Ashley Blackwelder: Classroom Spotlight

Over the past two weeks, I've had the opportunity to dive back into the 5th grade classroom (which I love) and lead those students and teachers through a unit I've designed on forces and motion (which don't typically love, but have really enjoyed as a result of this re-vamped unit). I've felt a little like I have bitten off more than I can chew with this whole thing, as I've just finished helping 5th grade with their STEAM program and am now getting to work with 2nd grade on theirs.  There's usually not enough time in the day to make all of these things happen...but it's been a great experience for our kids so far, and something I was dying to try out after we explored the elephant text set in class and began working on our own. Although I am our STEM teacher (or STEM Lab Lady or The Scientist, depending on which kid you ask), my "first love" in teaching has always been reading--and I was instantly excited about the idea of seeking out really great, high-interest texts to jump-start a unit that our teachers typically dread and students struggle to understand. We started the unit with my text set  and moved into two days of exploration with force-and-motion-themed Goldiblox building sets. From there, we've moved on to pendulum painting and art critique, graphing motion with the help of some 4th grade runners, and we'll finish up with a guest speaker this week, who is on the Canadian curling team. As the students have completed each activity, the only writing requirements I gave them were to take notes on 3 things: 1) any important/new terms they encountered that would be good to remember 2) any questions they had about something they read or experienced and 3) any reflections (visualizations, connections, etc.) that they wanted to add. We've been assessing their understanding and participation through rubrics based mostly on conversations with peers and teachers; we have yet to assign a "quiz" on the material, but have had plenty of opportunities to get an authentic measure of what they currently know and what they need. All of this is leading up to the final week of our unit, during which our students will reflect on what they've learned and found most interesting, and then design an experiment to test out some aspect of force and motion.
Although I started trying to be more "STEM-focused" during my last couple of years in the classroom, this unit is vastly different from anything I attempted with my own students. I feel that I have grown a great deal myself in really understanding the value of questioning and exploration as learning experiences, and it's the first time I ever started off a unit without any real direct instruction. It's really been interesting--and eye-opening--to see how well they're doing when they're constructing that knowledge through their experiences and wonderings.The big difference is that from the start, they've been reading and writing LIKE SCIENTISTS. There is no 5-paragraph format, no need to assess their grammar, punctuation, etc. at this point.  They are simply reading, thinking, and writing what matters to them about what they are doing. I am hoping that their culminating projects will show that this whole endeavor has been worthwhile--that they will be able to investigate something that matters to them and present it in a way that shows a deeper understanding and purpose than they would have through textbook learning and direct instruction. Based on what I've seen so far, I suspect that they will.  Check out what they're doing, and hopefully I'll have more good things to report in the next few weeks!

Cristin Harris-Strategy Share

Strategy Share

I recently attended a conference called Supporting English Learners in the Reading Workshop. The speaker was Lindsey Moses who has written and collaborated on many different books about best practices for ELLs.  The course started off discussing the different language proficiency levels and the differences between BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills, conversation) and CALPS (Academic Language Proficiency.)  As we know, students gain conversational language much more quickly than academic language. This is why we see so many of our students holding full conversations on the playground but not contributing to discussions in the classroom.  This training introduced several ideas that I want to take by to my classroom that I feel would be useful for all classrooms.

The first few strategies involve how to encourage students to participate in group discussions and get them to practice their speaking skills.  The best way to improve a student’s speaking ability is to allow them to talk frequently in the classroom.  Here are some ideas I thought were very useful.  These ideas give students more “wait time” so they are able to form their ideas before they have to share them to the class.

Think, Whisper, Let it Go:  The teacher poses a question to students. Then, she gives them time to think.  Once they have an answer they whisper it in their hands.  Once students have had time to whisper they “let it go.” This means they either shout out their answer or raise their hand to tell their answer to the class.  This gives students lots of wait time so they don’t feel pressured to come up with an answer on the spot.

Talking Chips:  The teacher gives a problem, question, or topic to a group.  Then, she gives each child in the group 1-3 chips.  Each child will have their own color.  Then, when a child wants to say something in the group they put a chip in the center.  When a child has used all of their chips they can’t contribute to the discussion anymore until the next topic.  The teacher can then quickly see which students are using their chips and which ones aren’t contributing to the conversation.

Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up:  The teacher poses a question to the class.  Then all students stand up and put their hand in the air to signal they are looking for a partner.  They high five each other when they find a partner and put their hands down to “pair share.”  Once they finish sharing they then put their hands back up and look for a new partner.

