Search results: work plan

Build Your Routine

Teaching Tips

Quote

This is a good question to do some reflecting on. Especially at the beginning of a new school year. To achieve great things, both within and beyond our school lives, it’s important to constantly be questioning how we spend our time and energy. Building a solid routine helps ensure that we’re making the most of both. I tend to revel in routine, as I feel a little less stressed when I have a handle on the “when and where” of all the daily and weekly tasks I have to keep up with. When am I going to run? When am I going to work on my blog? When will I do my school planning? When will I do my weekly review and how long will it take me? These were all questions I pondered this week in building my own routine for the school year.

I created a freebie printable for you to download and I hope you use it to build your own routine. Come on, it won’t be so bad! Use it to balance the professional with the personal and to materialize more minutes in your week so you’ll be able to plan awesome lessons AND train for a marathon! (okay, maybe not a marathon, but you know what I mean right?)

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Click Here to Download 

My plan is to fill mine out and add it to my coaching planner as a reminder of my “ideal week.” Remembering that it’s okay and necessary to be flexible and making adjustments as needed.

Enjoy and thanks as always for reading,

ms-houser

Top 5 Icebreakers

Instructional Coaching, Teaching Tips

Well, if you can believe it summer is over for me and I’ve headed back to school. But after a nice long, relaxing break I’m feeling rested and ready!

Those first few days back are certainly exciting ones for both teachers and students. If you’re a coach you may be planning to facilitate a beginning of the year PD session. If so, I would encourage you to kick things off with an icebreaker that will allow new and returning staff the opportunity to get to know one another a bit better. Or you may be a teacher writing up your plans for the first week, considering how to build community in your classroom with different initiatives and icebreaker activities.

Either way, I would love to support you in your planning by sharing a few of my favorite community building icebreaker activities. They will all work with small groups or large groups, teachers or kiddos.

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For other great community building activities I would highly recommend the book” Journey Toward the Caring Classroom
.” It’s packed full of community building initiatives to meet a variety of different purposes.

Here’s to a great year!

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser

Office in a Bag

Organization, Teaching Tips

As coaches, we’re always on the go. With an observation here and a planning meeting there, whose to say where we’ll be during any given day. When I began coaching I quickly figured out that I would need some kind of “office in a bag” so that I would always be prepared for wherever my day might take me. My first attempt at this was a big, bulky shoulder bag that I had previously used for hiking and traveling. It wasn’t bad really, but it wasn’t great either. It wasn’t organized in any useful way and it needed a good purge.

Sometimes you just need a little encouragement from seeing what others are doing to get going yourself, and that is just what Jen over at iheartorganizing gave me a few weeks ago when I read one of her posts. As I read how she organized her bag for blogging I thought, “I can do that for coaching!” Let’s take a look inside.

The first coaching essential you’ll find is my coaching planner.

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And here I have my much needed working folders. I picked up a great tip from David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done.” In his book he shares that he carries an “inbox” folder in his briefcase. He explains that it’s just as important to have a mobile inbox as a stationary inbox. Brilliant! Who needs a mobile inbox more than coaches? No more crumpled up papers floating around in my bag. They will now all have a temporary, but intentional home. I use my “Inbox” folder for important papers that I know I need to keep and will file or process them as soon as I get back to my desk. My “Other Work” folder is used for any other papers I may need, but won’t keep. For example, papers needed for a planning or debrief session that day or copies that need to be made.

Teacher-Work-Folders

In Jen’s post she shares how she uses a small cosmetics pouch from Target to carry around smaller odds and ends. Love it! I immediately went to Target and snagged one myself. Next to it you’ll see my treasured Dot Grid Journal which serves as my space to write out thoughts and ideas connected to coaching.

Pouch-and-NotesOpen-Pouch2

In the first pouch you’ll find a few freshen-up items. I can’t live without coffee in the morning, but I’m also a little scared of coffee breath, hence the mouthwash. Also, never underestimate the value of a mini stain stick!

