# data[].attributes.headline
Have you created the right conditions for coaching?

# data[].attributes.subject
Have you created the right conditions for coaching?

# data[].attributes.body
How School Leaders Create the Conditions for Effective Coaching

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Isobel Stevenson and Sarah Woulfin

Douglas McGregor, an MIT management professor, described organizational culture in terms of Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X says that workers have to be monitored before they will do what they're supposed to be doing, rewarded for doing a good job, and punished when they make mistakes or underperform. Theory Y rests on an entirely different set of beliefs about people: that almost all of us are doing the best we know how to do; that we are motivated to feel competent and, therefore, want to improve; and that we learn best from experience, reflection, and collaboration with colleagues.

Theory Y beliefs engender a respectful, learning-centered, and trusting culture that is foundational for all improvement efforts, not only coaching. Establishing such a culture is a leadership responsibility, and, without it, there is likely to be little meaningful coaching-or any other kind of collegial work.

At the same time, a coaching culture is wasted unless leaders design and implement positive conditions for coaching. We focus on ways school leaders can establish the four conditions that help coaches transform leading, teaching, and schooling:

1. A strong model of high-quality instruction

2. A strong model of coaching

3. A strong model to build capacity for coaching

4. A strong system of logistics

A Strong Model of High-Quality Instruction

When we work with districts on their plans for coaching, our first question is always, "Is there a shared understanding of what good instruction looks like in your district?" The responses vary and may include a laundry list of district professional development, a referral to the district's teacher evaluation rubric, or a blank look. Very rarely do we get the answer we would like to hear: "Yes, we have worked to clarify our definition of high-quality instruction, which is now the focus of all our professional learning efforts, and is aligned across key district documents, including but not limited to our teacher evaluation model, our intervention model, and our strategic plan."

Providing educators with a model for what we believe to be the very best instruction for all students should be our moral imperative, and anything that doesn't fall under that definition should be let go. If everyone is working on the same pedagogy, it becomes possible to collect data about what is working and adjust quickly by providing supports where needed. Further, having a shared vision for high-quality instruction shifts coaches from being the person to whom teachers should pay attention because they were good teachers, to being the person who helps teachers achieve the district's definition of good instruction. In the first case, the teacher is subservient to the expert. In the second case, the coach is in service to the teacher.

A Strong Model of Coaching

In many districts, the model for coaching does not go beyond hiring successful teachers as coaches and asking them to help teachers improve. This is, of course, not wrong, but it is incomplete. We ask district leaders, teachers, and coaches to answer the question: "Under what circumstances would coaching work?" This question quickly generates a long list of ideas, such as: when coaches get good training and don't have to invent everything from scratch; when teachers don't feel that there's a stigma attached to coaching; when there are regular times to meet so that coaches aren't seen as a drain on teachers' precious time; when principals are supportive, and so on. This type of list can form the backbone of a robust coaching model.

Districts should create specific job descriptions for coaches that can drive not only the hiring and selection of coaches, but the focus of coaches' work. These descriptions can support coaches in concentrating efforts on high-leverage activities, such as observation cycles in classrooms and analyzing student work with teams of teachers, rather than being spread thin conducting operational duties such as coordinating testing, substitute teaching, and bus duty. We have seen how coach job descriptions also provide clarification for principals and teachers on the nuts and bolts of coaches' work.

A Strong Model to Build Capacity for Coaches

Coach preparation should encompass not only the fundamentals of coaching (observing, listening, questioning, providing feedback), but more nuanced roles for coaches like coaching teams, designing and leading professional development, analyzing data, and navigating resistance. Coaches should participate in ongoing, high-quality professional learning addressing curriculum and instruction, adult learning, evidence-based decision making, and strategic communication.

In several districts, we've seen the benefits of coach professional learning communities-with coaches sharing problems of practice and discussing evidence on how their work is contributing to positive change. Further, professional learning for coaches should model the principles of coaching and adult learning, encouraging learning-by-doing, reflection, and growth. To continue to build capacity for coaches, we suggest system leaders reflect on who coaches the instructional coaches and how coaches are being coached.

We believe teachers and leaders can benefit from training on coaching, as well. Not only would it help build understanding of, and thus investment in, coaching; these skills-listening, asking good questions, and giving and receiving feedback-also serve teachers and school leaders.

A Strong System of Logistics

Coaches and leaders must work together to create structures and guidelines that enable coaches to be effective. As instructional leaders, principals make a difference in designing schedules and calendars with designated time for coaches to facilitate trainings for teams of teachers. Other logistics, such as union contracts and the coach's role in educator evaluation systems affect coaches' work and will need ongoing problem solving and support from school leaders.

