Will It Work? Tales of Growth, Reflection, and Next Steps.

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For the past three years, I was a Reading Specialist with the Board. I learned a lot in this role. This year, when I decided to go back to the classroom, I was excited to see what the pedagogy would look like in practice. I loved working with incredible educators over the past three years, and I was fortunate to join one of these educator teams this year as a classroom teacher. When I went into classes last year for small group instruction, I got to see snippets of different practices in place, and now I could take everything and make it my own.

Back in September, I collected my initial Acadience data, and I made a plan with the support of the Reading Specialist and the Learning Resource Teacher. I had a lot of students in my class that were developing their decoding skills, while also working on fluency. I knew from my role last year, that a focus on vocabulary development and comprehension would be important in supporting fluency, in addition to the oral reading (and re-reading) that students were doing. As the Reading Specialist, the Learning Resource Teacher, and I, all worked with targeted, small groups, we also progress monitored every few weeks to track results.

I noticed that students were improving at reading decodable texts, but were not applying this knowledge in authentic texts. This led to some intentional moves.

  • We started getting into authentic texts using some of the Article-A-Day Sets from ReadWorks.
  • I began to use short plays in some of my small groups to help with more fluent, oral reading and to build interest in texts. The LRT was also using plays at the same time, so students became excited about reading different scripts.
  • I also started Partner Reading in the class for Tier 1 instruction. This allowed us to read more grade level texts on content area topics (e.g., Science and Social Studies). Students learned and used new vocabulary. They supported each other with reading, and even students below grade level, were accessing more challenging texts. This also helped with comprehension.
  • The Reading Specialist and I spoke, and I used Copilot to create some Maze passages. These would support comprehension, while also alleviating some of the stress that often seems to come as students take the Maze Assessment.
  • I also felt that students needed more reading time, so I thought about ways to inspire students to read various texts more, with a focus on fluency. I moved our small group Reader’s Theatre to a centre option, to get kids picking up books and reading aloud more frequently. The option of sharing their reading with a kindergarten class, also inspired some more reading choices.

This week, it was time to do the Middle of the Year Acadience Assessment. I was excited and nervous. Would we see the same results on a standardized assessment as we’re seeing in class? This is an Instagram post that I shared three days ago.

This brings me so much joy today! Last year, in my Reading Specialist role, I learned about what the research said around teaching students to read. What does it look like in a classroom? How do I put into place everything that I’ve learned? Do these choices make a difference? The data says yes. Now I am not done all of my assessment (7/13 Grade 2’s complete), and I will have more students that do not meet benchmark, but there is so much movement. Even for those students that were well-below benchmark, they are reading some words when they did not read any before, and they were attempting to blend words even in a longer text. Progress! ❤️ I noticed a big difference in reading comprehension and fluency. Even for the few students that made benchmark last term, they improved in words correct, accuracy, and comprehension. This is a team effort. I appreciate the opportunity to work with our Reading Specialist and support groups together. I also think that getting students into authentic texts, makes a huge difference. This is improving vocabulary and comprehension, which all comes together to support fluency. What a nice way to start a Monday! ❤️❤️❤️

Today I collected the last of my data, and now I have some final numbers (as percents). In September, 11% of my students met benchmark. Now 58% are at benchmark. After the Beginning of the Year Benchmark Assessment, 0% of my Grade 3’s met benchmark. Now 83% of them have met or exceeded benchmark. Even those students that require intensive support, have shown fantastic growth, and are now ready for some changes in programming.

While I am so proud of my students and the hard work that has allowed all of us to celebrate, I am also thrilled to be working as part of a team. I spent the First Nutrition Break today, chatting with the Reading Specialist and the Resource Teacher. We are looking at how we can modify groups to address this new data. Fluency was a big area of focus first term, but it might be an even bigger area now.

Last year, I taught with a teacher who had Fluency Centres. I know that this is not all that my students need, but I am thinking of some elements of these centres, and what this might look for me now. The learning is never over, but seeing theory translate to practice, brings me joy. What are some of your stories of success? Where might you go next? We can learn so much from each other!

Aviva

Making Copilot Work For Me — What About For You?

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Until last year, I really did not dabble a lot in AI. I know that it’s out there, and I know how others use it, but I was still trying to figure out the best use for me. Then, during one of our PA Days, our superintendent came to visit. We were going around to primary classrooms and exploring some small group instruction and centre possibilities. He joined us, and while he was there, he modelled how to use Copilot. While in my Reading Specialist role, I was the one facilitating this learning, it was through conversations with our superintendent that I started to see more possibilities for this tool.

Teaching educators. Exploring the use of Copilot together.

