what writers do to produce quality writing, it help students transfer that knowledge to their own writing try using this chart. It may help students to develop their own writing by working back and forth between fiction and non-fiction – this is an initial step. It’s also a quick overhead that you can use to help students remember what belongs in their writing. Very low tech – make a poster.

Fiction	Non-Fiction
Setting: Time/Place  can be fictional – (Exposition)	Where: Real Time/Place (Exposition)
Point of view = 1st or 3rd person	1st person  or 3rd
Who: Characters: Static; Dynamic; Flat, and Round.  Static characters stay the same, dynamic characters change and learn; stereotypes or tropes are people who may add humor or drama to a story – they don’t obtain wisdom. Characters who promote change, demonstrate leadership or experience a profound personal or public change	Who: Real people - some stay the same, others change only a little, stereotypes. Those who promote change, demonstrate leadership or experience a profound personal or public change
Rising Action – Exposition - Details events of minor conflicts – create tension make the reader care.	Capturing Audience Interest -/Hook/Statistical Wow will set up reader interest.
Conflict - (Inner/Outer/Man Against Man/Nature the most exciting or intense moment of the narrative	Writer’s Point of view or call to action and acknowledgement of most compelling argument against thesis/opinion or call to action. Strongest evidence presented by writer in his or her piece.
Falling Action – actions determined to resolve the conflict. Or perhaps actions will leave the story open-ended	Falling Action – strongest points framed again using persuasive language to push readers to take some action or acknowledge that change is needed.
Resolution – Conclusion of the story – all loose ends are tied up and point of view or message of the author should be able to be deduced by reader.	Resolution – Conclusion of the exposition (speech, essay, report, etc. – all loose ends are tied up and point of view or message of the author should be able to be deduced by reader. The conclusion should be restated, but avoid words such as – in conclusion, therefore, as demonstrated and the word - finally.
Throughout the story – specific vocabulary, use of literary “word” tricks, illustrations, photos, graphics may be able used to strengthen the symbolism used to enhance the writer’s message and should be examined in detail.	Throughout the story – specific vocabulary, (emotionally loaded words), use of literary “word” tricks, illustrations, photos, graphics may be able used to strengthen the symbolism used to enhance the writer’s message and should be examined in detail.

Basal Readers Will Help Teachers With Common Core . . .But Must Be Supplemented!

Sigh! When I started teaching in the 70's our objectives were very similar to The Common Core.  I just went and briefly reviewed the CC homepage. Starting my career as a sixth-grade teacher, we had no limitations or expectations that we would explicitly follow any Teacher Edition and I have been itching to recommend a return to the use of basal texts.

At Hayfield, we used a read-aloud program from the University of Nebraska provided by our principal. Every grade level used the program. There were specific novels or trade books paired with art projects and discussion questions. This mitigated the argument that basal texts made students dislike reading.

Reading over the criticisms of basal texts I found via Google - I have to respectfully disagree that most of the problems aren't fixable. CC emphasizes non-fiction so the theme approach of basal texts and inclusion of non-fiction, multiple genres, charts, graphs, science articles and author bios should help teachers retain their sanity as they endeavor to find all the non-fiction materials needed to support the requirements of CC.

Transitioning to the requirements to immerse students into a more complex world view will be easier if teachers have similar starting points and then can develop workarounds for the problems that all text books have with scope and sequence issues. Principals and school districts with thoughtful instructional support teams can help teachers develop and share ways to pair texts (possibly on IPads or other tech devices) to target the underlying goal of CC which is to prepare students for a complex world.

Students face challenging tests that ask them to move to higher order thinking and (one kind of amusing requirement to me) is to compare/contrast written material to visual presentations of the same title (or in the same general field of study) and defend which is more effective. It's amusing on a few levels - we've worried for so long about the negative effects of watching too much television and/or movies and squabbled over the death of students' love of reading and now we promote writing in-depth essays about it.

If you get a chance to review the rather wooden anchor papers and the expositions explaining why these are effective exemplars, you should be able to spot the pattern underlying these compositions.

