What books have YOU read recently?
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday Memo: Read "The Underneath"
I like to use every opportunity I can to read "kids" books. Now that my son is a 2nd grader and reads at a much higher level, we can enjoy books together. This is a recent book that we enjoyed together. I like to try to choose some books off the William Allen White nomination list for the year. This book is simply amazing. I hate using such a simple word to describe it, so please click on this link to tell you more about it. There are many tales woven together with such a rich vocabulary.
What books have YOU read recently?
What books have YOU read recently?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 12: Make Every Minute Count
When we look at the year we have with our students, we can put together the moments that we’ll have them. Subtract hours for assemblies, programs, or school-wide presentations. Then, subtract the hours that they will spend outside our room for important academics such as PE, Music, Art, or other curricula areas. The minutes start dwindling down as we soon realize how short of time we have with these students in one full school year. Our goal or motto must be to make every moment count. Some of the children in our class come from excellent teachers in their previous years. Some may not. Some children come from extravagant backgrounds and environments while some have been impoverished and lack experiences. We must do everything we can to work hard to make every moment count for our students. Ask ourselves difficult questions. Expect high outcomes from our teaching and better ourselves through professional development.
Ultimately we need to build connections with our students as human beings. We are the same, we all matter, and we all are growing learners. Teachers need to be picky about what they spend their time on with their students and the resources that they present to them. We must find ways to save time and put our energy into the things that matter most. Although it may be hard for some teachers and almost unbelievable for some students- teacher must have a life outside of the classroom. As with anything we do IN the classroom, we also must be balanced in our lives.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Am I making the best use of my students’ time?
• Where do I expend most of my energy?
• How do my students feel in my classroom?
• Do I have a balanced home and work life?
Ultimately we need to build connections with our students as human beings. We are the same, we all matter, and we all are growing learners. Teachers need to be picky about what they spend their time on with their students and the resources that they present to them. We must find ways to save time and put our energy into the things that matter most. Although it may be hard for some teachers and almost unbelievable for some students- teacher must have a life outside of the classroom. As with anything we do IN the classroom, we also must be balanced in our lives.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Am I making the best use of my students’ time?
• Where do I expend most of my energy?
• How do my students feel in my classroom?
• Do I have a balanced home and work life?
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 11: Build on Best Practice and Research
Routman says, “Teachers can’t be expected to be accountable if they are told specifically what to do. Accountability requires professional autonomy to do what’s right. The best teachers are “not followers” and have an “independent spirit.” Based on their professional and moral knowledge and judgment, they override directives when something else will work more effectively.”
This quote is very challenging and thought-provoking as I have read it several times. Teachers need to be researchers. They need to know what works and what research clearly states. To use programs and practices that are clearly against research is detrimental to students and shows poorly in our professional career. When we know the research, we need to be advocates for what it says and how to use it correctly in the classroom. By joining committees or task-forces, we can help our advocacy for best-teaching practices.
Most importantly, schools have to work together for the best of their students. It doesn’t matter if each individual teacher is a fantastic teacher, if a school community cannot work cohesively as a TEAM, test-results will reflect that. Sometimes this gets into sticky situations about reimbursement for time outside of regular hours or what our union might believe. However, as a teacher, we’ve taken a vow and dedicated our lives to a career where we put children first. Until difficult conversations are held and professional learning communities are part of our WEEKLY schedules, we should not expect any improvement. When teachers have the belief that things can change, things will, and not until that change in belief occurs. That is where the heart of teaching matters.
(My 2nd grade son who struggles to be motivated to write.)
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• In what ways do I advocate for what I know is research-based, best practices?
• Do I participate in a weekly professional learning community with my coworkers?
• How can I advocate to parents and community members about best-teaching practices for writing?
This quote is very challenging and thought-provoking as I have read it several times. Teachers need to be researchers. They need to know what works and what research clearly states. To use programs and practices that are clearly against research is detrimental to students and shows poorly in our professional career. When we know the research, we need to be advocates for what it says and how to use it correctly in the classroom. By joining committees or task-forces, we can help our advocacy for best-teaching practices.
Most importantly, schools have to work together for the best of their students. It doesn’t matter if each individual teacher is a fantastic teacher, if a school community cannot work cohesively as a TEAM, test-results will reflect that. Sometimes this gets into sticky situations about reimbursement for time outside of regular hours or what our union might believe. However, as a teacher, we’ve taken a vow and dedicated our lives to a career where we put children first. Until difficult conversations are held and professional learning communities are part of our WEEKLY schedules, we should not expect any improvement. When teachers have the belief that things can change, things will, and not until that change in belief occurs. That is where the heart of teaching matters.
(My 2nd grade son who struggles to be motivated to write.)
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• In what ways do I advocate for what I know is research-based, best practices?
• Do I participate in a weekly professional learning community with my coworkers?
• How can I advocate to parents and community members about best-teaching practices for writing?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 10: Make Assessment Count
Assessments have fallen under the “naughty word list” in most teacher vocabulary lists. However, testing and assessment have such a vital part in our instruction if it is done correctly, ethically, and with the best intentions of the students in mind. We all have mandates that we must meet or perform for, yet what doesn’t make sense is the way that our teaching has veered off course to strictly teach toward those tests and mandates. It only makes sense that if our children will be tested on it; they need to be able to do it. However, what even good educators sometimes lose focus on is the manner in which they prepare for high-stakes testing.
