OK, I’m shutting down this blog.

I cannot access wordpress blogs while at my school, but I’m often too tired and doing other fun things to want to blog once I get home, so I miss so many wonderful opportunities to share my experiences.

Therefore, I have started a new blog at includemetoo.blogspot.com.

For some reason, I can get blogspot at my school.

I also decided I really want to focus on the inclusion debate and specific strategies for helping kids learn – whether it’s through pull-out or push-in services. Hope to see you over on blogspot.

Differentiation and Inclusion

I am having so  much fun using differentiation ideas in the inclusion setting. It is such a challenging arrangement for me; maybe it’s easier for teachers who have been there done that, as some teachers in my school have. However, I am new to this inclusion idea, and for next year I am preparing to enter a school that is not so current with new methods and attempt to take the inclusion method with me.

I think I will focus this blog on those two topics.

I gave Nia a penguin book, which I knew she would just love, and you know what happened? Her face fell and she said, “Those are not real penguins!” she looked at the pictures of penguins getting in a taxi at a hotel (it was a fiction book), and I realized that she apparently only likes NON-FICTION! In school you have to read a variety of texts, so she can’t go through school only reading non-fiction books and articles about penguins and absolutely nothing else!

So I had to consider other ideas to get her to read more. She doesn’t have to read as much as others, but she does have to read.

I decided that she would read a chapter (5 pages, 3rd grade level) a night or read with me during recess. That got her attention. In four days she has completed 4 chapters (her mother also put a little muscle into the plan).  I will alternate fiction and non-fiction books and I will not require reading on weekends. The penguin supplies just came today, so I haven’t introduced those yet. 

Feel free to contribute other ideas for increasing the amount of reading a reluctant reader does. I would prefer techniques that don’t require me to buy special books (like hi-lo books). I don’t mind getting special books in the future, but not right now.

Yesterday Nia said, “I usually don’t like math but now I can’t stop. This is fun.” She was talking about learning the traditional long division algorithm. Wow! Can you believe she said that?!

I have never met a child though so interested in nothing but this one topic – penguins. Even the autistic children I met were a little more well-rounded. We brainstormed ways to get Nia to read more and actually not be so miserable about it. She refuses to read anything unless it’s about penguins. She said if she can get trips to the Antarctic or her own penguin pet she would read more. [I believe her, too :-)]. However, I took her idea and molded it. I went to the library and checked out a bunch of Penguin chapter books and even a book of penguin poems (Can you believe that exists?)

Then I ordered from Oriental Trading penguin stickers, pencils, and toys (spent $7 plus $6 on s&h). Those will arrive Tuesday. I’ll track the use of these interventions beginning today!

Happy New Year

School began yesterday.  The news keeps talking about the Obama girls starting their new school yesterday, and I thought about Wynn starting her new school yesterday as well.

I worked with Milla in a small group (a sixth grader who usually gives me the biggest attitude), but she was so cooperative today. Maybe it really is a new year??

My biggest pedgagogical accomplishment today: I noticed that Nia was doing math problems in our small group session but was not putting a lot of effort into understanding the process. Understanding aides memorization. (my Schools Attuned knowledge at work).

Sometimes she seems to leave math sessions having learned nothing. So we did three problems together, then I pointed out to her that the rest of the problems are done the same way. Whenever she got stuck, I pointed her to the problems that she had done earlier as models, and I gave her only enough help to get started again. She had to finish on her own.

Then I wrote one of the problems as an example in her notebook. Teaching students to keep notes is a high-impact teaching strategy according to DC Teaching Fellows programs. We’ll see in tomorrow’s session how much she retained.

It’s official – Goodbye Wynn.

Sorry to be gone so long without comments. The best time for me to write is while I am at school, but WordPress is blocked by the school’s firewall so I have to create time at home.

Anyway, it’s official. Wynn will be going to her new school in January. I really hope she learns to read well and that she will find herself. She is artistically creative and I hope she develops that talent.
Maybe I’ll say more later, but I’m a little numb about her leaving right now. I think the main reason is that she needed the most help, and now my schedule will be much lighter with her gone. I enjoy teaching and that’s what I want to do. However, I think it’s hard to provide help to SPED kids at this school using the inclusion model. I feel like it’s watered-down special education, with me spending more time with the general education kids than the kids who are the most deificient. I’ll probably write more about inclusion on this site -making it my main area of focus.