A Coach-Forward Principal in Action

To create a picture of what these four conditions could look like in operation, we share the example of Principal Ramirez*. She starts off the year, as she does every year, by introducing the school's instructional coach.
"You all know Diana*, who has been an integral part of the school's instructional improvement work for four years now. I know I say this every year, but I think it's important to repeat: I had a coach for my first two years as a principal. He saved my life a couple of times and made me much better at my job. I still call him. Having a coach is a gift and Diana is a gifted coach." "Our instructional focus continues to be classroom formative assessment and we intend to build on the work we did last year on learning intentions and success criteria. I've asked Diana to lead several professional learning activities in support of that goal, including some collaborative lesson design as well as individual coaching. She will give you more information about that later this morning, but first let me explain how the schedule for coaching is going to work this year ..."
Through these and other remarks during the year, the teachers at West Elementary are very clear that Ramirez sees Diana as central to the work of the school, is a fan of coaching in general and of Diana in particular; and has built a schedule that puts coaching front and center. Everyone knows that Diana is there to help lead the targeted work of professional learning in the school and not as a generic support for teachers.

At West, Diana is part of the instructional leadership team. She collects data on student performance and on classroom instruction, not to share information about individual students or individual teachers, but to aggregate information that helps the team decide what exactly the focus of their next PLC or professional development day should be. Additionally, Ramirez updates Diana on any shifts from central office so that Diana can incorporate those into her thinking and side-by-side work with teachers. As a partnership, Ramirez and Diana work on creating coherence for teachers about instructional expectations.

Principals play a key role in creating conditions for coaching, including a strong instructional model, robust coaching model, quality capacity building around coaching, and technical supports for coaching. As revealed by the leadership moves of Principal Ramirez, this takes knowledge, tactics, and time. We need to prepare and support principals so that they are ready to foster a positive coaching culture and the right conditions for coaching. When leaders set up supportive conditions for coaching, coaches get to be the superheroes of instructional improvement.
*Names are pseudonyms.
Isobel Stevenson is the director of organizational learning at the Connecticut Center for School Change in Hartford, Conn. She is the author of the weekly newsletter The Coaching Letter.

Sarah Woulfin is an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Connecticut. Using a research-practice partnership approach, she studies the role of district and school leaders in instructional reform. Previously, she served as a Reading First reading coach in East Palo Alto, Calif.

ASCD Express, Vol. 15, No. 06. Copyright 2019 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How School Leaders Create the Conditions for Effective Coaching

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Isobel Stevenson and Sarah Woulfin Douglas McGregor, an MIT management professor, described organizational culture in terms of Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X says that workers have to be monitored before they will do what they're supposed to be doing, rewarded for doing a good job, and punished when they make mistakes or underperform.

# data[].attributes.headline
Increasing Metacognitive Skills in our classrooms

# data[].attributes.subject
Increasing Metacognitive Skills in our classrooms

# data[].attributes.body
Tips for Building Metacognitive Muscle in our students. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Craig Simmons

Thinking is something we do constantly, even as we slumber. Continuously seeking to make connections, meaning, and sense of stimuli, the brain is never at rest. Because the brain is always in a state of activity, one of our responsibilities-as educators-is to teach students how to think and how to regulate this activity. The process of being aware of and manipulating one's thinking is defined as metacognition. Throughout the school day, there are many opportunities to develop students' metacognitive skills.

Let Students See and Hear It

There is power in providing students with a think aloud that includes a clear model. Why? It gives students insight into your thought process. Similar to the writing process, a think aloud gives teachers an opportunity to demonstrate how to plan (prewrite), carry out (draft), monitor (proofread), and adjust (revise) thinking. Coupled with a clear model (showing students how to do it), a think aloud provides students with the experience necessary to approach similar situations appropriately.

Students can practice think alouds to bring awareness to their own thought processes. Not only will the students benefit, you-the teacher-can use the information as formative data to determine subsequent instructional steps.

Math Talk

Considering there are often multiple pathways to arrive at a solution, math activities create many opportunities for students to showcase their thinking. One way to do this is by creating a culture of learning in which students explain and demonstrate their thought process; they can do this while they are solving a problem or even after. Be sure to allow multiple students to share. If their thought processes are disparate, great! Students will be able to hear and see the diversity of thinking among their peers.

Monitoring Reading Comprehension

An effective reader demonstrates understanding of what he or she reads. For comprehension to take place, however, the reader must be cognizant of his or her understanding of the text. Monitoring and clarifying-a metacognitive skill-is a reading strategy that a good reader naturally applies. This strategy focuses on two aspects: awareness and regulation. The reader monitors and regulates his or her comprehension by

Noticing when something does not make sense;

Realizing that he or she is confused;

Knowing when to slow down and reread.