Rubrics are wonderful devices to aid learning and let students know what is expected of them on certain assignments or projects. However, sometimes rubrics can get “overdone” in writing, especially with the use of the 6-trait writing rubric. While we don’t want to shift focus away from how valuable rubrics can be for setting expectations, we also do not always want students to be so focused on having their writing be uniform and with certain logistics. I loved the quote that Tom Newkirk says, “It’s not what the writing has- it’s what the writing does.” Rather than using a rubric all the time for writing, use professional common sense and respond to writing in a way that is productive and builds the writer up. Also, let the students help prepare the rubrics.
One of the best quotes from this chapter and also one that I’d like to frame for my own sake: “The best test preparation is excellent teaching.” Students need to do a lot of writing, in many different settings, styles, and purposes. It all boils down to the good, ethical teaching practices that we want to use as teachers, yet feel so overwhelmed that sometimes we forget. We must set high expectations, create self-efficacy in our students so they can write independently, and we must have a balance of the skills we teach in our mini-lessons and conferences.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What was the last piece of writing that I read and what made it memorable?
• Do I do more assessing of learning or for learning?
• When do I use rubrics and what is their purpose in my assessment or instruction?
• What kind of data do I use to inform my instruction in writing?
• What assessments “for” learning do I use?
Rubrics are wonderful devices to aid learning and let students know what is expected of them on certain assignments or projects. However, sometimes rubrics can get “overdone” in writing, especially with the use of the 6-trait writing rubric. While we don’t want to shift focus away from how valuable rubrics can be for setting expectations, we also do not always want students to be so focused on having their writing be uniform and with certain logistics. I loved the quote that Tom Newkirk says, “It’s not what the writing has- it’s what the writing does.” Rather than using a rubric all the time for writing, use professional common sense and respond to writing in a way that is productive and builds the writer up. Also, let the students help prepare the rubrics.
One of the best quotes from this chapter and also one that I’d like to frame for my own sake: “The best test preparation is excellent teaching.” Students need to do a lot of writing, in many different settings, styles, and purposes. It all boils down to the good, ethical teaching practices that we want to use as teachers, yet feel so overwhelmed that sometimes we forget. We must set high expectations, create self-efficacy in our students so they can write independently, and we must have a balance of the skills we teach in our mini-lessons and conferences.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What was the last piece of writing that I read and what made it memorable?
• Do I do more assessing of learning or for learning?
• When do I use rubrics and what is their purpose in my assessment or instruction?
• What kind of data do I use to inform my instruction in writing?
• What assessments “for” learning do I use?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 9: Conference with Students
“When I confer with you about your writing, you are more important than the writing.” – Don Graves
I believe that the focal point of conferencing with students lies in the quote above. In all we do as teachers, we need to focus on the student rather than the subject. That is where the legacy lies. That is where the emotional ties are made or broken. That is where learning has the ability to take place.
If you’re like me, you might think of conferencing as a bit scary in terms of classroom management. The younger the students, the scarier it becomes for me. It takes a lot of effort and work to fine-tune the procedures and expectations for writers during the conference time. Sometimes that takes more patience or time than I allocate for it. Conferences don’t have to be one-on-one sessions with the students, however. In fact, whole-class shares have a big impact on all the writers. When a teacher can publically hold the conference in a way that is positive and constructive for the student, the entire class can benefit.
One note from this chapter was about writing on students papers- how important it is to ask permission first and only write if it is something that is important for the student. Sometimes teachers are so quick to just mark all over student writing that the student loses the feeling of ownership for the piece. Teachers need to be very careful about when and how to mark on student writing.
Another key lesson for me was that it can be disrespectful to the student to restate what they have said in their discussions with the class. When we have whole class shares, if we restate what students have said, than we take away their voice, and we allow our students to not have to listen to the student because they know we will restate it. I’d never really thought of that before. I just thought it was helpful to rephrase and model “teacher voice” for my students.
Overall, conferences about writing need to stay positive and constructive. They can be whole-class, small group, one-on-one, or roving. Students need to take ownership for their writing and be expected to be ready for the conference when it is time. Frontloading students always pays off in the long run. Above everything, focus on the writer, not the writing!
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What do conferences look like in my classroom? How are they organized?
• What phrases do I use during conferences that build the esteem of the writer?
• Do I mark on students’ papers without permission? What parameters should be set for the future?
• Do I do things for my students that they could do themselves, robbing them of the independence that is the goal for them?
• Do I focus more on the writing or on the writer?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Website Wednesday- Have Fun Teaching
When was the last time you used the words "fun" and "teaching" in the same sentence? Ok, speaking fairly, the sentence, "who's taken all the fun out of teaching?" doesn't count! This website was presented to me at a conference I went to awhile back and it has a tremendous amount of resources that are ready to go and might possibly put the F-U-N back into your teaching. Wouldn't that be great!
http://www.havefunteaching.com/
http://www.havefunteaching.com/
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 8: Organize for Daily Writing
Organization in a classroom isn’t just for a pretty appearance. It is to maintain routines and simplify procedures as much as possible. Students can run programs effectively and efficiently when they know how the routines and procedures work as well as where supplies are taken care of. It doesn’t matter how organized the classroom is if a teacher does not have a true believe or philosophy that writing matters. The true test of organization of the supplies, routines, and procedures is to have a substitute for a day. Can the students continue their writing projects and take up where they left off?
(Photo borrowed from a great classroom site: http://www.cjonesfirstgrade.com/Our%20Classroom.htm)Writing requires daily commitment from teachers and students. Many times the biggest excuse for NOT doing something is because we lack the time. All teachers are given approximately the same amount of school hours, yet some choose their priorities differently to make sure that writing is included. Take a moment to ponder what your priorities are for teaching writing. Simply put, teachers make time for what they value.
