April 5, 2012
1. Handwriting survey results from K-5th and 6th-8th surveys were reviewed. Specific responses by grade level and grade range are available in chart format.
· There was a wide range of responses on most questions at both grade ranges ranging from cursive writing instruction is ‘not important at all’ to ‘it is imperative’.
· Time spent on printing and cursive also varied widely within and across grade levels.
· Most elementary teachers believed that cursive should be introduced in 2nd or 3rd grade.
· Most teachers, K-8, believed that students need to be able to write more than a signature in cursive. (20/30 from K-5, and 14/23 at 6-8)
· A frequent comment, K-8, was that students must be able to read cursive.
· At the middle school level, keyboarding expectations varied greatly at the same grade level and across grade levels.
· At the middle school, no teachers surveyed require classwork or homework be completed in cursive.
· Most K-5 teachers believed that more time should be spent on handwriting instruction.
· At the elementary level, there were a couple of requests for a handwriting program and a few requests for a framework/timeline.
· A common opinion at the upper elementary and middle school levels is that students have poorer handwriting in the past and that it is often difficult to read in both printing or cursive writing.
2. The new ‘Traits Writing’ program by Ruth Culham , published by Scholastic, was distributed to the 1st-5th grade representatives. The representatives will share the materials with their grade level teams during the month of April and provide input to the committee in May.
During the 2009-2010 school year, the committee adopted the ‘6 Traits’ model for use in grades K-8 with continued support in 9-12. Committee members at that time hoped to purchase a program but funding was not available due to other curriculum commitments. Staff development was provided on three occasions for K-8 staff, Culham’s ‘6 Traits’ books and teacher resource books were purchased, and a month by month map was presented as a guide for incorporating the model. An optional GK University class on ‘6 Traits’ was offered twice to teachers.
The committee members and classroom teachers have continued to request a program to provide more direction in teaching the traits model. Recently, Scholastic published the ‘Tratis Writing’ program authored by Culham. Teachers are asked for their input in case funding becomes available in the future.
3. During the 2012-2013 school year, literacy staff development, K-5, will focus on a revisit of Guided Reading. Adrianne Roggenbuck, consultant, will be working with Title teachers on bookroom projects, revisiting GR by grade level, and building skills in the use of Running Records.
4. Second and Third grade ‘Month by Month’ Literacy maps are nearing completion. First grade teachers have reviewed phonics instruction, collected their materials for instruction, and are in the process of creating monthly notebooks with materials that support the phonics map. Some additions in the area of vowels are being made to the map. First grade representatives will work with Debbie next year on revising the remaining big areas in literacy. Work with both Fourth and Fifth grade representatives begins this spring and continues next year in revising the previous maps put together by John Francis and ensuring that the Common Core standards are addressed.
5. Input from teachers informally piloting the Sitton Spelling program will be requested later this month for the May committee meeting. Two teachers per grade level took part in Sitton training mid-year and are informally using pieces of the program. During the past couple of years, scattered teachers, K-5, have participated in training and implementing components of the ‘Sitton Spelling and Word Skills’ program and provided positive feedback to the committee.
6. The next and final meeting of the LACC for this school year will be May 3rd at DES.
March 1, 2012
1. Handwriting surveys completed by K-8 teachers were collected from council members. Debbie will review the surveys and put the information gathered into a chart for discussion at our next meeting.
2. Handwriting practice in Kaneland School District was shared. Printing is introduced in kindergarten and re-introduced in 1st grade. Cursive is introduced the second quarter of 2nd grade. About 15 minutes is spent per day on handwriting instruction during introductory years. In middle school, students have a choice of writing in cursive or printing in both homework and classwork. Word processing is taught beginning in 3rd grade.
3. Council members reviewed the table of information for attendance at the Illinois Reading Association conference.
4. ‘Schoolwide Fundamentals’ writing units that were purchased last spring for grades K-8 were shared and discussed. These are housed in the book rooms at the elementary level. The units are well organized with many mini-lessons and include; literature to teach the unit’s theme or concept, assessment tools, and parent letters. The units support the 6 Traits and the writing process. Debbie offered to meet with teachers after school by grade level to share the writing units.
5. First Grade Phonics continues to be an area of concern. The 1st grade teachers met to look over the literacy map in the area of phonics and the materials they have available. Debbie will meet with Sandy and Brenda about specific areas of need in the next couple of weeks. As a group, we will determine if an additional program is needed.
