Vision Rationale and Thesis Statement The work of a great teacher is not only to love and support children

in rigorous learning, but to provide students with experiences and opportunities that shape the people they become. As I reflect on my own life, the teachers that stick out arent the ones who necessarily had the most engaging five-step lessons or the most theatrical personalities, they were the teachers who opened my eyes to the gifts and passions that I had within me. My own Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Kelley, was one of these teachers. As a five year old, Ms. Kelley had the courage to cast me as the lead in our Kindergarten production of Peter Pan with full confidence that I could memorize the hundreds of lines necessary to put on the one hour long show. Her faith and encouragement allowed me to work tirelessly and step on the stage feeling profoundly confident and important. My parents still reflect emotionally about this experience and how I showed no fear on the stage, clearly projecting my voice to the back of the room to make sure that every person in that auditorium could hear what I had to say. This first experience on the stage was a jumping off point for a passion for performance that lasted well into my early adulthood. My experiences working on dozens of shows formed me into the person I am today by teaching me what it really means to work joyfully on a team, by allowing me to feel and experience the tangible results that can come from relentless work, by allowing me to really understand empathy and how to relate to the people around me, and by giving me the self-confidence to dream big and always go after what I wanted in my life. Life is made up of people walking in and out and leaving impressions, some good, some bad, some transformational. It is the collective of all of these experiences that have made me into the person I am today. Ms. Kelley was transformational in how she marked my life and this year, I will strive to provide my kids with what she provided for me. This year, my students will reach all of their rigorous academic goals as they work with urgency, show love and support for one another, and gain the independence and selfassurance they need to go after their dreams. Along this path, we will focus on the following

transformative values: Academic: 1. We are critical thinkers. 2. We make connections. 3. We are meta-cognitive. 4. We need language for everything. Culture: 1. We are solution seekers. 2. We are empathetic and know how to manage our feelings. 3. We persevere. 4. We are a team. 5. We are active listeners and questioners. 6. We are urgently working towards our goals. At the end of the year, students will show that they have truly internalized these values by putting on a major play production. Students will organize practices, direct key scenes, learn dozens of lines, gain deep understanding of the characters, make all props and sets, and perform confidently at 3-4 evening performances. In this culminating project, I will simply be their facilitator, allowing them the space to practice the values we have been working on the entire year, such as solution seeking, empathy, perseverance, and teamwork. This experience will teach students that they are important and have the right to be heard and taken seriously. It will allow them to feel and tangibly understand what it means to work hard and drive as a team towards an important goal. And, most importantly, it will give them confidence in their own voice and abilities. Families will be deeply invested and our collaborative work throughout the year will be reflected in their participation and enthusiasm for this project. Each day, students will recite the following daily empowerment affirmations as a constant reminder of the type of people we are trying to develop in our classroom: 1. I am brilliant 2. I am loving 3. I am important (critical thinkers/hard workers, empathetic/team-

centered, self-confidence/independence). Our classroom will be a joyful community in which students actively show love for one another and are excited to come together each day. Students will learn how to interact with the world around them in the safe space of our classroom by practicing and constantly discussing our transformational values. Students will understand that this is the first step on the road towards greater goals, including college; instead of striving towards first grade, we will focus on the bigger picture that they are not only preparing for next year, but for the years ahead of them as they work to achieve their dreams. Most importantly, students will leave our classroom in having experienced authentic success and feeling confident that if they work relentlessly, they have the power to go after anything they want in life. Academic Big Goals (Quantitative) Literacy: What academic goals will you hold your students to? (e.g., what content-specific standards/skills will they master and to what level of mastery/growth?) Class average of 90% on TFA Literacy Assessment. I will measure their progress on an ongoing basis (e.g., at the unit level) by If students reach these academic goals, they will concretely be able to Concrete teacher actions that will help kids achieve these goals.

