Article #59

What's Up at the Upper Grades?

by
Cheryl M. Sigmon

Often I'm asked if 4-Blocks is "alive and well" at the upper grades. I'm pleased to say that the
answer is a resounding "Yes!" Teachers at the upper grades who have had time now to
experiment with 4-Blocks and have had time to test appropriate adaptations have met with great
success. In fact, the successes have been significant enough that I have spent a great deal of time
visiting classrooms, interviewing teachers, and recording what works at grades 4 - 8. The profiles
gathered will be shared in a book, projected for publication on February 1, 2001---just a couple
of months away! (Modifying Four Blocks for the Upper Grades will be published by Carson-
Dellosa.)

Reports from upper grade teachers, time and time again, point to these common areas of success:

 Students who are more engaged in learning more than ever before
 Students who appear to enjoy learning more than ever before
 Students who demonstrate increased comprehension of printed material
 Students who are more strategic in their reading and writing
 Teachers who appreciate the structure for their instructional delivery
 Teachers who feel more secure that they are addressing diverse learning styles
 Teachers who admit that they do less assigning of reading and writing and more
direct instruction in those areas

Each of these areas is significant cause for celebration at the upper grades, where it typically
becomes more difficult to reach children.

The greatest cause for concern at the upper grades is that teachers would feel that the upper
grades framework would exactly mirror the lower grades framework. A similar catastrophe
occurred at kindergarten where some schools across the country over generalized 4-Blocks and
implemented the blocks at kindergarten in the same way that they are structured in the primary
grades. Building Blocks is the developmentally appropriate framework for the kindergarten
grades, much less rigidly structured, much more print and language concept-driven.

Even though in some ways kids at the upper grades just have longer arms and legs and have the
same basic needs, we know that there are dissimilarities that necessitate adaptations. Curricular
demands are different; students' perceptions have changed; the social dynamics are special.
Therefore, instructional delivery must also change.

Over the next several months, I will attempt to alternate my articles between the upper and lower
grades models to begin to clarify some of the similarities and some of the distinct differences. 
Some of the topics to be discussed will be:

 Alternatives To Book Baskets In Getting Books In Older Students' Hands During

Self-Selected Reading Block
  Variety In Methods For Sharing During SSR At The Upper Grades
 Tackling Longer Text During Guided Reading Block
 Supporting The Older Readers In Guided Reading Block
 Great Gimmicks For Engaging Older Students During Guided Reading Block
 The Shift In Emphasis For The Writing Block At Upper Grades
 Two Types Of Conferences For Older Students During The Writing Block
 Variety In Methods For Sharing During The Writing Block At Upper Grades
 The Shift In Emphasis For The Words Block At Upper Grades
 Using The Upper Grades Month By Month Book As A Template, Not A Recipe
 The Sixth Goal For The Words Block-At The Top Of Bloom's Taxonomy
 Eliminating Goals For The Words Block In Some Classes
 Schedules That Reflect Students' Needs

I hope that this plan to alternate articles between upper and lower grades will be helpful to most
of you. We certainly want the good results that have been achieved at the lower grades to extend
into the upper grades. In fact, it seems that once students get into the habit of 4-Blocks, they
enjoy continuing some of the familiar routines.

I'll look forward to seeing you here real soon!

My scheduled training:

Below are seminars (some 1 day and some 2 day ones) that I have coming up in the future.
Please know that I have a small group of really excellent folks who work along with me, too. We
do site-based work in schools and districts at your request. For their services, you can simply call
843-549-2684 and speak with Cathy Bell or visit her website at www.ergsc.com. We offer
various types of staff development: classroom demonstrations, on-site presentations, classroom
observations and feedback, and exploring 4-Blocks in more depth, among other offerings.

Location Date Sponsor

Louisville, KY December 5 SDR
Atlanta , GA December 6 SDR
Orlando, FL February 13 SDR
Dayton, OH March 1 ERG (grades 4-6)
Dayton, OH March 2 ERG (grades 1-3)
Lexington, KY March 6 SDR
Minneapolis, MN March 7 SDR
Indianapolis, IN *March 13-14 ERG (tentative plans for upper grades)
Albuquerque, March 27 SDR
NM
Phoenix, AZ March 28 SDR
Houston, TX April 3 SDR
San Antonio, TX April 4 SDR
Chicago, IL April 24 SDR
Detroit, MI April 25 SDR
Anaheim, CA May 9 SDR
Ontario, CA May 10 SDR

*Still in the planning stages. Will keep you posted!

Watch for the summer schedule coming soon! More upper grades and more "beyond the basics"
are surely on the way!
For ERG workshops, call 843-549-2684 or go to www.ergsc.com.
For SDR workshops, call 800-678-8908.
Hope to see you at a workshop soon!

Personal:

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family. My whole
family was together as we celebrated T-Day and my granddaughter's first birthday, too! What a
very special holiday it was, indeed!

I know that many of you have been working on grants for training and implementation of 4-
Blocks as you've called and emailed for letters of intent to support. I wish you all success as I
know that grant writing is tedious. But, I hope that the payoff is big!

Just after Thanksgiving, I made a quick trip to California to meet with some terrific groups in
San Francisco and in Sacramento. What kind folks they were who were generous with their
comments about the seminars and were good enough to share many of their new ideas with me!
From California, I scooted home to put up my Christmas tree (it took us two attempts to get the
lights operating this year!) and am now enroute to Louisville for a group there tomorrow. I'll
catch a group in Atlanta on my way home, and then will settle in to enjoy the rest of the year
with my family. I will continue to work on my articles for you, though. You'll be remembered
throughout the holidays! I know how hectic and nerve-racking the last week or two before winter
holidays can be in schools. Hang in there---rest and holiday fun is just around the corner!

Cheryl