Inside-Office-Pouch

In the second pouch I have a few computer essentials such as a wireless mouse and a traveling mouse pad {that also serves as a screen cleaner, bonus!}. I don’t always use these, but they sure are nice to have on the occasions when I’m working on my computer for awhile.

Mouse-Pad

When I have a few free minutes at lunch or in between coaching sessions, I like being able to pull out one of my favorite education magazines.

Teacher-Magazines

One thing I’m pretty well known for {and made fun of for} is my use of screen cleaner.  I really, really don’t like having a dirty computer screen or keyboard so this handy spray and wipe gets a special spot in the side pocket of my bag. And my laptop sleeve is a must. Keeps my computer from scratches and wear and tear.

Computer-Cleaner

I also place my chapstick, lotion, and a pen in an easily accessible pocket on the side of my bag next to my water bottle.

Makeup

Although I don’t carry it with me throughout the day, I can also fit my clutch in my bag.

Clutch

Tada! Here it is all put together. It’s not too big and bulky, yet holds everything I need.

Office-In-A-Bag

Do you have an office in a bag? What’s it like?!

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser

Tips for Facilitating a School Site Visit

Teaching Tips

Last week I facilitated my first school site visit.  Typically our school designer leads these visits, but she wasn’t available on this particular day which meant I would be in charge!  Here I share a few tips I learned in making the experience a successful one.

Seek Support

When my principal first asked me to facilitate this visit, I began to work through some planning on my own.  I quickly found out though that I had more questions than I had answers.  I am very lucky because I work with a terrific school designer whose experience extends beyond my own and is always willing to help.  She talked me through some of the pieces to be sure to have in place and provided a few resources to get me going.  If you have someone to go to for some initial support, definitely take advantage of this.

Plan Outcomes/Targets

In order to put together a supportive and productive agenda, it’s important to be aware of the needs of visiting teachers and what understandings you hope they walk away with.  In my case, I began by gathering some background information from the principal of the visiting school.  I then crafted two learning targets that I thought would support teachers and provide a focus for the visit.  I shared these targets with the principal to ensure I was on the right track and moved on from there.

targets

Create an Agenda

Once you have clear targets to guide your work, you are ready to create an agenda consisting of work and learning experiences that will support these targets.  Before heading straight into presenting targets and logistics for the day, begin with an interesting introduction/greeting to help break the ice a bit.

Agenda

Share Observation Norms

These were shared with teachers just to ensure that the classroom visits were as respectful and productive as possible.

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Just Keep Swimming

I arrived at school bright and early the morning of the visit.  When I walked into the building I was greeted by…dark and cold.  That’s right. No power, no heat, and no one to problem solve with.  This definitely was not a part of the day that I had planned for.  After my initial panic (!!!!) I pulled myself together, put a smile on my face, and just kept swimming.  The day got even crazier from there with an early dismissal and a fire on the roof (no kidding!), but I stuck it through and managed to wrap-up a successful site visit.   I must say though that I wouldn’t have been able to do this without very understanding visiting teachers and super supportive hosting teachers…thanks everyone!

I learned a few things from this experience.  First, always be as planned and prepared as possible.  I made sure that I had our materials and space for the site visit arranged well in advance of the visit date.  If I had waited until that morning to do this, I really would have been up a creek.  Second, even when you are well planned and prepared, you can’t plan for everything.  When unplanned roadblocks do present themselves in an untimely fashion, just keep swimming.  Our first grade teacher reminded me of this as we were sitting and observing her lesson in the dark and cold.  She told her students to have a strong mind and ignore the roadblock because there was still work and learning to be done.  Her little guys proceeded to present themselves as excellent models of what perseverance looks like in action.

