Thankful November, day 2: Professional Development

On day 2 of Thankful November, I'm pausing to be thankful for professional development.

The professional development I'll be attending later today is sure to disappoint on so many levels.  Some professional development "trainings" are like that.

However, I've also had the opportunity to attend some really good professional development courses that have expanded my pedagogical understanding of concepts.

Explicit Phonics

In fifth grade, I didn't think I had to teach phonics.  I figured they can read, they're fine.  Then I took Explicit Phonics, which was offered in my district.  The beginning section of the course focused on long and short vowels, blends, digraphs, and short words.  Useful for some, but not applicable to my whole group instruction.  However, the second half of the course focused on affixes, roots, and blending through multi-syllabic words which is totally appropriate for upper elementary.  We worked on flexible decoding strategies and tried it in our classrooms.  

Like most things, it got better with practice.  

I then learned about the workbooks with Words Their Way. I was familiar with the WTW program, which is a collection of word lists with specific phonics skills attached.  I much prefer this approach to spelling than the traditional 20 words of the week that are associated with thematic units.  

What I didn't know is there are five different student work books.

I ordered "D" and "E" off of Amazon.  The word lists are appropriate for my ELL fifth graders and the format is student friendly.

I take ten minutes a day of reading instruction to do explicit phonics with my fifth graders.  By the beginning of November, we've covered the six syllable types, long vowel patterns, inflectional endings, and some affixes.  

The instruction is broken into four or five day mini-units and put into powerpoints, some of which are available {here}.  I'm in the process of adding more as I revise them based off of my students' understanding of the skill.

I'm glad I took professional development on explicit phonics for the upper grades.  It makes my reading instruction better and helps my ELL students.

Nonfiction in Focus

{Last month}, I took a course on nonfiction reading and integrating it with writing.  The course was crammed into three days, but I loved the information on blogging and merging nonfiction with writing.  In elementary school, there should be a 50-50 split between fiction and informational text, but our Reading Rangers program doesn't always reflect that.

It's sometimes a challenge to integrate informational text into a reading block that is heavily slanted in favor of fiction, so this course gave us some ideas about integration with writing.

This also made us examine our reading and writing pacing guide.  Quite frankly, they shouldn't be viewed as separate most of the time.  Reading and writing should be integrated together in a more natural way, which is something we're looking at in upcoming units.  (I say we here because Mrs. H took the course with me).

Text-Dependent Questions

I'm in this course {right now}, it's finishing up by the middle of November, and I'm loving it.  The text for the course is by Fisher and Frey, who are some of my favorites.

Yes, I have favorite educational researchers, don't you?

The course is giving me a lot more information about structuring close reads in my classroom.  Once I'm done, I'll synthesize my learning and blog about it, so stay tuned!

Technology Endorsement

A few years ago, there was an opportunity to obtain a technology endorsement for free by taking courses at Nevada State College.  I had to pay for the courses upfront, but if I earned a B or better, was reimbursed.

The four courses went over the basics of jing, edmodo, wordle, and other web 2.0 tools.

I can't recall the specifics, but it was a year-long professional development and I learned that it's not enough for me to use the technology, I need my students to understand how to use it appropriately because I've got to make them digital citizens.

Mount Vernon Teacher's Institute

As a history nerd, the idea of studying George Washington's life and staying at Mount Vernon was thrilling.  I applied and was accepted in the summer of 2012.  It was an amazing opportunity and you can learn more about it {here} or {here}.

MEMTA

Summer 2012 was a busy one because once I got back from Mount Vernon, I almost immediately headed back to the East Coast to attend the Mickelson Exxon Mobile Teacher's Academy.  MEMTA pairs with NSTA and focuses on science instruction in 3-5th grade classrooms.

Oh, and I met Phil Mickelson.

 Learn more {here} and {here}. 

{DENSI}

The Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute is a week long adventure in learning and connecting with other educators.  My brain frequently feels like it's ready to explode from all the strategies and I still haven't implemented all the ideas that are swirling around in my brain.