- Administering summative assessment four times/year. - Anecdotal notes about student progress on key literacy standards. - DIBELS benchmark and progress monitoring (initial sounds, phoneme segmentation, alphabet recognition, decoding CVC words)

- Foundational Literacy skills (reached by end of first semester): alphabet recognition, letter-sound correspondence, syllable segmentation/blending, segmenting/blending onsets and rimes, phoneme segmentation/blending, rhyming, alliteration (initial sounds), long/short sound

- Benchmarking goals throughout the year and planning datadriven unit/daily lessons to meet those goals. - Constant differentiation to meet students needs based on data (both on individual and classwide level).

of vowels - Print Concepts (reached by end of first semester): front/back cover, title page, directionality, return sweep, page sequence, one-to-one correspondence, concept of sentence, concept of word, author/illustrator, spacing - Reading Comprehension (through end of year): Inferences, Character Empathy, Connections, Visualization, Comparison, Sequencing, Prediction

- Constantly refer back to goals to invest students in lesson. - Plan higher-order questions for each lesson that push conceptual understanding. Scaffold questioning, as necessary. - Plan opportunities for students to develop deeper meaning by providing real-word examples, hands on learning, etc. - Model think-alouds of thought process and problem solving around academic skills. - Plan opportunities for student-centered and student-led conversations. - Motivation with MTH: Just like Jack and Annie, we read to learn about the world around is. Reading is exciting because it teaches us new things. The more we read, the more we know. The more we know, the closer we are to reaching our dreams. - Work collaboratively with families about specific student strengths/weaknesses

Class average of Level E (1.67 years of growth) on TRC Assessment, with all students reaching at least a Level C.

- TRC benchmark and progress monitoring assessments. - Anecdotal running records during reading instruction.

- Decoding (through end of year): word patterns (35-40), sight words, digraphs and blends (sh, wh, ch, th, ll, ss, tr), language patterns in books, word endings (ed, s, es, re-, pre-, -ful, -less), awareness of punctuation in reading, inferring meaning of unknown words - Reading Comprehension: connections, character and traits, key details in text, character empathy

in order to reach goals. - Objective and datadriven guided reading groups. - Model think-aloud of key reading strategies. - Benchmarking goals throughout the year and planning datadriven unit/daily lessons to meet those goals. - Constant differentiation to meet students needs based on data (both on individual and classwide level). - Constantly refer back to goals to invest students in lesson. - Motivation with MTH: Just like Jack and Annie, we read to learn about the world around is. Reading is exciting because it teaches us new things. We have to learn to read so we can read to learn. The more we read, the more we know. The more we know, the closer we are to reaching our dreams. - Work collaboratively with families about specific student strengths/weaknesses in order to reach goals.

- Daily assessment and Class average of scaffolding of writing on Level WP on Tools Tools Writing Continuum. of the Mind Writing Continuum, with all students reaching at least Level AP.

- SWBAT write a complete message with at least two sentences. Their message will demonstrate that they independently used a number of word patterns to spell unknown words. Their message will be unique with a clear evidence of individuality (no word walls, no copied stems or phrases) - SWBAT edit their writing, both for grammatical errors (capitalization and punctuation) and to add details to strengthen their writing.

- Clear modeling of writing procedure and skills, reinforced through visuals and consistent scaffolding. - Scaffold each writing interaction according to specific student needs and development. - Constantly refer back to goals to invest students in lesson. - Goal: plan at least three writing interactions per day. - Motivation with MTH: Just like Jack writes in his notebook, we write about the story and about new facts to help us remember. - Work collaboratively with families about specific student strengths/weaknesses in order to reach goals.

Math: What academic goals will you hold your students to? (e.g., what content-specific standards/skills will they master and to what level I will measure their progress on an ongoing basis (e.g., at the unit level) by If students reach these academic goals, they will concretely be able to Concrete teacher actions that will help kids achieve these goals.

of mastery/growth?) Class average of 90% on TFA Math Assessment, with all students reaching at least 85% mastery.

