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Alison.Board Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Planning

Opportunities Beyond the Classroom

This week is our school’s Speech Arts Competition. It was introduced at a staff meeting with the hopes that all classes would participate. Some teachers are enthusiastic, some are not participating, while others (like myself) are using it as an opportunity to focus on oral language skills. I am presenting it to the students more as an opportunity  than a “have-to”. There are kids who are thrilled to create or memorize a poem, add dramatic flair and share it with the class. There are others that are anxious about selecting a poem, being able to memorize it, and having to present in front of their peers. Despite emails of worry from concerned parents of the anxious children, I continue to remain calm and relaxed about the process. It is the process that I want the children to learn from. If a few of the students are too nervous, they can recite their piece to me quietly when students are working independently. This option has eased their worry, however I am sure that when the time comes they will be fine, as a sense of community and support already exists within the group.

There are so many opportunities at our school for those who are confident expressing themselves in writing, visual art, or sports. I think that the Speech Arts Contest will appeal to those students who have abilities in oral language and drama. There are so many forms of expression, yet children are often presented with the same options. As teachers, we need to look for opportunities to explore other options and to provide students with a multitude of languages for self-expression, whether it is sculpture, nature, music, or math. I have one student who is often invisible in group discussions. Yet, if I play music or show a video with music, her face lights up, she moves to the beat, and she becomes the most visible.

With over 30 teachers and 500 students, our school buzzes with activity and events. It can be overwhelming for some (like myself) to participate in all the opportunities that are created by various staff members, such as growing seeds and tending our school garden, attending the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, participating in food drives, or sending Valentine’s to the Senior’s home, in addition to your own class trips and activities. However, I have realized that these are opportunities for the students to experience forms of expression beyond what I may provide in the classroom. If you can connect these opportunities with your own plans (such as graphing for Data Management during the food drives), the learning and the experience becomes authentic.

Carmen.Oliveira Assessment, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth

Success Criteria: Let’s Accomplish Our Learning Goal

I remember sitting in a workshop last year where we were challenged to look deeper at the learning goals we set for our students and how we should co-create the success criteria in order to ensure that students understand how to achieve the goal or expectations set out for a particular unit/strand.  I also remember wondering whether it would be worth it to put in the time and effort to fully implement this latest strategy/tool in my own classroom with all the additional initiatives I was taking on with respect to my professional learning.  I decided to learn as much as possible about using learning goals and success criteria in my teaching and assessment practices.

Today, I can honestly say it is one of the best learning experiences I’ve had in my career thus far.  In many respects, it has changed the way my students understand what they are learning, why they are learning specific concepts/skills, and how they can demonstrate what they know.

Everyday I share a learning goal with my class and how that concept/skill will help them in a real life context.  Within each unit of study or topic we focus on, I create the learning goal by using the curriculum expectations and, together with my students, we co-create the success criteria to achieve the learning goal by using mentor texts, level 3 and 4 responses, etc.  Students know the importance of using the success criteria to edit, revise, and share their knowledge and understanding in a clear and concise way.

We have a saying I took from Maya Angelou: “When you know better, you do better.”  When students know what is expected and how they can achieve the learning goal, they have a better chance of succeeding and progressing further.

How I share learning goals and reflection questions with students each day
Students know what they are learning each day
A student uses the success criteria to revise and edit his writing
Students use success criteria to peer edit by adding descriptive feedback
Students use the descriptive feedback from their peers to work on their final draft
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Carmen.Oliveira Assessment, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Interviews, Report Cards

Constructive and Productive Parent-Teacher Conferences

Just having read Alison’s post “Reflecting On Reporting” I have to admit that all too often we tend to become focused on assessing our students with tools and strategies that can feel overwhelming in our need to “get it right” with respect to our evaluation of the students’ progress.  The fact that “a picture says a thousand words” is good reason to use pictures and video as a very valid and authentic form of assessment.  What a meaningful way to share student learning with parents…

Speaking of parents, I’m beginning to prepare for the Parent-Teacher conferences next week.  I have found that the preparation beforehand goes a long way to create an opportunity for  a constructive and productive meeting during which time we can cover the student’s strengths, needs, next steps, and celebrate accomplishments.  I do this by:

1. Sending home a pre-conference letter getting the parent(s)/guardians to share their thoughts, questions, concerns, etc. about the report card and listing possible topics/questions they hope to cover during our conference.  This gives me time to gather the appropriate samples, resources, and recommendations specifically tailored to the needs of the family.

