Fan Freebie Certificates Coming Right Up!

Rereading Harry & Rosemary Wong's book, "The First Days of School," inspired me to start a Facebook discussion about student motivation and engagement. It's one thing to effectively track student progress in a way that they can SEE, it's another thing to keep that momentum going. Sharing progress with parents at conferences is great, but it isn't often enough. I decided to create some freebie student certificates for Facebook followers that can be sent home each time a student masters another level. You could start at 1, or wait until they've reached 3 or 4, different students need different amounts of external incentive. Students can color the numbers in to designate the level they've reached.
The great thing is that the certificates will double as homework passes, which every kid can get excited about!! I found these to be very effective for getting parents to engage in classroom activities or events as well, because the kids put pressure on them to get the freebie. :) The certificates indicate that the teacher has to approve the homework choice; I usually allow them to use it for one overnight practice assignment, not projects or packets.

I'd like to give people a chance to give some feedback - here is the preview. 

Visit me at https://www.facebook.com/MrsLsLeveledLearning and 

let me know what you think! 

I'll post the final version later this week!

You can receive these FREE certificates by following my TpT Store. Every month I send out Notes to followers with info and freebies.

Post by Mrs. L's Leveled Learning.

 November's Follower Freebie is a "Who Has" Game for practicing Pre-Algebra Expressions. Different sets allow differentiation for Grades 3-8! Sign up for my email Newsletter to get this exclusive offer! This offer will expire by Dec. 15th, 2014. Sign up today!

Sunday Scoop: AATM Conference was a hit!

Today I'm linking up again with Teaching Trio's Sunday Scoop! 

  

Yesterday was the big AATM, Arizona Association of Teachers of Mathematics Conference at ASU.

One big highlight for me was meeting a fellow blogger and seasoned TeacherspayTeachers.com Seller,  Jennifer Smith-Sloane from 4mulaFun! Check out her 5 FAB Fall FREEBIES for Math! Follow her blog link to see all the info for entering.  

Over 350 teachers attended and I had the chance to talk with at least half of them about what they're doing in their classrooms, and what kind of support they need the most. I found that most teachers are required to post learning goals of some kind ("objectives," "targets," etc.) in their classrooms, and an increasing number are required to apply learning scales to them. The most frequent question I was asked was, "How do you use a Scale?"

The first thing teachers saw at my table were the colorful Assessments with Learning Goals and Scales. The second thing they saw were the student binders with work samples and the Student Portfolio pages. Most teachers liked the idea of having a pre-test and post-test that shows growth. They also really liked the idea of having kids easily track growth by coloring in boxes. The student portfolio binders contain the Assessments with Learning Goals and Scales so kids, parents, and teachers can see concretely how the students determine each scale they are on. They still wanted to know more.

A few teachers had mentioned that their schools were requiring them to use scales with learning goals, but they were confused about how they go together, or what the scales are based on. The Poster examples show the exact scales used in the Assessments. These scales were inspired by the compilation of research by Robert Marzano in "The Art and Science of Teaching," and several resources went into informing the progression of skills that align with each standard. Marzano states that "The starting place for all effective instruction is designing and communicating clear learning goals.", but he doesn't specify how large or small those learning goals should be. I recognized the look of confusion and struggle in the faces of other teachers because that's how I felt when I was introduced to this somewhat ambiguous concept - what do you make learning goals about???? The answer is that any skill or concept knowledge can become a learning goal. I started out by writing sentences on the board relating to each day's lesson. That's how I started using learning goals. I'm sure it did help students focus on what they had to learn that day, but it didn't help them see their overall growth, or help me to track it. I chose to focus my learning goal Assessments on the Common Core standards because that is what everybody must master - regardless of how many tiny pieces I chop it into - that is our ultimate GOAL! Keeping track of anything else, especially with multiple grade levels, was just too much to stay on top of.

