Trentacoste, Stefanie - 3rd Grade Reading CLASSROOM-FOCUSED IMPROVEMENT PROCESS UPDATE: 5-10-13

DATA SOURCES: Selected Response questions (SRs) and Brief constructed response questions (BCRs) in the short cycle
assessments(SCA 3) Two Days in May.

MAJOR CURRICULUM INDICATORS OR OBJECTIVES COVERED IN THE MOST RECENT ASSESSMENT:

Standard 3.1: General Reading Processes; Indicator 1: B.1.a. Apply Phonics Skills; D.3.a. Use new vocabulary in speaking and writing to gain and extend content knowledge and clarify expression E.4.a. Identify and explain the main idea; c. Identify and explain what is not directly stated in the text by drawing inferences; d. Draw conclusions based on the text and prior knowledge; Standard 3.3: Comprehension of Literary Text; Indicator 3: Use elements of narrative texts to facilitate understanding; A.3.e. Identify and explain relationships between and among characters, setting, and events; f. Identify and describe the narrator; A.6.a. Identify and explain main ideas and universal themes; A.7.d. Summarize;

Step 1: Identify the relevant assessments and define the terms used in the assessment data reports (as needed).
April BCPS short-cycle assessment. Nothing out-of-ordinary occurred during the assessment.

Step 2: Identify the questions to answer in this data dialogue.

To what extent can our 3rd graders, 8 months into the school year, make judgments and summarize information using facts from the text, apply phonics skills and word analysis, and interpret authors use of language to aid comprehension.

Step 3: Identify the major patterns of students strengths and needs at the class level (if possible, by using more than one data source). MAJOR PATTERNS OF CLASS STRENGTHS
(1.B.1.a) Apply phonics skills Assessment Limits: -Initial and final consonant blends (3 letters) -Vowel patterns (1.D.3.b) Use word structure to determine the meanings of words. (1.E.4.a) Identify and explain the main idea. (3.A.3.f) Identify and describe the narrator.

MAJOR PATTERNS OF CLASS NEEDS

(3.1.D.3.a) Use context to determine the meanings of word. (3.1.D.3.d) Use new vocabulary in speaking and writing to gain and extend content knowledge and clarify expression. (3.3.A.7.d) Identify and explain figurative language.

Step 4: Use the Reflection Guide to help identify the instructional factors that might have contributed to the patterns of student weaknesses. Identify the steps that team members will take to address the patterns of class-level weaknesses and determine when and how re-assessment will occur.

STEPS THE TEAM WILL TAKE TO ADDRESS PATTERNS OF CLASS NEEDS

Work on figurative language, especially with phrases that are not everyday idioms. Cause and effect and Main Idea are skills that have been mastered according to the SCA 3 data; however, these skills will continue to be reviewed and applied in future instruction. Use visual aids and tools, such as highlighter, to identify certain vocabulary within the text in order to use context clues to determine the meaning of the unfamiliar words. Use graphic organizers to illustrate various meanings of multiple meaning words for visual learners. Integrate several literary texts that incorporate figurative language. Use media and other resources that present similes and idioms visually and orally. Provide foldables and organizers for students to determine literal and figurative meaning of certain phrases in poetry and within the text; Two Days in May.

CONTINUE WITH STEPS 5 AND 6 AFTER RE-TEACHING HAS OCCURRED (IF NEEDED). Step 5: After whole-class re-teaching (if necessary), name the students who excelled and the students who still need additional assistance. Identify and implement in-class enrichments and interventions for these students. STUDENTS WHO EXCELLED

IN-CLASS ENRICHMENTS TO IMPLEMENT

Instructional Activity Write a description in prose or poetry using sensory details and vivid language with active verbs and colorful adjectives. Leaderships roles in station activities, and pair with lower level students. Leveled questions.

STUDENTS WHO NEED ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE

Naomi Reigna Damon Mia Logan Robert Mia Chisom Jonathon Martin Faidat

IN-CLASS INTERVENTIONS TO IMPLEMENT

Rodnee Jaiden Timothy Samuel Camille Kaila Brionn Jadyn

We will use a version of echo on, echo off in a small group setting. We will: Model phonic skills such as prefixes and suffixes. Listen and view vocabulary through an array of different tools and methodologies. Read the text and complete the graphic organizers with students, explaining each step of the thought process as we go along. Display color photographs for deer in their natural habitats and discuss the essential elements that deer need in order to survive. Provide additional modeling/chunking for anthology selection. (Read the Summary Masters/Listen to Selection Tapes) Teach strategy/skill using Anthology Selection (Preteach Lesson Extra Support Handbook pp. 132-133)

Enriching activities for main idea and supporting details would be presented in a research project. Essential question, How do people coexist with animals in similar habitats?

