Heidi shared that she has experienced some unexpected family events, which have slowed parts of the instructional work she had planned with her students. Despite this, she will continue administering final assessments, and we will meet again next week to review the results.
She reported that her PLC is noticing clear benefits from their curriculum focus. Students entering 3rd and 4th grade are demonstrating stronger skills in decoding multisyllabic words. However, a gap remains in application: students who perform well with isolated words are not demonstrating the same level of success when reading connected text.
Heidi has been introduced to a three-day DRI lesson plan and is interested in implementing it as part of her instructional approach moving forward. She sees this as a way to better operationalize her goals in the coming years. Currently, their system includes BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments, but there is limited dedicated time to Õ¬Õ½ten to students read individually. While their curriculum (Wit & Wisdom) fosters rich discussion, teachers often end up supporting the reading for students rather than hearing them read independently.
Through the coaching cycle, Heidi had the opportunity to listen closely to her students read, which she found valuable. She noted both her own insights and a noticeable difference for students as well. She also observed evidence of transfer—students are independently using the toolkit and even requesting access to it.
We discussed the potential use of AI as a tool to generate more targeted reading passages for additional practice. Heidi shared that her PLC recognizes the value of this work and the need it is addressing. Rather than replacing current practices next year, they are interested in enhancing their existing rotation. Their tentative plan includes incorporating the chip kit in week one, followed by a hybrid three-day DRI model paired with 95% passages in week two. They believe this approach will better support students in developing well-rounded literacy skills.
Our next meeting is scheduled for April 2 at 3:15 PM.