Mark Twain might have a field day with all the unnecessary verbiage: I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English - it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice. 
- Mark Twain in a Letter to D. W. Bowser, 3/20/1880   http://www.dowse.com/articles/twains-quotes.html accessed 7/13/2014

Additionally, as I indicated in an earlier post, teachers must really be on guard for the tricks text book companies play on us - changing very little even from grade level to grade level in terms of repeating objectives and boring students to death or drilling them to death.  The plus in using a strong basal program is the range of materials from across multiple disciplines and we must push companies to keep providing us with up-to-date information, written materials and effective teaching tools.

Reading aloud every day to students even in high school is a must! Find books or articles you love and share! That's how you encourage students to become life-long readers. Classy teachers are passionate teachers.

ADHD?!? Rates are Rising - Why?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the diagnosis of ADHD has soared from 7.8 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2011.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/adhd.htm  for the year 2012:

• Number of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD:  5.9 million
• Percent of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD:  9.5%
• Percent of boys 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 13.5%
• Percent of girls 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 5.4

My twenty-eight-year-old daughter and I just got into a big, almost fight over this.  I told her that these numbers and the numbers for autism were ridiculous. Should you wish to see CDC's videos on spectrum autism - here is the web site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/video/actearlycurriculum/index.html . 

My daughter firmly believes that there has been a dramatic increase in autism and I believe there has been a dramatic increase in testing, introduction of formal curriculum at too young an age - especially for boys and not enough time spent playing. The realization that boys and girls develop differently for multiple reasons (hormones, brain structural differences, etc.) and have different developmental needs should drive how classroom programs are developed, not some ill-supported need to "validate" that instruction is taking place. Gender aside, each child is going to be unique and that doesn't mean that he or she "qualifies" as having autism - you don't have to account for every "tick" that makes up the kid that belongs to you. 

Yes, sometimes waiting to see if there is an actual problem that needs formal intervention can mean lost time in addressing a life-altering problem. However, many of the behaviors earning the autism label just look like possible developmental delays. These are the equivalent of learning to play tennis.  For some people, it's a breeze, others struggle with one aspect or another of the game, but over time become good players and some just can't do it. They lack the hand-eye coordination or some other basic skill set needed to play. Perhaps, they just hate the game, but that's not autism, that's having freedom of choice. But, certain skill sets and social interaction abilities are basic skills of daily life.  

When your child avoids being touched, screams when you try to hold him or her and repeats motions endlessly - it's obvious that autism is the diagnosis.

Most young children will, with some positive reinforcement and a structured classroom setting with plenty of opportunities to succeed and try different things, find their talent. Getting a bad grade or doing poorly on a test is not a failure for either you or your child. He or she just hates tennis (metaphor for school). School is just not everyone's cup of tea.  

I do not mean to suggest that you, as a parent, can afford to be lax. You must keep tabs on possible developmental problems verses your clever child gaming the system. I always thought of boys as puppies - having to roll around and nip and growl as part of sorting things out and dealing with their level of energy.

Labels are dangerous things.  My daughter believes that poor eating habits and exposure to toxins is the root cause for the alarming increase in the numbers of children diagnosed with ADHD and autism.  I believe it is simply that we have sucked all the fun out of learning, all the outdoor free play time and time for exploration out of school curriculum. Also, the pressure to succeed has taken time at home and turned it into a race to travel teams, extra lessons and add the "one-on-one" or "independent" learning  encouraged by misuse of technology has left me underwhelmed. 

I have support for my belief that lack of movement is the major cause for this insane increase in labeling children from TimberNook blog at www.timbernook.com by Angela Hanscom.  Hanscom is a pediatric occupational therapist. After observing a fifth-grade class toward the end of the day. The students were simply unable to sit still.  One child was hitting her head with a water bottle "in a rhythmic pattern." 

After testing these students further, Hanscom found: "that only one out of 12 children had normal strength and balance."  Having soccer practice once or twice a week will not give them "enough movement to develop a strong sensory system."