I also really liked some of the reading ideas she gave us.  One in particular that stood out was how to teach students about character portrayal in books.  She used the three texts, Piggy Book, Giving Tree, and Paper Bag Princess to demonstrate this.  Students read the book and then think about how the character is being portrayed in the book. What is their role?  What are their characteristics? They then have to provide evidence for their answers.  They put all of this in a chart.  Some books also had the students focus on how the portrayal of the character changes in the story.  This helped bring a large and sometimes difficult concept down to the level of the students.  It also had them analyzing the books they were reading to see how different genders are portrayed in texts and to look for bias. 

She shared many great ideas that I wrote down but these were my favorites that I felt I could take back to the classroom and start using quickly. I look forward to checking out some of her books to try more of these strategies in the ESOL classroom.

Sources:  https://lindseymoses.weebly.com/

Ashleigh Dozier March/April --Chapter 2 Bond with your Students

"The modeling by people we love is what changes us." --Don Holdaway

     This quote really stuck with me because it's so true.  When I just sat and thought about the people that I loved, I realized how much they had actually taught me, just by modeling it.  I thought about my parents and how they modeled to me what marriage is, and what love looked like.  I thought about my mom and how she modeled being an amazing teacher.  This made me want to become a teacher and help children like she did.  I then thought that this can be transferred into the classroom as well.  I want my students to feel loved by me here at school. Many of my students don't get to feel the type of love that I felt from my parents and family, so I want to be sure that they feel loved when they are with me.  I realize that I can be the model that helps to mold them into the awesome learners that I know they are and can be!

      I loved reading the different ways that we can bond with out students.  One of the first things that stuck out to me was "model respect".  This is a big one because several of my students need help with showing respect to others and belongings.  It is important to teach students how to respect each other.  I really enjoyed reading the different sayings on page 16 that we can teach our students to use.  Another thing that stuck out to me was "sharing stories."  I feel that by sharing stories, the students can see that I am actually just like them and that they can relate to me in more ways than they think.  i feel that when you have more things in common with someone, you tend to feel more trusting of them and more comfortable with them.  Through reading this chapter, as well as taking this course, I am learning the importance of "shared decision making" in the classroom.  When giving the students a chance to help make choices in the classroom, it shows that you believe in their ability to make decisions and can help them to become more confident. I am beginning to see students blossom and think more outside the box when I let them take charge in the classroom! I am still learning how to do this, but we are learning together! :) 

Stephanie Wofford-March/April Blog

For this blog post, I chose to read Routman's Chapter 9-Emphasize Shared Reading.  I have to admit, this year I have not been the best with respect to shared reading.  When I saw the title of this chapter, I thought it might be a good reminder for me as to why it's so important.  The text gives a great checklist on page 133 which details all of the things that teachers are able to demonstrate through shared reading.  I'm glad that I have a document camera so that I'm able to use just about anything for shared reading and have it displayed so that all can see it.  I like the framework, which begins on page 134.  It reminds me to have time for students to discuss the text periodically with each other.  This is also great practice for my ELL students as well.  I do agree that the shared reading is a great segway into independent reading since you've already modeled good reading for students.  The list on page 136 gives great ideas for student discussion starters.  This is something that would be good to have handy...maybe on my clipboard.  There's also a great list on page 138 that would be great to have handy which lists sentence stems for both teacher and students.  When just getting into shared reading, these lists are great to have to help guide meaningful conversations about the text.  The author also provides an excellent example of a script from a shared reading done with students to give a good idea of what it might look like when implemented in the classroom.  I think that one of the best ideas Routman has is to put sticky notes in the text before reading so that you have talking points already there...it's easy once you start reading to miss important opportunities for teaching.

