Action Research

My problem for my action research was that students were not using their text when answering questions for reading, science and social studies.  Even when explicit instructions were given to use the text, very few would.  This obviously led to low scores.  So, my objective was to figure out why students were not using their text and to find a ways to change this.

I spoke to other teachers and found out that many of them had experienced the same problem.  We talked about how the science and social studies texts are written well above grade level and that we have to make sure we read these as a shared reading.  One of the teachers reminded me of how she has her students write the page number of the page they found their answer next to the question.  We also discussed modeling which I had done at the beginning of the year, but decided maybe this needed to be done again. I did some reading about learning activities and decided to try some cooperative learning.  We do this for so much of our inquiry I talked to some of my students who seem to do well with using their text to find answers and asked if they would be willing to help their classmates.  They each agreed.  I decided to pull a small group as I do with guided reading and math, and work with my lower level students and to put the rest of the class in groups with a "lead" student who does well with finding answers to questions.  This student would be the lead teacher and would show students how they find the answers without giving them the answers.       

After trying each of these strategies the results were successful.  I had better results with science and social studies than reading which I found interesting.  Report card grades from the first and second nine weeks came up in the third nine weeks midterms.  I am hopeful this will carry through to report card time.  I am pleased with the results and will continue with these strategies.  This project also brought up another question that seemed to continue to be a problem.  Some children just seem to be completely unmotivated to learn regardless of the modifications in place to help.  So this has led me to the next question, how do I motivate students who seem completely uninterested in learning? 

Ch. 14 Culturally Responsive Teaching

Being culturally responsive in my teaching practices is something for me that takes a conscious effort.  With classrooms becoming more and more diverse, it is important to take all factors into consideration when planning lessons.  At the beginning of the year I do take an interest inventory of my students.  This is helpful in getting to know my students and what types of things they are interested in.  It also helps when helping students find books they are interested in to read.  I think it's important to keep variety in lessons with lots of hands on and inquiry.  To me the more hands on lessons are the better they hold students attention and the more they retain.  With our IB units we do summative assessments at the end of each unit.  We always give choice in these assesments.  Right now we are working on a writing unit.  Each student is writing an "All About" book.  They are taking a subject they know about and researching to find out more.  We are using Gail Gibbons books as our mentor text.  The final product will be a book written by each student on a topic of their choice.  There is a lot of creative leeway and they are loving it.

One thing I need to do better is finding ways to do incorporate more hands on in social studies.  It's easy in math and science and even reading, but social studies becomes a little more difficult.  I do bring in inquiry with pictures and carousel activities and we also do some group activities and projects, but I feel like I still do too much lecturing in this subject day to day. 

To change this I would like to look into doing more role playing in social studies.  I think the students would love this and they would really have to listen to gain the information they would need to be able to do the role playing activities.  I also saw a tableau activity on a visit to Heritage Elementary that I would like to try.  As with so many things I think there are lots of ideas out there, I just need to sit down and do some research.

Ch. 9 Mathematics

Math was the subject I struggled with as a student.  Because of this I know exactly how important an understanding teacher is with a subject you have trouble with and most likely because of that don't like.  I try to teach math strategies in very a very basic step by step way.  We do lots of math journaling and always put examples with step by step instructions in our journals.  Their journals are then a great reference tool to use for classwork and homework.  I also usually give them the last 5 minutes of a test to look back through their journal if their was something they are not sure about.  It's really important that my students not feel discouraged and that they experience success in my class.  Many of the math teachers I had especially in elementary school seemed to have the attitude of here it is either you get it or you don't.  And if you didn't do it exactly their way you didn't get it, even if your way worked.  I use lots of manipulatives and we do lots of problems together.  We often use white boards to do problems together.  For students who are struggling I will pull a group to my guided reading table and we will work together.  I think it is important for students to understand that everyone is different.  Some subjects are easier and some take more work, but that they can all be successful.  We also talk about helping one another.  Because we all have our strengths and weaknesses we can pull together and help one another.  Peer tutoring can be a great help.  Sometimes another student can word things in just the right way that click with another student.

