Friday Reflections

I valued  Francisco and Lucy’s presentation earlier this week on our  ELs. District 100 is fortunate to   have both of them who   dedicate so much to helping all of us meet the needs of   our ELLs. A  special shout   out to Francisco   – he  has the same back story   as do many of our students -  Francisco’s story is a great story of the   American   immigrant.    He grew up in   Nicaragua speaking mainly Spanish and had to learn English while being immersed   into the   American culture. And now, Francisco is teaching us how to best   support our EL students.  Bravo,   Francisco – you have   some “creds” on the subject of ELs.   Francisco   and Lucy’s presentation included a wealth of information – much of the   information I have heard before, but I   have to admit that I need more exposure   to how ELLs learn the language of school. Studies sugges...

Kayla teaching her class One of the highlights of my week was participating in a kindergarten math lesson taught by Kayla.  Kayla is building math lessons on a template called The Three Acts of a Mathematical Lesson; two attachments give an explanation of each act along with a worksheet to be used with students. Kayla’s lesson certainly motivated me to uncover some of the basics of Three Acts. Use a picture of video from everyday life or a picture from a book/textbook that piques mathematical interest Kayla used a video of her handing jelly beans to someone;  enclosed is Kayla’s power point for her lesson . Act 1 – Ask a question about the visual – In Kayla’s world of five year olds – the burning question is  How many jelly beans did she give her friend? As you move into more challenging scenarios perhaps such questions as  How many red jelly beans...

Coaching   – “Every teacher can get better every day”.   What a powerful message for us – it’s a positive message about one’s ability to grow as a teacher.  It’s safe to say that we won’t grow without reflecting on what is working and what is not working to help our students achieve.  And,  coaching  can and should help teachers hone lessons and implement direct instruction strategies that will increase student achievement. Goodwin, Gibson, Lewis, and Rouleau in their recently published book –UNSTUCK How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School supports the case for bringing in a coach in a small team setting to help teachers such as our second grade math teachers plan and improve math instruction.  One of their basic premises is that “teachers need to learn new ideas and see them modeled, often over and over again....

Janet showing her students how to walk in the halls Classroom management  is a critical skill, and a skill that was in full display these first few days of school as I moved about Irving.   I am in awe of lines of well behaved students moving through the hallway, students sitting in circles, posters displaying classroom jobs, charts explaining behavioral expectations - the hum of well managed classes. All of us know strong teachers who have classroom management skills in spades. One such teacher in our midst is Janet, our veteran kindergarten teacher.   She is excellent at managing her classroom of five year olds! And, she has stepped out of her comfort zone and teamed up with Kayla this year; Kayla take notes - because Janet is a master at teaching critical procedures that set the stage for the important teaching that will happen for the rest of the year. And, Janet is sharing her expertise on procedures to some of our new teachers in a small group setting.  Th...