Even then, my use of AI was limited. I did get Copilot to write me some decodable texts including various phonics patterns, high frequency words, and vocabulary, but that was about it. This year though, I took Math Part 2 through our Board, and the facilitators spoke about the use of Copilot. They inspired me to play with it more.

  • This started recently with the use of Copilot for making Maze-style activities to support reading comprehension, decoding, and content knowledge. With teaching Grade 3 this year, I am administering the Acadience Maze. This assessment always seems to be particularly challenging for students, and I saw an opportunity here to support reading instruction while also connecting with subject area learning.
Usually I share things after I’ve done them, but this one I’m sharing before. If you’ve ever done the Acadience, you know that it can be very challenging for many kids. I don’t think students are used to this kind of reading comprehension task. It also forces them to decode and think a lot at a very quick pace. Sometimes they don’t have the schema on the topics. Today, I decided to use Copilot to create Acadience Maze passages for Grade 2 and Grade 3 students on the science topics that we are focussing on in class. My thought is that after we develop a little more schema on these topics, I will post these short Maze passages around the room (an example is the picture shared here). Students are going to work in groups to read the text and determine the missing words. This will allow for some conversation and can almost become like a quasi-partner reading activity. My hope is that as students become more comfortable with this format, as well as develop both their decoding and comprehension skills, we can move to more independent use of something like this. I know there’s always concern about teaching to a test, but in this case, I think it’s about exposing students to this kind of assessment while also supporting the skills that the assessment targets. I’m excited to see if this works. If so, I will definitely be using Copilot to create some additional passages for us to try. ❤️
  • I then thought about the need to build schema on different topics (e.g., ones related to Science or Social Studies) as well as fluency. I could use Copilot to write texts for shared reading that connect with our Phonics learning and the content areas. I actually used one of these texts for our Snow Day today as a way to extend learning at home.
❄️Looking for something fun to do at home during this Snow Day that will support classroom learning too?❄️ Check out the STEM Challenge on the third slide here along with this shared text to read together. I would love to hear what you try. Have a great Snow Day! ❄️
  • Finally, during our Snow Day today, I found my favourite way to use Copilot: to support unit planning. As you can see in the posts below, this started with a mistake of mine, but ended with something wonderful.
Why have I never done this before?! I am doing some thinking and planning for my upcoming science unit. I realized that I should have combined two different units before, and now I was feeling stuck. Oops!

I decided to throw the challenge out to Copilot. I asked Copilot to, “Create a unit for me in science based on the Ontario Grade 2 expectations on solids and liquids and the Grade 3 expectations on strength and stability in structures.” You would not believe the amazingness that it gave me. So many hands-on learning opportunities with connections to math, and further opportunities where I see options for additional reading, writing, and vocabulary development. Copilot even provided Big Ideas, Learning Goals and Success Criteria, and Student-Friendly Rubrics. If you are not using AI for planning, I would definitely recommend it. You would not believe what came my way in 5 minutes. ❤️❤️❤️
Why has it taken me this long to play with AI and lesson planning?! After my great science experience today, I decided to try out social studies. I got a lot better with my search terms. The results that came from this make me so incredibly excited about teaching this unit. I can see opportunities for EVERY child in the classroom to meet with success. I love how Copilot included big ideas, learning goals, success criteria, rubrics, intentional connections with Growing Success, and cross-curricular links. This is also a unit that my student teacher will be involved in teaching, so we can also look together at good ways to use AI to support planning and assessment. I will definitely be using Copilot again for planning among other things. ❤️❤️❤️

I know that AI is also a very popular option for writing report cards. Whether it’s a case of formulating the Learning Skills, personalizing the comments, or varying the language, many educators are finding ways to make AI work for them. This use of AI never quite worked for me, as I enjoy writing report cards and crafting that story of learning for each child. That said, I think that this leads to one of my big takeaways when it comes to the use of AI: there are many different ways that it can be used for planning, programming and assessment, and maybe we all need to find what works for us. How have you used AI to support classroom instruction? What are some of your takeaways? I wonder if sharing our ideas might inspire some new opportunities to play with these tools in positive ways.

Aviva

Fraction Kits: Many Intentional Choices

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As teachers, we often are focused on the big decisions that we make around programming and evaluation. In the past few days though, I’ve been thinking a lot about the small choices that we also make.

I’m just beginning a new math unit in class on fractions. Many years ago, Jonathan So, an administrator in the Peel Board, taught me a lot about teaching fractions, and I found my love for this math unit. I remember us speaking about the importance of making a fraction kit, and I loved also seeing this as part of the MathUP lessons. It’s great that there’s a Fraction Strip Sheet in the Resource section of MathUP. There is even one for Grade 2’s that includes words and one for Grade 3’s that includes the standard notation. I wanted to get these kits organized for the start of this unit. This is where my thinking came in.