Teachers can showcase these strategies by-you guessed it-providing a think aloud model of monitoring and regulating comprehension while reading. You can also ask students to share instances when they have applied these strategies and how it helped them understand the text.

Experimenting and Thinking in Science

Like math, science experiments are ideal for building metacognitive muscle, as monitoring and adjusting thinking are an integral part of the scientific method. While students are investigating and conducting their experiments in class, teachers have ideal opportunities to ask questions:

What new questions do you have? Why?

What was an initial thought you had that changed? Why?

What do you need to do next? Why?

What do you need to do over? Why?

Would it be a good idea to change variable x? Why or why not?

In asking such questions, students must think about their thinking, revise their thinking, and even consider the effects of their decision-making.

Self-Assessment and the Independent Learner

Developing and creating independent learners is a common phrase found in the mission of schools, globally. For students to be effective, independent learners, however, they must have metacognitive muscles. Why? He or she will have to constantly self-assess and make decisions in order to reach learning goals. For example, the independent learner will need to continually

Monitor where he or she is in relation to the goal;

Monitor what is working;

Monitor challenges he or she has experienced and think about challenges he or she will likely experience;

Monitor gaps in learning;

Think about the resources and supports that will be needed to attain the goal.

The brain is always doing one thing: thinking. As educators, one of our responsibilities is to teach students how to think when they are in academic situations. Throughout any given school day, we have many opportunities to teach metacognition and to provide students with metacognitive practice. If we do, we can help students strengthen the muscle that can lead to better decision-making and increased learning.

Craig Simmons (@_craigasimmons) is a turnaround instructional coach in Atlanta Public Schools and owner of CAP Curriculum Educational Consulting and Services, LLC.

More on This Topic: The Student Who Taught Me the Power of Metacognition

ASCD Express, Vol. 15, No. 07. Copyright 2019 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Craig Simmons Thinking is something we do constantly, even as we slumber. Continuously seeking to make connections, meaning, and sense of stimuli, the brain is never at rest. Because the brain is always in a state of activity, one of our responsibilities-as educators-is to teach students how to think and how to regulate this activity.

# data[].attributes.headline
How should you spend your time as a coach? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How should you spend your time as a coach? 

# data[].attributes.body
The following article, Instructional coaching - Learning Forward, shows research data related to how we should spend our time as coaches. As you read the article, reflect on how your currently spend your time and set one goal to prioritize how you spend your time each day. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instructional coaching - Learning Forward

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Infographic answers the questions: How prevalent are coaches and how do they spend their time?

# data[].attributes.headline
Scaffolding Strategies that lead to Deeper 
Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Scaffolding Strategies that lead to Deeper 
Learning

# data[].attributes.body
Six Thinking Scaffolds That Can Move Students Toward Deeper Levels of Understanding | MindShift | KQED News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Grotzer and a team (Nancy Oriol, Stephanie Kang, Colby Moore Reilly, and Julie Joyal) looked at the Harvard Medical School MEDscience curriculum, founded by Oriol, that uses technology-mediated, problem-based learning simulations to enrich the experience of high school biology students.

Joyal - executive director for MEDscience - and the team noticed that as their problem-based curriculum progressed, students changed the way they approached problems. Rather than waiting for the teacher to give them answers, they made hypotheses based on existing knowledge, discussed their thoughts with their teams, and took risks - all signs of deeper-level learning.

To study this shift in classroom behavior, Joyal, Moore Reilly, and Grotzer used a sample of 21 students from a range of public and private schools in the Boston. The research team found that the thinking scaffolds - the prompts and support instructors used to guide students through the curriculum and activities - were instrumental in generating a shift towards more expert-level reasoning.

"We know that experts pay attention to a very different set of patterns than novices often do. Novices get caught up in the surface features and can't necessarily see the deep principles," Grotzer says. "It's really important to think what kind of scaffolding helps people take steps towards greater expertise in their thinking and reasoning."

