Mueller Charter School Blog

Joanne Jacobs wrote in a recent blog post:

In a Washington Post op-ed, cognitive scientist Dan Willingham critiques the standards for assuming students can understand what they read without background knowledge. Teaching “strategies” doesn’t lead to comprehension.

Remarkably, if you take kids who score poorly on a reading test and ask them to read on a topic they know something about (baseball, say, or dinosaurs) all of a sudden their comprehension is terrific—better than kids who score well on reading tests but who don’t know a lot about baseball or dinosaurs.

In other words, kids who score well on reading tests are not really kids with good “reading skills.”

Once students have “cracked the code of letters and sounds” and read fluently, the good readers are the ones with the prior knowledge to enable them to understand what they read, Willingham argues.  Students who lack background knowledge can reason their way through a text, but it’s slow and difficult, “a recipe for creating a student who doesn’t like reading.”

THE RESEARCH

Joann Jacob’s blog isn’t the leading authority on the connection between “background reading” and reading comprehension though– that research has been out for decades:

“Prior knowledge has a large influence on student performance, explaining up to 81% of the variance in posttest scores (Dochy, Segers, & Buehl, 1999). And there is a well established correlation between prior knowledge and reading comprehension (Langer, 1984; Long, Winograd, & Bridget, 1989; Stevens, 1980). Irrespective of students’ reading ability, high prior knowledge of a subject area or key vocabulary for a text often means higher scores on reading comprehension measures (Langer, 1984; Long et al., 1989; Stevens, 1980). In addition, high correlations have been found between prior knowledge and speed and accuracy of study behavior (reviewed in (Dochy et al., 1999) as well as student interest in a topic (Tobias, 1994). Thus, prior knowledge is associated with beneficial academic behaviors and higher academic performance.”

More recently, Robert Marzano devoted an entire book on the subject: “Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement “

HOW WE BUILD ON STUDENT’S PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Here at MCS, our students come to us with lots of background knowledge–  only IF their parents are highly educated, if they travel extensively, if there are hundreds (thousands) of books and publications in the house, if the family talks about “stuff”  at the dinner table, if they are innately curious, if they are consistently exposed to lots of different and interesting adults who engage them in deep conversation.

Or they don’t.   And if they don’t, then we are the next best source for building “background knowledge”.

We know we are building  students’ background knowledge whenever we:

• Focus on essential vocabulary

• Consistently demand the use of Academic Language

• Maintain high expectations

• Encourage lively conversations (and Accountable Talk) for the “Brainstorming” phase of the writing process

• Emphasize “Text To Self… Text To Text…   Text To World”  Connections

• Give them cause to “wonder”

• Encourage, Incorporate, Emphasize NON-Fiction, Expository reading passages about lots of varied and interesting things

• Have classroom discussions and about world events, the arts, space travel, and other things that interest our students

• Utilize our technology as a portal to the world:   United Streaming, Teacher Tube, You Tube (I know it’s filtered!), PBS, DVD series from Discovery and Animal Planet and Ken Burns, etc.

CNN STUDENT NEWS

Lately many of our classrooms have been weaving “CNN Student News” into their daily routine.  This strategy has been very effective…  and very exciting for kids.    Today there was a story about the tsunami in Indonesia and Samoa (science, geography, world culture, economics)…  There was also a story about the President’s call for a longer academic year (up to 200 days!!!) and longer school days!  And there was a story about Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.

At Mueller Charter School, our classrooms really are a window to the world!

Room 806 would like to thank Dr. Riley for taking time out of his day to come and inspire us to start writing. Thank you for showing us a great tool to use as we become authors this year. We can’t wait to have you back in our class to check out how we are growing as writers. We learned today that not a lot of people get past the drafting step in the writing process. We were shocked to hear that students don’t finish their writing so we made a goal as a class to insure that we all get to the publishing step in the writing process. We will achieve our goal by staying focused, being prepared to write by using our writer’s workshop flip book, and by remembering the “APPPLE” strategy that Dr. Riley taught us. Again thank you Dr. Riley and Room 805 for giving us the opportunity to be inspired to be fabulous writers.

Mrs. Arias’ Wonderful 4th Grade Class

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Friday, May 1, the staff at MCS received their required training on the administration of the CST.  In the spirit of unity and mutual support, Coach Ron performed the following poem.  It was a great start to the weekend and to the beginning of our two weeks of testing.

 

 

Sooo…

this week I happened to see the sacred tests arrive… 

And no jive,

Ms. Maureen had two secret service agents walking steady by her side…  

 

No lie.

