education

Focus on Vocabulary: Tiers 1,2, and 3

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 3 Comments

One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.- Evelyn Waugh

Is it possible to overstate the value of words?  Our ability to function in today’s complex world is determined by our language skills. We use expressive vocabularies to speak, receptive vocabularies to listen and comprehend, and literate vocabularies to read and write.   A large vocabulary is  reflective of high levels of reading achievement. Yet, often, vocabulary instruction is over-looked in schools today as other skills get pushed to the forefront.

We used the iPads last year for phonics practice as well as vocabulary acquisition.  Our Tier 1 words (sight words), we practiced in several apps, most notably Spelling 1-2 and Spelling Bee.  We worked on Tier 2 words (essential for understanding text, non-redundant words) in Montessori Crosswords and our Magnet board apps.  Tier 3 words (infrequently used, subject specific words) can also be practiced with these apps.  These apps allow for many opportunities to talk about and work with words.

Young students learn to communicate through listening and speaking. As students learn to read, they develop fluency and automaticity through rapidly using decoding strategies.  A large amount of attention in the early grades is placed on high frequency words.  These are very important for emerging readers.  However, it can’t stop there.  We must increase comprehension through the use of Tier 2 and 3 words.  Research is showing that in 4,469 minutes of reading instruction, only 19 of those minutes went toward vocabulary instruction and acquisition.

The most recently released study of international reading achievement provides some strong evidence that the weakness in U.S. student performance is not the result of decoding problems or inability to comprehend narrative texts. Instead, it seems to be due to weakness in ability to comprehend.  informational texts (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, 2003).  80% of text that adults read is informational.

Through the iBooks Author software, I was able to create a few high-interest non-fiction texts that were on my students individual reading levels last year.  By having these texts on their iPads, they have them handy whenever they want to read.  I have also downloaded the I Like Books app.  It is a collection of 30 (free) non-fiction books.

Through the use of these reading apps and the apps mentioned above for practicing vocabulary, I am able to increase the rigor in vocabulary instruction.

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Living the iLife: iPhoto, iMovie and Garage Band

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 2 Comments

Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.-Earl Nightingale

One of the great things about teaching young children is their ability to entertain themselves with just about anything.  Given a stick, it becomes a bat, a spear, a magic wand…their imagination has no limits.  My students role play, create, draw, paint, and pretend.  When is the last time you did any of those things?  Grown-ups don’t do those things right?  That’s for kids.  When did we lose our ability to create?

School systems are inherently driven by standardization.  Students are jumping through pre-designed hoops and creativity seems to be a side dish in the entree-heavy school system.  It seems to be overlooked that creativity can be a great intrinsic motivator. Creativity, if not nurtured, will take a nose-dive before a student leaves elementary school.

A great tool for the iPads is a suite of apps that help incorporate creativity into any content.  The iLife suite includes iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand.  iPhoto allows you to browse, edit, and share your favorite pictures.  iPhoto can also create slide shows and books.  iMovie allows you to turn video into movie trailers, tv news segments, and more.  With travel maps in your video travelogues, everyone who watches comes along on the adventure.  The drag and drop feature makes it easy to use.  Garage Band allows you to “get your groove on”.  You can use and edit existing music loops, or create your own using a variety of instruments.  Even if you have never played any of these instruments before, you are able to create a masterpiece.  Voice recordings are also available which you can then add to iMovie.

The iLife Suite gives students the power to create. Teachers often identify their main goals as helping children build cognitive and social skills. But the great engine that drives innovation and invention in society comes from people whose flame of creativity was kept alive in childhood.

Giving students freedom within a structure gives them a clear goal but also alternatives on how to get there.  By incorporating creative tools into the curriculum, students can explore the depths of their inner artist.

Check out the iLife Suite and see the possibilities.  Let freedom ring!

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iPads and Field Trips

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 1 Comment

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. -St. Augustine

Summer is a great time for travel.  Last summer, I was able to travel to Europe for the first time.  We visited the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.  It was truly the trip of a lifetime and I would love to go back!  Travel opens our minds to different cultures, experiences and people…and amazing food!  This trip allowed me to see things and experience things I would never be able to experience in my little corner of the world.  In fact, it made me wish I had paid more attention in my World History class in college.  Walking through the poppy fields of Flanders takes you straight to 1918 and World War 1.  Standing on the battle site of Waterloo puts you in the bloody final campaign of Napoleon in 1815.  I soaked up the history and beauty of these historic gems.

Our students need to experience the larger world beyond their own little corners as well. Class field trips enable educators to broaden students and enhance their educational experiences.  With iPads in the classroom we can re-think how field trips are done.