Students need to be guided how to select topics to write about. Explicit modeling of how the teacher narrows down their list can help students to hone in on what they could put on their list of topics and which ones would be most interesting to their audience. Students should be shown how planning, pre-writing, and free-writing can help them through the writing process. By modeling different ways of doing each step, students can start to see that everyone has a different style for the steps of writing. We shouldn’t always push the same graphic organizers or paper for students to compose on. Students are very creative in making things work for what they need. Routman says, “don’t expect high-quality writing from your kids unless you’re modeling what high-quality writing looks and sounds like.”
Always take time to celebrate accomplishments in the students’ writings. Don’t ever allow time to run out before this is done. Students need time to shine and feel good about their writing if they are going to continue to give effort to it.
Writing can be such a powerful use of Random Acts of Kindness. This is a big subject for me as I try to make as much positive contact with my parents of students as possible. That way, if there is ever a problem to arise, they know I am looking out for the best interest of their child. I would hand-write notes home about once a week- choosing 1 kid per grade level (so 6 notes) – and these notes had profound effects. When students knew the nice things I was writing about them, they performed better for me. One note went home on a day that the parent had been laid off from their job. The note brought happy tears and could not have come at a better time. The kid was so thankful that they had that to comfort their parent. Many times, I’ve been told about the random acts of kindness that can happen through just a simple, handwritten note.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• How is my classroom organized so that it is conducive to the learning environment? How would I rate my organizational skills?
• What is Writing Workshop and how does it look in your classroom?
• What is my priority for teaching writing?
• Do I have a philosophy or special believe pertaining to teaching writing?
• Are my students aware of the criteria for writing before I turn them loose to write on their own?
• Do my students hold effective peer conferences?
• Have I encouraged my students to use writing to inspire Random Acts of Kindness?
• Am I teaching writing or writers?
(Photo borrowed from a great classroom site: http://www.cjonesfirstgrade.com/Our%20Classroom.htm)Writing requires daily commitment from teachers and students. Many times the biggest excuse for NOT doing something is because we lack the time. All teachers are given approximately the same amount of school hours, yet some choose their priorities differently to make sure that writing is included. Take a moment to ponder what your priorities are for teaching writing. Simply put, teachers make time for what they value.
Students need to be guided how to select topics to write about. Explicit modeling of how the teacher narrows down their list can help students to hone in on what they could put on their list of topics and which ones would be most interesting to their audience. Students should be shown how planning, pre-writing, and free-writing can help them through the writing process. By modeling different ways of doing each step, students can start to see that everyone has a different style for the steps of writing. We shouldn’t always push the same graphic organizers or paper for students to compose on. Students are very creative in making things work for what they need. Routman says, “don’t expect high-quality writing from your kids unless you’re modeling what high-quality writing looks and sounds like.”
Always take time to celebrate accomplishments in the students’ writings. Don’t ever allow time to run out before this is done. Students need time to shine and feel good about their writing if they are going to continue to give effort to it.
Writing can be such a powerful use of Random Acts of Kindness. This is a big subject for me as I try to make as much positive contact with my parents of students as possible. That way, if there is ever a problem to arise, they know I am looking out for the best interest of their child. I would hand-write notes home about once a week- choosing 1 kid per grade level (so 6 notes) – and these notes had profound effects. When students knew the nice things I was writing about them, they performed better for me. One note went home on a day that the parent had been laid off from their job. The note brought happy tears and could not have come at a better time. The kid was so thankful that they had that to comfort their parent. Many times, I’ve been told about the random acts of kindness that can happen through just a simple, handwritten note.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• How is my classroom organized so that it is conducive to the learning environment? How would I rate my organizational skills?
• What is Writing Workshop and how does it look in your classroom?
• What is my priority for teaching writing?
• Do I have a philosophy or special believe pertaining to teaching writing?
• Are my students aware of the criteria for writing before I turn them loose to write on their own?
• Do my students hold effective peer conferences?
• Have I encouraged my students to use writing to inspire Random Acts of Kindness?
• Am I teaching writing or writers?
Monday, January 24, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 7: Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills
When we teach writing, we need to keep focus on the whole part of writing and not the little skills that go along with it. While we do teach those skills, the focus still needs to remain on the “whole” and how the skills fit into the entire part of writing. With solely teaching writing skills, the audience is forgotten, which is one of the most important purposes for writing. Voice is one of the most important elements in writing. Without voice, writing lacks most of its “body”. Voice is in the details as well as the purposeful words that students place in their crafting of writing.
Students need to understand and feel a purpose for writing besides, “the teacher told me to.” Successful teachers of writing get to the point with students that they clearly state the purpose and the students feel that it is worth-while and meaningful. In our explicit modeling of writing, we need to state “why” we do the things we do as writers.
In keeping our audience at the forefront of our purpose for writing, it is respectful to display our message in a way that does not distract from the message. When we teach revising and editing, we need to do so in a way that students understand: 1) what each of them are, 2) the differences between them, 3) when to use them and when NOT to use them. Revision means to “look again”- hopefully with a fresh perspective. When we change our perspective from writer to reader, we can make the revisions that we need to make our message clearer to the audience.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• How can I engage my students so they want to be the best writers they can be?
• Is voice heard in my student’s writing?
• Are my mini-lessons purposeful and pertaining to exactly what my students’ needs are at that particular time?
• How do I teach spelling?
• In what ways do I approach revising and editing in my writing classroom?
