We're Not Here To Be Average. We're Here To BE EXTRAORDINARY.

In our Fusion classroom, we are trying to instill ownership of learning in our students. We want them to take control of their learning and own their growth. When students are able to take control of their own learning, amazing things can happen!

"When students feel a sense of ownership, they want to engage in academic tasks and persist in learning."-Barbara McCombs, Ph.D, University of Denver

Awesome things are happening in our classrooms. Students are working hard and moving through groups like crazy! In our classrooms, we have I Can Statements posted for different concepts students are working on.  Underneath these statements, there is a list of student names.  As students master a particular concept, they are able to cross their name off the list.  They also have personalized folders where they will cross off a concept as they master it.  Each time they master a concept, they get a learning card for the new skill. The kids LOVE when they are able to cross their name off and get a new card.

Students begin to own their learning when they are able to track it.  They help set goals for themselves and track their progress to those goals.  By doing this, students become aware of where they are in the learning process.  They are able to see how far they have come and where they need to head next.  It's amazing to see kindergarten and first grade students so aware of their learning and engaging in it.

               


Above, students are tracking their progress toward a goal.  Each week, their challenge is to beat their own score!

We are also having a blast working on differentiated groups.  Differentiated groups mean that our kids are split into groups based on what they need to learn at a certain point in time.  Our kiddos are working at their own level all the time! As teachers, we have been having a fun time planning for the groups.   We always pre-assess our kids to ensure they are learning the concepts at a level that is perfect for them.

In these groups, we present instruction in a variety of ways.  We do this to allow kids to learn in a variety of ways.  Some kids learn better through seeing, while others learn better through hearing or a hands-on approach.  We try to hone in on how each child learns best and present information in this way.  When students are able to learn through a modality that fits them best, they are likely to be more successful.

Take a look into our classrooms and our learning: 

Practicing our reading strategies during Literacy Teams!

Reading is awesome!

Playing War to practice addition fluency.  Learning is always more fun playing games with friends!

Practicing following directions to make FLUBBER during Literacy Teams!

FAST MATH FRIDAY! Practicing our facts!

Using QR codes and Smart Devices to check our answers during math class!

Working on reading CVC words during Phonics!

Working on addition!

More addition practice!

We love to use our Smart Devices and QR codes!

Teamwork!

Math is fun!

Scanning QR codes!

Working hard in Phonics!

Follow us on Twitter: @misswright06

                                       @Beitzelmichelle

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E-mail: jamie.wright@rvbears.org

michelle.beitzel@rvbears.org

whitney.fry@rvbears.org

1 Month Later...

Now that we have been in school for about a month, students have been learning lots of new things!  We have started our differentiated groups for phonics, literacy, and math.  We used pre-assessments to group the students into groups where they are learning exactly what they need!  The kiddos progress through the groups as they master the concepts in each group.  We change the groups as often as we need so that students are always learning what they need.  You can learn more about each of our groups by reading our K/1 Fusion Newsletter.

In literacy teams, some groups have really been focusing on putting letters together to build words.  We've been working on manipulating the letters to make new words.  We have also been spending time reading books at our level.  We've even read books aloud to other students!  Students have also been focusing on writing after reading.  We've been practicing using capital letters at the beginning of sentences and periods at the ends of sentences.

 In phonics teams, some students have been focusing on learning letters and the sounds they make.  We have done many activities and played many games while learning and working with these letters and their sounds!

In math teams, we have been working on counting, ordering, and comparing numbers.  We have played games and used the SmartBoard to learn.  Students have even become the teachers during math teams, showing other students what they know!

In our K/1 Fusion classrooms, students are in charge of their own learning.  Students do self-assessments to track and reflect on their learning.  After taking any formative assessments (for learning) or self-assessments, students use devices to upload their assessments to their Google Drive accounts.  Parents can easily log into their child's Drive account to look at their child's progress!  

We use technology a lot at Conesville.  A couple weeks ago, 4th grade went to the fairgrounds for Ag Day.  While there, Mrs. Bigrigg did a Google Hangout with us so we were able to see and learn the same things 4th grade was learning without even being there!  It was super cool!

It has been an exciting time in our K/1 Fusion Classrooms so far!

  Follow us on our Conesville Elementary K/1 Fusion Facebook Page!

What Fusion is all about!

Our school year is off to a good start! This summer was filled with lots of preparations - not only for planning for Fusion, but also new classrooms. Let me restate that, new-to-us classrooms! Two of us Fusion teachers (Miss Wright and myself) moved into new classrooms. I went from the largest classroom in the building, equipped with a bathroom, sink, and lots of storage to a much smaller classroom with limited storage. (Yes, I had to downsize tremendously! We opened up a new preschool at our building, and it is only logical for preschool to have a bathroom.) Our third teacher is a first year teacher, so she too was starting fresh. Here is a pic of the front of my room. I have since put up burlap to cover the top of my 100s chart. We will post more pics of classrooms soon. 

As many of our colleagues all around, we are in the middle of conducting our beginning of the year assessments (determining where we are, SLOs, KRA, and STAR Testing). Although, these items seem tedious, they are SO valuable! Data drives our instruction! Without Data, we would just be blowing in the wind!

The Adventure Begins...

We are so incredibly excited to begin on this adventure!  Mr. Moore posted a blog entry that shares what exactly this K/1 Fusion is all about!  Go over to his blog and check it out!