 

I’m pretty sure one of them had a new silver mustache

and he was guarding that test like it was Mueller cash….

And the other,

well the other walked with a purpose hard to describe but hey,   

I’ll try.

 

See, by chance I saw this in just a moment’s glance…

 

Both eyes

seemed focused on the prize

and though it’s hard to describe…

 

they revealed a mix of characteristics… 

(Now, everyone easy as I get in these licks…)

 

See it was clear he had the compassion of Old Papa Smurf

watching over his little turf…

And yet

there was the stern attitude of Notre Dame’s fighting Irish, “slash”,

a little Mr. Miagi, “slash”,

the Pedagogy of Paulo Friere,

and of course the never tiring force of his strength…

Not found in the sun, and surely not in the hair,

like that of Sampson… 

 

Umm, yes sir almost done.

 

But instead, in the strength that we send

and lend

with every moment and every message bent around young listening minds…  

 

Young Listening Minds… 

 

Let’s keep this in mind…

 

Yuh know I’ve heard the kids can sense our stress

and the mess

that often becomes the small details of this test.

 

Like making sure our pencils are sharp… but apparently not too sharp,

or making sure that when we read the directions

we follow the directions,

like flipping the script and reading word for word…

…like a mocking bird. 

Geeze…

last I heard those long directions

always reminded me of those last words before lethal injections!

And what about our attempt at nervous pregame connections:

“Keep your focus,

trust your mind,

make sure yuh read each and every line,

don’t forget to take your time,

and don’t yuh worry, your set and prime… 

Everything is guna be just fine!”

 

(I think I need a soda and lime!) 

 

And for all my peers who whisper in my ears

this one is for your sighs, whys,

held back cries

as you all pry

 

every piece of paper from your classroom walls

until our rooms resemble old and cold bathroom stalls! 

 

But wait!

I think even bathroom stalls have … words on the walls… 

 

And of course a small verse for the terrible things our support staff will be facing; 

Apparently, you will be erasing

the scribble marks, happy faces, doodles, disgruntled statements, and drool

found around the 4 corners of the white borders…

I don’t know why!?  Please don’t shoot the messenger.

 

Wow is it a mess in here?  Nah, I just liked the way in which it added to the rhyme…

So, lets get out the grumbles and moans,

cause our kids are coming to bubble and own… every answer,

daylight dancers,

moving in forward motions,

they’ll be the one’s settling commotion

with fluid motions of their writing sticks, candle wicks in dark places,

leaving traces of “El Milagro” in the streets,

and the drum beats

of our hearts… 

 

Yes, this is the part where we all prepare and stare into the heart of things… 

And before we go any further I just wanna ask you all

to take away any worry that may have found its way to your face

and try to keep pace

with what I’m really saying.

You see we are the ones who have been quietly laying between doubt and fear,

steering young minds with dedicated time

and passion. 

We ration hope and cope with each question,

life lessons extending beyond what they score, whether strong or poor…

Each child is at the core of me at the core of we… 

 

See up until now we’ve done all we can.  Taken our stand,

trying to find the balance between a united common purpose,

a united common goal,

and evening strolls with our own families… 

 

Damn we!  Sacrifice

deal with head lice,

give advice,

and at times we ask it. 

 

The task is demanding…  

And despite this all, we are all still here standing

with a similar vision of resiliency and hope for our young people…

 

So, as I wrap up this simple rhyme

I hope you all take time

to celebrate

NOT, the manner in which you have dealt with your worry and stress

but instead yours and their…

un-measurable success….

 

Bless…

 

Written and performed by Ron Dyste.

 

As some of you may or may not know, our first graders have been working on understanding the many different types of habitats that people and/or animals live in. We have been working on knowing our 7 continents and viewing many videos and pictures of them in class. We have also been hearing stories about each continent and the habitats that exist there. Along with our studies we have been working on making a visual representation of the different habitats and writing short stories to go along with our artwork. As many of you may not know, last Tuesday we took our students out to experience the continent of Africa at The Wild Animal Park. Like our fellow 6th graders, we quickly discovered that nature was our classroom; whether it’s on a hike learning about the animals around the park and their habitats, standing by the water ways watching a great variety of birds, walking along wooden bridges afraid that we just may not make it across, sitting in a giant egg, or just enjoying a lunch with friends and our classroom parents as we look out onto the beautiful grassland areas below us, our students were learning, writing, and loving this amazing experience as being one with the animals surrounding us. This is a trip we are sure we will not soon forget!

