Where is Mr. Moss?

November 4, 2009 | Posted in: Class Updates

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Wondering what ever happened to me?  There’s been a sub in class at least once a week lately, so I wanted to fill you in about what I’ve been up to.

Two weeks ago I was out sick for two days.  Not a lot of fun, and I wish I would have been here instead!

Last Tuesday, Mr. Grgach and I had a release day to work on a follow-up to a grant he and I received.  Last year, we got a grant of about $1,000 from the Avon Education Foundation (the same organization that generously funded part of our class’ SMART Board in 2005) to purchase some literary graphic novels to use in Guided Reading groups.  These books are quality pieces of writing, but their fun “comic” style lets kids really enjoy the stories in ways that they might not normally be able to.  Plus, we are able to have really interesting discussions.  Our release day last week allowed us to prepare lesson plans to fit with several of the titles we have purchased.

Today I had a release day to administer the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) to students.  It’s an individual reading test that students complete twice each school year.  It evaluates kids’ reading skills in the areas of oral fluency (how well they read aloud) and comprehension (how well they show their understanding of what they read.)  The DRAs give me valuable information, but since they are administered individually, they are very time consuming.  That’s why teachers are given a release day to administer the DRAs.

Next Tuesday, I will be out in the morning for a meeting at the Board of Education building.  I am the educational technology teacher leader at PGS, and the district team meets every few weeks to discuss methods of meaningfully integrating technology in ways that help kids to better learn.