Standard 4

Standard 4

Uses strategies to deliver instruction that meets the multiple learning needs of students.

a. Aligns classroom instruction with local standards and district curriculum.

Each week while creating lesson I include the standard next to the activity in which I am teaching. I create the activity based on the standards for the quarter that need to be taught. Doing this allows me to "keep the end in mind" as we say in my classroom thanks to 7 Habits. Including the standards helps keep me focused and align my teaching to the districts curriculum.

 

Last year I did not include the standard, and I feel that it is very beneficial for me. I think more about what I am teaching and I am also more comfortable with the standards I am supposed to teach.

(2017) During the last two years we have updated our math series, and adopted a new reading series. I was very excited for these changes! Both were already aligned with the Common Core Standards which has made planning for instruction and assessments much easier. Prior to these changes, I was scrounging around for different resources and lessons. Often the stories we read in class were not always connected to the spelling patterns and vocabulary of other activities and lessons. The new series for reading and the updated version of Everyday Math are not only aligned with our Common core, but everything is there! 

Our grade level team worked to align the chapters of both reading and math to our report cards. This way we knew that as we taught the chapters in order we would be teaching students the standards and what they needed. The lessons in reading also connect the weekly stories with the content vocabulary, phonics, writing and grammar lessons. This is a tremendous help for planning and instructing.

Here is a layout of the standards for a week from the Wonders Series

For each of our math lessons the standards are presented and it shows what is assessed during the lesson as well. 

b. Uses research-based instructional strategies that address the full range of cognitive levels.

 I utilize my LETRS training which is a literary strategy to teach graphemes and phonemes together so that students understand letter and sound relationships. All abilities are reached when using LETRS phonics activities because it help students understand how to read words and why different letters together make different sounds. I use sound boxes each week when new phonemes are taught. These help students see what letters go together to make a single sound. We typically do this on marker boards so that we can manipulate the letters easily. Words of various levels can be used in the sound boxes. Students are able more easily spell words when thinking about what letters would go in the boxes together.

Here is a simple example of the word "this". The TH goes in a single box to help students understand it is one sound. The i and s are in separate boxes because they each make their own sound.

(2019) - Sight word instruction routine

Explicit Instruction routine: 2018-2019

*Before each lesson the class and I would review all previously learned and mastered words.

Day 1 - Introduce the word - Discuss syllable type and decide if it follows / does not follow the rule

• T Says the word   S Repeats the word  (3x) 
• T - Use word in a sentence - S repeats the sentence 
• 3  - 5 sentences. 
• Spell the word  - Sky Write 
• Spell the word - Fun Way
• Spell the word with eyes closed 
• Add word to sight word dictionary

Day 2 - 

• Review syllable type

• T Says the word   S Repeats the word  (2x) 
• S repeats the sentence 
• 3  - 5 sentences. 
• Spell the word  - Sky Write 
• Spell the word - Fun Way
• Spell the word with eyes closed 
• 
  

Day 3  - Read /write / erase / write /erase  - Routine 

• T - Writes the word. S - Writes the words on WBs. All - erase the word. All - Write the word together. T - Checks for correct spelling.  All - Erase. S - Writes 3 more times erasing in between each word. T - Checking students work. 
• Review all sight words and place in pocket chart based on syllable types
• Rapid reading if time

Day 4- 

(For each word) - Keep up the quick pace! 

• T- says the sentence 
• S - repeats the sentence 
• T - dictates 1/2 of sentence 
• S - Writes the words on their white board
• T- Says rest of words
• S - Writes rest of the words
• T - Writes one word at a time on the board 
• S - Checks for errors. X off words and rewrite if misspelled. 
• T - Checks students work 
• 
  

Day 5 - Review words

• Sight word stations
• Spelling / Sight word assessment 

This was the daily routine I used in class for sight word instruction. I used an adapted version of Anita Archers Explicit instruction routines. Explicit instruction help students who are low learners have a clear understanding of what is going on. Keeping the same routine each week took out the 'guess' work for students so that they could put their focus on the words they were learning. I also used a Gradual Release of Responsibly concept within the routine so that I could model for my students correct pronunciations and spellings. This allows for students to feel successful in their work.

c. Demonstrates flexibility and responsiveness in adjusting instruction to meet student needs.

(2012)This is a lesson that I created in order to help re-teach retelling of a story using first, next and last. The second part implying what happened in the middle of the story. Prior to this lesson I taught a similar lesson. Students had a hard time deciding what would be in the middle of the story. I realized that when they heard "second" they thought that was the second thing that happened, not necessarily what happened in the middle. I re-taught the lesson giving more clear directions and using the gradual release model. This way students could see me doing part of it, and we could do part as a whole group, before they were on their own.

