Blog Posts - Laird Learning

Repeated Readings

2/20/2018

As part of my district's TIME (Teacher Initiated Meaningful Engagement) Day, I read the article Addressing Unintended Instructional Messages About Repeated Reading by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey which was featured in the 2018 Jan/Feb issue of The Reading Teacher.

In the article, Fisher and Frey begin by sharing what educators are doing to discourage rereading and repeated reading. They then discuss four things educators should do to foster rereading:

Changing the task and purpose (Give an authentic reason)
Ask text dependent questions that use pacing and sequence to deepen understanding
Press of evidence (Rather than having students use their background knowledge, have them use what the text says)
Provide an audience (Readers Theatre)

Reading this article allowed me to reflect on my journey as an educator, the literacy practices I've seen (and a few I employed when I first entered the profession), and what I can do to make sure we are implementing instructional practices that convey why reading (and literacy as a whole) are critical skills.

My favorite quote came at the end of the article:
"Our charge as educators is to apprentice students into the reading world. That means we must ensure that our words and actions provide that invitation every day."

What are you doing to meet this charge?

PBIS Classroom Tickets

2/5/2018

This year, my building is renewing our focus on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support), and in addition to individual tickets and incentives, we are adding in a classroom component through classroom tickets. I created the design below, which will be printed and made into notepads, for teachers and staff to hand out when the see an entire classroom demonstrating the RAMS Way (Respectful, Always Responsible, Manners, and Safety). I look forward to seeing the tickets be incorporated into our PBIS practices and through my capacity as an Instructional Coach, to continue to support teaching and learning.

Belly Up Breakout Edu

2/2/2018

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:

3-Digit Lock 346
4-Digit Lock 0816
ABC Lock Water
Directional Lock ←↑→↓↓
Key Lock Taped to trash can
Color clock Brown, Black, Yellow, Grey, Pink

Setup Instructions:

Print out all clue cards
Tape the key to the trash can.
Place red decoder lens near the box.
Hide all clue cards around the room
Using the hasp, lock the Breakout Box with the directional lock, word lock, 3 digit lock, 4 digit lock, color lock, and key lock on the hasp.

Reflection Questions:

How did your group utilize each individual’s strengths?
How did you contribute to your team?
Did everyone in your group have an opportunity to contribute?
Describe a moment in the game when your team worked well together.
How could your group have been more effective?

Additional Requirements:

Decoder Lens

CCSS: RL.1, RL.2, RL.3

Crenshaw Breakout Edu

1/2/2018

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:

3-Digit Lock 132
4-Digit Lock 2015
ABC Lock TRUTH
Directional Lock ￬￬￪￪￩
Key Lock Hidden Inside The House on East 88th Street
Color clock Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, White

Setup Instructions:

Print out all clue cards
Cut out the cardboard sign clues (I’d Rather Be Fishing) and on the back of each clue, write one number for the answer 2015 in invisible ink.
Tape the key in the book The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber. Place book somewhere in the room.
Place red decoder lens near the box.
Cut the “Enjoy the magic around you” clue into six pieces (or into a puzzle)
Hide all clue cards around the room
Hide the flashlight around the room.
Using the hasp, lock the Breakout Box with the directional lock, word lock, 3 digit lock, 4 digit lock, color lock, and key lock on the hasp.

Reflection Questions:

How did your group utilize each individual’s strengths?
How did you contribute to your team?
Did everyone in your group have an opportunity to contribute?
Describe a moment in the game when your team worked well together.
How could your group have been more effective?

Additional Requirements:

Borrow a copy of The House on East 88th Street from your library
Decoder Lens

CCSS: RL.1, RL.2, RL.3

Crenshaw Clues

#OneWord2018

12/30/2017

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.

Wonder Breakout Edu

11/13/2017

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. I enjoyed creating this game, and even had our fifth grade students test out the game before

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:

3-Digit Lock 301
4-Digit Lock 1010
ABC Multi-Lock KIND!
Directional Lock →↓←↑←
Key Lock Taped to On that day’s precept in 365 Days of Wonder
Color clock White, Yellow, Red, White, Blue

Setup Instructions:

Print out all clue cards
On the back of each precepts card, use invisible ink to write one letter to spell out: CHOOSE KIND!) Hide precept cards around the room.
Tape the key on the 365 Days of Wonder page that corresponds to the date the Breakout will be played. Place book somewhere in the room
Cut the arrows apart and place around the room.
Cut the color images apart and place around the room. (These will unlock the color lock)
Hide the Birthday and Halloween party invitations around the room.
Hide the flashlight around the room.
Using the hasp, lock the Breakout Box with the directional lock, 3 digit lock, 4 digit lock, word lock, color lock, and key lock on the hasp.

Reflection Questions:

How did your group utilize each individual’s strengths?
How did you contribute to your team?
Did everyone in your group have an opportunity to contribute?
Describe a moment in the game when your team worked well together.
How could your group have been more effective?

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

Visual Phonics Desk Strip

11/8/2017

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!

Legacy

10/4/2017

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?

The importance of talk

9/26/2017

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."

Don't Bury the Data

9/7/2017

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):

What do we expect our students to learn?
How will we know if they are learning?
How will we respond if they don't learn?
How will we respond if they already know it?

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!