Nemo

Follow-Up

After visitors have left and you’ve had a chance to take a breath, don’t assume that your work is done.  First, I sent a follow-up email to the principal of the visiting school with our captured notes from the debrief of the visit attached.  Then I wrote each hosting teacher a handwritten note thanking them for their time.  Sometimes a personal note like this can feel more meaningful to receive than an email.  Lastly, I followed up on the commitments I made to visiting teachers.  They asked that I send a few example daily schedules along with information regarding documentation panels.  I made sure to do this as soon as I could.

If you have any other tips or “just keep swimming” stories from school site visits of your own, please share in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser

Common Core Lesson: Asking Questions

Instructional Coaching, Teaching Tips

Earlier this week I modeled a reader’s workshop lesson in a Kindergarten classroom tied to the Common Core State Standard RL.K.1:

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This is a lesson that my coaching colleague, Katie, kindly shared with me as an idea for how to teach this standard in a reader’s workshop. Although the lesson was planned for Kindergarteners, it could easily be adapted for other grade levels by increasing the complexity of the text.

Rather than teaching, asking and answering questions in the same lesson, I planned to first teach students how readers ask questions about books.  The text I selected for this lesson was Grandfather Twilight.

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Hook/Introduction

The hook or introduction during a reader’s workshop serves several instructional purposes.  It supports engagement, motivation, and a “need to know” for learning.  This is also the time when you can connect to prior learning and introduce the learning target for the lesson.

In the hook for this lesson, I shared with students how excited I was to share one of my favorite books with them.  I then introduced the learning target and the words we would use to help us ask questions.

Mini-Lesson/Think-Aloud

During the mini-lesson I modeled the thinking I wanted students to do as readers.  For this lesson, I read the first few pages aloud and paused twice to model asking questions.

GT-with-Words

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After modeling, I asked students what they saw me do as readers.  I wanted them to notice how I read the words carefully, looked closely at the pictures, and used our posted question words to help me ask questions.

Guided Practice

Guided practice is the component of reader’s workshop in which you create a safe place for students to practice the task before sending them off to work independently.  It is also an opportunity to assess student readiness for independent application and address misconceptions.

To begin guided practice, I shared with students that it was now their turn to practice asking questions.  I read the next few pages on the visualizer and asked students to follow along with their eyes.  Allowing students to better see the text helps support fluency.

GT-Question

Independent Practice

To support students with independently applying the target, I made them bookmarks.

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Click Here to Download

As students were reading, the classroom teacher and I conferred with students to see how they were applying the target to their own reading-level appropriate books.  I was able to make some observations during this time that I followed up on during the debrief.

Share/Debrief

After students have had time to work on applying the learning target independently, it’s important to honor their efforts with a brief share.  For this lesson, you might ask students to share one question they had about a book they read with a neighbor.  After students have had a chance to share, make a connection between the specific learning target for the lesson and the larger context.  You might ask students, “Why do you think it’s important we practice asking questions as readers?”

Continue to work on this standard using a variety of literature and make appropriate adjustments based on the needs of your kids.

A special thanks to Katie Shenk for providing the foundation for this lesson.

Thanks for reading!

ms-houser

Book Review: “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character”

Teaching Tips

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Last week I went to Baltimore to learn from and alongside other educators in the Expeditionary Learning Network.  The keynote speaker for the conference was Paul Tough, the author of “How Children Succeed:  Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.”  Tough’s book has become quite popular among those involved or interested in K-12 education.   I finished reading it on the plane ride back to Denver and thought I would provide a quick review.

Throughout the book Tough describes how character supports academic achievement and overall success in life.  Among these skills are persistence, self-control, grit, and self-confidence.

I enjoyed how Tough shares his ideas through a series of different stories involving teachers and students he got to know while writing the book, most notably Kewauna Lerma’s story, a Chicago teenager.  In Kewauna’s story, Tough explains how the development of important noncognitive or character skills (conscientiousness, volition, ability to delay immediate gratification) can help even the most struggling students turn things around for the better.

This book was an enjoyable read that got me thinking about how we can better teach and develop important character strengths such as those Tough outlines in his book.

