Spirit of Valencia Offshore Powerboat Racing Team Presentación Español
Team Spirit
1
R T 128 The Reading Teacher Vol. 66 Issue 2 p. 128 DOI:10.1002/TRTR.01111 © 2012 International Reading Association When I started working in Ocean Township three years ago, I quickly learned that the community had a strong team spirit. I knew this was true about athletics, but I was pleased to learn that the team spirit was alive in the classrooms as well. As a reading specialist and literacy coach, I spend time working alongside teachers. Here is our team story. “Can you help me?” I turned to see Brianne standing in the doorway. We had a department meeting the day before, and I had presented information about state testing in New Jersey and the writing tasks required in grades 3 and 4. Brianne slumped in the chair next to me and handed me some writing samples. “I think they could do better, but I’m just not sure what do to.” And so our teamwork began. From December to June that year, I conducted demonstration and collaborative lessons in Brianne’s third-grade resource room, where special education students were pulled out for replacement instruction. We met weekly to plan lessons and review students’ work samples. We dug through resources and planned units of study using the philosophy of writing workshop. When the students took the state test that year, Brianne and I were confident that they viewed themselves as writers and would attempt the tasks with the strategies they had learned. The following year, Brianne and I invited other resource room teachers to work with us. Coffee, chocolate, and writing resources were piled on the tables for our planning sessions. We were committed to teaching writing every day, being reflective about our teaching, and planning based on the writing of our students. Most of all, we were committed to working together. With the advice of Lucy Calkins, Stephanie Parsons, and Elizabeth Hale, we taught our writers, and each other, how to shape ideas into personal narratives, fictional stories, and expository texts. As state testing approached, we felt that our teaching of writing was better than ever. The scores were reported in August, and all but one of our grade 3 resource room students were proficient. We were thrilled! When we analyzed the writing scores, we found that the resource room students’ scores were the same, and in some cases higher, than the most frequently occurring score in the building. We celebrated the success of our writers and knew that we had accomplished elevated test scores by improving our practice as a team. This year our team is bigger than ever. General education teachers and resource room teachers from three schools have joined us. We communicate online using a wiki, where teachers reflect on lessons and share resources. We meet monthly to share student work, celebrate our small steps, and empower each other to do this tough work. Margaret Mead wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” It is truly a privilege to be part of such a team. Janice McDowell Reading Specialist and Literacy Coach, Grade K–4 Wayside Elementary School, Ocean Township, New Jersey V i e w F r o m t h e C h a l k b o a r d V i e w F r o m t h e C h a l k b o a r d Team Spirit m We were committed to working together .
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Transcript of Team Spirit
R T
128
The Reading Teacher Vol. 66 Issue 2 p. 128 DOI:10.1002/TRTR.01111 © 2012 International Reading Association
When I started working in Ocean Township three years ago, I quickly learned that the community had a strong team spirit. I knew this was true about athletics, but I was pleased to learn that the team spirit was alive in the classrooms as well. As a reading specialist and literacy coach, I spend time working alongside teachers. Here is our team story.
“Can you help me?” I turned to see Brianne standing in the doorway. We had a department meeting the day before, and I had presented information about state testing in New Jersey and the writing tasks required in grades 3 and 4. Brianne slumped in the chair next to me and handed me some writing samples. “I think they could do better, but I’m just not sure what do to.”
And so our teamwork began. From December to June that year, I conducted demonstration and collaborative lessons in Brianne’s third-grade resource room, where special education students were pulled out for replacement instruction. We met weekly to plan lessons and review students’ work
samples. We dug through resources and planned units of study using the philosophy of writing workshop. When the students took the state test that year, Brianne and I were confident that they viewed themselves as writers and would attempt the tasks with the strategies they had learned.
The following year, Brianne and I invited other resource room teachers to work with us. Coffee, chocolate, and writing resources were piled on the tables for our planning sessions. We were committed to teaching writing every day, being reflective about our teaching, and planning based on the writing of our students. Most of all, we were committed to working together. With the advice of Lucy Calkins, Stephanie Parsons, and Elizabeth Hale, we taught our writers, and each other, how to shape ideas into personal narratives, fictional stories, and expository texts. As state testing approached, we felt that our teaching of writing was better than ever.
The scores were reported in August, and all but one of our
grade 3 resource room students were proficient. We were thrilled! When we analyzed the writing scores, we found that the resource room students’ scores were the same, and in some cases higher, than the most frequently occurring score in the building. We celebrated the success of our writers and knew that we had accomplished elevated test scores by improving our practice as a team.
This year our team is bigger than ever. General education teachers and resource room teachers from three schools have joined us. We communicate online using a wiki, where teachers reflect on lessons and share resources. We meet monthly to share student work, celebrate our small steps, and empower each other to do this tough work. Margaret Mead wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” It is truly a privilege to be part of such a team.
Janice McDowellReading Specialist and Literacy Coach, Grade K–4Wayside Elementary School, Ocean Township, New Jersey
View From the ChalkboardView From the Chalkboard
Team Spirit
m
We were
committed to
working together.
TRTR_1111.indd 128TRTR_1111.indd 128 9/6/2012 12:00:17 PM9/6/2012 12:00:17 PM