6. The Sitton Spelling and Word Skills workshop in February went very well. The classroom teachers who attended are currently ‘piloting’ some of the techniques and strategies from the program. Feedback will be obtained from them before the end of the school year. This will help the committee determine if Sitton Spelling and Word Skills will meet our needs in the area of spelling and word study.
7. Committee members received a copy of a blog on ‘Ways to Help Our Students Become Better Readers’. Many well-known and respected people in the area of reading, K-12, shared their comments including Richard Allington, Nancie Atwell, Cris Tovani, Regie Routman, and Kylene Beers.
8. The next meeting of the Language Arts Curriculum Council is scheduled for Thursday, April 5th.
February 2, 2012
1. Carrie Rasmussen presented specifics on implementing the ‘6 Minute Solution’ fluency intervention. She discussed the routine of the intervention and tips on organizing materials and students for the reading activity. At this time, ‘6 Minute’ is used during the differentiation ‘café’ time at KES, as part of the classroom curriculum in many GES classrooms, and in some GKMS Language Arts classrooms. Committee members recommend that the program should be used as an option at the Tier 1/classroom level and as a Tier 2 intervention for those students who would benefit from a focus on fluency at the K-8 grade levels.
2. The committee continued its discussion on the topic of handwriting. Surveys for Genoa-Kingston were distributed and should be returned to committee members by February 17th. A recent handwriting article was shared with the group. Crystal Lake Elementary District 47 and Naperville District 203 communicated with Debbie on how handwriting is addressed in those elementary buildings.
· Crystal Lake uses the D’Nealian approach and does teach handwriting as an isolated subject in K-2. Cursive writing is introduced mid-year of 2nd grade. Cursive is expected in 3rd grade an after although the district emphasis is on legibility and accepting individual differences. Training and handwriting charts were offered to local preschools and day care providers to get children started using the same approach.
· Naperville 203 has a committee currently working on a D’Nealian Manuscript, D’Nealian Cursive, and Keyboarding Curriculum with expectations listed by grade level. Cursive is introduced in 2nd grade and keyboarding instruction begins in 3rd grade. D’Nealian cursive letters are expected to be used in all 3rd grade assignments and are then reviewed in 4th and 5th grades.
3. Committee members interested in attending the International Reading Association conference in Chicago or the Illinois Reading Conference in Springfield were asked to let Debbie know of their interest and to complete the paperwork for registration. Several teachers have communicated an interest in attending the IRA conference in April/May.
4. The Sitton Spelling and Word Skills in-district workshop scheduled for Friday, February 3rd, was discussed. Two representatives from each grade level were invited to attend. These teachers will be asked to incorporate some components from the Sitton program during the second semester and provide feedback to the LACC in May. Based on their input and that of other teachers informally ‘piloting’ the program, the committee will determine if Sitton will be adopted for future spelling instruction.
5. A sample ‘Extended Response Graphic Organizer’ was shared with teachers. How the organizer could be used and possible modifications for other grade levels was discussed. The topic will be on the agenda of the next meeting.
6. Andrea Beaty, author, is scheduled to present at DES and KES on April 17th. She will conduct sessions on her titles and incorporate the 6 Traits into the presentations.
7. Pam Whittenhall, Karen Baker, and Marie Leahy, K-5 reading teachers, are conducting an evening Family Night for their students and parents tonight. The session will be held at KES and will feature a pirate theme. Parents will learn about ways to support their child in reading at home and the students will take part in pirate activities.
8. Several GK teachers will be attending a ‘6 Traits’ writing workshop in Schaumburg on February 15th.
9. The next Language Arts meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 1st, at 3:15 at DES.
October 27, 20111. New members to the committee were introduced including Sandy Uecker, DES, Kendra Brauer, KES, Emily Fowler, GES, and Cindy Bakanas, GKMS.
2. Mindy Pudlo has been visiting GKMS and GKHS classrooms during writing and then meeting with the teachers to provide support in using the 6 Traits model for writing instruction. Her visits will continue throughout the first semester.
3. 6 Minute Solutions was discussed as a possible Tier 1 or Tier 2 strategy for developing fluency. At this time, some entire grade levels are using 6 Minutes, 4th and 5th, and others have individual teachers using the re-reading activity. The committee will continue to discuss 6 Minute Solutions and fluency in upcoming meetings.
4. Author visits at DES, KES, and GES for this school year were discussed. Scheduling a visit for GES is in process with Illinois author, Laura Crawford, for January or February. Andrea Beaty, also an Illinois author, is tentatively planned for DES and KES for the month of April.
