Second+Grade+PLC

Riverbend Elementary School Second Grade Professional Learning Community Schedule of joint IST/Second Grade PLC meetings 2008-2009: Sept. 19, Oct. 10, Nov. 7, Dec. 5, Jan. 23, Feb. 13, Mar. 6, April 10, May 8

PLC minutes 3-20-09

regroup walk to read share animal resources share math game resources
 * Agenda:**

PLC & PLC/IST minutes:

February 27, 2009 PLC Meeting Minutes Present: Maki, McGuan, Dukes Agenda:Discuss ways to make PLC meeting a more productive time in terms of resources and materials for lessons and units.Walk to Read - plans for next week, sharing data on our studentsReading Responses - ideas for rubricsMovie on "Reading is Thinking" - What do you do that good readers do? Created by a 3rd grade classroom

Carolyn suggested deciding upon a curriculum area and then having teachers bring resources, materials, and ideas to our PLC to share. Jen reminded us that we need to agree upon a curriculum area. What curriculum area will we all be doing in the near future?**Animals - life cycles**Health - FoodWriting Traits and Process Geometry Place Value and Numbers Iditarod Writing conventions TimeWriter's NotebooksCursive**Money** Writing - non fiction (tie into animals?)

Walk to ReadJen did word work centers due to ESL testingPaige's group finished "book reports"Carrolyn continued with guided reading groups - stressing careful reading to those who were anxious to move up a level. Next week in walk to readJen and Paige are starting Reading Rainbow activitiesCarrolyn is continuing with the same routine Agenda for PLC/IST:Reading response rubrics - MAKE THEM not just discuss. We will bring samples of reading responses to show what we use, and student work samples. Watch 5 minute video created by a 3rd grade class about "Reading is Thinking" Share read aloud resources for animal life cycle unit. Can IST bring some ideas also? February 20, 2009 PLC Meeting Present: Maki, McGuan, Dukes
 * Money** - We will all be continuing or starting to work on money soon. We will share some games. Carrolyn will share money stamps. We will look through performance tasks in math notebook for pre and post test ideas.
 * Animals** - We will all be doing animal life cycles in the near future. Carrolyn will bring a frog unit and butterfly info. Paige has some upper level animal report info and a unit on ecosystems, we will look through Project Wild activities, Jen will look for online resources.

Agenda:Discuss Walk to Read (Intervention) progress

We typed in our minutes and lost them!!!! Technical difficulties!

February 13, 2009 PLC/IST Meeting Present: Weaver, Johnson, Maki, Faure, Doxey, Ross, Wittig, Katasse, Badilla, Dukes, McGuan

What will happen when Jan has testing? Feb 23-March 6. Jan will not be pulling during these two weeks for intervention AND she will be pulling students who are on her service roster from her room. Don't plan on a sub for those days. If Colleen or Karen could take those kids, where could we put them for instruction? Rally room, or Carolyn's room. Jan could do do her individual testing in the conference room. Liza said she could send a para in to coach in the fast forward lab for the better part of the two weeks Jan is not available. We also discussed how during the SBA's April 14-16 no interventions will be offered at any grade level. (All interventionists will be proctoring tests and all spare rooms will be used for testing.

Paige would like someone to come in and model teach guided reading (11:30ish - Tuesday - Karen). She also wants to know how to get the rest of the kids working independently quickly, so there is still time to get the guided reading lesson done in the remaining time. We brainstormed solutions: Maybe swapping Making Meaning and guided reading. Jenn tried doing MM during snack this week, and the students would talk with their table groups and snack at the same time. Jenn would like more ideas for fluency, besides partner reading, reader's theater. We suggested using Garage Band podcasts. Topics: weather report, Reading Rainbow-type stories (see website http://www.storytubes.info/ if you want to take it to another level). Doxey also has one minute fluency probes. Carolyn would like herself cloned. She is differentiating by making CGI math clubs, with Lynn's assistance. (Mini-lesson, assigned activity, then common game at different levels). Carolyn wants to have her students logging/journalling/writing letters about their reading (what they are reading, how challenging it is, "I want to read next" list. Fountais and Pinnella (sp???) is a good resource for this. Karen went to a session on this this week. That instructor suggested that students have a set day for turning in their letters, and that if you looked at just five per day, you could do your whole class in a week. On short weeks, you could just skip letters altogether. Carolyn has the students select their books on Mondays and put them in their book boxes, and that is sufficient for most students.

