9/11/13 Meeting #3

Form from Karen

8/28/13 -- Meeting #2

Form from Karen

8/15/13: First Meeting

First off, we need to discuss book check-out, at least for Fall.

Link to Steve's document

Also needs to be accomplished at the meeting:

• From Karen: "All we need from your group is an e-mail to Karen listing your group's name, members, leader, and the two goals (or more if you are feeling really energetic!)." Not a huge task. Here are my thoughts on Karen's suggested topics. Feel free to respond via email, or just wait for a discussion tomorrow.

Goals: 

• We all valued focusing on thesis statements last year. Some of our data collection was concentrated there, and we feel the task is so essential that it warrants continued dialogue. We would like to continue helping our students create concise, clear, debatable, provable, specific arguments.
• Your suggestion that we focus on interventions for struggling students sparked a lively discussion in our initial meeting. Three of us attended Cris Tovani's workshop this summer, who you probably know is respected for her successes with struggling students. We all had a good number of reluctant learners in our English 10 classes last year--definitely some self-described "non-readers" and in some cases kids with low language skills across the board. The sentiment in our group is that this population seems to grow from year to year at AHS. We all feel that we could be doing more to address the needs of those kids within the confines of our regular schedules. So, our plan is to pinpoint a few kids after the first 6-weeks and track their engagement throughout the year, discussing and building on interventions we try.

 Common Assessments and data collection:

• We definitely put some decent assessments in place last year and/or reused some good ones from the past. I think we can revisit some of these. At times last year, voices were loud and clear that this exercise feels repetitive. My feeling is that good assessments should address essential skills, things we really want to know about kids no matter what year it is. Maybe they need to change if the process feels like drudgery.

Thesis assessment is solid. Same rubric multiple times? 

elements of a story (Story of an Hour test)

speaking assessment?

• As far as data collection goes, I think for the most part people humored me the first time or two and then ignored the data collection part, or at least ignored the part where data actually got recorded. I was guilty "forgetting" to enter data myself, actually. It seems that there is a general sentiment in our group that data collection, at least in a formal way, isn't all that useful. I agree to an extent. Can we talk again about how to we might meet this expectation so that it feels useful? The value for me is that data collection at times forces us to discuss elements of our job that we might not otherwise discuss, and that numbers do actually inform discussions sometimes.

21st Century Skills:

• Do we want to tackle this building goal any more directly this year? Maybe integrate some common activities or assessments that integrate technology?

Interventions:

• We could head in this direction as well. I know I had a good number of reluctant learners in my English 10 classes last year--definitely some non-readers and in some cases kids with low skills across the board. The sentiment in the building is that this group seems to grow from year to year. Is there a way we can begin to address this growing concern?

Enrichment: 

• Maybe this topic can be linked to the previous one? In other words, are there ways we can meet the needs of the struggling kids while challenging the ones who want to push themselves? Is this a topic that interests anyone?

Other Ideas: 

speech and group work

management of large groups

5/1/13

Last Meeting of the year.

Feedback form

From Leah:

1. Review your 2012-2013 PLC Goal(s) that you listed on the August 29th PLC Meeting #1 Feedback Form.

• Recognize and celebrate your accomplishments!
• Discuss your progress toward goals not yet met.
• What goals will you carry over to next year?
• What changes are needed?
• What new goals do you propose for next year?

2. Discuss whether your PLC membership and facilitator will remain the same for next year. (Ha! Like you guys would let me step down...) If you anticipate any changes, please include this information on your Feedback Form.
   
   
   
   
   3. Look at ELOs, look at some examples of synthesis essays, think about how this thing should run next year.
   
   
   
   
   
   

ELO #1: Students will develop the ability to speak formally to their peers by presenting information concisely and logically, supporting presentations with evidence, and integrating technology effectively, and interacting with an audience actively.

ELO #2: Students will develop the ability to speak formally to their peers by presenting information concisely and logically, supporting presentations with evidence, and integrating technology effectively, and interacting with an audience actively.

ELO #3: Students will display the ability to read and interpret literature by evaluating literary elements such as motif, theme, symbol and figurative language.

