This week as we started school I was reminded of the importance of procedure, procedure, procedure. I was secretly coveting the teachers who loop because they are just reviewing procedure instead of practicing it over and over and over.
A few things we are working on in my room
1) Reading actively during silent reading time.
2) Finding our perfect reading and writing spots.
3) Transitions and lining up.
4) Coming to the carpet from our assigned seats.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Recommendations for Your Professional Library
Books that have changed my teaching life.
Carol Ann Tomlinson's The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners
This book teaches you how to differentiate appropriately and respectfully for all the learners in the classroom. Let's face it, you will have 20 or more students and none of them will be at the same place. This book teaches how to address it. My favorite way to differentiate is through tiering. This method makes it easy and efficient to adapt lesson plan and address the learners in the room
Ellin Oliver Keene's Mosaic of Thought and To Understand
These books revolutionized the desire in my heart for teaching reading and writing in the classroom. I knew I wanted something different which is why my curriculum resource instructor pointed me in the direction of Mosaic of Thought. It was exactly what I needed. To believe that reading is more than just answering questions about a passage is exactly what I wanted someone to say. And not only did she say it, but then later produced a second book after I started reader's and writer's workshop that changed the way I look at the entire model in my classroom in the her latest book To Understand.
Cris Tovani's I Read It, but I Don't Get It
This is an enjoyable read. It does address the older reader, but I have found it is easily adaptable to lower levels. However, you can also read Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning and it will provide a great framework for reader's workshop especially for the primary classrooms.
Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis Strategies That Work
This is the book I read after Mosaic of Thought. Every teacher MUST read this if he/she plans to implement reader's workshop.
Ralph Fletcher's Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices
Being a mom of girls, it has always been my fear that I would misunderstand the boy in the classroom and not provide appropriate mentor texts and modeling. This book is a must read! I laughed out loud more than once as I read and had immediate strategies at my fingertips on how to help my boy writers succeed in writing.
Lucy Calkin's: Now she has TONS of books. Big, thick, luscious books. I will never forget sitting in a National Board meeting and a fellow scholarship recipient informing me she was going to read both editions in 7 days before school started. Without even thinking I began to laugh (I know not one of my better moments) and said, "YOU'RE kidding! That's a lot to digest." That being said her books on teaching writing and reading are powerful, but for a reader like me I digest them one chapter at a time looking for what I need information on. However, I do use her Units of Study for Writing. (She also has a primary set.) I would be lost in my writer's workshop without them. I read through the lessons and adapt, change, modify to fit my goal. I have found these to be a great starting point. I am now on my third year with the set and I notice I am not opening them as much at the beginning of the year. Hoping this is a sign that I have synthesized her work or maybe just channeling Lucy. :-)
If you are a new teacher or new to literacy workshop these are a must read! I will follow up in a few weeks with more of my favorite books, but these should get you started.
Carol Ann Tomlinson's The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners
This book teaches you how to differentiate appropriately and respectfully for all the learners in the classroom. Let's face it, you will have 20 or more students and none of them will be at the same place. This book teaches how to address it. My favorite way to differentiate is through tiering. This method makes it easy and efficient to adapt lesson plan and address the learners in the room
Ellin Oliver Keene's Mosaic of Thought and To Understand
These books revolutionized the desire in my heart for teaching reading and writing in the classroom. I knew I wanted something different which is why my curriculum resource instructor pointed me in the direction of Mosaic of Thought. It was exactly what I needed. To believe that reading is more than just answering questions about a passage is exactly what I wanted someone to say. And not only did she say it, but then later produced a second book after I started reader's and writer's workshop that changed the way I look at the entire model in my classroom in the her latest book To Understand.
Cris Tovani's I Read It, but I Don't Get It
This is an enjoyable read. It does address the older reader, but I have found it is easily adaptable to lower levels. However, you can also read Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning and it will provide a great framework for reader's workshop especially for the primary classrooms.
Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis Strategies That Work
This is the book I read after Mosaic of Thought. Every teacher MUST read this if he/she plans to implement reader's workshop.
Ralph Fletcher's Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices
Being a mom of girls, it has always been my fear that I would misunderstand the boy in the classroom and not provide appropriate mentor texts and modeling. This book is a must read! I laughed out loud more than once as I read and had immediate strategies at my fingertips on how to help my boy writers succeed in writing.
Lucy Calkin's: Now she has TONS of books. Big, thick, luscious books. I will never forget sitting in a National Board meeting and a fellow scholarship recipient informing me she was going to read both editions in 7 days before school started. Without even thinking I began to laugh (I know not one of my better moments) and said, "YOU'RE kidding! That's a lot to digest." That being said her books on teaching writing and reading are powerful, but for a reader like me I digest them one chapter at a time looking for what I need information on. However, I do use her Units of Study for Writing. (She also has a primary set.) I would be lost in my writer's workshop without them. I read through the lessons and adapt, change, modify to fit my goal. I have found these to be a great starting point. I am now on my third year with the set and I notice I am not opening them as much at the beginning of the year. Hoping this is a sign that I have synthesized her work or maybe just channeling Lucy. :-)
If you are a new teacher or new to literacy workshop these are a must read! I will follow up in a few weeks with more of my favorite books, but these should get you started.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Reader's Workshop
After reading Ellin Keene's book To Understand, I changed the name of my Language Arts class to literacy workshop. My day is designed with 1 1/2-2 hours of literacy and 30-45 minutes of direct instruction for social studies. Often times my social studies reading is embedded within my literacy block. My students write every day and have mini-lessons in reading and writing. My first novel of the year is Frindle by Andrew Clements. I will draw upon the First 20 Days from Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading and Writing and review the comprehension strategies and really stress to my students that reading is not a passive activity, but one that is full of thinking and engagement.
