Math Monday: Pre-Assessment

It's the first Math Monday!  I'm so excited to be participating and learning from others.  Thanks to Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for promoting more math conversations and discussions!

I was preparing for facilitating new teacher training in my district and stumbled across this quote from Rick Wormeli.

"DI is mostly about what we do ahead of time, not how we interact or conduct the lesson at the time.  There are some good aspects going on in the classroom, but that facilitation can only occur with purposeful and thoughtful planning.  I can make flexible decisions because I've already prepared the resources in anticipation of student needs.  Am I always prepared for everything? No way.  I get better with time, however."

In terms of mathematics instruction, my planning typically starts with pre-assessment.  I can only begin to plan instruction if I know students' strengths and areas for growth.  As an instructional coach, I had the opportunity to develop math pre-assessments with teachers.  Our purpose was to create formative assessment that would allow us to quickly gather information about students at the start of a unit and use that information to guide instruction for the unit and each lesson.  For instance, teachers wanted to be able to flexibly group students each day based on their understanding of the day's learning target.  At each grade level 1st-6th, we created an assessment, typically around 10 questions, to provide a snapshot of the unit's essential outcomes.

Developing the pre-assessments was critical.  However, as teachers, we know that sometimes we are "data rich, information poor."  Inspired by an idea from our Title teacher, we created a tracker.  This allows us to quickly input students' data and produce an instant visual that helps teachers to create flexible groups to meet students' needs.  Initially, we created our pre-assessment trackers in Microsoft Excel.  However, my district is shifting to a Google district.  Accordingly, it makes sense to upload the trackers into Google Sheets, which allows teachers to collaborate easily.  Here's an example:

Our pre-assessments and trackers are truly living documents that change as our PLCs dig deeper into essential outcomes and formative assessments.  But this has proven to be a very valuable jumping-off point!

Annie

#pb10for10 Top Ten New Books I Checked Out at My Public Library

Picture Book 10 for 10 Day is one of my favorite blogging days!  Thanks to Cathy (@cathymere) at Reflect and Refine and Mandy (@mandyrobek) at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for hosting.  I always find lots of great new titles to add to my TBR pile.  

This year, I have tried to use my library card more and my credit card on Amazon less.  And, when I have done some book shopping, I've tried to shop at independent bookstores more.  (Check out Kendra's #pb10for10.)  My public library has several shelves -- nonfiction, juvenile fiction, and picture books -- where they display their new books.  Big B, Little C, and I always check out these shelves first on our weekly library trips.  The books even have little green "New" stickers on them!  New books = happy heart.  Here's my Top 10 list of new books I checked out from my public library.

The Most Magnificent Thing
Endless possibilities with my favorite picture book of the year.  It's one that I read and then decided to must own it.

Going Places    
Beautiful illustrations with a beautiful story.  I found myself recommending this to colleagues that I know are passionate about creativity.

Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library
I love books about books and book-lovers.  I didn't realize that Jefferson helped to rebuild the Library of Congress with his collection of books.  Lots of great quotes inset in the illustrations!  

E-I-E-I-O: How Old McDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen
This was fun to read aloud because of the rhythm.  I think it was wonderful for my kids to think about where our food comes from and our backyard garden.

Gravity
Stunning book that explains an abstract science concept!  We reread this a few times to really absorb the illustrations.

Buddy and the Bunnies: In Don't Play with Your Food
Fun to read aloud!  Bob Shea is one of my favorite authors for my young readers.

Found
Salina Yoon is an author I recently discovered.  We checked out several of her books from her library, including two from the New shelf.  This was our favorite!  It reminded me of Knuffle Bunny Free, and the teacher in me thought it couldn't help but think about using it to model making text-to text or text-to-self connections.  Big B and I spent a long time studying the end papers!

Naked!
We got this book from library on Friday afternoon, and I have read aloud this book at least 10 times in the last 36 hours.  Little C has read the pictures at least 10 more times.  Oh, the giggling! (In fact, as I write this post, she's peeking over my shoulder yelling the title, laughing, and pretending to be cold.)  

Tea Party Rules
I may have squealed with excitement when I saw this book on the shelf.  I was so excited to read it after seeing it on Twitter and several blogs.  LOVE this fun friendship story!

Tools Rule!
Big B and I enjoyed the word play in this one.  Great teamwork message!

Happy reading!
Annie



  

#pb10for10 Top Ten Books I Purchased at An Indie Book Store

Cathy Mere and Mandy Robek have brought us #pb10for10.

Cathy's blog is here.  Mandy's blog is here.  Thank you for hosting all of us! 

 I was encouraged and reminded several times this spring and summer about buying local.  For me, it's about leaning in and getting to know the stories of the people in the community.  So this summer, I made the commitment to myself to spend the money locally.  All the picture books that I bought for school, home, or other use were purchased locally!  

