New Resource: Books By Indigenous Authors, Indigenous Languages and Curriculum Connections

In the spirit of moving beyond Indigenous Education “Events” and moving toward sharing the importance of embedding Indigenous histories, stories and voices in all areas of the curriculum, I am excited to share a new learning resource with LKDSB students and teachers (K-Grade 8).

Lenape and Ojibwe Language/Curriculum Connections to Children’s Literature

https://sites.google.com/lkdsb.com/schoolwidereadaloud

This website helps educators to make connections between picture books written by Indigenous authors, the Ontario Curriculum and the Ojibwe Language  (Coming Soon: Lenape  Language).  This website is organized by language, and the curriculum connections are listed in the book descriptions. It is a work in progress, and I will be adding more Ojibwe language and Lenape Language videos as they are made available. 

Each book grouping has a link to a Google folder with videos of an Ojibwe or Lenape (coming soon) language speaker teaching you how to say some words.  You will also find a word list and QR codes so you can post and share these words around your classroom, word wall, Learning Commons and throughout the school environment. Feel free to use the videos in your morning announcements for “Ojibwe Word of the Week”. 

The picture books will support curriculum connections and demonstrate to educators and students that the Ojibwe and Lenape languages have value in all LKDSB schools. The picture books that will be used are books that have been purchased for LKDSB elementary schools, so there will be a copy in each school. 

*To see a list of books that have been purchased for LKDSB elementary schools in the past 2 years, please visit this website: https://sites.google.com/lkdsb.com/lkdsb-indigenous-ed/more-resources#h.l24zf7oihq00

Please see this previous blog post about the learning that has been happening at Lansdowne and their experiences with school-wide read alouds. http://lkelempro.blogspot.com/2019/11/ojibwa-language-and-culture-learning-at.html

This website was inspired by the work and learning of educators from P.E. McGibbon and AA Wright while they participated in the Teachers Leading and Learning Project (TLLP).  They have recorded their learning journey and have provided many examples of how they embed the Ojibwe Language in their classrooms in their blog that you can find here: http://fne21c.blogspot.com/ Feel free to use their Ojibwe Words of the Week resources in your classrooms!

And remember: 

Picture books are great for ALL GRADES! 

Progress Reports: Refresher

For Grades 1 to 8, in the fall, teachers will use the Elementary Progress Report Card to inform parents of the progress students are making towards achievement of the curriculum expectations for each subject/strand. 

Kindergarten Teachers will be sharing with families an overview of the child’s learning, early evidence of growth in learning and, some information about appropriate next steps to further the child’s learning in the Kindergarten Initial Observations report.

LKDSB teachers access the Progress Reports in Aspen. Resources including procedural steps and How-To Videos can be accessed in the document Reporting Student Achievement in Aspen. 

If you are new to Progress Reports or Initial Observations using Aspen, viewing this Live Session recording may be helpful.

If you are looking for a "refresher" on the functions used in Aspen to support the completion of the Progress Reports and the Initial Observations, view this Live session recording.

 Science is Happening @LKDSB

 

Science Kits, Taylor Talks, Digital Video Library, and Additional Learning Opportunities are just a few ways that teachers can bring Hands-On learning experiences to LKDSB students.

Science Kits

UPDATE:  November 5, 2021 

Great news!  ALL science kits, with the exception of four titles, are now available for booking!  

Note that items requiring safety management beyond hand hygiene have been removed from all kits.

Out of an abundance of caution, the following four titles are NOT available for booking:  Kinder Bacteria, Kinder Bubble, Kinder Crystal, and Gr. 8 Microscopy​

Email the Science Centre to book.  sciencecentre@lkdsb.net ​  

We will need to know

1.  the kit title, 
2. when you want to start the unit, and 
3. where you teach. 

Orders will be confirmed with ship/due dates via email.  ​

 

Taylor Talks

Taylor Maris is the Energy & Environmental Coordinator for CKLASS, (Chatham-Kent Lambton Administrative School Services,) and our newest Science Discovery Squad Volunteer.   She is an Environmental Engineer and is excited to bring her passion for environmental awareness to our students through a series of monthly sessions organized by the SEP called “Taylor Talks”. Watch your email for an invitation!

 

​Coding Division

A virtual coding experience is available with a Science Discovery Squad Volunteer.

This is an activity offered to junior grades that helps students to “Develop the skills, strategies, and habits of mind required for scientific inquiry and technological problem-solving." (pg. 6 S&T document.).  It is also a way to introduce Coding in math learning.

This is an introductory activity recommended for students in Grades 4-6 with little or no prior exposure to coding.  

Truss Building (Grade 5)

Students will have the real-world engineering challenge of building the strongest truss they can with the least amount of material.

A construction equipment package will be provided by the SEP Science Centre. Classes can use the instructional videos to work through the activity at their own pace.

Each individual teacher is asked to register his/her own class independently and students can participate in the activity anytime between October and May.  This replaces the Bridge Building challenge.

Sign up at https://forms.gle/Q3EMzVk5FkBvSREU9

Digital Library

On-demand access to Science Discovery Squad inquiries and presentations. Click Here to access the Library.

Links and/or information cataloged in the library include:

• Agriculture
• Coding
• Science Demonstration videos
• Amazing Air Pressure – Gr. 6 Air and Flight
• Floating Egg Experiment – 3 versions with connections to Gr. 2, 5, and 7/8 Matter and Energy
• Pulleys – Gr. 4 Structures and Mechanisms
• The Plasma Ball – Gr. 5 Matter
• The Van de Graaff Generator – Gr. 6 Electricity and Electrical Devices
• ​Taylor Talks Environmental Science sessions

Explore all that the  Science Education Partnership has to offer and reach out to Wendy sciencecentre@lkdsb.net to make plans to have the resources accessible in your class.

