A Guided Reading Observation Template

Instructional Coaching, Organization, Teaching Tips

Hello! How was your Thanksgiving Break?! Mine was pretty good overall. I was sick for a few days, but still managed to make time for some holiday decorating AND our long awaited home office project. Luke busted out his woodshop skills and built us the coolest desk ever! It’s L-shaped, so now we both have a super organized and inspired space to work in.

Productive blogging, product creating, and efficient planning here I come!

I know our super cool L-shaped desk isn’t the intended topic of this post, but I’m just so dang excited about it, I had to share.

Alright, moving on!

Yesterday afternoon, during my coaching convo with Olivia, I was giving myself a big pat on the back for the handy observation template I had created and was referring to. As we were chatting, I realized just how helpful it has been!

Olivia is brand new to guided reading, so I knew I needed to really “break it down”…or translate a guided reading lesson into small, concrete steps or parts.

In a small group PD session right before the start of our coaching cycle, I was able to walk her and a few other of our new teachers through the basic structure of what a guided reading lesson looks like. I created an anchor chart that looks like this:

I then used this same structure to create an observation form.

Download Here

I shared this with Olivia at the start of our coaching cycle, so she and I were on the same page for where we were headed and what I would be looking for. She was on board!

Then I made a few copies and popped them into my Coaching Kit.

This observation tool has been really helpful in my classroom visits, because I have a handy reference for exactly what I’m looking for. I’m also able to refer to this together with Olivia in our debriefs, as we discuss what worked well and what we might want to tweak the next time around.

Maybe you can use the tool directly, or just adjust it a bit to better meet your needs. Either way, hope it helps you with your work!

Thanks so much for being a part of the MsHouser community, and I’ll see you next week!

PS – If you have a quick sec, I’d really appreciate if you used the buttons below to share this post! Thanks a million.

6 Tips for Effective Meeting Facilitation

Instructional Coaching, Organization, Teaching Tips, Time Management

Pop quiz time. Ready?

What is the number one, most valuable resource for coaches and teachers?

a. Coffee
b. Time
c. Post It Notes
d. Technology

And the answer is (I’ll bet you guessed it)…b!! TIME! (although maybe this could have been tied with a)

As you know, we really need every single minute of it to get done everything we need to get done in our busy days.

So there’s nothing worse than when our time is wasted.

And you know what one of the biggest culprits can be? Meaningless Meetings.

Sure, meetings (planning meetings, PD meetings, business related meetings) are an essential part of working in a school. But if run poorly, they can be a huge waste of time.

But good news! As coaches there’s something we can do about this.

We facilitate lots of meetings, so let’s make sure the ones we’re responsible for leading are meaning-FULL, not meaningless.

I thought it might be helpful if I walked you through a case study of what it can look like to put this plan into action.

OK. So earlier this week I facilitated a curriculum planning meeting with our fourth grade team. Here’s how I went about making sure I had all my ducks in a row and the meeting was a meaningful use of this team’s time.

1. Identify Outcomes and Create an Agenda

To help me identify an outcome for our time together that felt supportive to the team, I sent out an email the week prior to meeting with them. After I received their response, I was able to create a purposeful agenda aligned to their needs.

2. Provide Helpful Resources

I always try to think about what resources (books, videos, examples, planning templates, etc.) would support teachers in the work they’re setting out to accomplish. In this particular case, I thought it would be helpful to give them a planning template they could use to help them with the logistics that go into planning a Celebration of Learning.

3. Use Google Docs

In curriculum planning meetings, there’s frequently a good amount of collaborative work and thinking going on. Google Docs/Drive makes it super easy for me to capture this work and share it with the team afterwards.

4. Listen First, Talk Second

I have lots of thoughts and ideas I’m excited to share with teachers in planning meetings. But I zip it up, and listen first. Then I can guide the discussion as needed with follow-up questions or suggestions.

5. Track Time and Keep it Tight

As the facilitator, it’s my role to track time and keep the team’s work on track. Since we only have 45 minutes for these planning meetings, this is super important. Including the estimated amount of time for each part of the agenda helps with this.

6. Identify Next Steps and Follow-Up

Don’t forget to leave 5 minutes at the end of your time to review what was covered and identify next steps. AND set a time/day for when you’ll follow-up.

And BOOM! You’ve got yourself a meaning-FULL meeting.

If you have an upcoming meeting to facilitate, hopefully you can use these tips as a roadmap to get you started and check your work.

Have a question, or maybe a tip I didn’t include? Share it in the comments below.

Enjoy your weekend and I’ll talk to you soon!

P.S. If you liked this post and found it helpful, I’d GREATLY appreciate if you helped me spread the word using the share buttons below. Thanks!

