Middle School

1. Middle School • John M. Tidwell Middle School (Northwest ISD, Roanoke) • Gloria E. Voutos, School Librarian

2. Co-teaching (it all begins with a need…) • New Year – new tests and new reading initiatives! • QRI (Qualitative Reading Inventory) was the new district initiative to determine the student’s fluency and comprehension. • America’s Choice was the model to be implemented in the classrooms. • Teachers demonstrated one need: piece together instruction, curriculum, assessment and collaboration. • I decided to step in and address both of their needs before showing them more material.

3. QRI – Week… • One of our first collaborations took place within the context of the QRI test. • I read the manual, took it from the teacher’s hands, and arranged for each teacher to spend one day or two days in the library. • During both days, I accomplished a few goals: • demonstrated that the library was a multipurpose environment. • co-taught the lessons they have been required to cover: how to browse a book blurb and covers, shelves and the catalog to find literature of interest; and created a reading journal and administered the fluency portion of the test together. • The teacher began at the top of the alphabet, and I began from the bottom. • ALL the testing for the entire school was completed within 7 school days! After that, nothing stood in the way of collaboration, because I had demonstrated that I cared, was knowledgeable and interested in aiding them at the point of need!

4. What do I co-teach? Everything! • It has to be based on the campus’ individual needs. • I attend their weekly PLC (Professional Learning Community) meeting where we discuss the week’s plan and how to embed new strategies to achieve more and deeper reading comprehension. • I used the toolkits idea and created a set of mini-posters for all the classrooms. The posters are also available in the library. • To combine the lessons from America’s Choice, I use their concepts and display them with my AASL ones. Every chart, poster and display in the library is anchored with TEKS, STAAR readiness or supporting standards, America’s Choice and/or AASL. • This has helped us see the connections among all the pieces of our instructional puzzle.

5. The example on the left came from the lessons we taught together with the America’s Choice initiative. • The sample to the right shows different ways to use and develop background knowledge (http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/toolkits/slroleinreading/. • I adjusted the text to fit the one page format I wanted for the library. • All classrooms have both!

6. Documentation • In August, I began using the tools from Dr. Moreillon’s book: • http://www.ala.org/offices/publishing/editions/webextras/moreillon09294/moreillon09294 • This is from one example with the 6th. Grade Science teachers. • I have used the planning sheets in different ways. • It is key to use the tool that adapts to the needs of your teachers and that you reach out to begin the documentation. Classroom teachers have a lot to in their plate too.

7. Products and more… This assignment, an ELA sample (7th. Grade) focused on learning about the student’s favorite authors. For our collaboration, I suggested for the students to create guiding questions that could be answered with their references in order to give that component a real-life application. Additionally, they had to describe their search strategy!

8. Showcasing the work! • Standards-Based Bulletin Boards • Required for all teachers • I maintain two every six weeks • Showcases the work done in collaboration with the teachers • Always share the work with the collaborating teacher