Your friends,

Dawn Wold, Gina Drew, Gretchen Donais, Bertha Ortega, and Heather Naddour

Dear Mueller Familia,

We are reaching the end of Day 2 during this year’s Los Angeles College Week (LACW) and we are “pleasantly exhausted” (Mr. Knox’s words). Thus far our students have been nothing short of amazing and have done an incredible job of representing themselves, their families, friends, and our school.  If you were here with us, you too would be proud of our 8th graders!!!

Mueller Staff just finished debriefing the day and they are on their way to Group Meetings with their respective students.  The purpose of our Group Meetings is to create a space for our students to reflect on their experiences after each day.  Perhaps these groups will discuss the impact that the Museum of Tolerance had on their understanding of prejudice or social justice, perhaps these groups will share how powerful it was to have a guided tour by a USC student who grew up in Chula Vista - just like them, perhaps they will talk about how incredible it was for them to stand a few inches away from Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting “Water Lilies” at the Getty Museum or maybe they’ll just talk about how cool it was to stay in a hotel room with their BFF’s.  It’s difficult to say which experience will hold the most value for our students, but we feel confident in saying that they’ve had an incredible time here in Los Angeles.  Needless to say, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed ourselves too.  

Here’s to making college dreams happen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your 2009 Los Angeles College Week Chaperones

 

 

On Wednesday, March 25th,  we invited our 4th grade parents to attend a CST Workshop.  Our goal was to provide support and promote awareness for the upcoming CST.  Our workshop focused on test taking strategies, specific ways parents can support their child at home and the correlation between MAPs/RIT scores and the CST.

In past years, our parent turnout for such workshops were not as impressive.  We were amazed to see standing room only in our classrooms that were filled with parents, guardians and students.  These parents displayed their interest throughout the workshop by participating, asking questions and dialoguing with other parents.  As teachers, we feel proud that the significance of the CST is not only recognized by our students, but their parents as well.

With only a little more than 4 weeks to go, we feel confident that our 4th graders will perform well on the CST.

Your 4th Grade Team,

Mrs. Estrada, Ms. Lopez, Mrs. Arias, Ms. Reynolds & Ms.Rivas

“Mr. Quinlan!!!!  How come we don’t have a boys basketball team?  We had one last year, how come not this year?”  The answer in my head is different than the one I actually tell the swarm of 7th and 8th grade boys who are playing a game of 3 on 3 at lunch.  My answer is a simple one.  ”You guys need a coach.”  What I am actually thinking is that you need to look around and see how many more opportunities our young men have to perform in athletics and I quickly see that at this age the explanation would be lost on them.

There are many reasons why I continue to coach the Lady Mustangs, something that I have looked forward to doing every season for the past 9 years.  I love to see them improve.  I love to see them develop a love for basketball.  I love to hear about when they make the freshman, junior varsity or varsity basketball teams at their high schools.  But these are not the only reasons.  Some of the other reasons I truly enjoy working with these young ladies will not even be realized until 8, 9, or 10 years down the road.

Reason #1

High school girls who play sports are more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.

Reason #2

Girls who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self esteem and lower levels of depression.

Reason #3

Sport are where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal-setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors — critical skills necessary for success in the workplace.  In an economic environment where the quality of our children’s lives will be dependent on two-income families, our girls cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our sons.  It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys” - having played sports.

Reason #4

Girls need encouragement and inspirational role models.

This reason became evident this week when during the heartache of the 7th and 8th girls being left out of the basketball playoffs one of the 7th grade girls said she felt really bad for one of the 8th grade girls.  She went on to say that this young lady has been a role model for her ever since she first stepped foot on our campus and that she realizes this 8th grader puts her heart and soul into basketball and school.

Final Thoughts

Many people think that girls are not as interested in sport as boys.  Research shows that boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 9 are equally interested in sports participation.  However, by the age of 14, girls drop out of sports at a rate that is six times greater than boys.  Girls do not receive the same positive reinforcement about their sports participation.  Boys receive balls, gloves and sports equipment by the age of two.  They see their images on television as sportsmen, they see their photos in the sports section and know from their parents and friends that they are expected to play sports.

Even though our girls are not as likely to be discouraged from playing sports as they were 10 years ago, they simply aren’t encouraged to the same extent as boys.  As a result, they enter organized sports two years later than little boys and are therefore less likely to have the skills necessary for early success experiences. 

