Donna+B

Differentiated Instruction is a phiolosophy of teaching in which we focus on the uniqueness of each child and use responsive teaching to meet their needs

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Nov. 16th -Reflections Thinking about differentiated instruction makes me realize that I need to be here to learn how to reach all of my students. On the drive up Jim and I discussed how there are so many different students that we teach and that as teachers we need to include planning different projects geered toward different learning stylesand multiple intelligences. We both agreed we could improve on this area.

After my discussion with my first base partner we both agreed that students need an interactive classroom with movement. We saw the need for more flexiblity in our yearly plans to be able to adjust our teaching using learning styles and multiple intelligences. Do we meet the needs of all of our students- no I don't think we do.

Make a Plan

-Redesign the paper copy of the Learner Profile- excluding the Executive skill Strength for K- Gr. 2- making adaptations to the characteristics of a Young Adult I would like to use it for my whole class- I would fill in the universal screenings as well as the ROA- I would make students aware of their learning styles and I will use the information to make class index cards for grouping,

Type of Learner I found that I fit into more than one category I am now a beachball with some of the puppy thrown in but before I was a clipboard - it is funny how a person changes their learning style over the years- this would probably also be true for the students that we teach

In the area of Multiple intelligences I would be a verbal/liguistic/bodily& kinesthetic and interpersonal learner

In the triarchic intelligences preferences I was more of a practical intelligence preference

Choices

Talking about choices I like to think that as a teacher I do this but I guess I could say not often enough- I realize with DI that choices are very important for students to have success. I want to do more reading about this topic.

Jan. 7th

I am very excited to be starting a new year. I am looking forward to implementing some changes. In December I tried to find and use a learning style inventory that was appropriate for grade 2. What a learning experience- the first one I used was a one page inventory- however students all decided that they were good at everything. What a positive group. I tried another learning style test- this one was explained to students one at a time- However once again I question their responses-I will use the results and adjust it throughout the year as I observe students.

I created a poster and simplified the kinds of smart that we are - we looked over it together and I explained what each meant so they could understand it.

I made a chart that I shared with my class. I shaded in each kind of smart they were- I focused on two or three top kinds of smart that each one of them was.

I created **anchor activities** - I have a **must do** list in which I listed all of the activities that we did each week and a **may do** list which I went through all of the multiple intelligences and chose two activities for each

I used a chart and set it up with sentence strips- I plan on taking their pictures and having them sign up by putting their picture on top of the sentence strip they choose.

We have just started this process so I have not formally collected any data- I think that this would be difficult to collect data on- I can probably see what choices that they make.

After this I plan on trying choice boards using Blooms.

I also made a celebration poster and every Friday we are going to take time to reflect and share something that we are proud of.

DI Action Research (Participation in DI) How do my students learn best- I completed a one page learning style inventory- not very accurate as all students found that they were good at everything -I then tried another more detailed survey in which I identified the top two or three kinds of smart they were

Reconnaissance -I read a lot of information about multiple intelligences -downloaded lots of information that I could use - especially to make anchor activities

Data Collection - I did the survey and identified the areas of strength that each student has- I will further collect data as to what kinds of activities they choose /from what areas of multiple intellilgences and if they are experiencing success - I want to provide positive experiences for each student and give them choices- This data will help me determine if I need to create different choices.

Reflection I will identify if the use of anchor activities is beneficial (multiple intelligences approaches)What can I do to make this more effective. Do students choose activities with others who are the same kind of smart that they are?

Interpretation After having students complete two sessions of working on anchor activites- may do -I have observed the enjoyment and total absorption of each child- they love it- they can hardly wait for each week when we have Anchor Activity time

Reflection Questions- January 26th One thing I want to tell others about Supportive learning environment is something I have done to recognize the small yet important things that other students do to help others. I have started a Celebration Jar in which students write a note to thank someone who has done something for them or something they have noticed. It can be for kind deeds or some positive thing you have noticed. These are shared each Friday during Celebration Time- students enjoy sharing this

What has changed in my mindset and practice this year is to try to use DI strategies in my classroom- I will try to do one each month. I have always seen the differences in my students but I am going to try harder to meet these needs

What do I need to continue my DI journey- I need more information and to put into practice these ideas - I feel the need for more sharing between grade alike groups.

I believe in children. I believe that I have an important job. I believe I can make a difference in the lives of each child. I believe that we can all learn. I believe I can give children power to learn.

November 2,2010 It is great to get back to our DI group- as we continue to reflect things are becoming clearer - I see connections that I haven't noticed before. I have began to use more DI strategies- I am trying hard to do more planning into my daily schedule to meet the needs of my students. This year I also involved parents in helping fill out a multiple intelligence survery. I collected and graphed results. With this information I plan to use it to make various choice boards/anchor activities that go with some of my units. I feel overwhelmed with all of the new initiatives- I have to remember that I can't do it all at once. Small steps. I look forward to spending more time at our sessions learning about this topic. Why is it worth putting all of the effort into DI? I think that it will make us more effective as teachers and also provide success for our students. there is so much knowledge out there about this topic and this gives us a chance to be introduced to it and practice it. I have started a monthly chart in which I am keeping track of all of the different di strategies that I have used. This is making me be more aware/use this information.

