Who Owns the Learning?

I have a confession:  I may be a bit controlling at times.  I like to know what is going on and that things are getting done (correctly!).  In my defense, I say that I am just a "rule-follower".   When I entered the teaching world, I had no idea that I would need to throw my micro-managing ways out the window (well, at school... home is a different story...it's a work in progress).   I learned quickly that I was not the one who should "own" the learning... It needed to be the kids.

When I reflect on my philosophy as an educator, one belief I come to time and again is the importance of teaching all students to own their learning.  When creating a classroom environment of independent learners, I have found that it is important to deliberately structure my instruction in a way that helps kids see themselves as learners.  I accomplish this by knowing my students well, teaching explicitly, backing off a bit (not acting like a control freak) and trusting the kids to do their job.  I do think this requires practice, setting clear expectations, and holding kids accountable. This way of instructing puts pressure on me, the teacher, to have a clear understanding of what my students need to move forward as learners.  Above all, it puts pressure on the learner, since I am not going to handhold and do their work for them; instead, my role is to coach them to become problem solvers, thinkers, and inquirers. 

Students Must See Themselves as Learners: 
If we expect our kids to "own their learning" we need to make sure they see themselves as learners.  When students have authentic learning opportunities and can connect importance to the experience they are interacting with, the learning becomes more meaningful.  This is why in Writing Workshop, writers should always know who their audience is and why student choice (in books and writing topics) is a must.  Learning should always have a purpose.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to offer rich learning experiences where students:

• Witness an example of what is being taught (a model) - This needs to be explicit and we can't always make everything look "easy".  We should be teaching students not only deliberate reading or writing moves; but we also need to be offering tips and strategies to help readers and writers persevere when they come to trouble.  It is important to show our students what it looks like to struggle and how to problem solve.
• Have time to practice with others, as well as independently - Learning is a social act, so it is critical that our kids are able to interact with their learning targets and one another.  Students can then see how others are putting the skills and strategies into action.  Students also need to feel comfortable trying the learning on their own.  For some, this can be a huge, uncomfortable risk.  Having visuals from when you modeled can be very helpful when students are reluctant to try something independently.  For example, in Reading Workshop, we may have created an anchor chart that provides "thinking stems" to get started.  In Writing Workshop, the class shared writing example could be available for students to model their own writing after.
• Are given feedback - The feedback from teachers should be actionable.  When conferring with students, we should be able to identify what they are doing well and then offer tips to help them push their work to the next level. 
• Set goals -  It is important that we teach kids how exactly to do this.  When a student sets a goal, it should be reachable within a reasonable amount of time.  Students will be more likely to buy into their goals and reflect on their goals when the timeframe is short.  Goals need to be specific and should have an action plan to go along with it. (Not: I want to read harder books. I will do this by reading more.).  For example, I have had students who love fiction reading, but struggle with nonfiction reading.  This student's goal may be: "My goal is to improve my understanding when reading nonfiction.  I will do this by selecting a topic I am interested in (ie: Pandas) and use boxes and bullets to categorize my stop and jots in my Reading Response Notebook."  

I am a believer in pushing all students from being passive learners to active and involved learners.  This way of teaching requires patience and trust.  We need to be patient and allow our students to make mistakes and try again (and not do the work for them).  We need to energize our class as readers and writers - showing our students that in order to grow, we must try new things and collaborate.  We have to trust that when we say, "off you go" after the mini lesson, that they will "go off and work".  This way of teaching puts the ownership of learning on the kids ... rather than on the teacher.. 

There are so many ways to build students who hold ownership of their learning... Comment and share your ideas :)

Teaching the Reader... Not the Book: Preparing for a Small Reading Group

I am preparing for a book club with a small group of fourth grade boys.  We had selected the book, but I want to make sure that I am not teaching the book, but teaching the readers.  My preparation began with thinking about these boys as readers. I asked myself,

• What skills do these two need in order to tackle more complex texts? 
• What are these readers doing already that we can build upon?
• How can I use what I know about text complexity in our small group lessons?

I began by reviewing and analyzing the students' running record assessments and recognized that both boys were reading at an instructional level Q.  I also noticed that a primary need was going to be comprehension (specifically: inferential understanding and elaborating using text evidence).  Below is what I noted first:

Strategy Group Focus:   Building Comprehension Skills to push through level Q

Student A Goal:  Comprehension (understanding unknown words and inferential understanding)

Student B Goal:  Comprehension (monitoring- slowing down and elaborating on inferential understanding)

Next, I brushed up the kinds of work that is called for when reading a level Q text.  As I reviewed this information, I had in mind the students' goals.  Here is what I figured I should cover to help push them to be independent at a level Q:

·  Identifying central problem in the story.