2. Using data from their report card, their Daily Journal, and conversations with me, students choose 3 goals for the following term and specify the steps they will take to achieve them along with how they will celebrate their success.  Students share their goal setting plans with parents during the conference.

3. During the conference, I keep notes based on our conversation (on my computer) and by the end of the night or the following day, I send the notes in an email to the parents (in our class we communicate through email which I’ve found very helpful and parents appreciate the opportunity to get in touch with me without always having to come in or call).

It may seem like a lot of work but I’ve found that our conferences are constructive, productive, and best of all, we cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.  It makes it more effective to work toward our goals when we (students, parents, and teachers) are on the same page.

Below I’ve attached the goal setting template my students use in preparation for conferences.

goal setting

 

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Alison.Board Assessment, Report Cards

Reflecting on Reporting

After spending the last week or two working on reports, I have asked myself what I can do to make the reporting process more efficient next time. My dining room table was covered in piles of workbooks, an array of notes, observations, and my assessment binder. More than enough right? Well, maybe because I am very visual, (and thorough), I needed something more to assure myself that I had considered the “whole child” as Tina had referred to in an earlier post. So I went to the computer and opened my file of photos from the classroom. Here were some images that captured demonstrations of learning skills and showed understanding of the curriculum in a different form.

This photo of the girls weaving makes teamwork visible, as they share the task of weaving with one piece of fabric.

Another photo (see below) shows a student demonstrating independence in her learning. She is using both the text and the world map to find information about a community in Pakistan.

Photos like these are a form of documentation. Documentation can be used for reflection as well as planning. Documentation can be shared with the children, the parents, or colleagues. We see children in the classroom every day demonstrating learning, and often don’t think of taking photos of such every day events. However, during report card times these photos are an invaluable part of the assessment process. Next term, I plan on using my camera every week!

 

 

 

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Roz.Geridis Assessment, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Diverse Learning Needs, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth

Engaging students in Visual Arts

Over the last 2 weeks, my class have been working on this wonderful visual art activity which is also connected to grade 6 aboriginal studies. We began by studying the art work of Norval Morrisseau, an Aboriginal Canadian artist (books are available at the public library). Morrisseau’s style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors. I shared with the boys the plan for this project was for everyone to complete their own version, then we would do body images of 1/3 of the class which will end up being painted on the Junior Stairway walls.

The boys were very excited about this project and I really tried to encourage their interest and ownership of the art work. As a class, we moved along for the boys to use an overhead and trace their head, hands, or feet to complete their own versions of Morrisseau themed pictures. The boys then had a lesson on drawing the shapes inside their images (guiding them to leave enough room for their black line). Primary colours were used to colour the inside of the shapes and the background was in secondary colours. Using only 2 overheads for the whole class, this stage of project took a little longer than a whole afternoon.

At the end of the first day, we had a discussion as to what the images of the boys would portray. The next day, the boys were asked to bring in items which reflect them in a sport type of way; for example, scooters, hockey equipment, soccer balls, swimming goggles. The boys selected the images to represent themselves as a class. They selected swimming, cart wheel, hockey, soccer, mountain climbing, and baseball. We were planning on adding someone reading and a second image but time was an issue which didn’t allow our plan to fully work out. Using the overhead, in groups of three, the boys then traced their image on life size paper. As others were tracing, the first group would then cut out their image. After lunch, we were able to finish off full body tracing for the rest of the groups and began (the groups completed the cutting)  adding the shapes within their image. This aspect of the project needed to be reviewed with the class a few times. The first lesson was on the personal image, the second mini lesson was to remind them of what to do to begin on the larger image, the third mini lesson was to go through their larger image and fine tune their shapes. This took us a full day.

The next day, we taped up all body images on the stairwell walls. Looking to see which image should go where. This was an adult only decision. Once image placement was decided, the boys then traced their image on the wall. After every image was traced on the wall, some boys began painting the background colours while on the opposite side of the wall other boys were tracing their shapes in their image. This process took another full day. Each wall needed two coats and a day to dry between coats.

The fourth and fifth day, the boys were painting the shapes in each image (in groups of three) and then the black line last. We also needed time for touch ups. At the end of it, the boys were able to add their own signature to a wall which will be there for years to come. We are also painting some thank yous on a wall as all the paint used was donated by a local paint store.

The project took a total of five days and I really would recommend to get it completed in a chunk of time. The interest was there and interruption to your regular programming is not much. It was a week of limited program which was a great time to get to know and have some fun with your students. Remember, this is a visual arts project and it is connected to aboriginal studies. I have assessments for both curriculum areas. To adjust it for any grade, if your school walls are already colourful, you can do something very similiar and use the life size paper to paint and hang on the hallway walls. Also, use visual art as your first curriculum area and find a second curriculum area to connect it to, whether it is social studies or math.