Taking iPads on a field trip would allow students to capture what they are seeing, reflect on what they are learning, and create meaningful artifacts of the experience.  The information collected on the trip could be put into an iMovie or Keynote to share with others and for assessment.  Using the information gained on the trip and transforming it into an iMovie uses the higher order thinking skills we desire for our students.  To protect the iPads, students could place them in their school book bags.  That would allow the students to be hands-free if needed, but have the iPads handy at the same time.  Having a class set of back packs just for field trips would be the ideal.  I saw one on Amazon.com for $19.99. It is made for tablets and is lightweight enough for younger children. Now I just need a wealthy benefactor to get them for me!

What about the trips that are too far away or are too expensive?  Because of bus costs, increased gas prices and the cost of some venues increasing, we have had to cut the number of trips we take during the year.  What if you want to visit a place that is in another country?  The iPad can take you there via virtual field trips.  On a virtual field trip, you and your students can go just about anywhere on Earth — or even into the solar system.  There are many websites that have virtual field trips already set up, such as this one to the Great Wall of China, or you can create your own.

Field trips can be great educational additions to any curriculum.  By incorporating iPads, our students have endless possibilities to explore their world and beyond!

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Summer Fun and Draw Something

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A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.  –Robert Orben

I live 10 minutes from this beach.  It serves as both an inspiration and a distraction depending on your frame of mind.  After a long school year, it is a soothing medication to frayed nerves.  The wind and waves are hypnotic.  On this day, soaking up the warm sun, I find I must confess something…

I am addicted to the Draw Something app on my iPad.

Draw Something is a free social drawing game you play with others.  You can find friends through email or Facebook.  Once you create a game with someone, you are given 3 words of varying difficulty to choose from.  You choose the word and draw.  When finished, it goes to the other person who watches your drawing being created on their screen.  They are given a tray of letters at the bottom they must choose from and re-arrange to guess the word.  Once they guess, it is their turn to draw and you must guess.  Coins are earned for the varying difficulty of the pictures drawn and they may be exchanged for additional colors. It is similar to the game Pictionary.  I find that using a stylus is much easier for drawing than using my finger.  It is fun and I think I mentioned…addictive. 

While this app isn’t appropriate for my students, the concept is appropriate. Initially, I could introduce the game on my iPad with the Whiteboard app.  I could draw something they would be familiar with and have a few letters at the bottom for them to unscramble to guess the word.  Showing this on my Smart Board would allow all to see and participate.  Once they have the concept of the game, they could then partner play on their own.  This would build spelling skills, vocabulary and fine motor skills.

Of course, I will spend this summer in *ahem* Research and Development to perfect any “kinks” to make it easier for my students…after all, it is about them right? Um, gotta run…it’s my turn and I need to figure out how to draw Lady Gaga.

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Mirror, Mirror, Reflecting on the School Year

/ Kristi Meeuwse / Leave a comment

I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.
-Sidney Poitier

School is finally out! I have a 10 week summer stretching long before me.  Since this isn’t my first go-round with summer vacation, I know how quickly it vanishes.  I used to make a long list of things I wanted to accomplish both at home and for school.  I would find myself frustrated at the end of summer having accomplished less than half of that list.  Instead, I’ve learned to enjoy the time of no deadlines, no paperwork, no alarm clock and no schedule.  I’ve learned…to reflect.

Teaching, for me, is a calling.  It is rewarding and draining all at the same time.  By the end of the school year, I need to recharge and reconnect with me. Reflection of the year happens slowly over the summer.  At first, I just need to decompress.  I also congratulate myself on the things that went well.  We all need to do that.  Later, I begin to think of things that I could have done differently or that I want to change.  Sometimes, it is just a matter of tweaking something and other times it is more drastic.  Reflection helps us to stand back, out of the fray, and look at things a bit more objectively.

Using iPads the last year and a half has been a major source of my change.  It has definitely been a “learn-as-you-go” operation.  So much of what we have done has gone well and so it is easy to rest on that.  Test scores are up, student achievement is up and parent approval is high.  Those are all things to celebrate, especially in such a short amount of time since implementation.  Still, there is always room for improvement.

I’ve been using iBooks Author to write some leveled texts for my students.  I’ve also written a few books for content areas such as Social Studies, Science and Math.  I wrote many of those toward the end of this year and was unable to utilize them much with my class.  I want to write more books this summer and have them ready to go for student iPads in the fall.  I also want to do more personalization of the books with the students to increase their interest.  My goal is to write a short “All About” book for each student in the fall.

In addition to the iBooks Author, I want to incorporate iMovie and create short videos for students and parents.  I just purchased Roxio Toast 11 so I can burn DVD’s from iMovie.  The new MacBook Pro doesn’t have iDVD. So many skills and some good content can be incorporated when students make their own iMovie.  This also puts their engagement through the roof.

Wow…I’ve been out of school 3 days and I have quite a list.  I’m sure I will work on this and tweak it over the coming weeks.  I can’t wait to see how it will all turn out!