·  Synthesis: Asking ourselves, “What now does this text seem to be mostly about?”

·  It is okay to let go of our initial or first expectation as we read and fashion one that is more grounded in the text as it actually unrolls.

·  Think about why characters do what they do (“Another reason is…” / “Another part of this is…”)

·  Identify cause and effect – linking earlier parts to later parts

·  Keeping track and monitoring complex characters and their characteristics (ie: “Oh, there he goes again, acting…)

·  Monitoring our reading – (What we do when we stop and say, “huh?”

·  Figures of speech/metaphors/puns

Next, I read the book we had selected: Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli.  As I read, I marked places that inspired thought and offered examples of level Q characteristics.  I hope to teach these readers how to effectively "stop and jot" so it isn't painful.  I plan on doing this through modeling and showing that when we jot an idea we can carry this idea throughout the text to see if questions are answered or links are made (between character reactions, character change, characters being impacted by the central idea or problem, finding evidence to support theories...)

 

I have a "loose" plan that I can use with these readers.  I created this plan (the teaching points) based on the above level Q characteristic list.  Though I will offer tips and lessons from the below plan, I will also be flexible and expect that I may not follow this "plan" precisely because the group's needs and reading behaviors will be what is driving my instruction.  This is why I am calling it my "loose" plan.  Because I know these students, I was able to anticipate their needs.  Here are a few of the lessons that I could uses with this small group:

• Lesson 1: First chapters are usually jam-packed with information.  Readers absorb as much information as they can and pay close attention to some key features.  Readers make notes of these features:
• The problems
• Which ones are the most important?
• Keep an eye out for evidence and problems that are reoccurring
• Characters
• How do they talk and interact … what does that say about their personality or the type of person he/she is?
• Reactions to situations
• Both main and supporting characters
• Realizations (main) characters have
• Identify and note parts that are confusing
• Lesson 2:  Readers keep track and monitor complex characters and their characteristics
• Noticing how the two characters contrast
• Realizations and worries of characters (this links to problems/central ideas)
• Lesson 3: Readers think about the problems in the story to help determine a central idea.  They hang on tight to this idea and see where it shows up in the story, how characters react to the problem, and how it changes characters.
• Lesson 4: Readers monitor while they read and know when to stop and say, huh... Readers reread and think about what is going on in the story to make sense of confusing parts. (figures of speech, puns, metaphors)
• Lesson 5: Readers are constantly thinking about why characters are doing what they are doing.  How does this link to the central idea or problem in this story?
• Lesson 6: Readers analyze cause and effect in stories.  They link earlier parts of the text to later parts.

As I meet with the group, I will remain contentious to teach the readers and not the book.  My goal is to offer lessons and tips that they can utilize independently across any text as they move through tougher reading levels.

Using Student Data

This year, we are focusing on data more than ever.  I feel that we are constantly asked, "What does the data tell us?"  Whether working on professional growth plans, student learning objectives, planning lessons, or informally discussing a student, data is a critical component of the conversation.  This has made me think, what is student data? It is more than test scores...
Student data is student work. Some examples include:

• responses in reading notebooks (from independent reading or read aloud)
• sticky notes / stop-and-jots (from independent reading or read aloud)
• discussions within book clubs
• notes we take during conferences
• reading logs
• on demand writing

During this first trimester, I have been meeting with teams a few times per month to look at student data and determine their "Stars" and "Steps" (strengths and next steps).  It has been interesting to discuss the variety of data brought to the table from kindergarten samples to fourth grade samples.  Often times, at this point in the school year, my kindergarten teachers are bringing their anecdotal notes.  Where as, other grade levels might bring student stop-and-jots or written responses. 

 

 



Something I have learned through this is that if we are using our anecdotal notes as our data, it is important to stay close to the actual data and try to not just use what we thought we saw in the classroom.  This supports the importance for taking anecdotal notes during conferences.  One way to maintain the use of data in our anecdotal notes is to consider the unit's essential questions or learning objectives while conferring.  In a recent kindergarten unit, the students were working on voice-print-match.  This was one of their teaching points.   During the week, some of the notes that were taken during conferences reflected this learning target for the unit.  Teachers were able to reflect on their anecdotal notes for students to determine who was on target, almost on target, or off target in regards to this learning objective.

