Summer is offically over

It is really hot where I live. Like triple digits hot. Like no need to go outside is good enough hot. Like lay on the couch all day under a fan and daydream about double-digit weather so I can drink wine without feeling like I'm undergoing early menopause.

Today, as I lay sweating on the couch, I saw this meme.

Seriously, where do these people live? I love pumpkin spice, but it is, after all, August, and the only pumpkin-flavored stuff I could eat right now is ice cream. Which I honestly don't even know if that exists, because pumpkin isn't exactly hot fudge and strawberry.  

 

I can't bear it that I had to wear pants last week. Because last week, I went to work. 

 

Waaaaaaaaah. 

 

I love my job, but not in the first week of August. As an instructional coach, they added two weeks of training time to our contracts. Four days of training in a row, and I have a few more this week. And then, thankfully, the time to plan for the training we're going to turn around for our teachers the following week. 

 

Can't lie. I'm totally excited about it. We're looking at responding to reading with reader's notebooks and writing across the curriculum. What could be better? 

 

No, I'm not being sarcastic. I really love that stuff.

 

Did you just call me a nerd? What? That is so wrong. 

 

Anyway, summer is totally, officially over, because I'm back at work. If you're still on summer, don't tell me. I can't handle it. Just lie. You know how when you're on a diet and someone's eating a cupcake (that you know is delicious) and they say, "Oh, it's not that good." That's what I need from you right now.

 

It's too hot for pants. Too hot for driving anywhere, even at 7:00 in the morning (boohoo) and too hot to finish putting together the new bookroom the district bought us. Too hot to move the millions of boxes of copies that are covering my tables in my otherwise-tidy room. And too hot for wine, which is really the worst part.

 

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6 Must-Have Organizational Systems for Instructional Coaching

I'm not embarrassed to say that one of the main reasons teaching first perked my interest was the office supplies.    I remember sitting in Ms. Tricoli's fourth grade classroom, reading the little note she wrote to me on a post-it: "Cute story! Keep writing!" The post-it was shaped like a smiley face. A smiley face, people! At that moment, I thought, "If teaching means I can have smiley-face post-its, then a teacher I shall be."     I know, I was so cool.    Want to be as cool as me? Get organized!   In the last three years, I have really cultivated my must-have supplies for literacy coaching. I will start with the two most important pieces. If I were to lose either of these tools, I would basically have to quit.      #1 Must-Have: A Week-at-a-Glance Calendar

  You MUST be able to see a week-at-a-glance. I don't know how people look at their little phone screens to see what they have to do that day. That doesn't work for me. A dot on a calendar day doesn't mean anything to me. I need to see, written out in my messy handwriting, exactly what it is that I need to do that day, and the days before and after.    In my calendar, I schedule everything. Meetings, trainings, observations, visits, time to work on resources and assessments, time to create bulletin boards and discuss ideas with collaborators. 

  Taped into the back of the calendar, so it opens outward, is my school's schedule. Our teachers in each grade align their schedules, so I make this handy schedule that shows what each grade is doing at each time. 

  It's not a big deal if I walk in to a room, thinking it's time for writing and see that they're still finishing up math. I do not worry about that because I was in the classroom. I know how the world works! But if I really want to see how a certain reading lesson is going, I should at least have an idea of when to visit the classroom. That's where I use my schedule. I've highlighted all the parts that relate to literacy, and I reference my schedule when planning classroom visits. 
Must-Have #2: All-in-one Notebook

Only have one notebook. Seriously, if you have a million little post-it notes stuck on your computer and your bag and your binder, and then you sit down to figure out what you have to accomplish that day, you will not be able to do it. If you stuff your meeting notes in one folder and your grade level meetings in another, and your training notes in another notebook, you're going to drive yourself batty. 

  I invest in one notebook per year, and everything goes in there. Lists of things to do, notes from trainings and meetings, the planning I do for workshops on my campus, titles of books I need to read, and just thoughts about how things are going. I date everything. Every so often, I scan through the last chunk of notes to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.    If you write something on a post-it, stick it in there! It's all-inclusive.    I choose my notebook carefully. It must be bendable (don't like hard covers), have lines, and the pages must be thick enough so that I can write on both sides. It also needs to be hand- and purse-sized, because I carry it everywhere. In the hall, you will find me with my notebook, calendar, and a pen, at all times. The few times I've left it in my room, I've regretted it! Here are my new notebook and calendar for next year. Can you tell I'm excited?