- Administering summative assessment four times/year. - Anecdotal notes about student progress on key math standards during Math Centers.

- Number Sense (reached by end of first semester): making sets, counting from a number other than 1, comparing sets, comparing written numerals, counting backwards, skip counting - Addition/Subtraction (through end of year): addition/subtraction using manipulatives, word problems, decompose numbers into pairs in more than one way, addition/subtraction equations - Place Value (through end of year): compose and decompose numbers 11-19 into ten ones - Measurement (through end of year): length, weight, comparison in measurement, graphing - Sorting (reached by end of first semester) - Geometry (through end of year): naming shapes, describing shapes, positional words, 2-D vs. 3D, compose simple shapes to form larger shapes - Money (through end of year): identification and value - Time (through end of year): telling time on

- Benchmarking goals throughout the year and planning datadriven unit/daily lessons to meet those goals. - Constant differentiation to meet students needs based on data (both on individual and classwide level). - Constantly refer back to goals to invest students in lesson. - Plan higher-order questions for each lesson that push conceptual understanding. Scaffold questioning, as necessary. - Plan opportunities for students to develop deeper meaning by providing real-word examples, hands on learning, etc. - Model think-alouds of thought process and problem solving around academic skills. - Plan opportunities for student-centered and student-led conversations. - Work collaboratively

All students will be able to recognize/write numbers 0-30. All students will be able to count to 110.

- Administering summative assessment four times/year. - Anecdotal notes about student progress during Math Centers. - Administering summative assessment four times/year. - Anecdotal notes about student progress during math warm-up.

digital/analog to half hour - Patterns (reached by end of first semester): identification, reproduction, extension, creating, describing - Recognize/write numbers 0-30.

with families about specific student strengths/weaknesses in order to reach goals. - Math Challenge for warm-up each day - Math Center games targeting specific student needs, based on data. - Math warm-up each day - Game: 100s Number Line

- Count to 110.

Science and Social Studies: What academic goals will you hold your students to? (e.g., what content-specific standards/skills will they master and to what level of mastery/growth?) All students are able to make connections between science/social studies learning and other content I will measure their progress on an ongoing basis (e.g., at the unit level) by If students reach these academic goals, they will concretely be able to Concrete teacher actions that will help kids achieve these goals.

- Anecdotal notes/conversations about student progress during RW-L lessons. - Anecdotal notes/conversations about understanding/use of key concepts during play centers.

- All students will verbally make clear connections throughout the day about the following, broad science/social studies themes (i.e. student at lunch makes connection between cafeteria and castle feasts,

- Plan thematically and build background knowledge through RWL lessons related to the theme. - In each lesson, create clear connection between what they are learning and how it can

areas and experiences, and apply their knowledge in different contexts.

comparing/contrasting the two types of meals) Key Science Themes: researching and gathering information through investigation and questioning, taxonomy of animals, fossils, electricity, day/night, biomes, five senses, anatomy, temperature, sink/float, weather, life cycles, states of matter, gravity/magnetism, shadows, seasons, time Key Social Studies Themes: calendar concepts (days of the week, months of the year, locating familiar events on a calendar), stories that illustrate key values, community helpers, key American symbols, maps/globe, geological time, artifacts

Vocabulary development

- Anecdotal notes about use of vocabulary and concepts during play centers.

- All students will be able to fluently and authentically use key science and social studies vocabulary in multiple contexts.

be applied in their own life. - In each lesson, clearly state why the objective is important in their life. - Use think-alouds to model making connections, both within a theme and across themes. - Explicitly teach different types of connections that students can make (during RWL and Story Lab read-alouds). - Use information about student interests and backgrounds to help students make connections between their classroom learning and their reallife experiences. - Ask families about students background, strengths, and previous experiences in order to understand what type of background knowledge will need to be built within a theme. - Explicit teaching of 20 new theme-related vocabulary for each book, through RWL lessons: PAT (point, act out, teach) - Model using

vocabulary in multiple contexts. - Plan thematically and identify key vocabulary for each theme.