Students need to understand and feel a purpose for writing besides, “the teacher told me to.” Successful teachers of writing get to the point with students that they clearly state the purpose and the students feel that it is worth-while and meaningful. In our explicit modeling of writing, we need to state “why” we do the things we do as writers.
In keeping our audience at the forefront of our purpose for writing, it is respectful to display our message in a way that does not distract from the message. When we teach revising and editing, we need to do so in a way that students understand: 1) what each of them are, 2) the differences between them, 3) when to use them and when NOT to use them. Revision means to “look again”- hopefully with a fresh perspective. When we change our perspective from writer to reader, we can make the revisions that we need to make our message clearer to the audience.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• How can I engage my students so they want to be the best writers they can be?
• Is voice heard in my student’s writing?
• Are my mini-lessons purposeful and pertaining to exactly what my students’ needs are at that particular time?
• How do I teach spelling?
• In what ways do I approach revising and editing in my writing classroom?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
For Kids
As a parent and teacher of students that are labeled 'gifted', I personally, do not like putting labels on kids because really, almost all children can fit into labels at one point or another and I almost think its unfair to some degree. So, as I was going to title this post: "For Kids that Need Enriching Activities", I realized that would mean ALL kids. So, then I thought of a few other posts that I would deem politically uncorrect or just plain not-fitting: For the Kids that we Label as Gifted; Finding "Stuff" for those Kids that Finish Early; Activities Designed to Buy you Time While you Figure these Kids Out. . . . until finally, I just labeled this post- "For Kids".
While I might use these links for my 2nd grader, you might use them for a 7th grader you're working with. Or while some kindergartners might use these links, so also might some college kids. So, these links are what I use to provide some challenging thinking time for my son, who as you saw in the previous post, needs a bit of a challenge from time to time.
Brain Food and Lateral Thinking Puzzles: (If you Google this, you will find a bunch of other great sites too.)
http://www.rinkworks.com/brainfood/p/latreal1.shtml
Content Standards:
http://math.ncwiseowl.org/
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
Differentiating Instruction: (Also, Google this term and you will find a plethora of resources. If you find a great one, please share in the comments below. I'd appreciate it!)
http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiating.html
http://eht.k12.nj.us/~Jonesj/Differentiated%20Instruction/1%20DI%20Strategies%20hi-low%20prep.htm
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/differentiate/planning/
Gifted Education Sites and Help:
http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/cognitive-psychology/38660.html
http://www.nagc.org/
http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/parenting/34535.html
As I mentioned above (hopefully), I'd love feedback and comments with resources (links preferred) that you use with any kids that you work with.
While I might use these links for my 2nd grader, you might use them for a 7th grader you're working with. Or while some kindergartners might use these links, so also might some college kids. So, these links are what I use to provide some challenging thinking time for my son, who as you saw in the previous post, needs a bit of a challenge from time to time.
Brain Food and Lateral Thinking Puzzles: (If you Google this, you will find a bunch of other great sites too.)
http://www.rinkworks.com/brainfood/p/latreal1.shtml
Content Standards:
http://math.ncwiseowl.org/
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
Differentiating Instruction: (Also, Google this term and you will find a plethora of resources. If you find a great one, please share in the comments below. I'd appreciate it!)
http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiating.html
http://eht.k12.nj.us/~Jonesj/Differentiated%20Instruction/1%20DI%20Strategies%20hi-low%20prep.htm
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/differentiate/planning/
Gifted Education Sites and Help:
http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/cognitive-psychology/38660.html
http://www.nagc.org/
http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/parenting/34535.html
As I mentioned above (hopefully), I'd love feedback and comments with resources (links preferred) that you use with any kids that you work with.
Writing Essentials- Chapter 6: Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection
This may come as a surprise to some educators, but reading and writing are interactive subjects. That means they are meant to be done with others and in an environment that is not solitary. Sure, we may read or write by ourselves. I love curling up with a good book on a day that my husband takes the boys to do some “men” things. The joy of reading and writing comes in sharing that experience and discussing the book or writing.
Children need rich experiences in reading and writing. The more exposures and practice they get, the more they will view themselves as readers and writers that have meaningful purpose. Routman suggests a simple solution to finding texts that are at the children’s levels- have them write their own text. I do this a lot with my primary students as a way for them to take ownership of their reading and also to practice reading their writing to build fluency. It is evident that the student’s writing most likely represents the quality of reading that they do.
Writing can be such a powerful tool for responding to reading. When teachers give assignments that require thoughtful, deep reflection about text, they are helping the students to better synthesize the information they’ve read. Students need to spend more of their time reading than writing about what they’ve read though. Routman says, “writing makes us think harder.” When students are asked to write summaries, they demonstrate their understanding through the writing that they craft. Teachers cannot just expect that students understand how to summarize, so as with anything, it takes explicit modeling.
Great Quotes from this Chapter:
• Pg. 120- Stephen King, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around those things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
• Pg. 123- Gary Paulsen, “The most important part of writing is to read. I tell young people, ‘Read like a wolf eats, read when they tell you not to read, and read what they tell you not to read.’”
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Do you use Accelerated Reader at your school and how does it impact students’ motivation to read and respond?
• How do you connect reading and writing?
• What process do you use to teach summarizing?
• How do I assess reading comprehension?
• What different ways do I allow my students to respond to texts they read?
Children need rich experiences in reading and writing. The more exposures and practice they get, the more they will view themselves as readers and writers that have meaningful purpose. Routman suggests a simple solution to finding texts that are at the children’s levels- have them write their own text. I do this a lot with my primary students as a way for them to take ownership of their reading and also to practice reading their writing to build fluency. It is evident that the student’s writing most likely represents the quality of reading that they do.
