6th Grade ELA CCSS - #commoncore #ccchat #6thchat

This year has flown by so fast! I just can't adjust to the fact that it is already May - EOG time in fact!

Throughout the year, our district has provided cross grade level meetings to go through the Common Core State Standards. I'm fortunate that I only had to attend ELA meetings. Most K-5 folks had half days on all the subjects - ELA & Math CCSS, then Science and Social Studies Essential Standards. In my meetings and my own learning/research, I've collected the beginnings of a batch of resources. I thought I'd post them here for others to use - it is the time of year when I start heavy-duty reflecting and prepping for next year.

My Resources (collected from across the web)

1. Common Core - NC SCOS Crosswalks - these docs give a side by side comparison of the two curriculums. This is useful for me - I can see when things have simply moved or been re-worded as well as new items. All grade levels are available here in both Math and ELA.
2. Unpacking the Standards - this doc begins to translate the "education speak" into more understandable language. All grade levels are available here in both Math and ELA.
3. General Support Tools - there are many other things on this page - graphic organizers, exemplar text lists, and the two items listed above. (This page is one huge list, so I chunked it.)
4. Common Core Curriculum Maps for ELA Grade 6 - This originally came from the Common Core mapping folks. But, as seems to always happen, they came out with a new version that you need to pay to access. I have not seen the "new" version, but I can't imagine it being much different. I love this doc. It has everything I could possibly need to springboard into a new curriculum. The best news is that by using the Internet Archive: Wayback Machine, you can access almost anything they used to have posted. That is how I got my version. Very helpful!
5. Common Core Pacing Guide for ELA Grade 6 - I used the curriculum map above to create a pacing guide. My district likes the maps (and has apparently purchased them for review) but we do not have many of the texts referenced. Therefore, I took all the texts and activities OUT of the doc to leave just the CCSS divided into 6 units. By removing the activities, I did loose some reference to a few standards. I may go back and update this at some point. However, I felt the end result (dividing that huge new curriculum into manageable chunks) was worth a bit of loss.
6. Common Core Book List for ELA Grade 6 - I went back to the curriculum maps again. This time I removed all the standards and activities and left only the recommended texts. I want to go through my class library and other resources (textbooks, school library, public library, thrift stores) and see what I can collect. If need be, I plan to implement some of the texts as read alouds - which I feel is a good compromise to beginning a new curriculum.

There are LOTS of other resources out there - I've seen items on Teachers Pay Teachers (both pay and free) and of course there are resources and info at the CCSSI website: http://corestandards.org.

I hope this post is helpful! If you've founds great (preferably FREE) CCSS resources, please share them in the comments!

Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement #ccsa2012

Inspiring.

This is the only word I can use to describe the feeling I still have. I'm back home now but I spent Monday evening, Tuesday, and this morning (Wednesday) in Greensboro, NC with some outstanding educators.  In between meals we attended sessions on a huge range of topics.

I enjoyed sessions about data, using technology to enhance remediation opportunities, flipping the classroom, and - of course - READING.  There were a surprising number of sessions about 6th grade reading specifically.

My favorite reading session was called "Ending the Blame Game by Building a System for Success."  This was the first session on the first day - 8am. And the presenters absolutely knocked it out of the park.  They were thorough and thoughtful, practical too - but with a big dose of high expectations.  My colleague and I left awe-struck.We unfortunately spent much of the rest of Tuesday trying to figure out how WE could to THAT. (I can't let myself go into details here - I'll return to this topic later this week.)

Then, today, we had the opportunity to see a session on flipping the classroom.  This is when the teacher makes a series of videos that take the place of lecture in the classroom.  The students then watch these videos as homework.  And traditional assignments - problem sets, projects, etc - that would have ordinarily been done outside of class can now be done IN the classroom - with help and supervision from the TEACHER.