ELO #4: Students will display the ability to synthesize two sources in a formal literary essay.

meeting #8 2/27/13

Meeting #8

Note: Next Meeting is not till April 10th.

Feedback for Leah (link)


1. SB 191 Powerpoint (link)

Any questions that I can relay to the powers that be?

2. Common Core Discussion based on English 6-12 Standards (Based on the packet I gave you Monday).

General: 

We just got clarification on state vs. Common Core.

In general we feel as though are complying

Colorado state standards articulate standards vertically between 9th and 10th, and Common Core doesn't. How to vertically articulate when 9th and 10th standards are identical?

Issues, Page 40 (Integration of Knowledge and Ideas)

• Use of rhetoric with informational texts (p. 40, #6)
• seminal U.S. Documents (p. 40, #9) Will other departments be covering these ideas?

Issues, page 45:

Developing Counter-claims may need some work. (p. 45, 1 b)

Are we writing informative, explanatory essays enough? (p. 45, section 2)

Based on the new writing standards, we maybe

3. Check out our ELO's one more time. I think we need one more assessment. Synthesis anyone?


ELO #1 Students will write thesis statements that are clear, specific, debatable and provable. Through this process students

ELO #2: Students will develop the ability to speak formally to their peers by presenting information concisely and logically, supporting presentations with evidence, and integrating technology effectively, and interacting with an audience actively.

New ELO #3: Students will display the ability to read and interpret literature by evaluating literary elements such as motif, theme, symbol and figurative language. 

New ELO #4: Students will display the ability to synthesize two sources in a formal literary essay.

Meeting #7 1/30/13

1/30/13

Common Core Standards? Do we need to discuss?

Feedback form for Leah

Invention Form (done last time)

First Things First:

Invention:

Invention (Reading, Writing, and Communicating)


Appling new ways to solve problems is an ideal in reading and writing instruction. Invention is one of the key components of creating an exemplary writing piece or synthesizing information from multiple sources. Invention takes students to a higher level of metacognition while exploring literature and writing about their experiences.

• How does the skill of Invention connect to something you already do in your classroom?

• How might you integrate this skill more explicitly in your lessons?

• What will you do to help students become better with this skill?

Common Assessment #3: Story of an Hour. Ideas on how to score these? This assessment is a bit unwieldy and I am torn as to how to proceed today.

Follow-up: 46% proficient.
Revise and reassess based on a few questions that we like: symbol, setting, irony? Something about conflict that's a little more straightforward...

Scoring Sheet for "Story of an Hour" Assessment

Meeting #6 12/5/12

12/5/12 Meeting #6

Please get your public speaking data in as soon as you can. Thanks.

1. Check-In
2. 21st Century Offering: Invention

"Applying new ways to solve problems is an ideal in reading and writing instruction. Invention is one of the key components of creating an exemplary writing piece or synthesizing information from multiple sources. Invention takes students to a higher level of metacognition while exploring literature and writing about their experiences."

Form to fill out for Leah:

Info about these definitions


3. Selfish discussion for Spare about the presentations on A Long Way Gone--loosely connected to our ELO on speaking...



4. Let's figure out a 3rd ELO to work on. Keep the momentum going.

Possible way to frame conversation: What are we already planning on doing during semester 2 that would fit with #3 or #4?

Here are our "revised" ELO's

“Adjusted” ELOs

ELO #1 Students will write thesis statements that are clear, specific, debatable and provable. Through this process students

ELO #2: Students will develop the ability to speak formally to their peers by presenting information concisely and logically, supporting presentations with evidence, and integrating technology effectively, and interacting with an audience actively.

New ELO #3: Students will display the ability to read and interpret literature by evaluating literary elements such as motif, theme, symbol and figurative language. 

Macbeth or any shakespeare (figurative language and motif) Annette, Tom

New ELO #4: Students will display the ability to synthesize two sources in a formal literary essay.

Synthesis with F 451 and film
(Steve, Kristin, Rob) Truman Show, Pleasantville

Next meeting is January 30th. Let's make sure we have our third set of data by then.

Feedback form: