First of all, I do not like posting my picture!
I love the passion that Regie still has for literacy and children even after 40 + years of being in the field. I know, in the most passionate way, that all of my children are capable of greatness in the areas of reading and writing. I struggle with the element of time. I have searched and can’t find two extra seconds to rub together during the school day. Therefore, I must learn to make the absolute most or even more than the most out of the precious time I have. As I reflect on the year just completed, I ache for the children for whom I feel I have short changed. I see the faces of the little K-5ers that needed more support than I gave them. I definitely need support in this area of my development.
Another struggle that I face each day is in writing. When working with emergent writers, I find that many are capable of putting their thoughts down onto paper in a way that I can decipher their thoughts. However, often times when the author of a piece attempts to read his writing, he is unable to read his own piece. In discussing this dilemma with other professionals, they, too, have had the same experience. Is this a “normal” developmental stage for emergent writers? How do I help that child/ren be able to cross that bridge more effectively?
In reading the passage about “doing more writing for valued audiences and purposes,” I had a thought. Kindergarten children seem to love writing because it is novel and “a thing” that grownups do. Therefore, writing is so very cool to the five/six year old child! I have worked with a few kindergarten children who are reluctant writers. I am thinking of one child in particular, that I shared with our Reading Interventionist this past year, who just shuts down. His primary language is English. He does exhibit a strong control of the language and of vocabulary. He knows how “stories” work. He just shuts down. He is very artistic and does a beautiful job drawing his stories, and he has demonstrated that he is ready to begin putting words to his pictures. He has control of letter/sound match and is able, with assistance, to sound-blend words. Some thoughts that I have on how to encourage all writers, but especially the reluctant writers, is to have Pen Pals…..I know….this is not a new idea at all. However, for a tiny little K-5er, to write to and receive replies from various people in the school, such as administration, custodians, cafeteria folks, teachers that a child knows via siblings, just might give these reluctant writers a reason to compose.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Student Dependency?
As I was reading this section of Chapter 6 I continued to question myself as an educator- How can I do a better job of teaching students to be more accountable for their own learning? Students need to be taught how to evaluate themselves as learners. This is a skill that for some is easy- some students are naturals at this skill. They have a critical eye, they have the ability to see the big picture- the end result. There are those students who really need more guided practice- I love when Regie talked about "hand holding". It is not necessarily a bad thing- some students require much more "guided practice". How can we expect students to do this "on their own" if they are not confident in their own abilities. They gain confidence by lots of practice.
Teach For Independent, Self Directed Learners
Teach For Independent,
Self-Directed Learners
I love what the little third grader said after a Regis residence. “My brain hurts from all the thinking because I never think, but now I’m getting smarter.” Later she even said that her brain felt bigger, and that she had knowledge in her head and that she felt great. Wow! She was a struggling reader too.
We need to quit fixing up all the writing for them. If you teach children to monitor and evaluate their own work and direct their revision process right from the start, they can shock you with what they are capable of. We want our students to be independent problem solvers directing their own learning and setting their own goals. We can't do it for them!
When reading this chapter, I was very interested in what Regis said about using scaffolded conversations. They are so powerful. I love how she did the thinking out loud while helping a student pick out a writing topic, also offering help developing the topic. I, too, like to jot or capture students’ ideas by putting them on sticky notes and attaching them to their paper. This paper trail will remind them that their ideas are important, and later it will encourage or remind the learner what to do. This record of their thinking will give them the courage to work independently.
I really enjoyed reading the part about teaching students to self-monitor and self evaluate. I love the part when Regis talked about even young readers can check their own work if we teach them how and provide the necessary support and expectations. I hope for all teachers to believe this. If we tell them what we expect and hold them to it, usually it will happen. I like the fact that Regis will not accept a paper at all that has not had the basic editing completed. She just hands it back to them. All students can do the basics of editing.
Preparing for testing is so important. Testing is a genre in itself and needs to be treated that way. As a third grade team, this year, we also rewrote the third grade writing rubric. We came up with great demonstrations to put in our frontloading lessons and let small groups practice with writing samples by noticing, talking, sharing, rereading, and explaining their thinking. We were so excited when our students finally took the writing test, because we felt they were much better prepared. A lot of frontloading, guided practice, group practice, celebrations and major hand holding are some of the ways we helped prepare our students for state testing.
Self-Directed Learners
I love what the little third grader said after a Regis residence. “My brain hurts from all the thinking because I never think, but now I’m getting smarter.” Later she even said that her brain felt bigger, and that she had knowledge in her head and that she felt great. Wow! She was a struggling reader too.
We need to quit fixing up all the writing for them. If you teach children to monitor and evaluate their own work and direct their revision process right from the start, they can shock you with what they are capable of. We want our students to be independent problem solvers directing their own learning and setting their own goals. We can't do it for them!
When reading this chapter, I was very interested in what Regis said about using scaffolded conversations. They are so powerful. I love how she did the thinking out loud while helping a student pick out a writing topic, also offering help developing the topic. I, too, like to jot or capture students’ ideas by putting them on sticky notes and attaching them to their paper. This paper trail will remind them that their ideas are important, and later it will encourage or remind the learner what to do. This record of their thinking will give them the courage to work independently.
I really enjoyed reading the part about teaching students to self-monitor and self evaluate. I love the part when Regis talked about even young readers can check their own work if we teach them how and provide the necessary support and expectations. I hope for all teachers to believe this. If we tell them what we expect and hold them to it, usually it will happen. I like the fact that Regis will not accept a paper at all that has not had the basic editing completed. She just hands it back to them. All students can do the basics of editing.
Preparing for testing is so important. Testing is a genre in itself and needs to be treated that way. As a third grade team, this year, we also rewrote the third grade writing rubric. We came up with great demonstrations to put in our frontloading lessons and let small groups practice with writing samples by noticing, talking, sharing, rereading, and explaining their thinking. We were so excited when our students finally took the writing test, because we felt they were much better prepared. A lot of frontloading, guided practice, group practice, celebrations and major hand holding are some of the ways we helped prepare our students for state testing.
Embed Assessment in All Teaching
Embed Assessment in All Teaching
I agree that embedding assessment is a challenge. Having no script can be a little scary. I do feel though it is very important. We do have to really pay attention to the learners in front of us to be able to move them forward. We have to listen, observe, notice, rethink, and be risk takers. We need to remember we are the professionals, and we have to trust our decisions.
If we do not feel comfortable about thinking on our feet, valuable instruction time will not be lost.
I enjoyed the part of chapter 5 that discussed teaching responsively. I especially think that all teachers need to be reminded to validate all student responses. It is so easy to try to do the talking for the child, because you usually feel rushed to “cover” the material. I think rephrasing student responses to nudge them to think more deeply is so smart.
Skillful questioning is so important across the curricular areas. I think it helps me to actually post the deeper level questions in my plan book or even in my classroom to remind me to use them. I actually try to have examples of higher level questioning in my textbooks, near my conferencing table, and when I’m at my computer as a constant reminder. It is so easy to fall back into the surface level questioning, I need a constant reminder.
Feedback is crucial! I have found that taking pictures with my camera of children doing something well is a powerful tool. Sometimes I show the entire class what the child accomplished, and often I have the picture up on the SmartBoard or projector as the students enter class. This idea really works well in Writer's Workshop during editing and revising. Seeing what is done well, and correctly in print, creates a very powerful picture. This also shows the students and the rest of the class that their work is validated.
Another part of chapter 5 that intrigued me was the part about grouping students. I agree with what Regis said about grouping. I know that students do learn so much from each other. I also agree that we should continue to use small guided groups that are flexible. I learned while reading this part, that I need to do a better job of assessing what students accomplished within that small group. I need to have a better system to remember how well each student actually comprehended what we were learning. I think having a few questions to answer at the end of a lesson is one good way to check for understanding.