Carmen said, "Don't worry about that," when the suggestion of taking six packs from the library concerned Carolyn, because she was concerned about who's paying for missing books. Karen will talk to Carolyn about what library books could be accessed for this purpose. Everyone was encouraged to make use of the leveled books in the work room in the library.

Question about whether students at TMHS would be available to help at our school. Carmen said she has e-mails out to Patti Bippus, but hasn't heard back from her yet. Second Grade PALS data into one of the District database: Karen will enter this data. She said it would be easier if she could get the PALs paperwork back to make entry easier. She also mentioned that the District is looking at using a PALS database from University of Virginia that is easier to use. For report cards: You can't do DRA2's again, but you can use benchmark books. All three second grade teachers need training on doing Benchmark Books.

February 6, 2009 - Jen, Paige, Carrolyn

Discuss how first week of interventions went Carrolyn - good group of kids, quiet with smaller group (6), will break into groups of 3. Started by illustrating cover to notebook with reading questions. Taught them some word chunking games for early finishers. Set reading goals. C. had a behavior issue (being snotty and sassy) that Carrolyn had to discuss with her. T. needs to be pushed to do his best. Assessment - Giving O, S, I, or U for overall performance for the intervention time.Will we DRA or benchmark the kids before report card time?We may decide to all do the same informal assessment, conference or running record before report card time so we have something to report to partents about intervention progress. We could use program that Karen has to create a running record. Create a comment sheet to give to classroom teacher.Will we send extra work home for intervention homework? Jen doesn't agree that we send extra homework, instead can they read the book that is being sent home to count towards nightly reading. YES. Paige - no behavior problems. Created folder cover/extended name tag with reading question. Every day I read from Seldovia Sam, 1 chapt and model a chapter summary. Then the kids take their leveled book and do the same. Read 1 chapter then write 2 main ideas from that chapter onto a chapter grid. Emphasis this week was on using characters names when summarizing. Jen - Did comprehension activities with sequencing and main idea and story elements using a different read aloud each day. Also did extended name tag activity. C. and N. and Lynette are talking a lot during lessons and other inappropriate times. We will have to regroup when Carrolyn's group starts to trickle out of Fast ForWordWhat will we do with Jan's group during her ESL testing? Friday, January 30, 2009 (PLC): McGuan, Dukes, Maki

Organize first intervention day swap Go over rules in own classroom at 1:20 after Fast ForWord kids leave: If for whatever reason the teacher says you need to go back to your classroom than you go and your teacher will give you a consequence. Be respectful Follow rule that teacher has. Teachers bring class and meet in the center at 1:30 (normally kids will leave the room at 1:25) Divide up between groups by reading names Go back to intervention classroom and go over intervention classroom rules Do Extended Name Tag activity (teachers will adapt as needed for kids) Name in center Question 1 - Place you like to read Question 2 - Who you like to read with Question 3 - What do you do well as a reader (discuss and brainstorm) Question 4 - What's your favorite book? Ideas for how to organize student work Use folders (put extended name tags on them) Hanging folders Use extended name tag as book markDiscussed each groups needs Dukes: Strategies and comprehension Guided reading groups with focus on strategies, word games and centers Maki: Fluency and comprehension Book talks - Choose book, do a comprehension piece, share a passage - weekly McGuan: Written comprehension QAR, Reading and Writing with picture books, literature circles Ross: Reading Basics Guided reading, sight word work, reading comprehension and guided journaling We will keep and share good lessons we do during interventions.Questions: Will Karen or Colleen be available when most Fast ForWord kids are finished? Will Karen's centers be available soon? Agenda for Feb. 6 Discuss how first week of interventions went Changes or modifications? Discuss next steps for interventions Assistance? Discuss plant unit Friday, January 23, 2009 (PLC/IST)Present: Weaver, Badilla, Dukes, McGuan, Wittig, Faure, Maki, Johnson, DoxeyLooking at the fresh DRA2 data. Input just the fluency level for the January DRA2. (Karen - don't erase the white board!). Only three of the second graders have finished/are nearly finished with FF. The rest are making good progress in FF and should continue and finish the protocol. 16 in with one graduating soon. In three weeks, when we meet again (Feb. 13), we will have a much better idea who's ready to come out of FF. (And of course, we will have all the DRA2 testing done, and data entered and ready to display). Looking at D. - has this student gone through FF?

