#SOL19: Day 30 SOLSC
New learning . . .
Skippety do dah!
Slicers share so much . . .
Some days it is ideas and
Some days it includes learning tips!
Thanks to my friend Sally
For teaching me about slide show in wordpress.com
Skippety do dah!
I learn so much from my Slicer friends!
Don’t let fear, doubt, or past experiences defeat you!
You can do this!
You can learn something new!
Slide show learning courtesy of Sally Donnelly at “Read and Write by Sally” here! The directions are in the comments section on her blog!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 29 SOLSC
Day 29
Rise and Shine
Walk the narrow line.
Check out the view
What is there to do?
Two days ago the temp was 72
Tonight the forecast includes snow
and wintry mix with winds that will blow.
How will the rest of the week go?
I fear March may yet go out like a lion . . .
The uncertainty of wintry possibilities
Makes for a leery traveler.
But maybe it will reduce that TBR pile.
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 28 SOLSC
Four days left.
Four more posts.
Four more ideas.
Four more slices.
Why does it feel so different?
The pressure to have a story.
The pressure to not have a bandaid.
The pressure is real.
The pressure for students is real.
The pressure for teachers is real.
Is it self-inflicted?
What’s the solution?
Yesterday was amazing.
Our Heinemann reps have established a #ConnectandCollaborate group and provided support requested by local teachers, coaches, and administrators. Yesterday we, groups in Iowa, Missouri and South Carolina heard answers from our questions posed to Lucy Calkins about coaching.
How do teachers step into conferring?
First task: Set up the Environment
- “Do no harm.”
Lucy reminded us that, “You will be conferring all your life. It helps to put yourself in the writer’s shoes.” Consider when has someone’s feedback left you scarred for life? “Don’t do that.” Kids will be vulnerable.
How much does it mean to you to get a real compliment? A real authentic response from a peer or an administrator; not a judgement. “Do that!”
Teachers have power. We can make kids want to put words on the page. Make sure you are responding in a human way. Warm. Human. Don Murray said, ”Be the kind of person for whom kids want to write.” Respond in human way to the content. When you are headed for radical change, do NOT criticize. Do NOT point out all the things they screwed up.
Second task: Check your Posture
Are you sitting side by side?
The student holds the paper. The student writes on his/her paper. The goal of the teacher is to get students to say more with little tips to keep them writing: “Holy Moley, what happened next?”“Wow! Look what you have written in 5 minutes.” All of this is setting up the backdrop because in order to respond to writers, you have to set a climate where students want to and DO write!
BEGIN by Studying Conferring
- Read the guide about the predictable parts of a conference
- Watch the Videos: Amanda and Lucy
- Identify and Practice the Conference Parts
Don’t expect perfection. Plan to grow and learn. Check out the suggested problems in the “If…Then…Curriculum resource online. Have those solutions ready. Talk about the common issues.
READY, SET, GO!
Thank you Beth, Kelly, and Kerry (Lisa and Ashley) for setting up this Zoom opportunity.
What did you learn yesterday?
How will your passion and excitement carry your learning forward?
How will you build on your own “I can . . .”?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 27 SOLSC
Post its: Assorted colors
Post its: Assorted shapes
Sharpie Permanent Markers: Assorted colors
Flair Markers: Assorted Colors
Card stock: Assorted colors
File Folders
Plastic Sleeves
Game boards
Classroom Look Fors
Glue Stick
Assembly Time
New skill: Generating QR Codes for document access
What does your work space look like?
What materials do you use?
How do you organize?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 26 SOLSC
What will the weather be?
Do we celebrate the possibilities?
Or bemoan the results?
(Totally beyond our control like many other things in our lives – personal and school.)
From Enchanted Learning . . . Weather words that begin with “S” . . .
Wednesday’s predicted high is 69 degrees.
Snow is predicted for Friday night.
Which prediction do I want to be correct?
How will I celebrate on Wednesday?
How does the weather pendulum impact student learning?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 25 SOLSC
He leaned in. “What’s the score?”
“Tied. 71 all. Amazing comeback.”
“Um. Huh. They were down by 21.”
I bite my tongue. Not literally. I want to correct him and say, “No, they were down by 25 in the first half.” But I’ve never seen this person before and do those four points really matter? But it’s hard. It was so pathetic that we were down by 25.
WAIT!
JUST A MINUTE!
HOLD THE PRESSES!
So odd.
I check.
I double check.
I confirm that I am not wearing any school colors. And yet this stranger sitting with his family is talking to me about the game. I just had this conversation last week with my friend from Boston, but then the conversations began because I was wearing school colors even in a state far far away – half a country away. The margin of the game had narrowed to nine points before we went to lunch. Expecting the game to be over, I checked the score and that was when the conversation began.
How important is talk in the classroom?
Google would help you think it is quite important as you could find thousands of resources on both Pinterest and TpT – neither of which are recommended. But that’s a surface quick fix that doesn’t get at the CORE purpose of talk – to share thinking and discuss at deep levels. Moving beyond surface sentence stems will require instruction.
What do you believe about classroom talk?
If you believe that the teacher needs to “scaffold” the talk, you may be doing a disservice to your students, according to Kara Pranikoff, author of Teaching Talk.
Entry points:
Inquiry. What is the status of talk? Who talks? To whom? When? What is the difference between social talk and academic talk?
Talk to students. Who do they want to listen to? Who do they listen to? What “rules” do they prefer – formally or informally?
Listen to students. Listen to understand. Not to respond. Not to fix. Not to negate. What do you learn from listening and considering patterns in student talk.
Teach. Don’t just scaffold forever. What skills need to be taught? How will skills taught lead to greater independence for students?
Check out this book. Talking and Thinking!
