East Meets West

A bilingual one of a kind standards-based bulletin board.

The Kindergarten co-teach duo, Michelle Ellis and Debbie Cothern, have done it again and produced a one of a kind standards-based bulletin board. In 2001, as part of the America's Choice School Design, we were taught to compare student work against standards, and make our students' work visible. At first, we simply stuck to the template they gave us, but gradually the CCE teachers embraced the boards and began to push themselves each month to think outside the box. The boards, especially Debbie and Michelle's, morphed into not only posting student work, standards, and teacher commentary, but began to transform and capture the true essence of what was occurring inside the classroom. Also, early in the design, we learned to post student work over time. Generally, the last board of the year showcases a student's academic progress throughout one school year.

So, how was this particular board born? Earlier this month, Debbie was reading Eric Carle's, Where Are You Going? To See My Friend!, to her students when one of her young learners, A., politely corrected her pronunciation of a Japanese word. The correction began a conversation between the teachers, A., and A.'s mom. They discovered not only was A. eagerly learning how to read and write in English during the school day, but in the evening she was learning to read and write in Japanese! Debbie and Michelle asked to see A.'s work over time, and the idea for their one of a kind, over the top, April standards board was born!

Kindergarten Reading Performance Standards

Kindergarten Writing Performance Standards

Growth in Kindergarten

Listen to A. Read in English and in Japanese

Japanese Skills Block

Japanese Writers' Workshop

Samples of Work Over Time

Japanese Readers' Workshop

English Skills Block

English Writers' Workshop

Writers' Workshop Work Over Time

Beginning of Kindergarten Sample


September 29, 2008

Mid-Year Sample

January 28, 2009

End of the Year Sample

April 16, 2009

Making Connections Between Japanese and English Stories

"Eat well, my pretty chicken," he cried. "Get nice & fat for my stew!"

Creative teachers never cease to amaze me. Just when I think the dynamic duo, Debby Cothern and Michelle Ellis, couldn't possibly come up with another unique standards-based bulletin board, a new idea magically appears. This Kindergarten co-teach team offers an endless supply of fresh ideas when it comes to boards, and each time a new one is due, I wait in anticipation. It's not only in their superb content, but in their unique presentation that inevitably captures my attention. I read their students' work, revel at their imaginations, and eagerly show all visitors that walk into our building the work of our youngest learners.

I fell in love with their board last month, a Response to Literature on The Wolf's Chicken Stew. The black felt background and felt characters are props used by their students in the classroom to story board and orally retell the story, A Wolf's Chicken Stew. On the board, they include photographs of the children working on their story boards in the classroom. They highlight four student's responses in an easy to read color-coded format. The standards, task, and next step are displayed across the top of the board. The one of a kind presentation certainly made it a favorite of mine. And, just wait until you see what they put up this month--It is OVER THE TOP!

Amy's Response to LiteratureOnce upon a time a wolf was eating meals. The wolf liked always rising eating meals. He began to think for the next. He wanted a chicken stew so he searched for a chicken. He spotted one.

He crept to the chicken and stopped. He had a good idea. He thought I will fatten him then bake a little more. Then he began to cook. First he make 100 scumptious pancakes.

And put it on the porch and said be fat. Next he made 100 donuts and put at the porch said be fat. And made 100 pound cake.

And put at the porch and said be fat. And it was the night and the wolf pecked at the door. And the door opened and the chicken said it was not Santa Claus. It was Uncle Wolf.

And the wolf had 100 kisses and that night he didn't have chicken stew. But Ms. Chicken fixed a good dinner and said I will made 100 cookies.

Standards-Based Bulletin Boards Focus Walks

Every other Wednesday, as CCE teachers, we enjoy Early Release. Our students are dismissed 75 minutes early so teachers can have a dedicated time to participate in professional development. The pd topics vary, but one thing remains the same--the content is selected by design. Throughout the year, the Leadership Team is gathering qualitative and quantitative data to make decisions on short-term needs and long-term goals. This information is analyzed and decisions are made for whole group and small group pd topics, much like a teacher would do to prescribe instruction in their own classroom.

So, today our task was to focus walk Standards-Based Bulletin Boards. We decided on this content for several reasons:

1. The End of the Year Survey indicated that teachers would like more feedback on their Standards-Based Bulletin Boards. They pour valuable time and energy into their classroom instruction, gathering of student work, and creation of the board, so specific and constructive feedback to move their work to the next level would be put to good use.

2. The boards allow a window into a teacher's classroom instruction and into students' performance. The quick snapshot breeds collegial conversation about student work and allows teachers to benchmark their own work to the work of their colleagues.

3. Conversations among vertical teams about the standards, tasks, and student work gives teachers the opportunity to see beyond their grade level. They see the span of work produced from Kindergarten through Grade 5 and are able to see the global picture of student performance. The walk also allows teachers to see if we have total alignment K-5 among our subject areas. If there is a gap, it is discussed, analyzed, and solutions brought to the forefront.

Standards-based Bulletin Boards collapse the four walls of the classroom, take student work out of the portfolio crate, and make student performance visible. From a coaching position, days like this are purposeful and powerful, and one I would highly recommend for any school.

If you are in a school were Standards-Based Bulletin Boards are the culture, here are some quick and easy steps to make a day like this happen in your own building:

a) Set up a meeting time of at least one hour.

b) Create a focus walk observation sheet.

c) Walk the hallways--roster in hand--and record the type of board that is up for each teacher.

d) Strategically divide your teachers into small groups. The most effective groups tend to be those that represent multiple grade levels and content areas.

e) Strategically decide which three boards each small group will visit. Boards can be visited more than once, but make sure they are visited at different times.

f) Record the team members names and boards they are to visit on the feedback form. Make copies.

g) Have teachers bring clipboards and pencils with them as they meet, assign one person as the leader of the group, and have them visit the three boards in the order they are listed on the sheet. Each member must fill out a feedback form as they walk.

h) Teachers turn in their feedback forms to the coach as soon as the walk is complete.

i) Coach compiles the data on each board and individually emails each teacher their feedback. (Usually within a couple of days of gathering the forms. Most teachers are eager to hear what their colleagues thought of their board.)

j) Coach keeps a record of which boards were visited so you can provide each teacher with feedback during the next visit if their board was not selected for this visit.

To get a closer look at some of the boards we walked, stay tuned to my next posts.