Transformative Vision-Class Culture Prioritized Traits, Concrete Student Actions Concrete Teacher Actions Knowledge, and (e.g., how will students (what are the Mindsets (e.g., the operate if theyve daily/weekly/monthly targeted beliefs and internalized these traits, systems, routines, and ideas that will empower knowledge, and rituals that I will use as a students to achieve their mindsets?) teacher to reinforce these academic goals and student actions?) embrace life-long learning) 1. We are solution seekers. (Value: Solution Seeking)
- We know the steps we need to take to solve our problems. - By following these steps, we can solve our problems independently; most of the time, we dont need adults or teachers to solve our problems at school. - We use words to solve our problems. - We work to solve the problems with the world outside of our classroom. We are innovative thinkers with ideas that society needs. - Students will independently consult the solution seeking process of problem solving when there is an academic or social problem (i.e. social: students who are verbally fighting because they cannot share will independently perform the steps to reach a solution; academic: students do not know how to spell a long word and will independently come up with solutions/strategies). - Examples of situations in which students will independently use the steps of problem solving: sharing, group control conflicts, off-task behavior, frustration over perceived failure, lack of empathy towards classmates or adults, all academic - Explicitly teach and model steps to solve a problemincluding role-play using students/puppets, troubleshooting during morning meeting, and modeling in the moment. - Introduce value with looks like sounds like T Chart; reinforce value by asking for student input about specific behaviors observed to fulfill a value (i.e. What would you be doing and saying if you were showing empathy to your friends during recess?) - Use positive expectations for value during transitions and procedures (i.e. Ill be waiting to hear about the ways in which you showed your problem solving skills during centers

problems - Example of situations in which students and teachers will work together to go through the steps of problem solving: aggressive behavior directed towards environment, aggressive behavior directed towards adults, fighting between students - Students will take responsibility for their actions by independently coming up with several solutions to their problems. They will know the characteristics of a good solution to a problem. - Students will recognize when they have made a mistake and figure out ways to prevent mistakes in the future. - Students will only seek adult assistance when necessary. - Students will know what a compromise is and use compromise to solve their problems. - As a part of finding a solution, students will name their feelings and find a productive solution to resolving their feelings.

today.) - Teach how to identify the magnitude of the problem and an appropriate solution, considering this magnitude. - Teach the characteristics of a good or innovative solution to a problem. - Integrate value in multiple contexts, i.e. read-alouds, morning meeting, RWL, etc.; also, have kids write about problem solving and how they see it in different stories - Put emphasis on student accountability in identifying and solving problems. - Explicitly talk about academic and social problems, the differences in the two, and appropriate solutions for each type. - Explicitly talk about societal problems and encourage discussion about how to solve these problems. - Consistently use solution seeking as a key management strategy and allow for constant student practice.

2. We are empathetic and know how to manage our feelings. (Value: Empathy)
- We love each other! - We are kind to each other. - People can think differently about the same thing - We stop and think before we act. At any given moment, we

Empathy - As a part of finding a solution, students will name their feelings and find a productive solution to resolving their feelings. - Students will find joy in their peers success and accomplishment of goals (instead of showing emotions resembling jealousy or negative competitiveness).

- Explicitly teach and model empathy and emotions management including role-play using students/puppets, troubleshooting during morning meeting, and modeling in the moment. - Introduce value with looks like sounds like T Chart; reinforce value by asking for student input about specific behaviors observed to fulfill

have the power to make good choices or bad choices. - There is a difference between our feelings and our actions; we need to name our important feelings and choose an appropriate action that goes with our feelings - We know the right ways to express our feelings (positive time-out, anger wheel of choice, etc.)

