Self-Reflection Throughout the Phases of Teaching

Do you remember from your days in the credential program, or even in your beginning teacher support program, the following graphic describing the phases of the first year teacher?

When working with a few teachers the other day, I was reminded of these phases and it occurred to me these are stages all teachers go through. It doesn't matter if you are brand new to the profession or you have years under your belt - you still pass through these phases.

Why am I bringing this up? Often, teachers spend so much time focused on lesson plans, student progress, managing behavior, going to meetings, learning new curriculum, etc. that they forget to meaningfully reflect on themselves. It may be of help to recognize that your feelings towards the profession at any given time may be the direct result of the phase that you are currently passing through. This self reflection can be a valuable tool that helps make you aware of how you're feeling while you are teaching, after you are done with a day of teaching, or how you are managing as a teacher in general. All of these ideas generated from your reflection, can make you a better educator.

Following is a list of some reflective questions that I have found that focus my attention on my craft (and myself), and they might help get you energized for some of your own self-reflection:

• What was my best moment today and how can I have more moments like it?
• What was my most challenging moment and why? How will I respond next time?
• Were my students excited to be in class? If not, what can I do to change this?
• How was my mood with others today and how can I improve it?
• How well did I communicate with others today and how can I do this better?
• In what ways did my students surprise me most today?
• What evidence did I see today that proved to me my students are learning and mastering the content?
• How did I support my colleagues today and I will I continue to do so?
• How did my colleagues support me today and if it was to help me in an area I am weak, how can I get better?
• What are the biggest obstacles to improving my practice and how will I overcome them?
• What did I do today for myself and why is this important?
• What do I want everyone to be able to say about me at the end of the day tomorrow?

Self-reflection is key to improving, so how do you self-reflect? Do you have questions that guide you as you learn how to better yourself as an educator? Or do you have questions that motivate and inspire you during the 6 phases of teaching that we all tackle as the year progresses? I would love to hear your thoughts and be able to add to the ever growing list. 

Maggie

Pilot Teacher Advice [Revisited]

During the summer Benchmark Advance trainings, pilot teachers jotted down some notes about their experiences with the program.  As we enter into our second trimester of implementation, it's worth revisiting their advice... 

 

Benchmark Universe: What's been added... and rediscovered!

Every time I log into Benchmark Universe, I seem to stumble across something new -- or something new to me. Here's a list of resources, along with some non Benchmark Universe links at the bottom.

(Most of these resources require you to log into Benchmark Universe, so they can’t be directly linked in the blog. Anything that’s a direct link will be underlined in blue.)

Instructional Support

(Note: for each of these tools, you must first clear your filters, then choose your grade level. You can choose to select a unit if you’d like.)

• Filter to Designated ELD under the Instructional Settings. Here you'll find D-ELD Weekly Presentations for all of your designated ELD lessons!
• Filter to Practice. You’ll find Text Evidence Questions (and answers!) for the passages in the Texts for Close Reading.
• Filter to Whole Group. Click on the Read Aloud Professional Guide. This link has great bookmarks with sentence starters for metacognitive strategies.
• For primary grades: Filter to HeidiSongs Videos or Interactive Learning Games. Check these out for some engaging resources to support your phonics instruction.

Program Support

Select your grade level, and then click the Program Support filter on the lefthand side. There are many, many great resources here. Check out:

• ELA Correlations to Common Core State Standards: lists all of the ELA standards and the lessons in which they’re taught in Benchmark Advance.
• Decodable Reader Skills: lists the phonics skills that are included in each decodable reader in K-2. This would be a great resource if you’re looking for a student book to supplement your SIPPS instruction.

Technical Support: Quick Start Guide

Click the Program Support filter on the lefthand side. Open the Quick Start Guide.

• The Teacher and Student Experience opens a PDF with helpful directions for making groups, creating assignments, and viewing assignment notes.
• The Benchmark Universe Training Video Series provides visual step-by-step directions.

Technical Support: Release Notes

• At the top of the page, you can click on the Help button, and halfway down the page is a link to the Release Notes. This is a great way to see what’s new on Benchmark Universe.

Non Benchmark Universe Resources

• There have been many questions about assessment reports. For a step-by-step YouTube video, check out How to Access Assessment Reports.

• Are you on Facebook? There is a "Benchmark Advance Planning, Organization, and Tips" Facebook Group that has been set up by Toluca Rivers, a teacher in Southern California who is in her second year of implementation. She has amazing ideas about making the program work in your classroom. And, every Sunday afternoon, she does a Facebook Live video called “Plan with Me”, where people get together, plan, and ask questions. (You’ll need to answer three quick questions in order to join the group. Toluca approves requests only on Sundays.)

• Don’t have Facebook but want to see some lessons and planning tips from Toluca Rivers? Click the link.

• One of the ELD specialists from Toluca's school created visual vocabulary cards for K-5 mini-lesson academic vocabulary. They are in the Benchmark Advance Team Drive grade level folders.

• I can’t help myself... here’s one last treasure from Toluca Rivers of Markers and Minions: a Google Slides template that allows you to plan from a unit perspective, as well as plan for each of the three weeks. Click either the editable or printable link.

Know of any other resources? Please share!

The BIG List of Math Websites to help you teach ENY!