It is also important to be sure that when you collect student samples, the data collected reflects an important, essential skill for that unit.  It should be a skill that you could envision yourself pulling a small group or following up with a student to offer extra guidance and support in the teaching point.  If you are unsure of which teaching points are "essential",  use the CCSS to help you find direction.  Some units of study offer essential questions for each section or bend of the unit.  If this is the case, I would highly recommend that you always collect some student data around those questions.

Once data is collected, we sort the samples.  Often, we use literacy learning progressions that were created using targets from the CCSS.  If the learning progression is not applicable, we sort samples according to how students are meeting expectation: Exceeding, Meeting, Approaching, Not Meeting.  We then have conversations focusing on next steps for a group.  Effective discussions often focus on how to set up a strategy lesson for a specific group to help students meet the learning target. 

Some next steps I see for our groups is to follow up with the actions plans discussed.  For example, if a teacher decides to use a strategy lesson with a group of students to help them reach the learning objective, we should collect samples following the strategy lesson to see how much growth has been made. 

I am proud to work in an environment where we have time to meet as colleagues, talk about what our students are producing, how to continue to push their learning forward.  Though our curriculum outlines teaching points within units of study, teachers are able to use student data to make decisions based on how to differentiate and best meet the needs of the diverse learners in their rooms.  This, to me, is one of the most exciting aspects of teaching.

I would love to hear what student data you use or plan on using.  If you have more ideas, please comment!
-Sarah

Workshop Management

Only a few more days until our students join us back at school.  I feel as though for weeks we have been making plans, preparing classrooms and bulletin boards, and talking about curriculum for the upcoming school year... I am so ready to throw kids into the mix and have conversations around them and their work.  

The anticipation this time of year brings always reminds me of the importance of starting the year off right with classroom management, especially within a Reading and Writing Workshop.  As I spoke with colleagues last week about preparing for new Units of Study and the many assessments in September, we found ourselves recognizing that in order for curriculum to be implemented effectively, assessments to be accurate, and instruction to be powerful and motivating, students must have a clear idea of the classroom expectations.  Thus, in the beginning of the year, when everything seems to be going a million miles per hour, we need to slow down and set up our classroom guidelines, which will have great impacts on how smooth the entire school year will go.

Below are some points to consider when setting up a Reading or Writing Workshop and what I have found successful:

• Meeting place:
• Will your students come to a spot on "the carpet" or floor during mini lessons? (I suggest that students in grades K-8 come to a meeting spot for mini lessons.  The mini lesson is short... only 7 minutes long.)
• What are the behavior expectations? 
• Will students sit near partners? (I had my students sit with partners.  This was easier when students participated in turn-and-talks.)
• Will students sit in an assigned spot or same spot? For how long? (With most of my classes, students sat in similar spots for the mini lesson.)
• Turn-&-Talk:
• Who will students turn and talk to during mini lessons?
• Which partner will begin to share first?
• Is the meeting place open enough for your to mingle and listen in to conversations?
• Will you have students share out ideas to the entire group after turn and talks? How will you keep it quick? (ie: "I will take 3 ideas.") (I would always mingle and listen in to see how students were understanding the concept being covered.  I occasionally would prompt or ask a student to share out at the end of the turn-and-talk.  This was especially effective for quiet students.)
• Student Materials:
• Will students need to bring anything to the meeting area for mini lessons?
• If they do, how will you communicate this to the for an easy transition?
• If they have materials at the carpet, how will you manage so they are distracted? )ie: "I will know you are ready when you are sitting on top of your writing folder and your pencil is beside you on the floor.")
• What materials will students need during independent work time? 
• Students may have reading bins with their books, pencils, post-its, reading notebook, etc.
• Writing station with extra materials: drafting paper, scratch paper, extra pencils, colored pens for editing and revising
• Teacher Materials:
• Do you have your materials to build anchor charts near your meeting area?
• How will you stay organized- (Have a basket with markers/post-its/etc?)
• Do you have your anchor charts from previous lessons visible for students to access during mini lessons and independent work time? (I different sections of walls dedicated to subject areas: Reading Workshop Wall; Writing Workshop Wall; Math Wall... all that had anchor charts we had built as a class)
• Transitions:
• Transitioning to and from the carpet:
• Dismiss by bin color
• Dismiss all at once
• Volume
• While students are waiting for others to come to the carpet before a mini lesson
• My workshop usually was after recess.  I would have a message on the board/projector indicating the materials needed, and what to do while waiting (re-read sticky notes from last time, read over what was written last time, etc.)
• Independent Time
• Where will students work? Desks? Floor? Choice? (My students chose a location depending on "What would work for them as a reader or writer".  If there were problems, we would meet and discuss why things weren't working and what to try next."
• Will students work near partners? (Yes)
• What materials will students need? (Students could have book bins with all of their materials needed: post-its, pencil/pen, etc.)
• Other:
• When is it acceptable to use the restroom/get a drink/sharpen a pencil? (Unless it is an emergency, students did not interrupt workshop time to use the restroom/sharpen pencils/get drinks.  Students knew to use restrooms during natural transitions/breaks.  During morning work is when students sharpened pencils and filled water bottles.)
• Book Shopping... When will students select new books?  (I scheduled library time about every other week.  Otherwise, students book shopped during their morning work.)