Taking Students from Novice to Expert

Here are some takeaways from the study that can be used by educators to help move their students from novice to expert level:

Prompt students to include context: Ask questions that prompt students to include what they know already and emphasize the need to seek out further information or clarification. Get them to take a step back from the problem at hand and make connections. "Having students pause to think about the context of the problem - what they already know about it, what questions they have, and with humility, to consider what they don't know - helps them to be open to other patterns and possibilities," Grotzer says.
Try: What information led you to that conclusion? Is there anything that you don't know yet or that you can wonder about?
Ask open-ended questions: Guide students to reconsider an idea without explicitly correcting them. Generic probes work well but more targeted questions also work. "Students are solving [open-ended] problems the moment they come in [to the MedScience simulation space], and I will say that can be a little uncomfortable at first. It's stressful being in this situation. But there's research that [essentially] says if you keep kids on their toes, the information becomes sticky and much more retainable," Joyal says.
Try: What do you mean? Can you say more about that?
Help students transfer knowledge and experience: Have students think back to past experiences and information sources like classroom learning. Also encourage them to consider what is happening in the present moment. "[This is a] pedagogical move that says all of the information and experience you have is useful and you can bring it bear," Grotzer says.
Try: Is there anything that you already understand that might help you here?
Leave room for student ownership: Signal that the choices students make are up to them - the role of the teacher is not to make decisions about what to do next or execute. "Instructors model for students what an expert does but not in a way that takes over," Grotzer says.
Try: That's up to you. I don't know the patient. How are you going to handle that?
Invite and manage risk: Allow students to take risks by not immediately dismissing "wrong" answers. This fosters a strong classroom culture where students are willing to try new methods. "When the kids walk in, we tell them 'This is Harvard Medical School and we have rules. The rules are there are no wrong answers, there's no raising your hand, and if you have a thought, you're going to say it out loud,'" Joyal says, noting that these rules set the tone for the learning environment.
Try: That's a good idea worthy of further discussion.
Encourage reflection: Students need to be reminded that they are not just participants but also learners in this process. "Leaving time for a debrief at the end of each class allows the group to circle back to questions from the class introduction and go deeper," Says Moore Reilly. Instructors can ask students about their performance, thought process, the outcomes, and their feelings.
Try: How did it go for your team? How are you managing your learning?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Six Thinking Scaffolds That Can Move Students Toward Deeper Levels of Understanding | KQED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grotzer and a team (Nancy Oriol, Stephanie Kang, Colby Moore Reilly, and Julie Joyal) looked at the Harvard Medical School MEDscience curriculum, founded by Oriol, that uses technology-mediated, problem-based learning simulations to enrich the experience of high school biology students.

# data[].attributes.body
The following site has model lessons in all content areas by grade level. One suggestion that I have is to watch the grade 1 Reading lesson. It shows a teacher connecting her whole group mini lesson, with her small group instruction and how she implements work stations. There are Math, Science, and Social Studies content on this site as well. If it asks for a login, setting up an account is FREE. I hope that it helps.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Search - Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning & Innovation | Lipscomb University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lipscomb University is a faith-based, liberal arts institution dedicated to challenging students academically, spiritually and as global community citizens.

# data[].attributes.headline
Phonemic Awareness & Phonological Awareness: The Foundation For Literacy | Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read

# data[].attributes.subject
Phonemic Awareness & Phonological Awareness: The Foundation For Literacy | Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read

# data[].attributes.body
Sightwords.com is a FREE tool that can be used to by parents and teachers to ensure that every child learns to read fluently.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Learn about phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and phonemes and why they are so important for learning to read. More

Phonemic awareness is the ability to think about, analyze, and manipulate the sound structure of individual words. This pre-reading skill, also called phonological awareness, will make phonics that much easier for your child. It is the foundation of a child's reading ability - if a child can't hear the individual sounds in a word, he will always struggle to figure out the letters in that word. More
Phonemic awareness is the skill of hearing the difference between bat and mat and understanding that changing the /b/ sound in bat to an /mmm/ sound can create a different word.
↑ Top We at SightWords.com have created a comprehensive curriculum for phonemic awareness instruction. It is intended for parents to use with one child in the home as well as for preschool teachers to use in the classroom. The curriculum is divided into eleven sections, each containing about ten activities and games. All the activities are designed to be short and engaging. Just go through the curriculum in order, as later exercises will build upon the skills learned in earlier exercises. Refer to our Teaching Tips for suggestions on planning lessons and tailoring activities to your child. How long will this take? For typically developing four-year-olds, it takes about ten months, or one school year, to go through the entire Phonemic Awareness Curriculum. More↑ Top Phonemic awareness makes learning to read easier. A child with phonemic awareness can already blend sounds into words, and so she finds phonics more intuitive. When a child can separate words into sounds, spelling (breaking words into letters) becomes easier.
"Teach[ing] phonemic awareness...accelerates reading and writing growth of the entire classroom..."Ingvar Lundberg, "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children"
A typical child entering elementary school with high phonemic awareness is almost certain to become a skilled and confident reader. A child with low phonemic awareness is likely to struggle with phonics and reading. ↑ Top
Leave a Reply

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Phonemic Awareness & Phonological Awareness: The Foundation For Literacy | Sight Words: Teach Your Child to Read

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and phonemes and why they are so important for learning to read. More Phonemic awareness is the ability to think about, analyze, and manipulate the sound structure of individual words. This pre-reading skill, also called phonological awareness, will make phonics that much easier for your child.

