It's Elementary!: Coaches' Corner

February 1, 2018

Purposes of a Reflective Coaching Conversation

Have you had a coach in your classroom for an observation and then follow up with you asking you all types of questions? You are participating in a Reflective Coaching Conversation. The reason we have these conversations with you is to spend some time reflecting on student work and deepen understanding to enhance future lessons. These conversations happen in five stages:

Ground the Conversation in Student Evidence
Connect the instructional Triangle
Deepen Understanding and Explore Possibilities
Refine or Extend
Reflect on Process

The next three issues will address these stages to help classroom teachers see the purpose of why your coach asks you a lot of questions.

Ground the Conversation in Student Evidence
Using student work as evidence, this process ensures both you and your coach are thinking about content, pedagogy and student learning in the same way. This open dialog between you and your coach facilitates that common understanding to improve student performance.

Your coach will ask you to discuss your objectives by asking questions like:
How did it go?
What were your goals for the lesson?
What did you want students to say or do to let you know it was successful?
What were you hoping students would learn?

You will explore student and teacher evidence:
How did your student work compare to the outcomes you wanted?
What evidence supports that your students understood ________________?
How did you engage students in developing their understanding of __________________ in the lesson?
What does the students' work tell us about students' ability to _____________________ ?

Connect the Instructional Triangle
The conversation reflects on the connections between and among the three points of the Instructional Triangle:

Open-ended Questions:
What are some of your hunches about why students __________________________?
What effect did your ______________________________ have on your student outcomes?
How did you plan for _____________________ for this lesson? How did that influence your students?
Talk to me about your student work in connection to your goals for this lesson?
What effect did your instructional decisions have on the results that you saw in your student work?

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January 3, 2018

Responding to Texts Through Interactive Speaking and Writing Activities

It is not enough to teach children to read, we must give them something worth reading - Katherine Patterson

Read the theory of action for Teaching Literacy in Tennessee in the graphic below. Notice the importance of speaking and writing:

Our PLC training in January will focus on Interactive Speaking and Interactive Writing activities. This training will be centered around three guiding principles:

Text selection is key and it matters
Questioning Sequence is crucial
Tasks must be rigorous and aligned

During this training teachers will receive a week-long lesson plan that incorporates all the areas of Read to be Ready training up to this point:

Interactive Read-Aloud
Shared Reading
Foundational Skills
Interactive Speaking and Listening

December 1, 2017
Testing Resources Available Now

Tennessee Blueprints for 2017-18

Assessment blueprints are designed to show educators a summary of what will be assessed in each grade, including a range of number of items that will address each strand of standards. This resource is designed to help educators as they plan for the upcoming school year.

Link here:

https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/tcap-blueprints

Practice Tests

TDOE and Randa Solutions

Keep checking Ed Tools (Randa Solutions) for released test preparation materials. Currently you can find Grade 2 assessment item samplers for ELA and Math, 3-5 standards alignment guide (what question goes with what standard) and practice tests for ELA, Math and Science, as well as essay anchor sets for sub part 1 test.

The log-in link is here:

https://tdoe.randasolutions.com/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

Released New York Test Questions

The state of New York has released questions used on the 2017 ELA and math grades 3-8 New York state tests. The tests are based on common core standards which are aligned very closely to Tennessee state standards. Anderson County 3, 4, and 5th grade common assessments are built from these questions. This is an excellent resource to use when designing assessments for your classroom.

https://www.engageny.org/resource/released-2017-3-8-ela-and-mathematics-state-test-questions

All of these resources and more can be found in the "Testing Resources" folder in your google drive. Academic Coach, Amy Charles, shared this resource with everyone Monday, November 27.

April 4, 2017

As we head into the heart of testing season, keep sight on what is most important about our profession. TN Ready will reflect months of hard work and preparation, but it is the un-measurable part of our job that makes the biggest impact. Walk into your classroom full of confidence in your teaching and your students' abilities. In Anderson County we do impact Every Student, Every Day. Here are some words of encouragement by Kid President:

February 24, 2017

Shared Reading and the Gradual Release of Responsibility Instructional Framework

Scaffolding, scaffolding, scaffolding...is the name of the game! Teachers can strengthen their reading workshop by utilizing different strategies to teach the reading process. We have been charged by the state to teach the TN State Standards, which is laid out in the app that was highlighted last month. Time in text practicing the reading process is imperative! Talk with your coach for more on these teaching strategies.

