School Survey Says . . .

A survey about our schools was distributed to families and/or posted on websites in February 2013. Approximately 402 surveys were returned. The results below show the percentages of those who “strongly agree” or “agree” with each statement.  

	Percentage of those who “strongly agree” or “agree.”
1. My child’s school has high expectations for students.	93%
2. Firm, but fair, discipline is maintained in this school.	88%
3. Our school has my child’s best interest at heart.	93%
4. I am kept informed about my child’s progress in class.	92%
5. Students are recognized and praised when they excel.	91%
6. Students get along well with other students.	86%
7. School buildings are in good condition.	60%
8. Parents and the school staff work together when a problem arises.	87%
9. I am proud that my children attend Logan Elm Schools.	95%
10. Student learning is a very high priority in our school district.	90%
11. The school staff is committed to improving student performance.	93%
12. Teachers willingly help students when asked.	92%
13. People in this school prepare students to be successful in their academics.	93%
14. Students who need academic help are given assistance.	92%
15. Students are kept informed of their grades and progress.	97%
16. Instruction and homework assignments are clear and easy to follow.	85%
17. Computers (other technology) are regularly used in our school.	90%
18. Administrators listen to me when I have problems.	91%
19. Administrators treat me with respect and dignity.	95%
20. Administrators follow through on things needing his/her attention.	90%
21. Administrators are visible in the building and at school activities.	94%
22. Administrators are friendly and helpful.	95%

No Wonder These Students Do So Well

Recently I asked students to complete a survey about the importance of reading with a parent or grandparent.   As I looked at some of the comments, I realized why so many students are doing so well in Reading Workshop.  Thank you so much to the parents and grandparents that took the time to talk about reading with their child.

When asked, why do you believe reading is important, answers included:

• Andrea D.--Reading is an important part of life. At first, we learn to read. Then, we read to learn. Reading is the key to all learning.
• Laura C.--Reading takes you places you may never have the opportunity to visit. . . With reading, you control the graphics and scenery. You get to create your own version of the story in your mind.
• Heather E.--Reading gives you "life long learning," meaning you can learn new things every day of your life. 
• Diana F.--there is a whole world of ideas and information there for us to discover. Sometimes reading can make you laugh, cry, and experience all kinds of emotions. Reading is awesome.
• Susan P.--Reading is the foundation of learning.
• Tonya W.--I believe reading is important because, for a very long time now, people have taken the time to think things through and deliverer their thoughts on paper.
• Jennifer T.--reading improves your vocabulary, your writing ability, and your communication skills.
• Kim E.--It broadens the mind and helps educate in all areas of learning.
• Beth M.--Reading is the basis for most aspects of daily living. From reading weather and news reports, to road signs and menus, reading is a necessity in society.

When asked, how has reading helped you be successful in your life, answers included:

• Sandy E.--Being a fluent reader afforded me the opportunity to be my high school graduating class valedictorian. This led to scholarships and grants to help pay for my college education. Reading has allowed me to be a life-long learner and successful in my career.
• Andrea D.--All successful writers will tell you that in order to write well, you need to read. At the age of 40, I went back to school to become a medical assistant. If I didn't know how to read, I wouldn't have been able to complete the assignments in order to graduate.
• Laura C.--Without reading I would not have the job I have. I am an Engineer at Kenworth. My job requires me to be able to read...Not only has reading helped me get a college degree as well as a good job it also has helped me to relax. I love to read just for fun. A good book is like therapy.
• Stephanie S.--Reading has helped me be successful for a lot of things. I couldn't own a business if I didn't know how to read.
• Cheryl R.--Reading has helped me in my job because I have to read daily work instructions and be able to follow those instructions.
• Teresa L.--Reading is a way for communication in my work and I continually learn by reading. Reading enhances my career as a nurse to educate myself and others. It enables me provide excellent care to my patients.
• Lisa B.--It constantly gives me direction in life. On the flip side it has given me a portal of imaginations as entertainment.

Thanks to all the parents for their amazing responses.  Check out all of the responses HERE.

Image from http://www.gameshowstogo.com/SurveySaysCollegeDownloads.html

Student and Parent Reading Survey

Students, please complete this survey with the help of a parent or grandparent.

You can see responses HERE

Survey Says. . .

Want to know the results of the Midway Survey.  Just look on the wikipage at Midway Survey Results.

Thank you for all of the parents that took the time to sit down with their child and complete the survey.  Many of the goals are well-thought out, appropriate and attainable.

Congratulations to all of the Reading Workshop students for the successes you have achieved so far this school year.  When you look at the list of the best thing that has happened in Reading Workshop, you see an amazing list of accomplishments.

The Students Speak

Students recently completed a Reading Workshop Student Survey.  This is an easy way for me to see their thoughts and opinions about our class.  Frequently new ideas or changes in focus come from information the students supply.  The survey was embedded in the blog using a form from Google Docs.

Thank you to the students for the effort and honesty in their responses.  To see the complete answers, visit the Reading Workshop Blog Student Survey.  However, here are a few interesting excerpts.

  

My Favorite part of Reading Workshop . . .

Kasi

My favorite part of the Reading Workshop is our awesome blogs. I really like to put our opinion on our blogs and have other people comment and even if they disagree with you it is fun to see what they say.

Nash

My favorite part of the Reading Workshop is SSR because I really like to read.