# data[].attributes.headline
The University of Arizona - Progression of Common Core Math Standards

# data[].attributes.subject
The University of Arizona - Progression of Common Core Math Standards

# data[].attributes.body
The University of Arizona has published various resources to assist with the progression of skills/concepts taught in Eureka Mathematics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cathy Kessel wrote an article with Liping Ma that discuss "unit fraction" vs "fractional unit" and has added a remark to the appendix about this.

Here is the new version.

Hi everybody, Cathy Kessel has compiled all the suggestions that people have made here and other places over the years to produce a final version of the progressions. Here is the compiled document of all the progressions.

And here are two documents outlining the major changes from previous versions.

Note that the University of Arizona has deleted the website that used to host the progressions. I am working to have that url redirect here.

Hi everybody, in order to deal with the spam problem I have deleted all users regarded by WordPress as spam users. These are defined as users who have never posted. Unfortunately this seems to have caught some legitimate users as well. Their content is still on the blog, with the author marked as anonymous.

Cathy Kessel is working on editing the progressions documents into final versions, incorporating comments from this blog and elsewhere and filling in gaps. Here is the fractions progression. We will be rolling out the others over the next few months. Comments welcome!

With the high school writing work in full swing, I've been remiss in posting here lately. I do have some ideas saved up! Meanwhile, Kate Nowak and I have a piece about instructional routines over at the IM blog.

I've been meaning to let you know about the Illustrative Mathematics blog, which launched a few weeks ago. It has blog posts by members of the IM community about our grades 6-8 curriculum and about teaching practice, including a whole series on the 5 practices framework of Smith and Stein. Also, we will be cross posting any IM related posts I write here over there as well. I hope you find our new blog useful!

# data[].attributes.body
Tennessee will begin using the NGSS standards and practices next school year. Below you will find an article that explains what each practice looks like during instruction.

# data[].attributes.body
The following resource contains information on the new standards for educators and parents. It also has sample lessons for each grade level which illustrate how students can demonstrate mastery of the NGSS Standards. With your team or in vertical teams, examine the resources on this site and discuss the implications for Science instruction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The NSTA Next Generation Science Standards Hub offers information, resources, news, professional learning opportunities, and expert advice in understanding and implementing the Next Generation Science Standards - NGSS

# data[].attributes.headline
Talking about Math & Discussion Strategies

# data[].attributes.subject
Talking about Math & Discussion Strategies

# data[].attributes.body
It is important for our students to understand the importance of being able to compute problems mentally and have a toolbox of strategies to choose from when solving math problems. The video below has examples of each one. Let's work towards having Math discussions like this in our classrooms this year.....

This site contains resources that could be used with parents and students as we implement Eureka Math this school year:

https://sites.google.com/a/wfsd.k12.ny.us/parentmathresourcescc/home/elementary/first-grade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mental math, student-led solutions and class culture in 3rd grade classrooms. Learn how one teacher gets students to participate and present Math solutions to the class. Covers Common Core Standards for Math.

# data[].attributes.headline
TN Read to be Ready: Foundational Skills Lesson Exemplar

# data[].attributes.subject
TN Read to be Ready: Foundational Skills Lesson Exemplar

# data[].attributes.body
The TN Department of Education posts exemplar videos which show what instruction should look like during the Reading block. The video below is from the Read to be Ready series. It illustrates what a foundational skills mini-lesson should look like in the classroom.

As you watch, think about your current foundational skills instruction and decide if there are strategies from this mini-lessons that you could integrate into your current instruction to help ensure that your students are building a solid foundation which will help them become proficient readers and writers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Foundational Skills: Word Study Exploring Homophones

# data[].attributes.body
As we prepare to implement the NGSS, or New Generation Science Standards, we must work to ensure that we fully understand what our students are expected to know and be able to do. Below you will find information that outlines each standard and gives examples of what students are expected to be able to do, and lists at least one resource to assist us in making sure that our students are prepared.

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding Mathematics through Grappling and Discourse 

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding Mathematics through Grappling and Discourse 

# data[].attributes.body
Mathematics Practice #1 requires students to be able to make senses of problems and persevere in solving them. As a teacher, you might be asking yourself what does this look like in a classroom.

According to the TN Revised State Standards, "mathematically proficient students start by explaining to themselves the meaning of a problem and look for entry points to its solution. Mathematically proficient students can also explain their work and check their answers to problems using a different method, and they continually ask themselves, "Does this make sense? and make adjustment if they need to."

