Kidwatching

As I read the article, I found myself relating to the constant idea of keeping records.  I can recall a few years ago, when we were required to conference with each child at least once a weekly.  I really enjoyed this time spent with my students.  During this time, I felt more aware of my student’s learning and their individual needs.  The new approach to kidwatching will give me the chance to expand my understanding of teaching and learning.  This method will give me the opportunity to reflect on my strategies used with the classroom.  Kidwatching will help me  with the evaluation of a student’s learning and the planning of instruction.   

Ashleigh Wines - Blog post 1: August: The Habit of Kidwatching

      When I first looked at the article and discovered it was about kidwatching, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  While reading this article I thought about how much I subconsciously kidwatch in my classroom already.  I watch my students as they work to determine what would work best for them to help them learn.
      As I read, I realized how much more I could be doing with my students. The part of the article that i enjoyed the most was how to keep notes during kidwatching.  I had never thought to write down the things that I observe as I monitored my classroom.  I feel like walking around with a clipboard would be the most ideal way to keep the notes.  I am learning how to use reading conferences in my classroom.  I feel that kidwatching will be something beneficial to add to my classroom.  After reading through the article I still had a few questions.  I love the idea of kidwatching and can't wait to implement in it my classroom, but I am also a visual learner.  I like how the article gives examples of certain notes or thoughts that could be written on the clipboard about the students.  I would like to see a template of what is used when writing, or even see how a teacher is able to maintain doing this with each of their students all year.  I get nervous with change, but am excited and willing to try something new with a little help! :)

Crissy Harris-Aug Blog

Blog:  Crissy Harris

Article:  The Habit of Kidwatching

                Taking time to sit back and just observe students can be difficult.  Often times as a teacher, I feel as though I should be constantly working with a group or rotating around to each group to make sure that they are all on task and learning, however; I lose the opportunity to just sit back and watch the students learn.  Kidwatching can provide valuable insight into how my students are learning and how on task their behavior is.  I like the article states that, “It is giving voice to students who might otherwise be silent.”  Many times I feel as though I don’t really get to know some of my quieter students since I am so outspoken.  By kidwatching I am able to see how all of my students are learning and to comment on the successes on some of my more quiet students that don’t always speak up in class. 

                The idea of keeping a clipboard with quick anecdotal notes is really useful since the classroom is often a busy place.  I like that it provides ways to write down quick and concise notes about the children and how it emphasizes that these anecdotal notes don’t have to be long and drawn out.  The examples that it provides are easy to follow and replicate in the classroom and gave me a better idea of what the author was looking for when she was kidwatching.  These notes along with my individual reading conferences should give me a better idea of what level my students are working are and also their interests. 

                Now that I have a better understanding of what to look for when Kidwatching, I would love to see some examples of forms that other teachers use during observations or conferencing.  I think by seeing some examples I would be able to develop my own form to best fit the needs of my classroom.

Elda Hymas August Blog post: What is Kidwatching?

Blog:  Elda Hymas

August:  What is Kidwatching?   By G. Owocki and Y Goodman

            While the purpose of kidwatching allows you to better know your students need and strengths, I know that as elementary teachers we do this every day in every setting that our students are in with us.  Even with the social interaction of recess we watch for ways to help them.  We may not always take notes on these observation, yet when working independently or in groups with our children we are able to recall and utilize the memories we have stored away.

            The environment the teacher creates is not just rich in learning but must feel safe for students to take risks.  We want them to show understanding and explore questions on challenging concepts and material.  Kidwatching helps us refine our philosophy and teaching to better accommodate each group of students.  No two years will ever be the same and adaptions must match perfectly match the needs of the students that you currently serve. Our observations and interactions with students does not interrupt teaching but rather allows us a richer understanding of students needs and wants.  We can better understand their knowledge to shape our curriculum by building our community, develop language and literature, enrich the environment, understand students learning, analyze data, assist and encourage students in self-evaluation to build curriculum instruction.

            Teacher’s kidwatching to build an insider view of cultural understanding.  This allows for reflective awareness and decisions based on observed data.   We are better able to understand student’s world and their application of learning.  Students are continuously applying their ideas and understanding of how language works.  Through their talk and work they test their ideas, correct hypotheses, invent and use models.  They may challenge their working model and reshape their understanding.  Students constantly adjust and build knowledge function through grammar, genres, and formats that provide sociocultural experiences.

            Given that all students have literacy knowledge, their interaction provides a richer concept for them to explore.  The rich environment provided by the teacher, provides learning in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.   As an ESOL teacher these are the areas that I strive to help my students develop and explore.

I encourage interactions in learning experiences and apply my kidwatching to continue to support their understanding and development of learning.  I know that with my help today they will be able to do themselves tomorrow.  Their knowledge based on competencies they demonstrate to me will carry over to their classrooms and lifelong learning.  The competencies of today become the problem solving learning of their future.  By providing problems, questions, thinking and development they can meet challenges with confidence.

            By getting to know each child in whole group, conferences and instruction sessions, I can help them address their fears and realize their knowledge.  Observations of kidwatching helps my guide students through understanding miscues without devaluating the students thought process.  My observations from the sidelines help me understand student’s strengths.  Strategic planning helps me consider the value of criteria for small groups or individuals.  All of this brings my closer to my goal of effective language users.

Paula Ross: August Blog Post-Miller Section 1

Miller Section 1: Not This: Is there Enough Time?  And is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?

     I taught 7^th grade Language Arts in the 90’s.  This was a time when D.E.A.R. or SSR was brand new and seemed like an excellent idea to improve student achievement in reading.  I vividly recall how I had a love hate relationship with this required 20 minutes in my schedule.  On the one hand, it was a valuable time for me (as a teacher I also had to drop everything and read, which I loved) and for those of my students who enjoyed reading.  However, as the author suggested in this section, it was a time when I knew my weaker readers were left with “fake reading and ultimately disengagement.”  There is no denying that to improve upon anything, one must spend time at it.  Daily reading is essential. Nevertheless, without instructional support, as Miller points out, this time in practice will not pay off in productivity.

     The question was posed, “How can you find the minutes?”  As a kindergarten teacher I wanted to stand and applaud the unessential pauses in the day that Miller shared which rob our precious minutes.  I agreed with each one, especially the “Calendar Activities.”  From my research I find no reason to support this mundane and tiresome activity that eats up a huge chunk of the morning.  Why spend a whole lesson on what day it is when we can address that in our daily writing? Frankly, who cares what the day was yesterday or will be tomorrow?  Will knowing these truly benefit them in reading or math?  To me it is about the most unessential part of the day, and worse, it is done first thing when the children are most alert.  Transitions are another area where we lose the minutes.  Good management is not just how effectively we are to keep students engaged in a lesson, it is about how we “train” students to move from place to place with purpose and rapidity.  The “reading block” section was something I know I must address.  I too find error in the way I at times do activities “about reading” instead of actual reading.

      The most effective way I have found that allows me to confer with individual students while they are engaged in reading is through the Daily Five model for balanced literacy.  Without this both strategic and differentiated approach to my ELA block, critical and fundamental teaching time is lost.  It allows me to meet one on one with students where I can give feedback, offer support on how to make meaning of texts, and encourage them to develop needed behaviors as they read.  I am anxious to read the next section to see if this type of approach is addressed.

Heather Register's August Blog Post-Miller Section 1

Miller Section 1: Not This: Is there Enough Time?  And is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?

Coming from a fifth grade classroom into the reading coach position, I feel like I’m not very far removed from the very real classroom teacher time crunch. We fought hard to get all of the standards covered in time for testing. I remember grumbling that there just wasn’t enough time in the day to do everything “they” wanted me to do. “They” being the people in charge that wanted us to read longer, do math harder, and fit in that extra recess every day. I was convicted by Miller’s reference to the “benches” I may be guarding. When I look back to how I taught, I realized there were many instances throughout the day that I could’ve skimmed extra time off of transitions or other work and dedicated it to more reading opportunities. All of this done without the extra grumbling. As an educator, it comes down to priorities. Much like Mills and Clyde refer to in their article, “Children’s Success as Readers and Writers: It’s the Teacher’s Beliefs that Make the Difference,” it’s what the teacher feels is important that will take priority in the day. My belief is that reading is one of the most important skills a child can have. That being said, it should drive my instructional decisions.

Miller states what seems like common sense, “For children to develop the habits and identity of thoughtful, strategic, and proficient readers, they need to practice, and to make their practice productive, (p. 1).” We know that children need practice as readers yet all too often, we fall into the routine of trying to cram more instruction in a day, not better quality instruction, just more. The reading workshop Miller refers to as a means of guiding students through authentic reading opportunities is one we’ve heard about many times from many experts in the field. As a teacher, I used this approach to my reading lessons. Short focused mini-lessons with time for students to practice the skills they’ve learned were the crux of my reading block. What is confronting me as a practitioner is the idea that students should be choosing the books they read during this time. Here is where my red flag flies up again, worried that if they choose what they read, we will never have time to cover everything. During this choice time, is it acceptable to provide controlled choice? When I provided students with a variety of texts on a social studies topic from a variety of genres and allowed them to choose, was this enough to catch their attention and encourage them to read independently?

My final reaction in this section was to the statement made by the teachers in Baltimore, “We don’t really know our children as readers.” Knowing your students is one of the most important parts of the job of teacher. Knowing them as readers won’t happen unless you’re talking to them about what they do as readers. Conferring with students is the only way a teacher can assess what the student knows and what the student needs to know. When this isn’t a required task, it can often fall by the wayside in the interest of checking off other “to dos.” After our school stopped requiring them, I noticed that it was way too easy just to forget about conferences. Then I noticed that my kids weren’t doing as well in reading as I would have liked. When I decided to implement them again, I had issues with organization. Even after being shown different ways to keep track of conferences, there were times that I wasn’t approaching them in the organized way that signaled they were a priority.  I felt confident in my conferences by the end of last year. I was meeting with students, recording what I felt was important, and using my findings to fuel my lesson planning. I know this is important. As a teacher I feel that it should be a priority. Now all I need to do is help others find the time.

Dawn Mitchell's August Blog Post 1: Finding Time for Independent Reading

Dawn Mitchell's August Blog Post 1: Finding Time for Independent Reading

In Section I of Debbie Miller’s No More Independent Reading Without Support she writes that children learn to read by reading but not without support.  I love this challenge she gives us at the beginning of her book and I definitely think it is relevant to us at the beginning of this school year. 

Miller writes, “What if there were a way out? What if there were a way – at least for part of the day – where things slowed down, your students had their hands and minds on great books, and you had the pleasure of conferring with them about their reading and themselves as readers?  No rotations, activities, or worksheets – just you, your kids, and books. If you could find a way out, would you take it?”

Miller explains that independent reading isn’t just Sustained Silent Reading where everyone stops, drops, and reads, the teacher included.  She explained that truly effective independent reading provides an instructional component, an application component, and a formative assessment component so that students have support during independent reading time.  Miller advocates for a reading workshop model.  She knows that to do this well, there has to be a consistent block of time during the school day.

This time is an investment into the workshop structure.  It is an investment into independent reading and more than that, it is an investment into each one of our students.

For the last fourteen years of my teaching career I have worked to implement workshop structure for both writing and reading where students have a supportive context for their application of real world literacy skills.  I know first-hand how we, as teachers struggle against the clock for time to make this meaningful work happen.  This was the first roadblock I had when implementing reading/writing workshop into my own fourth grade class over a decade ago and it is still the first instructional roadblock I always hear from the wonderful teachers I work with.  We don’t have enough time.  I agree.  There never is enough time. 

Time is the great equalizer.  We all have the same amount, each and every day.  Since we cannot make any more time, I agree with Miller that it is worth our time to carefully examine our schedule and look closely for the time that is hiding.  There is time, chunks of it hiding in the minutes of morning work we do to keep kids on task while we take attendance.  I have found a little time here and a little time there in transitions that take too long or routines that may not be necessary to extend all morning.  Debbie also asked to take a long look at our existing reading block and to see if we were really using our time to engage students.  Do they really need the packets of worksheets, the isolated times for all of the activities in the basal reader…? 

I know from my own experience when I moved from a scripted program to an authentic workshop structure where I used time for independent reading and writing, for formative assessments to help me know who my students were as readers and writers, and what skills and strategies they were and were not using to make meaning I could design mini lessons to specifically target what they needed to work on.  This wasn’t always easy, but it was fulfilling and everyone in the classroom grew, including me.  I used every resource I had to create lessons and it was constantly changing because my students were. 

I love how Debbie explains the difference between SSR and reading workshop on page 7.  She says, “When students sit quietly at their desk with a book or magazine during DEAR or Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) time, we might see them flip a page every minute or so, but we can’t see what’s happening inside their heads.  We don’t have evidence of how they’re making meaning of the text, the specific ways they’ve grown as readers, or what they’re struggling with as they read.  Without that information, we can’t teach them how to get better and we can’t be sure that – even if they read every day – all students are becoming better readers this week than they were the one before.”

With knowing already before school begins that we have only 180 days to do the best we can with the time we have, it is vital that we utilize the most effective methods possible.  I want to know that my students are growing.  I want to see evidence of them applying what they are learning in their independent reading.  I want to give this year all I’ve got.  I want to give them independent reading with support.

Sincerely,

Dawn