Writing can be such a powerful tool for responding to reading. When teachers give assignments that require thoughtful, deep reflection about text, they are helping the students to better synthesize the information they’ve read. Students need to spend more of their time reading than writing about what they’ve read though. Routman says, “writing makes us think harder.” When students are asked to write summaries, they demonstrate their understanding through the writing that they craft. Teachers cannot just expect that students understand how to summarize, so as with anything, it takes explicit modeling.
Great Quotes from this Chapter:
• Pg. 120- Stephen King, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around those things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
• Pg. 123- Gary Paulsen, “The most important part of writing is to read. I tell young people, ‘Read like a wolf eats, read when they tell you not to read, and read what they tell you not to read.’”
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Do you use Accelerated Reader at your school and how does it impact students’ motivation to read and respond?
• How do you connect reading and writing?
• What process do you use to teach summarizing?
• How do I assess reading comprehension?
• What different ways do I allow my students to respond to texts they read?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 5: Do More Shared Writing
Shared writing is an important part of teaching how to be a writer. It is that vital stage where struggling learners can shine. They feel safe in their skills because they are sharing the power with the teacher. This part of writing is especially crucial for English Language Learners as well as the struggling writer because it helps to provide them with rich oral language.
Interactive writing is part of shared writing in the fact that the teacher and student share the writing tools. It is best used in small groups or with individual teaching rather than as a whole class. When choosing the framework for shared writing, the teacher needs to make sure to keep the pace lively and engaging. Otherwise, we will lose writers in the process of trying to help them. Focus on the content of the message and providing the reader with an interesting, meaningful thought.
If you teach in the primary grades, a great activity to use to help students learn how language works is to cut apart and reassemble sentences. Let kids play with words, sentences, and language. There are many neat ways to do these activities of working with words. I especially liked an idea my fellow colleague shared with me from this blog: Repurposing Duplo Blocks: http://www.filthwizardry.com/2010/07/diy-spinny-spellers-and-repurposing.html. I now have a purpose for searching at garage sales this summer! What ideas do you have to add or what do you use in your classroom?
(Pictures courtesy of: http://www.filthwizardry.com/)
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Am I explicit at my teaching when I need to be and with the right students that need it?
• Do I let my students have enough time to “play” with their language?
• How do I teach shared writing in my classroom? What scaffolding do I give to my struggling learners so they can “shine”?
Interactive writing is part of shared writing in the fact that the teacher and student share the writing tools. It is best used in small groups or with individual teaching rather than as a whole class. When choosing the framework for shared writing, the teacher needs to make sure to keep the pace lively and engaging. Otherwise, we will lose writers in the process of trying to help them. Focus on the content of the message and providing the reader with an interesting, meaningful thought.
If you teach in the primary grades, a great activity to use to help students learn how language works is to cut apart and reassemble sentences. Let kids play with words, sentences, and language. There are many neat ways to do these activities of working with words. I especially liked an idea my fellow colleague shared with me from this blog: Repurposing Duplo Blocks: http://www.filthwizardry.com/2010/07/diy-spinny-spellers-and-repurposing.html. I now have a purpose for searching at garage sales this summer! What ideas do you have to add or what do you use in your classroom?
(Pictures courtesy of: http://www.filthwizardry.com/)
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Am I explicit at my teaching when I need to be and with the right students that need it?
• Do I let my students have enough time to “play” with their language?
• How do I teach shared writing in my classroom? What scaffolding do I give to my struggling learners so they can “shine”?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 4: Raise Your Expectations
As we read the cumulative folders of kids that will be starting their school year with us, we expect from them what their former teachers noted they can obtain. With the summer lag and maybe a little bit of off-set from the lax sleeping schedule, most teachers don’t have high expectations during the first few weeks of school. However, even more teachers continue to hold onto those low expectations, either consciously or unconsciously. The expectations we set for our students are ultimately where they will rise to meet the goals, or at least if they are motivated to rise to such expectations.
When we start teaching writing by giving students praise, celebrations for risk-taking, focusing on simplifying the writing process and modeling that we are growing readers too, we set the stakes to raise our expectations for those students. Sadly, our public does judge educators by how their students write. Writing is so closely correlated with reading and both are tested standards eventually. Personally, I like to read the “Dear Santa” letters published each Christmas Eve in our local newspaper. While we have many schools in our district and area, I can certainly tell the teachers traits and expectations based on these simple letters mid-year through. I can tell which teachers let kids be risk-takers and try to write phonetically as a kindergartener or whose kindergartners all copy the same letter except for their names. Whether we like it or not, the public will judge teachers by the quality of reading and writing our students do. I know that when we have family gatherings, sometimes I look at kids that are in grade levels that I teach and I wonder about the expectations their teachers have for them versus what my teachers have for our students. Another factor in this is the fact that handwriting matters! If the audience is valued than the students will write legibly enough to get their message across. So, with all the debate about teaching handwriting- especially cursive- I wonder about the effects of NOT teaching it.
In this particular chapter, one of the headings was “Expect Excellence.” I penciled in beside that how great that would be to have as a mantra or even a class motto. Teachers aren’t the only ones that need to have high and realistic expectations. Administrators, coworkers, entire schools need to be on the same playing field that we will ALL set high expectations for our learners and do what we need to do to make sure they obtain those goals. When we expect excellence, we need to let our students know that their published pieces of work need to be as perfect as they can get them- that is respectful to their audience, but also helps the reader from being distracted from good writing because of bad conventions.