Initially, I was just going to photocopy the handout, and have students cut out their own fraction strips to use. Then came my conundrum.

  • I think that having these colour-coded is important, but I didn’t want to have the students colour in the strips. I want us to stay focused on the math, and while some children might find it calming to colour, this is also going to take a lot of time away from the math. Plus, some students will struggle with changing the colours for each strip, and rainbow strips will go against the value I see in the colour-coding.
  • I also want these fraction kits to last. This will be a very valuable tool for this unit, but will also surely be used again throughout the school year. Having this tool for EQAO will also be valuable, and thin paper is going to rip with all of this use.

This is when I thought about using construction paper for the fraction strips. As part of the Math Part 2 course that I took with our Board, some educators did a session on Teaching Fractions, and this is what they used to make the fraction strips. I have lots of construction paper, so my thought was that I could use the paper cutter to cut the strips, and then write on the details. I was so proud of myself for using the paper cutter well at school on Friday, and creating hundreds of strips that were actually the same size. I even needed to text my Math Facilitator proof of my growing spatial skills. 🙂

I wanted to bring home one copy of the handout so that I labelled the strips correctly. The smaller papers were going to be the ones I folded to get the equal sections, and then cut to use to correctly segment the bigger papers.

Last night though, I had another conundrum.

  • While it seemed wonderful to think about making all of these fraction strips by hand, would I be able to remain accurate when doing all of the drawing of lines and the writing of the numbers or words? I did some math of my own, and figured out that I would need to hand draw and write over 200 strips. I began to question the feasibility as well as the time involved. I am all about spending additional time for jobs that are worth it, but I was convinced that there must be a better and easier way.

Late last night, I went onto the Staples Print Website, and I realized that I could print the fraction strips on cardstock. That would be heavier than even the construction paper. I did a lot of searching online, and found two sets of fraction strips that were free, coloured, available to reproduce, and included words for Grade 2 and standard notation for Grade 3. For about $20, everything could be printed and available for me to pick up today. Done.

Then came some more thinking though.

  • Do I leave the fraction strips as a full page for students to cut out, or do I do the cutting myself? I decided to cut everything into strips, but I’m going to get the students to cut the fraction pieces. I want them to see that the parts go together to make one whole, and I think that this becomes even clearer when they see the whole as well as get involved in cutting the parts.
  • What do I do about the additional fractions included? The fraction strips with the words, also included some additional fractions that were not part of the MathUP resource kit. I was initially going to leave everything in there, but then decided to recycle the additional fractions. I’m a big believer in developmentally appropriate practice, and I think a lot of thought went into the fractions that we teach for each grade. I want to stick with these ones for these kits. As students gain a better understanding of fractions, they can also start to see how the sizes would vary for the fractions not included, like one-seventh.
  • What about the use of different vocabulary? The fraction strips that I found with the words on them, uses one-quarter instead of one-fourth (which the MathUP resource uses). I do like the use of the word “quarter,” as I think this is vocabulary that some students are used to, especially if they bake at home. That said, it’s important for them to also make the connection to the number amounts. I decided then to write on one-fourth under one-quarter on each fraction strip. Is it pretty? Not necessarily, but it does do the job.
  • What about the use of a hyphen? I noticed that the MathUP resource uses a hyphen for the fraction words, but the resource I found online does not. I began to wonder if a hyphen is necessary. I found out that it’s not necessary if you’re just saying the amount, but it is if you connect the amount to an item (e.g., one-quarter of a cookie). For now, I haven’t added in the hyphen, but maybe I will at another time.
  • What would I use to store these fraction kits? I spent a lot of time thinking through these fraction kits, so I also wanted to ensure that they were stored in a space that would withstand multiple uses. Initially, I was going to put them in Ziploc bags, but I am afraid that these might be harder to open and close and more apt to rip. I decided to use some pencil cases that I have instead. I colour-coded the Grade 2 and the Grade 3 kits. The pencil cases will be sturdier, and I’m hoping that students will see them as special and be even gentler when using them.
Getting the Fraction Kits ready.

I am a big believer in the importance of being intentional in the choices that we make in the classroom. Usually this thinking applies to bigger choices, but what about the smaller ones? What are some of your intentional choices? I wonder if our time spent thinking through the process, also helps us with thinking through the instruction.