Anti-Oppressive Education Resources

LKDSB Teachers have access to the rich resources supporting Anti-Oppressive Education:

Anti-Semitism: https://classroom.google.com/c/MzgxMjAzNDY1NjU2?cjc=wxm4h2k

Anti-Muslim Hate/Islamophobia: https://classroom.google.com/c/MzYxNjQwMDU1ODk2?cjc=l26u6nw

Asian Heritage and Anti-Asian Racism: https://classroom.google.com/c/MzM5NTEzMzczMjcw?cjc=6raqobj

Black History and Anti-Black Racism: https://classroom.google.com/c/MjU1NDM2MTY2ODgx?cjc=s32t6k2

Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy: https://classroom.google.com/c/MjU1NDMxNzE0NTU0?cjc=saqt4vf

Gender Identity: https://classroom.google.com/c/MTk1MDI5NTAzNDYw?cjc=vobyqbq

Book Study: https://classroom.google.com/c/MTg5MzkyNjQxMDY3?cjc=pmwpbmu

Supporting English Language Learners in your Classroom

Our classrooms in the LKDSBS are welcoming more and more students whose home language isn’t English. These students bring a wealth of experience and knowledge with them, but they also mean we must learn and adapt to support these students in our classrooms.  

English Learners are typically thought to be students coming from non-English speaking countries but the reality is that the largest number of students in the LKDSB are Canadian-born.  Another surprise for many teachers is we have students who may speak a dialect of English and they also need extra support while they are transitioning to school in Ontario.  

Students learning English join our classrooms with their age group peers regardless of their level of English proficiency.  It takes 5-7 years to become fluent in a second language and our students are learning the Ontario curriculum at the same time they are learning English.  In the early stages of English learning, our students need scaffolds and support to help them learn the structures and vocabulary of English.  They are able to have accommodations and modifications to the language of subjects without needing an IEP because these supports will fade as their language proficiency increases.  

A great document to help you support students and families is the Many Roots Many Voices document which has practical strategies for welcoming students and families into your school and classroom.  

Many times we aren’t sure how to support new English learners in our classrooms but there is a tool to help teachers understand and track how students are acquiring English.  It also helps teachers see what their students should be able to do in English as they acquire language.  This document is called “STEP” or “Steps to English Proficiency” and it is a continuum of language learning.  

STEP or Steps to English Proficiency isn’t a “program”, “rubric” or “plan” for ELs.  Our students are learning English while they learn their grade level curriculum, so think of it instead as a lens to look at the language skills your student has and to plan on how they will participate in the classroom as they move through the STEPS.   

STEP Overview Video:

The STEP documents for the LKDSB are located on the Portal “Quick Links” under “ELL - English Language Learners” and are clickable PDFs that you can download for each of your EL students.  

Download the STEP Continuua for your student here: https://portal.lkdsb.net/BoardDepartments/prog-elem/esl/SitePages/Home.aspx#/=

Click on the links below to see a quick overview of each of the 3 parts of STEP. 

STEP Oral Ongoing Assessment:

STEP Reading Ongoing Assessment:

STEP Writing Ongoing Assessment:

For more information about STEP please visit: STEP Steps to English Proficiency User Guide

LK Launch 2021 (An online conference)

 

Archived Sessions (accessible for LKDSB staff using their "LKDSB.com" log in):

Katy Arnett
Valentia Gonzalez

Sherry Parrish K-2 Number Talks: Part 1 + Part 2

Sherry Parrish 3-6 Number Talks: Part 1 + Part 2

Mike Flynn: Beyond Answer Getting in Math

Mike Flynn: The Power of Structure Toward Procedural Fluency

Mike Flynn: Developing a Mathematical Lens to See The World

Mike Flynn: Powerful Moments in Math Class

Natural Curiosity: K - 3 + 4 - 8

Sara Florence Davidson

August 23 - 27, there will be some great professional learning taking place for educators.  We will be 'launching learning' in an online format.  

You will be able to just click and join from anywhere (your backyard, breakfast table, or poolside).

Sign up for as many or few as you'd like. The LKDSB is providing this learning at no cost for everyone.  Just fill out the form: https://forms.office.com/r/dsTXUdhsif 

For the Zoom online room link and password, click here.

View the program below or view it as a pdf.

Introducing Benchmark Reading Assessment: LKDSB

To support the development of a student's reading, teachers often use a standardized assessment (like DRA) to learn more about the student's strengths and the reading behaviors and understandings that require more support.

NEW

The Benchmark Assessment System will be available as an assessment tool for LKDSB teachers in the Fall of 2021. Teachers will be able to choose the tool for reading assessments.  (DRA or Benchmark)

Benchmark Assessments are administered as one-to-one, student-teacher reading assessment conferences. 

There are three components to the Benchmark Reading Assessment

• Oral Reading,
• Comprehension Conversation, and
• optional Writing about Reading task.

The process is repeated until the teacher determines the text levels the are independent, instructional, and hard for the student. (Fountas and Pinnell Text Levels)

In addition to determining the text levels, the teacher will learn about the student's Thinking Within the Text, Thinking Beyond the Text, and Thinking About the Text.

The Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum, found in the Benchmark Kits, is an excellent resource for planning, teaching, and determining a student's next steps.

"Behaviors and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support"

View this video for an introduction to The Benchmark Assessment System: BAS

Additional "Learning about Benchmark Reading Assessment" resources will be shared soon.