The Need for Interdisciplinary Studies in Classrooms

As we interact daily in our world and within our society it is rare that we encounter individuals or circumstances in isolation. For example, if I go to the grocery store, I won't be able to shop without engaging in reading, math, and possibly other disciplines while I am there. If I even attempt to try to handle my shopping experience in isolated facets, such as reading to find the items on my shopping list and then returning to the list to determine the cost of all of the items I collected, it would not only make my experience more frustrating but also time consuming to say the least.

Likewise, we cannot afford to teach our students in an isolated fashion. When students are questioned about the various disciplines that they study in school, it is quite disturbing to hear them speak of their learning as, " Oh, we are doing math right now and later we will do reading." 😚 There is indeed a growing need for a more interdisciplinary curriculum in our schools. We are doing our students a disservice to continue separate subject areas of learning as unrelated bodies of knowledge. This grave disconnect is not allowing our students to see how school is related to not only their current lives, but their future lives as well. The school day has become so fragmented that students and teachers alike are simply going through the motions and not grasping or grappling with what school should and need to be about, which is interrelated knowledge that can easily be transferred into the lives of the individuals that we teach! We have to bridge the gaps of teaching and learning. Balanced Literacy sets the stage for interdisciplinary studies. Yet, it is important that our pedagogy reflects the fluidity of the structure. Essentially, it is important that our teaching mirrors less choppiness and more flow!

To learn more and to try to incorporate this approach to teaching in your classroom, follow this link. Also, check out the International Literacy Association's Bridges Units of instruction on Interdisciplinary Studies here.
***Remember to always let your standards/indicators, students, and formative and summative assessment drive your instruction! 😊

World Read Aloud Day is February 16th! Get ready to fall in love with a great book! Follow the link to register.

You never Take a Break from Learning!

Recently my daughter hopped in the car and said "Mommy, I am so excited we don't have to bring anything to school tomorrow because we aren't going to be doing any learning!" Well, it was the day before winter break and I guess you can imagine the expression that came upon my face as I quickly responded, " You never take a break from learning!" Of course, my husband, being his little girl's saving grace, tried to recover for her and said calm down "teaching mommy", she means formal learning. Although his response helped me to exhale and agree it also still disturbed me that my daughter spoke of learning as an isolated occurrence in her life that only happens during the school day. With this in mind, I began to explain to her that learning occurs everyday and in all her experiences. Then I began thinking, is the learning in school really so far removed from what children experience in their daily lives? If so, we as educators need to reevaluate our practices to be sure that our children can see the connection to what they are learning in school and how it relates to their daily lives. Only then will we, as teachers be able to help students to see that what they are learning does matter and everyday you are constantly learning, no matter where you are. Life is learning and just like you can't take a break from life, you should never take a break from learning!

To keep learning ongoing and fun during the holidays, check out this helpful site that offers great ideas to make learning both fun and relative!

Rescuing Emergent Readers

Emergent Readers need explicit instruction of basic letter sound principles. They also benefit most from dictation lessons that allows them to hear the letter sounds and record each sound separately to see how a combination of letters makes up a word. Without these basic fundamental strategies, emergent readers may often struggle to get the gist of simple Consonant, Vowel, Consonant (CVC) words that they maybe able to segment the sounds and read. The use of Elkonin boxes is an effective tool that allows students to segment and record the CVC words. They allow for both visual and tactile instructional strategies during guided writing for your emergent readers. Through the use of Elkonin Boxes, students will become adept in demonstrating letter-sound relationships and gradually become proficient readers and writers. To read more about Elkonin Boxes follow the link. Elkonin Boxes Research

Elkonin Boxes Video

Video on Teaching Phonemic Awareness

Rescuing Emergent Readers

Emergent Readers need explicit instruction of basic letter sound principles. They also benefit most from dictation lessons that allows them to hear the letter sounds and record each sound separately to see how a combination of letters makes up a word. Without these basic fundamental strategies, emergent readers may often struggle to get the gist of simple Consonant, Vowel, Consonant (CVC) words that they maybe able to segment the sounds and read. The use of Elkonin boxes is an effective tool that allows students to segment and record the CVC words. They allow for both visual and tactile instructional strategies during guided writing for your emergent readers. Through the use of Elkonin Boxes, students will become adept in demonstrating letter-sound relationships and gradually become proficient readers and writers. To read more about Elkonin Boxes follow the link.Elkonin Boxes Research

Collaboration Breeds Success!

Teaching in today's classrooms poses increasing challenges to keep students engaged. Student engagement is not a small task to say the least. Yet, we know that when students are interested, motivated and captivated by the delivery of instruction, learning occurs. As teachers work hard to deliver meaningful instruction, even the most seasoned educator can become depleted of ideas and strategies as they plan lessons. Therefore, the need for collaboration in education is essential to best serve students. Consequently, collaboration is often approached with a bit of skepticism in the realm education, due to the isolated nature of teaching that has occurred for so long.

Coaching allows for the much needed proximity and interactive conversations that breeds the collaborative connections that will benefit both educators and students alike. When students see positive interactions among educators, they see first hand how important it is to be able to work effectively in a school community for a common purpose. Through collaboration, administrators, coaches and teachers are fundamentally partners working to assist students to become successful. Moreover the learning community demonstrates a unified commitment to student SUCCESS!

Ways to build and enhance a collaborative school community: 

• Identify a purpose for collaborating: Professional Learning Communities are great vehicles to navigate towards a common goal.
• Practice leads to Promotion: The more you collaborate as a professional, you can better promote and demonstrate effective collaboration skills in your classroom. 
• Time: Designated time is critical to collaboration success. The lack of time and consistency can quickly diffuse agency. 
• Understanding of how to effectively collaborate: Lack of  understanding of the "how" and "why" is the root cause of ineffective collaboration. Establishing group norms helps each member to remain focused on the purpose and the plans.
• Freedom to explore and express various points of view: It is important to value everyone's point of view. An appreciation for diversity can lead to rich learning experiences.
• Communication is key: Active listening is a key component to effective communication when collaborating. Everyone should have a voice in discussion. EVERYONE has something to bring to the table!

School is in! Yes, it seems that the summer zoomed by and now we hear the pitter, patter, and echoing chatter of the children in the hallways. It's easy to get lost amidst the chaos of the back to school routine. So here are a few pointers to ease your way back into the school.

• Don't take on too much too soon. Plan ahead by logging in dates for meetings and upcoming events. Planning ahead helps you to not over-plan as well.
• Arrive on time to work and scheduled events. This will help you to not feel rushed and hurried, which can essentially alleviate a lot of stress.
• Make lesson planning fun and interesting by planning in places other than work. Take advantage of the final days of summer by planning in the park or have an alfresco dinning experience with a teacher friend to plan. Sometimes being in a different place and space can open up a world of possibility for creativity. 

Hopefully this advice is helpful to help you to ease back into the routine of school. Remember have a positive attitude because it gives you power over your circumstances! Welcome Back!!!