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December 31, 2016

View the Tennessee State Core Standards in one convenient FREE app! A great reference for teachers, parents, and students to easily read and understand the standards. Quickly find and search standards by subject, grade level, and key word. Available in both Android and Apple.

Guaranteed Curriculum links for the 3rd Nine Weeks

Kindergarten
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GsSt5ewZTTzjvLuS6BOrbITL6AjexrK9BEXcMA89oO4/edit

First Grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pYCcaZ4IW3nNp5yypTnTkfGFmH3O8bDsOAS6_wNEh-s/edit

Second Grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nfrYhLQtRA6QH1O87ruE_myl1-0KabACxmUWLB4Gqa4/edit

Third Grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yjUuFAZolU0182_6bSIEN5WVP9aFwh1FcxtD2eIhidg/edit

Fourth Grade
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HFMabrUhis2mPYCgtwFsCmdvm_fj3ua9tImXG3yUWEw/edit#gid=866946303

Fifth Grade

November 30, 2016

Interactive Read-Aloud Suggestions

From Jackie Byrge:

Seeing the Elephant is a way of figuratively saying that one wants to experience the world but great risk could be involved in doing so. Izzie wants to join the Union Army with his older brothers, but he isn’t old enough. The closest Izzie comes to battle is the hospital in Washington while traveling there with his aunt who is a nurse. When he meets a wounded soldier, his entire outlook on the war and the cause is shifted. Izzie has a chance to See the Elephant, but not in the way he had first imagined.

This book is currently available at Briceville Elementary.

Lexile 590L

Do you have family members who live far away? If so, you can connect with the theme of The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. A good old-fashioned family reunion takes place with lots of good hugs, good talk, and good food. The family is happy to be together for a short time but sad to leave. There’s always the hope of next summer.

This book is currently available at Andersonville, Briceville, Dutch Valley, Fairview, Lake City, and Norwood Elementary.

Lexile AD940L

From Erin Ahlstedt:

The Sweetest Fig

By: Chris Van Allsburg

Lexile Level: AD (adult-directed) 530

Sharing this book with your students will be time well spent! The Sweetest Fig is written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. It follows the pattern of many of his beloved books, where dreams and reality mix and mingle together throughout the story. This gives opportunities for kids to infer, both on the main character Monsieur Bibot’s character, as well as the events that happen throughout the story. They will crack up and be kept wondering as he wanders down the street, only to realize he is in his underwear, then question what is happening along with Bibot as they see the Eiffel Tower drooped over to one side. This book lends itself well to determining the lesson of a story, and Bibot learns one for himself toward the end!

There are some chances for cross-curricular connections, as the story does take place in Paris, France. Students can learn about the Eiffel Tower, and Bastille Day is referenced as well. Vocabulary opportunities are throughout this story, with words such as luxury and reconstruction.

This book is available at: Andersonville, Claxton, Grand Oaks, Fairview, and Lake City.

From Dara Wade:

The Most Famous Duel in American History Comes to the Broadway Stage

Have you seen the new hit musical, Hamilton? Chances are no since they are the most popular tickets to hit Broadway since Cats and Les Miserable. However, now is a great time to bring this fascinating story to your classroom. Alexander Hamilton has never been hotter!

Lexile 890L

Aaron and Alexander, written and illustrated by Don Brown, is an excellent book to use for an informational interactive read-aloud about this famous incident in our history. This topic has never been more timely. Did you know Aaron Burr was vice president at the time he shot Alexander Hamilton? Scoundrels in the top offices are not a new thing!

The book is told in a compare/contrast format. The illustrations are engaging and the text on each page is not overpowering. Vocabulary opportunities are present in this book, especially the word despicable.

This book is currently available at Norris and Lake City Elementaries.

