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!

Karmen Wade – Blog Post: 7: March/April Chapter 4: Teach with a Sense of Urgency (Routman)

Karmen Wade – Blog Post: 7: March/April

Chapter 4: Teach with a Sense of Urgency (Routman)

I chose to read chapter 4 because of the last word in the title, urgency. The first thought that entered my mind when I saw the word urgency was fast. According to the chapter, teaching with a sense of urgency is more about teaching in the moment rather than teaching quickly! It’s about teaching with passion, not teaching with the use of a script, workbook, or worksheet. Urgency doesn’t mean that our classroom is a stressful, rigid place full of drill and skill activities. Teaching with a sense of urgency is about making every moment count in the classroom and that makes an impact on student learning.

 When my students are working in class I always place a large emphasis on making sure that they take their time. I remind them not to rush!  I tell my students that it’s ok to take chances and create things. I encourage my students to try something new and even if they make a mistake, they can always try again! Just as I tell my students each day, take your time, don’t rush through your assignments, stop and think about it, try something new,  etc. the same things should apply to me.  I have learned that teaching material more quickly does not help students learn. I believe that it actually sends the child the exact opposite message of what learning is about. Rushing through daily material can send students the message that it’s not about discovery but more about completion. Learning is a life long journey. Teaching with urgency is about reminding our students to explore, make mistakes, and build models, re do things if it doesn’t work the first time. It allows for more inquiry based learning!

According to the chapter, teaching with a sense of urgency is not about hurrying along through standards but more about teaching in the moment! While reading, I began to really stop and think about my daily teaching practices and routines. Whether I am teaching reading, math, science or social studies, I want to provide my students with lessons and then learning opportunities that are the most effective. I found the whole-class reading approaches helpful. This year I have really tried to stop and model and share my own thinking with my students during reading instruction. I've model for the whole class what I'm thinking and asking myself as I read. This year I have started using small group instruction in reading more and more.  This year I have also tried to incorporate more time for partner sharing. One thing that I definitely want to try with my students in the future that I have not done before is a shared reading lesson where each child has a copy of the book and an interactive writing lesson. It seems like it would be a fun way to incorporate smaller group sessions through literacy instruction.  I would also like to create an area in my classroom for an independent writer’s workshop to be used daily. I already have a pretty good classroom library. My favorite area of my classroom is the area I have for read a –loud and shared reading.  It is an area where the students and I can come together for daily discussions about the many wonders the children have and share purposeful talk. I am not teaching standards but students! I believe teaching with urgency is fun for the students and the teacher. It helps the students become stronger in their role as a learner.  After reading Routman’s chapter on teaching with a sense of urgency I have learned more strategies that I want to try with what I am already practicing with my students. Teaching with a sense of urgency is about making every moment count in the classroom!

Brittany Daly – Blog Post 7: Miller (2013), Section 2: Why Not? What Works? Why Independent Reading Matters and the Best Practices to Support It

In this section of No More Independent Reading without Support, Miller presents all of the major points we have discussed throughout the year in our class. While many of the points Miller makes are points I have already heard, it has been beneficial for me to read about them again. The more I read, the more inspired I am to keep working on the way I organize my reading instruction.

Miller begins by providing evidence that validates the importance of independent reading, and she focuses on the practices that are critical for effective independent reading. This year, I have tried to provide my students with more time to read. I used to be so focused on my reading lessons that I barely left time for students to actually practice the skills I was teaching. I believe that my students have spent a significantly larger portion of time reading this year. I have also allowed much more student choice this year than in past years. I think this has instilled in my students a desire to read.

One thing that I still need to improve is the way I monitor and assess student reading. I began the year with great intentions. I created my reading conference binder and revised my conference sheets, but as it usually happens, time got away from me. I found that I was almost always occupied by other things when I should have been conducting meaningful, ongoing conferences with students. I know that, “Conferring during IR time can be a meaningful way to make students accountable, provide individual help and guidance, and assess reading progress” (p. 34). I understand the importance of this constant formative assessment, but I just struggle to find the time to do it well with all students. This is an area I intend to continue to work on as next year begins. I have high hopes for next year’s reading instruction, and I am excited to use the tools provided in our two class texts to help me. 

