1. “TWEAKING PROJECT MORE FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 6-8” BY: JESSICA ANDERSON PROJECT MORE COORDINATOR GAHANNA MIDDLE SCHOOL EAST May 20 th, 2013

2. About GMSE  Building of 550 students grades 6 th, 7 th and 8 th  14.4% Economically Disadvantaged  16.2% Students with Disabilities  2011-2012 “Excellent” Rating, AYP Met  Value Added Met for 6 th and 8 th Grade Reading  “Above” Value Added for 7 th Grade Reading  Central Ohio school, located in a suburban area

3. Project MORE at East  Began in February 2011(third school year)  2012-2013 we had 25 students in the program  See gains of three to five levels annually  Program runs from Mid-September until week before OAA  Program Materials are kept in a central location  Sessions take place in 4 different areas of the building

4. What’s the problem?  Older students reading lower-level interest books  Motivation with students (repetitive)  Pull-out program, away from peers  Coordinator cannot be in two classrooms at once!  Students are unaware of progress

5. Older Students Reading Lower-Level Interest Books  Problem typically with 7 th and 8 th grade students  Use “Hi/Lo” books with students who choose to focus on provided Reading-Tutors Material  Allow last 5 minutes of each session to work on something outside of class.  8 th grade – allow to skip game and develop conversations with mentors  Choose more non-fiction texts

6. Motivation with Students (Repetitive)  Middle School students quickly become bored with the repetitiveness of Project MORE.  Re-reading book: Ask students to complete some extended response questions. If they are detailed and correct, they do not have to re-read the book. If not, they are expected to read-read.  Change-up steps by day to add variety (example: play game first)  Candy, front of the line lunch passes, stickers (yes, MS students love candy and stickers!)

7. Pull-out Program  Project MORE is completed during a 30 minute grade level intervention time. MSE provides separate classrooms during intervention time for Project MORE  During intervention time, Channel One is played in other classrooms  Our Project MORE students feel like they are missing out, especially since other classrooms do not have interventions (typically socializing or silent reading time)

8. Pull-out Program  6 th grade PM area is located within the 6 th grade classrooms, so our students don’t feel so left out  7 th and 8 th grade were held in different rooms, away from their peers  Mentors were “hunting down” their students, trying to get them to attend sessions  7 th and 8 th : Right before lunch, so they always want to leave early!

9. Coordinator cannot be in two classrooms at once!  Trying to keep small environments for maximum learning (fewest distractions)  One place to store materials that all mentors can access  Need for a teacher to be present at all times  Our 2012-2013 schedule allowed for an 8 th grade teacher to monitor one 7 th grade classroom  A 6 th Grade IS teacher helped monitor one classroom  I floated between all classrooms once sessions began  Sessions from 11:08am-12:21pm – non-stop moving, assessing, conferencing and planning

10. Students are Unaware of Progress  How can students take ownership of their progress?  Do students truly know how much they have gained (benchmark levels, fluency scores)?  Will sharing data motivate students?

11. Example of Data Sharing Sheet (Handout Provided)

12. Video Clip of Student Conference

13. Changes for 2013-2014 School Year  Project MORE Coordinator and the OTES  How does this impact you?  Do you meet linkage requirements or are you writing SLOs?  Instructional Planning versus Implementing Instruction  LLI+ program in addition to Project MORE  Our goal is to relieve stigma from older-age (7 th and 8 th grade) students

14. Example of 2013-2014 Coordinator Schedule  8:45-9:30  9:32-10:25  10:25 – 11:08  Working with At-Risk Students. One class period will be a conference period  11:08-12:21 – Project MORE/LLI+ Sessions  12:21-12:40 – Lunch Duty  12:40-1:09 - LUNCH  1:09-1:53 – 6th Grade Study Hall Intervention  1:54-2:40 – 8 th Grade Study Hall Intervention  2:41-3:30 - 7 th Grade Study Hall Intervention

15. SUCCESS!  End of Year Celebration Breakfast  Invite participants and their parents and mentors  Menu: Store bought donuts, milk, OJ and Panera Bagels. “Tote” of Coffee for adults (Panera includes cups, stir sticks, creamer and sweeteners)  Use PM provided certificates  Personally acknowledge each student and mentor  Purchased each student a book of his/her choice or a $5.00 GC to Barnes and Noble

16. Changes to Breakfast  First year to invite parents  Emailed and Sent home printed invitations  Requested RSVP’s from mentors, students and parents  I knew everyone involved, so it helped with acknowledgements

17. What I heard…  “My child has never enjoyed reading. He just asked me to take him to Barnes and Noble to purchase more books. Thank-you!”  “I don’t know what you are doing, but my son has never stayed focused on anything, especially reading. I have never seen him so proud of what he is accomplished or this excited about school.”

18. Goals for Next Year  Quarterly conferences with students in order to share data and progress  Pizza party for 8 th grade mentors  Continue with celebration breakfast  Motivational “treats” for all mentors  Establish a fluid relationship with Project MORE and LLI+  Possibly continue sessions past the week of OAA in order for more students to fully complete the program