Lexile 910

This is also an excellent book on the subject. It is also told in a compare/contrast format. It is not as engaging as Aaron and Alexander, but it does go into greater detail about why these two men grew to hate each other. It would be an excellent companion to Aaron and Alexander. Read to find out why dispicable was the word that changed a nation.

This book is currently available at Briceville, Grand Oaks, Lake City, Norris and Norwood Elementaries.

October 31, 2016

Second Grade Spring Assessment

Second Grade students in Anderson County Schools will be taking the optional grade 2 state assessment. The assessment is designed to take the place of SAT-10; however, it will differ in that it is

criterion referenced as opposed to norm referenced. It will only assess Tennessee State Standards providing Tennessee teachers, leaders, parents, and community members information on how our students are performing at the end of their second grade year on Tennessee specific standards. Because it assesses the full breadth of the standards, the data will be highly beneficial in determining how students are progressing through/towards mastering the standards. Most importantly, the grade 2 assessment measures the standards in a way that reflects classroom instruction.

Informational Brochure link:
https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/tst_grade_2_assessment_brochure.pdf

Second Grade Writing Rubric:

https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/grade-2-assessment

Practice materials will be release in November.

Second Nine Weeks Guaranteed Curriculum

Please click on the following links to see the guaranteed curriculum for your grade level. Common Assessments will be coming out in the next couple of weeks.

Kindergarten:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oe2BFNSW6c8j6YD1e1NK6LhgQB_Lu7dGLKz3wXZevT4/edit

First Grade:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19FBg5rFS8AyeB2QvkKyUc9zAGsFjCdcDUDo3Wh5qExU/edit

Second Grade:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PVXiTyZuOHsGxn6YKfYtF6LcnrDDRthhU5TqTvnQY_s/edit

Third Grade:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BpYVSma933UJi9a6L8oI7xlXvQHGsn-9EBNQCI3SNtE/edit

Fourth Grade:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17yk-xzOkAX2bW_vqg7ENLCAcm_Htkn1qT4tstW5T07o/edit

Fifth Grade:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wa0nBw4_Jsm8JKqAVX9JdRrD4GUF-I2zbrSbUnZz-TA/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs

September 30, 2016

First Nine Weeks Assessments

Guaranteed Curriculum Common Assessments:

As the first nine weeks comes to a close, teachers will need to prepare for guaranteed curriculum common assessments. Each grade level will have assessments to complete. Guaranteed curriculum team members or academic coaches will be able to assist teachers with their preparations and recording of assessment results.

K-2 Fall Narrative Writing Assessments

Starting the first week of October, kindergarten, first grade and second grade teachers will be having students write to a narrative prompt. Grade level teams can score students' writing once school returns after Fall Break. Scores will be due by the end of October.

Below are the links to the writing prompts:

Kindergarten

I Can Prompt
https://acsac.sharepoint.com/K-5Assessements/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B8E1A27F2-E8BC-4E61-90C4-996D42AA4275%7D&file=Kindergarten%20Fall%20Prompt%20I%20Can%20NARRATIVE.doc&action=default&IsList=1&ListId=%7B0564F73C-0649-4FE1-8D63-E8A1D2DCDE86%7D&ListItemId=37

"I Can" Book:
https://acsac.sharepoint.com/K-5Assessements/Shared%20Documents/Writing/Fall/I%20Can%20-%20book.pdf

First Grade

Knuffle Bunny Prompt:
https://acsac.sharepoint.com/K-5Assessements/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B50715E81-74FD-4396-BB55-9650BC048AF1%7D&file=1st%20Grade%20Fall%20prompt%20Knuffle%20Bunny%20NARRATIVE.doc&action=default&IsList=1&ListId=%7B0564F73C-0649-4FE1-8D63-E8A1D2DCDE86%7D&ListItemId=29

Second Grade

Lost Tooth Prompt:
https://acsac.sharepoint.com/K-5Assessements/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=%7BE1BE7746-6807-4258-949E-E73786E386E4%7D&file=2nd%20Grade%20Fall%20Prompt%20Lost%20Tooth%20NARRATIVE.doc&action=default&IsList=1&ListId=%7B0564F73C-0649-4FE1-8D63-E8A1D2DCDE86%7D&ListItemId=30