The full text of the blog post can be found at The Washington Post and it's an eye opener: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/07/08/why-so-many-kids-cant-sit-still-in-school-today/

I will be sharing this article with my daughter, the athlete, who played three sports continuously throughout most of her childhood into high school and was in an after-care center that firmly believed in supervised free play. She is now a triathlon participant and very fit. She won scholarships based on her grades and her athletic ability.  I never pushed - just made sure the opportunities to choose were there.  

As parents or guardians it's hard to play the waiting game - but you have more power than teachers to change the system and demand less testing, less drill and more physical activity.  A good teacher is a good teacher with or without technology because he or she wants to be sure that children thrive no matter what the circumstances, reforms, debates and distractions. 

You and the teacher should always be a team working to do what's best for your child and hopefully what's best for your child will improve the educational environment for other children. Teachers - getting parents on your side is always a win. Here's hoping that a more humane educational environment is on the way. 

The Basics of Cooperative Learning - How Can They Help You Individualize Your Lessons?

When I taught my 695 Foundations of Education Course, my approach was unique and I let my grad students know I would probably not be a typical adjunct professor. I explained that I felt all teachers needed to be able to stride into the teachers' lounge and make "I Believe" statements. The members of the class were puzzled by that until I explained that I was foremost, a believer in John Dewey and also felt Piaget had given teachers a good road map for understanding the developmental levels of children's learning.  "Dewey asserted that complete democracy was to be obtained not just by extending voting rights but also by ensuring that there exists a fully formed public opinion, accomplished by effective communication among citizens, experts, and politicians, with the latter being accountable for the policies they adopt." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey 7/10/2014

I won't delve into Piaget here, but simply say that children have four stages of development and my empirical observations have supported much of what he has to say. http://psychology.about.com/od/piagetstheory/a/keyconcepts.htm  Of course, I had many more weapons in my arsenal of education research, but my core felt solid so that I could add or subtract concepts that helped me become an effective teacher.

My mission is and always will be to dig away at what makes basic or "core" knowledge stick so that students will remember important dates, facts, people, events, literary works, skill sets that enable them to be good employees (or employers), citizens and have a moral compass. My vision is that no matter where students are on the "road to being authentic" - the two of us (and perhaps classmates as well) will try and discover what their talent is throughout the year. My job is to notice the small details and work with students to find their passions.

Cooperative Learning gurus: Spenser Kagan and Robert E. Slavin are noted for both being advocates and pointing out some of the failures of Cooperative Learning. My daughter hates group projects because she ends up being the one who does all of the work. I told her that's because she's been with her peers for so long that they've learned to manipulate her. Wise teachers know how to help students share the work equally and give both a group and an individual grade. Monitoring the groups progress frequently and collecting action plans helps derail the slacker.

Developing group projects with a menu approach that encompass multiple objectives can help you determine a student's strengths.  If you have strong classroom management - you can have some one on one time to work on any areas that may need improvement.

I am still looking for the pizza paragraph :-(

IPads in the Classroom and You? How's It Going?

It's difficult for me to understand the need for speed in introducing technology so rapidly into multiple grade levels. Why not start with teachers who really love the idea and then let them become the trainers? One really pertinent argument is that textbooks are too big and backpacks weight 30 pounds or more. I've argued about the cost, size, weight, contents, ancillary materials and just plan absurdity of ritualistically buying textbooks when so little changes about them.

Junior editors must really break a sweat to be sure that each state's testing program is properly followed throughout the text. (Bet they love the Common Core!) The publishers offer pacing guides,test prep, e-books, interactive CD's, multicultural, translated, multi-leveled materials and more to entice a state into approving the series. Then each district gets a turn at the narrowed-down selection of publishers.

Now various companies have produced entire educational programs for IPads. You'll find interesting information about IPads and the programs on them in the two links I provided:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/12/no-more-books-high-school-goes-all-digital-/2807577/

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-24/the-ipad-goes-to-school-the-rise-of-educational-tablets

Please read the comments for these articles because although some are crude (especially in the second one), they bring up the range of issues related to technology in the classroom.