Looking at these groups (FF, fluency, comprehension, word work). Talked about different options: Walk to read (just the straight 2nd, or all three). Dukes would be interested, but she is looking for help in integrating her first and second grade math groups (CGI, covering all the GLE's, etc.). Brenda could help with that. Teachers would like to hear back from the interventionists for reporting needs. Concern with grouping by levels...will it be flexible or tracked... What if we group by both? leveled and fluency, or word strategies?

How are others (grade levels) using their intervention time? Second grade will use their intervention time as a walk to reading group. They will meet to group the groups. leveled group A-3 Ross??? 4-6 Dukes 8-10 Dukes 12-16 Faure 18-24 Maki28+ McGuan Teachers will reevaluate the groups when they look at the numbers. V. will be added to the fast foreword group with Carlson and Deborah.

//Agenda:////Carrolyn will share about changes to her literacy block////DRA timeline and plan of attack////Brainstorm intervention ideas////Unit - Discuss ways of adapting unit to become more usable and time efficient// Carrolyn's literacy block - Started a spelling/word work program because alphabet book took too long. Word work was a center but the kids weren't doing a good job on their centers and she needed to differentiate better. Spelling is now: spelling pattern concept focus each week, kids take a pretest, those that do really well get a challenge list, all kids get a packet for homework (she made this herself from pieces of other curriculum), at school to practice their words they will be playing games to strengthen spelling patterns. Discussion about spelling problems and issues Levels Appropriate programs Parent expectations How to follow through with wrong words on test Go over test results on Monday Have a strip of paper on desk to write misspelled words Give a test on misspelled words after there are 10 words on list Send home corrected tests after kids have review them Kids write misspelled words in personal dictionary (Template in Month By Month Phonics) DRA Timeline and Plan of Attack Jen will watch DVD this weekend and start on Tuesday, goal is to be done by next Friday Asking specialists to help with kids they serve We will do our best to be done by Friday Data will be turned in as completed to Sheryl who will input into database We will review results at IST/PLC next week and determine new intervention groups. Agenda for next week:Discuss DRA resultsCreate new interevention groups Brainstorm lesson ideas to be done in intervention groups based on skills needed.
 * Friday, January 16, 2009 (PLC only)**
 * Discussed Math in the Cultural Context** **Pre-test results** **When will analysis come in?** **How to supplement with skill practice** **Will look at Carrolyn's workbook library for homework pages**

Thursday, December 17, 2008 Bonus Meeting: Goal: To know what's happening with the second graders during second grade intervention when they start finishing up Fast Forward. Would like to have some goal dates.

What's available: Doxey, Faure, others... DRA2's (for each classroom teacher) should be here upon our return from winter break. During the two weeks before the January 16, all students will be assessed. Karen will offer training on administering this the first Thursday after school. Turn in data to Sheryl as soon as you finish a batch so she can have all the data input without having to stay up Thursday night to enter a hundred scores.

