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Alyssa Frank- Teacher, Church Lane Elementary School
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Alyssa Frank has been teaching second grade for four years. She graduated from Salisbury University with a Bachelors in Elementary Education. Alyssa is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in the Digital Age at Loyola University. In her free time she enjoys scrapbooking and spending time with her family.
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March 2017
As we all know, each group of students offer new and exciting challenges. I started this year off by introducing my interactive choice boards from last year. However I modified them to have less options. Unfortunately, my students still appeared to struggle with pacing themselves through the activities. Some students would finish the entire choice board with minimal effort in one day, whereas other students would take a week and a half. They also were making choices that did not necessarily fit their needs. Students were picking assignments that were too challenging because they appeared to be more exciting. However they were unable to complete the assignment correctly because it was designed for a more advanced learner. I realized what worked best for my old class was not working with my new students. It was time for a change.
I knew my students this year needed more structure with their assignments where I could help them pace themselves. As a result, I decided I needed color coding and a sequential order. I created a color coded checklist with the activities, requirements and a place for me to give feedback. The student assignments were put in the famous rainbow drawers that almost every elementary educator knows about. Students would start with the first activity in the top red drawer and work their way down the colored drawers. While they were doing this I am able to float around the room and provide feedback on the students’ assignments.
I was able to continue my differentiation by placing reading group folders in the drawers. Even though every student visits each drawer, they have different assignments in their reading folder within the drawer. So far this change has been a positive one. I hope to eventually give students a few more choices for their assignments. Since the rainbow drawers have two of each color, I hope to eventually put an alternative assignment in the second color drawer. However, for now, this is what my current students appear to need and work well with.
As we all know, each group of students offer new and exciting challenges. I started this year off by introducing my interactive choice boards from last year. However I modified them to have less options. Unfortunately, my students still appeared to struggle with pacing themselves through the activities. Some students would finish the entire choice board with minimal effort in one day, whereas other students would take a week and a half. They also were making choices that did not necessarily fit their needs. Students were picking assignments that were too challenging because they appeared to be more exciting. However they were unable to complete the assignment correctly because it was designed for a more advanced learner. I realized what worked best for my old class was not working with my new students. It was time for a change.
I knew my students this year needed more structure with their assignments where I could help them pace themselves. As a result, I decided I needed color coding and a sequential order. I created a color coded checklist with the activities, requirements and a place for me to give feedback. The student assignments were put in the famous rainbow drawers that almost every elementary educator knows about. Students would start with the first activity in the top red drawer and work their way down the colored drawers. While they were doing this I am able to float around the room and provide feedback on the students’ assignments.
I was able to continue my differentiation by placing reading group folders in the drawers. Even though every student visits each drawer, they have different assignments in their reading folder within the drawer. So far this change has been a positive one. I hope to eventually give students a few more choices for their assignments. Since the rainbow drawers have two of each color, I hope to eventually put an alternative assignment in the second color drawer. However, for now, this is what my current students appear to need and work well with.
December 2016
One of the biggest challenges I face as a second grade teacher is my large variety of student academic levels. I have students who are reading at an early kindergarten level all the way to the beginning of third grade. I found that I was often losing my students’ attention. Some of the students stopped focusing because the content was too hard. Other students stopped listening because it was too easy. I quickly learned I was only reaching a handful of students. It was time for a change.
I was in a school professional development when the presenter, Catlin Tucker, presented the benefits of choice boards. She discussed how this tool can allow students to meet the same standard but choose their own path. My teammate and I began to brainstorm. How could we use this tool for fluid grouping? We knew that students would need accessible directions, engaging activities, and a routine. We then came up with the idea of an interactive choice board using Office 365 PowerPoint. The choice board we created has four columns (or categories); Pre-Reading, Reading, Post-reading and Writing. Each column is driven by a Common Core standard. In addition, we gave the students three choices for each category. The activities varied in complexity with different point values assigned to each. The more complex the activity, the higher the point value. Lastly, the students were given texts that were specific to their individual reading levels.
The outcome was magical. Each week the students accessed their PowerPoint on the BCPS One calendar. Then students carefully selected their activities for the week. They had to consider how many points they were personally responsible for, their personal working pace, and which activity, or activities, appealed to their interest. We observed that many students chose to challenge themselves in order to complete a more complex activity. Students were able to reread directions which were all located on the PowerPoint. We also embedded screencasts and links to help guide the activities. It was amazing to see the students so engaged and working on their levels. From there, all we had to do was select a text and change one column weekly to meet a different standard. This was definitely one of my most accomplished moments as an educator.