Olivia McNorrill - Post #6, Routman, Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - You Only Have So Much Time

Time is a precious commodity, especially in the classroom. 180 days always seems like ample time when long range plans are made in August. By the time December/January rolls around, I'm always in awe of how quickly the days have flown by with the final days rapidly approaching. After reading Section 1 of Miller's, "Not This:  Is There Enough Time?  And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?" I gave my schedule careful analysis to make sure I was making the most of every school day. Routman's final chapter of "Reading Essentials" echos and provides further examples of ways to fill your instructional time with best practices to ensure no time is wasted. I found the chapter to be calming and refreshing. While there is an urgency I feel to make every minute count, I have learned a great deal through Routman, Miller, and authors of various articles read over the course. When best practices are used, stress is greatly reduced for both the teacher and the student.

I must admit that I have exhausted myself many times trying to pack too much into a lesson. Spending hours on preparing lessons before and after school. There are so many resources, materials and activities available. I find it overwhelming trying to decide what is best to do with students. So I end up many times, planning too much. At the end of the lesson, the students and I had a great time but we're both exhausted. Routman’s explanation of why it’s important to spend most of your time thinking really helped me understand how I can better keep myself focused. After she meets with students to determine needs, interest, purposes, and goals she then tailors lesson plans for that particular group of students. She goes on to write that there are four basis questions that she keeps in mind all the time.

·       What do I want them to know and understand?

·       How can I help them know and understand it?

·       How will I know when they know and understand it? How will students know that they understand and let me know that they do?

·       What are my new expectations for students? (then it repeats again)

I feel that these questions are key to maintaining a desired focus while making the most of every moment. Prior to building a lesson, I now make sure I’ve answered these questions first before building the lesson. "With a clear and meaningful focus, we can do more instruction, more effectively, in less time." (p. 218) What have I learned by building in more time to reflect and think? That I’m keeping the work simple, more meaningful, at a livelier pace and combining activities which gets more work into the school day. I’m using the time with students more effectively and we are all happier at the end of the day as a result. Learning has certainly not suffered but rather grown instead. I couldn't be more thrilled!

Stevie Fields-April Blog Post-Routman Chapter 6

Part of me wishes that I had read this chapter at the beginning of the year since I have been working on including more independent reading in my classroom. However, I also think it’s good that I didn’t. After spending time trying to provide my student with more choice and more time to simply read, I believe I have seen the benefit of independent reading. Having personally seen the benefits, the idea of giving up more control and having independent reading take over the majority of my reading instruction is less daunting. The majority of my students have loved reading books that they got to pick out and the growth that I have seen in them as readers, especially my lower readers, has been fantastic. This chapter has me thinking about how I want to structure my reading time for next year and how I really want to commit to this idea of independent reading. It also has me thinking about what parts I need to improve for next year.  One area that I really need to work on is conferencing with students as they read their books.  I have been conferencing but I have not been consistent about it.  The conferencing I have done showed me that it is a valuable use of time. It provides so much insight into my student’s strengths and weaknesses and, ideally, I should be using that information to plan instruction. Another area I need to work on is helping students determine the “just right” book for them. I want to get away from having kids look at numbers and asking if it “on their level” and, instead, teach them how to find an appropriate book just like an adult going into the library would do.  I truly believe that this will help grow lifelong readers and not just kids who can answer comprehension questions.  

Lyuda Bentsiy March/April Blog

Routman Chapter 12
You Only Have So Much Time

When I read “How do we do it all and not work sunrise to sunset every day of the week? Teachers are burning out and retiring as quickly as they can in our district” I thought I need to read this chapter because I was wondering the same thing this year. This is my 4^th year teaching and I feel like it should be easier but it has not been. There has been a lot of new things that we were encouraged to try and I always felt like there was not enough time to do all the things that we were told to do. Just when I thought I was one step ahead, I was two behind because something else was added to my plate.

I have spent the past few months thinking about how to spend my time better so I could have some time left for me and to do the things that I love to do. I have utilized conferencing and observations with my students more this year than any other year. Doing this has helped me plan my instruction and use my time more effectively.

The question on page 205 “How is this activity helping my students become more independent as readers, writers, and thinkers?” has also been guiding my teaching. I try to make lessons relevant and interesting and I noticed that I rarely have to stop and discipline students. When I read the same thing on page 206, I was encouraged and thought “I’m doing something right!”

I noticed that when I implemented these changes to my teaching and thinking, I have found myself being a more effective teacher. I also enjoy my job more and don’t go home exhausted with a migraine. 