The video below shows this practice in action. When you have time, watch it to see if there are any instructional strategies that you can add to your current instruction to ensure that your students become proficient in this mathematics practice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding Mathematics through Grappling and Discourse

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Mona Iehl's third grade class at Polaris Charter Academy in Chicago, Illinois, students are developing a conceptual understanding of the commutative property of multiplication. Rather than providing direct instruction, Mona is using a process of grappling and student-centered discourse, which promotes deeper mathematical understanding, and builds powerful habits of learning.

# data[].attributes.body
It is important to remember to include a plan for transitions within lessons. Students need to be provided with instructions for everything that occurs in the classroom.  The video below shows Teach 7 in action. As you watch, decide if there are some things thst you can do to tighten up your transitions and increase your students time on task.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Transitions: Management in the Active Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Efficient transitions save valuable time (and effort) and prepare students for learning

# data[].attributes.headline
Conducting a Close Read-Aloud (Grades K-2)

# data[].attributes.subject
Conducting a Close Read-Aloud (Grades K-2)

# data[].attributes.body
As we begin implementing Expeditionary Learning in grades K through 2, it is important for educators to understand how to conduct a close read using a book that is read aloud to students. The following video illustrates three of the five types of read aloud lessons that teachers using EL will be required to conduct. This video series contains two parts. The second video illustrates the last two types of lessons. If you are interested in watching the second part of this series it can be found here:
https://vimeo.com/213193741

Total Participation techniques are also used by the teacher in the two segments. If you are interested in learning more about the how to ensure 100% participation of all students, see Mrs. White or watch the Behind the Practice: Close Read Aloud video where the teacher explains how she planned for instruction of the lessons show in the two-part Close Read Aloud series:
https://eleducation.org/resources/behind-the-practice-close-read-aloud-in-the-primary-grades-with-sara-metz

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Close Read-Aloud in the Primary Grades, Part 1: First Read, Focus Question, and Interactive Analysis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is the first video in a two-part series that features Sara Metz and her Kindergarten class at Explore Elementary in Thornton, Colorado. Using the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum and its Close Read-Aloud guide, Sara and her students engage in analysis of the text, Come On, Rain!, as part of a module on the topic of weather.

# data[].attributes.headline
ELA-CPL Quarter#3-The Power of Making Thinking Visible

# data[].attributes.subject
ELA-CPL Quarter#3-The Power of Making Thinking Visible

# data[].attributes.body
Do you have students who need assistance forming arguments, opinions, or making comparisons when writing? If so, consider using these framing paragraphs when modeling, as anchor charts, or as templates to ensure that students answer all questions related to the prompt, remember to cite evidence from passages, and include a topic and concluding sentence each time they write.

# data[].attributes.body
Working as an educator requires deep thought  and continuously reflection of your practice. You must not only be able to explain what you do in the classroom, you must know why what you do is the best method for the students that you teach..

In addition to knowing your students, each student’s instructional level, and the families of your students, you must also stay abreast of the latest research-based strategies in education. This can be next to impossible, but the good news is that this padlet provides a starting point for you.

Keys to navigating this padlet:
Each color represents a specific area:
Black-Resources for Professional Development/ Instructional Coaching Resources
Blue- Literacy-based Resources
Orange-RTI/Intervention and Formative Assessment Resources
Green-Mathematics Research-based Resources
Purple- Science/Social Studies Research-based Resources
Red-Best Practices for Instruction

# data[].attributes.body
If you need additional assistance with resources to use during your coaching sessions, below you will find a list of areas that I am certified to assist you with. Call or e-mail me my contact information can be found on the document.

# data[].attributes.body
I had the privilege of being taught by Dr. Jim Knight. Along with 15 other coaches, we embarked on a two-year journey to discover the art of instructional coaching. Below, is key information that will help you as you plan one-on-one consults with the educators that you are coaching. If you find this information use, I suggest investing in a copy of his book, Instructional Coaching, looking up videos on Youtube, as well as exploring the resources tab on his website, https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/

# data[].attributes.body
There are many protocols embedding within the Expeditionary Learning curriculum that teachers will be expected to use while teaching. Encourage your teachers to begin incorporating these into so that the transition to EL during Reading is easier for them and their students.