- Students will express concern and eagerness to help when peers are upset (i.e. when a student falls or is crying, students will be eager to give hugs and help them feel better). - Students will use kind words with each other. - Students will know how to talk to each other in order to encourage their peers. - Students will understand the concept of perspective and how people can think differently about the same thing. - Students will stop and think about the effect of their actions on others before they act; all actions have consequences (i.e. thinking about how fighting over a toy might make another classmate feel before you do it). - Students will understand the concept of choices and will understand what makes a good choice versus a bad choice. Emotions Management - Students will be able to name their feelings and will be able to find productive solutions to resolve their feelings. - Students will be able to identify and verbally communicate why they are upset. - Students know the correct actions to deal with their feelings and can use them independently and appropriately (cool down, anger wheel of choice, etc.).

a value (i.e. What would you be doing and saying if you were showing empathy to your friends during recess?) Specifically with empathy, focus on sounds like in order to teach the vocabulary of kindness and emotions. - Use positive expectations for value during transitions and procedures (i.e. Ill be waiting to hear about the ways in which you showed your problem solving skills during centers today.) - Explicitly teach the concept of choices and distinguish what makes a good choice versus a bad choice. - Integrate value in multiple contexts, i.e. read-alouds, morning meeting, RWL, etc.; also, have kids write about empathy and how they see it in different stories - Explicitly teach and model the difference between feelings and actions. - Teacher strategies: limited choices, higher-order questioning, systems to identify emotions at various parts of the day, active listening to rephrase and recognize feelings - Heavy use of literature to identify the look and sound of various feelings that students encounter. - Student strategies: cool down spot, anger wheel of choice including adding problem to meeting agenda. - Explicitly teach and model that all actions have direct consequences. - Talk with families about specific strategies that help students

- Students are able to delay gratification and show selfregulation by not letting emotions dictate actions, but thoughtful consideration. (i.e. can understand when it is someone elses turn to be line leader without an emotional reaction).

regulate their emotions at home. - Incorporate lessons about assetbased thinking. - Discuss benefits of altruism (putting others before yourself).

3. We persevere. (Value: Perseverance)

- Hard work makes us successful at school and in life. (malleable intelligence) - We try and try until it is our best work. - We never give up, even when it is hard or not fun. - We take risks in our classroom with our learning. Sometimes we make mistakes, but mistakes are important opportunities to learn. - We are confident and believe in ourselves to learn in our classrooms, even when something seems hard.
- We are independent learners. Figuring out something by ourselves Is really fun and helps us learn.

- Students finish tasks to completion. - Students are eager for feedback from peers and adults (i.e. reacts positively to scaffolding during writing interactions). - Students do not have emotional reactions to perceived mistakes or wrong answers, but are eager to try again or get the help they need from peers to correct their mistake. - Students use the steps of solution seeking to overcome any problems they have in school. - Students can explain what it means to work hard and verbally recognize that they learn by working hard. - Students can easily adapt to new ideas and procedures. - Students can identify their best work and understand what it means to do their best (i.e. when choosing work to post in the classroom) - Student will be excited by an academic task that is presented as a possible challenge. - Students will verbalize that they believe in themselves and their ability to learn in the classroom.

- Explicitly teach and model what it means to show perseverance including role-play using students/puppets, troubleshooting during morning meeting, and modeling in the moment. - Explicitly teach malleable intelligence, including defining what it means to work hard. - Emphasize idea that the process is always more important than the product; we value the steps in our learning. - Integrate value in multiple contexts, i.e. read-alouds, morning meeting, RWL, etc.; also, have kids write about perseverance and how they see it in different stories - Explicitly teach that mistakes are important opportunities to learn. - Break down activities into small steps and encourage positive attempts made by students. - Introduce value with looks like sounds like T Chart; reinforce value by asking for student input about specific behaviors observed to fulfill a value (i.e. What would you be doing and saying if you were showing empathy to your friends during recess?)