Must-Have #3 Grade Level Binder System

I work with all grade levels, and each grade level has their own special stuff. I have a series of binders, one for each level, and in them I include the following documents:

• State standards for that grade level
• District planning documents, including our instructional calendar, etc.
• The released state tests for that grade level, with answer keys
• Questioning that is appropriate to that grade, based on the standards
• Last year's lesson plans (a nice reference when we're trying to remember what we've done in the past)
• This year's lesson plans, in order from most recent to the beginning of the year

I keep all of these binders together, on one shelf, along with curriculum and resources we use most frequently for planning and training. The resources we plan with most frequently go into a basket with the grade level labeled.

Must-Have #4 Teacher Data Binder
 

At any point in the year, any teacher can ask me for a copy of something they gave me six months ago. Or my principal might ask for meeting notes from a meeting that happened a while back. I might get a district request for some information on trainings I've provided.  In order to stay on top of my documentation and lists, I have one binder where most of my teacher documentation goes. I organize the binder with large plastic grade level pockets, and behind each grade level pocket are dividers from each teacher in that grade level. I also have a special divider for Special Education teachers. In this binder, I keep copies of...

• Notes from guided reading conferences and binder reviews (beginning, middle, and end of year)
• Data from our district reading assessments, beginning, middle and end of year
• Guided reading levels by month - as teachers turn in the new month (it's a cumulative table with all months on there), I throw away the old one.
• Anything else my principal gives me and asks me to hold on to for any reason!I have a roster of teacher names (just like I did in the classroom) and I mark off who's handed me what. 

I have a roster of teacher names (just like I did in the classroom) and I mark off who's turned in what, so I know who to email and request from. When I'm being really organized, I write the date that the document was handed in rather than just a check mark...but I'm still working on that. 

Must-Have #5 Hanging File Folder Crate

I visit classrooms a lot. Of course, I wish I visited them more often (the day is too short) because I love to see what's going on there! But I try to visit them as often as possible, and when I go, I write teachers a little note. I have a pad that our print shop made with a carbon copy of each page. I write the notes on the top copy and tear it off to give to the teacher. The carbon copy I put into my hanging file folder crate. The hanging file folders are organized by grade level, and inside each grade level, I have plain file folders with the teachers' names on them. As I go visit the classrooms, I write up my notes, give the teachers a copy and then save a copy in the folder. 

This is important, because my district requires that my productivity be audited. They could, at any time, as to see evidence of how I support teachers in the classroom, and I like to have as many different types of evidence as possible!

Must-Have #6 Teacher Documentation Turn-In Basket

This one is a no-brainer. You know how you wanted your students to have a consistent turn-in process? Well, I need the same thing from my teachers. I have a basket labeled, "Teacher Documentation." Obviously, whenever teachers turn anything in to me (this includes DRA, WRAP, guided reading levels, end of year data, etc.), they put it in this basket. Then I go through it, maybe once a week, and file everything and mark it off on my roster.

These are six systems that have really helped me maintain organization while being inundated with tons of documents, all the time. I know where things are and I can find them easily. 

Do you use any systems like these?
Then this freebie will be right up your alley. I've put together a nice bundle of instructional coaching freebie pages from my Instructional Coaching Binder MegaPack.  
Read more about staying on top of things as an instructional coach in my ebook, The Start-Up Guide to Instructional Coaching! It's over 80 pages of information to help you start making a real difference on your campus.

In case you're getting yourself organized as an Instructional Coach, or looking for some forms to help you keep documentation, you should check out my Instructional Coaching MegaPack on TpT! It's full of 140 pages of fillable forms, printable documents, planning and organizational tools, and more!

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4 Tips for New Literacy Coaches and Instructional Coaches

I am about to start my fourth year as a literacy coach at my elementary school. This has been an exciting journey and I love my job. Like any teacher who knows how important what they do is, at the beginning of each year I am plagued with doubt about my ability to perform this important role on my campus. My thoughts include:

* Surely someone is better qualified to do this.
* Am I prepared to support my teachers in their new learning?
* Do I have the energy to give all of myself another year?
* How do I best help all teachers; new and experienced?
* Where will I get new ideas instead of just using my boring old ones?
* Where do we go next?

