Where have you been, Mrs. Sparks?

Hey All!

It's been a minute!  Kindergarten is not for the faint of heart and any K teacher that blogs is a better time manager than I am.  Well, my days as a kindergarten teacher have come to an end.  I got a call in July asking if I would be willing to fill a position at my campus in the SpEd department that they were having trouble finding the right person for.  I'm not one to turn down an opportunity to try something new, so I said yes, right on the spot.  So, my new title has taken me into very uncharted territory.  I teach Resource RLA to 2nd and 3rd graders.  I also teach Resource Math to 3rd graders and I do inclusion services for RLA and Math for a 1st and 2nd grader, and just Math for an additional 2nd grader.  My caseload isn't a lot, just 13, but its about all I can imagine handling right now.

This summer, before I even knew this position existed, I read a book called Personalizing 21st Century Education, and like most things that call for education reform, it fired me up.  I like to think that our life has stepping stones that lead to different moments, and this stepping stone led me to accepting my new position so quickly.  The book was all about getting rid of grade levels and the August to June schedule we have kept for so long.  Students work on devices and in groups of peers on their academic level.  Teachers are facilitators of different groups of students, monitoring mastery of standards and adjusting the content to reach the individual child's needs.   Each student is on a path that fills the gaps.  There is no retention, no resource/inclusion, no gifted and talented programs, and no age groupings (other than looking at maturity levels of our younger students.  We aren't putting 5 year olds with 12 year olds.).  Students work on their path to success individually.  This was one of those, "Whoa!" moments for me.  Why do we group by age?  Why does retention have to be this horrible thing that we have to walk on eggshells about.  This new design checks so many boxes for me.  On the flip side of our struggling students, this would challenge our more advanced students constantly, and keep them from having down time.  All teachers will say they meet every student in their classroom the best they can, and that is absolutely true.  The kids that keep us up at night though, are our struggling students.  The ones who aren't quite getting it.  The kids who have mastered the content you are working on gives you a sigh of relief, not panic to extend their learning every single day.  That is a problem for those kids.  They need to be extended everyday, but in a class of 20 multilevel students, that just isn't practical.  If you do small, fluid, ability based groups,  you eliminate that issue. 

This would be an incredibly hard change for our society.  We have already seen the impact changing how we teach math had with non-educators.  In general, they criticize and reject anything that doesn't look how they think it should.  Our world has changed and this model of education no longer fits the needs of our children.  Our kids have global access and the internet offers answers to almost anything they question.  They need us to help them navigate their learning and bring out the very best in them.

So, all this to say, this new position has really given me the room to experiment with this model, since my children already have IEP goals and it is a small class size.  I think that is what I am most excited about this year.  The chance to try something new and impact our students in a great way.  I'll do my best to keep the blog updated in this ever changing world of Special Education.

Sincerely,

Amber Sparks

Meet the Teacher Night 2019

Meet the Teacher Night Instructions

Thursday, 8/15/2019

Here are the school supplies we expect to be brought on Meet the Teacher Night:

2 - 8 oz. bottles liquid white glue
8 - glue sticks
1 - pkg. 12 x 18 manila paper (50 count)
1 - pkg. 12 x 18 colored construction paper (50 count)
2 - PLASTIC 2-pocket folders, with brads
2 - spiral notebooks (wide-ruled, 70 count, solid color, non-perforated)
1 - pkg. #2 pencils (made in the USA)
1 - set watercolors (washable paints)
3 - 24 count boxes crayons (Preferably Crayola)
1 - box washable markers – Classic Colors
1 - pair student sized scissors – pointed
1 - box gallon size zip-lock freezer bags – BOYS ONLY
1 - container of anti-bacterial wipes – BOYS ONLY
1 - box quart size zip-lock freezer bags – GIRLS ONLY
1 - roll of paper towels – GIRLS ONLY
2 - boxes tissues
2 - sets of headphones (not earbuds)
2 - 4 count box of BLACK dry erase markers (Expo Preferred)

1 Beach Towel for rest time- No cots or sleep mats, please.  We do not have the room for them.

Please bring supplies in a large bag labeled with the student’s name on the bag only to “Back to School Night”.   We use all supplies as community supplies in Kindergarten.  The only thing that the child will keep all their own is their headphones and their rest towel.  Everything else will be handed out when and as needed. 

