#SOLSC22: 1
Eager to learn.
Voracious.
We read Joyful Learning in Kindergarten, Transitions, Invitations, The Whole Story to name a few as we learned from Bobbi Fisher, Regie Routman, and Brian Cambourne. Our professional learning as we grew our understanding.
My first introduction to book studies before anyone called them book studies. My first introduction to a student-centered classroom.
It began with a first grade teacher. A teacher who read, reflected, and then made decisions about student learning and her own teaching. A teacher who was a literacy workshop teacher. A teacher who trusted students to learn and grow.
We read. We collected data. We discussed the data. We made changes. We tried again. Action research before we heard that label.
We celebrated ALL students as readers and writers. We celebrated high expectations. We celebrated student growth. We celebrated choice. We celebrated community,
Thank you, Diane Ruyle, for all the lives you touched including mine! You encouraged me to read, write, and think deeply about learning, students, and choice!
Who has helped you grow professionally?
_____________________________________________________
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL19: Really?
I blew it! What was I thinking?
Twitter Chats are easy. A few questions. A few responses. Let’s talk. And then taking my turn on writing a summative blog post. Predictable patterns.
Book clubs . . . What’s the format? What’s the end goal? What’s my role? More questions than answers. And each club . . . renegotiating the roles and the expectations.
Check. Deadlines met.
Check. Responses entered.
Check. Make no waves. Agree with the participants
Check. Check. Check.
I was focused on the product and got lost in FEAR!
I was worried if it was good enough and was frozen in time!
I rushed to task completing and forgot it was about the thinking!
This was the format for my early book club participation and it has followed me around worse than the groundhog’s shadow ever since. Book clubs were a place of similar thinking; thinking outside the box resulted in social ostracism.
I went underground as a reader as I have had a LOVE/HATE relationship with book clubs. Some have been fun. Some have been tedious. All have provided learning. But what was that learning?
I love talking about books. Mary Howard and I talk about a tweet, a blog post, or a book on a regular basis. Her reading is also voracious! At CCIRA, Regie Routman handed me a book, I thumbed through it, and I had to order it. Penny Kittle told me about a book and I forwarded the title also to my sister and a niece. I hadn’t even left Maria Walther’s session and I was forwarding the book list. Reading and talking about books is fun!
And then last night I watched this video of Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher. You can watch it too if you are a member of the Summer Book Love Club 2019. What do you notice? What would you name as the key points of the video?
Link
A photo clipped from the video
And because the link does NOT work if you are NOT a member, here are the TOP 10 REASONS you should join Summer Book Love 19 from the Nerdy Book Club here.
Elementary Book Club Books July 2019
Here’s what Penny said about the FB Live session:
“From Concord, CA… I’m here with Kelly Gallagher, my co-author and friend, to talk about the importance of book clubs in his professional life.”
The importance of book clubs in his professional life.
The sheer joy.
The number of books he has read as a part of a book club.
The fact that he, a good reader, learns something from every book club meeting and that they celebrate the different ideas everyone brings to the book club.
Somewhere
Somehow
Sometime
I lost the sheer joy of talking about books in a book club.
The book club became about the process of my notes, my annotations or my writing about reading.
The book club became more about compliance than learning!
I became that “kid” who completed the work but maybe didn’t invest very much of myself.
It’s book club season. I will be in several this summer. I will be watching my own learning. And just as I detailed the process for “Professional Learning” in the last 5 posts about Repeated Reading, so will I also monitor my own learning, processes and products. I think it will be critical to be brutally honest with myself.
And I can do that personally with a process that is also set up for bigger systems work.
How will I find the gold and the JOY in book clubs?
What is the process for professional learning?
- Set a Goal – Participate productively in book clubs
- Selection of Content which includes Checking the Research – Talk about the books
- Design a Process for Professional Development/Learning – Check the schedule and allow plenty of time. Refusing to allow lack of time to be an excuse.
- Teaching / Learning Opportunities – Checking in. What do teachers need to learn? How will they learn it? How can we set some measurable targets? – Pay attention to my “joy” meter. When does it stop being fun?
