BALANCE!

It was January (time to set a resolution). As I reflected on the past year, I decided I would take my good friend Jerilynn's advice and try a new kind of resolution. One that would be more meaningful, one that would have purpose, one that would stick, one that would make a difference...and it was just that...ONE. One word. My favorite part of this "one word idea" is that it is a way to reflect, connect and set a very simple, yet powerful goal that would ideally affect all areas of my life.

Choosing my one word didn't take long as I reflected on the busyness of the past year, the demands of being a full time educator, mom of 3 and wife: BALANCE

Obviously, it was a word I needed to focus on to make improvements in my life. Soon after I had chosen the word, it started to come up in different ways daily!

For this post, I will focus on writing about my most recent connection to the word: 
BALANCED INSTRUCTION

As a campus, we have discussed and improved comprehension instruction, problem solving, conceptual understanding, and digging deeper. We have learned so much about this type of thinking and how to get kids to a deeper level. Our work over the past couple of years has obviously been worthwhile and certainly not something we want to stop!  However, we have to remember not put all of the weight on one side of the ship, or else it may completely tip over!

For our ELAR instruction, we need BALANCE. Balanced Literacy!

 

*Writing

*Word study 

*Shared reading 

*Independent reading 

See this instruction guide for more details:
Balanced Literacy Overview 

It may depend on your grade level, class, etc. but all of these components should be covered in weekly lesson cycles. 

 

For Math instruction, we also need (you guessed it!) BALANCE. 

• Computation Skills (including Mental Math) 
• Problem Solving 
• Conceptual Understanding 
• Mastery of Math Facts 
• Common Formative Assessment

Here is a link to review Balanced Math components:
Balanced Math Overview 
Thank goodness we have our very own "Easy Button":The IFD!!!

 

 

 

 If we are working closely to ensure our students have access to the curriculum that is specified in this document, then we are right on track! We have done so much productive work this year learning how to dig deeper into the IFD, but just like when we have our kids "dig deeper", it takes time! The good news is...we are so much further along than we were last year! The challenging news is...we need to take the time to continue comprehending our IFDs to help us find the right BALANCE for our students. This is one of the biggest steps in ensuring success for our students!

 

Questions to consider:

How well does your team know your IFDs? 

Why is balance so important?

Why do some components take more time to teach than others and how do we plan accordingly? 

How do we get our students to not only know the standards, but be able to apply them? 

How could formative assessment help with balance? 

 

So it sounds like I am adding an additional FOCUS word to help with my primary word: 

IFD 

(Ok, so I realize it is an abbreviation for three words, but three words doesn't go with my story! :0)!!)