Pumpkin Math in 2nd Grade!

2nd grade classes gathered in the cafeteria today to show off their math skills.  They used their pumpkins to estimate and graph the weight, height, circumference, number of seeds and number of lines.  Parents volunteered their time to prep the pumpkins and assist the students in gathering their math data.

Columbia Where EVERYONE is a leader!

Students are showing off their association with Student Council with some fabulous shirts.  

Campus Clean Up

Staff and students from Columbia Elementary School came together to clean up our school site.  By taking care of our school campus students are developing a sense of ownership and pride.  

 
 

 

October Leadership Luncheon

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solving Word Problems Together

Students were grouped in pairs to complete their Math Ace.  The purpose was to learn the content together.  The students participated in cooperative learning using learning pairs and learning quads.  In this class groups of students received an assignment to complete together, so that they could engage in language and content talk.   

Building Listening Stamina

First grade is using An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni to build listening stamina.  This book has been chosen by first grade as their read aloud book for the week.  The students were given a purpose before the read aloud began.  Students were required to listen for a Tier 2 vocabulary word that they heard in the story.  Tier 2 words include frequently occurring words that appear in various contexts and topics and play an important role in verbal functioning across a variety of content areas.  The teacher drew a giant egg on the board where she listed the words the students heard as they listened to the story.

Do Nows...

Our teachers are showing their students how to apply their knowledge and understanding in a short written answer.  This is becoming a daily practice across the grade levels.

 

Learning Walks

October 6, 2013

Dear Staff,

This week we will be starting a new professional development practice.  It is called Collaborative Learning Walks.  During a learning walk, a small group of teachers goes from classroom to classroom to watch other teachers in action.  The purpose is to observe, not evaluate, and to steal practices and methods that are affective. 

All teachers will get to participate during the first few minutes of their data meeting time.  At Columbia, the expectation is an open door policy.  An open door policy promotes the idea that the students are not “your” students, but “our” students.  The ground rule before the walks begin is that we are only focusing on positive teacher actions.  Ideas we can “borrow” to improve our own practice. 

We will be using our observations to think together about our own individual teaching practices, what we are seeing, and what we may need to do differently.  The goal is to learn from one another.   

We look forward to our school growing tremendously from the communication and discussion we obtain from our learning walks!

Respectfully,

Tiffany, Michael & Suzette

How are the students feeling about Columbia?

ACE in 1st Grade

1st Grade is implementing the ACE model with huge success.  Teachers used the ACE model for their short cycle assessment in math.  

10 students earned a 4.  That means almost 50% of the class was advanced on the post assessment.  This particular teacher was beaming with pride, because 6 out of these children were ELLs.

This strategy was successful because a large group of children earned a 3.  A grade of a 3 means proficient.

If you look at this picture you will see two problems with a red dot.  A red dot means a one time opportunity to fix an error.  A strategy used to teach children to go back and check their work. 

3 students earned a 2.  A grade of a 2 means that the children were nearing proficiency.  These students will receive additional support during conceptual refinement.  There were zero students who earned a 1.  A grade of a 1 means beginning step.

October Staff Meeting

We have monthly meetings as a staff.  A great portion of our meetings are reserved for professional learning for the entire staff.  Weekly item sheets, emails and newsletters are sent to try to minimize the amount of informational material to be distributed during these meetings, thus providing more regular opportunities for staff to learn together through presentation, sharing and discussion.  

Today's focus:  Learning how to use the ACE method to help students answer open-ended questions, and a discussion on Lexia Reading.  Lexia Reading is a technology-based reading program that increases reading proficiency for all students preK - grade 4 and at-risk students in grades 4-12.