- Students believe that trying new things is important and show initiative (i.e. students try to read harder books with peers or try more math problems during independently during free-choice time and are excited to show their work to peers/teachers).

- Use positive expectations for value during transitions and procedures (i.e. Ill be waiting to hear about the ways in which you showed your problem solving skills during centers today.) - Allow students to choose which work they want to post in the classroom and talk consistently about the progress they are makingBest Work board - Provide scaffolds at students ZPD to encourage risk-taking (esp. during writing) - Explicitly teach and model what it means to work as a teamincluding role-play using students/puppets, troubleshooting during morning meeting, and modeling in the moment. - Integrate value in multiple contexts, i.e. read-alouds, morning meeting, RWL, etc. ; also, have kids write about teamwork and how they see it in different stories - Shout-out sticker system: recognize and articulate the values they see in classmates. - Use of compliments during Morning Meeting. - Introduce value with looks like sounds like T Chart; reinforce value by asking for student input about specific behaviors observed to fulfill a value (i.e. What would you be doing and saying if you were showing empathy to your friends during recess?)

4. We are a team. (Value: Teamwork)

- We have collective, ambitious goals that make sure we can achieve our dreams - We are happy when we are learning together at school - We need each and every one of us to help us reach our goals; you are loved and you belong in our classroom. - We work in groups and with partners to help each other reach our goals. We help and encourage our friends with their work.
- Most of the time, we can ask our friends for help instead of asking a teacher. We like helping each other in the classroom.

- Students will be eager to help their peers and receive help from peers as they work. - Students will show less egocentrism by being able to actively recognize peers for their hard work or display of key class values. - Students will understand the role of a team captain in leading a group: materials management (must do folder, hand out papers/cards, set up activity), getting an activity started, encouraging peers to stay on task, encouraging peers to finish their work, encouraging peers to use solution seeking when there is a social or academic problem in the group, encouraging fair play and following rules. - Students will understanding the role of a buddy within the group: help you with your work, help you solve social and academic problems

using solution seeking, help buddy learn but not giving an answer, encouraging fair play and following rules, help buddy stay on task, check their buddys work and follow the rules for checking.

5. We are active listeners and questioners. (Value: Active Listening)

- An important way that we show respect for each other is by actively listening to each other. - We listen and think about what our friends are saying. We add to class discussions and share our opinions. We show our active listening skills by using accountable talk. - We show our active listening skills by not only sharing, but asking questions of our friends. - When we are being good listeners, we are looking at the speaker, sitting still, and waiting for our turn to speak. This is how we show the speaker that we are listening.

- Students will use accountable talk during whole-group discussions. They will know the language to agree/disagree with a comment, add on to a comment, and ask a meaningful question about a comment. - Students will show active listening by looking at the speaker, sitting still, and waiting for their turn to speak. - Students will show self-regulation by being less focused on what they are going to say and showing more interest in what their classmates are saying. - Students will stay on topic during a discussion/lesson.

- Use positive expectations for value during transitions and procedures (i.e. Ill be waiting to hear about the ways in which you showed your problem solving skills during centers today.) - Teach/model systems for working together, including specific vocabulary about how to speak to each other in a group setting. - Explicitly teach and model active listening and inquisitiveness including role-play using students/puppets, troubleshooting during morning meeting, and modeling in the moment. - Explicitly teach and model accountable talk. - Introduce value with looks like sounds like T Chart; reinforce value by asking for student input about specific behaviors observed to fulfill a value (i.e. What would you be doing and saying if you were showing empathy to your friends during recess?) - Use positive expectations for value during transitions and procedures (i.e. Ill be waiting to hear about the ways in which you showed your problem solving skills during centers today.) - Integrate value in multiple contexts, i.e. read-alouds, morning meeting, RWL, etc. - Include wait time in lessons in order to model listening skills (including wait time procedure). - Plan opportunities for studentcentered and student-led

6. We are urgently working towards our goals. (Value: Goaldriven)

- We have collective, ambitious goals that make sure we can achieve our dreams. - We are empowered students, we can and we want to learn! (on a mission) - We know there is no time to waste in reaching our goals. - We show that we are urgently working hard each day by staying engaged in our learning and completing our work. - We know our goals and know that we must work very hard to reach them.
- We have both academic goals and goals about the way we work and treat our classmates. - We have big dreams. With a great education, we can do anything!