I really enjoyed this chapter, and I plan to rely on the Ongoing Assessment Framework to guide me in helping students check for understanding before, during, and after instruction.
I agree that embedding assessment is a challenge. Having no script can be a little scary. I do feel though it is very important. We do have to really pay attention to the learners in front of us to be able to move them forward. We have to listen, observe, notice, rethink, and be risk takers. We need to remember we are the professionals, and we have to trust our decisions.
If we do not feel comfortable about thinking on our feet, valuable instruction time will not be lost.
I enjoyed the part of chapter 5 that discussed teaching responsively. I especially think that all teachers need to be reminded to validate all student responses. It is so easy to try to do the talking for the child, because you usually feel rushed to “cover” the material. I think rephrasing student responses to nudge them to think more deeply is so smart.
Skillful questioning is so important across the curricular areas. I think it helps me to actually post the deeper level questions in my plan book or even in my classroom to remind me to use them. I actually try to have examples of higher level questioning in my textbooks, near my conferencing table, and when I’m at my computer as a constant reminder. It is so easy to fall back into the surface level questioning, I need a constant reminder.
Feedback is crucial! I have found that taking pictures with my camera of children doing something well is a powerful tool. Sometimes I show the entire class what the child accomplished, and often I have the picture up on the SmartBoard or projector as the students enter class. This idea really works well in Writer's Workshop during editing and revising. Seeing what is done well, and correctly in print, creates a very powerful picture. This also shows the students and the rest of the class that their work is validated.
Another part of chapter 5 that intrigued me was the part about grouping students. I agree with what Regis said about grouping. I know that students do learn so much from each other. I also agree that we should continue to use small guided groups that are flexible. I learned while reading this part, that I need to do a better job of assessing what students accomplished within that small group. I need to have a better system to remember how well each student actually comprehended what we were learning. I think having a few questions to answer at the end of a lesson is one good way to check for understanding.
I really enjoyed this chapter, and I plan to rely on the Ongoing Assessment Framework to guide me in helping students check for understanding before, during, and after instruction.
Great Conversations!
I just wanted to check in and say "hello"! I'm really enjoying the conversations you all are having regarding Regie's book! I'm glad you are getting so much out of it--and we haven't even begun class yet!
We are really looking forward to meeting everyone Monday morning! (In person, that is!)
Becky
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Plan with the end in mind!
I have been out of the classroom for several years. This was my first year back in a special ed classroom. I have been able to have many "Aha's" while reading this. I have been able to connect the dots with what I learned this year in the classroom. I've also had moments of "clarity" when reflecting on the years of teaching I had done in Florida and in Lexington 1. I only wish I had this book to guide me way back then!
Flexibility rings through this discussion about planning instruction- start with the student, build on strengths. Another point that jumped out at me was to shift from a deficit model (find out what is wrong and fix it) to begin by building on the strengths of students. Teach for understanding! I loved the exampled Regie gave about trying to learning something technical.. How many students leave their grade having felt the same way- yes- I might have "covered the material" but did my students really make that understanding leap.
This leads into teaching responsively. It is so important that we teach our students how to assess their own learning-to "really" know what you know and know what you don't- that is so powerful!
Flexibility rings through this discussion about planning instruction- start with the student, build on strengths. Another point that jumped out at me was to shift from a deficit model (find out what is wrong and fix it) to begin by building on the strengths of students. Teach for understanding! I loved the exampled Regie gave about trying to learning something technical.. How many students leave their grade having felt the same way- yes- I might have "covered the material" but did my students really make that understanding leap.
This leads into teaching responsively. It is so important that we teach our students how to assess their own learning-to "really" know what you know and know what you don't- that is so powerful!
Advocate for Your Students
Something that I have always valued very much is teaching as a profession. I'll never forget my interview with Chapin Middle. Someone asked me where I saw myself in 10 years. I said, "teaching." That's because I do not recognize a higher calling than teaching; I do not believe that there is a profession above it or even a position above it. I've never viewed teachers as "grunt workers" or the "bottom level' of the education profession. Rather, I see teachers as the backbone of education--where the rubber meets the road. I believe that it doesn't matter what mandates come down from district or school level--in my classroom, I am responsible for the education of my students. I am free to determine how that is best achieved.