High expectations go hand in hand with bonding and trust, however. We can’t just expect some students to “squeak by” or understand that some students are “on grade level” so don’t need any further advancement in their writing. We MUST ensure that all our students understand that excellence is expected of good writers- but that does not always mean perfection. Some ways to encourage the bonding and nurturing would be to share texts each day that have a “golden line”, write poetry with the students, be and have good models, focus on the audience, model explicitly and intentionally, and make sure ALL students are held to the high expectations. As Routman states, “Students achieve faster, more easily, and on a higher level when they find the lessons and materials interesting, relevant, and challenging.”
Favorite Quotes from this Chapter: (and very thought-provoking quotes as well)
• Pg. 53- “I never worked in a school or classroom where the expectations for students were too high.”
• Pg. 54- “Competence leads to confidence, which leads to wanting to write more.”
• Pg. 57- “Worksheets foster mediocrity. Mediocrity is not an option. Why do we persist in thinking that just squeaking by is all right for some students?”
• Pg. 65- “If you’re reading everything your students write, they’re not writing enough.”
• Pg. 66- “Handwriting matters.”
• Pg. 67- “Sloppy handwriting is disrespectful to the reader.” (Hmmm . . . . can we copy and paste this into emails to doctors?)
• Pg. 78- “without the learner’s trust, it’s impossible to teach.”
• Pg. 80- “I am firmly convinced that until the student thinks of himself as a writer, no real improvement is possible. Try to focus more on what the child is trying to do and less on what we are trying to teach.”
• Pg. 81- “Our decisions must be guided by “what might help this writer?” rather than “what might help this writing?” (Teaching the writer vs. the writing)
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Routman questions (pg. 53): “Why are our expectations for what students can achieve almost always so low?”
• What does our student handwriting say about our expectations?
• If I brainstormed a chart with students of “What Makes our Writing Interesting?” or “What Does it mean to Show more/ Tell More?” what would those charts entail?
• Do I clearly explain my thinking as a writer?
• Do I encourage my primary students especially to revisit and continue on stories that they have started?
• Pg. 72: “How is what you are doing helping kids become more proficient and independent- and joyful- writers?”
• Pg. 73- “What support (demonstrations, practice, guidance, resources) do students need to succeed with minimal guidance, and how can I best provide it?”
• Pg. 82- “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
When we start teaching writing by giving students praise, celebrations for risk-taking, focusing on simplifying the writing process and modeling that we are growing readers too, we set the stakes to raise our expectations for those students. Sadly, our public does judge educators by how their students write. Writing is so closely correlated with reading and both are tested standards eventually. Personally, I like to read the “Dear Santa” letters published each Christmas Eve in our local newspaper. While we have many schools in our district and area, I can certainly tell the teachers traits and expectations based on these simple letters mid-year through. I can tell which teachers let kids be risk-takers and try to write phonetically as a kindergartener or whose kindergartners all copy the same letter except for their names. Whether we like it or not, the public will judge teachers by the quality of reading and writing our students do. I know that when we have family gatherings, sometimes I look at kids that are in grade levels that I teach and I wonder about the expectations their teachers have for them versus what my teachers have for our students. Another factor in this is the fact that handwriting matters! If the audience is valued than the students will write legibly enough to get their message across. So, with all the debate about teaching handwriting- especially cursive- I wonder about the effects of NOT teaching it.
In this particular chapter, one of the headings was “Expect Excellence.” I penciled in beside that how great that would be to have as a mantra or even a class motto. Teachers aren’t the only ones that need to have high and realistic expectations. Administrators, coworkers, entire schools need to be on the same playing field that we will ALL set high expectations for our learners and do what we need to do to make sure they obtain those goals. When we expect excellence, we need to let our students know that their published pieces of work need to be as perfect as they can get them- that is respectful to their audience, but also helps the reader from being distracted from good writing because of bad conventions.
High expectations go hand in hand with bonding and trust, however. We can’t just expect some students to “squeak by” or understand that some students are “on grade level” so don’t need any further advancement in their writing. We MUST ensure that all our students understand that excellence is expected of good writers- but that does not always mean perfection. Some ways to encourage the bonding and nurturing would be to share texts each day that have a “golden line”, write poetry with the students, be and have good models, focus on the audience, model explicitly and intentionally, and make sure ALL students are held to the high expectations. As Routman states, “Students achieve faster, more easily, and on a higher level when they find the lessons and materials interesting, relevant, and challenging.”
Favorite Quotes from this Chapter: (and very thought-provoking quotes as well)
• Pg. 53- “I never worked in a school or classroom where the expectations for students were too high.”
• Pg. 54- “Competence leads to confidence, which leads to wanting to write more.”
• Pg. 57- “Worksheets foster mediocrity. Mediocrity is not an option. Why do we persist in thinking that just squeaking by is all right for some students?”
• Pg. 65- “If you’re reading everything your students write, they’re not writing enough.”
• Pg. 66- “Handwriting matters.”
• Pg. 67- “Sloppy handwriting is disrespectful to the reader.” (Hmmm . . . . can we copy and paste this into emails to doctors?)
• Pg. 78- “without the learner’s trust, it’s impossible to teach.”
• Pg. 80- “I am firmly convinced that until the student thinks of himself as a writer, no real improvement is possible. Try to focus more on what the child is trying to do and less on what we are trying to teach.”
• Pg. 81- “Our decisions must be guided by “what might help this writer?” rather than “what might help this writing?” (Teaching the writer vs. the writing)
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Routman questions (pg. 53): “Why are our expectations for what students can achieve almost always so low?”