As I share the books with you too, I also wanted to share the names of the shops I purchased them at as well, so you can check them out if you get a chance.  

From Chapters in Seward, Nebraska.  (www.sewardchapters.com)

 
This is a beautiful book.  I adore the illustrations.


When a worker found out I was a teacher, from Iowa, we connected immediately.  She brought this book right to me.  It takes a trip down Y-31, a real county road in Iowa.  Even living in Iowa, the schema and background knowledge needed to understand this book fully is amazing.  The possibilities for conversation are endless.  And the illustrations are stunning.  (Can you tell the farm has my heart?  I Love this book!)

From Bookbug in Kalamazoo, Michigan (www.bookbugkalamazoo.com)

Enter #nErDcampMI.  Annie and I both blogged about this awesome experience several times.  There were other nerdcampers there as well, and it was a delightful time.


Having what I believe is a tiny ninja in our house sometimes, Li'L T connected with this book immediately.  Ninja sneaks up on the dog, sneaks cookies, sneaks away from Granny's kisses.  Is there anything that can stop this ninja?


Peter Brown is a genius.  I wish he could have been in my classroom last year with my special friends.  He would have connected with all of them.  I can't wait to read this book with my new friends right away in just a few days.

From Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa.  (www.beaverdalebooks.com)  

The owner was so patient with us.  I made my family come with me on a Friday afternoon, just to see what this bookstore was like.  We spent a ton of time in there!  (And we bought more than one book of course, but for this blog, here's the most important one.)



This is a beautiful calming book that I've been looking for!  From the strong smart female, to a lesson on following your dreams, to the idea of sitting and observing your surroundings; I cannot get enough of this book.

From The Book Store in Des Moines, Iowa (http://www.downtowndesmoines.com/businesses/866)

A note about this store:  When I told my husband we were going to shop there, his first words were, "It's so small!"  Small, but mighty.  I wanted to take pictures of his stacks and boxes of books everywhere, because I loved it so.  It was our first time in, I didn't want to seem like a weird, crazy book lady.  (Wait....what?!?!)



Be still my heart, when Li'l T holds this book up as if he's found gold.  (I'm still struggling with his love of Captain Underpants.)  Of course this beautiful book came home with us right away.



I mean who wouldn't?  A great story about playing pretend.  And I'm a first grade teacher.  I love Mo!


I've loved this book for a long time.  Showing Fergus as a good dog, even when he's just being...well...a dog.

2 books that came home with me sometime, and I can't remember when or where; but it was one of these stores.  :)  Find a local book store and play along!  



A heartwarming and lovely story about making new friends, and treasuring your "old ones".  Perfect for the beginning of the school year.



I love Beekle.  He's an imaginary friend waiting to be discovered.  After being overlooked again and again, he takes off on an adventure.  Tonight, as I was reading Twitter, Dan Santat suggested this would be a great read aloud in the first few days of school.  I agree.  Amazing idea!

So, the top ten books from the indie book stores I visited this summer.  This tiny experiment/adventure taught me to take time to see my community, or whatever community I'm in.  It's also challenged me to consider where else in my life I can spend more money locally.

Joy!
Kendra

Celebrate! August 2nd

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.

I'm celebrating some familiar stories.  

1.  The Run. Ruth Ayres writes about growing kids in this link. Solidarity Mama. I'm with you.

However, with the growing kids, comes the ability to run with them in our family. And I celebrate that.   

From our run on Friday.  He's asking about running more races, running in high school (Wait?!?! What?!?!?!)  and when can he do longer races with mom and dad.  (Soon enough Buddy).   Oh my heart sings that we are doing an activity I love together, and he seems to really enjoy it.  

Here he comes today to meet me with more fruit snacks.  :)  Be still my heart you little runner you.

2.  Modern Amenities

This pile of dirt is all that remains of a 5 hour power outage on Tuesday.  I'm celebrating the beautiful weather we had (I sat outside and read), and the fact that this is an adventure for us and not the norm.  At times like this, it calls me to reflect on how I can be using what I have to serve others more.  

3.  Quiet Time

My nest for reading and writing.

When Ruth told the story of her summer, she was essentially telling mine as well.  Everything has turned into an unexpected adventure, and it didn't go at all like I envisioned.  So, in these last days of summer, I'm celebrating that I am getting some days to read and write and reflect.

What are you celebrating this week?

Joy!
Kendra

Celebrate! Week of July 26th Fruit Snacks and Family

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.

This week I'm celebrating fruit snacks.  Yep.  Fruit Snacks.  

Not the teeny bags of sugar that you can buy at the store.  These ridiculously large bags that allow you to wolf down 2 servings at a time.  Like this:  

Alright, so it's not really about the fruit snacks.  It's more about the family.  

