February 24, 2010

This session was devoted to practicing the administratiion of the Woodcock Test. Our matierials, purchased through a grant written by member Jill Keeler, our AIS and Reading teacher at the high school, were now available so that all teachers could practice on one another, gaining familiarity that would add to the level of comfort for students. We still believe that the results from this test, administered at the beginning and end of the school year, will give us valuable data to assess our efforts with RTI.
Our group also looked at the district's ELA committee's suggestion to develop a common graphic organizer. We made suggestions that would be brought back via Stacy Mallery and Aaron Smith, both of whom represent the high school.
We also addressed the idea of supporting the Social Studies department by using readings more germaine to that discipline in our writing lab, allowing students to discuss and then write about topics that would support areas of concern voiced by the Social Studies Department.
The group also discussed our successes with Socratic Seminars. Students who have participated in the many that have been offered by the English department have commented on how enjoyable the classes have been, how much has been learned from peers, and how they wish that they had the opportunity to engage in these in other core classes.