We just completed another great week of learning & relationships at McKinley! Keep up the great work!
Round Robin Reading:
It's been energizing to get around the building and see guided in reading in action. It has been great to see the concentrated focus on this - and the way you are providing high quality instruction to our readers. One of the strategies I see is round robin reading - students each, individually, reading aloud at the table to their guided group. One student reads, everyone else listens. This strategy has its limitations - mostly around the fact that a student is only reading a small segment of the text during a lesson. The student isn't apply decoding, fluency, or any other word attack strategies as they aren't engaged with the text like a reader would be. It was eye opening to me during my LLI training this summer - when a student is at around level H or higher, they should move from reading aloud to silently reading (unless the teacher is individually listening, coaching, and providing feedback to that individual student). This was a game changer for me - at around the level H, students need to move away from reading aloud during guided group to the silent reading with teacher support. Something to think about..
Disclaimer - I am, in no way, saying a student should not practice fluency. If fluency is a deficit skill for the student, it's important to build in these out loud reading opportunities during their reading block (not necessarily guided reading).
Here is a link to a great article on round robin reading
STEAM Family Night
We had our first STEAM Family Night, "Grateful for Nature" last night. A huge thank you to our 4th Grade Team for planning and hosting the night. Families participated in a range of activities from engineering to active movement. It was a great night filled fun with a lot of fun!
PBIS Team Follow-Up:
Our wonderful PBIS team met yesterday in Mankato to create some tier 2 and 3 interventions for students. We had a great workday that has resulted in some ideas coming back to our staff. We are piloting some tier 2 interventions in the next month - with the hope (if they work) to release to the entire staff. We also did some learning work around the stages of escalation (very eye-opening). We will look to add something on our next Power Hour.
So, What is White Privilege?
Here's a great article on what exactly white privilege is. It isn't being a "racist", as many believe. It's truly a look at yourself to examine yourself and "power". Take some time to read this article - there are some action steps at the end of the article. Click here to access the article
Tracking Sheets for Relaxation Room & Check In/Out:
Annette & Isabel are doing some data collection for our building on both tier 2 and 3 interventions we have in place for behavior & social-emotional supports. Recently, they have sent some data collection sheets out to teachers with students utilizing the RR and Check In/Out. Please make sure those are getting completed and returned quickly - we need this data. The data provides two purposes - we can see if the intervention is working and secondly, the information helps us with planning of the individual student. Please get those turned in ASAP.
Author Visit- Tuesday:
McKinley Welcomes Authors
Miranda and Baptiste Paul
When: Tuesday, November 13th in the gym
12:45 - 1:15 (Grades K - 2)
1:25 -2:10 (Grades 3 - 5)
Details:
- The ISD761 foundation generously funded this request.
- The Media EAs will try and read as many titles as possible to your class, but if you can also familiarize students with their work, that would be great!
- Their books are available for viewing (and limited checkout) in the library.
- Students can order their books on Amazon prior to the visit and have them autographed that day.
- I am asking the parent group for funding to purchase 6 books for a random drawing. If approved, one lucky student in each grade will leave with a signed copy of their book!
- Both Miranda and Baptiste are passionate about equity and STEM
Author Bios:
Miranda Paul is the award-winning children’s author of Water is Water, One Plastic Bag, 10 Little Ninjas, The Great Pasta Escape, Are We Pears Yet, Whose Hands are These, and Blobfish Throws a Party. Her books have been named to several “Best of” lists and have been translated into multiple languages. Miranda has been a guest presenter at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center, serves as Mentorship chair for We Need Diverse Books™ , volunteers for Books for Africa, and is a regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers (Wisconsin). One of her bravest moments involved reciting poetry inside a crocodile pit. (Yikes!)
Baptiste Paul is a Caribbean-born author and native Creole/Patois speaker. His debut picture book, The Field, centers around teamwork, leadership, diversity, and acceptance through a neighborhood game of soccer. He has also co-authored a book Adventures To School that tells about the unique ways kids around the world get to school.
Building Weekly Newsletter:
Click here to access the newsletter
McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Kindergarten Educational Assistant, Tarah Thompson! Tarah serves our learners in Kindergarten - mostly in Rachel Anderson's K3 classroom. Tarah is positive, flexible, and always focused on each and every students' needs. One of the things that impresses me most about Tarah is her "never give up attitude" - no matter the situation, Tarah is willing to try something new to support a student. This can be seen in her words, actions, and overall demeanor. Keep up the great work, Tarah!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin
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