• What does our student handwriting say about our expectations?
• If I brainstormed a chart with students of “What Makes our Writing Interesting?” or “What Does it mean to Show more/ Tell More?” what would those charts entail?
• Do I clearly explain my thinking as a writer?
• Do I encourage my primary students especially to revisit and continue on stories that they have started?
• Pg. 72: “How is what you are doing helping kids become more proficient and independent- and joyful- writers?”
• Pg. 73- “What support (demonstrations, practice, guidance, resources) do students need to succeed with minimal guidance, and how can I best provide it?”
• Pg. 82- “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Website Wednesday- Book Adventure
I hope you haven't been holding your breath since my last "Website Wednesday" post. I had a bit of a blog break for awhile. Now that I've returned, I'd like to share another wonderful website:
http://www.bookadventure.com/
My computer is not letting me do a screen capture right now to show you how neat this website looks, but just click the link and find out for yourself! This is a FREE website sponsored by Sylvan Learning. My 2nd grader loves playing games, doing the quiz-o-matic for prizes, and finding books. I use it at school to help with my students, especially the ones that are struggling to find the perfect book. This site doesn't list all the books in the world, but it does a good job of narrowing down the level, topic or interests, and priority of book suggestions. Think how long that would have taken us in the card-catalog days! :)
Happy Wednesday and if you are in the land of Oz- Stay warm snow buddies!
http://www.bookadventure.com/
My computer is not letting me do a screen capture right now to show you how neat this website looks, but just click the link and find out for yourself! This is a FREE website sponsored by Sylvan Learning. My 2nd grader loves playing games, doing the quiz-o-matic for prizes, and finding books. I use it at school to help with my students, especially the ones that are struggling to find the perfect book. This site doesn't list all the books in the world, but it does a good job of narrowing down the level, topic or interests, and priority of book suggestions. Think how long that would have taken us in the card-catalog days! :)
Happy Wednesday and if you are in the land of Oz- Stay warm snow buddies!
Monday, January 17, 2011
When 2 Year Olds Read
I'm sharing this video of my son, a "reader" at an early age. While I thought I was just an awesome parent, I soon realized that it was more of his intellect that allowed him to be this bright.
* I wonder, what do we do with kids that read this young?
* What do we do as teachers to ensure that these children don't become frustrated with academics that may be "below" their level?
* What effect has NCLB had on these types of readers and writers?
Later this week, I'll try to post some enrichment activities for kids like Zachary that may be well above their grade level and need challenging tasks to keep them behaving and thinking appropriately.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 3: Share Your Writing Life
If teachers are to teach writing well, they must see themselves as writers . . . good writers . . . confident writers . . . growing writers. Teachers that write with their coworkers, and bond as a staff, also have higher achievement in their student reading and writing scores. While most teachers have the “no time” excuse, snap-shot writing can be introduced as a way to quickly write and share important ideas in our lives and teaching. When staff shares their ideas through “snap shots,” it is a time for celebration of writers and a time of bonding as a team.
Students need to see that their teachers are growing writers as well. We are always in the process of learning and growing. When we share our writing with our students, we show them that we write for many different purposes, but it always helps expand our thinking. Students need to know the connections between reading and writing . . . books and authors . . . readers and writers. They need to understand the purpose for writing as well as have a valuable audience for which they are motivated to write. When we read various texts, we need to model how we watch what authors do and how they craft their pieces. Books can be an excellent springboard for getting writing started and having organization for writing.
One of the most practical ways to teach writing is to explicitly model it for our students. In essence- we should practice what we preach. It is important for students to watch us struggle and solve problems. Our students need to observe how we plan, practice, think, and write. If we write our example before we show it to students, they miss some of the most important parts of learning how to be writers. We need to show them the entire process.
Writing is a recursive process rather than just linear. Good writers go back and continue with their previous writing rather than constantly starting new ideas. They revise and refine. Teachers need to envision themselves as writers- having real writing experiences in front of the children, showing children how writers think, and most importantly celebrating the writer’s growth.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Would my staff be willing to write together as an effort to create bonds and collegiality?
• Do I do “snapshot writing”? How might it be implemented into my classroom?
• What process do I use as a writer? What are my “practices”?
• Is my writing life apparent to my students even when I’m not directly teaching?
• What are some characteristics of growing writers?
Students need to see that their teachers are growing writers as well. We are always in the process of learning and growing. When we share our writing with our students, we show them that we write for many different purposes, but it always helps expand our thinking. Students need to know the connections between reading and writing . . . books and authors . . . readers and writers. They need to understand the purpose for writing as well as have a valuable audience for which they are motivated to write. When we read various texts, we need to model how we watch what authors do and how they craft their pieces. Books can be an excellent springboard for getting writing started and having organization for writing.
One of the most practical ways to teach writing is to explicitly model it for our students. In essence- we should practice what we preach. It is important for students to watch us struggle and solve problems. Our students need to observe how we plan, practice, think, and write. If we write our example before we show it to students, they miss some of the most important parts of learning how to be writers. We need to show them the entire process.
Writing is a recursive process rather than just linear. Good writers go back and continue with their previous writing rather than constantly starting new ideas. They revise and refine. Teachers need to envision themselves as writers- having real writing experiences in front of the children, showing children how writers think, and most importantly celebrating the writer’s growth.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• Would my staff be willing to write together as an effort to create bonds and collegiality?
• Do I do “snapshot writing”? How might it be implemented into my classroom?
• What process do I use as a writer? What are my “practices”?
• Is my writing life apparent to my students even when I’m not directly teaching?
