Reclaiming Youth at Risk

Rereading the book Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future by Brendtro, Brokenleg & Van Bockern in preparation for our book circle reminded me of some truths I have come to know and believe over the years...

Children don't come to school every day with the mindset, "I don't want to be successful today." But we all know that there are days when students hit road blocks that prevent them from having a "successful" day. We can define success in many different ways...academic, behavioral, emotional, etc. It's not our job to judge our children when they hit these road blocks. It is our job to try to understand the behavior and support our children in finding ways to overcome that hurdle. The key to developing relationships with students is to understand their behavior, not judge the behavior. 

The quality of human relationships in schools may be more influential than the specific techniques or interventions employed (p.71). Relationships are everything. If we haven't been able to build a positive, caring and trusting relationship with students, we will have great difficulty facilitating successful experiences for them in school. And no one can fix our relationships with children except us. Not the principal, not another teacher, not the parents...we alone are the only ones who can nurture and possibly repair our relationship with our students. No amount of consequence or reward will change a child's behavior if the relationship is broken. Yes, it takes time and patience to gain a child's respect and trust...but the payoff is worth it! Consider Mother Theresa's quote do small things with great love. How can I apply this notion each day in order to build a positive relationship with children?

Crisis is Opportunity (p.76). Instead of bemoaning the difficult situations some of our children create, we can look at each of these situations as an opportunity to build our relationship with them. Sometimes what a child needs more than a good talking to is a good listening to. And sometimes our children aren't ready to talk or ready to do whatever it is we are imposing on them at that moment because they may be operating in a state of stress or anger. No one can think rationally when operating in that state...think of fight, flight or freeze. Avoid getting into power struggles with children...if a child isn't ready to be rational or respectful, this is an excellent teaching opportunity to model respectful behavior. Give them time, give them space, let them know you are ready to LISTEN when they are ready to talk. All too often adult responses to behavioral crisis widen the relationship gap.  When we step into the conflict cycle with a child no one wins.  

Celebrate little successes rather than falling in love with undesirable behaviors. We all believe that we care about our children and we show it everyday. We all believe that we love the unlovables. Do our actions show it? Do we spend more time celebrating the tiny successes of our difficult youth or do we tend to focus on the poor choices they made all day. Do we root for the child or expect another difficult situation? Every child needs a fan club. I want to be the fan on the sidelines yelling "Good try!" and "You can do it!"...even when they're not listening. 

Here is a great video that ties into our book talk. Teacher Appreciation video. Very inspiring.

Thank you for taking the time to read the book and share your affirmations, wonderings and "ah ha" moments with the group. We are better when we are learning and growing together.

Also, thank you Becca for sharing this blog with us. It definitely illustrates our talk about relationships with kids. Momastery Blog.

Bump It Up Wall

The “Bump It Up” Wall is based on the work of Rick Stiggins and Damien Cooper. Stiggins suggests that most students can hit a learning target if they can clearly see it.

A “Bump It Up” wall is a visual reference that displays levelled student work and allows students to independently recognize what areas of their work need improvement.

Used in conjunction with a rubric, students become involved in the evaluation process and learn to analyze and assess their work.

By using samples of anonymous student work (or exemplars) at various levels along with the rubric, have students work in groups to collaboratively identify what is good about each piece of work and what areas need improvement. Once students have identified what was done well and what needs improvement, post the work samples along with the “success criteria” on your “Bump It Up” wall. I believe this is the key step to making a “Bump It Up Wall” work effectively.

Many of you recognized that our students were struggling with communication and connections on our Math benchmarks and have targeted this as an area for improvement this year. Perhaps a “Bump It Up” wall is a strategy you could use to help your students. What does a quality math journal entry look like? What does a level 3 or 4 in Communication and Connections look like on the math benchmark? If your students had an example right in front of them, perhaps they would strive for that 3 or 4. I’m thinking this would be excellent for the written response questions on the RAD assessment as well. For sure this would be great for writing!

This Week's Hi5s!