What Coaches and Teachers Can Learn from Peyton Manning

Teaching Tips

You might not know this, but the Broncos and Peyton Manning have a BIG game coming up this weekend.

Yep. It’s us vs. the Packers, two 6 and 0 teams going head-to-head, Peyton vs. Aaron Rodgers. And guess what…the Packers are going dowwwwn!!!

I know what you’re thinking – okay Kristin, settle down now. We get that you like the Broncos and Peyton Manning. But what the heck does that have to do with coaching and teaching anyway??

Well, a whole gosh darn lot actually. Peyton’s work on and off the field provides some great insight into leadership traits that reach beyond the football field and into schools and classrooms and the work we do everyday.

In fact, Peyton’s spoken about these traits before, referring to them as ‘Game Changers.’ So let’s take a look at what they are and how we can use them to inspire our own work.

1. Learn to Thrive on Being Uncomfortable

Isn’t is great when everything is going just swimmingly?

Well, yeah.

But then what happens when it doesn’t?

Your principal wants to observe you, you just found out you have to facilitate a giant PD, or you were asked to work with that tricky teacher in the building…and all of a sudden, you become very, very uncomfortable.

It happens to Peyton all the time. An interception, a sack, an arena full of screaming football fans. But do you see him fall apart and hide behind the Gatorade table? Nope.

Because he knows that when he’s uncomfortable, he’s getting better.

So let’s take a lesson from Peyton.

Instead of running from those uncomfortable situations, let’s run towards them. Bring it on!

2. Devote Yourself to Intense Preparation

This is a big one for Peyton. Even though this is his 18^th season in the NFL, he still works his
be-hind off like it’s his first year. Peyton reviews tape intensely, works out like a madman, and works to figure out all the variables so that on game day he is as ready as possible for whatever the opposing team may bring into the stadium.

And that’s how it should be for us too, especially since we have such a high stakes game to play everyday.

Make sure your lessons are tight, copies are made, and all materials are accounted for.

Make time to plan for your coaching convos – think through the focus questions you want to ask, anticipate what your coachee might say in response and how you’ll direct the conversation from there. Identify a small, actionable next step that will really make a difference

3. Be Prepared to Adjust

The reality is, that no matter how well planned you are, things won’t always go just as you had envisioned. And you’ll need to adjust.

The ability to adjust, is the ability to be responsive to whatever you may have observed or anything that has changed in the moment you’re in.

This is a skill, and it’s a good one to practice. Trust your instincts, your professional judgment, and make smart “in the moment” decisions to move your team (students/teachers) and yourself forward.

And this applies to bigger picture stuff too. There may be a change in leadership or a new curriculum to roll-out. Things are always changing, especially in education, but that’s ok.

We’re prepared to adjust.

4. Invest in a Coach

Since Peyton’s been playing so long, you’d think he wouldn’t need or want a coach anymore right? Nope.

As Peyton said in his Leadercast talk, “As soon as someone stops wanting to be coached, taught or mentored they are in trouble. The landscape of the sports field changes, just as the landscape of your business. Coaching keeps you on the top of your game.”

Say it Peyton!

And coaches, don’t forget – we need coaches too. Do your best to seek this out. Ask for feedback, learn from others, and keep working to get better.

5. Become a Master Observer

As coaches, we have the unique opportunity to visit several classrooms each week. To see different teachers deliver different lessons, and then watch how kids engage in the work.

As teachers, we have the special opportunity to be a part of a classroom full of unique learners, sorting through all kinds of different work and learning.

And there is so much to learn from each of these moments.

You just have to pay attention.

When you become a master observer in this way, as Peyton is, constantly seeking to figure things out, you’re able to gather so much super valuable “data” that will help you be a better leader for your team.

6. Build Relationships and Instill Trust

“Trust does not come from the position occupied by the leader. It is earned by example and over time.”

Oooo. That’s a tweet-able. Tweet tweet.

Building relationships and instilling trust is the foundation of all the work you do in classrooms and with teachers. Without it, you don’t have much.

So, what do you think – are you one of the Game Changers in your school?

Let me know which of these traits really hits home with you in the comments below.

For me…I’m not sure I’m Peyton Manning status yet, but I’m going to keep working at it.

And you better know I’ll be rocking my Peyton Manning jersey at school today, and also screaming loudly for a Broncos victory this weekend.

Go Broncos!!

P.S. If you thought this post was fun to read, and others might enjoy reading it as well, I would really appreciate it if you shared it with your friends using the buttons below. Thanks!

P.P.S If you don’t like Peyton Manning or the Broncos…say what??!! But ok, fine. We can still be friends. Maybe just not this weekend :)

Ms. Houser

Inspiring and Motivating Instructional Coaches and Teachers with Tips and Resources

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