Included are some pictures to help you visualize the project. It was a project completed with a parent (who is also an artist). While she was working in the stairway with the boys, I was in class keeping them on track. The first few days, there was plenty of work to keep the boys busy but by mid day on the fourth day on, the boys had less to do on the art project. That being said, behaviour was amazing!!!! I guess the boys thought if they didn’t manage in class, I couldn’t send them in the hall. Which is a pattern in our class. I definitely had support for this project (administration, artist, and Educational Assistant in the afternoon). I also sent out a letter to the parents informing them of the pending project, the boys working with Latex paint, and dirty clothes coming home (with a tear off signature return). I also asked for volunteers to come in a week later to help paint the final protective coating. I have many teacher and parent volunteers. The boys feel a sense of pride, ownership, and community to their school!

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Carmen.Oliveira Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Interviews, Report Cards

The Importance of Communication in the Parent-Teacher Partnership

As we devote the next few days to completing our report cards and prepare for our parent-teacher conferences, I’d like to share an experience that really came to prove that  how often and the manner in which we communicate with our students’ families and caregivers really makes a difference to in supporting and furthering their learning experience.

I am part of the Portuguese-speaking Students Task Force created by the TDSB.  It’s mission is to look deeper into the challenges experienced by Portuguese-speaking students and their families including a very high drop-out rate in secondary school and low enrolment with respect to post-secondary education.  We have spoken to the students themselves, teachers within the Portuguese community, and most recently, the parents.  We discussed at length issues including: how Portuguese-speaking students and their families are viewed by educators; whether students and families feel supported by the TDSB (programs, resources, etc.); what challenges exist; and possible solutions and/or suggestions.

I found it absolutely fascinating that there was one aspect/challenge that each group (students, teachers, and parents) mentioned as needing immediate attention: communication between the school/teachers and parents.   The reality, concerns, and suggestions made were practically identical and so I thought it would be beneficial to share the parents’ viewpoint as we think about our parent-teacher conferences.

Parents commented that although they understand teachers are very busy, they often feel left out of their children’s education because they do not really know what’s going on in the classroom on a regular basis.  They said that their children’s education is a bit of a mystery when it comes to what they are learning, how they are being assessed, how they can further support their child, and how the education system works overall.  It came down to admitting that they feel intimidated at times to speak to the teacher or ask questions about what is happening in the classroom.

When asked about what they would like to see happen with respect to communication between educators and parents, they put it very simply: they wish educators would reach out to them on a regular basis whether it be through a newsletter, email, webpage, tweet, agenda, phone call, etc. to let them know what the children are learning, how the learning will be assessed, and how the family can support and further the learning outside the classroom.  Overwhelmingly, parents said that when teachers care enough to take the initiative by constantly keeping the doors of communication open, they feel more motivated in able to guide/support their child.

Let’s keep this in mind…myself included!

 

Heart Picture
Samantha.Perrin Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning in a Real Life Context, Wellness

New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year!!!

The New Year is a great time to reflect on the previous year and to set goals and resolutions for the year ahead.  I spoke to my students about New Year’s resolutions and shared some of my personal goals for school and for myself at home. I felt it was important for the students to see that setting goals help to make a person ‘better’ and that it is no different than the practice and work that they put in every day into their learning.  The message was not lost on them, and they were enthusiastic to prove that you’re never too young to start goal setting. In fact, I think that my young students really understood the purpose and value of goal setting because they grow, learn and improve so quickly (for example, in learning how to read).

Together the students came up with their own definitions of resolutions and we discussed the purpose and value of articulating a goal and coming up with a plan for meeting that goal.  Then, we all took turns sharing one resolution that pertains to school and one that pertains to home life.  The students then wrote about their goals for display in the school.  This week I will be sending a copy of the students’ resolutions home with them to serve as a reminder and a discussion point for parents in helping their children achieve their goals.

Click here to see some pictures of this activity from my classroom.

It’s important to strive for improvement, whether it is for the benefit of work or school, but also as busy teachers,  for achieving health and balance, which I will be working on  myself in 2012.

 

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Tina.Ginglo Assessment

An Integrated Unit- A Chair for Baby Bear

 

The culminating task for our unit on strong and stable structures was the highlight of my first four months back in the classroom.   My colleague and friend, Catherine Little, who is currently teaching science at York University at the Faculty of Education, generously offered her time and expertise by facilitating the launch of this culminating task with my third grade students.