- Collaboration / Implementation Reading and Participating
- Ongoing Data Collection including Listen to the Students – Consider my responses to students with actions similar to mine
- Program Evaluation – Going back to the teacher data: Has there been growth? How do we know? Plan ahead – what will I do
ifwhen I get stuck? - Collecting / Analyzing Student Data – Is the gap closing? Are students growing more capable? Are students more independent? Balancing “habits” of reading, attitudes, processes and products
- (WHY would I use a different process?)
I will be a part of at least three book clubs this summer and as the summer wanes, I will let you know if I was successful and how and when I will be celebrating the continuous JOY in reading and talking about books!
What is your experience with book clubs?
What motivates you to continue to learn and grow as a reader?
What learning targets would you consider?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL18: Time
The lyrics from the Byrds have been going through my brain lately as I’ve lost track of day and night, days, and now even weeks, and WOW, how did it get to be August?
“To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven . . .” Video, 1965.
What does it take to be an award winner?
This song won a Grammy back in the 1960’s. Ah, yes, before many of you were born. So what is a classic? What is real? What needs to be repeated? What needs to be retired?
Cherish . . . and another tune instantly comes to mind.
Do I have songs on my brain?
Everything’s coming up roses and in verse!
There’s something about the JOYFULNESS of song!
I’m hopeful that the joyfulness in my life spills over to ensure that joyfulness is a part of every classroom this fall. Enthusiastic teachers. Refreshed. Relaxed. Rejuvenated.
Ready for challenges.
Ready to toil anew.
Ready to advocate for EVERY student.
Ready to lose your heart to that next room full of students!
And yet, every day the clock will continue! Can you find precious minutes for MORE reading and writing? Can you redistribute the time you have?
The students . . .
Excited students. Excited and eager for routines. Eager for learning. Eager to make a difference. Eager and enthusiastic to be back at school.
A time to be curious and focus on their brilliant minds and all the great things they do know. A time to think about next steps and small nudges of growth that will start spinning the success wheel.
Time shows what we value.
I love this quote from Ralph Fletcher.
“Time is a new kind of poverty. A schedule
that features daily writing communicates to
students: ‘Writing is one of my non-negotiables.
It’s too important for me to squeeze in
once in a blue moon’” (p. 45).
~ Ralph Fletcher
The Writing Teacher’s Companion
Scholastic, 2017.
What is on your daily schedule?
What are your non-negotiables?
How will we know?
And just to come to a full circle . . . “So what is a classic? What is real? What needs to be repeated? What needs to be retired?”
What is really necessary in your classroom?
What do students really need to learn?
How will you know?
Life is all about decisions. Time is in your favor. Many have just begun. Many begin soon. Others have about three weeks. How will you use every precious second in honor of worthwhile and necessary learning?
Before we can ask for MORE TIME, we must make sure that we use our existing time wisely!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. 
#SOL16: JOY
My #OneLittleWord for 2016 has been JOY and this past weekend at #NCTE16 was packed with joy every minute of every day. Surrounded by professionals that I know, admire, and constantly learn with, it was quite easy to forget the policies, problems, and politics that have rocked the U.S. landscape lately.
See how many “Slicers” you recognize at the Saturday dinner.
(Bonus: How many of the blogs can you name?)
“Slicer” dinner at Amalfi’s Pizza Saturday
The JOY began with a #G2Great meetup Thursday night at Max’s Coal Pizza. This group chats online on Thursday evenings with Mary Howard, Amy Brenneman, and Jenn Hayhurst as co-moderators.
Thursday night #G2Great meetup at Max’s Coal Oven Pizzeria
Do you know which 4 are in both groups?
Can you name the states represented?
And of course another night of conversation and JOY.
Friday night at Legal Seafood
On Sunday we actually found time to visit before leaving Atlanta!
Julieanne, Tara, Margaret and me!
One of the highlights of my travels was my great roommate, Dani Graham Burtsfield, from Kalispell, MT. Thanks so much for all your great work as our “historian”!
Joy with some of the audience members for the poetry session are found here!
At poetry with Mary Lee, Julieanne and myself – just missing Steve!
And even MORE JOY with some of the presenters!
Have you checked in on your “One Little Word” lately?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#NCTE16: Celebrate
Atlanta . . .
The home of a fabulous Civil Rights Museum
The home of Martin Luther King Junior
The home of thousands of teachers this weekend
Spending Friday, Saturday and Sunday together
Learning together
Feeding their souls
Fueling their passions
Collecting their energy
Forging a future
In this fabulous #NCTE16 family!
