Improving Instructional Practices

50 + Instructional Strategies

Danielson’s Domain 1e Designing coherent instruction, 3c Engaging students in learning

Some days it can be difficult to think of teaching strategies that will excite and engage your students in learning.  Below is a graphic organizer of more than fifty strategies that you can print out and keep handy when planning lessons.  

Want to access the site and learn more?  Just click the link below

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/50-teaching-strategies-to-jumpstart-your-teacher-brain/

PMS News & Notes 4/26/15

As we finish the last full week of April, it's hard to believe we are here.  As we approach June, the value that we place on consistent, focused instruction remains a key piece to a successful 4th Quarter. Below are some notes and dates for our school...

Badger Exam Testing
7th Grade finished up testing this week, and at the time of this writing are almost complete.  This week went even smoother than last, and we look for a solid week of 6th grade testing next week to finish up this year's state testing.  Thank you to each of you in your flexibility and willingness for this to be a success.

Spring is Here...
As the weather gets nicer, I appreciate the continued commitment and focus on our goals. Very soon, we will be gathering our student data, analyzing growth toward both our SLO and our Vision 2020 goals. Our focus must remain constant using our "capital" (classroom minutes), getting the most out of each minute right up till the end of the year.

Next Year Schedule Information
There will be a couple of changes to next year's schedule and course offerings.  The Curriculum Committee approved the changes, and the Board will review them at Monday's meeting.  Some of the schedule process can be difficult to figure out without an explanation, so I hesitate to write about it, but I will make an attempt.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

-All Core classes in all grades will meet for roughly 90 minutes blocks
-We will offer 4 sections of each Core class in Grades 6 and 7 (we will be hiring another MS teacher to be able to do this)
-Science and Social Studies will meet every day for a semester, instead of every day for a year
-We will offer a Coding course taught by Mr. Jennings in the 6th grade rotation instead of I-Tech, as we are increasing our Tech offerings at the HS
-We will offer a STEM 8th grade elective

PUMA Pride Committee
Our Puma Pride Committee met this past Thursday and we added a couple of members.  Thank you to Mr. Kallungi and Ms. Deans for joining the crew.  Committee members will be seeking your input about the Puma Pride rubric, as we look to make this an even more useful tool.  We also are looking at the culture of our building, and determining areas for growth. The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 21st.

Student of the Month Breakfast
The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday, May 14. This will be the final breakfast of the year.

Next Staff Meeting
Our next staff meeting will be on Wednesday, 5/6/15 starting at 2:50 in Room 201.  We will continue our conversation from the last staff meeting.  Click HERE to review the work from the "Behavior Activity". I am planning a "Staff Share" session again.  Please let me know if there is a practice, activity or lesson that you know is very effective at getting students to achieve at high levels.

Twitter Find of the Week

Dan Rockwell ‏@Leadershipfreak  20m20 minutes ago

I'd rather fail in pursuit of extraordinary than succeed pursuing average. #leadership

Duty Next Week

Morning - Rogness, Vian

Bus - Anderson

Data

Number of "Needs Improvement" scores on Puma Pride Report Cards

8th Grade

1st Quarter - 47

2nd Quarter - 36

3rd Quarter - 22

7th Grade

1st Quarter - 9

2nd Quarter - 5

3rd Quarter - 18

6th Grade

1st Quarter - 2

2nd Quarter - 9

3rd Quarter - 3

PMS News & Notes 4/17/15

Beautiful weather was the highlight of the week, and Week 1 of Badger Exam testing is in the books as well! Check out below for some news from the past week, and things to come.

Badger Exam
The 8th Graders kicked off Badger Exam testing this week.  The testing process was pretty smooth, and we look forward to utilizing a couple of minor lessons learned to run an even more efficient testing session for our 7th and 6th graders. We will start 7th grade testing on Tuesday, 4/21.  Our testing session will run from 7:35 to about 9:05.  6th graders will start on Tuesday, 4/28.

Tornado Drill
After the Tornado Drill on Thursday afternoon, I'm confident that we are ready if the need arises.  All classes were able to get to their locations in a very efficient manner.  Thank you for guiding our students.

Student of the Month Breakfast
The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday, May 14. It would be helpful to have the names of the students recommended to the office by Friday, May 1.  This will be the final breakfast of the year.

Next Staff Meeting
Our next staff meeting will be on Wednesday, 5/6/15 starting at 2:50 in Room 201.  We will continue our conversation from the last staff meeting.  Click HERE to review the work from the "Behavior Activity". I am planning a "Staff Share" session again.  Please let me know if there is a practice, activity or lesson that you know is very effective at getting students to achieve at high levels.