As the students finish FF, Karen will put them in the higher level program (Language and Reading?) Karen said she would be the likely one to stay in the FF lab, (freeing up Lynn to do other interventions?) Possibility of sending the students (5) who are currently working with Karen from Dukes room to the other two second grade classrooms to do literacy centers.

Agenda: 1. Literacy - Decide what to do about Karen's offer to benchmark kids in Fast ForWord. How to establish better communication with our interventionists. What will our intervention time look like in January? How will the trickle out of Fast ForWord affect us? 2. Unit - Where to go from here
 * Friday, December 12, 2008**

We agree that Karen should benchmark our FastForWord kids next week.We would like to talk with Karen about our options during intervention time. (Sent her an email) Spent the majority of time discussing our literacy time, intervention time, assessment ideas, record keeping ideas, communication with specialists and sp. ed. teachers, How to differentiate centers? Are centers in Karen's room ready? We are feeling like we need more direction in our PLC meeting.


 * Friday, December 5, 2008**

Agenda: Second Grade: We need to check back with in with them to find out how their groups and our intervention groups are doing. Karen will pull Fast Forword data. Check in to see what writing rubrics they are using (or planning on using). Karen was going to facilitate DRA2 assessments training December 5 (we think Jan 16 will be getting late for a midyear assessment) - but we realized that that was too much for one meeting, so Karen will provide that training during an upcoming Thursday afternoon staff development session. Checking in on the UbD (backwards design) unit.

DRA2 training will probably be the first Thursday after winter break. Looked at the FF data. 80% participation (keystrokes over set amount of time) and 80% attendance (like 4 of 5 days per week) is the minimum acceptable percentages to be successful in FF. Brenda showed us how to look at the data (like error analysis). The second grade teachers would like access to the online data that was being presented, especially the graphs and the red flag intervention suggestions. Doxey & Weaver can do that, but they mentioned that teachers should go through the tutorial (or some training) first. The goal is for these kids to finish “Language”.

Discussion about how to get the classroom teachers trained so they can make some sense out of the data. Looked at Thursday after school, a stipend day, and other options. The concern is the amount of time it would take to give the full orientation.

Block Commander, because of the reliance on the use of prepositions, is often extra challenging to ESL students.

Question about what we are going to do with these kids as they finish at different times. We won’t need to deal with this any time soon! Specialist commented that once they finish the protocol, the research suggests that their reading takes off.

Karen mentioned that every couple weeks, she usually brings the kids over one at a time and shows them their personal progress graph.

[|www.scilearn.com] -> Support -> Register 1(7501 is our organization ID, password is “bend”) (see e-mail) and then to Progress Tracker.

Karen showed the data (in a cute, homemade graph) from her intervention group. One teacher: Expression and phrasing, worked on poetry, readers theater, and some other things. Also doing literacy centers.

Second grade is still lacking non-fiction texts at the students’ reading levels for science and social studies.

Six Minute Solution – do we have this resource? Students time and graph their progress.

Podcasts would be a way of capturing the students fluency. Question of whether we have headphones with microphones built in. Jan check it out. Jen’s group: Readers Theater interventions have proven to show progress for all but 3. They have practiced approx. five various stories. Observation of those who are still using a choppy ‘robot’ speech may be due to their fluency rate.

Carolyn needs help problem solving challenging three 2nd grade students in reading while she is teaching first grade math.

