I wanted to take a minute to explain some exciting things that are going on at Willard East!
I think you will like these and I know the students are already enjoying some of these adaptations!
I think you will like these and I know the students are already enjoying some of these adaptations!
Daily 5
All students at Willard East have already been doing Daily 5 for growth in reading and writing.
The 5 components are:
1. Read to Self
2. Read to Someone
3. Listen to Reading
4. Work on Writing
5. Word Work
Students rotate through these activities starting first thing the morning. This is a time when we really get to utilize our iPads (for word work) and our netbooks (for listen to reading). I also meet with guided reading groups during this time. A guided reading group allows me to meet with a small group and focus specifically on their needs at their reading level. While I meet with one group (usually 4-5 students) the other students are fully engaged in their Daily 5 activities. It is pretty amazing, really!
The 5 components are:
1. Read to Self
2. Read to Someone
3. Listen to Reading
4. Work on Writing
5. Word Work
Students rotate through these activities starting first thing the morning. This is a time when we really get to utilize our iPads (for word work) and our netbooks (for listen to reading). I also meet with guided reading groups during this time. A guided reading group allows me to meet with a small group and focus specifically on their needs at their reading level. While I meet with one group (usually 4-5 students) the other students are fully engaged in their Daily 5 activities. It is pretty amazing, really!
Daily 3 Math - NEW!
The same concept of Daily 5 was recently adapted to apply it to math time as well! We still meet for our whole group lesson in the morning but in the afternoon we use a very similar model to help meet the needs of learners. Not every student has the same academic needs! Daily 3 math lets me differentiate the instruction for different learners - allowing me to help each student grow. We just kicked off our Daily 3 Math launch last week and the students are LOVING it! We have adapted the structure just a little to work a little better in our classroom so our three components are:
1. Math by Myself
2. Math with Somebody
3. Math with my Teacher
Once again, we are integrating a lot of technology during this time using math apps on the ipads and our new resource www.ixl.com on the netbooks. We just launched the use of IXL last Thursday and our class alone already has a combined total of over 10 hours of math practice. THAT IS AMAZING!!! {It's pretty nifty... IXL sends me reports regularly! I can see who has been practicing and how they did!}
1. Math by Myself
2. Math with Somebody
3. Math with my Teacher
Once again, we are integrating a lot of technology during this time using math apps on the ipads and our new resource www.ixl.com on the netbooks. We just launched the use of IXL last Thursday and our class alone already has a combined total of over 10 hours of math practice. THAT IS AMAZING!!! {It's pretty nifty... IXL sends me reports regularly! I can see who has been practicing and how they did!}
COMING SOON... VERY SOON
Beginning on Thursday, November 6th the entire building will be trying something NEW during our "Tiger Time." This is a time designed specifically to meeting the needs of individual students. Our building leadership met to look at this time and asked ourselves some questions... How are we meeting student needs? How do we know? Could we accomplish this in a more effective way?
After some serious brainstorming and great conversation we came up with a plan that I personally cannot wait to try! It's a little tough to wrap your brain around... so stick with me and keep an open mind!
THE IDEA...
We have school-wide Tiger Time from 12:30-1:00 everyday. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday your student will stay with me in our classroom during this time. On Tuesday and Thursday our building will become more fluid. Each teacher will host a 30 minute club based on math standards we work to meet. Some examples: addition fluency, subtraction fluency, place value, number recognition, and more. The fine print is still in the works and clubs have yet to be assigned. Students will attend their club T/TH from 12:30-1:00 through the months of November and December. After we return from Winter Break we hope to offer some additional clubs.
I cannot wait to try this out!
After some serious brainstorming and great conversation we came up with a plan that I personally cannot wait to try! It's a little tough to wrap your brain around... so stick with me and keep an open mind!
THE IDEA...
We have school-wide Tiger Time from 12:30-1:00 everyday. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday your student will stay with me in our classroom during this time. On Tuesday and Thursday our building will become more fluid. Each teacher will host a 30 minute club based on math standards we work to meet. Some examples: addition fluency, subtraction fluency, place value, number recognition, and more. The fine print is still in the works and clubs have yet to be assigned. Students will attend their club T/TH from 12:30-1:00 through the months of November and December. After we return from Winter Break we hope to offer some additional clubs.
I cannot wait to try this out!
WEEKLY NEWS
FALL PARTY DONATION
You can still send in your Fall Party donation if you have not already sent it in! We are asking for $1.50 to help cover the cost of food for our fall party.
PARTY INFO:
Our party will be at 2:30 in the classroom. You are welcome to join us if your schedule allows!
DISABILITY AWARENESS DAY
All students at East are invited to celebrate Disability Awareness Day on WEDNESDAY by wearing silver. The class that has the most students with silver will receive a prize.
RED RIBBON WEEK NEXT WEEK!
Monday—Mustache Monday
Tuesday—Get Your Red On
Wednesday– Fake Injury Day AND silver day
Thursday—Pajama Day
Friday—Tiger Gear
This week we… wrote non-fiction teaching books about pumpkins, determined if pumpkins sink or float (as your child about this…), tweeted Mo Willems (we are still keeping our fingers crossed that he will reply), engaged in Daily 3 Math Stations, and enjoyed some Tootsie Roll pops for earning 250 Tiger Tokens!!!
You can still send in your Fall Party donation if you have not already sent it in! We are asking for $1.50 to help cover the cost of food for our fall party.
PARTY INFO:
Our party will be at 2:30 in the classroom. You are welcome to join us if your schedule allows!
DISABILITY AWARENESS DAY
All students at East are invited to celebrate Disability Awareness Day on WEDNESDAY by wearing silver. The class that has the most students with silver will receive a prize.
RED RIBBON WEEK NEXT WEEK!
Monday—Mustache Monday
Tuesday—Get Your Red On
Wednesday– Fake Injury Day AND silver day
Thursday—Pajama Day
Friday—Tiger Gear
This week we… wrote non-fiction teaching books about pumpkins, determined if pumpkins sink or float (as your child about this…), tweeted Mo Willems (we are still keeping our fingers crossed that he will reply), engaged in Daily 3 Math Stations, and enjoyed some Tootsie Roll pops for earning 250 Tiger Tokens!!!