If you have read this book, what did you think?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

This is one of the great books for educators that I have read.  Take a look at some of my other favorite top teaching books.

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser

8 Strategies for Scaffolding Instruction

Instructional Coaching, Teaching Tips

With the advent of the common-core standards, our thinking about how to support second language learners has become super important. While opting for services like Translation Services London is an excellent way to get one’s work translated, one also has to know more than one language fluently. Our current focus for supportive instruction may be on grammar and vocabulary or we may be modifying the texts English Language Learners (ELLs) work with during a lesson so they’re at a more “appropriate level.”  Under the standards developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative, however, instruction for ELLs will have to move beyond modifying lesson materials and teaching fundamental components of language.  Educators now have to ensure that we are teaching ALL kids, no matter their language background or where they are academically, how to grapple with complex, grade level information and texts.

So how do we do this?  Well, a piece of it is thinking more carefully about what supports or scaffolds we can add to our instruction.

Through my experience working as a classroom teacher in an urban school with a large number of second language learners, along with two years experience as our school’s English Language Acquisition Teacher Leader, I have identified eight “scaffolding strategies” that I believe should always be considered when planning instruction for second language learners:

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Click Here for the 8 Scaffolding Strategies Printable

When I set out to plan a lesson, I always consider how to use any or all of these eight scaffolding strategies to support comprehension and language development.

1. Visuals and Realia

Whenever I can I include realia, or real life, tangible objects in my lessons.  I have found that realia is super supportive for vocabulary development and engagement.  For example, I recently selected a text about coral reefs for a close read lesson.  I wasn’t sure students would know what “coral” was, so I brought in an actual piece of coral to pass around.  If you don’t have realia available for a lesson, use visuals or images!  You can frequently find me on Google images, looking for that just right visual to support my lesson.

2. Modeling/Gestures

If you were to observe me teaching a lesson, you would likely see me making all kinds of funny looking gestures.  Funny looking maybe, but supportive definitely!  When all you do is talk/lecture to students who don’t speak English as their first language, most of what you say will probably fly right over their head.  Modeling and gestures help bring your words to life.  Couple this with the use of supportive visuals and say hello to comprehension!

3. Connect to Background Knowledge

When planning for the “hook” or introduction in a lesson, I consider what background knowledge students might have that I can connect to.  For example, I might show them a picture of something related to our lesson and ask them a question about it.  Connecting previous knowledge/learning to new learning is always a great support for ELLs.

4. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers may not be an appropriate scaffold for every lesson, but they are for many!  You can create your own or use one of the many free ones to be found on the www.  Graphic organizers can be used as a tool to help students organize their thinking when responding to a text.  They key is not to make them too complicated or they may end up being exactly the opposite of a useful thinking support.

5. Sentence Structures/Starters

Sentence structures can be a great support for English Language Learners.  I often use them during the close of a lesson in the debrief or share.  You can also slightly differentiate graphic organizers or recording sheets you provide students by adding sentence structures.

6. Read Aloud

Reading a grade level, complex text aloud to students at the start of the lesson can serve three important purposes:  support engagement, support fluency, and give ELLs some access to the text they’ll be working with.  When reading a text aloud to students, it’s important that it is displayed in a way that all students can easily see it.

7. Intentional Small Group/Partner Work

To support students during independent work time, you can consider small group or partner work.  I say “intentional” small group/partner work because it’s important to consider how and why you’re pairing certain students.  Pairing two students just because one is a “high” reader and the other is a less sophisticated reader can quickly backfire if you haven’t considered how their personalities/work styles might pair up.  Additionally, if you have chosen to provide a small group of students with additional support, just be aware of how much support you’re providing…hopefully not too much!  We don’t want to take away all the challenges that a text/lesson presents.

8. Use of First Language

If a student’s first language is available to you, then by all means make use of it as a scaffold.  I’m not implying that the whole lesson should be translated.  However if you can translate important vocabulary words, make connections between concepts presented, or translate specific instructions then go for it!