In attendance: Paige, Jen, Carrolyn, Lynn
 * Friday, November 21, 2008**

Agenda Unit - Finish what students will need to know

Unit - What students will need to know What will students need to know?
 * Each culture group in Juneau
 * What brought various cultures here?
 * Events for each historical time period
 * Important historical/cultural people

What will students need to be able to do to learn the above?
 * Read Non-Fiction - independent and in groups
 * Discussion skills
 * Take notes
 * Write a simple report
 * Read maps
 * Write a timeline (practice with timelines)
 * Write sentences
 * Write in perspective
 * Write interview questions
 * Conduct an interview
 * Listen respectfully to guest speakers
 * Ask appropriate questions
 * Understand community
 * Make a display poster
 * Write a script
 * Write a poem/song/rap
 * Do a book report
 * Art lesson on collage

What teaching and learning experiences will equip students to demonstrate the targeted understandings? Cultural groups - Invite guests from Juneau cultures to speak, cultural specialist, read alouds, City museum field trip, teach about artifacts, SeaAlaska Units Historical Events - guest speakers, cultural specialist, timeline, museum, read alouds, artifacts, SeaAlaska Units Historical People - guest speakers, cultural specialist, museum, read alouds, SeaAlaska Units

Next Steps (Agenda for next PLC 12/12/08)
 * Create lesson plans for learning experiences

Made lists of 2nd grade supplies needed to give to Carmen
 * large triangle shaped pencils
 * round pencil grips
 * developmentally appropriate scissors
 * lined, white chart paper with sticky on back
 * handwriting curriculum!

In attendance: Paige, Jen, Carrolyn, Lynn
 * Friday, November 14, 2008**

Agenda Literacy
 * Discuss progress in literacy time
 * Discuss plans for guided reading as follow up to professional development

Unit
 * Plan learning experience and instruction

Literacy Time Progress:
 * Carrolyn - gave advice for when kids hop from center to center to quickly. She re-taught expectations for some centers, with peer modeling. This really helped and kids did an awesome job today. May start using a literacy binder for each kid for weekly work, other references, center accountability sheet, etc. Would like to show us a handy literacy website by 2 classroom teachers. http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/literacy_centers%20Final.htm
 * Jen - this time is going as expected. For example she tried to do centers while doing guided reading groups, but found she had to stop to help other groups. She learned the solution would be to differentiate the center further. We discussed different ways to do this. The other solution would be to only work on this center when the help is available.
 * Paige - Taught many new centers. Kids practiced them. Need to re-teach expectations and defines areas in the room for each center. Success with science journals, especially to challenge advanced and self-motivated kids. Will start accountability sheet next week.

Guided Reading Plans:
 * Jen - Made her own version of lesson plan using Marta's as a guide as well as grade appropriate strategy list. She will develop the rest of the lesson plans for the week and teach them next week.
 * Carrolyn - Her groups were heterogenous reading rock related texts. This week was focusing on centers, next week she will teach kids not to disturb teacher while she's teaching groups.
 * Paige - Make lesson plans using template from Marta, and teach them with a focus on calm, productive center behavior.

Unit - Learning Experiences and Instruction What will students need to know?
 * Each culture group in Juneau

Agenda for next week (11/21/08)

In attendance: Paige, Jen, Carrolyn
 * Friday, October 24, 2008**

Agenda Unit Literacy Other
 * Quizzes, tasks, academic prompts
 * Other evidence
 * Student Self-Assessment
 * Discuss progress on interventions
 * Guided reading discussion
 * Nancy Norman's letter sound chart
 * Writing Workshop
 * If time Carroyln will share her observations from Fred Hiltner's class


 * Unit**

Quizzes, tasks, academic prompts - focus is on developing processing skills Multiple Intelligences that have been addressed in unit
 * Linguistic - book report, research project, performing a play
 * Musical - write a song, poem, rap
 * Logical/Mathematical - time line, venn diagram (compares past and present or cultures), sorting artifacts
 * Visual/Spatial - Juneau collage, photographs, puzzle of different groups or historical events that go together i.e. marina and fishing), puppets
 * Body/Kinesthetic - perform a play with costumes, masks, or puppets
 * Interpersonal - work with others to complete tasks, listening to performances
 * Intrapersonal - journals (write from a historical or cultural character's perspective), set goals towards project
 * Naturalist -natural items or pictures of natural items to represent a culture or historic period

Processing skills
 * Focusing
 * Info gathering
 * Remembering
 * Organizing

Other evidence of student's learning
 * Teacher/student conference
 * Dipstick questions
 * "Nuggets of knowledge" - paper cut outs of gold nuggets that students write newly learned info on. They get displayed on a large poster of a gold pan.