Student Book Bins

As you think about kicking off the new school year, consider your routines and procedures.  It is important for students to know the expectations of the classroom.  Practice these routines and procedures often and if the class doesn't meet the expectation, "Try it again." :)   

Please share other considerations and ideas you use in your classroom! 

Text Band Characteristics

To kick off the beginning of the school year, my district offers a variety of optional professional development.  A session I was involved in leading (along side two of my reading teacher colleagues), was exploring the characteristics of text bands.  The participating teachers had the opportunity to do some reading on a selected text band.  As a small group, they found the characteristics of the band and then discussed possible ways to teach the characteristics (taking the characteristic and turning it into a teaching point for a conference or small group).

Below are the impressive charts each group made.

 

This session left me feeling even more energized for the beginning of the school year.  I enjoy hearing other professional's ideas in how they would deliver a teaching point and instruct their students.

This was a great way to start the school year!

Sarah :)

Conferring Toolkits

As I was thinking about the beginning of the school year and some of the most powerful teaching and practices, my mind continually went to conferring with students.  How exciting that we have the opportunity to teach our students one-on-one! Whether in Reading Workshop or Writing Workshop, student conferences are when our most intense teaching should take place.  We are able to meet students where they are in their reading or in the writing process, coach into their zone of proximal development, and really lift the level of their reading or writing.  As Calkins states, "Conferring is not the icing on the cake, but the cake itself."  Truly, within our workshops, strong conferring is essential.

There can be a lot of anxieties when it comes to having powerful conferences with our readers or  writers...

• What if I don't know the book?
• What if I can't figure out through my research what to teach the student?
• What questions do I ask to research?
• What if there are a million things I could teach... how do I just stick to one?
• How do I have an effective conference within the 5-8 minute range?
• How is it possible to have strong conferences with each student in my class each week?
• What about the student who needs me all the time?
• What about my strugglers?!
• Grammar?!?
• When I decide what to teach, how do I teach it?

And the list goes on...

Each of these questions/topics could be their own blog entry.  So, today, I choose to reflect on the final question: When I decide what to teach, how do I teach it?

When considering how to teach in a conference, I think it is important that you come to the conferences prepared.  You can have a conferring toolkit to carry with  you from conference to conference with tools:

• Anecdotal notes from last conference
• Reflect on last teaching point
• Maybe follow up on work from last time
• Where there any goals or next steps you considered?
• Discuss with the student goals they have set that you noted?
• Your writing notebook with sample writing
• Use your sample writing as a mentor text for your teaching point
• Refer back to back to your own writing
• Show students that you encounter the same types of problems... set up your notebook with parts that "show predictable problems" your students may encounter within the unit...
• Then model how you might problem solve, revise, or edit...
• Refer to anchor charts on the wall or a mentor text...
• Your reading notebook
• To model how to elaborate on ideas... log reading thoughts...
• Show ways you have organized your reading thoughts
• Mentor texts used in class
• Place sticky notes in parts you anticipate student conferences
• Mark places referred to during mini lessons
• Refer to these places and read closely
• Connect this work to the book they are reading
• Keep in mind: You are teaching the reader, not the book!
• Post-it notes
• To help your student with their jotting
• Eliminate the time for the student to search for their own
• For you to leave the student goal/job as a visual reminder for them
• Highlighters/markers/pencils/pens
• So students don't have to spend time looking
• For you to use to model
• Text level/band ring (picture below)
• Giving you ideas as to what to teach
• Using as a mini anchor chart to leave with student
• Notecard Rings (premade or blank)
• Premade: mini anchor charts from your Unit of Study mini lessons
• Blank: create a mini anchor chart with the student
• Skills/Strategies that will help boost their reading or writing... what you want them to try  

 

 

As seen in the first picture, I use a travel cosmetic case that folds up and has compartments.  The second picture, shows an example of a text band ring I created for the KLM band.