I am so humbled to rub elbows among so many talented readers and writers who are so willing to chat, to dig into answering those clarifying questions and to help out in so many ways. And who in their lives have chosen “kind”.
Thanks for Voxer cousin Erica, the MARTA directions were perfect. Wowza! What an easy way to travel from the airport to the hotel. Thanks to the #G2Great dinner organizers – such a treat to meet up together before the sessions began. Looking up and down the table at all the JOY (my #OLW) amidst the hugs and conversations, there was a moment when I wanted to hit the pause button. Just a few short seconds to admire my companions and the many paths that brought us together from across the country. Together we are better. We bring our knowledge, our skills and our hearts together to improve literacy in our communities.
We are activists.
We are here.
We are learning together.
We are reading together.
We are turning and talking.
We are growing together.
And the rich conversations continue long after the sessions as we naturally have t0 share our learning with each other.
Friday was the first full day of #NCTE16 and it was a long day. It was a joyful day from the first navigation of the convention space to the Donald Graves Legacy Breakfast. Thanks to Heinemann for such a wonderful gathering. In the same space on stage: Tom Newkirk, Penny Kittle, Georgia Heard, Katherine Bomer, Smokey Daniels, Cornelius Minor, Allison Marchette, Rebekah ODell and Kim Parker.
Sharing memories.
Sharing credos.
Tweet worthy quotations.
Watching a master at work on a video.
Writing our own credos.
And then we were off.
Every session has close to 50 choices. Hard choices for learners. Who do I REALLY need to hear? Who will affirm my beliefs? Who will push me to new understandings?
Learning from Ralph Fletcher, Ellie Keene, Kathy Collins, Matt Glover, Marjorie Martinelli, Shanna Schwartz, Alecia Luick, Shana Frazin, Katy Wischow, Val Geschwind, the amazing #G2Great crew (Erica, Amy, Jenn, Jill, Dani, Kari, Kathryn) and the many gracious Heinemann and Stenhouse authors filled my brain, my heart and my soul.
One of my favorite sessions was “Low Stakes Writing” with Ralph Fletcher. If we want joyful student writers, Ralph proposes that we must add some green belt writing for our students. The metaphor that he used to describe writing energy was the hot air balloon and he challenged us to think of when the balloon would rise – when writing workshop is going merrily along and when the balloon would sink back to earth – with the addition of test prep work and mandatory writing tasks that literally suck the JOY out of writing. As teachers, parents, administrators, we do need to be aware of our own limitations but we also need to stretch ourselves as readers, writers and thinkers. We must be the models of the writing that we want our students to do. The concept of “feral writing’ is fascinating. A feral animal – one who was once domesticated who has now returned to the wild. Writing that students choose to do on their own time. The creation of new genres of writing that arise from choice as students do find their writing voice. How can we honor those voices?
No pictures here in this blog post. My computer is taking a break so I’m composing this on my iPad mini. It’s not my favorite device. It’s challenging as I type in the dark out of kindness to my roommate at zero dark thirty.
Day Two begins at 8 am and goes until 5:30 pm.
Decisions about sessions.
Decisions about when to visit the exhibit hall.
And what about those favorite authors and those friends from twittter who we have not yet connected with?
Much more joy and learning ahead!
How will you spend your Saturday?
#DigiLitSunday: Focus
Join the #DigilitSunday authors at Margaret Simon’s blog here.
Welcome, old friend.
FOCUS
My #OneLittleWord for 2015.
I wrote about you here, here, and here.
So enough said?
Not so fast! Let’s reconsider “Focus” with a different lens – or two!
Focus on Who?
Simple . . .
Focus on Students
Who will focus?
The teachers and the school community
This two-fold approach ensures that students are the center of the work. And as teachers and the school community focus on students, the teachers will collaboratively work together as they learn, grow and share ideas and techniques to best meet the needs of students.
Maintain status quo?
Teachers and schools are constantly considering what is working and what is not. It’s 2016 so schools and “learning” don’t look the same as they did in the 1960’s, 1980’s or even in 2000. The adults in the community have already “DONE” school and years of schooling don’t make them experts. The students currently in the building are the FOCUS.
