Quote of the week:
Intervention Connection:
One intervention we use at a tier 1 and 2 level with our grades 3-5 students who struggle with fluency is Read Naturally's Read Live. We do not use the Assessor portion. This video gives you an overview of what student sees when reading a passage, the videos is a little old and the online delivery had gotten even better over the years.
Positively PBIS:
One of our biggest areas of discipline in our building is the bus. Take a few minutes each day this week and review bus procedures with your students.
Literacy:
Read what Fisher and Frey have to say about precise modeling:
"Modeling
The focus lesson is
first and foremost an opportunity to model a task or skill. However, as noted
before, modeling can easily devolve into telling rather than teaching. Modeling
is different because it follows a precise pattern:
1.
Name
the strategy, skill, or task. "Today I am going to show you how to combine sentences
to make more interesting and complex statements."
2.
State
the purpose of the strategy, skill, or task. "It's important as a writer to be able to construct
sentences that aren't repetitive or choppy. Sentence combining is one way to
make sure your sentences read more smoothly."
3.
Explain
when the strategy or skill is used. "After I have written a passage, I reread it to see if
I have choppy sentences or if I am repeating information unnecessarily. When I
notice that's occurred, I look for ways to combine sentences."
4.
Use
analogies to link prior knowledge to new learning. "I like to think of this as making
sure I make a straight path for my reader to follow. When I eliminate choppy or
redundant sentences, it's like making a straight path of ideas for them to
follow."
5.
Demonstrate
how the skill, strategy, or task is completed. "I'm going to show you three short,
choppy sentences. Let's look first at information that we can cross out because
it is repetitive. Then I'm going to combine those three sentences into one
longer and more interesting sentence."
6.
Alert
learners about errors to avoid. "I have to be careful not to cut out too much
information, so that I don't lose the meaning. I also need to watch out for
sentences that become too long. A reader can lose the meaning of a sentence
that's too long."
7.
Access
the use of the skill. "Now I'm
going to reread my new sentence to see if it makes sense."
When learners have a
skill or strategy modeled, and not just merely told, they gain a deeper
understanding for when to apply it, what to watch out for, and how to analyze
their success."
Safety First:
October 17th is the central US earthquake drill, more detail will come as we draw nearer to that date. In the meantime, you may want to check out some great earthquake safety resources: http://shakeout.org/centralus/