I went on a long run this morning.  Necessary if I'm going to complete a half marathon in October.  

All the H's were working against me:  heat, humidity, hunger, hydration, hormones.  Man.  This run was Hard!  (With a capital h!)  If you run, you may be familiar with the term "bonking."  I bonked today, but I'm choosing to celebrate a completion of the miles.  If you aren't familiar, I looked like this when I got done:

As I finished and started to walk home, I knew this wasn't going to go well. At this point, I'm about 1/2 a mile from home.  I send a text to my husband:

"Walking home.  Send fruit snacks ASAP.  And chocolate milk."  

I get one in return:  "Gatorade too?"

Me:  "No, but I'm closer now, so don't worry.  I'll make it."

Husband:  "Too late.  A (our son) is already out the door."  

At this point, I'm meeting Brutus the Baby Bulldog of the neighborhood who has rushed out to say hello.  (Cute puppy alert!) 

As I look up, I see my oldest son racing around the corner with the fruit snacks held high above his head as if he's waving a victory flag.  He has a huge smile on his face.  

When he reaches me, I fumble with the package and he takes them back from me, "Open them here mom.  I'll help you."  (Did I mention he's 9?)

As we walk home, he listens as I chatter about how hard it was, and how tired I am.  He has just finished his first cross country camp, and it's been so fun to see him connect with his mom and dad about miles, hills, and snacks!

We are a family of runners.  That's awesome.  

But I'm really celebrating all the servant hood that is in this family.  At our best, and at other times, we will stop and help each other with the big and the small.  

What are you celebrating this week?  

Joy!
Kendra

Reading in the Wild Ch. 5+ (#cyberPD)

I'm joining in the fun for the final week of #cyberPD!  Plus there's the live Twitter chat on July 30 at 7 p.m. CST with Donalyn Miller!  Woohoo!

My Thoughts on Chapter 5: Wild Readers Show Preferences
When it comes to my reading life, I've always been a girl who knows what she likes.  I remember rushing to the small bookstore in our local mall to read each and every title available in The Baby-sitters Club series.  (Oh, the excitement of a Super Special!) My mom recalls asking my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Zefting, if I should be reading something else.  Wise Mrs. Zefting told my mom that "reading is reading."  I think I broke my dad's heart a few weeks ago when I announced my disdain for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  Hand me nonfiction and picture books, and I'm in.  Add some realistic fiction (usually for middle grade/young adult readers), and I'm in.  But strange fantasy worlds with strange creatures and strange powers (excepting Harry Potter)...I'm out.

So, it should come as no surprise that my children are developing preferences, and sometimes it's a challenge to embrace those preferences.  Right now, Big B is all about graphic novels and "encylopedia" nonfiction.  There is so much awesomeness in graphic novels, as outlined in Ch. 5, that I'm a happy teacher-mama.  But, as he is reading the Captain Underpants series in order (because, yes, we own the first ten), there is a part of me that, to quote Kendra (in this post that sums it all up), "rip the books from his hands."  Does he even know about all the amazing books that are out there, waiting to be read?  I don't think I'm alone in this feeling as a parent.  As Donalyn Miller writes, "preferences are not always informed opinions. True preferences come from wide reading and lots of positive encounters with books.  Sometimes students' stated preferences reveal they haven't read much." (pg. 167)  I think the message for me to remember and to share with parents is that a child's preferences will "become more valuable, reliable, and accurate the more they read."  Likewise, as a teacher/reader, I am blessed with a working knowledge of "if you like this, you'll probably love this..." titles.  This allows me to offer a wider choices to my children.  How can we support parents as they try to stretch their child?



Thanks to all that shared their thoughts during #cyberPD!  I've enjoyed learning and sharing with you!

Annie

#sol 14 Summer is for Relaxing?

Two Writing Teachers are hosting Slice of Life.  Join us!

I finished graduate classes for the summer.  There is a post in that statement somewhere.  I just can't get the words to come out the right way without sounding like a whiner.  I'll keep trying.  

So--we relax right?  Right?  

I look at the calendar.  

This weekend.  The house.  Me in the house.  Maybe even no children.  Even with children.  I envision:

All of us on the couch doing this.  All day.  With snacks.  

 Note--the reading is still happening.  Just not on the couch.  Spontaneous Road Trip!

 That's because we saw life long friends.

 We saw a teenage boy, my nephew, participate in a baptism in the river at his church camp.  Beautiful stuff.

 The baptism allowed for some hiking.  In between these reeds, can you spot the turkey head? (It's toward the left of the picture.  Turkeys can be mean, so I didn't get any closer.)

I'm a homebody.  It's true.  I like to plan out activities and build in downtime.   As the boys get older, I'm learning to redefine what it means to relax. 

How are you relaxing this summer?  

Joy!

Kendra