Focus on What?
Learning . . .
Student Learning
Teacher Learning
How does an educator decide “WHAT” to focus on? There are many lists/features that are all “research-based” and even appear to have “gold stickers”.
Which one is best? There’s no “clear cut” answer for the best or even the “one” that will have the greatest impact because many of the “whats” that teachers can work on can also be combined for even greater student results. Instead of searching for the best, look within. What can you the teacher, add to your repertoire to increase your impact or effect?
What happens when a teacher uses data to study what is working currently in the classroom with the current students and then decides to change one variable and measure that effect?
Any of these could be a target of district or personal teacher study (and could overlap):
- Hattie’s effect sizes,
- Art of Comprehension via Trevor, Rich, Donna, & Justin’s graphic, or
- questioning (DOK).
John Hattie, Visible Learning Effect Sizes.
Art of Comprehension, Bryan, Donner & Dolci #40CF “Art of Comprehension” Voxer Conversation
Webb’s DOK, Questioning
The key is using several data points (never just one) to determine where a change needs to occur, developing a plan and then working that plan! Quality instruction, quality teachers, and a quality use of time!
Focus on How?
How are decisions made about instruction, learning and teaching? How is technology involved? (I know you were waiting for the “DigiLit” connection!) How can technology be a TOOL that allows equitable access for ALL students? How can technology level the playing field for students and for student learning? How can technology allow students to APPLY their learning outside of school settings?
Methodology varies from classroom to classroom, building to building, and district to district. Some have local choice and some have state mandates. Within all situations one factor remains, professional responsibility! The professionals in the classroom have a responsibility to provide the environment and instructional opportunities that enable ALL students to learn at high levels!
WHY Focus?
And now I’ve gone full circle. The answers to Who? What? and How? have brought me to the Why? which brings me back to my 2016 #OneLittleWord: Joy.
There is JOY for students when students are the focus. There is JOY for students when learning is the focus. There is JOY for students when teachers are growing, learning and sharing those practices that have data to support that they increase students’ desire to learn and their learning. There is JOY for teachers when students and teachers have learning as the focus. Teaching is NOT for the faint of heart; teaching is FOR the students! All students must be growing and learning every day and that’s no easy task!
End Goal?
Learning
Every Day
Joyful Learning
Joyful Learning Every Day!
What do you focus on? How do we know that is your focus?
And what if?
What if . . .
Teacher Clarity (Hattie), The 6 Things We Teach Every Day (coming soon in a book by Trevor Bryan) and Questioning at higher levels (DOK) were all strengthened simultaneously? How would that look for the students? How would that make a difference for students?
#SOL16: March Challenge 27 – Joyful
Joyful
Walking
Talking
Laughing
Swinging
Mommy pushes me on the swing . . .
Laughing
Swinging
Walking
Sliding
Walking
Watching
Sliding down with daddy
Walking up with daddy
Laughing
At the park
Laughing
With my grandson . . .
And his family . . .
Precious moments!
Process/Goals:
Using my #OLW Joy, I wanted to capture our fun at the park last night. What a treat to have family fun time at the park where his mom used to play. Visiting family memories and creating new ones. Nothing as precious as the infectious laughter of my grandson . . . 10 1/2 months old!
I knew I needed verbs as he is all about action and all about “I can do it myself”. And then I played with the spacing. That was the most fun part of today’s writing. . . how I wanted the words to look as they went across the page.
What joyful moments are you capturing?
Thank you, Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. It’s the March Slice of Life Challenge; posts are DAILY!
#SOL16 March Challenge Day 1: Celebration!
What is a milestone?
Today marks a milestone in my professional career! And in keeping with my #OLW16 (Joy), I must share my joy with my readers! And I’ve also done a little bit of “spring redecorating” on my blog! (How many changes can you count?)
Oh, Happy Day!
Perhaps a celebratory video?
And a visual to help . . .
Are you ready?
What are we celebrating?
Piqued your interest?
What are we celebrating?
What does Ben Franklin represent?
And, not just one, but . . .
un, deux, trois . . .
What are WE celebrating?
My third year of participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge?
Wow! My third year.
Anxious,
nervous,
what will I write about?
Close.
What number does Ben Franklin represent?
If you know the “bill” that he is on . . .