I've heard of this before but was always hesitant to use it because of our school's very high poverty rate.  After hearing from Dr. Lodge McCammon and Katie Gambar this morning, I realized that we can definitely overcome that barrier.  Now, as a reading teacher, there is a LOT less lecture than in other classes - and with the Common Core State Standards, there will be even less.  We already spend a lot of time in small groups and large groups discussing literature.  But what if I can take some of the lessons I present all the time - like the weekly focus wall lessons, grammar, vocabulary, and basic skills and strategies - and video them? Then I can post them to Edmodo, my district wiki, or simply the classroom computers. Kids could access the videos to supplement class time - for review, for enrichment, when they are absent.

My colleague and I brainstormed all the way through lunch and the entire trip home.  We have a list of about 30 videos to make in each area - Grammar, Vocabulary, and Reading Misc. These can and would be re-used each year.  The focus wall videos (which would reference the core videos in the areas listed above) would probably need to be remade each year since situations change. And for the most part, if I changed grade levels, the core collection videos should still be relevant!  A great example of working smarter, not harder.

As I process more of my thoughts about the conference - the sessions, the keynote speakers, the mealtime discussions - I'll post more here.  I'm re-inspired and ready to work on some great new ideas.

If I met you at the conference and you've found my blog through my contact info - welcome! I appreciate your time, inspiration, and kindness in sharing with me. Thank you.

@Pinterest Revisited

I posted about how I use Pinterest back in July.  I thought that since this is the half way mark in my school year, it would be a great time to share some ideas I've gotten. I love Pinterest more than ever, but I have to be very careful when I go looking - it can be a huge time suck. :) So many lovely ideas, so little time!

Source: saylorslog.blogspot.com via Beth on Pinterest

I loved this idea - I am always looking for questions to ask in reading groups that relate to Bloom's Taxonomy. I used these in a slightly different fashion though. I have my lovely Bloom's Flag - so I chose 2 or 3 questions and added them to the flag for each level of questioning. It isn't perfect - the question cards are keyed to the "old" Bloom's Taxonomy and my school uses the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. But now the kids have a very good idea where certain types of questions fall - and I have another good visual reminder to be asking those higher order questions!

Source: teachinginroom6.blogspot.com via Beth on Pinterest

We do not require all our students to complete reading logs. Our main purpose this year is to get our kids hooked on reading. And for the most part, most reading logs do not encourage that. We do have a few hard-core kids (perhaps 20 out of 75) who do not meet their goals in AR and who are falling behind academically. We originally had them doing a simple summary reading log. Now we've moved them to this version - and we are all SO MUCH HAPPIER! The kids like the variety and my teaching partners and I like that the kids have more guidance. I found another set of examples here, although most of them won't work very well for my students for a variety of reasons. But it is still a great option!

Source: blogs.scholastic.com via Beth on Pinterest

I love these text structure posters. I added them to my focus wall (which has been revised, like everything else.) The posters hit 5 of the major text structures. There isn't a poster for Question & Answer or for Narrative. I have been considering making one, especially for Narrative. There is so much text written in this structure - but narrative is different sometimes for fiction and nonfiction. It might be a midnight project sometime. :)

You can find my Teaching Ideas board on Pinterest - it is linked to my personal Twitter account.  Are you on Pinterest?  What great ideas have you discovered?

A Nomination Story: Thank You

Imagine my surprise a few weeks ago to walk into a grade level meeting and find my name on a Teacher of the Year nomination form.  My grade level colleagues, teachers from 5th grade, and some Special Ed teachers were all there.  The guy who teaches 6th grade Math put me on the spot, "So, do you WANT it, Bowden?"

My mind was already racing... I've always had a secret fantasy to be recognized in this way. But in my county, just being named the Teacher of the Year at the school level brings a whole host of duties. I'm stressed enough with regular work and some personal issues... So I quickly said, "Heck, no. Vote for me if you want to but..."