One of the biggest challenges I face as a second grade teacher is my large variety of student academic levels. I have students who are reading at an early kindergarten level all the way to the beginning of third grade. I found that I was often losing my students’ attention. Some of the students stopped focusing because the content was too hard. Other students stopped listening because it was too easy. I quickly learned I was only reaching a handful of students. It was time for a change.
I was in a school professional development when the presenter, Catlin Tucker, presented the benefits of choice boards. She discussed how this tool can allow students to meet the same standard but choose their own path. My teammate and I began to brainstorm. How could we use this tool for fluid grouping? We knew that students would need accessible directions, engaging activities, and a routine. We then came up with the idea of an interactive choice board using Office 365 PowerPoint. The choice board we created has four columns (or categories); Pre-Reading, Reading, Post-reading and Writing. Each column is driven by a Common Core standard. In addition, we gave the students three choices for each category. The activities varied in complexity with different point values assigned to each. The more complex the activity, the higher the point value. Lastly, the students were given texts that were specific to their individual reading levels.
The outcome was magical. Each week the students accessed their PowerPoint on the BCPS One calendar. Then students carefully selected their activities for the week. They had to consider how many points they were personally responsible for, their personal working pace, and which activity, or activities, appealed to their interest. We observed that many students chose to challenge themselves in order to complete a more complex activity. Students were able to reread directions which were all located on the PowerPoint. We also embedded screencasts and links to help guide the activities. It was amazing to see the students so engaged and working on their levels. From there, all we had to do was select a text and change one column weekly to meet a different standard. This was definitely one of my most accomplished moments as an educator.
October 2016
My lighthouse journey started two years ago. During the summer, my school attended a Lighthouse Institute training. There we learned about BCPS One, Discovery Education, Wixie and other partnership tools. I was extremely excited to start my year using all of the tools I had learned. I began planning innovative lessons that used higher order thinking, differentiation and technology. I quickly realized that teaching with technology takes a lot of time and patience. My students needed a lot of help with using the device, learning the digital language and having patience. As we all know, technology is not always reliable. My students had to learn how to stay calm and try multiple steps to fix their digital problem. I taught my class that there were many things they could do on their own. Some solutions I taught them included reconnecting to the internet, using a different browser and restarting their device. Over time I could see how my students enjoyed helping one another with their devices. They were teaching each other instead of just doing it for the student in need.
With the support of my administration and STAT teacher, I was able to spend my first year as a lighthouse school trying new tools and techniques. Often the lessons were successful; sometimes they were flops. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my lessons and changing them daily. I learned a lot that year. I had to take risks and try new tools. I had to figure out which tools would enhance my lessons and which tools were not appropriate. I learned not every lesson needs a digital component and that’s okay. In school, we teach our children to be lifelong learners. I am a lifelong learner. I am learning and reflecting daily and attending the professional developments that my school and county have to offer. I look forward to continuing to learn each day.
My lighthouse journey started two years ago. During the summer, my school attended a Lighthouse Institute training. There we learned about BCPS One, Discovery Education, Wixie and other partnership tools. I was extremely excited to start my year using all of the tools I had learned. I began planning innovative lessons that used higher order thinking, differentiation and technology. I quickly realized that teaching with technology takes a lot of time and patience. My students needed a lot of help with using the device, learning the digital language and having patience. As we all know, technology is not always reliable. My students had to learn how to stay calm and try multiple steps to fix their digital problem. I taught my class that there were many things they could do on their own. Some solutions I taught them included reconnecting to the internet, using a different browser and restarting their device. Over time I could see how my students enjoyed helping one another with their devices. They were teaching each other instead of just doing it for the student in need.
With the support of my administration and STAT teacher, I was able to spend my first year as a lighthouse school trying new tools and techniques. Often the lessons were successful; sometimes they were flops. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my lessons and changing them daily. I learned a lot that year. I had to take risks and try new tools. I had to figure out which tools would enhance my lessons and which tools were not appropriate. I learned not every lesson needs a digital component and that’s okay. In school, we teach our children to be lifelong learners. I am a lifelong learner. I am learning and reflecting daily and attending the professional developments that my school and county have to offer. I look forward to continuing to learn each day.
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