December 3 and 10 Rise N Shine Keys

Our Mission:  “Educate students for lifelong learning and responsible living.”

Our Vision:  “Provide a learning environment that promotes and develops academic and

social growth.”

Author of the Month:  Jan Brett  
Word of the Month:  Adventurous  Rise N Shine:  Ms. Keys

Congratulations to Jami Keys, Coolidge Teacher of the Year.

Fountas and Pinnell - don't forget to enter your F & P scores into Infinite Campus. 

• Mon. Dec 4 - District Performance Assessments. ELQA Testing - Stephanie Hinton
• Tues. Dec 5 - District Performance Assessments. ELQA Testing - Stephanie Hinton.  PLC Meetings.  Committee Meetings - Various Locations.  Leadership Meeting - Library.  
• Wed. Dec 6 - District Performance Assessments.  3rd Grade Field Trip National Western Heritage Museum
• Thurs. Dec 7 - District Performance Assessments.  Security Drill p.m. Summit Visit for 6th grade teachers to Jackson Elementary. Ms. Rapp is the teacher in charge.  Popcorn sales PTA
• Fri. Dec 8 - District Performance Assessments - F & P Celebrations for those who leveled up in F & P during specials times in gym.  All other students will go to regular specials.  Midpoint Evaluations due for all teachers.  Please be sure you acknowledge in I-Observation.  Winter Celebration at Brett's House 6:00 p.m.

• Mon Dec 11 - Regular Day
• Tues Dec 12 - Brett out.  Instructional Rounds.  Faculty Meeting Committee Reports.  Honor Choir to nursing homes
• Wed Dec 13 - Honor Choir Program,  Ice Cream Floats for faculty in kitchen off office.  Winter parties 2:30 p.m.  End of 2nd Quarter.  

 Benchmark Mark Literacy - Unit 4.  Complete Unit 4 Summarize and Synthesize/Analyze Story Elements.  By December 12th complete Unit 4 assessment in Benchmark Literacy.

How have you improved as a teacher this first semester?  Enter your response in the comment section and email it to Mrs. Brett.  

       

Everyone who has perfect attendance December 4th - December 13th (arrive on time, stay all day, don't leave early, stay for faculty meetings, etc) you will be entered into a drawing for a Visa Gift Card.  This is for certified and support staff.  The drawing will take place December 13th at 3:30 p.m. in the library.  Must be present to win.

Exit Tickets:

Hit the Mark With Digital Media Exit Cards

Exit cards can be easy—and sometimes even fun—for students to create with a variety of digital tools.

By Matt Levinson

August 20, 2013 Updated October 5, 2017

In my first year of teaching English, I had to teach prepositions to sixth graders. I fumbled around for an entry point and reached out to a more seasoned colleague, who suggested that I employ the analogy of the rabbit and the log.

The approach was simple: Draw a picture of a log on the board and a rabbit on a piece of paper and then place the rabbit in different positions in relation to the log. This would draw out the use of prepositions—“the rabbit is on the log” versus “the rabbit is in the log” or “the rabbit is beside the log.” It sounded like a sensible approach.

Rabbit-and-Log Syndrome

I went into the class and did as he had explained. The engagement of the students was off the charts. Kids were jumping out of their seats to place the rabbit in relation to the log. They seemed to be really getting it and understanding prepositions. I couldn’t believe how easy this was.

The next day, I had to leave early to coach a soccer game, so I asked my department chair if she could cover my class. She started by reviewing what we had done around prepositions the day before, and she saw several confused and puzzled faces among the students.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. One of the students replied, “We didn’t learn anything about prepositions yesterday. We learned about rabbits and logs.”

She chuckled and then moved into the lesson to make sure the students understood what a preposition was.

The following day she said to me, “I think you might need to review prepositions again,” and recounted what had happened.

That experience served as a major aha moment to me as a young teacher—I realized I needed to have some way of assessing what students were learning both as the class was unfolding and at the completion of class. So I started using exit cards—3x5 notecards for students to write down something they had learned.

I used a variety of prompts, such as a word, a question, a phrase, a haiku, a quote, a picture, etc. I gained invaluable daily data through the exit cards and recognized how critical frequent assessment is to ensuring understanding. I used the results to figure out next steps and to revisit a topic that didn’t quite hit the mark.

Digital Media Exit Cards

Today, with the explosion of digital media, teachers have so many tools at their disposal for this kind of assessment. What would a digital media exit card look like? Here are some possibilities that utilize mobile devices:

•    A short video posted to MixBit, a video sharing tool
•    A tweet that boils down the essence of the class to 140 characters
•    A photo illustrating the key learning moment posted on a class Instagramaccount
•    A question posted to a class Edmodo account inviting a continuation of the learning outside of class

The key 21st-century skill in all of these approaches is synthesis, the ability to cut to the essence of an idea or concept and communicate it in an effective, succinct, compelling manner.

For teachers, the key is how to get the learning to spill out of the classroom and continue the conversation. As the school year starts, digital tools and mobile devices are perfect resources for breaking down the walls of the classroom, gathering immediate feedback on learning, and sharing learning in social media communities.

And digital exit cards can help teachers take the pulse of what kids are learning, avoiding the rabbit-and-log syndrome of kids missing the mark on a lesson.

To Develop Every Child Into a Reader:

• Everyday a child reads something they choose to read.
• Every child reads accurately
• Every child reads something they understand.
• Every child writes something that is personal and meaningful daily.
• Every child talks with peers about reading and writing.
• Every child hears an adult reader read fluently.

Coolidge Elementary Academic Goals for 2017- 2018

• All Students WILL achieve academically.
• Reading:  Increase reading proficiency by at least one grade level, and know their current F & P level.
• Math:  Increase math achievement by 10% with 80% mastery of math facts on grade level.  
• Writing:  Increase writing proficiency by 15%
• Student Attendance:  Increase student attendance to 98%.
• Increase Faculty Attendance to 98%

OKCPS Literacy Standards

          1^st Grade

          2^nd Grade

          3^rd Grade

          4^th Grade

          5^th Grade

          6^th Grade

OKCPS Math Standards

          Pre-K

          Kindergarten

          1^st Grade

          2^nd Grade

          3^rd Grade

          4^th Grade

          5^th Grade
   6^th Grade

Melissa Brett | Principal

Coolidge Elementary School | Oklahoma City Public Schools

5212 S. Villa, Oklahoma City, OK 73119

(405) 587-2800

(405) 208-1581 (cell)