How does reflection work for  you?

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iPads in the Classroom: A Parent’s Perspective

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 4 Comments

School is officially out for summer. Today’s post was written by Angie Mizzell. Her son Dillon was in my class this year.

“Mom, how many trees are in the world?” my son asked a few weeks ago, as we were driving to school down a two-lane, tree-lined road.

“That’s a really good question. I don’t know. Billions? Trillions? A lot.” And then I remembered a blog post Kristi had written. “I wonder if there’s a way to find out?”

He responded quickly, as if he’d come to the conclusion on his own. “I could type on my iPad, ‘How many trees are there.'”

When my son started school last August, he was still learning letter sounds. Today, as an official kindergarten grad, he’s reading on a first grade level and doing Google searches to find out how many trees exist in the world. (Turns out I’m a good guesser.)

Did the iPad contribute to that? That’s a question for people who collect data. I’m a mom, and I tend to operate under this philosophy: Seeing is believing. And what I’ve seen is a teacher who uses iPads to meet her students where they are and take them as far as they can go.

I visited the classroom earlier in the year, and it felt familiar to me—a mix of what I recall about kindergarten and first grade combined: Students writing on primary ruled paper, breaking up into smaller, focused reading groups and playing in centers (think blocks and housekeeping). And of course, the children were oozing with cuteness.

I watched a child at the SMART Board, building words by dragging letters from the bottom of the screen. I was intrigued by how engaged my son appeared while working on his iPad.

It’s the natural evolution of things. Today, when my child walks around with a notebook and a pencil (his journal, he says) recording thoughts, I realize the “old” and the “new” can coexist.

My son represents the future, and I’m encouraged by what I see.

Change and Relevance

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Make sure that our methodology is not simply packaging old wine in new bottles. Teaching today requires a whole new vineyard.-Robert Meehan

Are you someone who embraces change?  Perhaps it depends on the circumstances.  Regardless of the situation, change happens. Sometimes it happens slowly…giving us time to adapt and accept.  Sometimes, it happens in a split second, leaving us to wonder what in the world just happened.

Recently I was discussing maps with my students.  It is a state standard in Social Studies.  We were doing a pirate themed unit and I couldn’t think of a better way to talk about maps than in the context of digging up a buried treasure. During the discussion and the showing of this awesome pirate treasure map (courtesy of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World), I noticed my students seemed a bit puzzled, maybe even skeptical.  I stopped and asked what was the problem.  One of them said, “Why didn’t the pirate just use a GPS?”  Someone else said, ” The Maps App on my iPad would show them where to go too.”  Hmmm….are maps (the old school kind that I can never fold correctly) becoming obsolete

Technology makes our lives easier and faster in many ways. Technological advancements in medicine and business have changed the world.  So why are so many reluctant to change the way we educate children?  Money, or lack of it, is always one response.  What if you went to work and found your computers and telephones were suddenly gone.  Sorry…we just can’t afford those fancy things.  How would you do business? Could you still get the work accomplished? Perhaps…with paper and pencil, snail mail and couriers. Technology makes our work more efficient.  It also makes my teaching more efficient.  It makes their learning more engaging and accessible.

As we seek to educate children and prepare them for a successful life as an adult, we cannot pretend that technology doesn’t matter.  One at risk high school in my district that uses iPads, recovered over 700 days of instruction in just the second semester this school year that were previously lost due to discipline issues.

Today, I locked up my class iPads for the summer.  I wheeled them down the hall to be stored for the summer.  We have only 2 half days of school remaining.  I’m already making a list of things I want to do next year.  I want to do more with iMovie and iBooks Author.  Part of staying relevant means growing a new vineyard.  My teaching practices have changed as my students needs change.  Next year will bring new challenges.  I will hopefully be ready….after a nice 10 week summer vacation, of course.

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Write This Way

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 10 Comments

I am a writer. – Jayde, age 6

I’m not a writer. I didn’t go to journalism school and I have no proper credentials that certify me as a writer.  I haven’t immersed myself in the study or practice of writing.  So how can I expect my students to view themselves as a writer if I don’t even view myself as one?

Maybe the problem lies in how one defines “writer”.  I think my perception in the past has been that writers are trained and paid for their work.  Since I’ve been using the Writer’s Workshop approach to writing, I’ve learned that we are all writers.  Writers write every day. Writers share their ideas.  Writers write on a variety of topics and writers are good readers.   As educators, we have to remember that our attitudes are conveyed to our students.  I want my students to be excited about writing.  When I start Writer’s Workshop each day, I call my “writers” to the carpet and I ask them in conferences to share with me what they are learning about themselves as a writer.  In turn, I model writing for them.  I think aloud about writing ideas.  I model what I do when I get “stuck”.  I model writing on a chart tablet and on my iPad.  If I think of a writing idea in the middle of math, I jot it down on a sticky note or in my Notes app.  I tell them to do the same.  I blog here and I blog with them on KidBlog.  We talk about what good writers do and we use mentor texts as examples.

