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I've been creating Breakout Edu's over different novels and this one is tied to the book Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. Let me know if you would like a copy of this Breakout, or any of the other ones I've created. Literacy Breakout Edu over Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs.Game Name: Will Henry Jr. go Belly Up? Game Designer: Stephanie Laird @LairdLearning, LairdLearning.com Content Areas: Reading Recommended Ages: 3rd-6th grade Ideal Group Size: Whole Class Suggested Time: 45 minutes Story: Henry Hippo Junior is the new star of FunJungle and Teddy Fitzroy promised Summer he would keep an eye on Hippo River. Last night, Teddy received a text from Summer telling him she overheard her dad talking to Large Marge on the phone, discussing how the new koala is missing and they're worried the baby hippo may be next! Teddy needs your help to track down Doc, solve the mystery, and prevent anything from happening to Henry Jr.! You have 45 minutes to solve the clues, so work together. Your time starts now! Lock Combinations:
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CCSS: RL.1, RL.2, RL.3
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I've been creating Breakout Edu's over different novels and this one is tied to the book Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. Let me know if you would like a copy of this Breakout, or any of the other ones I've created. Literacy Breakout Edu over Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. Game Name: Crenshaw's Jelly Beans Game Designer: Stephanie Laird @LairdLearning, LairdLearning.com Content Areas: Reading Recommended Ages: 3rd-6th grade Ideal Group Size: Whole Class Suggested Time: 45 minutes Story: Crenshaw needs your help! To keep Marisol from eating his purple jelly beans, he locked them in the Breakout Edu box in Jackson’s keepsake bag. The problem is, Crenshaw has been busy helping Jackson and forgot the lock combinations! Thankfully, Crenshaw left clues in order to figure out the combination and needs you to help solve the clues and unlock the box. You have 45 minutes to solve the clues, so work together, problem solve, and breakout the Jelly Beans. Your time starts now! Lock Combinations:
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CCSS: RL.1, RL.2, RL.3 Crenshaw Clues Depending on your mindset, innovation can be a thrilling or frighting word. Personally, I am always striving to innovate, whether it is within education, personal goals, or my involvement in education organizations. Over the past few years, I have enjoyed serving as an advocate for education, literacy, teacher leadership, and professional learning, and frankly, all these areas have room for innovation. With that in mind, I decided my #oneword2018 would be Innovate. I want to continue my advocacy work while expanding my involvement in educational organizations and doing more to give back. Whether it is through my writing, speaking, volunteering, or serving in other capacities, I look forward to sparking innovation in the education field.
 Several years ago, while I was co-teaching fifth grade, I used Wonder as a read aloud companion to one of our district's English Language Arts unit. Although I have since moved into an Instructional Coaching role, Wonder is still used in fifth grade. Recently, the movie was released, and I decided to create a Breakout Edu game, "We're All Wonders," students could use after reading the book. In this game, students solve a series of clues to unlock six locks and breakout. We're All Wonders! Game Name: We're All Wonders Game Designer: Stephanie Laird @LairdLearning, LairdLearning.com Content Areas: Reading Recommended Ages: 3rd-6th grade Ideal Group Size: Whole Class Suggested Time: 45 minutes Story: This morning, Mr. Browne dropped off a box containing messages from Auggie. Don’t worry, unlike the notes Julian left for Auggie and Jack, these are Wonderful. To open the box, you will need to work together and use lessons you have learned from Auggie’s life. Remember, we’re all wonders! You have 45 minutes to problem solve and Breakout. Your time starts now! Lock Combinations:
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Additional Requirements: Checkout a copy of 365 Days of Wonder from your school library. Optional: Wonder bookmarks or Choose Kind pledge to be placed inside the Breakout Box CCSS: RL.1, RL.2, RL.3 Recently, one of my building's Kindergarten teachers asked me to make desk strips that mirrored the visual phonics poster she uses. The teacher felt having something for students to refer to at their desks would help foster independence during writing. I look forward to seeing the students utilize this resource as they grow as readers and writers! 
During a recent professional development session, the following video was shared.
There are several generations of farmers in my family, so it was easy for me to relate to the mindset and advice these Iowa farmers shared. Just as in farming, education is about innovation. Being an educator requires patience, dedication, listening skills, vision, and a growth mindset. One of my favorite lines in the videos is: "if something's broke, it has to be fixed, and you're the one who's going to have to fix it." We often hear educators (and those outside education) talking about the problems that exist in our educational system, but rarely do the people complaining have solutions to share. To me, this is where innovation and growth mindset come into play. We learn from our mistakes, and each time we fail forward, we grow. Each change, or innovation, you make contributes to the legacy you leave.
What are you doing to leave a legacy?  Last week I participated in a webinar by Lori Oczkus that focused on Developing Language for Deeper Reading Comprehension. I as sat listening to the research about the power of talk in classrooms and in literacy comprehension I began to reflect on the role of talk in my position as an Instructional Coach and aspiring administrator. Just like students in a classroom need to talk, teachers engaging in coaching conversations need to talk too. A coach or administrator's role in the conversation is to listen to understand and ask questions that will promote reflection. As I continue to work with teachers, I will remember: The one doing the talking is the one doing the learning."
This year, our building is reading Teach Like a Champion 2.0 by Doug Lemov. As I was reading about planning for error, a statement stood out to me: "Don't bury the data."
This resonated with me because I had just attended a building professional development session where teachers were analyzing and reflecting on their reading fluency data from the past few years. Some teachers brought up great points about looking at growth, and not being so focused on achieving a certain percentage; but personally, no matter how you approach data, when students aren't demonstrating understanding of a concept, action steps and innovation need to occur. It can be easy to look at formative or summative data and come up with explanations as to why the data is what it is, but that doesn't sit well with me. Simply putting a stake in the ground and saying "this is just how our data always looks," goes against two questions a PLC responds to (Dufour's PLC Four Essential Questions):
I see data as a puzzle piece which helps tell a student's story and allows a teacher to make changes, innovate their teaching practices, and collaborate with their PLC, in order to create learning opportunities and structures suited for each student. By no means am I saying data the sole piece, but with it, teachers can work toward the common goal of student learning. Instead of burying data, let's respond to it and act on it! This year, we are using Google Classroom to house all our PLC and Professional Development resources. All posts are tagged with topics like "Building PD," "PLC - Student Focus," and "PLC - Professional Growth." I love how easy Classroom is to use, and having everything in one place allows all staff members to easily locate resources. After posting on social media about how we're using Classroom this year, I was asked to share directions on how I set up our building's Google Classroom. Rather than sending multiple emails, I decided to type up some directions. Setting up a PLC in Google Classroom
If you have any questions, or would like help setting up your building's Teaching & Learning Google Classroom, let me know!This year, my building is renewing our focus on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support) and a component we are adding to our bimonthly assemblies are student awards. Each classroom teacher will select two students who have demonstrated the RAMS Way (Respectful, Always Responsible, Manners, and Safety) to be recognized. I had the privilege of designing the award and look forward to seeing my work support our building's focus on PBIS.  |
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