I decided it might make me feel better to prepare a list of tips for new coaches. This would actually be evidence that I have learned something in the last three years; figured something out that I can turn around to you. And maybe it will convince me that I'm better prepared than I thought.

Tip # 1 Listen

When I was in the classroom, I was often wary of people "coming in to my room," to "tell me how to do stuff." I wasn't the only one - this is a pretty common feeling. Don't be one of those people who barge into classrooms to tell everyone how to do the job they're doing. Instead, start off listening. When teachers say, "That's not going to work," or "I don't like that idea," instead of getting defensive or upset, say, "What is it that you're worried about?" in an honest way. They can explain their concerns and maybe it'll help you solve the problem together.

It's not about what you want to do. It's about how you can all figure out what the best thing to do is. If you really come to the school with the attitude that it's a team challenge, and everyone has a voice, you will make a lot more of an impact than if it's the Ms. Chrissy Show. Chrissy can think reader's notebooks are the best thing ever, but nobody cares what you have to say if all you do is talk. Helpful things to say include:

• Can you explain what you're worried about?
• Tell me a little more about that.
• Have you tried that before?
• What could we do to make a difference?
• How can I help you with this?
• Here, have some candy. (Candy is a very effective planning tool)

Big Idea: You gotta listen to the people. 

Tip #2 Be organized

The two most important things I own: my calendar and my notebook.

Get a system, and get it fast. These are the kinds of things that happen (regularly) that make me thankful that I figured out an organizational system.

• A teacher stops me in the hallway and says, "Oh, I know we're meeting on Thursday at 10:00, but I have an ARD at that time, so how about Friday at 2:30?"
• I get an email in March that reads, "I can't seem to find that BOY data I sent you in August. Do you have a copy?"
• My principal says, "What date did we provide that training about levels of rigor last year?"
• Central office sends an email that says, "Instructional coaches, please ensure that all of your teachers entered in their MOY data online."
• At a grade level meeting, teachers ask for their students' performance data on a test from three weeks ago.
• At the end of the year, everyone has to turn in everything. This means you could potentially have to provide copies to teachers again of everything they've ever handed to you. (And occasionally they'll request things they never handed to you at all, in the hopes that you might have it :)

They're not beautiful, but they are organized.

So get a system. My system involves one notebook (for the entire year - I don't write anywhere else), a calendar (paper and pencil; not electronic) a four-drawer filing cabinet, a hierarchy of folders on my laptop, and my literacy coaching binder. I carry my notebook, calendar, and a pen everywhere I go, no matter if I'm just heading to the bathroom. The one time I don't have it is the one time a teacher will stop me to schedule something really important, and I need to make a note that says, "Find parent conference letter for Ms. SoandSo".

This system helps me to know where everything is, and in the everyday occurrence off-chance that someone needs another copy of something from seven months ago, I can usually find it. And it doesn't even bother me that much, because the truth is that teachers are busy, sometimes frazzled, and I probably lost lots of stuff when I was in the classroom. So the big idea here is: Save everything and write everything down, and figure out a way to remember where you put it. 

Tip #3 Budget your time

This is tough. Everyone will want a piece of you.

On the first day of school in my first year as a coach, I was so lonely. I sat at my empty guided reading table in my empty room and thought, "Nobody needs me. I miss my kids."

That has never happened again. Now I sometimes wish I could turn out the lights, lock the door, and hide so I can go to the bathroom.

Honestly, now I schedule everything on my calendar. Even things that don't need to be done at an exact time. I schedule all of these kinds of things that would normally require scheduling:

• PLC
• Grade level meetings
• Meetings with leadership and central office
• Trainings
• Due dates
• Planning with individual teachers
• School events
• Scheduled observations
• Working with students
• Observing students in the classroom for RtI

And I schedule these kinds of things that usually don't really require scheduling:

• Classroom visits: "Visit second grade writing" in the time frame I want to visit them, or if I'm visiting some teachers one day and some another day, I'll write in the teachers' names. 
• Time to work on documentation: "Finish Reading At-Risk BOY"
• Time to work on assessments: "Third Grade Reading Fiction/Poetry Test"
• Time to work on materials for teachers: "Fourth Grade Point of View Materials"

It's like a to-do list with a time frame. 

Tuesdays look fairly blank because we have PLC all day - meetings, meetings, meetings!