I enjoyed greatly sharing the news of the nomination with my husband, daughters, parents and Twitter. It was gratifying to hear their excitement that someone at my school recognized my hard work.  After all, the people closest to me know how hard I work and how much I worry about doing a good job.  After letting go of the awkward feeling of being in the spotlight momentarily, I appreciate the recognition.

I didn't get the title of Teacher of the Year - but I can honestly say that it truly was an honor to be nominated.

So, secret nominator at my school? Thanks for making my year. Thanks for honoring me with your nomination. You'll never know how much it boosted me just when I needed it.

Sites I Use: Class Dojo (@Classdojo)

I'll apologize right now for the number of images in this post. There's 16 screen caps - excessive maybe, but this site can be a little intimidating at first. It is so EASY to navigate and understand once you SEE it though.

Classdojo.com call themselves "Realtime Behavior Management Software." I simply call it AWESOME. We are a PBIS school and track a LOT of behavior data.  Typically we've tracked the negatives - this allows the tracking of POSITIVES too! Which really makes sense.  In the past, I've had to tally behaviors by hand then compile them into a grade level report to be turned in monthly.  Thanks to Class Dojo, my September report was super easy... a few clicks and done. As a CRAZY busy teacher, there is nothing I appreciate more than something that my students enjoy that is also extremely useful to me as a time saver.

Here is the site as you see it upon arrival (image on the left.)  You'll click the yellow button to register.  You could also click the  Tour or FAQ links in the upper right hand corner. (image on the right, below.)

 Give some simple information and you are ready to go.  After registration (or login) you see this screen:

 Clicking the blue "Click here" box walks you through setting up classes, behaviors, and awarding points.

 I've set up a "class" for my daughters to use at home. (We've got issues *roll eyes*)

 I added their names.  It looks like I can select to add in their picture, but I've found that the students really enjoy the random monster/critter that is assigned to them.

 Now I'm setting up behaviors - both positive and negative.  For my daughters I'm keeping it simple. In my "real" classes, there are 8 positives (my choices) and 8 negatives (school-wide tracked behaviors.)  There are suggestions that you can take or leave and the icons are changeable too.  I've used all green thumbs up or red thumbs down.

 Here are all the classes I've got set up - 3 "block" classes, 2 homeroom classes, a demo, and my Daughters.

 Here are the girls, with the positive choices and the negative choices.

 I've awarded both of them points. You can do this by click the child's avatar or by selecting their name along the left side. You can choose which notifications show - a pop-up window at the bottom and sounds, and can turn them on/off for positives and negatives individually.

 After being awarded points students have little green circles with their totals.  After loosing points, their total drops.  If they have no positives to balance it, their circle turns red and shows a negative total. (Excellent opportunity to talk about negative numbers!)

 To leave you click "End Class." This shows you a nifty summary of the "class's" activity for the day.

 I like to review the reports - Simply click "Report Cards" on the left side and select your class.

 I changed the date to show all of September and part of October (the entire time I've used it.) You can see this class has an overall percentage of 92! The diagram is color coded and labeled to show which behaviors were observed.  The black bar is individual students for the same time period. (I'd love to show you their individual data, but I'm not sure about the confidentiality of it all. Sorry!)  You click a name and a similar diagram and breakdown will appear for the student. I'm going to be tying this into quarterly conduct grades.  I'm working on a written plan for the implementation of Class Dojo.  When it is finalized I'll link it here and on the Documents tab.

I will close by saying that I'm LOVING this site. I'm telling everyone I know about it - I think it is especially helpful for upper grades who switch classes.  Those kids (many of them anyway) still need a visual reminder of how they are doing behavior wise - but they often don't have it because they are migratory during the school day. My 6th graders have completely bought-in to this and are anxiously awaiting the final word on the "rewards" for points.  We are going to start with rewarding weekly then move to monthly.  Ultimately, we'd like to reward quarterly.

What are your thoughts?  Do you track behavior data? Have you got other resources? Please share in the comments below!