Field Trip Reminder
If you are planning a field trip, and are planning for parent volunteers to chaperone, they need to complete the volunteer/background check process through our district office.  Please plan ahead for this, as they need about two weeks notice to get the chaperones on our approved volunteer list.  If a chaperone is already on our volunteer list, please confirm that with me.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  Mar 24

6 characteristics at the heart of great teaching: http://edut.to/18VjKxk .

Duty Next Week

Morning - Lendobeja, O'Connor

Bus - Barnett

Data

Attendance Rate (Through Mid-April)

14-15 - 95.48%

13-14 - 95.24%

12-13 - 95.57%

PMS News & Notes 4/10/15

The first week back from Spring Break is in the books!  The weather is getting nicer, and we look ahead to maximizing the days and minutes remaining in the school year.  A few notes from the week ahead and the weeks to come below.

Badger Exam
Our Badger Exam practice sessions are complete, and I think it was a good opportunity to iron out a few kinks before the actual testing kicks off next week.  The testing schedule and groups are HERE. If there were any issues (grouping. logistics, connectivity, etc), please let me know asap.  The 8th grade is set to kick off their testing next Tuesday.  Thanks to all for your flexibility, feedback, and willingness to make this go as smooth as possible.

Student of the Month Breakfast
We had another successful breakfast this morning, with one of the biggest crowds of the year.  Thank you to all for your willingness to come in early, and do all of the little extra things that this event requires. It was another positive atmosphere, and getting families in here is a very good thing. The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday, May 14. It would be helpful to have the names of the students recommended to the office by Friday, May 1.  This will be the final breakfast of the year.

Staff Meeting Recap
I want to thank all of you for your participation in our staff meeting on Wednesday.  Special thanks to Mr. Frehner, Mrs. Hendrickson, and Mr. Jorgensen for offering to share a glimpse of some great things that are happening in our classrooms. There will be another time for a staff share during the May meeting. If you are interested in sharing a practice that has been successful at getting students to achieve higher levels, let me know and we'll set it up.  Also, I am working on a document that will have the feedback about norming our behavior system that will be shared soon, and we'll continue the conversation at our next staff meeting on May 6.

April Safety Drill
We will be conducting another tornado drill this month.  This drill will be held at the same time as the statewide tornado drill on Thursday, April 16.  The Tornado Warning will begin at 1:45.

Culture
At the assembly before break, I shared with our students a vision for Poynette schools and students to have an expectation of excellence, and pride in all that we do. Much of our culture is in the day to day interactions of both students and staff members. As we look to build excellence into all that our students do, having high expectations for each of our students in both their behavior and work is key. Students often will rise to the expectations that are set forth for them by the adults in their lives.

Sub-Caller
On Friday, 4/17 morning, I will be the sub caller. 608 692 2088

Twitter Find of the Week
A good read on questioning in the classroom...

Ben Gilpin ‏@benjamingilpin  35m35 minutes ago

A Quick Guide To Questioning In The Classroom http://goo.gl/vJ6ceA  via @TeachThought

Duty Next Week (Morning is Outside!!)

Morning - Jorgensen, Kallungi

Bus - Deans

Data

I've attached the HS WKCE data trends in Reading and Math. The WKCE was taken in October of the Sophomore year, and these results are a result of MS efforts.

PHS Reading Data

PHS Math Data

Badger Exam Practice Sessions

Hello,
This week starting on Wednesday (8th Grade), we will be conducting dry-runs for the Badger Exam. Students will meet in their actual testing groups during their actual testing time and we will utilize the actual chrome books that we will use during testing. Below is the schedule, and what our students should do during this time. It is really important that things run as smooth as possible right from the get go...This dry run is necessary to troubleshoot any issues before the actual testing window begins. I appreciate your flexibility during this time.

When: (should take about 90 minutes)
8th Grade - Wednesday, 4/8/15 @ 9:05am
7th Grade - Thursday, 4/9/15 @ 7:35am
6th Grade - Friday, 4/10/15 @ 7:35 am

Where:
Students will meet in their testing groups (if any teacher has feedback on testing groups, we can certainly make changes after or before the dry run).  You can view the groups HERE.

What:
Please utilize the following schedule with your testing group.  I will share this document with all students.  They can open the document and follow the links.

Other:
Please share as much information with students to get them ready for what the schedule will look like, and how students should make every attempt to be here on testing days.

Things to Report to Mr. Pritzl:
-# of Headphones needed in your testing group
-Did anyone request the use of a mouse?
-If there are any student questions that you did not know the answer
-Any issues that arose that we need to think about