# data[].attributes.body
There are many protocols embedding within the Expeditionary Learning curriculum that teachers will be expected to use while teaching. Encourage your teachers to begin incorporating these into so that the transition to EL during Reading is easier for them and their students.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Gradual Release of Student Responsibility Model 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Gradual Release of Student Responsibility Model 

# data[].attributes.body
The Gradual Release of Student Responsibilities model is built on the principle of creating independent learners in the classroom. It is comprised of four key components. The first is focused instruction which includes modeling by the teacher and explicit instruction on the expectations of the standards. Next, the teacher provides guided instruction which includes intentional scaffords, differentiation, questions, prompts, and cues. After guided instruction, students should be paired collaboratively which gives them the opportunity to practice thinking with their peers and ensures that all students are accountable for their learning. The last step in the GRR model is for students to apply their learning independently. This video below illustrates the GRR model in a Grade 2 classroom:

# data[].attributes.body
Shelby County Schools requires teachers to use the lessons in the i-Ready toolbox when conducting face-to-face intervention lessons. Below is an overview that details how to access the toolbox, navigate to resources, and shows samples of the downloadable and interactive resources that are available.

# data[].attributes.body
We will continue to use NWEA-Maps as our formative assessment this school year. A link to a breakdown of RIT skills that students are ready for instruction today are given for each band in Reading and Mathematics.

Additional information and professional development is located on the Destination PD website. Please log into the site to complete courses that the district has already enrolled you in. if you do not remember or know your password, click on the "Don't know how to log in. Let us help you" link and send yourself an email. The email link will allow you to reset your password.
Destination PD link:
https://destinationpd.nwea.org/_layouts/nwea/login/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f_layouts%2fAuthenticate.aspx%3fSource%3d%252F&Source=%2F

# data[].attributes.headline
Are students keeping a "Rolling Vocabulary" for each text set/TWAG/ EL Module?

# data[].attributes.subject
Are students keeping a "Rolling Vocabulary" for each text set/TWAG/ EL Module?

# data[].attributes.body
A "Rolling Vocabulary" is a protocol that will help your students determine the most important information in each text that is read during a TWAG or text set. Consider asking teachers to add this protocol to each text that is read with students and watch them learn to pick out essential vocabulary on their own and begin using these words in their writing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Do you need  assistance with Achieve 3000?

# data[].attributes.subject
Do you need  assistance with Achieve 3000?

# data[].attributes.headline
Smarty Ants Data Dashboard | Welcome to Smarty Ants

# data[].attributes.subject
Smarty Ants Data Dashboard | Welcome to Smarty Ants

# data[].attributes.body
This dashboard contains on-demand professional development for K-2 teachers to assist with the implementation of Smarty Ants in Achieve 3000.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Welcome to the Smarty Ants on-demand training site! This site includes everything you need to support a successful implementation with Smarty Ants. Access our on-demand getting started videos, timeline, and more to jump start your launch. Visit this site throughout your implementation to access tips, planning tools, and more that will support your ongoing learning with Smarty Ants.

Click one of the menu options to the left to start exploring!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Smarty Ants Data Dashboard | Welcome to Smarty Ants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to the Smarty Ants on-demand training site! This site includes everything you need to support a successful implementation with Smarty Ants. Access our on-demand getting started videos, timeline, and more to jump start your launch. Visit this site throughout your implementation to access tips, planning tools, and more that will support your ongoing learning with Smarty Ants.

# data[].attributes.body
If your students are having trouble logging into their Clever account, please follow the steps in the guide below to assist them.

# data[].attributes.body
The TEM rubric for the 2017-18 school year is attached below. Be sure to look at the expectations for levels 3,4, and 5 to be sure that you are meeting these qualities. Remember that this year the focus will be on student outcomes.

# data[].attributes.body
Just a suggestion! :)

# data[].attributes.headline
Key Ideas of Revised ELA Standards Teacher Training

# data[].attributes.subject
Key Ideas of Revised ELA Standards Teacher Training

# data[].attributes.body
The following poster is a tool that I suggest you add to your PLC environment. It describes the rationale for the changes and the overall expectations for literacy instruction for all educators in Tennessee.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Key for Interpreting the revised State Standards in TN

# data[].attributes.subject
A Key for Interpreting the revised State Standards in TN

# data[].attributes.body
The Revised TN State Standards have been divided into numerous domains and subcategories. Interpreting them is kind of like attempting to create a word using the letters in a bowl of alphabet soup. Below you will find a document which brings clarity to the lengthy numbers and letters that you will find when you look up the standards for each grade level.  In addition to this tool, I suggest downloading the Nomenclature Sort as well as the assessment technology, the plan for redelivery, and the formative assessment sort. You will need each of these tools to help your teachers begin to understand the newly developed instructional expecations for teachers in Reading, Language Arts, and Writing in Tennessee.