I've had some amazing opportunities to learn more and become a better teacher.  I'm thankful for the opportunities to grow as a person, challenge my preconceived notions, and continue to learn new things.

What are you thankful for?

Continual improvement, even during the summer

I'm not very good with summer plans.  Two years ago, I experienced a week of learning at Mt. Vernon with a teacher's academy and a week in New York City with the Mickelson Exxon-Mobile  Teacher's Academy (MEMTA).  Last year, I attended DENSI for a week of technology and teaching.  All three experiences were incredible and I learned so much from fellow teachers across the country.

This summer, I'm not doing any teacher academies.  With moving expenses, I simply couldn't afford the airfare to DENSI (Nashville).  I didn't sign up for my district's teaching classes in time and now that I'm 97% moved in, I find myself with lots of free time...which I don't necessarily cope with well.

My boyfriend is like the rest of the world and works during the summer.  Many of my teacher friends are traveling back home or working second jobs or putting the finishing touches on their own homes or spending time with their kids.  I just had family visit, my home is done (with the exception of a few lamps and dishes at the old apartment), and I don't have kids yet.  I'm trying not to spend a lot of money so travel is out.

I'm doing a lot of reading, which is wonderful. But I still find myself with a lot of free time.  I know I should enjoy this time since it will vanish once the school year starts.  It will vanish once I have kids.

But I am pleased that a summer job has appeared.  I have the opportunity to tutor a third grade student.  My realtor of all people reached out on behalf of one of her other clients.  It will only be a few hours a week but it still gives me an opportunity to interact with kids.  

I'm excited for this opportunity!

These are my students...

My kiddos had some awesome opportunities this week.  We had a historical presentation from the Mount Vernon association, a Q & A session with a police officer and those that earned the reward got to learn about reptiles.  

So we talked about being grateful for these opportunities and wrote thank you cards.  I modeled one for them, we brainstormed sentence frames and I let them write.   They partner edited, I provided stationary and whatever part of their letter that was unfinished became homework.

Over ninety percent were returned today, which was pretty exciting to see.

I separated the letters into piles and flipped through them until I found this:

Yes, my lovely student decided it was totally appropriate to offer a book recommendation to a complete stranger at the end of her letter.  I think I'm proud?

These are the students I've raised.  There are no boundaries and we should just tell everyone about our books, whether or not we were asked.

At least they're loving reading!

Historical Assembly

Our fifth graders had an awesome opportunity today!  In partnership with the Mount Vernon teacher's association, we had a special presentation.  A historian pretended to be William Lee, man servant to General George Washington.

For an hour, our fifth graders were completely engaged in learning about history.

It was a wonderful sight to see.  

American Revolution

If I had to pick a favorite social studies era to teach, it would be the American Revolution :)

Last summer, I had the privilege to represent Nevada at the Mount Vernon Teacher's Institute which was hands-down one of the best professional developments I've ever attended.

We spent a week living at Mount Vernon and learning all about the life of George Washington.  Since I studied political science and political theory, this was a dream come true. I got to be surrounded by so much history and engage in amazing conversations with other like minded history nerds :)

However, reality set in: it's hard to get fifth graders excited about history.  So with a little help from this video, they were hooked.  We did a four week unit on the American Revolution and analyzed primary source documents (the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution) to look at text features and text structures.  We analyzed multiple perspectives with the help of this graphic organizer snagged from pinterest.

We read a plethora of informational, historical nonfiction and picture books, including some of my all-time favorites:

 

My students picked a side, researched their person, then had a "meet and greet" with other persons in the colonies.  

We then re-enacted battles outside, highlighting the difference in fighting styles.  The redcoats lined up and had to remain linked to their partner as they marched down the field.  The rebels were free to work independently, simulating gorilla warfare. 

We then compared and contrasted the uniforms, weaponry and fighting styles.

Students analyze maps of the colonies and create their own battle plans.  After the war, I had students work in groups to create a new government, linking nicely into the Continental Congress and the founding of our country.

I wish I could teach social studies all day long :)