Hey friends! I'm deep into pre-planning now and busy going to faculty meetings, team meetings, Common Core training, and trying to get ready for meet the teacher. My head is kinda of spinning from all that has been going on.
We had a Common Core training today done by our reading coach and instructional coach. I went to the training with them and another team mate back in the spring. This training was a refresher about CCSS for me but left me with the same questions I had before I left the other trainings.
I know the 7 shifts of CCSS and how we need to implement more informational text and dig deeper into the text. I know about the standards themselves. Our coaches today said that right now as not to overwhelm us we should do 2 Common Core lessons a month which last 1 week each.
We were told that to really dig deep into the text we should use the same book all week long. One fiction book and one non-fiction book per month-2 Common Core lessons a month. This is how I thought I would outline my week using the Common Core lessons:
Monday-read book in it's entirety (Reading Literature or Informational)
Tuesday-dig deeper into text read a few key pages, have kids read pages, ask detailed questions (Reading-Key Ideas & Details)
Wednesday-dig deeper into text read a few key pages, have kids read pages, ask detailed questions(Reading-Key Ideas & Details)
Thursday-revisit the book and important parts, discuss, students write a reading response in journal (Writing)
Friday-discuss the book and share reading response (Speaking & Listening)
This is my only current plan. :(
We don't know what books to use yet. I know we are supposed to use exemplar texts. But what constitutes an exemplar text? We haven't really been given a list just a few examples of text we could possible use. The problem is though we won't have a class set of these books. That's kinda of okay with me though because I know we're supposed to use this more as a read aloud book that is at a higher level for the students.
Another problem is we have all of the Houghton Mifflin resources- books for each kid, big books, and work books. But our coaches have told us to stay away from these because we won't be using them next year and the resources don't necessarily go with the CCSS.
My question is what are y'all doing? Are you still using your reading series with CCSS? Are you creating all new lessons like going back to theme teaching? Are you doing both? How are you actually implementing all of this in your classroom? Do y'all have book lists to go off of for first grade?
I would love if you would post any comments helping me out. My team and I are pretty much thinking we are going to have to recreate the wheel by using literature/informational text in our reading lessons.
Thanks!
Jess! I'm right there with you! I'm so confused with the whole thing. We have our first training tomorrow and the follow up isn't until the end of September. Our units of study aren't even finished!!! I love the idea of CCSS but I don't feel like we've been prepared for it. I'll be checking back for ideas as well.
ReplyDeleteP.S- I'm sad I didn't see you when Katy and I were in Orlando. We'll have to plan another trip soon!
Melissa!! So excited to see your message! I glad that others are confused too and it's not just my school/county. We don't have any units of study yet and we don't feel prepared. I like the idea of it too but I don't feel like we're trained enough before we're supposed to be implementing.
DeleteSo sad I didn't get to see you and Katy too! Next time you're here we have to get together at least for a lunch!
Jess! I'm right there with you! I'm so confused with the whole thing. We have our first training tomorrow and the follow up isn't until the end of September. Our units of study aren't even finished!!! I love the idea of CCSS but I don't feel like we've been prepared for it. I'll be checking back for ideas as well.
ReplyDeleteP.S- I'm sad I didn't see you when Katy and I were in Orlando. We'll have to plan another trip soon!
It is so much to try & cover! We use the Macmillian/McGraw Hill Treasures program & it follows a similar format to what you outlined for a week. We also asked parents for a $5 donation to buy Scholastic News. It brings in more informational text & teaches many nonfiction text features (labels, diagrams etc.) I hope this helps, good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. So you will still be using your Treasures program just with the standards and then pulling nonfiction texts into your program? Just want to make sure. We have money to buy some nonfiction texts but I know it won't be class sets.
DeleteI wonder if some of the science and social studies texts you read in class can be used to cover ELA common core? What are you thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteYes, we will be able to bring in a lot of science and social studies texts. Its just which ones to pick. Which books are considered to be exemplar text that you can dig deep into. I can certainly make my own judgements based on my knowledge of literacy but then everyone will be doing something different. Is that what we're supposed to be doing or are we all supposed to be using similar books?