Because of space and safety issues, we recommend that all backpacks fit into lockers. No wheeled backpacks, please. 

We prefer these supplies to come to Meet the Teacher Night to give us time to sort and store supplies before the first day of school.  If something can't be purchased and brought until the first day, it is absolutely okay.  Please bring the items when you can. 

Please know how your child is going home the first week of school before you come to Meet the Teacher Night.  If they ride a bus, please contact the bus barn to find out what their bus number is going to be.

The most important part of Meet the Teacher Night is introducing yourself and your child to me and showing them around the room.  Please keep in mind that this is NOT a good event to discuss any personal information with me.  It is very busy and crowded.  If there is anything you need me to know before the first day of school, please contact me through email at amber_sparks@misd.gs.

Please click the links to the right for more information about our class.

I cannot wait to meet your precious child and the rest of your family as we embark on this partnership together! 

Thoughts on The Fundamental 5

Hi Everyone!

     So, here is the rundown...  The Fundamental 5 are the five key aspects to lessons or “educational experiences” as I’ve seen them called online (which is way more intriguing than lesson plans). 

     1. Framework

     2. Power Zone 

     3. Frequent, small group, purposeful talk with a seed question 

     4. Critical Writing 

     5. Recognition and Reinforcement. 

     All 5 fit together purposefully and powerfully in the classroom. They help you to maximize the results of the content you are already teaching. In a way, they have simplified all of the “hubbub” around lesson design. It doesn’t have to be the glitz and glam or dog and pony show all day every day. Your framework brings relevance to what you’re teaching to your students and a focus to what’s important for both you and the students. The group talk allows students to learn from each other and work out ideas about the content orally. The power zone keeps you close to collect formative assessment data during the talks and lesson to keep students on track. The critical writing deepens the knowledge and understanding of the content by giving each student the opportunity to take the content where they are able to take it and give you a summative assessment piece in which to drive your further instruction. The reinforcement and recognition piece allows all students to feel successful both academically and socially and continue to make progress toward further success. 

     In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book for all educators. As someone who is 8 years in, this helped me focus on what was important and crucial to good instruction. As a new teacher, this offers tools to set up a successful classroom from the beginning and help it all seem less overwhelming. 

     So, does anyone have any book recommendations for me? Please comment below!

Happy Teaching,

Amber Sparks

Henry "Box" Brown Link for Webquest

Henry "Box" Brown

Click the picture above to go to the information website for Henry "Box" Brown.
Click on the picture below to answer the questions for your WebQuest.

Fantasy and Science Fiction Projects Due April 11th

Fantasy Rubric

Science Fiction Rubric

Please click on the links below the pictures to view and print the rubrics.  Students can do either project with their book.  They just need to follow the rubric for that project.  So, a student who is reading a fantasy genre can still do the project for the science fiction genre if they choose and vice versa.  I have plenty of rubrics printed and ready to go in my classroom.  Any project turned in without a rubric will not be graded until a rubric is turned in.  This project will be done 100% AT HOME this time.  I know this is a bit of a change, but the kids have done enough projects with me to know what my expectations are, and will do a great job on their own at home.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Education Galaxy Help Videos

 

Education Galaxy Due by Spring Break

Hi Everyone,

One thing I attribute to my children doing so well on STAAR last year is our work on www.EducationGalaxy.com.  I have tasked the children this year with the same assignments.  They have until the end of Spring Break to complete all 19 topics of Education Galaxy.  We have been working on this when they finish assignments in class. They will also have time during DICE time and during my class to work on it.  They may have to work on it at home if they are not able to get it done at school. All of the 19 grades will go in the gradebook in Reading or Language Arts.  Students can take the topics as many times as they want to get the score they want.  I will take "Last Session Score" as their grade.  The day before we start Spring Break, I will have them pull up their accounts and show me the scores they have.  I will put what they have done in the gradebook then.   Their login for www.educationgalaxy.com is their lunch number.  Their password is the same number. Please let me know if you have any questions.


Thanks,
Amber Sparks