Using a general scale to apply to all learning goals is a good start, and writing your own could be even better, but the time and research it takes to write scales that really align to the standards sequentially can be hard to accomplish when there are so many other things to do! General scales can still create some confusion for students because there aren't concrete examples for each level, so they are still left to guess, or approximate their own level of proficiency. 

The second most frequent question I was asked was, 

"Do you have anything for Grades [K-2 or 9-12]?"

I'm thinking I may ask for input on Facebook this week because people will occasionally request grade levels  through the TpT store site, but it's hard to tell what the demand is. There is a huge difference between the structure and content of K-2 materials, and 9-12 materials, obviously. Although I have a background and a Bachelors in early childhood, I'm hesitant to create something for several reasons. First, the Common Core standards may or may not be totally appropriate for this age level, and the responsibility of creating an age appropriate assessment that matches the variety of ways that young ones are taught could get really tricky. Secondly, there are so many great resources out there for early elementary, I'm not sure the need is great enough for me to invest the time. That's where you can help me! I need to know who and how many people would actually be interested in a scaled assessment for K-2. I'd love to hear from you through my blog, or Facebook page Mrs. L's Leveled Learning. If I don;t get much feedback I will move onto Algebra I and Geometry standards for high school. I haven't worked with this content since I taught an 8th grade math class 8 years ago! I am excited to dive into it again!

Sincerely, 

Sunday Scoop Linky - What's on your plate?

Today I am linking up with Teaching Trio for the 3-2-1 Sunday Scoop! The beginning of the school year is always a bit overwhelming for teachers. Being at home this year, I have the advantage of choosing when to be busy, and when to take a break. Of course my two little ones don't allow for too many breaks between 6am and 8pm, weekends are awesome for catching up because my super-supportive hubbie lets me run away to Starbucks for some quiet work time while he gets the kids up.

Working from home, I set my own schedule, which is great if I can manage to be consistent, and a challenge when I have to re-negotiate work time around the family's needs. This week my to-do list looks like this...

First work item is the 8th Grade Math Madness Interactive Power Point Game! These take a few hours to complete and review takes and concepts front the 8th Grade Common Core Math Standards. I like using it as a beginning and end-of-the-year game. It works like Jeopardy, and is a no-prep teacher activity that kids love. The game board links to questions, and the links turn color after a question has been chosen so it keeps track of available questions for you. The questions link to "Correct!" or "Oops!" pages so there's also no checking for the teacher. Kids get immediate feedback and can even go through the game independently in small groups or pairs. I like to have all of the related grade-level projects done in the same week so it's easier for teachers to find everything. I'm a week behind on this game, but the FREE Student Portfolio pages, Assessment, and Posters are done! There's also FREE Excel Tracking Sheets for every grade level to help you track student progress and sort kids for differentiation.

COMING SOON!!

The next thing on my list is to prepare for the Arizona Association of the Teachers of Mathematics Conference! 350 math teachers from around Arizona will meet at ASU to learn how to better instruct students for success!

I will be exhibiting the Math Assessments with Learning Goals and Scales for the first time, so I am really excited! We only have one family car, so we have been making trips to the dollar store and local Walmart on foot.  I am also sporting my super-woman shirt which I think every teacher and mother need to have. 

I have been working on display materials for the last two months, including my FREE Assessment Samples with three CC Standards each. I will also be hosting a Raffle for every grade level 4th-8th, so teachers can win a FREE copy of the Assessments.

Number three on my to-do list is for my little baby! She's going to be 1-year old! It went zoo fast! We are planning a first birthday party for her. My husband and I like to make our own cakes and we have a princess dress mold we bought at JoAnn's. We used it a few years ago to make our son a rocket ship cake for his second birthday party. So, hopefully the princess dress turns out just as cute!

Two things I hope to do, is get further along on finishing the 3rd Grade Common Core Math Assessment with Learning Goals and Scales. A few people have already asked for it and I don't like to keep teachers waiting long - especially since the school year has started! Once you get too far in, it's difficult to go back and pre-assess standards so you can show progress!

