Sustainable Strategies in the Classroom

In this week's class, we read and discussed Dr. Behren's article "Teach Sustainable Strategies, the Thinking that Matters for a Lifetime". Before reading this article, I thought my supervising teacher was doing a fantastic job setting up her student's for future success in the classroom. Reading the article made me realize this is not true. The students in my classroom have yet to be provided with any sustainable strategies they can take with them to second grade. Their classroom library is arranged by AR level. My students do not have any knowledge of the 5 Finger Test and are unable to find a book on their level without using AR levels. None of the study strategies they have learned can be used cross-curriculum, without teacher assistance, or throughout their educational career. Reading the article has helped me realize the importance of teaching my students sustainable strategies the fit in each of the aforementioned categories. I plan to show my supervising teacher this article and help her create uses for sustainable strategies in her classroom.

RECs: 6.12, 

PLCs in Practice

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a Data PLC at my internship. Being an active participant in this PLC brought what I have learned in RED 4519 and 4942 to life. In this particular PLC, the first grade team was analyzing FAIR data with the reading specialist,  Mrs. Denopoulous and the school principal, Dr. Paradise. First, we analyzed the average gain each teacher was able to make with their class. Next, we broke the data down and analyzed the lowest scores in each class. With the help of Mrs. Denopoulous, the team came up with solutions to help raise these low scores. The teachers decided to share their students during RTI time in order to create closer skill groups. Witnessing this PLC process helped me understand how teams of teachers work together to make sure every student in every class is successful. I now feel much better prepared to participate in a team.


RECs: 5.3, 5.12, 6.1, 6.6, 6.8