Ashley Blackwelder March/April Blog: Routman Ch. 12, You Only Have So Much Time

I loved this chapter, and I wish I had read it about 10 years ago, when I thought being a dedicated teacher meant both arriving at and leaving school in the dark each day.  As a new teacher, I knew that I would have to invest some time in my lesson planning. I wanted to create meaningful experiences for my students, and I was stubborn about doing it all on my own.  Without a selection of "tried and true" resources, I knew that I'd be putting in a few extra hours at the beginning of my career.  As a young and single teacher, I wasn't taking time away from a family at home.  It was a stage of my life when I knew I had the extra time to focus on being a good teacher, so that's what I did.  I did my best, as Routman says, to "live an interesting life," but I also exhausted myself.  I assumed that, at some point, I would "figure out" how other teachers managed to leave at 3:00 each day.
Looking back on those earlier years as a teacher, I don't regret trying to figure things out on my own or investing the time to create some really great lessons and units that have served me--and hopefully my students--well.  However, I do wish that I had understood that teaching is ALWAYS going to require me to grow, improve, and make changes.  I didn't need to take on the impossible task of making everything "perfect" in a year.  It's never going to be perfect--and even if I could make things perfect for one class, I'd get a new group in the next year and I'd have to make changes in order to be effective for them.  At some point, I got the idea that effective, organized teachers could have an entire unit, or even an entire year, completely planned out and ready to go.  I felt like what I was doing was pretty good, but that I must be a little "scattered," because I still had to go back and change things, or make adjustments in my daily and weekly plans.  Now, I understand that this was one thing I was actually getting right.  I was pretty good at tailoring the instruction to the students in my class, but I wasn't using my time as effectively as I could have been.
The same could be said of my time in the classroom.  Of course, I've always thought of myself as very anti-busy work, but I know now that I never completely eliminated it from my day.  What Routman says about starting the day really hit home with me.  I never really liked assigning morning work, but always felt like it was a necessary evil; there was so much practice we had to "get in," I couldn't see a way to do without it.  But the kids hated it, rarely put their best effort into it, and I absolutely hated grading it at the end of each week.  Yes, I was expecting them to practice and review things that were important for them to know, but it wasn't meaningful to any of us.  I could have given them a more "relaxed start to the day," as Routman suggests, and added back a much more meaningful 30 minutes to each day.
I know a lot of these things are easy for me to say, now that I am out of the regular classroom and no longer dealing with the same daily routines.  But after the changes we've made in instruction this year, I think we can see that our kids are doing better with a little more freedom and fewer worksheets.  They're asking more questions, working more independently, and showing more enthusiasm than they have before.  We're all more excited about what we're doing when we're at school.  As for our time outside of school, it's inevitable that we will put in a little extra when we're changing so much.  But that's part of teaching and growing.  It's also important for us to remember that there's no deadline on improvement, and that even when we think we've "got it," there will always be adjustments to be made.  We don't have to do it all RIGHT NOW.  It's possible to prioritize the changes we want to make and work on it in manageable pieces...while giving ourselves that time outside of school to live interesting and enjoyable lives.  We'll never get it ALL "fixed" or "figured out." If we expect to continue being effective teachers, there will always be something more to work on.

Katie Miller March/April Blog

Routman Chapter 12
You Only Have So Much Time

The title of this chapter immediately caught my attention.  I think it would be the perfect title to summarize this school year for me and so many other teachers.  I am so glad I chose this article for the last blog this school year.  With my caseload, number of meetings, and demands are increasing the time left in the school year is quickly decreasing.  I have said many times this year that I feel like to cannot catch up.  I have always been one to stay ahead of everything I have to do.  This chapter was refreshing and motivating to read at this time in the school year. 

With this being the toughest year as a teacher so far, I think I have learned and grown the most.  This chapter summarizes a lot of things I have learned to do this year.  I think I am beginning to master the skill of working smarter not harder.

This is my 4^th year of using the same scripted curriculum.  I am pretty sure I could teach the curriculum in my sleep.  Based on my experience over these few years, I have learned that supplementing this curriculum results in more student progress and independent readers.  I liked the part of this chapter when they talked about not over relying on teacher editions.  That is something that is especially true in my classroom.  My job is to teach students on their individual levels.  That is impossible to do with a scripted program.  There are so many extra things I have to include every day to meet my students’ needs.  My students have a variety of disabilities, background knowledge, and other variable that prevent a ‘cookie cutter’ program from being successful for all students.

