Community Provides Authentic Research

On Friday, April 8th, 4^th graders from Wilkins, Novak, Echo Hill, Bowman Woods, Indian Creek, and Westfield came to the LRC to meet with a volunteer for thirty minutes in order to learn about the state they were studying for State Fest projects.  The Elementary Instructional Coaches contacted Karla Terry, Community Relations Coordinator for the district, to once again find volunteers willing to share information about a state they lived in prior to moving to Iowa.  This was a huge undertaking to find 49 volunteers who could spend nearly the whole day at the LRC, Learning Resource Center.

The Elementary Instructional Coaches met several times to plan out the day.   They received help from several other people in the district as well:  Debra Barry, Erin Watts, Brent Wilfong, Gayla Burgess, Casey Fasselius , Phil Miller, and the LRC custodial staff (Rex, Daisy, and Dustin).

On the day of the event, schools arrived in shifts.  Brent organized the transportation to and from the LRC for all of the volunteers and students.  This was also a huge task, and everything flowed smoothly.  Students had a list of questions to ask their volunteer, and several of the volunteers had other information to share.  Many of the volunteers brought I-Pads, items that represented the state they were presenting, and even maps to help the students learn valuable information to use back at school as they created projects for their State Fest Celebrations.

This project was such a success that all of the elementary coaches would like to continue it again next year!  Thanks again to all of our wonderful volunteers and the 4^th grade teachers for their support in making this event a memorable one for the Linn-Mar 4^th graders!

Oak Ridge 7th Grade Annual Movie Trailer Awards

On Wednesday March 23^rd, the Oak Ridge Media Center was turned into the Shaffgoomeier Theater, the setting for the 7^th Grade Reading/Language Arts Movie Trailer Awards Show.  Over the course of two weeks, Christy Good, Ryan Shaffer, and Brittany Hagmeier, had students create movie trailers using Windows Movie Maker showcasing books they had recently read.

The teachers enlisted the help of Todd Lane, Middle School Technology Integration Coach to demonstrate and assist students in the making of the trailers.  Ryan approached Todd about introducing students to Windows Movie Maker and to be an extra person to help when students had problems or questions.

Each student completed their own unique movie trailer  and uploaded the video to a personal YouTube account.  From there they shared it with their teacher via a Google Form.  Once shared, the students voted on their favorites in five different categories: Best Images, Soundtrack, Special Effects, Persuasive, and Overall Best.  The teachers also added a bonus category: Critic’s Choice.  This award was created and voted on by only the three teachers.  Students received trophies if they were the winner of the category.

When Todd initially heard about the awards, his brain started spinning and he emailed Sue Kraus, the Media Center Specialist.

Todd stated, “I instantly brainstormed ideas that I had that might make this an experience that the students would remember forever.  Why just present awards within the classroom?  Award shows present on stages, in front of peers, and it is a celebration.  If I’ve learned anything from the PLC process, it’s that we need some celebration when learning takes place. I wanted this for the students.”

After class Todd collaborated with Sue.  Within an hour, they decided on having all classes come to the media center for the awards, having red carpet, paparazzi, green screens, and students/faculty dressed to the T, just like a real award show.  When Todd and Sue shared the ideas with Christy Good, also a team leader for Oak Ridge, he’ll never forget the look on her face.  It was shock, excitement, and a little apprehension.  Could we really pull this off? It took a couple of discussions with the teachers and some careful planning of schedules, but the award show was planned.

The day of the show, the Media Center was transformed.  There were two green screen stations set up, Nicole Redington (Oak Ridge Instructional Coach) and Debra Barry (LM Teacher Leader Coordinator) posed at Paparazzi, taking photos as other Oak Ridge staff conducted interviews with the students as they walked on the red carpet to take their seats in the theater. 

Oak Ridge students pose for the camera.  A green screen transforms them to the Oscars.

Once the students were settled Todd became the host for the event, to which he added an amazing monologue, humor, and that once in a lifetime awards pose using a selfie stick that he just happened to have with him. The categories were announced with the nominees for each class with the winner coming up to accept their trophy from their teacher.  

Proud students with their awards.

Proud students with their awards.

Proud students with their awards.

More memorable moments of the day.

Students pose for the red carpet and with awards.

The excitement was real, the disappointment was real, and the overall energy and appreciation for their peers was genuine.

The many hats Todd Lane wore at the celebration.

"The students loved the experience and are still talking about that day.  I enjoyed working with the students and appreciated the trust that Christy, Ryan, and Brittany had for me and Sue to create an awards show that would allow for memories, fun, and some friendly competition at Oak Ridge.  I am thankful to the teachers, Sue Kraus and Susan Taylor for their contributions and transformation in the Media Center, and the participation of the staff and the students who made the day and the movie trailers amazing.”