Breathing New Life into the Talk in Your Classrooms
Who’s doing the work in “TALK”?
How do you TEACH student talk and thinking?
How can instruction actually encourage student thinking?
And of course, some of us can and do easily talk to strangers about issues and events that matter like the game that began this post. My attention to the game began with a terse email from a sibling. When and how do we help students gain the confidence and comfort to have meaningful conversations with folks in their worlds?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 24 SOLSC
It was a glorious day.
Met my great niece for the first time. She’s 3.5 months old and just the cutest baby!
It was a glorious day.
And before that I traveled with my mom across the state to meet up with family members we haven’t seen in five months.
It was a glorious day.
And before that there were grand conversations as we traveled, exploring the past, present and the future.
It was a glorious day.
And before that I arrived early at my mom’s apartment despite my worries about time, traffic and all the possible deterrents to a prompt arrival.
It was a glorious day.
And before that my business phone conference was prompt, on target, fun, and delightfully full of opportunities.
It was a glorious day.
And before that I named my biggest fears of being late, not getting a timely start, and worrying needlessly . . . and instantly I relaxed!
It was a glorious day.
How do you meet your goals, the pressure of time and conflicting agendas, and yet keep your sense of humor (and sanity)?
How do you manage to continue to grow your possibilities and not your intolerance of roadblocks?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
A different perspective on yesterday’s post here!
#SOL19: Day 23 SOLSC
It was that kind of a morning.
I woke up early, before the alarm, so I smiled and thought of all I could accomplish. It was 0 dark thirty.
It was that kind of a morning.
I stumbled down the hall, brewed a cup of coffee and stared at the two deer in the driveway.
It was that kind of a morning.
I had no list, but quickly set to work: a blog post, some emails, and off I’d go.
It was that kind of a morning.
There was frost on the windshield. Old-fashioned, scrape with pressure, hard frost not the kind that disappears with a spray of windshield washer fluid.
It was that kind of a morning.
Two thin white ribbons marked the path in the road, veer off the beaten path at your own risk to become mired in the mud.
It was that kind of a morning.
Deer in the road. Deer in the ditches. Deer in the timber. Deer everywhere.
It was that kind of a morning.
School bus with flashing lights, yellow line do not cross, destined to follow from bus stop to bus stop.
It was that kind of a morning.
Time gained from that early wake up at 0 dark thirty has slipped away. Now the pressure of a timely arrival was weighing heavily.
It was that kind of a morning.
Fuel light lit . . . Aw, rats. When did that come on? #$&*! Of all days . . .
It was that kind of a morning.
Sun barely peaking over the hood of my car. Blinding. Annoying. Really?
It was that kind of a morning.
Finally town and red light, and red light, and red light with no right turn on red. Minutes slipping away.
It was that kind of a morning.
Fuel, pit stop, BUT no vegetarian breakfast? Ah, Lenten Fridays!
It was that kind of a morning.
Red light, red light, red light.
It was that kind of a morning.
Three semis on the roundabout. Felt like a wasted hour.
It was that kind of a morning.
And then MAINT REQD light. Really?
It was that kind of a morning.
I was thirty minutes into a day with over five hours of driving.
Could I just, please, go home?
To read a book?
To do some work?
How will I ever survive an entire day at this rate?
When a day has a less than auspicious beginning, how do you “turn” it around? What are your “go to” strategies to regain positivity?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 22 SOLSC
Katie Clement’s session at #TCRWP’s 96th Saturday Reunion was titled “Teaching Literary Essay as a Vehicle for Teaching High-Level Opinion and Argument Writing Skills” and it was packed with gems of information.
What is the purpose of the writing?
When students are thinking about the audience for their writing, they are also thinking through the lens of what will appeal to that audience. Sounds easy. But is it? This may be the part that gets messy and then means that the essay may become a blend of other formats including packing in some information or a microstory. Mining a story for ideas for a claim/thesis and then supporting that claim/thesis would allow students to practice building compelling opinions and arguments beyond just listing their ideas.
What mentor text might you use?
I love Katherine Bomer’s The Journey is Everything found here. This text helped me grow my own knowledge of an essay. Katie also suggested this resource. Have you seen it?
What are some qualities of essays? 38 Total Essays. Sounds like fun inquiry that I need to dig into! (I’m waiting for the book to arrive.)
How have you studied essay?
What do your own essays look like?
What do “essays in the world” look like?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL19: Day 21 #SOLSC
I check the calendar.
Hmm.
Meeting coming up.
Do I:
a. Cheer and high five with excitement over a meeting
b. Have a mini eye roll
c. Yawn in anticipation of a lively session
d. Plan to arrive early, stay late and be totally energized?
Which one fits your feelings toward those regularly scheduled meetings?
At the TCRWP Saturday Reunion I deliberately chose Meghan Hargrave’s session titled: “A Session for Coaches and Teachers Leaders: Professional Development that Sticks” and like the theme for the day, Meghan talked about a clear purpose, relationships, facilitation, and cycles of learning.
The topic was important. The room was packed. People sat on the floor in the back, on the sides, and leaned in to catch every word.
What do your meetings look like?
The information that I found most intriguing was when Meghan talked about different methods for meetings. Just like in workshop, different methods for meetings. Here are the five she shared.
Methods for Meetings
Mini-lecture 5 – 10 min.
Demonstration & practice
Role play
Make and Take
ON-demand teaching – both coaching method and meeting method
Meetings
Could be faculty meetings
Could be PLC meetings
Could be grade level meetings
Could be collaborative planning meetings
And the methods could vary.
Does that happen in your world?
Or are your meetings pretty much structured the same way, with the same method, meeting after meeting?
What’s the best that could happen if you changed the method of the meeting?
What could be the potential impact for students?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this daily March forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