# data[].attributes.body
Tennessee has revised the standards for Math. These standards will be implemented and assessed during the 2017-18 school year. Please take the time to read the introduction for each of strand and examine not only the standards for your grade level., but be sure to look at the expectations for the previous and subsequent grade level to be sure that you have a good grasp on what effective instruction looks like.  Don't forget to examine the glossary at the end of the document. It will help us create school-wide definitions for each term that students must master.

# data[].attributes.headline
2017-18 TN Reading Language Arts State Standards (Revised)

# data[].attributes.subject
2017-18 TN Reading Language Arts State Standards (Revised)

# data[].attributes.body
Tennessee has revised the standards for Reading Language Arts. These standards will be implemented and assessed during the 2017-18 school year. Please take the time to read the introduction for each of the five strands and examine not only the standards for your grade level, but be sure to look at the expectations for the previous and subsequent grade level to be sure that you have a good grasp on what effective instruction looks like.  Don't forget to examine the glossary at the end of the document. It will help us create school-wide definitions for each term that students must master.

# data[].attributes.body
The Tennessee Department of Education has created a document that gives a detailed description of each test item question/type. Think about ways that you can construct questions that mirror these item types. How often will you incorporate them into your instruction, work stations, and/or tasks?

# data[].attributes.body
Below you will find the 2017-18 Testing Time Breakdown for each Subpart of next year's TNReady test. Think about ways that we can practice taking timed assessments with students to prepare them for next year's test

# data[].attributes.body
Please review the format for each of the testng items on the TN Ready test.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TNReady Assessment Design and Logistics Overview copy

# data[].attributes.headline
Insight Survey: Using the Results to Improve the Culture and Climate at your school

# data[].attributes.subject
Insight Survey: Using the Results to Improve the Culture and Climate at your school

# data[].attributes.body
The PowerPoint below contains a description of the intent of the Insight survey it gives a detailed description of how to read your school's results, contains sample questions, and gives suggestions that can be used to make a plan to improve the climate and culture at your school.

# data[].attributes.body
In order to ensure that students are receiving intervention in their greatest area of deficit, consider turning off the domains. For example if students need help with foundational numeracy, leave only the Number and Operations Domain on. Instructions for completing this task can be found on pages A13-A14 in the manual below.  The directions include turning off domains for one student or all students in a class.

For enrichment, consider challenging Tier 1 students by turning off all domains except for the one that the teacher is currently teaching. This will push the students and give them extra practice on the day-to-day content. This can also be done by adding extra lessons, but turning off domains takes less time.

# data[].attributes.body
TEM evaluations have begun for this school year. Please review the attached document. It connects the district's CLIP components, TEM characteristics, and Instructional shifts. These look-fors should be present in each lesson that you teach.

# data[].attributes.headline
2016-17 RTI Framework: Guide to Intervention

# data[].attributes.subject
2016-17 RTI Framework: Guide to Intervention

# data[].attributes.body
In our district, we utilize the Response to Instruction and Intervention framework. It is a three tier model that provides an ongoing process of instruction and intervention for students which enables them to get the support they need at their instructional level. This leads to students making progress and helps to move all students to meeting grade level proficiency expectations. Based on the results of our universal screening, NWEA Maps, we are able to identify two things. The first is the instructional skills that students are ready to learn. The other is the percentage of students who are achieving at either one or two or more levels below their enrolled grade level in Reading, Language Arts, and Mathematics. In order to assist these students, we have set aside time in our master schedules for students to receive intervention on a daily basis. The students who fall into these categories are placed in tiers and given intensive interventions for forty-five minutes each school day. Tier 2 students, or those who score one grade level below their enrolled grade level, receive intensive small group instruction twice a week during the intervention block. The other three days they are placed on a web-based intervention programs such as iStation, iReady, or EasyCBM. Students who are placed in Tier 3, or those who score two or more grade levels below their enrolled grade level, receive intensive small group instruction three times a week during the intervention block. The other two days these students are placed on the web-based intervention programs to get practice in their greatest area of need in Reading and/or Mathematics. Since this is only the second year of implementation, our goal is to work towards managing our instructional time to ensure that students are receiving the appropriate amount of time in intervention each day and planning activities that are based on students greatest area of deficit.

# data[].attributes.body
Website: http://scsk12.tn.easycbm.com
Access is gained using your Active Directory username and shelby2015 as the password. The website contains both a teacher and student section. In order for students to complete the online benchmark and/or progress monitoring, you will need to put in your active directory password. Then click on both the student's name and test using the dropdown menu.

Reading: All students in K-5 will be expected to complete three tests in Reading. Grades K-2 tests must be given individually by the homeroom teacher.

All Math tests are given online. If you need more information, please read the user manual or see Mrs. White.