SMART GOAL at Fourth Grade – 2012 School Year
We wrote a SMART goal as a grade level fall of 2011. We will review this grade level goal on May
25, during our DATA Day at OIS.
As a fourth grade staff, we will increase the number of
students at or above the benchmark reading level by 14%.
Smart Goal #2 - Learning Community,
Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice, Teacher Leadership
Spring, 2011
Beginning the week setting a goal was probably a good idea, but I struggled to follow through with it. We did begin each day with a Morning Meeting, and that was a good time for students to feel part of our learning community. It was also a time to review our classroom rules, and what type of learning environment we all desired.
It worked well to end the week with a circle. Students could reflect on what went well that week. Many times they remembered something out of the ordinary, like a guest speaker, or an activity that was out of our regular routine. It reminded me that though school is work, it is nice if it can also be fun, and the fun learning activities are those they will probably remember longest. I found the weekly closing circle to be valuable to unifying our classroom.
February 13, 2012 Goal Setting for Four Weeks
We begin each day with a Morning Meeting. On Mondays and Fridays all students are invited to share. We will begin this week setting a goal for the week. We will review at the end of the week, and see if the students find a goal posted on their desks as valuable to helping them remember what they want to accomplish. They will rate themselves with a smile or straight face on Fridays, and I will collect and review.
February 17, 2012 Closing Circle for Four Weeks
We will take part in a closing circle for four weeks. All students will be able to comment on what part of the week was best for them. At the end of four weeks, students and teacher will evaluate how effective a closing circle is on our learning community.
Beginning the week setting a goal was probably a good idea, but I struggled to follow through with it. We did begin each day with a Morning Meeting, and that was a good time for students to feel part of our learning community. It was also a time to review our classroom rules, and what type of learning environment we all desired.
It worked well to end the week with a circle. Students could reflect on what went well that week. Many times they remembered something out of the ordinary, like a guest speaker, or an activity that was out of our regular routine. It reminded me that though school is work, it is nice if it can also be fun, and the fun learning activities are those they will probably remember longest. I found the weekly closing circle to be valuable to unifying our classroom.
February 13, 2012 Goal Setting for Four Weeks
We begin each day with a Morning Meeting. On Mondays and Fridays all students are invited to share. We will begin this week setting a goal for the week. We will review at the end of the week, and see if the students find a goal posted on their desks as valuable to helping them remember what they want to accomplish. They will rate themselves with a smile or straight face on Fridays, and I will collect and review.
February 17, 2012 Closing Circle for Four Weeks
We will take part in a closing circle for four weeks. All students will be able to comment on what part of the week was best for them. At the end of four weeks, students and teacher will evaluate how effective a closing circle is on our learning community.
March, 2012 Goal Setting for Four Weeks
Some students liked having the goal on their
desk to remind them of what they wanted to achieve. For some of the students, this goal did not
change for the entire time, because their goal was to finish Rocket Math
multiplication or division. Some
students changed goals. Other students said
they did not feel the goal was beneficial to them. In review, I am glad that I took the time to
have students set goals. I think this
would be good to do at the beginning of the year. I would have them post their goal on their
desk again, as in a notebook it can be quickly forgotten. It might be nice to file them, and have
students reflect throughout the school year to see if writing down what they
wanted to accomplish assisted them in their academic, social, or behavioral
goals.
With our MAP Math and Reading Tests, I have
had students set a goal. Students worked
harder, longer, used more paper/pencil with the math portion, and had great
gains in their scores both in the winter and in the spring. Goal setting will be a new standard in my
classroom next year.
March, 2012
Closing Circle for Four Weeks
This was a difficult activity for me to
remember. I think it has value, but did
not always remember to meet in a circle at the end of the day. I think I should try it again, but we should
circle up after lunch on the last day of the week, to share what was good. I know that when we shared in our master’s
community, it was always good to reflect, appreciate, and be appreciated by
others.
2011 - Students developing their own poetry books with twelve
different types of poetry writing. They successfully completed this project
during reading rotations in March and April. Students were given samples and a
mini-lesson on the poem they were being assigned. They wrote poems on their own
and turned them in at the end of the week. I handed them back at the poetry
table. Students then copied them into their booklets. I was impressed with the
amount of effort given to the decoration of their covers. Most of this was
accomplished during reading rotations as an alternative to other activities.
Boys and girls were highly engaged, which I attribute to the choice of topics
students were allowed to write about.
2012 – April - May - Students will begin the poetry unit as stations during independent reading rotation work times this year. Students are writing new poetry following a mini-lesson, and making their own personal poetry book collection. One reason this was a SMART thing to do, is that it showcases student abilities to work fairy independently. Another reason this was a SMART goal, was that students are learning different forms of poetry that is no longer introduced in our regular curriculum. The time students write, revise and publish has made it possible for me to test student current reading level, which I am required to do in May. Students who finish quickly have put themselves in the leadership role of assisting others in organizing their poetry and table of contents page.
2012 – April - May - Students will begin the poetry unit as stations during independent reading rotation work times this year. Students are writing new poetry following a mini-lesson, and making their own personal poetry book collection. One reason this was a SMART thing to do, is that it showcases student abilities to work fairy independently. Another reason this was a SMART goal, was that students are learning different forms of poetry that is no longer introduced in our regular curriculum. The time students write, revise and publish has made it possible for me to test student current reading level, which I am required to do in May. Students who finish quickly have put themselves in the leadership role of assisting others in organizing their poetry and table of contents page.
Spring, 2011 About nine of my students finished the year
participating in and improving their reading fluency with the Read Naturally
program. All of these students began the program at 3.5, or 4.0 grade level.
Six of these students finished the school year at the 5th grade level. Three
students, who began the program at 3.5 grade level and had the furthest to
improve, ended at 4.0 or 4.5 grade level. When I checked in with their fifth
grade teacher, most of these students began fifth grade in the benchmark, or
at-grade level reading group. I believe participating in Read Naturally helped
these students improve their reading fluency, gave them practice in reading,
and contributed to their reading success in fifth grade.
Fall, 2011 - I began Read Naturally with four students in the fall who were in a below-grade level reading group. Three of these girls were also receiving small group Reading Support through a program called Leveled Literacy Instruction (LLI). A fourth student was not able to participate in group LLI due to behaviors, but was later served in a one-to-one situation. In February, I began the program with a new student. These students meet with me almost daily and are moving through the readings to achieve grade level fluency.
Fall, 2011 - I began Read Naturally with four students in the fall who were in a below-grade level reading group. Three of these girls were also receiving small group Reading Support through a program called Leveled Literacy Instruction (LLI). A fourth student was not able to participate in group LLI due to behaviors, but was later served in a one-to-one situation. In February, I began the program with a new student. These students meet with me almost daily and are moving through the readings to achieve grade level fluency.
Spring, 2012 – Update - Students began at the 2.5 or 3.0 reading
level. Each student has gone through at
least two reading levels, and is on their third level. This puts my students near the end of the 3.5
or into the 4.0 level this spring. I
believe it helped one student read more accurately, as his habit was
substituting incorrect words. Another
student repeated phrases, before moving on, and listening to her read was
tiring. She has improved in this, and
does not repeat her words as she used to. She is still a slower reader, and struggles to
engage in a book during silent read time at school and at home. For
three other students, it has helped them to hear themselves as fluent
readers. Two of these readers do not
read enough minutes at home as evidenced in their monthly Home Reading Logs, so it has
been a good way to keep them reading and moving forward. We have also read about a lot of interesting
topics and people, and the discussion portion of these reads allows me to check
for understanding and work to engage them as readers.
