The Razzle Dazzle Classroom: Happy New Year

Happy New Year friends!! It's been a wonderful year in the Griffith house! I have so many things to be thankful for!

Especially these two little cuties!!!

I think that the New Year is a great time to reflect.... and a lot has happened in our house!
My baby turned ONE in March!

And my sweet Sophie turned three in June!!

We've had a lot of fun as a family... and my goal is to have even more fun this year!

My girls with my mom, dad, and sister!

Since I got my wisdom teeth extracted yesterday I have had a lot of time to sit around and reflect about the learning that is taking place in my classroom! I can't believe it is already January, and there is A LOT that my students still need to learn! So... here are some of my VERY random thoughts and goals for the new year.

1. Word Work - I have to do a better job of ensuring that ALL of my students are receiving instruction on their individual needs! I feel that I do a great job with the first graders who are on and below level, but I REALLY have to focus on new spelling strategies with my higher level learners! And... to ensure that I am meeting those needs I am in the process of creating word work units! You can find my Vowel Teams Interactive Word Work here if you are interested!

2. I have also spent some time looking through MAP DesCartes. What are your thoughts about the MAP assessment? Do you take it? Does your school use another form of summative assessment? In Kentucky it seems that MAP has taken over! And my thoughts... I like the test but don't love it! I'm a bit tired of hearing about it, but then again I do think it is important that students and teachers are held accountable. Overall, I think the most important thing to remember is that "it's about the child" not about the test score.

So...how do I use map? Well, to be honest I don't think I've done the best job! The common core standards are infused in my brain I've used them so much, but I definitely have not used the MAP DesCartes as I probably should. So... my goal is to dig down deep and really analyze those DesCartes. However, the one thing that I WILL NOT DO is let the map test plan all of my instruction. I've found that the DesCartes are really helpful for my students who are above level. I'm beginning to teach skills that are found in the second and third grade standards that I probably would not have touched if I hadn't looked at the DesCartes. With that said, I don't think the MAP is as helpful for my on level or below level students. The score doesn't really let me know where they are struggling with comprehension, or if they know all of their digraphs, specific sight words, etc. For the new year I am going to begin using the DeCartes much more, but I'm also going to rely on my daily observations and formative assessments to guide instruction in my reading groups.

3. Since I've been in this chair with an ice pack on my head, I've also had some time to plan some upcoming themes in my classroom and I am so excited. If you are interested in...

Snow