For my son, I committed myself to making a First Year scrapbook. My mom, who is a very talented graphic artist, created beautiful pages for me, so all I had to do was add pictures and captions. AWESOME!!!! I knew it would still take a lot of time, so I only committed to the first year; after that all family photos go into a family book with pockets and captions - fast and simple, or I know it will not get done, and I really don't want to lose these wonderful memories in the fog of mental activity years later!

Finally, I am so grateful to have my two kids at home with me for a few more years. Instead of enrolling in preschool this year, our son is staying home and doing activities with me. I recently signed him up for ABCmouse.com, an online preschool activity center so he can 'work' while mommy works, and his sister naps. Working from home means I can't do everything myself. I enjoy our night-night story times, and having the chance to talk with him and see what he's interested in. It is such an exciting time of childhood! They are learning so much, developing so many interests, and it seems that their potential for the future is unlimited - at least I hope to encourage that perspective in  my children. Just yesterday my husband and I watched this really interesting video from TEDx about positive thinking research and it's effect on success; The Happy Secret to Better Work.

Basically he says that as a culture we have set ourselves up for unhappiness by pushing it off until we have 'met our goals.' As long as we believe we can't be happy or content until we have met some goal, then we continue to wait and feel stressed working towards it. Once we have achieved it, we still can't be happy because there's always a next goal, a revised goal, etc. Research suggests that it's the people who can be happy first, content with the process and progress, that actually achieve more success long-term! Can someone please send this to every administrator and school district they know!!! How amazing would it be for kids to feel proud and motivated to learn while they learn, and not having to feel stressed and anxious until the next round of testing results comes back! Really gave me something to think about too. As an adult who has been trained to always move onto the next goal, I have to stop and catch myself having this same attitude. Take a breath! Take a break! And make sure your kids know that they can too!  Happy thoughts... :) 

Have a great week!

 

Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week: Organization! The Power of Power Point Presentations!

                         

  
Back again with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week. Today's topic is organization! I can relate to Dee Dee Willis in her confession, "I am NOT organized by nature." It took me several years of teaching to learn how to be organized. I was always looking for the perfect way to organize so I could be extra-efficient and save loads of time and work for myself! The problem was I couldn't always get other people's ideas to fit into my own routines or environment. After a lot of trial and error, I figured out a few tricks.

First of all, lesson plans...When I taught in the classroom full time I used one of those giant two-page weekly layout booklets with big empty boxes for each subjects. This worked well-enough because my lessons plans were brief and mostly in my head. When I moved into gifted resource, I was teaching multiple grade levels at the same time, so I needed something more specific to my structure. I created my own planning pages to outline my whole-group instruction, and differentiation plans. 

IFG stands for "Instructional Focus Group" which basically means, 'small groups for differentiation.' Every year my schedule changed a bit; usually I was lucky enough to have 4/5 in the same room for a full 90 minutes. This year, I only had 4th grade for the first hour, and 5th for 90 minutes. 

The "Slide 11" under the Group Activity section refers to my power point presentation. I had almost all of my instructional introductory content and correlated practice work on presentation slides for the kids to see. This took me a few years to develop, and I would modify it a bit every year, but holy cow, did I save A LOT of planning from one year to the next - mostly because if you're teaching several subjects, or several grade levels at once, what are the chances you are going to remember how you presented it from year to year, or if your activities went well? This presentation made it easy for me to make modifications after a class period if something didn't work well. Then it would be ready to go for the next school or year! Here's a few examples: slides 11 and 13 are below. I taught two grade levels technically, but not all of my students were gifted, so I would plan 3 levels of practice activities some days (Red, Orange, & Green assignments below). 

Because I am a visual person, I LOVED having my main ideas laid out in front of me. It was also easy for me to reteach a concept from whole group instruction for those students who didn't get it the first time. The slides often become my worksheets so it's easy for me to keep my paper work organized as well.