When I taught, I advocated for a binder set-up for the TE. New chapters could be clipped in to the teacher's edition and the new pages could be downloaded for a small fee and the teachers could produce an inexpensive class set. Take a look at your old and new books - very little changes except for the last chapters.  If you invest in the cloth book covers and keep a class set so students don't have to drag their book to your class, your books will stay in good to perfect condition for many years. I only assign homework that I'm willing to do myself so chapter readings were done in class.

I have been on many text-book selection committees, committees when parents have tried to have a particular book banned from the library, gifted and talented selection committees at the school and district level. I have been one of two people to write the Eighth-grade Language Arts Gifted & Talented Curriculum and then present it to a committee. I have served on so many committees both in my school and in my community that I am allowed to tell the following joke: God put together a committee to produce a horse and they made ... a camel!

Be it textbook, technology or testing it's about the money and these companies are making bundles. The Gates Foundation found that the teacher is the single most important factor in student learning and I will add this caveat - IN THE CLASSROOM!!

That is why their foundation has spent hours filming, researching and identifying the traits of successful teachers. So with or without IPads or computers - a good teachers is a good teacher. One clever person wrote in the comment section that with all the lack of parenting skills that money would be better spent helping single moms. The comment sections, however, reveal a deeper problem about finding solutions to the many problems that face our country.

We are becoming a nation of haters. We are in danger of mind gridlock because schools are highly politicized and subject to the whims of a few as described in one of my favorite YA science fiction collections: http://www.amazon.com/2041-12-Stories-About-Future-Yolen/dp/0440218985.  The collection of short stories contains one related to censorship: MUCH ADO ABOUT [CENSORED] by Connie Willis.  I used the book when it first came out in 1991 and every year until I retired in 2005, to illustrate what could happen. Sadly, it seems that it may not be an unrealistic point of view.

I also have a link to an  interview with Jane Yolen, who put the collection together. She has a lot to say about the effects of the change in YA writing and publishing and that children are not really going to be life-long readers if we keep headed in the direction we are pursuing now: http://www.advunderground.com/interviews/2007/yolen0207.php

Hearing from teachers who have used the technology would be wonderful. Please comment or e-mail me at jjane359@gmai.com . Right now, I'm searching for the Pizza Assessment so you can have it and I don't want to have to recreate it.  As I remember, it was difficult to produce the first time around. Give me until next Monday, and if I haven't dug it up - I will put it together for you.

Assessments for the Beginning of the School Year - What do You Need?

Teachers are in the middle of many fierce battles right now and what they need are some quick, simple ways to find out what students know at the beginning of the year without relying on past test scores.  Students may know more than those four option answer tests from last year reveal. What a teacher really needs to avoid is wasting everyone's time teaching objectives and skills that everyone already knows. Ideally, you can and will avoid looking at past report cards because it is your job to get each student from wherever he or she is to the skill sets he or she needs to become a career-finding missile.

This does not just apply to the disciplines that I am most familiar with - language arts, English and history, but science, math, foreign language, physical education, arts, computer sciences - every teacher gains a different perspective of each student because of the diverse objectives of our subject matter. This is why I am an advocate for teaming in high school - don't hate on the former elementary, middle and high school teacher.  I realize that subject experts are reluctant to make the next leap and seize the business model with which we are already being evaluated and trained. Most businesses value teaming, brainstorming, flexibility and accountability. Have you ever wondered what it might be like if you did cooperate?

Measurement goals are everything in the education world today and if you want to know where the template comes from, here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Baldrige_National_Quality_Award
"The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is the national quality award that recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by the President of the United States."

When Total Quality Management came to my school system in the late 80's, I noticed the forms took on a particular consistency.  Then I found out about the Malcolm Baldrige Award.  If you check out local real estate web sites, you might find that your school has a report card or a very detailed description based on stats. School boards realized having the school reports meet the Baldrige format made it easy to apply for other awards, grants, school certification and other goodies. However, I digress - quick assessments for the beginning of the year.