What I need to do better is work on filling my aresenal of teaching strategies.  I know there are tons of wonderful lessons out there, but I can't seem to find the time to look.  I wish we could have a PD day to do things like this.  There are tons of great computer programs and I need to make some more games for my SMART board, but as with everything time is the enemy.

My goal for math and all subjects is to work this summer on notesbooks for each subject.  I want to divide the notebooks into the standards I teach and then fill them in with some new a great strategies.  This would be a great resource for all subjects.

Ch 13 Assistive Technology

Assistive technology seems to grow so quickly that it's hard to keep up.  Assistive technology can range from computers and computer programs to screen magnifiers, microphones, talking calculators, games and furniture designed to suit a student with physical needs.  It is amazing and wonderful to see so many types of assistive equipment and products available today.

I have only had one  student in my room in all of my years of teaching that needed a type of assistive technology.  She was a fifth grade student and she was very visually impaired due to congenital glaucoma.  She had a machine that connected to a televsion and whatever she put under this machine would project onto the television screen.  It was bulky and really difficult to move.  We have a child at my school now with a similar vision problem and thankfully the new equipment is so much better and easily moved.  This is great because it can be moved for other classes he has as well as when we have assemblies.  I have a student in my room now that functions on a kindergarten/ first grade level.  She goes out for two periods a day, but when she is in my room we are often working on math or reading that she does outside of the class.  At those times I use computer programs at her level to have her work on.  The SMART board  and Dukane projector are two other pieces of equipment that all the students love, but that I think are really good for many students with disabilities.  Students that have trouble transferring their thoughts from their head to the paper often are really good at manipulating sentences or numbers on the SMART board.  It helps them to feel successful and see that they can do the work, just in a different way.  I know that we also have Wynn Readers in our school but I have never had a student to use them.

I think this is another area that you tend to learn when you have a student with a disability.  Like the cultural diversity, I think it would be great for all teachers to have a list of the types of assistive technology the district offers and a description of each.  It would be a great reference source to help us feel more on top of a subject that we seem to only learn hands on when we have those students.

Chapter 8 Written Expression

I have to admit that writing has never been my favorite subject to teach.  However, having been to several workshops and having several visiting authors come to our school to share ideas, it's getting much better. I like to start out my writing lessons with a mentor text that clearly shows what we will be talking about.  For example I love to use Patricia Palocco books to teach voice.  I explain to the students what it is they are listening for before we read.  They love hearing stories so this is usually a great way to start out.  I also model whatever it is I want them to do and think out loud as I go.  I want them to see that no one sits down and writes the perfect piece of writing in one sitting.  There is a process that each writer goes through.

What I am not so good at doing is getting as much conference time as I need to.  Somehow this seems to take so much time.  I know this is also crucial time where so much learning takes place.  Students also love this one on one time with the teacher and really seem to soak up what we talk about.  Sometimes I think I just let a conference go on too long or maybe try to do too much with one conference.  I know we are suppose to stick to one or two teaching points during this time, but that is so hard for me.

What I need to do is set a time, maybe even using a timer for each conference so that I have to stick to one or maybe two teaching points.  Another thing I watched one of our visiting authors do is to go to the student and conference at their desk.  This seemed to make things move along because there was no waiting for a child to get their things together and move to another location.  I think these are two things I may try to make conference time move along and help me to see more students each day.

Ch. 7 Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehesion is one of if not the most important thing we teach students.  If students cannot  find meaning in what they read, they are unlikely to be successful in any subjects.  I try to bring comprehension skills into all subjects.  We talk about main ideas in science and social studies and we break down word problems in math to make sure we understand exactly what the problem is asking us to find.  I teach comprehension strategies during shared reading each day, but feel more effective during guided reading when students are working on a text on their own level.  This is great one on one time when you are sure you have their attention and can focus specifically on the student's weaknesses.  We always start a new book with bringing in our background knowledge.  We talk during the reading about how the character might be feeling, what they might do next, and I always ask the students to be able to explain their answer.  We also use different types of graphic organizers which students usually enjoy.

