October 22, 2010

NEW

1. Raise awareness regarding decision to revise the Elementary Reporting Cycle

2. Practise writing comments for NEW Learning Skills for November 2010 Progress Report

3. Practise writing comments for Academic Progress for November 2010 Progress Report

Excellent

Janice

Good

__________________

Satisfactory

______________

Needs Improvement__________________

Partner Pair-Up

Excellent

Tania

Good

__________________

Satisfactory

______________

Needs Improvement__________________

There is broad agreement among educators, researchers and international organizations that learning skills and work habits contribute substantially to student success.

Development of learning skills and work habits needed to succeed in school and in life begins early in a child’s schooling.

Students benefit when teachers discuss and model these skills and when teachers and parents work with students to help them develop these skills

WHY?

New progress report No letter or number grades Focus on assessment FOR learning (formative) Fewer learning skills; more comprehensive

Handout

The NEW learning skills are what we have been focusing on to set up our classroom climates since September

Think about: How did you establish

classroom routines and norms?

Find your EXCELLENT partner and discuss

Debrief as a whole group

Milling to Music (5 minutes)

EXCELLENT

Participation Listening

Appreciations Mutual Respect

Handout

Click here to view video

Alan November http://newlearninginstitute.org/21stcenturyeducation/index.html

In your table groups, compare the Process of Tribes TM with the Sample Behaviours listed in the Learning Skills of the Report Card

Highlight and code similarities on your charts

Find and share with your partner

GOOD

Learning Skil l (Sample Behaviour)

TribesTM Processes

CollaborationResponds positively to the ideas, opinions, values, and traditions of others

APPRECIATIONS-NO PUT DOWNS

Autonomy & IndependenceSelf-Esteem:

Values respect for diversity

Problem-SolvingCollaboration:

Practices democratic values, fairness ,and equity

In your table groups, compare the Process of Tribes TM with the Sample Behaviours listed in the Learning Skills of the Report Card

Highlight and code similarities on your charts

Find and share with your partnerGOOD

What do,

really mean?

E G S NI

Excellent Good Satisfactory Needs Improvement

“E” Responsibi l i ty & OrganizationXXX is off to a very good start this year by following classroom rules and completing

school work on time. He manages time effectively and uses our school agenda to stay on top of upcoming deadlines.

“G” Responsibi l i ty & OrganizationXXX understands our grade X routines, and accepts his roles and responsibilities in

our classroom by following the Four Agreements.

“S” OrganizationXXX brings his agenda to class everyday, however he sometimes runs out of time to

copy down the homework before the end of the day. We will continue to practise time management skills by breaking down tasks, and more closely monitoring how long it takes him to complete in-class work.

“NI” OrganizationDuring independent work time, XXX has difficulty focusing and taking out his learning

materials to begin work. He often needs instructions repeated. In class, we will continue to practice keeping our workspace organized. XXX is encouraged to practice daily routines and organizational skills at home to maximize the amount of time he has to complete a task.

“E” Responsibil i ty & OrganizationXXX is off to a very good start this year by following classroom rules and completing

school work on time. He manages time effectively and uses our school agenda to stay on top of upcoming deadlines.

“G” Responsibi l i ty & OrganizationXXX understands our grade X routines, and accepts his roles and responsibilities in

our classroom by following the Four Agreements.

“S” OrganizationXXX brings his agenda to class everyday, however he sometimes runs out of time to

copy down the homework before the end of the day. We will continue to practise time management skills by breaking down tasks, and more closely monitoring how long it takes him to complete in-class work.

“NI” OrganizationDuring independent work time, XXX has difficulty focusing and taking out his learning

materials to begin work. He often needs instructions repeated. In class, we will continue to practice keeping our workspace organized. XXX is encouraged to practice daily routines and organizational skills at home to maximize the amount of time he has to complete a task.

Parents can infer that you’ve worked with

students to instil this routine

This is the most neutral comment-on the right

track to success

This indicates that you as the teacher will make this a focus of your instruction. Parents can expect follow-up on the first academic report

card in Feb 2011

Steps

Think about a student in your classroom

What has been a LS of focus for this part icular learner?

Describe his behaviour wrt that particular LS

How would he ‘rank’ on the scale of EGSNI?What does he need to do to improve? What can you/parents do to help?

Compose your comment

Working Towards a Learning Ski l l CommentJoey

Collaborat ion-working with others to resolve conflict and build consensus to achieve group goalsHe always wants to take over in a group; has difficulty sharing the leader role with peers; bosses around other students S or NI

He: Show mutual respect for the variety of roles needed to achieve a task; allow others to lead; reflect on what it means to be a good group member Me: revisi t class norms and role play cooperat ive learningJoey has difficulty working in small group situations. He often dominants and does not allow others to have a chance to lead. In the coming months, we will revisit our class norms, and role play effective behaviours for cooperative learning .

Find your partnerSelect one other LS that

has been a focus for you thus far

Create a comment following the 6 steps

Share your comments with peers

SATISFACTORY

Rate the child’s academic progress in all areas taught thus far

Provide a general progress update on performance in Language and Mathematics

Only add additional comments for other areas where the child is Progressing With Difficulty

Steps

Think about a particular student in your class

Think about the content/strands of a particular subject that you have taughtHow has the student performed wrt the content/strands that you have taught thus far?

Where does the student’s academic performance rank on the scale?What does he need to do to improve? What can you/parents do to help?

Building Towards an Academic Comment

Gabriella

Language (Reading, Writing, Oral, didn’t quite get to Media yet)She is strong in oral (PW), but has difficulty generating her ideas about what she has read on paper (PWD). Her writing is also very basic-she does not use new vocabulary to support her answers (PWD)PWD

She: Use post-it notes as she reads to track her thinking; use class anchor charts to apply comprehension strategies while reading; use the class word wall when writing about themes we’ve discussed in class Me: model how to use post-it notes during think alouds; explicit ly use vocabulary during modelled writ ing; provide GO to plan writ ten responses. Home: practice retell ing what she did at school orally and in writ ing

Gabriella has strong oral language skills and offers interesting ideas during class discussions. In reading, she has difficulty generating ideas on paper about what she has read. In the coming months at school, we will practise how to use post-it notes to track her ideas as she reads. At home, she is encouraged to practise retelling what she did at school orally and in writing using specific detail and vocabulary.

This is where parents can help at home

This becomes our teaching focus from November-February

Think about what you have taught thus far in the other content areas

Brainstorm academic performance comments for PVW, PW, PWD with your grade lev el partner

Exchange ideas with other grade level colleagues

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybmo58bTRj0