                              

                                                                                                                        ~Todd Lane

Write like a SUPER HERO

Sometimes teachers need to draw upon super hero powers to help students succeed in the classroom.  At a recent 2^nd grade team meeting, Instructional Coach, Terri Streicher, teamed up with second grade teachers Jesse Hart, Kari Thomsen, Kristen Hatfield, Katie Kensinger,  and Ryan Gotto, Technology Integration Coach, to make some heroic leaps and bounds with writers.

Linn-Mar’s current literacy program is Journeys.  The second grade students had a story coming up in their Journey's textbook Dex: The Heart of a Hero, about a dog who wanted to be a super hero.  During a planning meeting, Terri suggested they use that story as a springboard for an opinion writing piece, “What is the best super power to have?”  What followed was an exchange of ideas, including having kids brainstorm the pros and cons of each super power. 

Ryan Gotto came in and took green screen pictures of the teachers and kids acting out each super power.  Mr. Gotto and Mrs. Streicher co-taught with the teachers on how to put their writing in their blog, too.

The teachers even created a Super Hero themed week with additional activities.  The teachers have all commented how engaging and motivating this writing project has been.  

"We really enjoyed the process of working with Terri and Ryan to create a fun and meaningful learning activity for our second graders. The superhero activity tied in perfectly to our theme and writing focus, and our students were extremely engaged!"

                                                                                                                                     ~Kari Thomsen

The next phase is to come back and co-teach leaving our friends comments on their stories/pictures.  This collaborative effort, shows teachers and coaches improving practice to impact daily instruction of Journeys.  Well done, Bowman Woods coaches and teachers.

A Day in the Life of a Student Support Instructional Coach

by:  Symon Sanborn

Symon Sanborn and Beth Hayes collaborate at a recent teacher leader PLC meeting.

When I was approached with the idea of being an Instructional Coach, I was a bit caught off guard. I’d been a behavior specialist and teacher for 8 years at Echo Hill Elementary School and truly loved my job. The thought of not working one on one with students in the behavior program and the amazing teachers there saddened me, but my principal put it in these words, “As an Instructional Coach, you’re going to be able to share all of your knowledge about behaviors with other teachers and make a larger impact.” With those words of encouragement, that led me to apply and thankfully become an Instructional Coach for the 2016 school year. What I’ve learned is that teachers have the best ideas and approaches to the success of their students, coaching allows us to work together to pull those ideas to the surface.

Special Education is a very different area of education and at the same time it isn’t. For anyone in the teaching arena, student achievement is our focus. Whether you’re a general education teacher or a special education teacher the goal is always the same, making sure students have everything they need to be successful. Having worked with students who have Level 2-3 behaviors, you’re adding another level of support, while still driving for their success and achievement. The philosophy I’ve always approached these students with has been to have them be with their peers in a general education classroom, while we give them a leg up or two with how to deal with stresses of daily life. Their ability to understand and recognize when times are hard and know how to cope and deal with these stresses can reflect directly on their success.

Having had the opportunity to observe almost every teacher in special education at Linn-Mar, I’m amazed at the level of expertise, passion, and drive these teachers have. To manage student’s academics, manage their behaviors, manage associates in their programs, and still communicate with general education teaches can be quite a handful. They all do this with smiles on their faces and it’s inspiring to know we have people like this in our district.  One of the awesome things that my role as an Instructional Coach has allowed me is being able to step back and see the small gaps between programs, between levels in buildings, and between teachers. This is where our cognitive coaching has really opened my eyes to how we can help as coaches, tapping into a teachers knowledge and how finding solutions really is just us going on a journey of discovery together.

I’ve also spent a good amount of time in general education classrooms in our district to see how teachers are using their classroom management to help support, not only the behavior focused students in their classrooms, but their general education students. These management tools can reach across all areas of education and have an impact in other classrooms. Opportunities have also presented themselves where I get to go back into a teaching role and model social skills and academic lessons for students in the behavior programs. I revel in the chance to get back in front of students and model these lessons for teachers. I think helping students learn to cope with the world we find ourselves in is very important.

We’ve all heard it before that teaching is a passion. We don’t go into it for a big paycheck or notoriety. Having looked at things from, “this side of the desk,” I feel like I’ve been given a gift to have had a chance to observe amazing teachers, understand all that goes into helping all students, and be able to coach teachers in finding the best ways to support students. The teachers of our district have that passion and enjoy the big “paycheck” of the success of their students.

To contact Symon click here or call 319-892-4871