- Students will be able to verbalize their big goals (both individual and class) for the year and what concrete steps they are taking to reach their goals. - Students will be able to verbalize how their year-long goals are related to their life goals and dreams. - Students will actively participate in the process of creating weekly goals for their centers, focused on both social-emotional and academic goals. In the conference, the conversation will be predominantly student-driven and students will work to come up with their own goals for the following week. - Students will actively help peers in pursuit of their collective goals. - Students will work urgently throughout the day; they will stay engaged and focused on their work with each other and will not become distracted by outside influences. They will efficiently solve the problems they encounter in order to continue their work as fast as

conversations. - Model higher order questioning and teach students question starters to scaffold their questioning skills. - Explicitly teach and model morning meeting routine so that students know how to balance the process of sharing and listening. Gradually release responsibility of morning meeting routines to students so that they become more independent in these skills. - Explicitly teach what a goal is, how we set goals, and how we know if we have achieved our goals and model what it looks like to be urgently working towards a goalincluding role-play using students/puppets, troubleshooting during morning meeting, and modeling in the moment. - Introduce value with looks like sounds like T Chart; reinforce value by asking for student input about specific behaviors observed to fulfill a value (i.e. What would you be doing and saying if you were showing empathy to your friends during recess?) - Use positive expectations for value during transitions and procedures (i.e. Ill be waiting to hear about the ways in which you showed your problem solving skills during centers today.) - Integrate value in multiple contexts, i.e. read-alouds, morning meeting, RWL, etc. - Set benchmarks for goals and share benchmarks with students during

possible.

learning conferences. - Use conferences as a way to discuss goals related to academics and social-emotional growth. - Explicitly teach the concept of the future and explain to students what it will take to achieve their dreams in this future time.

Transformative Vision-Academic Prioritized Traits, Knowledge, and Mindsets (e.g., the targeted beliefs and ideas that will empower students to achieve their academic goals and embrace life-long learning) 1. We are critical thinkers. Concrete Student Actions (e.g., how will students operate if theyve internalized these traits, knowledge, and mindsets?) Concrete Teacher Actions (what are the daily/weekly/monthly systems, routines, and rituals that I will use as a teacher to reinforce these student actions?)

- Students can independently

- Critical thinkers work hard to find meaning or understand why something is important.

answer higher-order questions with detailed responses. - Students will independently ask questions about a given thematic topic to expand their knowledge.

- Plan higher-order questions for each lesson that push conceptual understanding. Scaffold questioning, as necessary. - Plan opportunities for students to develop deeper meaning by providing real-word examples, hands on learning, etc. - Model think-alouds of thought process. - Plan thematically. - In each lesson, create clear connection between what they are learning and how it can be applied in

2. We make connections.
- We make connections between our experiences, both in and out of school, to help us make sense

- Students will make connections between experiences at home and those at school. - Students will independently and

of the world around us.

spontaneously (esp. in play centers) make thematic connections. - Students will be able to verbally articulate why what they are learning is important to their own life, including how it helps them make sense of the world around them. - Students can verbalize the bigger picture of what they are doing.

3. We are metacognitive.
- We think about how we think. - We understand our strengths and weaknesses about the way we think and have strategies to help us with our weaknesses.

- Students will know key strategies to help them remember: private speech (saying out loud, then it goes to your head), writing, visualizing

their own life. - In each lesson, clearly state why the objective is important in their life. - Use think-alouds to model making connections, both within a theme and across themes. - Explicitly teach different types of connections that students can make (during RWL and Story Lab readalouds). - Use information about student interests and backgrounds to help students make connections between their classroom learning and their real-life experiences. - Ask families about students background, strengths, and previous experiences in order to understand what type of background knowledge will need to be built within a theme. - Integration of private speech activities (using TOTM). - Encourage use of private speech in re-directing and remembering correct behavior. - Think-alouds about how to remember, including writing, visualizing, private speech. **See Active Listening value (above)

4. We need language for everything!

- The more practice that we get reading, listening, writing, and speaking, the better we get at understanding the world around us. - **NOTE: this can be potentially tied to all reading and writing

- Students will speak in complete sentences, both in independent sharing and in response to a question. - Students will use accountable talk during discussions and will be able to question, defend, and discuss a given topic. - Students will be able to fluently and authentically use key thematic

activities; focus on how we learn by reading and express our ideas through writing.

vocabulary in multiple contexts.

Vision for My Leadership at the School Level The kind of relationship that I need to have with key influencers (e.g., administration, colleagues, etc.) at the school level to set my kids up for short and long-term success will look like
Assistant: - We will function as a co-teaching team. She will know how much I respect and value her teaching style, perspective, and past experiences. She will respect my classroom vision and will understand my expectations. She will feel comfortable talking to me when we encounter a problem or she has input about what is going on in the classroom. We will complement each others strengths and weaknesses to maximize student learning by exposing them to different teaching styles. She will feel invested in our vision and will take ownership as a co-teacher in the classroom. She will know how much she is appreciated by the students and I and will be an integral part of our strong classroom community. Principal: - She will have an understanding of my vision for the classroom and the steps I am taking on a daily level to reach this vision. - I will feel comfortable talking to her about help/resources that I need in pursuit of this vision. - She will understand whats going on behind the scenes in my work and will be excited for me to share any knowledge that I have with the rest of the staff.

Concrete teacher actions that will help to foster and cultivate this relationship with key influencers at the school level
- Share TFA and PD resources with ECE team (i.e. trackers, planning from data, etc.) - Volunteer to facilitate Professional Development during morning staff meetings. - Share my vision for my classroom with key influencers. - Plan with colleagues and assistant. - Have a vision-setting meeting with assistant and explain initial thoughts for transformative school year (heavy assistant input in order to gain investment). - Weekly planning sessions with assistant. - Give daily lead teaching opportunities to assistant.

Vision for Parent/Family Engagement Kind of relationship that I need to have Concrete teacher actions that will help with parents/families that will most to foster and cultivate this relationship contribute to my students short and with parents/families long-term success will look like
My relationship with families will be a true collaborative partnership in which: - Families will participate in goal setting about the year by sharing their hopes and dreams for their child. - Families will know and understand academic data and will be able to articulate their childs goals for the school year. - Families will have a firm grasp on what we are learning in our classroom and the key social-emotional skills we are working on. - Families will feel comfortable sharing home experiences with both teachers. - Families will volunteer in the classroom on a regular basis (breakfast, centers, to share special talents). - Families will be invested in helping their child complete homework and reading each night. They will understand how this homework ties into what is going on at school. - Families will feel comfortable sharing feedback and asking questions of both teachers. - Teacher and families will be in constant communication about student progress; this communication will be two-way (phone, email, folders, face-to-face, etc.) - Families will KNOW that I am invested in their child and their future. - Home visits in August - Consistent, clearly explained homework/folder system - Parent surveys/packet in August; surveys at data checkpoints across the year - Volunteer sign-ups for specific times of day and activities - Parenting workshops (about development, at-home ideas, etc.) - Mini-lessons about the HOW with homework (how to meaningfully read to your child each night, how to Scaffolded Writing) - Send home unit plans. - Consistently inform parents about weekly goals and at-home learning to help students reach these goals - Sharing exemplar student work samples for benchmarks across year - Plan a classroom community event once a month