Our Thoughts about Christopher Columbus

...brought to you by the students of room 201

...translated for you by the teacher of room 201

He was a anis men. (He was an honest man.)

He sid the wed was a cico. (He said the world was a circle.)

He never lide. (He never lied.)

He was a ginyas. (He was a genius.)

He was a salor. (He was a sailor.)

He was cofident. (He was confident.)

He salt in the sea. (He sailed in the sea.)

He was a esplor. (He was an explorer.)

He was kindful. (He was kind.)

He was marred. (He was married.)

He said, Sail on. (He said, "Sail on.")

He duscuver amarca. (He discovered America.)

He rode three botse tenu petuh and satmareu. (He rode three boats, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.)

They gave him luck on his jerne. (They gave him luck on his journey.)

WPM (What Progress we have Made!) ...or words per minute ;)

As I prepare data to share with parents during spring conferences this week, I am compelled to reflect about the academic progress my students have made this year. I have encouraged them along the way, and been super excited for them when they meet their goals and we set more! But, just as with many things in life, sometimes looking week-to-week, you don’t realize how much progress has REALLY been made. In some of these kids’ cases, THEY HAVE IMPROVED SO MUCH! In my class of 25 students, there are 4 who read way above grade level, a few who read a little above grade level, some who have and still are right on track with their reading, and ELEVEN students who have made significant progress since August! Notable performance is what I want to consider their progress as… and it excites me more than I could ever express in words! (Or picture, or dance, or anything other form of expression ;))

I’m going to break down the data by beginning of the year (BOY), middle of the year (MOY), and current (C)… for these 11 students’ words per minute (WPM) rates/scores.

MC: BOY-5, MOY-31, C-74

TN: BOY-4, MOY-22, C-46

CJ: BOY-4, MOY-14, C-21

These three kids… read four or five words per minute in August… now read 21, 46, or 74 in a minute?! Crazy. How does this happen?!  MC was almost a year behind and now reads at a second grade level (increased her rate by SIXTY-NINE WPM), TN now is just a semester behind schedule (increased his rate by FORTY-TWO WPM), and CJ is on the way too… making progress, slow but sure (increased her rate by 17 WPM)!

KL: BOY-24, MOY-27, C-54

This is a unique situation because KL was at a plateau and not making progress for months. Almost 2 months ago, KL’s scores shot up and gradually she went from a score in the twenties, to thirties, to forties, and is now movin’ right through the fifties! And, THAT is why you should never give up… because you never know how close you are to reaching your goal!

MB: BOY-33, MOY-48, C-62

AB: BOY-36, MOY-55, C-68

MB: BOY-14, MOY-29, C-41

And these four! They now read 27-32 more words per minute than they did 7 months ago!

JM: BOY-n/a, MOY-36, C-61

JM has increased her score 25 words per minute in just THREE months! Girls gone crazy speedy Reader McReaderson.

AG: BOY-19, MOY-35, C-60

DA: BOY-48, MOY-58, C-84

AA: BOY-57, MOY-88, C-112

Oh dear, these little readers… they’ve increased their rate from 36-55 WPM!!! And I think to myself, HOW IN THE HECK?!

So let’s look at the how… how does this happen. Well, some of these kids lacked some very basic foundational skills… some have little or no support at home… some have ZERO books at home… one’s mom even thought she was illiterate until she started READING in SECOND grade! So we sometimes work on CVC, CVCe words… when we get a chance. We read stories weekly as a class. They have to sound out words when they write and I encourage them to do so! Even when they complain and say I’m not going to be able to read their story… I figure it out eventually ;) In the beginning, I based what my kids were ALLOWED to read on what their test scores said they COULD read. A low score, a low level book (aka a “baby” book)… a high score, a high level (a much “cooler” book)… This actually took away ALL motivation for my non-readers and low-readers to want to read… b-o-r-i-n-g. So I kind of gave up on my rule of “you can only read books that are the letter that I’ve told you can read” and when Kid asked to read Book, I said sure… didn’t even look at the “letter” or whether or not they could read the first page with 100% or even 75% accuracy. They wanted to READ and so I went with it. Sure, it may take High Reader 2-3 days to read a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book and Low Reader close to a month, but hey. Everything’s going to be just okay…  

Data shows that comprehension has increased, as well as accuracy, and fluency! Growin’ growin’ growin’!