Action Research - Authentic Task

** DI Action Research **

** Coming to the Question ** As I am currently implementing the Daily Five Program I wanted to make the Respectful tasks relate to this program.

** //Question:// ** ** Can students handle choice - students will make several choices within the program **
 * ** Choice of books(Good Fit Books) **
 * ** Choice of places to sit during Read to Self **
 * ** Choice of Daily Five component –working independently **
 * ** Choice of Strategy that they will practice each day **

** Reconnaissance ** How will I learn more?

** Within the Daily Five book and the Café Book, current research that the Sisters have as the basis of this program is clearly outlined. I have read both books once and am currently going through the Café Book a second time **

** Margaret Mooney/Richard Allington/Miller/ Graves/ Routman/are only a few of the researchers that the Sisters have used as a basis for this program- The Daily Five is Research based. ** ** Attached are the Daily Five Research list and the information on Choices ** ** I am a member of the Sisters Daily Five web site –there are a lot of videos and downloads available for teachers on every one of the Daily Five components ** ** __The Daily Five-Fostering Literacy in the Elementary Grades-__pages 11-25 ** ** Website- thedailyfive.com **

** Action and Data Collection ** **What do I experiment with? What action will I take? (**what, when, who) ** I will gradually release responsibility to the students with in the Daily 5 program. ** ** Up until Christmas the choice of component students worked on as well as the strategy used were made by the teacher. ** ** In the new year students are beginning to make their own choice of strategy. I am also conferencing with students -once or twice a week to check if they are using strategies correctly. **

** Students are making their own choice of which daily 5 component they wish to participate in during Round 2 and Round 3 of the Daily 5. ** **How will I collect data ? ** (formal observation**,** survey, questionnaire, interview, etc.)

Observation in Daily 5 Journal/ Self-Assessment-How did I do? Students will use the Fist of Five after each time they use a strategy that they have chosen to give them responsibility for their choice. They have to verbally share and show what they have accomplished after each session of Read to Self. I have collected data on a monthly calendar that I put a rubric on-each day we use the choice aspect and I rated the class on their on task behavior-were they following our choice guidelines

Rubric 4- Complete Understanding- totally on task 3- Good Understanding- (1 -3) students off task- 2- Basic Understanding-(4-6) students off task 1- No Understanding- totally Off-task In the month of January when given choice on 9 different days- students went from 3 days of #2 and then consistently 3's for the rest of the time. We spent a lot of time preparing what it takes to make a good choice.

**Reflection ** :

It is hard to start any new program- after hearing the Two Sister speak all I could think of was when can I start. I too have been through all of the in methods- Learning Centers, Guided Reading, etc. over the years that the sisters talked about. It made so much sense to actually have students work on authentic tasks that are related to Literacy. Everything that is asked of the student creates a sense of Urgency- the idea of set expectations – preparing students for proper reading behaviors. What does reading behavior look like, sound like, feel like? We spent a lot of time making and reviewing charts and practicing proper behavior. It has sure made a difference now as we move up to the next step of this program.

I really love the fact that I can meet uninterrupted for 30-40 minutes with individual students. The students are focused.

I am looking forward to seeing how much growth these students will make this year.

**AHA! **

What does it mean?

It means that this program is exciting and successful. As of the half way point in the year I have noticed that students are more independent. Reading scores have gone up after two months in 13 of the seventeen students- from .3-1.8 grade level equivalents. I am looking forward to the testing in March and June that will indicate further growth, Does this growth compare to other years of Star Reading Testing without the Daily Five program?

Perhaps more teachers should be made aware of the Daily Five as an option.

It means that I need more information on this program as well. I would like to attend a conference in the summer to gain more insight into the Daily Five.

Wiki Reflection Relate what we did today that can be related to your classroom

Today our focus was on flexible groupings.

The first presentation was an eyeopener about the state of education- a lot of ideas were presented that were very deep- I too see the need for moving away from standardization to more divergent thinking -great learning happens in groups -

The different ways of grouping our Di group showed how easy it is to create groups within the classroom. Though I do some grouping- most of the time it is random groupings- I do want to try some grouping according to learning profiles and readiness.

The story Junie B Jones was a welcome addition to the day as it showed a child's perspective of what it felt like to be a part of something bigger. It is obvious that the kids got a lot out of this task

The handouts look very good and I hope that it makes me aware of ways I could group students more effectively.

I look forward to working on the Bingo Chart in my classroom- I am sure students will too.

April 12th Today our GradeTwo group worked on unwrapping one of the outcomes from the ELA curriculum- I had done a rough outline- we went through each section together and with input from Joanne who helped clarify the difference between understandings and the know section we put together a final sample. We are each going to take an outcome for next meeting and come with it done and go through it as a group. This will be very helpful

Working in a group is very beneficial for all of us- we all come from different schools/backgrounds and experiences. I am looking forward to planning a unit together.