I have found that when I feel prepared, I feel more confident going into the conference.  In my toolkit, I have materials, so I am not running around finding the mentor text or something to write with or on (when this happens, often you lose the attention of the student and you are wasting precious time).   We should frequently be bringing in mentor texts and anchor charts into our conferences... Teach students that the work we do in our Mini Lessons are truly to help us during our reading and writing lives.  Teach students to use tools to help them strengthen their reading and writing.  Model this.

What tools do you (or would you) have in your toolkit?  Please share!

:) Sarah

Interactive Read Aloud & Accountable Talk

A topic I have been interested in lately is interactive read aloud with accountable talk.  Interactive read aloud with accountable talk is an important part of balanced literacy.  The framework of an interactive read aloud offers students an opportunity to witness the teacher modeling how to get ready to read (a new text or a new chapter in a book), as well as engage with the text during and after reading.  Most importantly, students have time to practice high levels of engagement in a scaffolded environment with a shared text.  As a former 6th grade teacher, I believe that interactive read aloud is crucial for our students in middle school and elementary school.  I have not worked with high school students, but teaching kids how to talk about and interact with text at any age is important.

The interactive read aloud differs from a mini lesson during Reading Workshop and occurs at a separate time.  It does not replace the mini lesson.  Since time is (often a troubling) factor, consider looking at your weekly schedule and find two days out of the week to incorporate 15-20 minute interactive read aloud with accountable talk sessions.  In doing this, you will see great advances in your students independent reading, talking about reading, and thinking about reading.  Your conferences and partner shares will likely feel more "authentic" because students are used to talking about text and will have a language bank in how to do so.  Below displays the components of an effect interactive read aloud session:

  

 

 

While getting ready to read, you are teaching students that we need to stretch, like before we run or exercise.  Only, in the case of reading, we are stretching (preparing) our mind-muscles.  When preparing for a new text (picture book, poem, short story, book, etc.), we may use pre-reading strategies, such as looking at the cover (thinking "What might this text be about?"), scanning over some pictures (thinking "What might this text be about?"), read the description on the back (thinking "What might this text be about?"), and so on (always thinking what the text will be about).  For each text, you can deliberately select how it is appropriate to get ready to read, as poems differ from nonfiction texts and picture books differ from some chapter books.

 

When preparing to read a new chapter in a longer text, you may revisit some old stop-and-jots to think about the ideas you are "caring across the text".  You might also quickly skim over the last page or so to refresh your mind and orient yourself with the part of the book you left off.  Think about what you do as a reader... Spy on yourself as a reader ... to help illustrate these important strategies of preparing to engage.

 

Next, you read aloud.  The chart above explains the roles of the students and of the teacher.  It is important to demonstrate the reading behaviors you wish for your students.  You can offer some deliberate and "quick" opportunities for your students to practice these behaviors (strategies/skills) during the read aloud.  I say "quick" because in order to keep within the time we have allotted and get to the important accountable talk piece, we need to be aware of this talk time.

 

 

The final component is accountable talk.  This is a whole group conversation, and is sometimes referred to as the "Grand Conversation".  Students will likely be sitting on the floor at the meeting place in a circle, so they can maintain eye contact and see the speaker.  (Students will be seated at the meeting place throughout the entire interactive read aloud, moving into a circle formation for the grand conversation.)

 

The chart above would be a tool you could create with your students to help scaffold them in their conversations.  This chart could be made over time, adding to it as students participate in Grand Conversations.  However, we should refrain from just "giving" our kids language.  Help them decide how we "talk about books".  Have them notice some of the things you say as the teacher and what their partners say that "help keep the ball rolling" (or the conversation going) on one idea about the text.  Offer the question, "What if you disagree with a person's theory or idea?  How might you state your interpretation in a respectful way?  I mean, we aren't always going to agree, and that's okay."

 

The purpose is to have students run this portion of the interactive read aloud.  After building tools for this work, your kids will keep the conversation going and you will be able to listen and only guide when necessary.  I have seen some classrooms use a small ball to toss to one another and whoever has the ball is the one to share their thoughts. Either way, have a discussion with your students about how to pass the talking-turn over to someone new.

 

If you find that you have students who dominate the conversation, you may have the expectation that before the students who spoke last time, need to wait until five of our classmates share this time.

 

The interactive read aloud with accountable talk serves many purposes.  It will heighten our students' engagement during independent reading, support their partner shares, and help build community within the classroom.  It also helps meet the Speaking and Listening CCSS.  It is another great way to introduce mentor texts and share some of your favorite stories with students.  Any way we work to strengthen our students' ability to engage with text will only benefit their personal reading lives.

 

:) Sarah