And this year, I'm considering adding these elements to my schedule:

• Go to the bathroom.
• Eat lunch.
• Walk from one meeting to the next (rather than scheduling them all back to back!)
• Breathe.

Big tip for budgeting your time: If it has to be done while students are in the classroom, schedule it first. For example, if I want to observe third grade reading to see how our character study lesson plans are going, I need to schedule that at the time third grade is teaching reading. I shouldn't work on documentation at that time, because I can do that after school. To quote my mother: "You always have time for the things you do first." It's true. Try it out. You'll see.

Tip #4: Know Your Job Description
This one is pretty important. Your principal (or possibly your district) has an idea of what your job is. If you have a different idea of what your job is, and you continue doing that job for any length of time, one of you will end up being pretty unhappy. When you apply for any instructional coaching position, it's necessary to ask the principal, "What are the three most important things I need to spend my time on? Where will most of my time be spent?"

My principal (God bless her, like for reals) knows that the only way a school grows is through time spent with teachers. Most (by which I mean more than half) of my responsibilities revolve around supporting teachers in some direct or indirect way:

• Planning with teachers
• Training teachers
• Meeting with teachers to debrief data
• Modeling lessons for teachers
• Observing classroom lessons
• Providing feedback to teachers
• Writing assessments so teachers don't have to

But of course, there's a whole list of other stuff that I do that, although it does support teachers in some way, isn't directly working with teachers:

• Monitoring awards assemblies or special campus events
• Having a walkie-talkie (I hate walkie-talkies!) for use in fire drills and lockdowns
• Making copies of DRA so teachers don't have to
• Sitting in leadership meetings, weekly
• Training at the district level, whatever they want me to train on
• Attending district and other level trainings
• Planning and running school events like Family Literacy Nights
• I'm sure there's more, but I'm getting a little a little overwhelmed thinking about some of it.

So make sure you and your principal or admin are on the same page. It will make a huge difference in how both of you see your purpose and productivity!
 
Literacy Coaching is incredibly rewarding and interesting; each day is a new challenge to figure out with my colleagues. I love love love it, even when I feel like I'm underwater. Hopefully these tips will help you feel like you are underwater less often.

Looking for more resources to help you get started as an instructional coach? Check out my ebook, The Start-Up Guide to Instructional Coaching.

   

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My Eyes Are Broken

Apparently, my left eye is broken.  I went to the eye doctor yesterday because my prescription has been off since I got it three weeks ago. I close my left eye and my right one seems ok, but when I close my right eye, my left eye is all blurry. I look like a little old woman, because I keep tilting my head back to see through the bottom of my lenses...but I don't have bifocals. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but clearly (pun intended) something had to change.

I'm pretty used to having eye issues. I've had glasses since I was in the fourth grade and I couldn't read the board (sound familiar to you lifelong nearsighted people?) This was the eighties, so my glasses were big. My brothers used to lick their fingers and stick them on my glasses. This, by the way, is super gross. Don't do it. When I go in for an eye appointment, I dread it the whole time because I'm pretty sure I'm going to mess it up. That will only make sense to you if you stress out over this like I do. But I went in for a follow-up anyway because glasses aren't cheap, and I'd really like to be able to see through them. This is how it went: He said, "So what's the trouble with your new prescription?" I said, "My left eye vision is blurry, and I feel like I have to look through the bottom half of my lenses to see clearly." He said, "Oh, I hear that a lot from people with strong prescriptions. There's not much we can do about it." Sheesh, am I paying for this service? As soon as I sit down behind those creepy lens-changer thingies, I immediately feel like I'm in a staring contest. I blink and blink, and my eyes water. Then they're completely dry. He clicks through the lenses - one better? or two? Three or four better? - and I totally stress out and blink compulsively, trying to keep up. Please tell me this happens to you. It would make me feel better. He told me to read the lowest line I could with my right eye. I read the fourth line (there were five) Then he told me to read the lowest line I could with my left eye. I read the second line. Ummm, that's a problem, right?