I am very lucky to have a district that puts thinking first and my students have been working on reading comprehension strategies for many years. Usually, I preassess each strategy prior to teaching it then begin my the strategy lessons. This year I plan to assess before I even begin my quick overview of the strategies.I haven't finalized my pre-assessment, but I know it will have some of these questions.
Some mini-lessons that I plan on teaching the first week of school are
I am very lucky to have a district that puts thinking first and my students have been working on reading comprehension strategies for many years. Usually, I preassess each strategy prior to teaching it then begin my the strategy lessons. This year I plan to assess before I even begin my quick overview of the strategies.I haven't finalized my pre-assessment, but I know it will have some of these questions.
- What does it mean when you are asked to visualize while you read?
- What are the ways you make connections to the text?
- What do you do when you don't understand what you are reading?
- What is an inference?
- Why is it important to ask questions as you read?
- What does it mean to think while you read?
- How do you feel about yourself as a reader when you read?
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- Just Right Books: How to use the Goldilocks Method
- How to Keep a Reading Log
- Fix Up Strategies when I Lose My Way
- Silent Reading Expectations
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Oh The Places We'll Go!!
"Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!"
Dr. Seuss from Oh, The Place's You'll Go
In honor of those starting their first day of school today! And to my little E as I send you off to 1st Grade!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Building Stamina
I use an adapted/modified version of the Daily 5 in my room, and I love their chapter on how to build stamina in reading and writing. At the beginning of the year, we start out at 20 minutes, but my goal is to get to 45 minutes to an hour of uninterrupted writing by February. My 5th graders take a state mandated writing test and it is untimed, but I have found this to be very helpful in their stamina on the day of the writing test. They aren't surprised by the amount of energy exerted if we have rehearsed it daily.
How to Build Stamina
1) Set a timer for 20 minutes. After the day's mini-lesson explain to students that they are expected to write for 20 minutes today. Review the writing goal for the day and release them to write.
2) During this time I am conferring with students and listening. Writing means silence. When I begin to hear a buzz in the classroom or the timer ends I stop them and bring them back to the carpet.
3) We make our goal for the next day for how many minutes to write and move onto the next activity.
The hardest part for me while building stamina is ending early on the days the kids choose not to focus. I kept wanting them to "shhhh." But, if you keep track with a bar graph and record it, the students WANT to make the goal set for the day.
What do you do to build stamina for writing and reading in your classroom?
How to Build Stamina
1) Set a timer for 20 minutes. After the day's mini-lesson explain to students that they are expected to write for 20 minutes today. Review the writing goal for the day and release them to write.
2) During this time I am conferring with students and listening. Writing means silence. When I begin to hear a buzz in the classroom or the timer ends I stop them and bring them back to the carpet.
3) We make our goal for the next day for how many minutes to write and move onto the next activity.
The hardest part for me while building stamina is ending early on the days the kids choose not to focus. I kept wanting them to "shhhh." But, if you keep track with a bar graph and record it, the students WANT to make the goal set for the day.
What do you do to build stamina for writing and reading in your classroom?
Monday, August 9, 2010
SOLC~Burning Excitement
August. One of my favorite times of the year. The supplies arrive by truckloads to the hot spots for school supplies. Then I see it...my pens...sharpies, Bic, crayola markers. I admit it. I have an addiction. My mission: the perfect pen. It varies from year to year, but right now it is the fine point sharpie. The new ones that don't bleed through the paper.
But really I think that I choose on focusing on the perfect pen until I meet THEM. The chosen 53 students assigned to me--their teacher. Tonight I met THEM. Now, I'm no longer thinking about the pens or school supplies, but the beautiful faces I spoke to tonight. The hands I shook while smiling and saying, "Welcome to my room!!" All the while excitement brewing. A new year has begun. Welcome, August; welcome students. Bring on the pens!!!
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| Please go to Two Writing Teachers to read more slices or link your own. Two Writing Teachers |
Where to Work?
As I began to set up my classroom this week, I kept in mind the choice that students will have in where they will work. I have designed my room to fit the needs of those that like a work station and the ones who like to sit around the room. When establishing routines and procedures one of my mini-lessons will be about the place you choose to sit and work. I have tables in my classroom instead of desks and and the tables are in a U-shape on the outline of the edge of the carpet. This provides a huge space for my teaching time (always done on the carpet up front by the Smartboard) and for individual writing time.
Procedure for Choice Seating
1) Think about what you like. Do you prefer to lay on your stomach to write or sit up right?
2) Choose to sit somewhere where there aren't any distractions for you.
3) Make sure it's comfortable and you are able to write or read for at least 20 minutes.
4) Each day try a different spot until you find the right fit.
5) Once you choose a spot for the day, stay there. You may return to your seat if you find your chosen spot is uncomfortable but do not change locations in the classroom. (This prevents moving close to a friend after they have chosen a seat.)
6) Write, write, write.
Procedure for Choice Seating
1) Think about what you like. Do you prefer to lay on your stomach to write or sit up right?
2) Choose to sit somewhere where there aren't any distractions for you.
3) Make sure it's comfortable and you are able to write or read for at least 20 minutes.
4) Each day try a different spot until you find the right fit.
5) Once you choose a spot for the day, stay there. You may return to your seat if you find your chosen spot is uncomfortable but do not change locations in the classroom. (This prevents moving close to a friend after they have chosen a seat.)
6) Write, write, write.
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