Update re: Roller Coaster

So back in August, I stepped onto this roller coaster that is basically the longest, steepest roller coaster in the world. I mean, Carowinds or Six Flags has nothing on this behemoth. Anyway, so I got on, pulled the harness over my head, and the ride attendant buckled me in, telling me to have a fun 9 months, as well as to keep all limbs in the ride at all times. I was super pumped to be riding this shiny new roller coaster! As I waited for the "all clear, enjoy the ride", I was getting pumped with my friends who were also super excited to ride this huge, new roller coaster. The coaster started moving and before I knew it, we were going up this super steep hill that I had never experienced before in my life. I mean, the view was amazing, and I could see so much that I had never seen before. It really was beautiful. It's beautiful, but this is also the part of a roller coaster where most of your fear kicks in. You get that feeling of, "Oh my word, what did I step onto?" "How in the world have people rode this and survived?!". 

You know how sometimes you'll get up to what you think is the top of the hill of a roller coaster, only to dip down a little and then continue on the climb up? Well, that's what I've been doing lately, and I'm sure a lot of you can also identify with that. I'm not going to lie, everyone gets scared and wishes they could go back down at one point. Just ask Hannah...she's my roller coaster buddy and I usually scream the whole way up. Things have gotten very real and the view has been insanely amazing, but part of that new view includes taking in everything that education is behind the scenes, or above the clouds if you're still interested in keeping up with the roller coaster reference. I'm pretty sure a roller coaster that tall is very illegal, but whatever. I've seen so much that I never even imagined before hopping aboard. However, it's still an amazing view and no one has convinced me to jump off yet!

To segway away from the roller coaster reference until further necessary, I also want to talk about just how great being in my school has been. My CE recently gave me a reference that has been a lifesaver for not only helping our students learn, but helping me learn new strategies to teach them. The resource is called LearnZillion, and it is an instructional resource aligned with Common Core standards and more. The premise of LearnZillion is that it provides free resources, which are all standard based. 

LearnZillion also offers instructional videos that aid students within your own instruction time. I've used several of their videos in my own instruction, particularly within mathematics instruction. While they are not the most flashy videos, they are rich and strong in content application, and really keep things simple so students can understand. 

The other main resource that LearnZillion has to offer is lesson planning materials. Now, I'm not saying that you simply pull one of their lessons that meets the criteria for whatever standard you're teaching, but seeing the way they have structured their lesson helps me to plan my own. I see myself as stronger with ELA instruction than mathematics instruction, so this resource has really helped me to strengthen my instruction, not just give more videos for my students to watch. Using LearnZillion or something similar would definitely be a connection to NCTCS 3A and 3B, because using this resource is all about making your instruction richer and more relevant for student connections. 

I hope you enjoyed my roller coaster update and can identify with my experiences/laughable moments!

Reading Resources

If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for new resources to keep students interested in reading. I've experienced firsthand how some reading programs and assessments have destroyed a child's interest in reading. It's not the student's fault; we as educators just need to find a way to show students a healthy balance between reading for leisure and for informational purposes. 

So I was so excited when Dr. McKinney shared with some of us a great tool. For those who have not heard of Epic!, it is somewhat similar to NewsELA. The platform offers free access to ebooks for a small fee, but access is free for all teachers. This includes those of us in student teaching. Basically, there are 814,965,341 (not really) books that you have instant access to. The great thing is that though the book is offered via a digital device, there are still pages that students can flip through when reading. The biggest complaint from me as a teacher when approaching ebooks is that students won't have the experience of flipping through a book, so this feature really excited me. 

Also, there are books on Epic! that you have probably heard of, and students will definitely be interested in. I almost fell out of my chair when I realized that the entire series of Big Nate was on there, because my 4th graders absolutely love that series. In addition to the ebooks, there are quizzes with each ebook that students can take after reading. I think this would be interesting to use to see if it could help students become more confident in both taking AR tests and reading in general. I have mixed emotions about AR as I feel like it teaches students the game of simply gaining points by reading books at the bottom of their level, so they're not trying to challenge themselves. I wonder if using Epic! quizzes in conjunction with AR would make them think differently. 