Student Self-Assessment
 * Reflective journal
 * Self select a piece of work that demonstrates learning
 * Peer evaluations for performance tasks


 * Literacy**

Interventions IDEA - we could have our own 2nd grade battle with certain groups of our kids.
 * Remember that FF starts at 1:20 and Word Attack starts at 1:30
 * Jen wants suggestions for things to do with the 4 Word Attack kids for the 10 minutes (read a book independently, have them do a word game.)
 * Carrolyn has nothing for her advanced kids, one of which needs lots of direction to stay on task. She gave them a few websites to work on but that is limited. (Suggestions: write a book, work on a project, read 2nd grade Battle of the Books books and develop questions to go with each book, ask about acquiring computerized resources such as Scholastic Books Count, AR, Read Naturally.)
 * Paige did spooky poems and worked on using punctuation to help with expression and fluency. After Halloween we'll do reader's theater.

In attendance: Paige (wiki note taker), Jen, Carrolyn (time keeper)
 * Friday, October 17, 2008**

Agenda Determine appropriate interventions based on results of assessments Watch Juneau videos to determine background information for unit

Report from Carrolyn after meeting with Doxey (IST news):
 * Fast ForWord group was trimmed down to those that would most benefit (we need a list of our students)
 * Word Attack group was added for some kids who need to learn to figure out unknown words (need lists, who will teach?)
 * Our Questions about this report from IST - Who will teach what? Where will Carrolyn's remaining 2nd graders go or do? When will this start? (Carrolyn was told Monday or Tuesday)
 * Paige's plan - analyze data, make list of kids who remain in room and what their weaknesses are, design centers to go with these needs.

Intervention/Assessment Discussion and Actions:
 * We looked at the DRA data for 2nd grade
 * We selected several skill areas from DRA data - Phrasing, Expression, Self-Monitoring, Prediction, Use of Text Features, Sequencing, and Literal Comprehension
 * By looking at the data we compiled lists of kids that fell into these groups based on need (either they were at the intervention level or the instructional level)
 * We decided to focus on expression and phrasing for the kids who will remain in our classroom during interventions.
 * We were able to meet up with Karen and Jan after our meeting concluded. We were able to answer our questions from above. After discussing options with Karen and Jan we determined that they will take the Fast ForWord group and the Word Attack group starting Wednesday. We will be left with our remaining students to work on phrasing and expression.
 * We will use methods and activities such as; reader's theater, poetry, Tumble Books, choral reading activities, and books on tape, to address the phrasing and expression needs of these remaining students.

Steps taken in unit development:
 * After previewing the videos from the City Museum we determined they were not appropriate to show the kids, but they gave us a wealth of background knowledge to help develop the unit.

Met with IST - see IST notes
 * Friday, October 10, 2008**

In attendance: Paige (facilitator/wiki note taker), Jen (note taker), Carrolyn (time keeper) Agenda for October 3rd • Discuss unit and get input from Jen on last weeks decisions • Add to Focus Questions • Determine assessments for unit questions (Performance Tasks) • Guided Reading – discuss management tips and skills being taught • Curriculum resources
 * Friday, October 3, 2008**

Unit discussion and update:

Change to Essential Question:
 * What is community/culture?

Change to our Focus Questions o Who has been here and why were they here? o In the present day, what are the cultural groups in Juneau?