Aviva

Calming The Chaos With Some Intentional Choices

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Next week is the last week of school before the Holiday Break. Our Student Council has planned at least one special event for every day of the week. A few of these events are smaller ones (e.g., hot chocolate and a cookie), but many are bigger ones, including a holiday movie, a concert, and a dance. I know that the students are going to love these exciting activities, which also allow them to connect with friends around the school. There will be a ton of festive cheer! All of that said, I also know that there will be students who are like me and craving routine. I already feel a little dysregulated even thinking about five special days. With this in mind, I’ve decided on some intentional moves to help maximize the calm for everyone.

  • Keeping our morning routine consistent. Overall, the special events are in the afternoon. I plan on keeping things routine in the morning then to help calm the chaos and start us off on a strong note.
  • Adding in some extra sensory options. Our STEM Friday today had students making trees out of toothpicks and plasticine. I noticed that the sensory component of this activity helped calm everyone. I decided to add a plasticine sensory experience to my literacy centres — coupled with some storytelling — to also help support some students who might need it for next week.
The designs continue. A. and T. made more of a house. R. initially built a tree, but then decided to make a bridge. In some cases, students described their choices (such as L. who spoke about the value in seeing what Ma. did). In some cases, I narrated to discuss some of the choices that people made. I was really impressed with how kids persevered when their creations broke and there was no screaming. Such growth here! ❤️ I noticed how calming plasticine was for many kids, and I’m going to connect this with some storytelling and sharing next week, as I think this Self-Reg consideration will be important with so many special days. 💕
  • Preparing students for changes in routine. I have a visual schedule on the board that all of my students rely on each day. I plan on starting my day going through the schedule and looking at any special events to also help reduce any stress connected with these events. Then children will know when to expect them, but also, when to expect our usual classroom experiences.
  • Checking my own stress. Students feed off of adult stress — and vice versa — and I know that these special events cause me some additional stress. By being aware of my own stress, taking those few extra breaths, and creating some “regular routine experiences” that help make me feel calm, I think that the students will also feel calmer.
  • Giving myself permission to be flexible. I have every intention of supporting the school special events, as I know that these are important for my kids, but I also want to be responsive to them. If any event becomes overwhelming or students are showing or telling me about a need for a change, then I will modify things accordingly. Maybe we’ll come back a few minutes early or I can bring along a different option for those that need it. I want the next five days to be successful for everyone.

With a busy week ahead, what are you doing to support both yourself and students? Sometimes I think that just being aware of our feelings, helps make our responses to them a little bit better. Maybe we can all support each other though as we embark on what might be the most festive, and possibly dysregulating, week of the year.

Aviva

Do Something Small That Brings You Joy!

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I had many different ideas for a blog post this week, but then today happened, and I knew just what I wanted to write.

This morning, I had duty. It’s a 40-minute duty, with time spent outside with students and then inside with kids as they eat. As I started to rotate through the classes inside, a group of Grade 1’s stopped me. They were upset because they thought that a classmate said, “the F word.” It turns out that it was “AN F word, but not THE F word.” And then came all of this wonderful … 🙂

Click here to view the full Instagram post with all of the photographs.

Sometimes the old reading specialist in me comes out. I was on duty today and went into a grade one room where some children were upset because apparently another child had said the F word. It turns out that the word that was said was not the swear word but another F word. I mentioned that it was “AN F word but not THE F word.” I asked students, “What other words that start with F?” Students started to orally generate ideas. They had lots of great words and I knew I would forget so many of them, so I asked a child if she would start writing them down. Pretty soon other kids asked to make lists. There was reading and writing of F words while eating snack snacks. It was true bliss! We even had a quick little lesson on the different short vowel sounds when a child wondered about an A in funny instead of a Y. We also looked at what letter comes at the end of words that makes the E sound. Plus, there was an opportunity to look at TH versus F, like in the word “thief.” And you thought I was just on lunch duty. 😂 I love these little reading and writing moments that bring me joy! Plus, even more wonderfully, the classroom teacher was thrilled with this kind of writing and got students to share some of the words they wrote. I love the idea of extending this learning well past the break.

I wanted to share this experience because I’m starting to realize the fact that there are only a couple of weeks left before the Winter Break. This comes with many special days and heightened emotions. Today, I was reminded that as educators, how we respond correlates strongly to the actions and emotions of our students. We’re all human, and I’m not going to pretend that I’m perfect … I’m far from it! But maybe surprisingly to many, this unexpected mini-lesson on F words, brought some unexpected joy to both me and the kids. Where did you find these moments of joy this week? As we enter into a new school week on Monday, maybe we all need to be on the look out for these small, unexpected joyful moments. Who knew that a list of F words could be so wonderful?!

Aviva