Welcome Aboard- New Region 1 Coaches

The new building coaches in Region 1 spent the afternoon learning about their exciting and challenging new roles. Your Region 1 ARI Support Staff is looking forward to working with you this year. Have a great year!

CCRS Quarterly Meeting #1

CCRS Region 1 Quarterly Meetings are now being held in two convenient locations!

Region 1 is gearing up for CCRS Quarterly Meeting #1. We are very excited about the content as we delve deeper into our new standards. We will be training in two different locations this year. Don't worry.....the whole team will be there to support you at each session. Please check the schedule below to see which training your system is scheduled to attend. We will see you soon!
ARI Region 1 Support Staff


September 23, 2014
 Quarterly Meeting #1- University of North Alabama

• Lauderdale County
• Florence City
• Colbert County
• Sheffield City
• Tuscumbia City
• Muscle Shoals City
• Franklin County
• Russellville City   

September 26, 2014

Quarterly Meeting #1- Bevill State Community College

• Jasper City
• Walker County
• Winfield City
• Winston County
• Haleyville City
• Marion County

ARI Region 1 Support Staff

Left to Right:

Susan Thornton, Jina Smith, Donna Harper (Team Leader) ,Tonya Moore and Robin Tingle

Happy New Year!

Brand new shoes! A fresh coat of  paint! A blank calendar! The beginning of a school year means more to educators than "ringing in the New Year" in January. What are your New Year's Resolutions? Here are ten ideas to ponder:

1. Take better care of your health:  floss more often, park farther away, make healthier food choices, drink water, apply sunscreen, take mental health breaks.
2. Pay it forward: take someone's bus duty, put money into someone's account, change the roll of bathroom tissue, leave the copy machine ready for the next user.
3. Smile more often.
4. Write a least one thank you note per week: text, email, sticky note, or formal card.
5. Apply at least one strategy from summer PD.
6. Allow data to really guide your instruction.
7. Take formative assessment seriously.
8. Don't take yourself seriously. Refer to number 3.
9. Be a better communicator: talk, text, talk, email, talk.
10. Learn something new: how to play an instrument, crochet, blog, golf.

Whether you are just beginning your career or counting down the days,  determine to make this year the best ever! Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year!

10 Tips for Teaching Grammar

  from Lauren Davis                                                             www.eyeoneducation.com

1.  Teach grammar in the context of writing.

Grammar shouldn't be taught in a separate isolated incident.  Think of a way to incorporate grammar mini-lessons into your writing lessons.

2. Teach grammar in the context of reading.

Use mentor texts. Show students how fiction and nonfiction writers uses grammar to communicate clearly and create their own style.

3. Help students figure out the grammar rule, not memorize it.

If you’re teaching concise language, give students a few wordy sentences and ask them to remove the weeds.  Have them come up with the rules for eliminating wordiness.

4. Teach students real-world grammar and not just textbook grammar.

In the real world, grammar rules can change over time and can be subjective or contested.

5. Don’t teach students grammar; teach them how to learn grammar.

Students need to know how to be independent learners who can figure things out on their own by consulting resources.

6. Show students how grammar can affect our impressions of one another.

Have a discussion with students about grammar in the real world.  If a fancy store has a mistake on its sign, does that affect your impression?  Why?  Why not?

7. Avoid negative modeling when possible.

Be careful not to spend too much time on the wrong way to wrote something.

8. Teach students the rules – and when to break them.

As Churchill famously said, “There is some nonsense up with which I will not put!”

9. Teach students the importance of audience and purpose.

Students should consider audience and purpose when deciding to use formal or informal grammar.

 10. Show students how grammar helps us communicate more clearly.

Give students examples of how incorrect grammar can lead to miscommunication. 

Resources to Explore

The winter weather may have you suffering from cabin fever. To help keep your brain active, check out these links:

Common Core and Adolescent Literacy

http://www.scoop.it/t/common-core-and-adolescent-literacy

Grammar, punctuation and spelling; Build confidence in language skills

https://global.oup.com/education/content/primary/key-issues/grammar/?region=uk#

Teaching Grammar In Context:  Video Clip

http://vimeo.com/32457681

3^rd Grade Common Core Writing Lesson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8EreE_LEA

Live Binders:  Literacy Resources

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/931564

NCTE Q & A about teaching grammar

http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/qandaaboutgrammar

NCTE Position paper

http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/grammarexercises

Lesson from Read Write Think:

http://www.readwritethink.org/search/index.html?page=4&sort_order=relevance&q=grammar&old_q=&srchgo.x=0&srchgo.y=0

 Standards based grading

https://vimeo.com/43992307

What is Rigor?

During Quarterly Meeting #2, we discussed rigor and what that means for our students.  Dr. Barbara Blackburn, author of Rigor is Not a Four-Letter Word and Rigor for Students with Special Needs, explains in this video what rigor "looks like" in the classroom.

Rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, and each is supported so he or she can learn at high level, and each student demonstrates learning at high level.  (Blackburn, 2008).