Curriculum Corner

A few weeks ago, a group of us attended UnBound Ed's Standards Institute, an immersive professional development conference that encourages greater understanding of the research behind the standards, the instructional shifts the standards demand, and implications for educators. One of the underlying themes of the conference was equitable instructional practices for ALL students.

One of the facilitators posed this question: Is love enough? The question made me reflect on the reason why many of us became educators. We love children and we want to make a difference in the lives of others. But is love enough? Sometimes we love our students right into intervention or failure unintentionally because we love them and want to protect them from challenging work because of our mindsets about what they may or may not be able to do. UnBound Ed found that students spend 81% of their class time on below grade-level content and tasks. 81% of grade-level instructional time on non-grade level instruction, content, and tasks and we wonder why they come to us each year with unfinished learning.

On the contrary, they also found that for students missing knowledge or skill, access to grade-level tasks increased performance by 7.3 more months of learning! I challenge you to love children with your head as well as your heart. Allowing students to engage in productive struggle with grade-level content and tasks engages students' brains and builds their stamina for rigorous academic tasks. Should we just ignore the unfinished learning? Not at all...but we should scaffold them up to grade-level content instead of lowering our content during grade-level instructional time. If we make it easier for them today, we are only increasing the difficulty they may face in the future. Make decisions based on their future not on their past. They can do it.

We will be bringing our learning to Pirate Academy in the spring. The following sessions will be based on Standards Institute:

• Shift Happens: ELA Instructional Shifts
• Coherence Mapping for Student Success
• Mathematical Language Routines
• Technical vs. Adaptive Change
• What is Rigor?

Pirate Academy will be held at the K-8 campus on Thursday, April 18th. Based upon your feedback from October Pirate Academy, we have made a few adjustments:

• We are changing the way we register in order to make the process easier for you. Registration will take place from 3/11/19-3/22/19 using SCHED. You will get an e-mail prompting you to register. Please ensure you register before 3/22/19.
• We have extended lunch a bit as an hour did not seem to provide you with adequate time to return to afternoon sessions on time. The additional time (and given that it is not a Monday when several places are closed) should ensure that we are all returning promptly for afternoon sessions.
• In order to ensure presenters have adequate information from which to prepare, we will host a presenter meeting two weeks before Pirate Academy.

If you need CEUs, there will be an additional registration step. Stay tuned for that information.

For some of you, spring break meant vacations or visits to see family and friends. For others, it might have meant doing a little spring cleaning around the house or finally finishing that project in the garage that seems to always need a few more hours. However you chose to spend your break, one of the first things you will do when you return to your classroom or office on March 11th is to check your calendar. The Curriculum Team has taken the initiative to look ahead for you and make you aware of a few things coming down the pike.

The week of March 18th is going to be very busy for some teachers. The spring i-Ready diagnostic window opens (K-8), dyslexia screening (Level 1) begins for kindergarten, and spring universal behavior screeners (K-12) get underway. TE21 Benchmark Assessments begin the following week at PCHS. With that information, below are some things to keep in mind.

• The heavy lifting for the i-Ready diagnostic actually begins the week BEFORE the diagnostic is given. This involves the planning (days, times, locations, resources), the data chats with kids, and more. Be sure to have all of this ready to roll before you leave for the weekend on Friday, March 15th if you test on Monday, March 18th. Don't forget the plethora of resources available at i-Ready Central that will help you get good data.
• Dyslexia screening is only for kindergarten this week, and actually, you have two weeks to complete the screening. Level 1 of the MSDTA screener can be completed during the week of March 11th if teachers prefer, but Level 2 screening can take place during the week or March 18th or March 25th. All dyslexia screening documentation (DYS 1 and DYS 3) is due to TST Chairs by 3:00 pm on Friday, March 29th.
• There are only five days to complete universal behavior screeners (Week of March 18th), so this should be at the top of your priority list during this busy week. More information regarding these screening surveys will be shared out after spring break.

We hope you have come back from spring break refreshed and ready to finish the school year strong!

With testing season right around the corner, it is imperative that all staff are aware of the dos and don’ts surrounding student assessment.

Test Administrators and Proctors

• At least two (2) people are with testing materials at all times.
• Electronic devices, including but not limited to, cell phones, smartwatches, etc., are prohibited during testing.
• Test Administrators must be aware of and provide the appropriate testing accommodations for students.
• Both Test Administrators and Proctors are present and actively walking around the room monitoring students during the entire test.
• Conversations between Test Administrators and Proctors should not occur unless there is a situation concerning testing.
• Coaching students or interfering with testing by Test Administrators and Proctors is prohibited.
• Reproducing or disclosing secure test materials before, during or after test administration is prohibited.
• Test Administrators and Proctors should report any testing irregularities to the School Test Coordinator immediately.

