Grade Level/Department Team Meeting Agenda & Minutes

Team members Present: Kathleen Mehran, Amanda Crosby, and Kelly Shuffield
Date: 3/16/16
1.

Grade Level/Department: 5th grade

Reflect on the standards and evaluate grade level commitments from our previous meeting (5-10 min.)
What is working well?
The foldables in conjunction with the liberty kids videos worked very well in understanding the
battles of the American Revolution. This also helped the students note taking skills. The debates
are going very well; student engagement is at an all-time high. It is also creating interests in topics
that they would not typically see with the curriculum. This has enhanced our listening and speaking

skills by creating meaningful discussions. In math, the students did very well with in and out boxes.
What are we struggling with?
Students are still having problems identifying and understanding the difference between a
protagonist and antagonist. They are also still having problems with adding and subtracting
fractions and multiplying decimals, but we are addressing these in math workstations.

2. Look at assessment data/student work. (5-10 min)

What are student strengths? What are student needs? What will be our next steps for
instruction?
i. Students need help with following directions in sequential order, listening, and note-taking.
ii. Due to impending exams, we will be adding review within the curriculum and skipping ahead
to some curriculum that will be on the test.
iii. Students need work on social skills and positive peer interactions. This includes being nicer
to each other.
3. Lesson planning looking at the standards (40 min.)
In Social Studies, we will begin working on the three branches of government. In math, we will be
working on converting units of measurement. In writing, we will start a new opinion piece, commas,
and possessive nouns. In Science, we will be covering oceans and solar system. In reading, we will be
covering poetry, which will address figurative language and visualization.
Questions to guide planning
What do we want our students to know and be able to do? (Determine Standards)
We want students to be able to fully develop a writing piece. This includes having more than one
paragraph/sentence. We want students to covert units of measurement within a given measurement system.
We need to increase fluency with comprehension. We need the students to be able to answer higher level
questions associated with a reading passage.
How will we ensure students have every opportunity to learn? (Cognitively Plan Instruction)
In reading, we have specific groups according to reading levels. We also have non-specific groups that
change weekly so they are not always with the same people. According to IEPs, some of the students do not
have to write, but they must contribute ideas so they are still participating. In math, we use likability
partners that allow students to progress at their own pace. This includes using leveled problems. We are
working toward creating workstations that focus on individual deficits. We are currently using ten marks

that allow individual instruction based on students abilities. In writing, we are working toward the 30
minute time limit.
How will we know when they have achieved proficiency? (Determine Assessment)
We will determine proficiency using rubrics, formative assessments such as exit tickets, and summative
assessments such as chapter tests. We will also now be using data notebooks.
What will we do when they dont get it? (Re-teaching and Intervention)
In math, we revisit skills that students continue to struggle with in morning openers and workstations when
we get them started. We also have set intervention time each day at 12:15 where we can revisit and work
on skills. Mini-lessons and small groups are used for reading. For writing, we use have individual
conferences.

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