I used a simple paragraph about going out for pizza with numbered punctuation illustrating various rules. Just the basics and for two days before, I did a very quick review using a Power Point (used to be a poster) to go over the basic grammar rules. Then I passed out the pizza paragraph and students had to write out the rule or at least name it for the numbered punctuation or grammar rule being illustrated. If I taught math, I would do much the same, but with only twenty problems. Students need to think this is for a grade, but you can weight it very lightly.  I usually made three piles: those students who really knew the rules; those who were shaky, but mostly there and finally the ones that really didn't have a clue - even after the review. This was usually a sign that they had reading and writing issues as well.

The beauty of the pizza paragraph is how fast you can grade it. It's not like reading multiple class sets of writing samples to determine the level of applied grammar knowledge of your students.

Also, I used to keep a collection of hats, old costumes and odd props in the room and they came in very handy for this next assessment.  I also kept a file of old Scholastic Magazines - they had play scripts in them.  I had students volunteer for parts and put out props (this helped students feel less nervous and more motivated to volunteer) and within the first two weeks, I knew which students were comfortable with speaking aloud and perhaps reading and which students were shaky.

Another great source for plays which are royalty free is: http://www.playsmagazine.com/. I was the drama club sponsor and found out about this site.  You can order scripts for any grade level for just about anything. Having students perform plays is a great way to get guardians or parents to come to school for a pot luck.

Ideally, within two weeks or less, you'll have a true read on the needs of your students so you can design lessons, assignments, outcome-based projects and the like so that you have a student-centered classroom. Enjoy your summer vacation and I will post the pizza paragraph for you. :-) I will have to find it and retype it so it may be a few days.

Directions for Using Cut Letters

On Vacation Until Monday July 7 - Hope you had a Happy 4th of July!

Ugh - Handling Difficult Parent Conferences and Thoughts on Technology!!

I know after the VBlog I promised to give you the worksheet so you could teach your students the low-tech way to cut out letters. Then I went to Feedspot and read the Tech articles and have been pondering how I feel about the roll-out of IPads and eBooks and what it means to the education community at large.  Is it going to be a battle of the haves (money for technology or grants available to poor schools) against have-nots (middle-of-the-road schools) - can it work in a classroom of 33 plus students? Are apps such as: new word a day; quote of the day; sentence diagramming in a snap, or spelling rules for goons with master controls at the teacher's finger tips workable? Do they or will they produce long-term learning?

I'll come back to this topic after I give you a quick parent conference overview when you know it is going to be horrible . . .

Since most problems are about communication,one quick thought - Does your school district provide you with a home page?  If you are getting too many e-mails - take a look at your home page and be sure it is providing the necessary information to guide parents through what they need to know.  If your district doesn't provide one, then consider getting setting one up for yourself and then refer your e-mailers to your homepage. Now, back to horrible conferences . . .

Rule number one: Have someone else there with you (counselor or administrator is preferred, but another teacher is acceptable) and if your school doesn't already have a conference documentation form, develop one. Also, set these bad ones up early in the school year rather than later - don't let a problem get out of hand - because you are going to love my solution.

Keep it simple: date; names of those in attendance; reason for meeting - please keep this as a positive statement or question.  Meeting to determine how to increase _____'s reading comprehension ability. Meeting to determine how to increase positive attitude... meeting to determine what the next step will be to increase _________ interest in _________.  This last item is for the parents or guardians who tell you their child is bored in your class and that is why he or she is misbehaving.

Rule number two: assure the guardians of the student that you are a team and are working to decide what is in the best interest of the child. As the conference progresses, be sure you have samples of the child's work and any other information that will be helpful to make positive decisions.

Start right away by writing an action plan and as the teacher do not assume responsibilities that should belong to the child!!

Explain to the parents that if you sign off on ________'s homework, you would be expected to do that for every child in your class or that if you e-mailed them the homework, you would be expected to do that for every child in your class.  However, you do have buddy system in your classroom.  ______student can work with another student to take the last 5 minutes of class to review homework assignments, have locker/bookbag clean outs and exchange e-mails if that is satisfactory, and since you already have a homework page, etc. this back-up system seems to help - it's kind of like having a personal assistant.