1. It appears all classrooms have Guided Reading running smoothly. I have seen many classrooms full of students who have mastered how to read and write independently while teachers are providing guided instruction to small groups of students. Nice work!

2. Grade 4 is currently in FIRST PLACE in the "Pig Out on Reading" contest. Awesome work to the grade 4s. Let's encourage them to keep it up!

3. I noticed there is a little friendly competition brewing between our two grade 5 classrooms...whose class will be the first to have all (or most) students know their multiplication facts?

4. It was nice to see so many Halloween themed tasks and assignments this week that support curriculum outcomes: estimating pumpkin seeds and as well as how many pounds of candy the average human consumes in on year for math, reading and writing recipes for Pumpkin pie as well as poems about about Halloween, science projects and artwork...just to name a few. Thank you for making school fun, engaging and educational for students!

5. We survived Halloween!

The Value of Belonging

WE BELONG

A sense of belonging is a team effort. Our classroom is a safe learning environment where we connect and learn from one another, regardless of who we are or where we come from.


In Native American and First Nations cultures, significance was nurtured in communities of belonging. Lakota anthropologist Ella Deloria described the core value of belonging in these simple words: "Be related, somehow, to everyone you know." Treating others as kin forges powerful social bonds that draw all into relationships of respect. Theologian Martin Marty observed that throughout history the tribe, not the nuclear family, always ensured the survival of the culture. Even if parents died or were not responsible, the tribe was always there to nourish the next generation.

Humans have a primal need to feel valued, important, and protected by significant others in their lives... to feel comfortable and welcomed within a frequent and important group such as family, friends, colleagues, etc. Of course, the family and one's close personal community are the most important influences on the original development of this area of self.

To read a great article about the Circle of Courage Value of Belonging along with Picture books and Chapter books about Belonging click here
Some of my favourite picture books about Belonging

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
Bird wakes up grumpy. Too grumpy to eat, play—or even fly. "Looks like I'm walking today," says Bird grumpily. All of this grumpy walking piques the interest of his friends and soon Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox are walking alongside him. Somewhere along the way Bird realizes that his friends are still there, but his mood is gone, proving that sometimes grumpy needs company!

The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss
This classic collection of stories by Dr. Seuss includes "The Sneetches," "The Zax," "Too Many Daves," and "What Was I Scared Of?" Beloved by generations, these four wildly whimsical tales touch on moral issues, and while they can be read for sheer pleasure, they are also ideal for sparking conversations about tolerance, the need for compromise, and fear of the unknown. Perfect for young Seuss fans, this is a book that can be enjoyed by the whole family on many different levels.

Stellaluna by Jenell Cannon
Attacked by an owl, Stellaluna (a fruit bat) is separated from her mother and taken in by a bird and her nestlings. Dutifully, she tries to accommodate--she eats insects, hangs head up, and sleeps at night, as Mama Bird says she must--but once Stellaluna learns to fly, it's a huge relief when her own mother finds her and explains that the behavior that comes naturally is appropriate to her species.

Do you have any favourite resources or activities for Belonging? I invite you to share these with all of us.

 I am excited for the students to meet their school family members during Education week and participate in Belonging integration activites.

Check out some of the tweets @DavisonSchool sent out this week!

 

1. I can estimate the number of apples on the Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 Apple Tree in Grade 1.

 

2. I can describe solids and liquids using Cheerios as molecules in Grade 2 science.

 

 

3. I can brainstorm what makes up the Saskatchewan economy in Grade 4.

 

 

 

4. I can predict if a material is reversible or non-reversible in Grade 5 science.

 

 

5. Using SMART response to take a math quiz in Grade 6.

 

 



 

 



I truly feel this way about our school team AND I thought it was a fitting quote for this week's blog entry. Have a well-deserved long weekend and please take time to count your blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!





 

Why We Run: The Terry Fox Marathon of Hope

As some of you know, I lost a very dear friend to cancer on Friday morning and I'm sure all of you have been affected by this horrible disease. Raising awareness and finding a cure for cancer is very dear to my heart.

