WEBVTT 00:00:05.476 --> 00:00:10.236 I'm Caroline Bloxom, and I'm the proud principal of Pocomoke Middle School. 00:00:10.236 --> 00:00:14.806 We're a 4-8 rural school on the eastern shore of Maryland. 00:00:15.256 --> 00:00:20.196 Over half of our children at Pocomoke Middle School are from homes of poverty, 00:00:21.006 --> 00:00:27.086 and through the research that we have done, we've discovered that there's a lot of difference 00:00:27.086 --> 00:00:31.896 in homes, the amount of vocabulary that's spoken. 00:00:31.996 --> 00:00:36.326 So, we knew that a lot of our kids just didn't have that background 00:00:36.386 --> 00:00:41.826 of hearing extensive vocabulary everyday at home. 00:00:42.406 --> 00:00:47.296 We have very high expectations for all of our teachers as well as our students, 00:00:47.426 --> 00:00:53.256 and our school improvement team developed a school norm checklist. 00:00:53.786 --> 00:00:58.156 It is all monitored by our reading implementation team here at our school, 00:00:58.876 --> 00:01:03.336 and on our reading implementation team, we don't just have reading teachers. 00:01:04.126 --> 00:01:09.376 We have teachers from all the content areas and all the grades in our school. 00:01:10.126 --> 00:01:15.556 So, we do mean for vocabulary to happen not just in our reading 00:01:15.626 --> 00:01:20.466 and integrated language arts classes, but in every single content area in our school. 00:01:21.296 --> 00:01:27.386 Consistency and habits make for excellence, 00:01:28.376 --> 00:01:32.896 and as you walk around our school, you see that consistency. 00:01:33.086 --> 00:01:34.826 You see it on the walls. 00:01:35.456 --> 00:01:38.466 You see in every room, the word walls. 00:01:39.196 --> 00:01:43.656 You see in every room, vocabulary being highlighted. 00:01:43.746 --> 00:01:47.026 It might even be in the form of vocabulary art. 00:01:47.436 --> 00:01:52.686 For middle school in our county, we've used teaming for probably over 20 years, 00:01:52.876 --> 00:01:55.246 and I can't say enough about teaming. 00:01:55.446 --> 00:01:58.446 When the teachers are meeting on their grade level teams 00:01:58.986 --> 00:02:04.476 and in that team you have two integrated language arts teachers, two math teachers, 00:02:04.666 --> 00:02:09.696 a science teacher, a social studies teacher, and a special education teacher, 00:02:10.186 --> 00:02:14.996 and they are all talking about reading, that's quite wonderful. 00:02:16.086 --> 00:02:18.236 So, they're on the same page. 00:02:18.706 --> 00:02:24.206 I think by being on the same page and consistently having the same expectations 00:02:24.846 --> 00:02:28.646 of their students, they have been able to move their students forward. 00:02:29.336 --> 00:02:34.506 You need that time for teachers to come together and to be able to collaborate 00:02:35.086 --> 00:02:38.346 on the students that they're working with. 00:02:38.986 --> 00:02:44.226 A new piece that we have been doing for the last five years is examining student work. 00:02:44.486 --> 00:02:50.106 Every teacher brings in work, so we have John's math work and science work 00:02:50.366 --> 00:02:52.396 and social studies work and reading work. 00:02:53.656 --> 00:02:58.986 One of the greatest things that has come about by this concentration on vocabulary 00:02:58.986 --> 00:03:04.976 and our students acquiring more complex vocabulary is that they have taken a lot more risk 00:03:05.396 --> 00:03:09.766 in the books that choose to check out from the library for their own personal reading. 00:03:10.546 --> 00:03:15.216 We actually have children now reading more complex books, 00:03:15.536 --> 00:03:20.326 richer books in vocabulary because they feel confident to do that, 00:03:20.436 --> 00:03:22.306 and that is certainly been exciting. 00:03:22.856 --> 00:03:29.766 The other thing is adolescence is a time when it's an emotional roller coaster for children 00:03:30.046 --> 00:03:31.376 that are going through adolescence, 00:03:31.876 --> 00:03:38.086 and acquiring the vocabulary has also helped them express their emotions. 00:03:38.236 --> 00:03:42.286 So in all honesty, as crazy as it sounds, I think it's even helped with discipline 00:03:42.746 --> 00:03:46.316 because when children can dialogue about how they're feeling, 00:03:46.646 --> 00:03:49.166 they do that instead of taking action. 00:03:49.406 --> 00:03:54.226 And so, I would say that's been an outcome that I am not sure I had really thought about. 00:03:54.706 --> 00:04:01.906 But just hearing the children discussing amongst themselves words and also being able to talk 00:04:01.906 --> 00:04:04.546 about their emotions, that's been a real bonus. 00:04:05.486 --> 00:04:10.876 Student achievement is obviously what we want to increase. 00:04:10.966 --> 00:04:14.256 We want our students to continue to do better and better each year. 00:04:14.806 --> 00:04:20.416 Over the last five years, with the vocabulary and with other strategies in our school, 00:04:20.476 --> 00:04:27.196 our overall reading scores have gone up from 55 to 85 percent, which has been pretty phenomenal. 00:04:27.776 --> 00:04:33.426 Our poverty kids-our students who receive free and reduced meals-now has gone 00:04:33.516 --> 00:04:39.126 from 35 to 75, and that's exciting. 00:04:39.776 --> 00:04:45.046 It's exciting to see them, as they have acquired this vocabulary, 00:04:45.546 --> 00:04:51.396 being able to understand their textbooks because most textbooks, as I said, 00:04:51.396 --> 00:04:55.906 when we're doing guided reading, that book may be on their level, but a textbook, 00:04:56.426 --> 00:04:58.406 all the kids really use the same textbook. 00:04:58.506 --> 00:05:04.886 So to be able to see them using their strategies and looking at those words in context, 00:05:05.786 --> 00:05:10.676 words that they've heard over and over, and beginning to understand those because they are part 00:05:10.726 --> 00:05:17.806 of their core bank of words and to be able to understand their text and actually interact 00:05:17.936 --> 00:05:20.946 with it more efficiently has been wonderful to see.