Catherine launched the task by first reading the picture book, A Chair for Baby Bear  (2004) by Kaye Umansky and illustrated by Chris Fisher (Barron’s Educational Series, ISBN-13: 978-0764157899).   In this story, after Goldilocks breaks Baby Bear’s chair and flees the bear’s cottage, Baby Bear goes to town with Papa Bear shopping for a new chair.   In town, Baby Bear was unable to find a chair that was “just right” for him.  Catherine stopped at this point in the book, and presented the task to my class.  They were to make a chair for Baby Bear using only newspaper and masking tape!

The students had to apply everything they learned about strong and stable structures to create a chair that was just right for Baby Bear.   The knew they were successful when they placed a stuffed toy bear on their chair. If their chair were stable, the stuffed bear and the chair would not fall down!

After the students reflected on the process and self assessed their designs, they wrote a procedure or recount for “Professor Catherine” to share with other third grade students she will visit.  The students were so proud of their chair.  They were focused and I was able to assess what they learned about strong and stable structures, not by giving them a unit test on the topic, but by observing students build their chair, conferencing with them and by reading their self assessments and procedural writing.   This is what I love most about teaching and learning!

 

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Tina.Ginglo Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

The Whole Child

As a third grade teacher, I sometimes get caught up and distracted by the fast approaching EQAO assessment.  Our school doesn’t fair very well in the EQAO world and there is a lot of talk about getting the students ready.  One way our school is preparing students for the assessment is by providing them practice runs at previous EQAO questions.  As Sangeeta mentioned in a previous post, I also worry about the amount of pen and paper tasks our students complete.  Don’t get me wrong, knowing how to read and write are VERY important skills that must be acquired, but there are many ways to learn how to read, THINK and write, technology being one.

As we neared the end of the calendar year, I allowed myself to forget about EQAO and teach the way I taught when I taught grades 4 and 5 and kindergarten!  Even though my students receive their music and art instruction from other teachers, I decided to include it in my program as well. Visual literacy, music, drama, art, movement, design and technology were springboards for incredible thinking and prompted the most meaningful and well crafted writing I have assessed so far this year!   More importantly, the level of engagement in my class springboard as I observed students focus and participate in ways I was not able to observe when I did not integrate the arts in my teaching.

I know this! Why do I allow myself to get caught up in the EQAO frenzy?  Don’t get me wrong. I actually like the EQAO assessment and take the responsibility of teaching STUDENTS the Ontario curriculum very seriously— but sometimes I think we get turned around and teach the CURRICULUM to students.  I think there is a difference.   My goal for 2012, is to make sure I teach to the WHOLE CHILD everyday and allow students to explore the curriculum in different ways before bringing out the pen and paper:)

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Alison.Board Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Diverse Learning Needs, Homework

Homework and Parent Communication

While reading the previous post by Samantha, I was thinking about my own students, the homework they do, and the requests or concerns from the parents regarding homework. In my Grade 1 and 2 classroom, there is a definite connection between homework and parent communication.

At the beginning of the school year, there was no assigned homework. However, unfinished work would often be sent home with the students for completion. One student in particular welcomed this opportunity, as she said her parents wanted her to have something to work on while her older sister was doing homework. Other students were rushing to complete their work so they didn’t have to take it home. This resulted in a large gap in completion time from the “rushers” and the “procrastinators.” Since it is usually the same groups of students, I have since been encouraging the rushers to go back and take a little more time, while encouraging the procrastinators to use their time efficiently and giving time for completion at the end of the day. All of this echoes Samantha’s comment about “the importance of differentiation in the classroom.” Not all students will need the same skill practice or review. Some just need more time, and others may need more support or practice.

I communicate to parents using our classroom website, emails, and the agendas – depending on the type of message I am sending. Every week when I write a journal entry on the website, I let the parents know what we are currently working on in class, for example addition and subtraction. I then provide an idea or resource for homework that the parents can use at their convenience, such as a link to an on-line math game or a game of concentration with sight words. For many of the parents it gives them concrete ideas for supporting their children in fun or interactive ways, without the pressure of completing a paper and pencil task while making dinner. I also review the children’s work during the day or when conferencing with them, and make a list of the students who may require more skill practice at home. By recording a particular task in their agenda, the parents are aware that this is specific to their child’s needs. Communication with the parents has provided a consistent extension of support from school to home. It has also helped when a student is distracted or having difficulty, and the parents are able to communicate what might be going on at home as an explanation. To be purposeful and effective, homework should be differentiated to the student or group of learners. At a Grade 1 and 2 level, good parent communication will support the learning at home.