Performance Tasks Ideas/Brainstorm //Multiple Intelligences in italics, Carrolyn will bring list of critical thinking tasks//
 * Create a timeline //logical mathematical//
 * Collecting/sorting artifacts and photos //logical mathematical, kinethetic// - Mystery Box kit from City Museum, Photo Card and Quilt set from City Museum
 * Research project (person, culture group, a time period)
 * Interview (Reference - Growing Up in Juneau, interviews by middle school age students)
 * Research their own culture
 * Juneau collage
 * Book report, use info from books to answer focus questions
 * Perform a play or reader's theater //kinesthetic, verbal/linguistic//
 * Create a compilation of music from Juneau //musical/rhythmic//
 * Write a poem //verbal/linguistic//

Next Step for unit
 * Carrolyn will bring critical thinking tasks list
 * Order Early Juneau and Juneau City Built on Gold videos to watch at a future PLC

Guided Reading (Management and Skills) Maki - making connections because that is what Making Meaning is focusing on. Dukes - discussed how guided reading and intervention time will be used - we are still unclear, need more info from IST McGuan - practiced guided reading group time using the work board

Agenda for October 10 Discuss assessment results with IST Determine appropriate interventions based on results of assessments Unit - backward design:
 * continue to brainstorm performance tasks
 * ask IST for support in figuring out performance tasks

Agenda – Friday, September 26, 2008 Meet in McGuan’s room (notetaker), Dukes timekeeper, Maki facilitator.

• Literacy: literacy centers/time: management & strategies that work. • “What’s working?” “What do we need” • List historical events at their next PLC. • Performance tasks

Attendance – Paige McGuan and Carrolyn Dukes and Lynn Johnston and Carmen Katasse – dropped in
 * Minutes – Friday, September 26, 2008**

Literacy Time – strategies that work • Dukes o We only have 15-20 minutes for writing, not enough time. o Using Intervention time to practice independent working (handwriting, warm up math) – quiet, this time is working well. Getting bored with handwriting. Ready for interventions to start o Has started reading groups! Lynn said they were really engaged. o Uses a timer to motivate students to finish on time. o Stops during group to redirect the rest of the group. o Reading Block: ♣ Whole group reads independently ♣ Guided reading groups meet while the rest are doing a reading response. (1st graders write 1 sentence, 2nd graders write 2) ♣ When they are done with response they have a literacy choice. (Choice reading or word games) ♣ Does 2-3 reading groups during reading and did 1 group during choice. • McGuan o I don’t know how I will fit writing in when interventions start because right now that is the time we are doing. o Right now writer’s workshop is working really well - Using Lucy Calkins – it’s working really well! o Using the work board has been helpful for reading time o May start reading groups next week using books on rocks

• Discussed sight words, month by month phonics, word wall, Lynn would like to use these words instead of Dolch words to be consistent.

Literacy Time – What do we need? • Lynn would like the Lucy Calkins writing program, and Month By Month Phonics • Carrolyn is in the process of making more literacy materials • Paige would like guidance on guided reading groups (sequence of skills and ideas for teaching them)

Social Studies Unit • Historical Events o Indigenous peoples – Tlingit, Haida o Explorers – English, Russian o Fur Traders – English, Russian o Gold Discovered - American o Commercial Fishing/Canneries – Filipino, Asian, Hispanic, Scandinavian o World War II – Aleut, Alutiq (Relocation Camps) o State Government - Alaskans o Tourism – Indonesians, Americans (lower 48)

• Focus Questions o What is culture and what does it mean to you? o How do cultures interact to form a community? • What ties cultural groups together?

Agenda for October 3rd • Discuss unit and get input from Jen on last weeks decisions • Add to Focus Questions • Determine assessments for unit questions (Performance Tasks) • Guided Reading – discuss management tips and skills being taught • Curriculum resources


 * September 19, 2008**

Second grade PLC/IST Meeting Friday, September 19, 2008 Present: Doxey, Wittig, Faure, Badilla, Weaver, Dukes, Maki, McGuan, Katasse (drop in) Roles: Doxey: Facilitator, Badilla: Parking Lot Attendant, Faure: Time Keeper & Gopher, Wittig: Notetaker

Agenda: Brief discussion about second grade and fourth grade swapping recess on Fridays. Just a reminder that second grade goes to recess at 2:30 after dropping off their bags in the commons.