I also taught Language Arts, but this was a more flexible process and my lesson plans would be even more brief because so much of what we did in class depended on our book discussions. I also pulled from so many different resources for LA, and had to use a two year system since I had the same kids for two years; I couldn't repeat books. I used a basic filing system for activities related to each book, for each skill. Eventually I also began creating power point presentations for each book we read that outlined the Common Core standards I had to accomplish. Again, I saved myself a lot of work from year-to-year having things all laid out, and I also made sure I wasn't going to miss any important standards! Here's a few examples of that presentation template. 

Slide 1: Table of Contents

Oh man, I've been spending so much time on math I forgot how fun Language Arts was! 

It's weird that a power point presentation of lesson plans can get me emotional! LOL!  

Thank you Krista Wallden at Creative Clips for the cute Frames!  

Once we were required to begin using learning goals and scales, I developed binders for students to track their own progress. For Language Arts, I would print and file each of their classroom assignments from the presentation slides above into a portfolio binder under the general clump of "Reading Skills." There was also a tab for "Writing Skills." The standard is already printed on the work sheets so it was easy to discuss with parents or administrators what the kids were doing.

For the Math portfolio binders, I created more specific tabs for the assessments I developed and sample work which were divided into Common Core clusters. Students could track their progress in the standards and goals on the divider tabs themselves. See photos of math binders below.  Every grade level follows the same structure.

Binder Dividers are copied onto colored paper, and portions are cut from the side for easy identification. Learning Goals and spaces for coloring the scales are on the front side.

 The back side of each divider page has three spaces for writing and tracking some personal learning goals. In between each divider are the actual assessment pages that they've taken to show which scale they are on. You could also include work samples from classroom assignments that match each standard.

Every divider page has a different cut-out space to create tabs. I found this much more economical than buying plastic tab dividers for every student. 

If you'd like to learn more about the Math Assessments with Learning Goals and Scales, or the FREE Student Portfolio tabs available, just follow this blog link to my previous post: 

FREE Student Progress Portfolios - *Revised*

Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week: Who & Where

                 &          

Today I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week. As a newer blogger it's great to have so many excellent examples out there and people so willing to collaborate. Who am I, and why did I start blogging?

My name is Melanie and I have taught for 12 1/2 years. The 1/2 because last fall I had my second baby and decided to stay home after second quarter. My husband had just started a new job, so I was prepared to finish out the year, but, things worked out better for us this way. It was very difficult to leave a class mid-year, especially since my last job was a 4/5 split meaning half of my kids I had the year before as 4th graders. I was already so attached! As you can imagine, being with my own kids full-time, I quickly adjusted to the stay-at-home life. This year I will still be home, but teaching is fresh in my mind. I wanted to stay connected to the field so I've been sharing some of my work from home, and following others' blogs. This is why I started blogging.

I am originally from Michigan, but have lived in Arizona for the last 6 years. I was SOOO happy to get out of the snow and endless weeks of overcast skies that I did not really mind the 110 degree summer days. My husband and I met online! YES! He was in Italy with the Navy at the time. I was in Michigan teaching first grade and had no intention of meeting anyone out of state, but life has a way of redirecting us. We started emailing, and became friends. A month or two later we started talking on the phone and having "Skype dates" long distance. He was so sweet and adorable, and we had so much in common as far as our lifestyle, values, and attitudes, we totally clicked. We decided to meet in person about 8 months after we'd started talking. He flew to Michigan to stay with me and my family for one week, and I flew to Arizona to meet his family the next week. Here's the first moment we met in person - July, 2008 Detroit Airport. Awww! This is my favorite picture of us.

