Digital Pensieve - loving the new updates

It has been almost a year since I mentioned the Digital Pensieve. 

I used it a little last year and found it great to use and easy to use but this year I love it even more.

I have just my own grade on it, even though I share a double grade. I love the new features it has. 

I am able to keep track of Reading, Writing, Word Work, Science, Social Studies (here we call it Humanities) and there is an 'other' tab. 

These two screen grabs show my grade in green by name and then in groups in grey.

When I am conferring - it looks like this. The coloured tabs across the top are the different subject areas. 

These show the detail I have entered for each child or group. 

Then there are links to the Cafe Menus

As we share kids for reading and maths - on Friday when I get my notes from the other three teachers it only takes me about 20 minutes to enter them in. When parents ask questions, I can answer straight away. When I write reports - it is easy as my goals are already done and the strategies are already done. 

This post is not sanctioned by the 'two sisters' nor do I receive any compensation for writing it.  I just love using it.

A focus on reading

The reading and writing block is a busy time for all of us.

 

As 'daily 5' is further cemented in our systems and structures - I can spend more time conferring with individual students.

 

I am loving the CCPensieve, but still using some paper to take and record information.

 

 

 

As my children read one on one with me (and the other Prep teacher in our space) I record their reading on a Running Record sheet. This process is so important in analysing what is the next step and what is their true instructional text.

 

'daily 5' allows us the opportunity to do this much more often. Our other students are engaged with best fit tasks while we do this. The know that everyone has this time with the teacher and it is important to not interrupt and let the reading happen.

 

In our state, we had a 6-18th month strategy that said we needed to take running records every three weeks for each child. Before 'daily 5' this was difficult to manage. Now it is possible to do 3-5 a day. It has become part of what we do. As a result our kids are flying - in our team teaching situation we have a large proportion of our students reading well into Grade 1 and Grade 2. That is one or two years above the expected level.

 

If you want some background on what is a running record and how to take them - check out this book

 

Email from the two sisters......

Last week I received an exciting email from the two sisters who wrote 'daily 5' and 'Cafe Literacy'. To say I was a bit excited is a gross underestimation of how I felt. I have been using the Digital Pensieve and had been emailing Madeline, who is the daughter and niece of the famous two. When I started blogging I sent a link and they have responded by saying how brave it is to blog and share. I think what they do is brave and inspirational.

Digital Pensieve

Just subscribed to the new Digital Pensieve that is based on Daily 5 and Cafe Literacy and already love it. Possibilities for sharing students and cohorts amazing!