Hall Monitors

• Hall monitors should be actively walking and monitoring testing rooms to provide assistance when needed.

The Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards for Mathematics are designed with coherence across and within grades. Standards should not be new events but an extension of previous learning. Coherence reinforces major standards in grades by utilizing supporting and complementary topics.

The photograph of the Coherence Map displays an example of how one standard impacts subsequent standards through primary and high school. The yellow dot represents 2.G.3. The subsequent red dots indicate the standards that are affected by the foundational understanding of 2.G.3. Students need conceptual and/or procedural understanding of each standard in order to progress across and within grade levels. When students are not progressing or mastering a standard, the coherence map can be used to "backtrack" and lay foundations for unfinished learning.

The Coherence Map (https://achievethecore.org/coherence-map/) can also be used to understand the foundation a current standard is laying for subsequent standards within your grade/course and in future grades/courses.

On July 1, 2017, the Mississippi Senate passed Senate Bill 2273 which authorized and directed the State Board of Education to require all public school districts to “provide instruction in cursive reading and writing…” and “by the end of 5th grade… pass with proficiency a teacher-constructed test demonstrating the students’ competency in both reading and writing cursive.” Cursive handwriting recommendations have been included in our Instructional Management Plan in the Curriculum & Instruction Google Team Drive since the beginning of this school year. However, the link below has also been provided for easy access.

Cursive Handwriting Recommendations

This document also contains research related to cursive handwriting, MS CCR Standards related to handwriting, how and when to introduce letters, an introduction to cursive strokes, parent information, and key definitions. This document should help answer some of your questions about how and why to teach cursive and/or which method is best for your students.

I have included an article (here) from the International Dyslexia Association regarding cursive writing that you might find interesting. I have summarized (or copied) the main points for you below.

1. Cursive is undeniably much faster. “Kate Gladstone, a handwriting specialist based in Albany, estimates that while a student needs to jot down 100 legible words a minute to follow a typical lecture, someone using print can manage only 30” (Freedman, 2005).
2. When writing cursive, the word becomes a unit, rather than a series of separate strokes, and correct spelling is more likely to be retained.
3. Lower case cursive letters are less likely to be reversed because all of them can begin on the line.
4. Students should learn to write cursive letters in an order based on ease of formation. The “finish-later letters” (i.e., i, t, f, j) need special practice so that the student does not stop in the middle of the word in order to add the dot or the cross. The most difficult to connect are the “bridge letters” (i.e., b, v, w).
5. Practicing a letter formation a few times is more effective than writing endless lines of a single letter.
6. The earlier cursive is mastered, the more likely it is to become established as a life-long habit.
7. From the beginning, it is essential to establish correct posture, paper position, and pencil grip:

Posture: The student sits with back straight or tilted slightly forward and feet firmly on the floor. The desktop should be no more than two inches above the elbow when the arm is hanging down by the student’s side. If the desk cannot be adjusted, use a pillow and a box or stool so that the feet are not left to dangle. Both elbows should be on the table—we call this the “listening and learning position.”

Paper Position: The paper must be slanted at a forty-five degree angle that is parallel to the writing arm. Thus the arm can pivot freely from the elbow as the writing moves across the page. The non-writing hand is kept at the top of the page to anchor the paper and to move it up—like the roller in a typewriter. Taping or painting a “V” at the bottom of the desk can serve as a reminder. Another method is to have parallel lines slanted according to the child’s handedness as a guide.

Pencil Grip: The pencil is gripped between the thumb and index finger, with the middle finger forming a shelf underneath. The end of the pencil should point toward the shoulder. All fingers are slightly bent. This is known as the “tripod grip” and is the most efficient.

Psychology Today (2016) published a good article (here) on the benefits of teaching handwriting in school. At the end of the short article are several research studies that you can use to learn more about the “why” and “how” of handwriting. The article specifically mentions the following:

• Handwriting helps kids develop reading circuitry in their brains.
• Handwriting makes better writers and spellers and predicts reading and academic success.
• Handwriting makes both children—and adults—smarter! Close those laptops!
• Start out with teacher modeling.
• Teach handwriting directly and explicitly.

Did you know that you can listen to your students' recordings in Imagine Learning to check for proficiency in speaking? The link below will give you specific instructions on how to find your students' recordings and review them. Please let your students know that you are reviewing the videos and that they may be provided strategies based on need that will increase achievement in their English speaking skills.

