Me By the Numbers, an Ice Breaker

Back to school, back to school, we are going back to school!

I am so excited for the first day of the school year.  I can say that knowing I've already been through 2 weeks of Instructional Coach Bootcamp!  Woohoo!  This year, I am coaching in a different building!  I am looking forward to working with the teachers and my new principal.  Over the summer I was perusing Pinterest and saw a great pin for an ice breaker activity called, "Me by the Numbers".  You can check out that pin here along with the orignal post at the Math Coach's Corner here.

I decided to take it one step further and go digital with my copy and share with my staff when we do our ice breaker.  Here is my google slides presentation.  Here is what the screenshot will look like:

I used Google Drawing to create the shapes for the background.  I then added textboxes, pictures and clipart to add the finishing touches.  I enjoyed creating this digitally even though I was hedging on whether or not to use the brand-new batch of "Mr. Sketch" smelly markers.  Love these but went digital.

I think people will enjoy learning and getting to know each other through this fun sharing activity.  I also think teachers could use it with their students as well.  Hello Chromebooks!  Since we are a Google Apps district, the kids all have access to Google Drawing and the teacher could share the template with the students and have them create their own too.  Yay for digital!

I am looking forward to having a fun time with this ice breaker.  Cheers to a wonderful start of the school year for you if you're just beginning or even if you've already started!

If you decide to use this with teachers or students, please comment below and tell us how it went!

Coach Menu

Here's the Literacy Coach Menu I developed with other ICs to share with teachers about the scope of work as a coach.  Hope this is helpful.  We created it in publisher and then folded it like a brochure.

Welcome Presentation

Here is a welcome presentation I've used in the past as an Instructional Coach.  Just wanted to share with you if you're an IC.

Hijacking Guided Reading Groups

I feel like the luckiest Instructional Coach ever this past week.  On Tuesday, one of the teachers I work with let me hijack her guided reading groups.  We started with the Reader's Workshop mini-lesson-which was all about finding the main idea and key details of our close read.  By the end of the lesson, it seemed like the students got the idea of how to ask questions as they read to help them think about the main idea and details.

During small group meeting time, the students I met with were reading at various levels.  They were reading at levels B, C and D (Fountas and Pinnell Levels).  As we started the lessons, I reminded them that our purpose for reading was to figure out what the main thing or main idea that the author was trying to tell us.  The B group was reading to find out information about the flag.  The C group was reading to find out about rules families have and the D group was reading to find out about jobs in a community.

Throughout the lesson, we talked about the main idea and key details of the stories.  We also discussed them after reading.  There were key words that we focused on as well.  Some of the keys to success of the lesson included:

•  planning
• connecting back to the mini-lesson
• timing

I think one of our challenges is making sure students who aren't in the small group lessons are staying on task independently at their learning centers.  The teacher took the time to establish routines and procedures at the beginning of the year which is a big pay-off once groups start.  A few points to note are that she has

• center rotation signs posted
• signals for transition when rotation changes
• clear expectations for being interrupted

On a fun note, she decided to adopt the electric lei-when she is wearing it, no one is to interrupt her.  It's beautiful, bright and pink!  A great visual for her students when she is in small group instruction.  Way to go lady!

I am grateful that she allowed me to work with her students and try things out with them.  It's exciting new territory for our teachers and students as we begin the learning journey together with our new curriculum.

It all reminds me of this statement of change I found on twitter from Life Advice...

Coaching Connections Volume 1 Issue 2

Coaching Connections, Volume 1 Issue 1

Back to School Supplies

The Sunday papers were flooded with ads!  I always scour them to find the best deals for back to school supplies.  I always dig into my own pocket to purchase my favorite things so I know I'll have just what I need.  So I have two questions:  do you dig into your own pocket to purchase supplies you need as a teacher?  And if so, what is your spending range?

Currently, in my district, we get a small supply allowance.  I usually tap that first.  I buy a jump-drive for storing documents from the computer, and some other things that I know we use regularly.   My favorite items to purchase are dry erase markers, composition notebooks and crayons.

This year, I'm smiling as I am thinking about crayons!  There s a cute new picture book out by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers called The Day the Crayons Quit.  It's made it on the NY Times Best Seller list!  It's all about how crayons have feelings too!  Check out Oliver's website for more about the crayons...you'll never think the same of the crayons again.




http://www.oliverjeffers.com/picture-books/the-day-the-crayons-quit

What other school supplies might quit their jobs?  It's all about their point of view!