Literacy integrated into all of the content areas is so important, and I've quickly found out this semester through clinical experience that it is hands-down the most concentrated content area. I want to use this to my advantage and help students grow to love reading. It was one of my favorite subjects growing up, but my mom can testify that after about 6th grade, I probably haven't picked up a book for leisure since. Using Epic! is a connection to NCTCS Standard 1D (advocating for students), 3D (relevance), and 4C (variety of instructional methods). If I can get one student to read because they actually desire to, then I consider these efforts a success. 

Where In The World Am I?

So I don't know about you guys, but this past week has been moving at a really weird pace for be, and I can already feel graduation quickly approaching even though it is only October. I've tried not to wish the days away because it is only a short matter of time until we begin the wonderful world of "adulting", but I'm not going to lie and say this education thing is a cake walk. Being in the classroom is like night and day...you see a lot of things you never imagined you would see. Before you know it you'll blink and we'll be there! 

This week, I have noticed in my clinical experiences that we've gone through several seating arrangements in desperate attempts to curb behavioral issues we are having. This has been an equally yoked initiative between my CE and I. Our school encourages mixed-ability based grouping, which I've found to be somewhat hard when you are trying to examine the behavioral dynamics. It is true that behavior can be linked to academic ability, but I've found that it is not fair to the student to make a judgment of academic ability based off of their behavior, which can stem from many different things. So, we've been trying several different strategies to make the classroom more well-balanced in terms of behavioral management. 

There is an interesting blog that talks about the pros and cons of using mixed ability grouping; this blog has allowed me to formulate an educated opinion on how to directly apply a variety of strategies. Now, the article also talks about how a mixed-ability group setting would encourage a healthy exchange of ideas and thoughts, which is something that I would be interested in trying. That is, however, if students are going to behave appropriately. After all, that is the sole purpose of this experience. 

However, there is the issue of balance. I don't want to discourage my students who have shown me that they already have good behavior. That would create a negative effect. On the other hand, I don't want to create an atmosphere where my students with consistently bad behavior do not have any motivation to improve. 

I think that our students could handle one more seating arrangement, and I am up to the challenge of using a more strategic plan when placing students. That is a work in progress...something that I hope to see an improvement on soon. 

Here is the link to the blog: http://creativecurriculumisabella.weebly.com/limitations-and-benefits-of-mixed-ability-classes.html

Assessment

The time has come for grade level meetings to determine how we can help our students improve skills that could make or break their understanding of content. The improvement of these skills can also make or break integral test score, such as the EOG. Now, I have mixed feelings about testing, and the planning that works itself around it. But I've seen how a healthy balance between scrutinizing test scores and working as a team to determine what to translate them into can do for the student's overall success.  We've met as a grade level to go over each student's scores for assessments such as EOG (End of Grade) and DORF (DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency). 

Initially, it was amazing for me to see how my CE and the other teachers were taking into account each test score and how it would affect the way we could "serve" the students within tier intervention. Out of roughly 125 students in the fourth grade, approximately half of them require either Tier 2 or 3 intervention. That sounds extraordinarily discouraging, and especially nerve-wracking for me as I prepare to quickly assume the role of their full time teacher. However, I'm thankful that my grade level is willing to break this all down for me so I can understand everything jumping out at me before January 2nd. 

With the group of students who require some kind of intervention (whether that be comprehension, fluency, or mathematics), we have a plan to divide them equally among the grade level and any teacher assistants who can help. I was going to lead a group as well, but my schedule wouldn't allow for it. It just amazed me overall how intense all of this assessment analyzing really was...and it wasn't for the benefit of anyone but the students. They seemed to really just want to help the students. 

I'm really excited to see how the plans we made as a grade level will affect our students' understanding. Regardless of their assessment scores, I consider it a win if they have learned something. I think a healthy balance in assessment data and student ability recognition is a goal to work towards, moving into this season of life known as teaching. This connects to NCTCS 1C, 1D, and 2D...all which deal with adapting education for the benefit of the student.