I had already told my principal that I wasn't returning to the first grade classroom the following year because I intuitively felt that I needed to try something else. I had taught second grade for four years, middle school for one year, and first grade for two. I love LOVE the little guys and they are so adorable, but as an introvert I found it wearing to be in one room with so much energy all day! I started looking for jobs and apartments on my visit to Arizona. He went back to Italy and I was hired over the phone for a gifted resource job a few weeks later. My brother and sister helped me drive cross-country, and I started my new job the third week of August. He was released early from the Navy to go back to school, and we were engaged the next summer. He proposed in Sedona - THE most beautiful place in Arizona!

I don't tell this story too often because it sounds so crazy! I am typically very rational, but I do believe in following my own intuition and when it's right, you know it! We have been married for 4 years; we have one honey-moon baby boy who's now 3 1/2, and a newer baby girl who will be one year in September! I'm planning a princess party. Here's my two cuties.

 

They get along famously when she's not grabbing his toys and he's not jealous about her getting attention! 

My family comes first in my life - absolutely. I am also a faithful Catholic which can freak some people out, especially if you grew up believing Catholics are weird or outdated. For us it's just another aspect of our culture, family history, and personal experience. My husband and I both went to Catholic school, as well as our parents; and I started out teaching in Catholic school before I moved to Arizona. I am not likely to ever mention religion again, because it's so personal and too political for my taste, but I do have a strong biblical faith life. I believe that everyone has a spirituality of some kind, whether they consciously choose it or not. My kids were baptized at a few weeks old, and my husband and I were happy to be the god-parents of twin nieces this past May.

Son's Baptism at 2 weeks old. 

Duaghter's Baptism at 3 weeks old.

Cute little Australian nieces. (My husband is holding our daughter.)

I spend most of my time right now entertaining my kids, and since Isaac is 3 1/2 we're still potty-training and working on some pre-school skills. He loves puzzles, blocks, and cooking! You wouldn't believe how well this kid can peel a carrot or potato. He also peels garlic, and most recently has been helping to crack and scramble eggs. We also like to do arts and crafts. He just got into coloring which is great because he's busy by himself for longer. We made this Easter bunny in April. Yes, I did most of the paper mache, but he did the painting! 

I always loved art projects with my students and wish there was more class time for it. Especially in math or science, there are so many ways to integrate kinesthetic or visual-spatial skills!

Where? Where? Where? As I mentioned, I am at home this year, but my most recent job was teaching gifted resource students at two Title I schools in the Kyrene district. I loved this job the best so far, for so many reasons! It was very difficult to feel like I was doing a good job at first. I was going to school to get certified while I learned form experience teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade gifted kids reading and math classes. I also taught 2 reading intervention periods a day. After a few years the program changed and we welcomed advanced kids as well as gifted qualified students into class. Third grade became a classroom cluster experience, and I continued to be the replacement core teacher for 4/5 split classes at two schools.  This experience was very unique because I got to see the breadth and variety of issues behind qualifying and teaching gifted kids in a mixed context. Differentiation was not just a theory in my class, but a necessity, because not all of my pull-out students were actually gifted. I also noticed huge variations in the performance and strengths of individual students which didn't seem at all connected to their qualification "status." 

More on this topic in future posts - briefly I will say, I learned that there is a lot more to being a successful student than IQ tests. SO many kids from less fortunate circumstances go undetected for various reasons. I noticed that with the right attention and instruction they can also do amazing things! For any of you gifted advocates - keep up the GOOD WORK! Teaching qualified gifted kids can be controversial in some people's minds, but these kids also really need the right kind of attention - NO they are not smart enough to guide themselves in the regular classroom, they are KIDS! first and foremost! I am a big advocate for social-emotional education of all children, especially low-income and gifted kids. I really believe that focusing on an entire child's being can help to understand and guide them in ways that don't happen when cognitive skills are stressed exclusively.

Thanks for stopping by to browse my work. I look froward to getting to know some of you! Don't be shy about leaving comments or connecting with me on Facebook, Pinterest, etc. I love hearing from others' perspectives! God Bless you and your work!