I think something I need to work on with reading comprehension is finding more time to write summaries.  We often do one together, but I know students need to be able to do these on their own also.  I also, after reading this chapter see that I really need to work on self-regulation with students.  Making sure they not only have the skills they need but that they know how to monitor themselves to make sure they are using them is huge!  I think as with most things in teaching, modeling is the way to do this.

The two things I want to improve on arranging my time so that the students are doing more independently and to make sure I am modeling and emphasizing self-regulation strategies.  I think both of these will be beneficial to my students and their understanding of the text they read.

Ch. 6 Reading Instruction

Reading is one of my favorite things to do and to teach.  My goal each year if I do nothing else is to instill a love of reading in my students and to help them find some favorite authors.  As our community continues to become more diverse knowing how to help CLDE students will become even more important and necessary.

I have had several ESL students over the years, but all have been fluent in English.  I always try to have these students share part of their culture and if the parents are willing to have them share also.  Other students in the class always enjoy this.  Having a student that had a primary language other than English would definitely be a challenge, but if they also had a reading disability I'm afraid I would be lost on how to help.  This chapter had some good points and information.

One thing I found interesting was that the chapter said that most of the CLDE students with reading disabilities tended to focus on decoding rather than comprehension, but that it was actually the comprehension strategies that seemed to make the most difference in student success.  If I had been put in charge of helping one of these students before reading this chapter, I likely would have focused on the decoding also.  After reading this, however, and thinking about how quickly students often pick up a second language I could see how the comprehension strategies make a lot more sense as a place to focus.  I have noticed as my own students have their Spanish lessons each week how similar so many words are and the students pick up on this very quickly. 

Another interesting idea was that of culturally responsive reading instruction.  This involves the teacher learning how students learn in the CLDE student's culture, what is valued and how interactions take place.  I remember hearing about a student from Asia once who would not look his teacher in the eye.  The teacher took this as a lack of respect only to find out to look a teacher in the eye in this child's native country was considered disrespectful.  This shows that if we don't take the time to understand our student's culture and vlaues, we may be coming across in a way that is not at all conducive to learning in the world they know.

While the thought of have a CLDE student in my class is intimidating, it did help to read some of the strategies offered in this chapter.  The Read Naturally program and the modified guided reading were very similar to the guided reading I do each day in my class.  That was reassuring as I thought, "I can do that!"  Even the reciprocal and collaborative strategies were made up of strategies we already use, although I think these would be better used in the upper grades.

Having these strategies is and will continue to become more important in our constantly changing communities.  It is good to learn more about how to be most effective to these students.

Ch 12 Assessment

It seems each year we do more and more assessment.  Pretests, post-tests, end of unit tests, benchmark test, MAP tests and we can't forget the almighty PASS test. And then try to keep up with standards based, norm referenced, criterion referenced,  percentiles, it becomes a nightmare.  It makes me wonder, are we really getting enough instruction time to even need this much assessment?

Assessment of course is necessary and when done correctly with reliable tests can give us great information.  Diagnostic tests are of course needed when a student is struggling to help us find the student's weak areas and decide how we can best serve this child.  I consider the DRAs I give in my room each year to be a type of diagnostic in deterimining the student's reading level.  We also need assessments to determine whether students have mastered what we taught and to help reflect on our instruction.  I also like the MAP testing we do.  It is time consuming and that part I don't like, but the information we gain is so valuable.  The best part about MAP is that it takes the student where they are and raises or lowers the question level depending on how they are doing with their answers.  Students cannot copy because they are not taking the same test.  But the best part is being able to the the growth.  Very often we have students in our class that are way below grade level.  When these students are made to take benchmarks and PASS on grade level it is a complete waste of time and worse it is so defeating to them.  We gain nothing from these results and in my opinion students are hurt.  With MAP they go in and usually bring their scores up.  They can still be below where they need to be, but they have made progress and that's what we look at and celebrate.