As a new teacher, my eyes were full of ideals and Utopian school systems. Recently, however, I have become discouraged with how it appears teachers are viewed in our district and in our state. I see teaching as the epitome of the educational system; others appear to view it as a demotion. That's way I was overjoyed to read this section by Routman: "Renowned educational researcher Richard Allington advocates that we examine our state's code of ethics for teachers...and use that code to disavow unprofessional practices. He goes so far as to recommend that we say, "Please put in writing that you want me to violate the state code of professional ethics." To me, this implies that it is our duty as teachers to stop bad methods and practices before they become common place. It says that we don't have to "roll with the punches." I believe Routman expressed this as taking ourselves, as teachers, OUT of the role of the victim and into a role of empowerment, for ourselves and for our students.
This all goes back to what Routman was saying about common sense. Since when aren't teachers the experts? We need to believe in ourselves as professionals, and not be afraid to say, "NO. That is not in the best interest of students." This is not to say that I don't believe in change or experimenting with new practices; I do. But let's face it: we all know that doing one thing--one initiative, one strategy--well would far better benefit our students than adopting several initiatives poorly.
Routman gave a personal experience in this chapter that I also feel is important for administrators to understand about teachers. Routman described a situation in which a teacher asked her opinion of her word wall. At the time, that particular teacher was not looking for criticism, and Routman restrained herself from providing it--constructive or otherwise. Later, when the teacher came back and asked for constructive criticism, she was receptive when Routman provided it. This is huge: we can only handle what we are ready to handle. Good teachers want to master one thing before we jump into something else; sometimes we know something can be revised for the better but we have to experiment first to figure out what works for us and what works for kids. Those two things work hand in hand: no method, no matter how proven, will work for a teacher who does not believe in it. That's why all our classrooms can look so different and yet all be productive--traditional, edgy or otherwise. Good teaching comes from the teacher--the methods may vary.
As a new teacher, my eyes were full of ideals and Utopian school systems. Recently, however, I have become discouraged with how it appears teachers are viewed in our district and in our state. I see teaching as the epitome of the educational system; others appear to view it as a demotion. That's way I was overjoyed to read this section by Routman: "Renowned educational researcher Richard Allington advocates that we examine our state's code of ethics for teachers...and use that code to disavow unprofessional practices. He goes so far as to recommend that we say, "Please put in writing that you want me to violate the state code of professional ethics." To me, this implies that it is our duty as teachers to stop bad methods and practices before they become common place. It says that we don't have to "roll with the punches." I believe Routman expressed this as taking ourselves, as teachers, OUT of the role of the victim and into a role of empowerment, for ourselves and for our students.
This all goes back to what Routman was saying about common sense. Since when aren't teachers the experts? We need to believe in ourselves as professionals, and not be afraid to say, "NO. That is not in the best interest of students." This is not to say that I don't believe in change or experimenting with new practices; I do. But let's face it: we all know that doing one thing--one initiative, one strategy--well would far better benefit our students than adopting several initiatives poorly.
Routman gave a personal experience in this chapter that I also feel is important for administrators to understand about teachers. Routman described a situation in which a teacher asked her opinion of her word wall. At the time, that particular teacher was not looking for criticism, and Routman restrained herself from providing it--constructive or otherwise. Later, when the teacher came back and asked for constructive criticism, she was receptive when Routman provided it. This is huge: we can only handle what we are ready to handle. Good teachers want to master one thing before we jump into something else; sometimes we know something can be revised for the better but we have to experiment first to figure out what works for us and what works for kids. Those two things work hand in hand: no method, no matter how proven, will work for a teacher who does not believe in it. That's why all our classrooms can look so different and yet all be productive--traditional, edgy or otherwise. Good teaching comes from the teacher--the methods may vary.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)