Stephanie Wofford-Jan/Feb Blog

For this blog, I chose to read Routman's Chpt. 5-Organize and Outstanding Classroom Library.  I have quite a large classroom library as a result of teaching for thirteen years, so numbers of books is not a problem.  I have always kept my books in bins leveled by AR so that once my kids had a reading range, it would be easier for them to find books that are just right for them.  This is how our book room in my first school in VA was organized, so maybe that's why it stuck with me.  I hoped that reading this chapter would give me some insight into ways I could make my classroom library even better. 
I thought it was interesting that the point was made that "it really doesn't matter much what kids read as long as they read and enjoy what they're reading."  While I think that's true for the most part, I do believe that as children are building their reading abilities, there should be somewhat of a balance.  I feel that improvement in vocabulary and reading ability is helped by challenges.  I liked the checklist on pages 66 and 67.  Overall, I check out pretty well.  One thing that I questioned, though, was the rotation of books.  I have to admit, my library is pretty static, with the exception of adding new titles the students suggest every once in a while.  I might think about rotating my book baskets so that at least there are new things every now and then, which might create excitement.  It might also help it be less overwhelming for students when trying to choose a book to read.  I do a good job of paying attention to what my kids like to read and then ordering from Scholastic.  I do include lots of nonfiction texts as the text suggests.  My students over the years have always seemed to love these, particularly texts about animals (sharks are always a big hit).  I thought the personal book basket for each student was a really interesting idea, as was interviewing students at the beginning of the year to gauge interests. 
I guess this is something I need to think about.  I'm not sure I'm totally ready to organize everything by genre and student interests just yet...but maybe I can look to find a happy medium for the time being.

Molly Peake Blog Post 7 March/April

Blog Post 7- March/April

Routman Chapter 10: You Only Have So Much Time

Molly Peake

This chapter of Routman spoke volumes to me.  It explains exactly how I feel…exhausted!  I spend countless hours planning and getting ready for the upcoming day and week.  I feel, just this year, that teaching is beginning to consume more of my time than anything else in my life.  As I am working on this blog I have 2 children in After School waiting impatiently for me to come pick them up.  Routman had a lot of good ideas about how to make learning more meaningful for students which in the same time will help cut down on planning lessons that are not needed.  Routman suggests that teachers should continually ask themselves when planning “how is this activity helping my students become more independent as readers, writers, and thinkers?”  Routman explains to teachers that if the answer to that question is “no” then to set the assignment to the side.  Routman strongly suggests to make ongoing evaluation a part of every literacy activity that maximizes participation and learning.  All of the ideas that Routman shared prove that “authentic reading and writing where the students have some challenge, choice, control, and opportunity to collaborate and motivate students the most”.  From what I have observed in my classroom with guided reading and partner reading, I totally agree.  I plan to use these ideas to help with planning so that teaching is not “taking over” my life and use my planning time more wisely.

Chloe Turner: Routman Blog 7: You Only Have So Much Time

When was the last time you took a step back from teaching and evaluated your work and the amount of time you spend working? Regie Routman starts her twelfth chapter in, Reading Essentials, with the idea that teachers are working TOO hard. It seems teachers find it difficult to find a balance between life and work.

A portion of teachers, myself included, seem to lack excitement in life. Regie writes that many teachers, she has come across, turn down plans because they have something they deem "more important. "A lot of times it seems to always fall back on school focused material. "Staying till six or seen each evening doesn't necessarily make us more effective teachers," (202). Routman provides tips and asks teachers to rethink how they spend their time.

Routman recommends spending time thinking. Teachers should be thinking about the "what" and "how" they want their students to learn. I must say, as a first year teacher, I am constantly consumed with thoughts about school. I can overwhelm myself with thoughts and planning. The material is new for me I don't have the experience to plan well. Routman spends a lot of time writing strategies for teachers who have had more experience. I am always trying to develop goals for my students and myself. I try to make every minute count and use all of our time wisely, but its hard. It is really hard. One thing that Routman recommends, that I find useful, is time yourself. While timing yourself, pay attention to student learning and the pros and cons of the lesson then think and reflect on the success of your time management.

Another tool Routman mentions is the mystery word. "Kids love solving words, and doing so heightens their awareness of and interest in learning new words," (208). I really like the idea of putting a few letters on the board and having my students solve the "mystery word." Its like a quick game of Wheel of Fortune. The game heightens awareness. This could be the perfect bell work. Routman writes about making this time "sensible and pleasurable." Mystery word would be a great tool to utilize for a sensible and pleasurable activity.

It is a reoccurring pattern in Routman's book, never waste student/ teacher time doing mundane activities. Look at your schedule carefully, make the room easy to access materials, reduce any "busy work" activities, and reevaluate your schedule. Routman says to spend time bettering yourself and doing the things you enjoy. I agree. I burned myself out the first semester of teaching. I stayed at school until the building closed. I have found that I enjoy this semester so much more because of the time I take for myself. I leave school early two days a week. I use that time to tutor a student outside of the school and read a book for pleasure. Don't stop planning and modifying plans, but take time for yourself. It makes us better teachers if we have a life outside of school!