Write To Learn Stephanie Needham J Glenn Edwards Elementary/ Lee County Schools April 25, A Race to the Top Initiative NC Department of Public Instruction Educator Effectiveness Division

Poll Everywhere Please answer a couple of questions. Don’t worry, it’s anonymous.

Norms for Participation Minimize outside distractions. Be attentive and participate in all activities. Mute your devices. Share your ideas with colleagues.

Outcomes Understand the benefits of writing daily, specifically summarizing, to increase comprehension. Share and take away ideas to use in your classroom.

What is the Governor’s Teacher Network? A group of 450 teachers were selected from 1400 applicants for Teachers identify instructional needs, create innovative digital instructional resources and design professional development to support key Race to the Top initiatives in Home Base. Network Teachers continue their current educator roles in their schools and districts and serve in one of two pathways.

What is the Governor’s Teacher Network? Pathway 1 Teachers: Professional Development Identify problems of practice around instructional needs and conduct action research projects in their schools. Investigate and analyze the effectiveness of strategies and practices on student learning. Create professional development sessions and materials to be posted in Schoolnet and the Professional Development System in Home Base.

What is Pathway 2? Pathway 2 Teachers : Instructional Resources –Create instructional sequences for Home Base aligned to the NC Standard Course of Study (unit plans, lesson plans, assessment components). –Produce resources available to all NC teachers through Schoolnet in Home Base.

Action Research Systematic inquiry conducted by teachers and other educators to find solutions for critical, challenging, relevant issues in their classrooms and schools. Mills, Geoffrey E, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 2014

Pathway 1: Action Research Classroom and school research conducted by teachers to: Positively impact student outcomes. Identify problems of practice and promote effective instructional strategies. Create opportunities for teachers to become reflective practitioners. Share research results with other educators. Mills, Geoffrey E, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 2014

Problems of Practice Design an activity for your participants to generate or brainstorm lists of problems of practice within their school setting Remember issues and instructional challenges discussed from your own experiences during summer training Avoid “sit and get” - your participants should be up, engaged and talking.

Differentiation is…. “Doing what’s fair for students; a collection of best practices employed to maximize students’ learning at every turn, including giving them the tools to handle anything that is undifferentiated.” Rick Wormeli

Action Research Focus The purpose of my action research is to address how students can write to learn and gain a greater understanding of what they have read while improving retention of content.

Action Research Plan Research shows students who can summarize can delete, substitute, and keep information and analyze the information at a fairly deep level. I will use summarizing strategies with my students daily and will teach them to summarize a text independently. They will use graphic organizers to help with the writing process.

Share your data collection My Students: 28 at risk readers in 3 rd and 4 th grades. At the beginning of a two week unit the students would take a pre-test on SchoolNet. During the two weeks we would read various texts related to the standard being covered. The students would summarize the text using various strategies on a daily basis. At the end of the unit the students would take a post-test on Schoolnet and chart their growth.

Results and Explanation of Strategies

Total Class Growth Average

Growth By Student

BOY Item Analysis

MOY Item Analysis

Recommendations Based on Research With regard to both literature and informational text, the CCSS requires students to identify themes or main ideas and summarize the information. Identify key words (topic), read, recall, organize, and summarize. Model daily Summarize across subject areas Graphic organizers are a must!

Scope of Work The problem of practice is students are often taught strategies without meaning. In order for students to read, comprehend, and retain the content, they must make meaning out of what is being read. Students of all reading levels can benefit from summarizing strategies. Students and teachers will see growth and application of skills across subject areas. Learning is authentic! Students will use these strategies for life!

Activity Practice using various summarizing strategies and discuss differentiating techniques. There are four station rotations. At each rotation you will read the instructions on the table and use the summarizing technique to complete the activity. The timer is set for 5 mins. Work together as a team and share your thoughts.

How is HomeBase/Schoolnet used?

References Depth of Knowledge Chart retrieved from: ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e7/c9/06/e7c9066c85cbf9 6ba229ae3801ec3d10.jpg ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e7/c9/06/e7c9066c85cbf9 6ba229ae3801ec3d10.jpg Summarizing Strategies: Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Thomlinson, Carlo Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve; 2nd edition, Thomlinson, Carlo Ann. Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching, Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve, 2003 Wormeli, Rick. Differentiation, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2007

Discussion Stop and chat: How will you use these strategies in your classroom? What will work best for your students? How can using these strategies help differentiate instruction?

Questions What questions do you have?

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Conclusion of Presentation Thank you for your participation. Contact Information: Name: Stephanie Needham School/District: J Glenn Edwards Elementary Lee County Schools Phone: Website:

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