DeleteThe saying : "misery loves company" has never been truer !I teach first grade on Long Island NY and we haven't been trained at all- just told CCSS is here- was told to create a non fiction 'module' gave us some handouts- and off we went- the blind leading the blind. District is piloting Hoff/Miff which I thought looked great, but by your comment I guess that will be another waste of money. I sound so negative and I hate it. Ive been teaching for 30 years- I feel like Ive been there done that, and the curr. gets changed or goes back without any true exploration or study. I do love the idea of the CCCS but this is BIG and we really do need extensive training and discussion- Ive been reading everything I can get my hands on this summer so at least I feel that I have me feet wet, but I have no idea what is to come. What I do know is that we are raising a society of test takers and this country is in trouble as many of our students cant think outside the box or even want to think if a video game isn't attached to what they are learning.It may not sound like it, but I LOVE MY JOB and I am so grateful for this profession, as I never feel like I am working. But, Im not sure if all the money ,changes,and worse of all- stress put upon us and our students is working. We are also adopting APPR and I cant even speak to that without my blood pressure rising- there has got to be a fair, non subject-able way to rate a teacher- because giving a 6 year old a test and judging a teacher on the results just doesn't make sense to me. Ill never forget the year a very bright child took the state tests and bombed. To make a long story short- his father dropped him at school in the morning and told him he was going away and didn't know when he was coming back,wouldn't be there when he got home and didn't tell the mother! Putting aside that heartbreaking moment- when the state is looking that teachers test scores to rate her on...they will never know the reason one child did so horribly- all they will see is teacher X didn't do her job. Now I know this is extreme- but it is real- and the inner city teachers deal with this all the time! Oh well so sorry for this rant- Im really a fun ,happy person and teacher who just wants the merry go round to stop and wants to teach her children instead of being a robot teaching little baby robots !! I am so grateful for al these blogs- it is such a help and comfort to see all the amazing ideas and generosity out there. Oh well back to my reading and planning- and to think most people think I spend my entire summer at the beach eating bon bons !!
ReplyDeleteSally, I feel your pain. The last thing I want is tiny robots running around that just know how to test. That's why Common Core came out...to eliminate this and make students thinkers and challenge them more. The problem like you said is that we don't get the training we need and we're left up to our own interpretations which can be different for each teacher. That seems okay with highly educated teachers but unfortunately many are not. (In my state you can be a college grad of any major take a test and bam be a teacher. I don't consider this highly qualified.) I think CCSS will be great once teachers get enough training on HOW to implement it. I've read the research, I've taken some basic training, but what I really want to know is how does a classroom teacher teach this in her room? I'm also a happy teacher who loves her job. Sometimes our country, state, county, take away from what we truly love about our job...so I understand you feelings.
ReplyDeleteI teach in Albany NY and I am in the same boat we were given theme units by the literacy coaches that outlines what topics to teach, but not necessarily how to go about doing that and in what order. Also there are parts missing like the grammar aspect. In addition we have to incorporate the daily five, the cafe, fry first 300 words, and words their way in our reading instruction. I don't know where to even begin.
ReplyDeleteSounds like we are all going through the same struggle. We all want to be happy go lucky teacher's but we are being put upon with another new fantastic system that is not clearly explained, outlined by a pamphlet and an hour long meeting and left to find our own resources with no basis for what is exemplary or even expected. I teach in MD, and we have known Common Core has been coming for the past 3 years, but we have yet to be trained on the ELA side of things. I hope this is resolved before our jobs are on the line for things that are out of our control.
ReplyDeleteSigned,
Another Happy Go Lucky trying to find the bright side teacher
We do use our Basal books. They are great resources, have exemplar texts in them, and most important every child has a copy. We select a story out of those books to focus two weeks of lessons on. We skip around the basal using texts as they fit in with other areas-when we are planting seeds we read From Seed to Plant. We do not use any of the teacher guides however. Instead we focus on one Common Core comprehension strategy for the entire two weeks. We also always work on vocabulary, decoding skills, fluency, and basic story element questioning. We read the story aloud together, listen to it on tape, read with a partner, and sometimes see it on the internet. That way students are able to really spend time with the test and are able to dig deeper into their understandings.
ReplyDelete