This walk thought started as students went to their seats to begin the writing process of the assignment.

https://docs.google.com/a/fairfieldsfuture.org/file/d/0BxU0ncIPGuG3bTFtLVI5Uzk4ZmM/edit?usp=sharing

(2017) Lani Boyd is our Data coach. One of her jobs was to view lessons teachers were delivering using the Wonders reading series. Lani stopped in my classroom in the middle of the lesson. Students were participating in learning the sight words of the week using the sight word routine (Read it, spell it, use it) Following the lesson I was instructing students on how to fill out the Wonders workbook page to practice their words.

d. Engages students in varied experiences that meet diverse needs and promote social, emotional, and academic growth.

This is a walk through I had right after a daily five rotation. Students are involved in different activities during our daily five time. These include: word work, listen to reading, read to self, read to someone, and work on writing. The students and I first discuss what the expectations are during this time, then after we come back together and have a "check in" this is a time for students to self reflect on their own behaviors. This is done d and individually. The different stations help students grow both academically and socially. Some times they will be with a partner other times they will be individually.

I enjoy using the Daily Five steps in order to teach different aspects of literacy. The student love the different options and are often disappointed when we miss one of the rotations. We also incorporate why each one of the stations are important to our learning and why we need to focus on the different aspects.

Here is a link to the walk through form stating we finished with a Daily Five rotation and what students are doing: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxU0ncIPGuG3VkIxRk55YlFQR28

This is a students writing sample during our write to self time. Students are given a topic based on our writing standards for the quarter.

(2017) One of the most difficult parts of having students conduct research is finding reading materials that meet the needs of all levels of reading. In prior years when doing research projects I would partner students up based on their reading level. Students that were higher readers, would pair up with similar abilities. I would often take the low students and help them. This adds a bit of a stigma to the students and it affects their confidence level.  

These ladies did research on an ocean habitat.

This year with the new reading series and in conjunction with online resources I am able to mix groups up more with confidence that they are all able to be active participants in learning. One of our reading units focuses on animal habitats. The book had multiple stores we read together on animal habitats. There were guided reading books that had four different levels of reading and they were all about different animal habitats. Our AEA also provides some wonderful resources for us. I like using a website called "PebbleGo" for student research. The website has a lot of great information and if students do not feel confident in their reading, the website will read aloud the words for them! This allows all learners to engage in the content.

This is a screenshot from the PebbleGo website. Very user friendly for elementary students! 

e. Connects students’ prior knowledge, life experiences, and interests in the instructional process.

Each week in our reading series there is a short story that we will read multiple times through out the week. Before reading the story, I try to find out what students already know about the topic and discuss where we have seen or heard about the subject of the story. This particular story was about bugs who interrupt two students picnic. We discussed what kind of bugs we might see here in Iowa if we had a picnic. Students were able to tell me about many of the bugs they knew and which ones they liked or didn't like.

This helps students make a connection to our story and it helps me see where more background information might be needed.

 The highlighted area shows where I included building background directly into my plans.

f. Uses available resources, including technologies, in the delivery of instruction.

(2012) One of the great things about living in today's world is the access to resources available. It is great being able to talk about a specific area then finding in on an interactive globe through google earth. It is also fun to find videos of places where students have never seen before in order to build on to their background knowledge before teaching about a story. Books being read by the author or images of a historic landmark are at our finger tips. I love to bring in as many experiences as I can into my lessons and technology helps me do that with out a large cost.

This is a mimio that I created and a co-teacher helped add on to. I use mimio presentations to store my resources or display my main points in order to help keep me on track and to help students visually see what I am talking about. This particular presentation was used to teach about holidays around the world. Each slide has web-links and articles connecting to different holiday traditions. While presenting each image can be clicked on and it takes you to the site or book. This was very beneficial in helping students understand the different traditions and customs that people celebrate around the world. The last one is a link to a map to help students understand where Mexico is in relation to Fairfield Iowa. Before teaching about different regions or countries I would show students the map in order to help them understand the distance from our school to where we are talking about.

(2017) This year each classroom received a Promethean board. I use this ALL of the time. I love it for our reading and math series lessons. They are both interactive with the board. Students enjoy using the pen as well.

I found and adapted a calendar presentation that we use in the morning. Our Q1 and Q2 standards have connections to days of the week, months of the year, and seasons. This is perfect to connect our standards to real life application. Students are able to run the pen and fill in the calendar components. I also include other math standards. We count the days of the school year. Students are them able to apply place value. We use money to show the number of the day as well. Our science standards connect to weather and patterns through the year. Each morning we also check the weather and quickly discuss the season.