The Terry Fox Run is an opportunity for us to talk about our school value: We Nurture and how raising awareness and money is a way to contribute to our community. Here are some links I came across to with resources and lessons plans on Terry Fox.

The Terry Fox Foundation


Terry Fox ESPN

This Week's Hi5s!

It was a very busy week! I can't believe we are heading into October this week.

1. You are coming to the completion of your Professional Goals and Long Range Plans. Just through the brief glancing I have done of the plans that have been submitted I see evidence of purposeful planning that will facilitate responsive teaching. Way to Go!
2. Your RTI team has finalized what the Response to Intervention process will look like in our school and we are excited to share this with you at our next ED.
3. You have worked hard to get your students working Independently during the Daily 5 and Math pods and we are starting to see our students settle into this routine. I am excited about getting to the point where we can facilitate small guided instruction with students in the upcoming few weeks.
4. Your Davison "Green Machine", once again, made us proud at the Salcoats Autumn summit on Friday. Big thanks to all of our Cross country coaches, Christa, Shaelynn, Kim & Rebecca. Good luck at the District meet on Thursday!
5. Our Open House was a great success! Thank you to everyone for coming out and contributing to this success. The parents of our community are happy knowing that their children are in awesome hands.



I have one super duper hi-5 going out this week to the ENTIRE Davison team for the hard work you have put into the Individual Program Plans, interventions such as LLI, Tutorial and extra-curricular programs that are contributing to student success. An extra Hi-5 to Tammy for all of the work she has put into developing the IIPs and scheduling all of the meetings. Your dedication, compassion, and belief that ALL students will learn is inspirational!

When I saw this video, I thought about all of you and your care and compassion.

It's never too late to learn!

 

 

http://www.values.com/inspirational-sayings-billboards/63-Literacy

 

I'm sure you've noticed that when you walk into the local grocery store, Walmart or onto an air plane, you are greeted by someone who seems delighted that you've arrived. It's because customers who feel valued are more likely to buy what is being sold AND come back. It is vital that our students believe that their teachers are happy to see them every day as well. The following is from the 10 Minute Inservice by Todd Whitaker. I think it's a great message.

A Smile Can Go a LONG Way!

A teacher's smile can be contagious for even the most disaffected students. A teacher who smiles at every student, every day is saying, "I'm happy you're here, I'm happy to be teaching you, and this is a safe, pleasant environment." This is the kind of environment that promotes optimal learning. Students who believe that we are genuinely happy to see them each day are much more likely to learn from us. And, sadly, for some students, school is the only place where adults are happy to see them.

Standing at the door each day doesn't necessarily constitute "greeting." A teacher standing at the door saying, "Come on in,  Hurry up and get busy, Your work is on the board, Let's go, the bell is about to ring..." is not greeting students. An effective greeting is standing at the door with a smile and greeting students with remarks such as...
1. Good morning!
2. How are you today?
3. How was lunch/recess?
4. I'm happy to see you today.
5. I love your new haircut!
6. Welcome back...we missed you yesterday!

The key to a successful greeting is to show your students that you're elated to see them every day and that you miss them when they leave you. If you can convince students that you feel this way about them, you will see their behaviour improve immediately. The happier we appear-even when we're exhausted or cranky-the happier our students will be.

I will be making an extra effort to greet students in the school at the beginning and end of each break. I hope I will also see all of you in the halls greeting your students with enthusiasm.

If students arrive and leave on a happy note,

better behaviour and learning you're sure to promote!

This video has the best message! Be MORE AWESOME today. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlhUcSGqgs

Davison's Hi5s for this week!

 1. We love our Reading Buddies!

 

 2. We can build bridges and boats in Science.

3. We are mindful of the physical environment and how this impacts learning.








4. We are a NO EXCUSES school! Classrooms are making their pledges and students and teachers are using the language.

5. Our Pre Kindergarten Pancake Breakfast and Open House was a success! Looking forward to our PreK students starting on Monday. 