This chapter also talked about preparing students for testing as well as individual needs and accomodations.  I try to prepare all of my students for any test they are taking by telling them we have worked hard and I am not at all worried about this test and how they will do as long as I know they are going to try their best and use the test taking strategies that we talk about and practice all year.  I know I wouldn't want my own child to be upset and nervous over a test and I don't want my students to be either.  Also, I know they will do a better job if they are relaxed.  Accomodations are great for those who need it, but when we have tests such as our districts benchmark tests that are almost always worded poorly or are written on a higher reading level than the child's grade level you just are not going to get a true picture of the student's ability.

Assessment like so many things in our educational system in my opinion needs an overhaul.

Ch. 5 Clasroom Management

Classroom management is one of the most important elements in the classroom.  Without it nothing else productive is going to happen.  I think it's important to have structure in a classroom.  I don't feel that I am a rigid in my structure, but I do feel that structure is necessary.  Organized chaos has its place in certain lessons and activities, but it is not a way I want my classroom to run on a daily basis.

At the beginning of each year my class and I write an Essential Agreement together.  We come up with things that we feel are important to making our classroom and our day at school productive and a pleasant place to be.  Most of the things the students come up with are things teachers would most definitely agree with but by coming up with it themselves the students feel an ownership to the agreements.  We do a thumbs up to each one showing that we all agree. It is much nicer and means more to the students to be able to say to the, "Is that part of our agreements?" when I see someone not following one rather than to say, "That's not following our classroom rules."  I think students respect the agreements when they have come up with them, agreed on them and we have discussed why each is important.

We practice our classroom procedures a lot in the first few weeks of school I realize that my procedures will be different from the ones they had just two months before in their previous grade.  My classroom procedures are designed to keep moving around the room to a minimum especially during my small group time.  For example, I sharpen the students pencils ever afteroon and then they are allowed to have small individual shapeners at their desk.  I have book baskets for each group of students.  When they are finished they may read a library book or a book from the basket.  For students who are easily distracted these two procedures keep things running smoothly.  I also have cubbies for those who take a little extra time with their work and are not finished when I take an assingment up.  They know when they need extra time they are still responsible to get it turned in and where it goes.  We take two restroom breaks a day when everyone must go.  After that I use my descretion on who goes and when.  It's not just go whenever you want to.  I think even though the students don't always like the procedures it does keep things running smoothly.

I use a card system as many teachers do, but mine uses letters instead of colors.  The letters spell the word THINK because I tell them we should always think about our behavior.  T is for excess talking, H is for incomplete homework, I is for inappropriate behavior, N is for not following directions and K is for (not) Keeping on task.  The consequences for cards being pulled is the same as many other classrooms.  One card is five minutes off recess two is the entire recess and three is a phone call home.  A sheet is filled out and put in the Friday folders for parents to see the cards pulled for the week and to sign and return.

My reward system is very simple compared to many in this chapter.  I have a treat box that I use each Friday for those who have not pulled cards and a smaller one with candy for children who are caught "doing the right thing" or maybe for an assignment where extra effort was put in.  I think about doing class behavior parties each year, but can't seem to figure out where to give up the class time to do that.  I do sometimes also give a few minutes of extra recesss or no homework for rewards.  I liked some of the ideas in this chapter, but some like the token economy seemed to be a lot to keep up with.

Parent communication is through Friday folders with graded work and the citizenship sheet, newsletters, midterm grades, e-mails, phone calls and conferences as needed.  Parent communication is so important.  I wish all parents realized what an important role they play in their child's education.