5. Title teachers have conducted the initial Assessment Wall meetings at all three elementary buildings during October. The Title teachers are working on determining consistent methods across buildings for using the walls effectively. The committee discussed the concern of whether the Fountas and Pinell level or the actual classroom reading level for each student should be indicated on the wall.
6. Vocabulary after school sessions are being planned for KES and GES to take place after parent teacher conferences. The sessions will include some research/data on vocabulary and a variety of activities for use in the classroom. As of this year, grades 1st-5th have common vocabulary words to study\ during the school year.
7. Spelling standards across grade levels in the Common Core were shared and discussion continued on Sitton Spelling. The November 9th Chicago area workshop was full so other options will be considered for training pilot teachers. Sitton Spelling and Word Study manuals were distributed for two 3rd grade teachers and a 4th and 5th grade teacher who are informally piloting some of the spelling strategies in the program.
8. Articles on handwriting research were distributed and discussed. A draft copy of a handwriting survey was given to the LACC members for their input. The survey may then be distributed by grade level in order to gain knowledge of what is currently taught and when and what the expectations of handwriting are at each grade level. After reading and gathering information, the committee will make recommendations about handwriting instruction in GK 424.
9. The writing dictionaries suggested by Mindy Pudlo last spring were discussed. Evidently, some buildings/grade levels did get them and others did not. Debbie Dudley will follow up.
The next Language Arts Curriculum Council meeting is scheduled for December 1st at 3:15 at DES. This will serve as both the November and December meeting.
September 27, 2010 -- MINUTES
1. Literacy expectations K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 for the 2010-2011 school year were reviewed and discussed. Some buildings had seen the expectations this fall and others had not. Council members will distribute them in their buildings and make sure that staff are aware of the expectations.
2. Making Meaning, comprehension strategies program, implementation was discussed. The September Early Release for K-5 focused on using the program. Questions and comments that were brought up at the Early Release included:
· Should SSR/IDR follow the Making Meaning read aloud and instruction? (Yes, if possible. If not, at the start of IDR the teacher will need to refer to the previous MM lesson.)
· There are alternative titles listed in the teacher’s manual that may be used on additional days.
· At this time, some teachers believe they need the practice books and others do not.
· Some teachers have expressed that students at the higher grade levels do not want to sit by their partners. It was expressed that the community goals for the lessons are very important.
3. An article from the Northern Nevada Writing Project was distributed to committee members on the 6 Traits and using them in revision. Committee members were given an informal 6 Traits survey to complete with one grade level prior to the next meeting. This will help in getting a broad picture of where we are currently as a district with 6 Traits knowledge, experience and implementation.
4. The next meeting of the council is scheduled for October 25th.
November 29, 2010 - MINUTES
1. Copies of the Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts
were distributed to committee members. A brief overview of the CCSS was
shared including the following:
-state level initiative, not federal
-over 30 states have voluntarily adopted the standards, Illinois included
-more emphasis on reading informational text
-standards are written more specifically and deeper than 1997 Illinois
standards
-guide educators in 'what' to teach but not 'how' to teach
-sharing of responsibility for literacy instruction at the high school level
-ISAT and PSAE will use the current standards for 2011
-a gap analysis will be conducted to compare the 1997 standards to the CCSS 2. Early Release on December 8th will focus on the 6 Traits writing
model. Dr. Maria Walther will present to the K-5 staff in the GKHS
library/media center. At the 6th-8th grade levels, GKMS staff will
present on the traits and show video clips from the NWREL.
3. Mindy Pudlo, literacy consultant from MECA, has been modeling 6
Traits writing lessons at the K-5 levels in November. She will continue
with an additional date in December and will also be at the middle school.
4.Mindy Pudlo will also conduct a session on the May Institute Day on 6
Traits for K-5. Hillary Einboden will conduct a 6-12 session that same
day.
5. The next meeting for the Language Arts committee is scheduled for
January 24th.
September 27, 2010 -- MINUTES
1. Literacy expectations K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 for the 2010-2011 school year were reviewed and discussed. Some buildings had seen the expectations this fall and others had not. Council members will distribute them in their buildings and make sure that staff are aware of the expectations.
2. Making Meaning, comprehension strategies program, implementation was discussed. The September Early Release for K-5 focused on using the program. Questions and comments that were brought up at the Early Release included:
· Should SSR/IDR follow the Making Meaning read aloud and instruction? (Yes, if possible. If not, at the start of IDR the teacher will need to refer to the previous MM lesson.)
· There are alternative titles listed in the teacher’s manual that may be used on additional days.
· At this time, some teachers believe they need the practice books and others do not.