We must do a better job of supporting our girls’ sports participation.  We must find books about girls in sports, give gifts of sports equipment and sports lessons.  We need to take our girls to see women playing sports so they grow up appreciating and respecting the sports skills of women and so our daughters see images of themselves excelling in sports.  It’s no accident that girls’ sports participation in sports increases significantly following the Olympic Games, one of the few times that coverage of women’s sports is equal to that of men’s sports.  Role models drive youth demand for sports.

Are you looking for a place to collaborate with other teachers, bounce ideas off of each other, share effective strategies, pose questions, or visit classrooms to get inspired to try something new?  Then Literacy Teams is the place for you!

Today, we had our last literacy team get-together for this school year.  Our literacy teams have met together each month since September to discuss whatever instructional approach needed discussing…. differentiated learning centers, strategies for English Learners, math vocabulary, school wide implementation of the Write Institute, classroom libraries, alternatives to worksheets, guided groups and lit circles.

With only 5 weeks left until CST, we generated questions such as:  does every teacher, working with your students, know who your “target students” are, how are we communicating with parents the importance of the next five weeks and how are we helping them work with their child at home, what tools are we using to focus on specific testing skills (learning ladder), how are we exposing students to the test taking strategies, and how are we using charter helpers and charter support teachers to help better prepare our students during these 5 critical weeks?  It is this time together with colleagues and friends that keep us reflecting and developing to become better teachers!

Your Lit Team C,

Maureen DeLuca, Carolyn Ortiz, Cindy Estrada, Gina Drew, Kim Lohse, and Aimee Cisneros

It’s the simple things in life that bring the most joy to our 6th graders.  As many of you know, we are at 6th grade camp this week and enjoying every minute at Fox Outdoor School.  Nature is our classroom; whether it’s on a hike learning about symbiotic relationships, swimming in a pond fully clothed, slipping on rocks, climbing boulders, or just making new friends, our students are learning, living and loving this amazing experience. 

 

Your friends,

Aimee and Gina

I started using this new strategy in my classroom called Think Logs and it has evolved into an effective teaching tool.  It has probably been the most influential change I have made all year, yet it was simple and didn’t involve much effort.  I wanted to share it here, and hopefully you can use it in your classrooms.

How Do You Do It? 

• First I reflect on the big ideas of my learning objective.  I ask myself why this learning objective is important?  Next week my class is learning about measurement in math so my big idea is: “We use measurement to understand the world around us.” This big idea will give me a road map for how the Think Log should progress. 
• I write the title on easel paper.  Next week my Think Log title would be: Think Log: Measurement.
• I have my students sit in whole group format with their think/pair/share buddies on the carpet.  Then I tell them to talk to their partners about a topic or I ask them a question.  I might say, “tell your partner everything you know about measurement?” Or, “why is it important to measure things?”
• I let them talk for as long as they stay focused, then I call on people to respond out to the group.  As they respond I record their answers with their names on the think log.  I usually have to scaffold their comments for this part, because some of them come up with some random comments, but others are dead on. 
• After maybe 3-5 people share, if they haven’t gotten the big ideas, and they usually don’t in first grade, I explicitly tell them in 3-5 sentences.  This is why we are learning about measurement and this is what you need to know about measurement.  I also might talk about measuring your feet when you go to the shoe store, or something else that the students could relate to.  
• Everyday that I teach measurement, I repeat this process, continually having the students talk to each other about measurement and adding on their comments.  I usually add their comments in a different color for everyday.

We are learning about interpersonal conflict in my room right now.  Here is an example of a Think Log that we did. 

This strategy is effective because:

• The research says that we learn and create new knowledge off of what we already know.  It is important to give students an opportunity to talk about what we already know to engage their future learning. 
• As the students share out the teacher can identify misconceptions that the students might have about the subject.
• It serves as a pre-assessment, but the questions are broad enough so that the teacher gets a more informed idea of what they students may already know.
• Corresponds with the guided release model of “explaining” key concepts in a 10 minute lesson, but incorporates the key factor of student dialogue. 
•  Through daily dialogue about one concept, students can share ideas, refine ideas, come to new understandings, and can ask questions for clarification.
• Having students consistently talk about what they are learning is important because learning is social before anything else.
•  The questions are open ended enough so that the students can connect themselves (their lives and experiences) to the curriculum, which in turn encourages student engagement and interest.  

I use this strategy for almost every subject and for anything new I am teaching.  If you want to see more examples of Think Logs, come check out my room—they are all over the walls.  

Posted by Heather Naddour