As a final note, even if you do not work with ELLs, try to keep in mind that good instruction for second language learners is great instruction for all kids!

Thanks for reading, and download your Scaffolding Strategies Printable for free.

ms-houser

Running Records: Why We Should Be Doing Them

Teaching Tips

I’ve just started a new coaching cycle with a Kindergarten teacher who is interested in building his understandings of guided reading.  We’ve planned to work with a group of A/B level readers and will be using running records throughout the next six weeks to ensure that our work is supporting students progress as readers.

During my first few years in the classroom I rarely, if ever, gave running records outside of the required district reading assessments.  With everything else I was trying to keep up with, these just seemed like one more thing “to do.”  However, now after having done countless running records, I can confidently say that they provide reliable, relevant data.

Running records are an assessment given to guide teaching, assess text difficulty, and capture progress.  The procedure is simple and straightforward.  When analyzing what is recorded, you’re really challenged to think with greater clarity about the progress of your beginning or struggling readers.  As a result, you adjust your instruction as needed and then guess what…your readers get moving!  Running records make sense and are well worth your time.

To support my coachee with giving and analyzing these assessments, I created a running record form and progress tracker to use alongside of it.  The running record form is user friendly with a space on the bottom for recording notes on student’s comprehension of a text.  You can either type your notes directly into the document or record as you go on a blank form.  The progress tracker form will help you visually capture a student’s progress over a period of time.  The one featured below reflects the K-5 Fountas and Pinnell Levels.  You can easily delete any unnecessary rows for the particular grade level you are working with.  I have also included an example of what a completed progress tracker form might look like.

Download Running Record Form Here

Download Progress Tracker Here

If you’d like to know about running records in more detail, Marie Clay’s book “Running Records for Classroom Teachers” is a great resource.

I’m also happy to answer any questions.  Just send them my way!

The Story of Guided Reading

Instructional Coaching, Teaching Tips

Guided reading is an approach to literacy instruction that teachers at our school have been working hard to understand and implement in their classrooms.  We did a ton of work and thinking with this strategy last year in PD and continue to build on and refine our understandings this year.

Below is an infographic I created to summarize the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of guided reading in a visually friendly way.  As an educator I’m all about using visuals to help make sense of tricky topics or ideas.  Infographics allow you to “tell a story” with graphics and information.  This happens to be my first one and I have to say it was super fun to make!  I hope it helps you make sense of guided reading.

Below the infographic I have included a video of a guided reading lesson, accompanying lesson plan, and guided reading planning template.

Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristin

Guided Reading Infographic

This is a video we used as a model of quality guided reading instruction during a recent PD.  Thanks Becky for letting us learn from you!




Here is a link to Becky’s lesson plan if you would like to give it a go (Becky’s Lesson Plan)!  This lesson is suited for J level readers.

Click Here to Download Planning Template 

 

 

What An Educator Can Learn From A Cyclist

Goals and Motivation, Instructional Coaching, Teaching Tips

This weekend I went for a bike ride with my friend Anne.  As we were cruising through the back roads of Boulder, Colorado I couldn’t help but think how similar cycling is to teaching.  Allow me to elaborate…

Cyclists live in one of two seasons: the on-season or the off-season.  During the off-season they take time to rest and recover, reflect on accomplishments made during the on-season, and set their sights on larger goals for the season ahead.  As educators, we experience our off-season during our summer breaks.  We walk out of school on the last day and allow ourselves to deeply exhale.  We reflect on the progress made with our students or with other teachers we’ve worked with (for us instructional coaches).  Hopefully we are honest with ourselves during this time of reflection and can clearly see what worked and what might need some shaping up next season.

After each off-season for us educators, we have the great opportunity to return to school and start fresh.  As we head into this school year, here are a few things we can learn from the sport of cycling that when applied to our teaching lives may serve to strengthen our own on-season.  Let’s ride!