I have conducted a lot more reading conferences this year that I have in the past.  As a results, I have learned more about my students’ reading than I thought I would.  I was surprised by how much some of my students were able to talk about their reading and the areas in which they need help.  This year, I have done a lot more partner reading.  This has also been a surprisingly successful addition.  I thought my students would have a really hard time communicating with their peers, but they have done a great job.  I did have to spend a lot of time teaching how to talk about what they are reading and provide conversation prompting cards.  Although that did take a lot of time in the beginning, it saves a lot of my time now.  I can conduct reading conferences and do other necessary tasks while students are actively engaged in a meaningful activity.

This chapter talked about reevaluating schedules.  I have had to do this so many times this year!  I have had so many additions to my caseload that it has made it difficult to have small groups.  Overall, I have changed my schedule 4-5 times this year and the amount of time I have without students has decreased to about 30 minutes.  On the plus side, my groups are smaller and more on a similar level.  I almost have been forced to fully embrace the title of this chapter and the idea to work smarter not harder.  I have had to be very creative in making time to plan and prepare for each day.

This chapter gave a lot of great suggestions to making the most of the small amount of time we have as teachers to do everything we need to do.  My favorite part of this article was when it talked about the importance of an interesting life outside of school.  I think it is so important for myself to keep my personal life and school life separate.  I try to not take work home (key word: try).  I keep myself busy and set goals outside of school.  I have found that this makes me more excited to come to school each day.  I have things to look forward to at school and things to look forwards to outside of school.

I do not think any teacher would say that they have plenty of time to do everything they need to do.  If he/she is out there, I would love to know their strategies.  This will be a great article to come back and read every year when I am stressed with a never ending to do list, if I have time.  

Christina Duvall: March/April Blog, Routman Chapter 10, Examine Guided Reading

I was really interested to read this chapter because I really enjoy doing guided reading groups in the classroom, but am always striving to make the best use of my students' time, teach them the most appropriate reading strategies, and provide them with meaningful activities they can perform independently when not working with me. This chapter addressed alot of my concerns and already had me thinking about changes I need to make.

One of the first things Routman challenges teachers to do is to create flexible, mixed-ability groupings so students don't get "stuck" in a group all year. While this is encouraged mainly for older students, as the needs of primary students as developing readers are usually better met with ability groupings, it did encourage me to re-assess my groupings more frequently than I do. In first grade, reading ability and comprehension levels change constantly throughout the year that groups should change to allow for readers to best improve. Routman also mentions giving choice to students in what they read. While in the past I carefully selected a text for each group, this year I have given some of my groups a choice in what they'd like to read when our group next meets. They have liked this option and aside from empowering them, it allows them to have more meaningful conversations about the texts they read.

Routman shared a sample lesson she did with a group of average readers in the second grade. Students used notebooks to jot their responses to the text, and this was a quick way for her to assess who comprehended the story (and thus who became the "experts" to help others, or participated in an extension activity) and who didn't. She would then give extra assistance to those struggling. I love the idea of notebook jottings and think I'd like to implement this myself, rather than relying constantly on a teacher-created response sheet where students spend more time constructing writing responses than reading the text (another thing she warns against).

One of the aspects I am conflicted with the most in my guided reading is providing meaningful activities for students at centers while I am working with my groups. I was a little surprised to read that Routman discourages spending lots of time securing center activities, but the more I read, the more it made sense. Instead, it is suggested that more independent reading time be incorporated into center time, as well as project-based work. We often do some type of integrated project based work at centers, and even though we hit independent reading heavily in the morning, I am brainstorming ways to add it to our center rotation (pair reading, reading responses, book projects, completion of guided reading stories, etc). I typically have 3 centers going during guided reading groups: Listening (lots of research and projects to choose from here), Writing, and Spelling/Word Work. I struggle most with the usefulness of the spelling center. I want to make sure that the students are engaged in a meaningful activity, and not just moving magnetic letters or tiles around for a few minutes and then changing activities. I have discovered some activities that are beginning to work best for our class for this center that include working in pairs on Spelling City word games; spelling, alphabetizing and reading weekly words off and discussing meaning to my assistant (checking accountability, fluency and comprehension); and a new activity I'd like to implement, spelling word tic-tac-toe (buddy accountability). I hope to continue to add to this center to make sure it best meets my students' needs.