Practice/Apply at independent reading levels using Anthology, Leveled Readers, Theme Paperbacks, SelfSelected Provide Flexible Group; If the students require extra support in completing a story-map by identifying the problem/solution, provide additional modeling and guided practice in completing the story-map. Use Extra Support guide questions in the Teachers Edition on pages 73 and 84 to facilitate discussion. Have them listen to Two Days in May on the Audiotape for Animal Habitat and read the Selection Summary while others read Segment 1 of the selection. Have them read The Upside Down Elephant in the Readers Library collection for Animal Habitats while others read Segment 2 of Two Days in May.

Step 6: Use the Reflection Guide to help identify and then implement one or two improvements in future instruction. Plan for the next data analysis session.
To provide more focused feedback to students, we will develop customized analytic rubrics especially for the skills in which the students are having the most difficulty, such as phonics skills and context clues across multiple texts. We will use these to provide students with more specific feedback on each component of their responses. Remaining question: What strategies, other than direct instruction in small groups, are effective in helping students acquire essential interpretation and higher-level reading skills, such as summarizing main ideas of given texts and making judgments? Next Meeting: Planning time two weeks from today. Next story is in the Theme 5: Voyagers; Trapped By the Ice. Response will be: More background knowledge about setting and story elements. Increase amount of visuals to aid students with vocabulary analysis and word study skills. Integrate media resources to meet individual learning needs. (i.e. Safari Montage, DVDs, teachertube and brainpop videos, etc.) Lesson Examples Using real world pictures to make connections to literal and figurative language within the text. Provide visual aids, photographs, and videos from Safari Montage and Brainpop.com for building and enriching on vocabulary. In mixed ability groups of five or six, students will discuss questions regarding red check skills for making judgments.

Reflection Advantages and Limitations of the CFIP process: The advantages of the CFIP process are being able to collaborate with team members and resource teachers to better instruction and improve student achievement. This is due to the structure and guide of setting norms, developing protocols to adhere to, meeting more consistently and for longer periods of time, not only analyzing data from county curriculums, such as SCAs and BMAs, but classroom assessments and evaluations. The limitations of the CFIP process are finding the time within a curriculum schedule to devote to professional development opportunities. Teachers have many time restraints with the demands of regular teacher obligations and the county curriculum. Forget about just finding time to have grade level meetings for an hour, but how about actually finding the time to implement the instructional strategies developed from the meetings and either enrichments or interventions for the students? Aspects of the CFIP process that were easiest and most difficult: During the CFIP process, giving the assessment as a benchmark to analyze was the easiest. Along with that, find the patterns of strengths and weaknesses were easy due to the enhancements of our IMS; Assesstrax. The assesstrax data management system provides a matrix that displays students scores on each question on the test, as well as the provided standards that aligned with BCPS and State curriculum for each question on the test. The difficult aspects of using CFIP were finding the time to collaborate with my team. Especially in a smaller time frame, I was unable to truly utilize this process to its fullest potential. I had to narrow down to just my classroom data, in order to look at the students scores, develop certain intervention and enrichment activities, and re-work these lessons into my daily instruction before this project was due. The culture changes that would be necessary to institute CFIP on a regular basis: Grade level meetings should be more frequent than once a month. The meetings should be focused more towards instructional strategies and interventions based on current real time data. Usually grade level meetings consist of 45 minutes of running down a list of to dos from administration. During MSA time, we meet to discuss struggling students that need additional support. In order to use the time wisely when meeting, protocols will need to be implemented to facilitate a sense of trust and honesty throughout the team. The proposed steps to institutionalize CFIP: The most important step to begin the CFIP process would be leadership setting cohesive and collaborative curriculums and requirements throughout each grade level in the building. By instilling consistency amongst grade level and their curriculum, grade level meetings must be implemented twice a month; every two weeks. Grade levels will meet the first few times with administration modeling how to have true dialogue and follow a protocol to analyze and interpret real time data in the classrooms. Common planning times need to be set, additional time allotted for data decision making, and common assessments/instructional lessons implemented throughout each grade level team. Last would be On-going professional developments that include walk through data from administration, intervention and enrichment strategies from teachers and county, along with supplemental resources that are demonstrated in how to integrate into lessons to increase teacher and student performance.