Books in Sixth

Last school year, I delved deep into personalized learning with self-paced Canvas sets and standard driven maps for students.  It was a glorious time in my creative, educational pedagogy, because I found great success with intentional, meaningful, and engaging units of study. Then came ARC. The trainings I received this summer were all about the personalized component of ARC; getting kids to read on their level, making personalized goals for each student, a valid assessment that could actually tell me something about my students' reading levels.  All of which sounded reasonable and needed, and I was behind this.  We received little information about the specific content of the day by day elements and did not see any manual/lesson plans until less than a week before school started. And I am here to tell you; the "Dark Side"....... is pretty dark. The structure of each lesson follows strict direct instruction with modeling from a grade level...

It's been an interesting journey upon first hearing about ARC at the beginning of this calendar year.  Teachers throughout the county were in a twist over this new reading program that we had never heard of but were required to implement the following school year.  What was it?  Where did it come from?  Who made the decision?  Why were we being forced to accept it?    This was our county's most infamous secret.  ARC ended up being raked over the coals and harshly criticized by administrators, teachers, and community members.  And I was one of those! But I have learned a most valuable life lesson from this experience and I hope our county leaders have as well.  The problem is not the program.  After attending a few GOOD, really informational sessions about what ARC is all about, I have to say, it's actually really incredible.  I could see the vision of how this would work in my classroom, more specifically, how this progr...

Lots has happened since January... WOW.....LOTS!  But let's talk the next step in this journey.  I am now writing this blog entry on our new GCS device - the Lenovo Yoga 11e and I have got to say.. I love this thing!  The quality and durability is incredible.  With its mini notebook design, no need to worry about plugging in a keyboard.  Want a tablet, just flip the screen around for tablet mode.  I can now access all my documents pre and post OneDrive.  And all I have to say about it is.... It just makes since. Our county is swarming with training this summer.  One in particular I attended was the Microsoft Innovative Educators Training.  Lead by Microsoft Trainers, each session was full of incredible ideas and resources on how to implement Microsoft tools into the classroom.  One of the best PD opportunities I have been to!  Get involved and connected to Microsoft Education at the link below. https://education...

In this new year, it is time to close the door on an inspiring journey with Amplify and begin a new chapter on our Personalized Learning journey.  And in the process... I have decided to redefine my blog to open the door of conversation to, not only just tablet talk, but also the world that is the life of a teacher. But first....What went wrong?  To make this short and sweet....It was just too much, too soon.  With the amount of issues that shrouded us through the first year with the tablets, it seemed impossible to capture the same excitement, motivation, and zeal when redistributing the new tablets.  As a teacher, we were hammered with way too many changes and not enough direction; in other words, we were building the plane while flying it and metaphorically, you know what that ultimately leads to.  The worst of the debris was the awesome company tech. support people we lost in the process.  Incredibly talented, innovative people who became not only col...

I woke up this morning with the Post - PLC2015 blues.  Have you ever felt that way about a 3-day conference?  I seriously doubt it.  These past three days have been the most purposeful, the most useful, and the most meaningful use of my time as an educator.  And I woke up this morning missing the people, missing the excitement, and missing the joy of discovery surrounding this event. So what made this conference so different? #1 - Energy When you fill a place with leaders who truly believe in what they are doing, you begin to infect all with the same beliefs and excitement; energy spreads.  I will credit this to the awesome PLEFS and their leaders.  The minute I walked in the door, I saw their smiles, their energy, their excitement, and this continued throughout the opening sessions, during and between our breakout sessions, and through to the closing sessions.  They created this environment that motivated and energized the masses.  Great Jo...

While visiting my first Edcamp in Charlotte, NC this past February, I realized there were a lot more school districts out there with 1:1 initiatives.  In fact, the Edcamp itself was held in a Personalized Learning Model School.  The physical space was amazing and every classroom had working group spaces for students using all variety of materials from tables and chairs to bean bags and stools.  I never figured out what tablet/device their students use, but I knew immediately what they didn't have; The Amplify Tablet. While there, I created a new word called "APPHAUSTED".  This is how I felt as local and visiting educators rattled off app after app after app after app after, throw in a web-based tool, app after app......that they use in their classroom, some for the simplest of things.  I remember thinking over and over again.....Well, I wont write that one down, because our tablets already do that.  Well, I wont write that one down, because our tablets al...

So here are a few ways we are doing it.  How are you? Reading Fluency:  I use AIMS Web data (student lexile levels) to pair students into leveled partners.  Then I select coordinating grade level selections for students to practice reading fluency 4 days a week.  Right now I have about 4 different grade level texts going on in my room at once.  Students read for one minute with partners, taking turns practicing their awesome fluency skills. I teach the students how to listen to each other, track for their partner, and graph their WPM.  The students read the same selection 4 days in a row, then after reading on the 4th day, they write a summary.  After 4 times, they know what it is about, and those difficult words on day 1 are no longer difficult. We make goals based on their data and work towards those goals until the next assessment.  I have found a lot of success with this and it provides for some great individualized data for each student. ...