6. We work collaboratively to set goals for learning improvement. Learning without Limits...Achievement for All! 



School is so much better when the kids show up! It was a smooth start up!

There have been a few questions about the long-range planning so this is what I am choosing to address in this week's Friday Focus.

The purpose of long range planning is for you to thoughfully and purposefully plan specific learning goals you will be ensuring your students achieve during the year. If we don't know where we are going, how will we know when we get there? These documents are not for Juanita or I, they are for YOU so they need to be designed by you in a way that works for you. If we are to provide responsive teaching in order to ensure ALL students learn, there are a number of details we need to address in our planning. We need to be aware and our students need to be aware of EXACTLY what it is they are expected to know and do throughout each unit of study. As you begin each lesson it should be easy for you to share with students the learning goal (I can statement) they are expected to achieve.

Your Long Range/At-A-Glance plans need to include (due September 30th):
1. Strands/Big Ideas/Units in each subject area you will be teaching
2. Time frames for each Strand/Big Idea/Unit
3. Curriculum Outcomes linked to each Strand/Big Idea/Unit

Your Short Term Plans are where you begin to fully develop each unit. Short term plans need to include:

1. Outcomes/Essential Learnings/Essential Questions
4. Indicators/I can statements/Understandings
5. Assessments/Performance Tasks (pre-assessments, formative assessments & summative assessments)
6. The Learning plan-detailed lessons/tasks and activities. This is where you describe the learning experiences/lessons, instructional strategies and resources you will use in order to ensure students achieve the learning goals (Outcomes) for the unit. This is also where you plan for differentiated instruction, flexible groupings, etc.
7. Integratation of First Nations and Metis resources and perspective 
8. Technology integration.
9. Assessment tools with short term plans (rubrics/performance tasks).

Short term plans are where the UbD template comes in. My challenge to you is to pick 1 or 2 subject areas ( at least one being ELA &/or Math) and use the UbD template to plan your Term 2 and 3 units if you haven't already started using this template. This is the template I forward to you earlier in the week from Quintin.

I have been thoroughly impressed by the long range planning I have seen so far. Thank you for your efforts.

I would expect that short term plans for Term 1 would be submitted to me by the end of September, Term 2 short term plans by the end of November and Term 3 plans by the end of March.

The curriculum cards that I emailed you earlier this week had all ELA & Math Outcomes unwrapped into I can statements.

There are many excellent sites out there that can support you with your planning:

Good Spirit School Division Grade Level Resources http://blogs.gssd.ca/mmorley/
Many online resources and blog entries for all subject areas at all grade levels.

North East School Division Curriculum Corner http://curriculum.nesd.ca/
This curriclum corner has many well developed plans, tasks, activities and RUBRICS that are linked to outcomes. They are all done in word document format so you can edit them for your own purposes.

Regina Public School Division http://www.rbe.sk.ca/teachers-staff/instruction
Many links for resources to support Literacy and Numeracy Instruction.

Saskatchewan Common Mathematics Assessment  (Pre- and Post-Assessments for all Grade Levels and Strands K-9):  https://docs.google.com/a/go.rbe.sk.ca/folder/d/0B-9OIfscHhC6MDM2ZTA0N2MtMTc0ZS00ZTA3LTgwZmItMDg5ODQzNmZiMjA3/edit?hl=en_US

1. We are contributing to a positive school culture! Students are learning about our School Values and what each looks like. Students are also learning about No Excuses, making No Excuses pledges, and starting to use the language. Slow down on those highways, Mrs. Young...No Excuses!

2. Students are engaging in hands-on learning! There were
many Math lessons going on this week that had students using manipulatives or the SMARTboard and working collaboratively to solve problems.


3. We have begun communicating to students what their learning targets are. I hope to see even MORE "I can statements" posted in classrooms over the next couple of weeks. Remember, when students know what it is they are supposed to be learning we increase the likelihood of them learning it.

4. Students celebrate when their principal enters the room. YES!!

This is a hilarious video! I'm sure none of you have EVER felt like this while teaching students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdxEAt91D7k