· Some teachers have expressed that students at the higher grade levels do not want to sit by their partners. It was expressed that the community goals for the lessons are very important.
3. An article from the Northern Nevada Writing Project was distributed to committee members on the 6 Traits and using them in revision. Committee members were given an informal 6 Traits survey to complete with one grade level prior to the next meeting. This will help in getting a broad picture of where we are currently as a district with 6 Traits knowledge, experience and implementation.
4. The next meeting of the council is scheduled for October 25th.
November 29, 2010
1. Copies of the Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts were distributed to committee members. A brief overview of the CCSS was shared including the following:
-state level initiative, not federal
-over 30 states have voluntarily adopted the standards, Illinois included
-more emphasis on reading informational text
-standards are written more specifically and deeper than 1997 Illinois standards
-guide educators in 'what' to teach but not 'how' to teach
-sharing of responsibility for literacy instruction at the high school level
-ISAT and PSAE will use the current standards for 2011
-a gap analysis will be conducted to compare the 1997 standards to the CCSS
2. Early Release on December 8th will focus on the 6 Traits writing model. Dr. Maria Walther will present to the K-5 staff in the GKHS library/media center. At the 6th-8th grade levels, GKMS staff will
present on the traits and show video clips from the NWREL.
3. Mindy Pudlo, literacy consultant from MECA, has been modeling 6 Traits writing lessons at the K-5 levels in November. She will continue with an additional date in December and will also be at the middle school.
4.Mindy Pudlo will also conduct a session on the May Institute Day on 6 Traits for K-5. Hillary Einboden will conduct a 6-12 session that same day.
The next meeting for the Language Arts committee is scheduled for January 24, 2011at Kingston Elementary school at 3:30 pm
October 25, 2010
Representatives from each grade level, K-12, shared the results of the surveys completed by grade level on 6 Traits Writing and current implementation of the model. This information will be used in determining upcoming staff development and training for teachers. The following information was gathered from the surveying:
-Most grade levels are familiar with the 6 Traits model of writing K-8.
-Grade levels varied greatly in their use of the traits for writing instruction.
-Most grade levels are not familiar with using the traits for assessment purposes.
-Use of rubrics for assessing writing varies greatly K-12.
-Very few grade levels or classes are using the writing process.
-A variety of writing materials, graphic organizers and old basal series are currently used in writing
instruction.
Committee members shared their ideas for future staff development in the
area of writing. The suggestions were:
-Modeling writing instruction by Mindy Pudlo or another consultant
-Articles on the 6 Traits
-Teacher materials/handbooks on the 6 Traits
-The need for a written scope and sequence to guide instruction.
-Workshops or training during Institute Days or Early Release Days
The next Language Arts Curriculum Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 29, 2010 at Kingston School at 3:30 pm.
September 27, 2010
Literacy expectations K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 for the 2010-2011 school year were reviewed and discussed. Some buildings had seen the expectations this fall and others had not. Council members will distribute them in their buildings and make sure that staff are aware of the expectations.
Making Meaning, comprehension strategies program, implementation was discussed. The September Early Release for K-5 focused on using the program.
An article from the Northern Nevada Writing Project was distributed to committee members on the 6 Traits and using them in revision. Committee members were given an informal 6 Traits survey to complete with one grade level prior to the next meeting. This will help in getting a broad picture of where we are currently as a district with 6 Traits knowledge, experience and implementation.
The next meeting of the council is scheduled for October 25th at Kingston Elementary school at 3:30 pm.
1. 6 Traits Writing Map- A generic K-8 writing map that is being developed by Mindy Pudlo and Debbie Dudley was shared with the group. The map will serve as a ‘guide’ for introducing each of the traits by month over the course of a school year. The map also supports the writing process. A variety of writing units have also been ordered for K-8 to use in teaching the genres of writing.
2. Institute Day- The May 6th Institute Day will focus on the 6 Traits writing model. Mindy Pudlo will present to the K-5 group and Hillary Einboden will work with the 6-12 Language Arts/English departments.
3. Institute Day in August- The August Institute Day will also focus on the 6 Traits writing model. The same presenters will work with the same groups during the morning of the first day back to school.
4. Maria Walther- Maria was initially hired to work with the K-2 staff on 6 Traits but is only able to be in GK 424 on Monday, August 15th, during the morning. Since she is a favorite for elementary teachers and if we get enough interested staff to attend a session on this date, we will keep her on the schedule. If not, we will cancel that date with her.
5. Next Meeting- The last LACC meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 16th, at 3:15 at KES.