• What are some characteristics of growing writers?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 2: Start with Celebration
When was the last time you celebrated taking a risk? I know that as a bit of an introvert, I am not big on taking risks, especially if I know there is a high likelihood that I will fail. Our students need to take risks in order to become better and learn. Taking risks is part of the growth of knowledge. We need to create a compassionate, caring classroom that fosters and encourages risk-taking in writing. Our students need to be celebrated for the risks that they do take, no matter how tiny they might be. Most children start out thinking of themselves as writers. It is the experiences they have had with mistakes they’ve made that start making them hesitant to take risks. Teachers need to create a sincere connection with their students and have a trusting bond.
Routman says:
“It takes so little to turn a student into a writer: a human connection, teacher modeling, supportive conversations before writing begins, an appreciation of the student’s efforts, sincere affirmation, real writing for a purpose, and a reader that the student values.” (pg. 21)
Storytelling can create such a strong starting point for writing starts. Reading and telling children a story gives them exposure to rich vocabulary, enriching experiences, and connections with others. Our personal lives are shared with students when we tell them stories and they relate to us as teachers and as fellow human beings. Oral language skills and literacy are very closely linked. Most children and teachers love to talk with each other. By engaging in purposeful conversations and sharing stories, writing ideas and prompts can become clear. Children will write about what they know best.
A powerful display of sharing writing is through poetry. Encourage children to write free verse, to play around with words, and to explore books where author’s share great language in poetry. Poetry can be so powerful in demonstrating how fun it can be to play with words and make them work for us to make meaning and humor.
In all, our kids need to be celebrated writers and risk-takers. They need to know without-a-doubt that they have power to create writing that is worth reading. As teachers, we are responsible for giving our students that motivation, encouragement, and most importantly, the trust to take risks.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What stories do you tell to your students? Besides personal experience, what are some good resources?
• Do you “protect” story time in the classroom?
• How can journals be used productively in the classroom?
• Do I give my students enough time to tell stories or share their experiences with others?
• Do my students view themselves as great writers and storytellers?
Routman says:
“It takes so little to turn a student into a writer: a human connection, teacher modeling, supportive conversations before writing begins, an appreciation of the student’s efforts, sincere affirmation, real writing for a purpose, and a reader that the student values.” (pg. 21)
Storytelling can create such a strong starting point for writing starts. Reading and telling children a story gives them exposure to rich vocabulary, enriching experiences, and connections with others. Our personal lives are shared with students when we tell them stories and they relate to us as teachers and as fellow human beings. Oral language skills and literacy are very closely linked. Most children and teachers love to talk with each other. By engaging in purposeful conversations and sharing stories, writing ideas and prompts can become clear. Children will write about what they know best.
A powerful display of sharing writing is through poetry. Encourage children to write free verse, to play around with words, and to explore books where author’s share great language in poetry. Poetry can be so powerful in demonstrating how fun it can be to play with words and make them work for us to make meaning and humor.
In all, our kids need to be celebrated writers and risk-takers. They need to know without-a-doubt that they have power to create writing that is worth reading. As teachers, we are responsible for giving our students that motivation, encouragement, and most importantly, the trust to take risks.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What stories do you tell to your students? Besides personal experience, what are some good resources?
• Do you “protect” story time in the classroom?
• How can journals be used productively in the classroom?
• Do I give my students enough time to tell stories or share their experiences with others?
• Do my students view themselves as great writers and storytellers?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Writing Essentials- Chapter 1: Simplify the Teaching of Writing
If someone told you that they would simplify your teaching, would that just make you exuberant and jump for joy? Aren’t teachers usually looking for ways to simplify and refine what they are doing? Sometimes it is in the name of saving time, but other times it is serious, ethical, purposeful teaching that is just simpler than before. By simplifying, we get back to the basics of teaching. Whether it be reading, writing, math, or themes (yes, I really listed that), teachers need to get back to the simplicity of the subject matter. While pressures are mounting for performance testing and standards-based assessments, isn’t it true that we are getting further away from making our students citizens and making them standardized performers?
In the book Writing Essentials by Regie Routman, she provides real-life examples of how to simplify our teaching of writing so that our students start to enjoy it and see purpose in it. By taking the focus away from procedures, processes, genres, and strict standards, we can give students the desire to learn writing and think of themselves as great writers. Students need to start out with efficacy about their writing. It seems that most teachers have negative experiences or thoughts about writing and that is apparent in how they approach teaching writing as well as writing in general. When teachers start to write together, as a team, and start to enjoy writing, they pass that love onto their students. The core beliefs of teachers have to know that they themselves are writers and that they will be great teachers of writers.
If you are reading this as a teacher, it does not matter what grade level you teach- writing skills and strategies are the same across all the grade levels. Writing is writing. It should come to no surprise that good readers make good writers and vice versa. Our writers need real world applications for their writing. They need motivation and purpose for being a writer. When they have intense motivation to get their purpose or message across, they will perform to the high expectations. They may not go through the entire writing process or perform well on every piece of genre text you teach, but when they are passionate about being a writer and are encouraged to be a great writer, they will most generally rise to those expectations.
Simplify your teaching of writing- look at what writers do, why they do it, and how they do it. Teach explicitly and purposefully to your students and most importantly, foster the students need for encouragement and motivation.
Some questions to ponder about this chapter:
• What are my Top 5 Things I do to Ensure Students become Excellent Writers?
• What does are my colleagues shared beliefs about writing and teaching writing?
• What makes a great “writing program”?
• What do I do as a writer?
• How do I indirectly influence my students as writers?
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