In this day and age, there is so much information surrounding us that it can be overwhelming to sort through it all and find exactly what you need.  Well, we have combed the internet looking for all things ENY and have gathered some of our top favorites K-8th grade links to share with you.

Embarc Online ("The Motherlode")
Embarc Online stands for Eureka Math Bay Area Regional Consortium and is maintained by several school districts using EngageNY.  It was started by our famous math trainer, Duane Habecker, to provide a place for teachers to support one another as they teach EngageNY

On  Embarc Online, you can find RESOURCES BY GRADE LEVEL that include:

• Google Slides/PPTs for each lesson
• Eureka Essentials 
• Fluency Games
• Lesson Breakdowns
• Parent Newsletters
• Topic Quizzes
• Homework Solutions
• Videos for every single lesson in grades K - 8!

EngageNY Washington State Users Group

This is a site that is similar to Embarc Online in that it has resources by grade level that have been collaboratively culminated. It is generally for Washington State districts, but there are many ideas that you can take and tweak to meet your needs. Some of the things you will find on this site are:

• PPT Presentations 
• Resources (printable application problems formatted into journals) 
• Module Planning support
• Assessments

CCSS Math Activities

CCSS Math Activities is a solid resource with EngageNY planning support, assessments, fluency games and templates galore!

Great Minds

Great Minds is a free site that requires you to sign-up, but don't worry - they won't overwhelm you with useless emails!! On their site, you can find:

• Entire modules in PDF form
• Homework helpers 
• Parent Tip Sheets (in Spanish and English)
• Pacing and Preparation Guides
• Digital resources (PD videos and interactive access to all Eureka Math/EngageNY curriculum)

Great Minds Blog

The Great Minds Blog goes along with the Great Minds company, and is composed of a hundreds of articles written by real teachers using EngageNY. There are numerous ideas ranging from tips to keep up with the pacing to getting parents on board with the program. Definitely a blog not to miss.

Welcome to the 2017-18 School Year!

Welcome to the 2017-18 School Year! 

As you enter your third week of school, we wanted you to have easy access to some important information. Click on the blue links below for further details.

• Updated 2017-18 Report Card PDFs Report cards are not yet updated in Illuminate. (But will be VERY soon!) In the meantime, use this link to see the most current report card revisions, including grayed out boxes for math.

• Consider creating student profiles for your students. Gather relevant data and use them when conferencing with parents. 
• Elementary Student Profile 
• Middle School Student Profile

• Curriculum Binder Digital Table of Contents Easy access to all important curriculum documents including curriculum maps, common assessment calendars, and "green sheets."

• SCOE is offering amazing opportunities for students and school teams throughout the year. Register now to participate!

• Looking for NGSS resources? Visit the California Academic of Sciences website to learn about valuable and very inexpensive, hands-on workshop offerings for teachers, right in our own backyard! 

• Check out Infinite Insights, a math podcast by our very own, ever-famous Math CT, Maggie Peters and her colleague Duane Habecker. 

• The Curriculum Department Lending Library provides you with a list of professional learning books that can be checked out from the Curriculum Department to help you further your own professional learning about topics of your choice. 

• ALL Primary Contact Email- Illuminate  is a pre-made list report from Illuminate that lists all the email addresses for a student's primary contacts. According to the description, this "includes ALL Primary Contacts' emails; student is listed more than once if student has two primary contacts."

Let us know if you would like us to support you with something specific. We are all here for you and your professional needs. 

What Does It Mean to be Smart?

Last weekend, six of us went to Sacramento to hear Ian Byrd speak on meeting student needs. One of the questions he brought up was related to the definition of 'smart'.  Then this morning, I received his newsletter, Byrdseed, focused on having a conversation with students about "What does it mean to be smart?"  He has two additional articles down at the bottom "The Burden of Being Called Smart" and "Curse of the Kidney Table which are equally thought provoking. Take a look.

Intranet

If you were around for last May’s inservice meeting, you probably remember the worldwide debut of the RVUSD Intranet movie. (Missed it the first time or want to see it again? Click here.)

But have you checked out the Intranet yet?  Log into Google Chrome (if you’re not already), click on the Bookmarks tab at the top of the screen, scroll over rvusd.org bookmarks, and you’ll find the Intranet.

The Intranet houses incredible information and resources.  Here’s what you’ll find when you go to Resources → Teacher Resources.  

By clicking on any of these content areas, you’ll find multiple links and documents for you to use! Here are some of the highlights...

Looking for GATE or ELD resources?  Click on the Differentiation button.  All of the ELD documents and slides from our recent trainings are available under “ELD”, and you’ll find rubrics under the “GATE” link.

The entire Treasures curriculum is found under the Language Arts button (except for the resources available on CD).  There are also WBD materials, including anchor papers for each grade level.

The Mathematics button leads to a multitude of resources. “I Can” statements, math practices posters, Graham Fletcher videos from the math planning days, and Engage NY curriculum and parent letters are just some of the links you’ll find.

Clicking on S.T.E.M. takes you to all of the NGSS handouts distributed at the science planning days.  You’ll also find lesson and unit resources as you begin your NGSS implementation.

The Social Studies button leads to the entire K-5 Scott Foresman curriculum.  There are also links to the EEI curriculum and CNN Student News.

...and that's not all! There is so much more to be found on the Intranet. Happy perusing!