Goals for today’s meeting: • Determine topic for UbD unit • Working through the unit development template • A little bit of time for general questions (check in at 3:55).

Strategy: Pick a topic that no one has plans for how they are going to teach. The second grade teachers decided social studies best meets that criteria.

The following is the discussion (with teacher names removed)

One idea is to group 1 and 6. Or 5 & 6. Or 3 & 4. (The six strands in the JSD social studies second grade curriculum).

The unit is “What is a community?” (over arching) and the six EQ’s are the work of the year. (EQ's = essential questions)

Thinks the six EQ in one unit is too much. Interested in picking the hardest to teach. (1, 5 for her). Shying away from number 2 because she doesn't want to promote consumerism or over use of resources.

Thinks 1 & 5 goes together.

Group: Culture includes all groups, and that it is not all in the past, it’s active & alive.

Linear, and would like to do them one at a time.

1 & 6 go together.

Consensus: Preserve the overarching question “What is a community”. Put them in a linear order. Then look and select one (not the first one) to put into a unit.

Frustrating to build a unit in isolation, without knowing what’s coming before and after it. Group concurs. Group does a quick curriculum map for social studies for the year:

Order: 3, 2 & 4, 6, 1 & 5. (Page 3 in the JSD SS curriculum)

Side note: One teacher developed a unit/lesson about “what is kid culture”. That might be good to scaffold in. (Desktop museum).

Decided to develop unit around 1 & 5.

Essential Questions:

“What are some of the cultural groups in your city?”

“What has happened in the past in your community?”

Other possibilities: from the lit curric. 2-1.11.1 Recognize that stories and songs originate in various cultures.

Understandings: right out of habits for each.

“As citizens, students need to understand that our community is multi-cultural.”

“As citizens, students need to understand that historical events have shaped their community”

Group moved on to develop questions that will focus this unit, including:

How do artifacts demonstrate culture? What are culture groups? What is culture? How long have people been in this area? How long has Juneau and Douglas been here?

What are the different celebrations?

What makes up a celebration? Why do we have celebrations? What ties a cultural group together? What are the similarities and differences between cultures? How do cultural groups interact to make a community? What contribution have different cultural groups made to the community?

What things can you see (landmarks) in the community reflect various cultures?

How did Juneau get its name? More questions to be developed.

Side note: Jan says there is a book about Juneau’s helpers.

A bit of a brainstorm of some of the history we need to include:

Natives Russians Fishing & canneries

What’s next for second grade: Meet in McGuan’s room (notetaker), Dukes timekeeper, Maki facilitator. Literacy: literacy centers/time: management & strategies that work. “What’s working?” “What do we need” List historical events at their next PLC. Performance tasks.

As you think of what you need for your next PLC, let the IST know. McGuan: Would like a book of history of Juneau for next Friday.

What worked in this process and one thing you would change next time:

Likes that Sheryl is taking notes and that I get them. Don’t have someone come and get me.

The group is becoming comfortable & open. Lot of talking over. Not sure all voices got heard.

Better flow. People weren’t rude. Were comfortable to talk. Help you work out the logistics (a student needs a snack – problem resolved).

Some talking over, clarified & refocused & worked out. Overcoming bad experience with BD. More things for the parking lot (popcorn ideas).

Collaboration and in touch with each other. Wishes Sped (in general) could do something like this more.

Likes how IST helped us brainstorm & collaboration.

Likes collaboration. Likes curriculum in front (visual). Agenda would include whatever reading needs to be done & brought.

Came and were ready to focus. Send out stuff ahead of time.

Likes how we just got going. Sense of urgency & reasonable task. Would like to project minutes on screen (no problem ☺)