Oh and how we LOVE when the DATA shows progress! Sometimes though, kids are not in a “testing mood” and don’t do their best and unfortunately the data still must be recorded. Some students are tested weekly and others monthly… and the data is definitely helpful and it does mean a lot. What also means a lot though are students’ WORDS, and when they transform from a kid who groans when it’s time to be tested to a kid who runs over smiling to be tested and exclaims that he loves reading!... that speaks almost LOUDER than any data ever could. Because when anyone sees growth and progress with something they are putting all they’ve got into, it IS going to be exciting!

So I’m just excited about THEIR growth… and I want to remember that THIS was a part of my FIRST year of teaching.

Taming, Teaching, and Training

last week i gave one of my girls the nickname, Outta... Outta Control. she pouted about it for awhile and then today when i got her attention by calling out "hey Outta!", she glared at me, pointed to her eyes then pointed to me and said, "i'm watching you." ha. okay Outta...

my kids wiggle, they make weird noises, they want to have pillow fights, they would do flips in our classroom if i let them, and at times they twirl and spin around when we walk in the hallways. they're kids, yea, but c'mon! little crazies. i am constantly reminding them to WALK ON THE YELLOW LINE. i know they are tired of hearing me say that, but get yo feet on that yellow line! they all should be named Outta... or just Crazy... or Actin-a Fool. and i tell them, "you are actin' foolish right now." i tell them"you better get yourself figured out because i'm not playin..." (and as i type this i realize my grammar is not the best when addressing them... haha. just bein' real...)

but! with Being Real and Speaking My Mind, comes their very helpful but at times difficult friend, Taming. taming the tongue. an impossible job according to james. our tongues praise and curse... our tongues are like fires, small sparks that could set the whole forest, or our whole life to flame. how careful we must be with what comes out of our mouths... so as i have been tamed, and continue to tame my own tongue... i am helping these little people learn how to tame theirs. the verbal arguing, abusing, bullying, lying, name-calling, cursing, rudeness... we won't have any of it. earlier this year, EVERYONE was saying "shut up" ALL the time. i told them we were done, we were done with "shut up" because i didn't like it and it was rude and there are much nicer ways to tell someone to "be quiet". oh, and yelling LEAVE ME ALONE! will not do either. SO, no "shut up!" and no "leave me alone!" and there ya have it, the beginning of a taming. there were a few slip ups then, but there are ZERO now. my kids don't say shut up... and they report on kids from other classes who tell them to shut up (i.e. at recess). "shut up" has left their vocabulary and is almost considered a swear word, a curse, an awful command that they've been TAMED (and told and taught) not to use. with taming comes self-control and my how we have grown in our self-control. it's awesome to see some of my students giving others encouragement to have self-control and how to make the "good choice" and be the bigger/more mature person in EVERY situation, so often though when disagreements do arise. it's an amazing experience to have some of the "tamed" help with the taming.

and as i tame, and teach, i'm training... them up in the way they should go. teaching them right from wrong (possibly using poor grammar along the way... :/), modeling positive behaviors, and affirming successes so that their little hearts feel glad that they're doing the right thing and that i'm proud OF them. my kids know that i teach them... because i'm their teacher. i'm sure they don't realize though that i'm training them for life... that they're already very different children than when they entered second grade 6 months ago.

taming, teaching, training... welcome to my life. it's definitely not easy, but it sure is rewarding.

I Won't Give Up

when you're told, especially as a first year teacher, "whatever you are doing, it's working. keep it up!" and a legit district professional says "i love this data... it's beautiful!" regarding the academic, behavior, and emotional progress of your most difficult & low student, you may be speechless... and you more than likely also will suddenly be filled with enough hope and energy to continue to give it all you've got... i was ;) 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galations 6:9)