Hills Make You Stronger

As Anne and I were cruising along one of the flat, straightaway sections of our ride, life felt good.  I was in my comfort zone, my body felt strong, and my mind felt focused.  After rounding a bend though, the road started to change.  It started to go up.  Before I knew it I was climbing one heck of a steep hill.  My legs started to slow down, my bike wobbled underneath me, and my mind felt anything but focused.

These moments not only exist on the road, they are also very real occurrences during our days in the classroom.  A student who you feel like you’ve finally gotten a pretty good handle on all of a sudden explodes because of an argument over a pencil and the calm in your classroom turns to chaos.  The copier breaks just when you need it most or a lesson you spent a good deal of time planning totally bombs.  Sometimes these “hills” string together and you feel like you’ll never make it to the top.

Whatever you do…don’t stop pedaling.  Dig deep and keep cranking.  Once you’re off the bike it is significantly harder to get started again.   Just when you think you can’t go anymore, guess what…YOU CAN.  When you do arrive at the top you’ll be stronger and wiser as a result.

Ride With Others

Going on a ride with others is just more fun.   Team rides can motivate you and improve your skills.  You can also be sure there will be someone there to help you out in the case of a flat tire or a forgotten granola bar.

Teachers have an enormously complex job with a crazy number of responsibilities.  Working together as a team (grade-level, administration, specialists, school wide) matters.  Our fellow educators can inspire us, support us, laugh with us, or just grab a coffee with us.  Research shows that relational trust among teachers and school leaders improves student achievement.

So this year remember to smile and say “hello” to other teachers in the hall, assume positive intent, and stop to help when you see another teacher with a flat.  Little things like that make a difference.

Set Goals, Train Hard

If you were to ask just about any cyclist who has completed a century ride how they were able to accomplish such a feat, I would be willing to bet they would say it involved goal setting and some serious training.

Setting goals for yourself and your students using all current data (formal and informal) that you have ensures that you have a clear target to aim for.  Without that do you really know where you’re headed in your day-day work or why you’re headed there?  Concrete goals inspire us and tracking our training or our progress motivates us.  If you can involve students in tracking their OWN progress towards clear learning targets, even better!

Our instruction in the classroom must be strategic, precise, and engaging to make “century ride” results a reality.

Coaching Counts

Competitive cyclists care about results.  They realize that few can sustain their best performance on their own.  This is where coaching comes in.

I recently read a great article that spoke to this truth about coaching.  In it the author discusses the importance of coaching in becoming your “personal best.”  The following excerpt from this article aptly describes the important role a coach plays in doing so:

Élite performers, researchers say, must engage in “deliberate practice”—sustained, mindful efforts to develop the full range of abilities that success requires. You have to work at what you’re not good at. In theory, people can do this themselves. But most people do not know where to start or how to proceed. Expertise, as the formula goes, requires going from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence and finally to unconscious competence. The coach provides the outside eyes and ears, and makes you aware of where you’re falling short.

Through a variety of approaches (co-planning, demonstration, descriptive feedback) instructional coaches can help push your thinking and your practice.  Letting someone into your classroom to observe you can feel like an intimidating risk.  Taking important risks like this however can pay off greatly for you and your students.  So this year open your doors, invite in your instructional coach and see how far you and your students can climb.

Rest and Recover

Rest and recovery are essential for high-level performance.  This is true for both cycling and teaching.  One of the best things you can do for yourself after a long ride is to eat a good meal, kick up your feet and take it easy.  This is great training advice for us educators as well.

Cyclists know that when they don’t build in enough days for rest and recovery, they’re at risk of suffering from overtraining syndrome – a difficult condition to recover from.  Likewise with teaching, if we’re not careful about creating some balance in our lives, we are at risk of teacher burnout.  This condition isn’t fun for you or your students and is also very difficult to recover from.

Remember to take care of yourself this year.  Pack a healthy lunch, pause during your hectic day just to breathe, and maybe even enjoy a nice glass of red wine at the end of your day.  I’d say you deserve it.