It's that time of year again! It's time to get to know our students and gather all that baseline data so that we can monitor growth, pinpoint struggles, and search for ways to challenge our students. When it comes to reading our assessments can run the gambit from computer based tests, to timed fluency assessments, to paper-pencil tasks. BUT, do these sorts of assessments REALLY tell us how our students read?
Do you want to really KNOW your students as readers?
Would you make time for an assessment for your students that could tell you...
About their fluency,
About their expression and phrasing,
About their problem solving strategies,
Whether they attend to punctuation,
Whether they use picture clues,
How well they know sight words,
How they attack new words,
If they are reading on grade level,
If they read with accuracy,
AND
Their level of confidence about reading in general???
Of course you would! And it's really VERY simple!
WOW! We can learn SO MUCH about our students just by taking the time to listen to them read!
It's worth the time and effort because listening to our students read is the only way to truly assess their reading on an individualized level. Do you make time to listen to your students read?
When I learned about using an Alphabet CHART instead of flashcards at my last reading interventionist training I thought, "This is SO simple and makes SO much sense! Why didn't I think of this?!?" Of course any mind-blowing thing I learn I have to share... I believe we should ALL share ideas and resources... interventionists and classroom teachers are all on the same team.
Using an Alphabet Chart instead of flashcards for practicing letters fosters lots of pre-reading skills:
Concept of Word vs. Letter
Tricky Sight Word "the"
Left-Right Directionality
Top-Bottom Directionality
1:1 Correspondence
Tracking
Using Picture clues
Text-Wrapping
Can ABC flashcards do ALL THAT?!?
Of course, I couldn't share this awesome tidbit
and leave you empty-handed!
Grab a FREE Alphabet Chart for your students HERE!
One of my most favorite parts of teaching Kindergarten and first grade is Calendar Time. It's a wonderful way to start the day with routine, a good time to review math skills, and go over the day's schedule. As a first grade teacher ten years ago, I prided myself on my calendar bulletin board. It was all-inclusive; covering topics from the days of the week to the changing seasons to classroom jobs and everything in between. It was expansive; filling an entire bulletin board! Above all, it was cute, color-coordinated and trendy. (Of course!) I loved that board and the time my students and I would spend every morning reviewing concepts, sharing, and prepping for the day ahead.
When I returned to the classroom from an intervention position to teach Kindergarten a few years ago I set up the board of all boards! I bought new date cards, learned new songs, created streamlined flip charts, added Velcro to my money chart, and re-bundled my straws for the tens/ones chart. I was determined to make my Calendar Time awesome! I just KNEW my students would LOVE it as much as I did!
BUT, I was SO disappointed!!
My students weren't engaged, weren't singing/playing along, and (worst of all) weren't learning!
I was stumped! What was keeping them from engaging?
In my few short years out of the classroom had Calendar Time become obsolete?!?
Calendar Time in the 21st Century
I knew my techniques, activities, routines were good. I consulted other teachers, read books and articles on the topic and came to only one conclusion...
Calendar Time was the SAME, but my students were DIFFERENT!
They engaged through technology and the lessons I planned that incorporated my SMART Board were quickly becoming their favorites(and my most successful). I knew there had to be a way to
bring my beloved Calendar Time into the 21st Century.
I searched for a program or product that would accomplish what I wanted, but there wasn't much out there. So, I started from scratch and created my first (very primitive) calendar file for the SMART Board. Once I saw how engaged my students were (with the same concepts I was trying to teach using my old-fashioned bulletin board, mind you)... I kicked my creative juices into overdrive, abandoned my bulletin board calendar, and NEVER LOOKED BACK!
I read recently that Calendar Time is a thing of the past and that it is among a list of "Old School" practices that should be stopped... Well, I couldn't disagree more! Since switching to an interactive, SMART Board version I found that my Calendar Time has become even more vital than before! Read all about why calendar is still essential today HERE!
My students learn SO MUCH MORE than the days of the week during Calendar Time now...
They learn calendar basics, weather and season characteristics, celebrate birthdays, and cheer every Friday!
They learn basic math skills and cover standards involving counting, base ten concepts, and graphing!
They learn to use technology to demonstrate what they know and interact with new content!
They work as teams to problem solve, use discussion to explain and communicate, encourage each other through collaboration, and develop leadership skills as they take their turn as calendar leader!