My modeling has been fruitful.  My students write every day.  They write about a variety of topics and for a variety of purposes. They write fiction and non-fiction.  They write stories on paper and on their iPads.  They make lists.  They make books in eBook Magic and on Pages.  They write personal narratives and one even wrote a song. They blog with each other.  They fill one page and ask for another.  And another.

They have no doubt they are writers.  It never occurs to them to think they aren’t. They write and they share. They encourage one another.  They have all the necessary tools.  They have training.  All they need now is to get paid!

Hey wait!  Can I get in on that too?

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Reflecting on Student Growth and Achievement

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I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.-Marie Curie

Recently, I was looking at photographs taken of my students on the first day of school. They looked so little and baby-faced.  It was amazing to see them then and to see how much they have grown this year.  They are taller and their faces have changed.  Because I am with them all day, every day, the change wasn’t as evident.

The same goes for their work.  They work hard all year and little bit, by little bit, progress is seen.  Several years ago, I started keeping a writing portfolio of student work.  I save a writing sample from each child, each month.  At the end of the year, I put them all together in a portfolio to send home to parents.  It is so wonderful to look through the pages and see the growth that occurred throughout the year.  We start on the first day of school:

Students write their names and draw a picture of themselves.  If they are able to, many will write on or label their pictures.  Each month, growth is evident.  By the end, it will look something like this:

What a difference 9 months makes!  It looks so easy, yet a lot of hard work went into this progress. Many times I ask myself, “Are we there yet?” It takes looking at the beginning to appreciate the end product.

How do iPads fit into this? The iPads were used as a companion in both the Reading and Writing Workshop.  Students used them for reference, for reading, and even some writing.  The apps provided them with practice in reading and spelling, which in turn, helped them in their writing.  Their writing on the iPad has been incorporated into their blogging experience, in their creation of books in eBook Magic and in Pages.  While they tend to write more prolifically on paper, they do enjoy writing on their iPads.  It has also given them some beginning keyboarding skills.

They have had a variety of experiences in using iPads, reading books, class discussions, writing stories, using anchor charts, partner work, and various other literacy-building activities.  The key words here are “variety of experiences”.  When you immerse students in a literacy-rich environment, incorporate a systematic approach to reading and writing, and differentiate instruction with iPad technology, students can’t help but succeed!

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Just the Facts: Student Data and Achievement

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 5 Comments

Decisions should be based on facts, objectively considered. -Marvin Bower

I posted here recently my students’ reading scores.  Obviously, we are excited about them.  Student achievement and closing the achievement gap is our top priority.  School-wide, our MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) scores are up.  
What other positive things are we seeing school-wide?  Most striking is our copy paper expenses dropped $15,000 from last year.  Our number of  copies dropped from 400,000 to just at 100,000.  Teachers are able to reduce paper and copying by using the iPads.  Many are uploading activities as a PDF to a class wiki.  Students access the wiki with iPads, complete the activity in a  PDF annotating app and then either upload to PaperPort or to the district WebDav.  School discipline referrals went from around 400 last year to around 100 this year.   The 3 high schools in our district that are using iPads also see decreases in paper usage, copying, and discipline referrals.  Obviously, something good is going on.

Clearly the iPads are making an impact at my school.  There will always be people who feel the iPads are not worth the investment, or who question the validity of them in the classroom.  I read articles and blogs daily that dismiss iPads in the classroom as a flash in the pan.  Technology changes so rapidly and it is necessary to keep up in today’s global society.  Will iPads be around in 5 years?  I have no idea.  Will there be a better technology out there for the classroom in that time?  Maybe…but if we wait until the “newest, better version” comes out, we won’t ever buy anything.  The laptop I’m typing this blog post on will be discontinued, outdated, replaced or obsolete in less than 5 years.  I guess the way I look at it is whatever the technology is it needs to be engaging and relevant to learning.  In the Stone Age, a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used in the manufacture of implements with a sharp edge, or a point, that was some serious technology!  That age lasted about 2.5 million years.  The creation of the wheel, the combustion engine and the first main frame computer were all significant technology advances.  We have to be willing to change with the times.

I have no way of knowing what the long term impact of iPads will be on education.  What I do know right now is that our school data is showing early trends of iPad success.  Behind every number in that data pool is a student with an iPad and that student has a name.  I’m not sure who would be willing to look that child in the face and tell them he or she isn’t worth the investment.  Good teaching is good teaching.  Our data is indicative that iPads in our classrooms is good teaching…on steroids!

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