Kyra Woodyard - March/April Blog: Chapter 12 Routman

I believe the title to this chapter is most definitely fitting to this time of the year; "You Only Have So Much Time." This is the most literal statement to be made for anybody in the teaching profession, the work never ends and there is never enough time. I wonder sometimes if being a teacher means you have to sacrifice an outside life to be successful. Even as a first year teacher I can see how easily one could get tired while having a family, raising kids, and going back to school. Even as a first year teacher I feel overwhelmed on a daily basis, constantly questioning if I am working too much or too little compared to my peers around me. I say this time and time again that I feel like my downfall as a first year teacher is that I was unable to stay after school in the afternoons to prepare for the following day. I feel as if I am living day-by-day in this profession because I never feel prepared. I thank myself for taking on coaching for that one. Lesson learned, goodbye coaching, hello better teacher at least that is what I keep telling myself...

Routman mentions in this chapter teachers should make learning as meaningful as possible, do not waste time doing unwanted, unnecessary work that do not benefit your students, instead find work that engages students but does not wear you down. She also mentions keeping work simple, I think we forget about simple nowadays. We want everything to be NEW and with technology but sometimes the simpler something is the more a student may enjoy it and it sure does take a huge burden off of yourself. 

Routman talks about always being able to evaluate your students during the day, there is always time to do this, especially during independent reading, pop a squat with a kid in the floor and listen to them read, as them comphrension questions, this is a great way to stay involved, evaluate a student, and still make sure they are on task. 

I loved how Routman talks about do not just teaching reading during the allotted "reading time" teaching it in Science and Social Studies. I already do this almost every day not even relaxing I am teaching reading. When you have so much content to cover in a short amount of time you learn to improvise, it is nice to know what I am doing to get through content is benefitting my kids. I could not tell you have many non-fiction and information texts have been read in my classroom during science and social studies. 

I have enjoyed reading chapters from Reading Essentials by Regie Routman and I plan to implement some things I have learned so far into my classroom next year. I love the idea of having a mystery word every week, this allows students to be introduced to words they would not ordinarily being introduced to. 

Karen S. Johnson-March Blog (Ch. 9-Emphasize Shared Reading)

Karen S. Johnson-March Blog

Ch. 9 (“Emphasize Shared Reading”) from Reading Essentials:  The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well

      The chapter focuses on the best ways to implement shared reading into our curriculum.  I think this is an important aspect of any reading curriculum.  It is also essential for our kids to learn to communicate and share ideas and thoughts with each other as we move towards working together on group based projects.  I’ve never really thought about shared reading being broken down into so many procedures as Routman lists in the chapter.    I also think it’s good to give the partners specific things to discuss as part of shared reading.  Sometimes I feel as if I just say “Turn and talk”, but I’m not giving enough direction as to what those conversations should be about after they’ve read.  It’s interesting that the teacher takes a major part of the reading of the texts.  I have typically let my students read on their own, but I definitely see the value of teachers reading during that process to model to the students.  This chapter had some great information about shared reading.  I especially found it useful learning about the procedures Routman uses for shared reading.  It helps me realize that shared reading needs to be more purposeful and more guided.

Stevie Fields-Blog Post #6-Routman Ch. 7

In chapter 7, Routman discusses how to meaningfully assess reading. She says that the best type of assessment is simply sitting with your students, observing them reading, and discussing what they’ve read with them in reading conferences. Routman provides a wonderful framework for informal reading conferences with helpful questions that I can ask my students.  

One thing I’ve struggled with in reading conferences is how to assess independent reading. When the entire class is reading the same book or we are doing book clubs with a few different books, I feel I can make sure I am more familiar with the book my students are reading. When students are reading different books independently I find it harder to assess their comprehension. Routman directly addresses this concern and says that you can tell when a student understands what they reading by how they retell the information.  She also says that, when in doubt, you can probe with questions. She provides a list of questions to ask students for fiction and nonfiction texts that I plan to use with my students in our reading conferences.

                Another strategy I would like to implement in my classroom is the ‘Child Friendly’ Reading Goals.  Routman has created a great list of goals that students can work towards. I really like the idea providing this list to my students and allowing them to decide what kind of things they need to work on as readers and pick a goal for themselves. Then they can respond in journal entries explaining how they are using these strategies and working towards these goals. 

Brittany Daly - Blog Post 6: Routman (2003), Ch. 12: You Only Have So Much Time

Time. Is there ever enough of it? As teachers, our job is never done. As long as I have been teaching, there has never been a time when my to-do list has been fully cleared; there is always something else to do – another copy to make, another test to create, another resource to find. I can relate so well to the teacher at the beginning of the chapter. How many times have I had to turn down plans so I can get school related work done on the weekends? With so much pressure being placed on teachers and students, we go out of our way to make sure that we are finding and using the best strategies and resources for our students, and this takes a lot of time and effort.