Build in a recheck date for another conference.

Tips: I learned that if I assumed responsibilities of the student and the parent was supposed to check backpacks, etc. - they never followed up on their end. I finally went to a buddy system.  In my experience maybe one set of parents followed through - students who have decided to fail or not accept responsibility are the hardest ones to handle. This is because when a child tries to succeed and gets a D or an F - then he or she feels stupid.  However, if a student chooses not to try and fails - it's not his or her fault - he or she didn't try.

Hopefully, the child is present and waiting outside and once the action plan is ready - then everyone goes over it quickly and signs it. Then the date for the follow-up conference is set.

If the word bored has been mentioned - then you should take this opportunity to raise the issue. _______, I understand that this class may not be challenging you and is that why you are having problems?  Can you tell me a little bit about that? If he or she isn't answering, then ask the guardians or parents what they think the specific issue is.  At this point, I look at those involved and say, well - there is an option - perhaps a schedule change or changing to another teacher would be best. Not every student and every teacher work well together and sometimes styles just don't match. Perhaps that is the case here, and I want what's best for ____.

This usually works wonders - it either gets the students to say - no, no - I'm fine in the class.  I'd rather stay here. You take the opportunity to say: "Are you sure? I'll need to see better behavior or we'll have to consider the class change."

Amazing solution _________ student settles down. Sometimes you do get a student who wants a schedule change and he or she was not a good fit for your classroom style - so that's a win for you, too and you have stayed calm and professional throughout the process. Best of all, you have not taken on responsibilities that you don't have the time to fulfill which cause you to feel guilty. Hooray!

Tell me what you are doing with technology in your classroom? When I left - I was one of five teachers gifted with a whiteboard and I loved it.  I had a computer that I had personally purchased and used at each of my 6 table groups and had routed them together. I had a laptop and video camera that could be used to create videos to be posted or viewed and this was 2001 to 2005. I streamed video clips from a library of clips that we had access to all the time as intros to historical topics or to provide context for literature.  I know that things became problematical in the computer lab because kids were accessing porn and breaking through firewalls. This started happening in my classes along with vandalism and it broke my heart.

Access to power and available pipe size for streaming was an issue, too.  So - I'm going to give you my low-tech stuff with some high-tech suggestions because I vowed that I would keep up with technology no matter what.  I was an early adapter and even though at 64, I feel as if my head is going to fall off when I read all the articles I'm following - I still plan to research the long-term learning aspect of the use of apps in the classroom.  Cheers!

VBlog for Cut Letters and making Visual Aids

VBlog for Cut Letters and Making Visual Aids by Jane Jones

Click on the above link in orange to go to video.

I hope this link works! If it does - as promised, I will put in the directions that you can use for yourself and your students to learn this useful low-tech skill to make visual aids and bulletin boards using cut letters. You still need to teach media literacy and high-tech skills.

There is a reason this low tech/high - high/tech approach is important to me. It's a given that school districts have visual, oral and writing skill objectives. However, if you ramp up your expectations so that they match up, not only with your school district's objectives, but skills the employers and corporations specifically identify as ones high on their hiring list - your students will have an advantage.

The ideal assignment is an outcome-based one with a menu-like set up so that students have some choice. 

It could be a project with multiple stopping points that allow you to collect a part for review or a grade. The project could follow along with a novel or unit that you are teaching so that you can monitor student progress at different points and hold them accountable for different objectives. 

I often tell people that if I were teaching high school English and had any freedom, that my students would be producing E.T. the musical or Star Wars the musical (that was before this recent announcement that another Star Wars movie was in the works). If you think about it, almost every objective could be touched upon with a project like that. My other idea was to spend a whole year with irony as the theme and use only the newspaper - wouldn't that be fun?

Maybe teachers can get some freedom - wouldn't that be nice?