Further guidance with instructional resources will be provided during Pirate Academy in April. It is highly recommended that if you teach EL students you should attend one of the Imagine Learning sessions as access to differentiated instructional resources will be reviewed during the session.

https://support.imaginelearning.com/issue/imagine-language-literacy/869

Since the end of last school year, your school Interventionists and the Curriculum Team have been tracking the number of students we serve in each tier of instruction. Generally speaking, 80% of students should find academic success when a teacher differentiates instruction (Tier I). We would expect approximately 15% of students require targeted instruction (Tier II) and 5% require intensive interventions (Tier III). This is a generally accepted ratio based on several research studies and practitioner experiences nationwide.

In the Pass Christian Public School District, we have identified a few opportunities for improvement with regard to the general guidelines. First, let me tell you how we track these numbers.

1. During the school year, Interventionists collect information from classroom teachers about how many students are receiving Tier II intervention services in ELA and Math (and behavior). This information is included on a spreadsheet in Google Drive so the school administrators, Interventionists, and Curriculum Team can periodically review documentation about which students are having difficulty. Each of these students should have a folder with the completed documentation for Tier II. This includes integrity checks from your school Principal or Assistant Principal.
2. Interventionists keep record of students that have been assigned by the TST to receive Tier III interventions. These students are also included on the master spreadsheet.
3. At the end of each term, the Curriculum Team reviews which students received interventions (Tier II or Tier III) during the term and determine what percentage of students were served in Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III for ELA and mathematics. The percentages of students served in these two subjects are recorded separately.
4. Percentage Calculation

• Find the total number of students in the grade at the end of the term.
• Subtract the number of students identified as having a Significant Cognitive Disability (SCD), as these students have a different course of study.
• Subtract the number of students receiving Special Education services, except those that are only eligible under the category of Language-Speech. Simply put, if students are eligible to receive academic support in ELA or mathematics from a special educator, they are removed from the denominator. If not, they are included.
• Add the number of students receiving Tier II or Tier III services for the subject to the numerator.
• Divide by the denominator.
• Do this for each tier in each grade-level, in each school, for both ELA and Mathematics.

The graph below is a snip of the Term 2 district tier graph for ELA. Remember, the target percentage for students receiving Tier II (15%) and Tier III (5%) interventions should be approximately 20%. That means the Tier I percentage should be about 80%. As you can see below, some grades are either overserving students (32% in Tier) or underserving students (4%, 7%).

The Term 2 district tier graph for math below shows that students are far less likely to receive interventions in mathematics. In fact, some grades are serving few to no students in Tier II. For example, upon review of i-Ready diagnostic data, we found that 45% of 3rd-grade students are not on track to score proficient or advanced in math on the MAAP assessment. Of that 45%, 17% are projected to score at a Level 1 or Level 2. Still, only 8% of our 3rd-grade students receive Tier II or Tier III interventions in this critical area.

We must begin to provide interventions in math with the same fervor as we do for ELA. Unfinished learning in either subject will likely have a negative impact on future grades and ultimately will reduce the likelihood that a child might graduate. We also must know the level at which we are providing interventions and adjust all three tiers, including and especially Tier I, accordingly.

During the next few weeks, the Curriculum Team will be coming through your buildings to conduct Tier II file reviews. Teachers will be asked to have students’ Tier II folders available for review. The team will be looking for completeness of documentation, effectiveness of intervention, and participation of stakeholders. The team will take notes of their findings and share with principals and assistant principals (TST Chairs).

The use of this tier information to ensure that teachers and administrators are aware of how we are serving students in the tier process and the impact of interventions we are delivering to students and to provide additional to support to teachers and administrators as needed.

We believe students excel when all have an opportunity to learn and are held to clearly defined, high expectations. It is our shared responsibility to ensure students receive the appropriate level of support so that they can learn at high levels. Please let us know how we can assist you! We are here to serve!

Barbara Blackburn defines rigor as “creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so that he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels.” High levels of learning for all students is supported significantly by our beliefs. But how do we ensure that we are creating this environment for our students?

Rigor involves everyone in teaching and learning. Teachers must consider rigor when planning lessons, tasks, and assignments. Students who are successful in a rigorous environment take responsibility for their learning. They are able to reflect on their thinking; they persist in solving a problem when the path to a solution is not immediately obvious. They learn to ask productive questions rather than expect to be shown how to proceed. As we move towards a more rigorous approach to instruction, it is important to understand what rigor entails.

Patty Cooper, Chief Academic Officer

Doris Flettrich, Special Services Director

Rob French, Assistant Curriculum Director

Susan Walters, Director of Student Assessment

Melissa Saucier, Federal Programs Coordinator

Heather Holliman, Instructional Coach

Alison Pace, Instructional Coach

Email: pcooper@pc.k12.ms.us
Website: https://www.pc.k12.ms.us/
Phone: 228-255-6200