Garrett

My favorite part of reading workshop is getting to write about what I have read and just getting to be able to make post that people can read from all over the world.

If I Were the Teacher . . .

Erica

If I were a teacher I would tell my students to try and not sit at a desk do nothing because if you don't do anything then what's the point in going to school? Students have to understand school is not just a place to chat with friends and spread gossip. School is where you go to learn so you have to try.

Cassie

If I was a teacher what would I help students learn is how to be successful with their life so when they need a job they can just go out and get one.

Kaitlyn

To help students learn I would have them take notes of everything and if they get stuck then they can look back in there notes and if they still don't get it then I would explain it to them. And if that don't work then I have no clue.

What has helped you most . . .

Bethany K

One thing that has mostly helped me to be more successful in the Reading Workshop would mostly be SSR, because it helps us learn words and help you out with life.

Hadley

I think blogging has helped me become successful by helping me be my own original person, and not like everyone else. It also helped me learn how to get into the hard core details and become a better writer.

Hannah Hop.

I think that our blogs have helped me be most successful in Reading Workshop because it pushes me to understand my book, to comment, and to post.

How Much Does Study Island Help You?

1 -	Very Little Help	5	9%
2		8	14%
3		12	21%
4		24	42%
5 -	Extremely Helpful	8	14%

How Much Does Brain Pop Help You?

1 - Very Little Help      5          9% 2 4 7% 3 16 28% 4 14 25% 5 - Extremely Helpful 18 32%

What is Your Favorite Thing to Do in Reading Workshop?

Blog		31	54%
Read Aloud		15	26%
Study Island		4	7%
Sing		40	70%
SSR		16	28%
Brain Pop		14	25%
Group Work (like on Reading Articles)		9	16%

People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

To see the complete answers, visit the Reading Workshop Blog Student Survey.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/zen/139254610/sizes/s/

Reading Workshop Student Survey

Please answer the following questions. The details you provide, and the honesty of your answers will make Reading Workshop better for everyone.  Please put your name so that I can contact you with any questions that I might have about your comments.

Testing and Read Aloud Survey

OAT Survey

Students in Reading Workshop took the 2006 Reading Ohio Achievement Test as a practice run on Monday. We then scored the test, using the test rubric. This survey is a chance for me to collect students' opinions about the test, and the process.




You can see the results on the Reading Workshop Wikipage Practice Test Survey Results
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Who Am I?

Students' Speak, Computers in the Classroom

Recently students were surveyed about their feelings regarding computer use in the classroom. As we continue to find more and more ways to integrate technology in Reading Workshop, I thought it would be interesting to see students' viewpoints.

I found it interesting that overwhelmingly, students prefer to use computers for language arts tasks. The fact that only one student would prefer to not use them at all is amazing. I am not sure that you could poll students about any topic and find such a consensus.

As the year progresses, we will be doing even more innovative activities, which would push the data even farther in favor of the use of technology in the classroom.

Stay tuned, videos are on the way!
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Learning Styles

What kind of learner are you? North Carolina State University has a test you can take to find out how you learn best.

Just follow the link, take the test, and then print out the results.

Felder and Soloman, researchers for NCSU look at four areas of learners in their report of Learning Styles and Strategies. Listed below is a breakdown of the areas.

Active and Reflective Learners

Active learners tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with it--discussing or applying it or explaining it to others.

Reflective learners prefer to think about it quietly first.

Sensing and Intuitive Learners

Sensing learners tend to like learning facts, intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and relationships. Sensors often like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike surprises.

Intuitors may be better at grasping new concepts. Intuitors tend to work faster and to be more innovative.

Visual and Verbal Learners

Visual learners remember best what they see--pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations.

Verbal learners get more out of words--written and spoken explanations.

Sequential and Global Learners

Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in steps, with each step following logically from the previous one.

Global learners tend to learn in large jumps. Global learners may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together once they have grasped the big picture.

My Results

The chart below shows the results from my test. As you can see, I am strongly an intuitive, global learner, with a tilt towards visual learning. Basically, this means I tend to work quickly, always looking for new ideas, and need to see the whole concept. I need to picture an idea to understand it.



What is your learning style? What does this tell you about how you learn best?

Reader Survey

Dear Readers,

Please give me a hand. I have been publishing this blog for about eight months now. Yesterday was a great day - the blog passed 5,000 hits. It is pretty remarkable to me that this blog has been viewed 5,000 times this school year. I appreciate the interest. Now, please help me make it better.

I see it as having three roles including:

1. Informing parents about events, activities, and news from our Reading Workshop,

2. Providing a forum for discussion about our Reading Workshop, reading instruction, our class, and our school,

3. Making us think, me as a writer, and hopefully, you as a reader and writer.

With this in mind, I would like your help - how can I make this blog more useful for you?

Here are some areas you might like to comment on:

• Topics - are there topics (specific or general) you’d like covered? What topics would you like to see more of? less of?
  
• Types of Posts - recaps of daily events, class instructional goals and reports, student response posts, guest posts, upcoming events…. have your say about what you’d like most/least
• Posting Frequency - too many posts, not enough, just right?
• Blog Features - what would make your reader experience better?
• And - what else do I need to know about the blog?

I would especially like to hear from parents and teachers. I appreciate the enthusiastic commenting from students, but my goal is for this blog to serve as a tool for communication with parents and teachers as well.