I will hate to see her go

Doggone it. Wynn has not read her third book or completed the subtraction worksheet I gave her last weekend. She said her mother doesn’t really care about school anymore (she is frustrated with the school’s inability to help Wynn learn to read), and I have the feeling that Wynn does not want to discuss school matters with her mom much because of her mother’s frustration. 

Two days ago I took Wynn to the principal’s office for calling me “retardo” repeatedly and loudly being defiant while I assisted her (and several other students) in class. These behaviors have happened several times before, and I have firmly told her to stop to no avail. I thought she wouldn’t talk to me the rest of the day. Actually, she was talking to me again within the hour and has approached me even more since that incident.

Today, I took out M&M’s to teach her what a fraction is and how to add them. She sang, “You’re my favorite teacher” repeatedly and concentrated quite well. I didn’t know she loves M&Ms.

The school is trying to get Wynn a different placement to help her with reading and math skills. If she leaves, I will hate to see her go. I do believe I am helping her learn and it would be awesome to see her progress between now and, say, the end of January. We’ll see what happens.

My biggest accomplishment so far this school year.

is teaching Wynn how to subtract using borrowing and how to do long division, even though she has not learned multiplication (usually a prerequisite to long division). When she learns to multiply (she is currently learning to skip count), long division will become even easier. She asked for a long worksheet of subtraction problems to complete over the weekend.

Another big accomplishment is getting her to read (or be read to) at home. She has completed her second book this year. Yesterday she chose a book herself and practically begged me to put post-its in it so her mother could read to her over the weekend. The book was beyond her reading level. She wants to finish it in five days, while I predict that it will take twice that long. I hope her mother requires her to read part of it herself.

Songs to help with memory

One way to help students with memory is to pay special attention to waht they forget. This summer I had to teach a ten year old MR student how to count to 20. He could count to 5 with confidence. I paid special attention and noticed that he regularly skipped both 6 and 16. Those were the roadblocks that I knew I had to focus on. By the end of one month he could count to 12 with consistency. I reminded him each time he practiced not to forget six. I made a row of 20 circles on paper and colored circle #6 and #16 different colors from the rest to trigger his memory.

Another memory strategy is for kids to verbalize information. I told the class, “I love how  ____ is counting wiht her mouth. Her brain will remember.” Verbalizing and reviewing information both help strengthen neuropathways in the brain.

Finally, here are some popular simple songs that you can put information to so children can memorize faster:

Old MacDonald/London Bridge/Head Shoulders Knees Toes/I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

Some of my thoughts on our Chancellor

 

 

 

 DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee symbolizes changing times.

 

When I was a social worker in undergraduate and graduate school (not too long ago), my professors emphasized that I needed to be able to quantify the results of my work and prove that my counseling/interventions with clients were beneficial. I couldn’t just counsel people week after week after week without showing progress.

 

I had to do several research projects as well as analyze peer-reviewed research studies, and I took statistics. I learned that funding for social service agencies usually depended on proven results, not just explaining to people, “I’m doing a good work; therefore, I should keep my job.” However, it wasn’t always this way.

 

As a social worker with DCPS, I found that quantifiable results were not expected, which led me to think that DCPS was behind the times. All other service providers (SLP, psychologists, OT) had tests they could administer to measure student progress, but when it came to social work, kids were added or dismissed from counseling services based on how people felt and anecdotal evidence (which was usually not even documented).

 

Rhee is asking teachers to become more research-based and data-driven. Obama, McCain, NCLB, and the rest of society all want more results because it makes sense. Regardless of all the other factors affecting student achievement, society will not keep supporting failing schools.

Began using CBAs

Today I began giving curriculum-based assessments to Wynn. I created a notebook to use for assessments and she wanted me to devote the whole notebook only to her, so I will. I gave her 3-5 minutes probes in writing, spelling, reading, and math.

I’m eager to find out her baseline, which I will do over the weekend. She was soc eager to complete the probes because she really wants to see her progress.

I really hopes she finishes reading her book over the weekend. It will be the second book she’s read this year, compared to maybe 10 books read by her peers.