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He went through the whole mess - one or two? seven or eight? - and I freaked out the whole time. I couldn't trust my own judgment! I already messed this up once! My stress levels shot through the roof and I spent the whole time blinking. Finally, at the end of all of that, he said, "Well, it looks like your right eye can just read more letters than your left eye, no matter what."  Ummmm.....Yeah. That's why I'm here. "Isn't that why we need  prescriptions? Because eyes see differently?" I asked, being brave, but sounding incredibly stupid. He didn't answer. "Well," I tried again," Isn't there some prescription that will help my left eye see as well as my right? Or did I run out of prescriptions?" I laughed, hoping that wasn't possible. He looked at me and said, "Don't you write better with one hand than the other?" I wanted to say, "Do you make prescriptions for handwriting?" but I didn't. I just said, "I mean, with the prescription. Shouldn't my left eye be able to see well with the prescription?"  And then he said - and here it is - "I can't answer that question. I'm not exactly sure what the question is." What? I'm sorry, did you just say that you can't tell me what's wrong with my eyes? Isn't that kind of your job? Teachers, did you know you could do that? You can say, "Yeah, I don't know what that question means, so...you know, I'm just not going to answer it. Peace out."Wow, that's going to save me a lot of time! So apparently, my left eye is broken, unfixable, and nothing anyone can do will fix it. My friend suggested that I put on a black eyepatch and just call it a day. Fortunately, I found a site that sells designer eye patches, so...there's that. Oh, and can anyone recommend a new optometrist?  At least I like my new frames. 

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Best Advice Ever, according to my mother

My mother is a tough woman. I mean, don't get me wrong. She'll make you whatever you want for your birthday dinner, and water your planets when you're out of town (if you ask nicely). But she is no-nonsense, of the best sort.

With her, there is no such thing as a good excuse. And that's where I learned my best advice ever.

Get ready. It's a big one.
 

You always have time for the thing you do first.

That might sound pretty ridiculous, and pretty obvious, too, and when you're a 14-year-old kid who just wants to hide in the bathroom and read all day instead of completing your mandatory chore list before your mom comes home, you can't even listen to it seriously. She says, "You always have time for the things you do first!" and you hear, "Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah," like Charlie Brown's teacher.

But as I got older, and my time management became my responsibility and mine alone, I thought,

"Hmmm...maybe there's something to that."

I started scheduling my day starting with the most important and essential tasks. I went to sleep thinking about what I was going to do first the next day, and when I woke up, I was ready to get started! I had the right mental attitude, and what's more, I had enough time to do the thing I was supposed to do!

People, it's true. And it works!

It works at home:

You do the chore you are least excited about but must be done. You save the Seinfeld-watching until later (let's just assume this is the best-case scenario).

It works at school:

You teach the subject you are least excited about first! You know you'll get to writing (if you love writing) and you know you'll get to science (if you love science), but if you really don't love math, consider putting it first.

You do not enjoy grading the kids' notebook entries, so instead of putting it off, you do it as soon as they go to PE. You know, first! First in your conference period!

What?! And after you do it, you're done! With that horrible task you didn't want to do! And you have the rest of your conference period to do whatever else you need to do! (I'm pretending the world is perfect, and you don't have 900 meetings during your conference period.) And you don't have to take them home!

 

So the next time you see your day stretching before you, and you think of those tasks you really don't want to do, and the remote calls to you, saying, "Seinfeld is on Hulu!" just say, "I'll get to you later! You always have time for the things you do first!"

 

I know it's pretty duh advice, but really, if you try it, you might feel better about what you accomplish.

  Check out the other great advice at Georgia Grown Kiddos!   Pin It

Makeover! Made-over Product Giveaway!

So everybody can use a makeover sometimes, right? Honestly, if someone credible walked up to me and said, "Girl, you need a makeover," I'd say, "Yes, please. I don't know what else to do with all this." and then I'd let them be in charge.   That's probably not going to happen.    So instead, I did a product makeover! I mean, someone should feel pretty, right?  

I made over one of my dumpy old products. It was from my first year on TPT.  It was sad. So sad.

And now it's not! Now it's happy and shiny and new! 

It includes this adorable craftivity (which my kids loved)  

  If you already downloaded my Government Pack, please download it again for the nice, new version.    I also made over my hideous Genre Study Book from four years ago. I'm so excited with the new design! 

 

If you've already purchased it, please download it again for the nice, new version!   And if you haven't bought it yet, here's your chance to get it for free! Just leave me a comment with the which product you'd rather win: the Genre Study Book or the Government Pack. I'll choose three winners over the weekend! Good luck!      Pin It