The Secret Sauce To Student Growth:

Tips and Tools from Arcadia's 5th Grade Teachers

The Secret Sauce to Student Growth

For the last several years, the 5th grade team at Arcadia has consistently achieved high student growth on both SC Ready scores and iReady universal screener scores. We wanted to find out what best practices they are utilizing year after year with each new group of students to achieve growth. Our interview with the 5th grade teacher team at Arcadia including Ms. Kim Anderson, Ms. Renata Brown, and Ms. Likeisha Sims revealed their top 3 tips and top 3 tools that make up their secret sauce to student success!

Top 3 Tips To Support Student Achievement Throughout the Year

Top 3 Tips:

1.) Consistent Implementation of Gradual Release Focusing on Independent Application of Skills Taught

2.) Creating a Culture Based on High Expectations and Targeted Support

3.) Collaboration with Each Other

Click the video below to hear from our teachers how these three tips work together to promote student growth year after year.

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Setting Up Gradual Release of Responsibilty

1.) Start Early - Ms. Anderson shared how at the beginning of school year, they take a full week to set the consistent high expectations for gradual release of responsibility. They also work during that week to establish routines and procedures for the gradual release model that they will use all year.

2.) Reinforce Your Expectations - Ms. Brown shared how they consistently reinforce their expectations for student independent work each day. This reinforcement is done in love and with positive discipline so that students understand the expectations are for their growth towards their goals. Ms. Anderson shared how students see the benefit of high expectations when they are able to independently apply a new skill or a difficult task. Once they are able to see the fruits of their effort it reinforces the expectations and fuels their efforts. Success breeds success.

3.) - Targeted Support - Ms. Sims shared that a key ingredient to their student success is the support that is provided to students during their independent work time. In their gradual release model when all students are applying independently the skill taught, the fifth grade teachers are able to pull small group and provide specific and targeted support on the areas they need help with. All students receive targeted support in a structured schedule that is communicated clearly to them. They know which day they are scheduled to meet with their teacher.

Top 3 Tools To Support Student Achievement Throughout the Year

Top 3 Tools

1.) Use Formative Assessment to Drive Instruction and Support

2.) Goal Setting That Is Visible

3.) Teaching Standards-Aligned Skills to Mastery

Click the video below to hear from our teachers how these Top 3 Tools align with their Top 3 Tips to promote student growth year after year.

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Tool Number 1: Use Formative Assessment to Drive Instruction and Support

1.) Inspect What You Expect - The fifth grade team firmly believes that if they ask students to do something, they check behind them to make sure it is complete, but also to see if it is done well and shows mastery. Ms. Brown shared how if they teach students how to write complete sentences, then they are checking all student work after that lesson to be sure students remember that expectation. Ms. Anderson shared how they don't always point out what needs to be fixed, but instead will ask students take ownership over the quality of their work. She will have to review their work, find the errors, and fix those areas that might need improvement.

2.)Feedback Fuels Instruction - The fifth grade team also utilizes results from their formative assessments to determine what areas students may need additional support in. This information is used to inform subsequent instruction such as small group and/or the next day's whole group Tier 1 instruction.

3.) Independent Reading with Choice and Challenge - Ms. Sims gave an excellent example of how they use formative assessment to guide student independent reading. She explained that they use assessment data such as iReady data and conferencing data to determine what level and range students should be reading at. Ms. Anderson shared how students are provided with lots of choice with a variety of genres and topics of interests when selecting a book. While students can choose some lower level books that may be of high interest, they are also expected to choose books that are challenging for them. Ms. Brown shared how they utilize conferencing to check in with students and to also provide differentiated support.

Tool Number 2: Goal Setting That is Visible

Ms. Brown shared as soon as students take their iReady diagnostic test they hold individual conferences with students to set up goals for their growth. Students are conferenced with each quarter so they have feedback on their progress towards their growth goal. She shared that their progress is made intentionally visible using punch cards that each student is given. She explained how whenever a student passes a lesson with an 80% or better they receive a punch on their punch card. This becomes a positive incentive and a consistent way to communicate the shared expectation of consistent effort that leads towards growth.

Tool Number 3: Teaching Standard- Aligned Skills to Mastery

1.) Spiraling Skills To Promote Mastery - Ms. Sims shared how after they introduce a new skill, in Tier 1, they add it to their spiral review. When they are reading a new text, they intentionally point out and provide opportunities for students to use that previously learned skill, in order to provide depth and breadth of learning opportunities. Ms. Anderson shared how they look for teachable moments across their day to reinforce skills taught.

Advice for New Teachers

1.) Lean on Each Other For Support - Ms. Sims shared how she has learned how important it is to share ideas with each other and to reach out for support. This ensures that the material isn't overwhelming because you have colleagues to dig into it with you..

2.) Understand that Growth Ebbs and Flows and Give Yourself Grace-.Ms. Anderson explained that growth isn't linear...it requires an understanding that sometimes you are really making headway and then you have a skill that students need additional support with. When you get to this point, you have to back up and reteach. This may require you to go a different direction than what you had originally planned.

3.) Continue Learning - Ms. Brown shared that there is no room for egos in teaching and that you have to be willing to continue to grow and learn.

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