In this chapter, Routman acknowledges that time is a precious commodity for teachers, and she provides teachers with tips to make the most of their time. One of the lines that stands out most to me is, “Every moment spent with a child is an opportunity to teach” (p. 205). This line hits me hard because I know there are so many times when I am taking care of menial tasks in my classroom instead of assessing, evaluating, teaching, or conferencing with students. I can make better use of my time with my students by saving as much of the tedious work as possible for my planning period or the end of the day. Making every minute count is important because there is so much for students to learn each year. Routman suggests that independent work should be made simpler, lessons should be taught at a lively pace (so student interest isn’t lost), and evaluation should be ongoing. Directions should be clear and concise, and subjects can be integrated to optimize teaching time. 

I think my biggest take-away from this chapter is that I need to spend more time evaluating my students’ progress. I need be strategic about how I use the time my students spend in my classroom, especially in the morning. I began the year with grand intentions of using the early morning time before specials to conduct reading conferences with students. However, this chunk of time always seems to fly by as I get lunch choices, take attendance, read parent notes, and redirect students who are off task. My goal for the remainder of the school year is to make better use of this time. 

Chloe Turner Blog 6: Routman Chapter 8: Teach Comprehension

Regie Routman starts her eighth chapter in her book, Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well, with the concept that comprehension must be taught from the very beginning of student learning. She believe students shouldn't start being taught comprehension in third grade, but rather start teaching students the day they enter preschool or kindergarten. "If we want kids to wind up with comprehension, we have to begin with comprehension," (117). Routman writes that teachers spend an excessive amount of time focusing on words rather than meaning and this sends out the wrong meaning to students. She also states that teachers assess comprehension, but not enough teaching to further develop student understanding of comprehension on a deeper level, which is evident in my classroom. My students can regurgitate information that they have just read, but they are not as successful analyzing the text and providing meaning of text. Routman calls these students "superficial readers." The students look and sound competent, but they are unable to go further in meaning and summarizing.

Routman says comprehension instruction starts with the texts students are reading. "If we want readers to be critical thinkers, inquirers, and problem solvers, we need to introduce them to challenging, interesting texts," (118). After the text has been provided then we must show the students how to process the text, reason strategically as they analyze the text, and eventually appreciate the text. I think Routman steps are great and could be highly beneficial, but I think the steps will be as successful if the students don't begin the an appreciation for reading, which is what I try to encourage in my classroom on a daily bases. "Love what you read, love reading."

Routman continues her chapter with some strategies teachers should use to develop understanding while reading. I encourage my students to make connections while reading. They are successful at making text-to- text and text- to- world connections, but not a whole lot of self connections, which I think appreciation and love of reading comes from. Other strategies that she list: monitor reading for meaning, determine what's most important, visualize, ask questions, make inferences, and synthesize. I think these are great tools, but they won't be as successful if the student doesn't like the book or the book is on the wrong reading level for the student, which tells me each text has to be individualized. Routman's next paragraph stresses that comprehension based tools should be integrated throughout the year and not focusing on one strategy per week. I usually introduce a new strategy a week, but we never just use that one strategy and forget about the others. My students should know to continually use all the strategies we have discussed while reading, which goes into Routman's next point: Teach and Apply Your Own Comprehension Processes.  

"Just because we teach our students strategies doesn't mean they apply them," (120). Routman provides an example of a fifth-grade teacher saying her students know and can describe the comprehension strategies good readers use, but they don't apply the strategies in their own learning. I feel like I am in the same situation. Routman say this can be fixed by teaching students my own personal experience as a reader. I need to make my reading and thinking process visible. I like this idea of modeling my reading process to my students and then us developing a chart of my process. The most important thing Routman says I need to illustrate to my students and add in my modeling, the power of rereading.

Routman continues her chapter with comprehension strategies and tools we have seen before. Teach students to make connections, teach them to self- monitor, allow students to interact with peers to increase comprehension and enjoyment, be aware of fluency, and teach students how to ask significant questions. All these things need to be in a well developed integrated system. Routman emphasizes the importance of not just focusing on one strategy. "There is a huge difference between strategy instruction and strategic instruction," (129). The strategies I teach must be "invoked" by each individual students. I think most of my students will be successful at attempting these strategies if they enjoy their book, but I still have those few students who do not appreciate reading that I am going to have to buckle down and develop individual reading processes with.