And, no, I didn’t say you needed one on hand to figure this out.
But today, as the March #SOL16 Challenge begins, I am joyfully celebrating. . .
A milestone . . . (drum roll and red carpet)
This is my 300th blog post!
I have published 300 posts here at “Resource-Full” in just 3 years and 4 months. What a shock! This blog began on October 28, 2012 with this post.
Thank you, readers, as I wouldn’t have continued as faithfully without readers and specifically those commenters either here or on Twitter. Thank you, SLICERS, for your continued support! What a BLESSED community! If you are new to slicing, you will soon realize that you have some of the best online friends in this community!
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Thank you, Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. It’s the March Slice of Life Challenge so be ready to read DAILY posts!
#SOL16: To Be a Reader
Traveling to new places
Visiting old places
Making new friends
Visiting old friends
Learning new things
Relearning things left along the way
Collecting words and images
Revisiting great words and images from the past . . .
Each day MUST involve some personal choice
As necessary as the air I breathe!
Reading,
Something I choose.
Reading,
For myself.
Reading,
To grow my thoughts!
Reading,
To talk about books!
Reading,
To write about books!
Reading,
To find worlds to LOVE!
Do you read?
Why do you read?
If you teach readers, you MUST be a reader!
If you teach readers, you must BE a joyous reader!
Check out Donalyn Miller’s Nerdy Book Club post, “Getting on the Bus”, is a powerful read. Stop, go read it. Already read it? Go read it again! Demonstrate to yourself the power of rereading to confirm knowledge or celebrate the language.
My favorite quote:
Is this you?
If not, why not?
What’s your favorite quote? How have you shared it? How would we know?
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Thank you, Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL16 and Revealing #OneLittleWord16
So what do you see?
- Is the glass half full?
- Is the glass half empty?
(Or does it only matter when you know what is IN the glass?)
Perspective matters. It matters every second of every minute of every hour of every day . . . you know the rest.
Like many bloggers, I was in search of my #OneLittleWord when Thanksgiving break arrived. I was searching, checking out the thesaurus, reviewing blogs from last year and YES, fretting about that poor little word that would focus my actions and thoughts for the next year.
Where did #OneLittleWord come from? You can read about it here from Ruth Ayres (2008) and even see how Margaret Simon used it with her students in 2015 here. You can also read some early announcements of words here, here, here, and here.
My word found me as I was making decisions about wrapping Christmas presents. Presents were everywhere. I had diligently removed the price tags. I had organized them by recipients. Then I added post-its (yep, color-coded) by the “recipient” as I considered those individuals who would be at multiple, multiple Christmas exchanges: my son, my daughter-in-law, and my grandson.
Easy Part – all gifts had to be prepared to travel.
However, there is a difference between gifts that travel two hours on a balmy 50 degree afternoon and those that had to be prepared to travel more than 8 hours without being crushed, torn, or so disheveled that they would need “re-wrapping”. This was an organizational nightmare.
And to compound the issue, the not so distant past included being “called out” by the blood relative (who shall remain nameless) who received about half as many gifts as the family newcomer at a previous Christmas. But names are not included in order to protect myself! 🙂
Hmmm . . . what to do?
Easy decision.
As I surveyed the gifts and thought about every logistical concern. (How do the gifts get home? Is there really room for big gifts? What if some gifts really need to be exchanged before leaving town?) Simple questions. Multiple issues.
My solution
Gifts for the Iowa family Christmas would basically be wrapped individually in their “own” paper and too bad, so sad but the 7.5 month old grandson would have more gifts than his parents. Equal number of gifts for all three was not the major goal because after all Fair Isn’t Always Equal according to Rick Wormeli.
Then the gifts that were traveling to Kentucky would all be gift-bagged. One bag per person with the collection of gifts to be basically “tissue-wrapped”. WHEW! Major decision! I believed that DISASTER was averted and I had a wonderful plan. (Truth in blogging – Gift cards for books for nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews were not included in this decision.) All other gifts for Kentucky Christmases would also be gift bagged.
Seriously, what did this have to do with #OneLittleWord?
Well, it was all about my perspective.
What solution allowed me to designate the gift locations and collections and fill my needs?
It was all about my JOY at finding a solution that met both my needs as the giver and (I hoped) the needs of the recipients!
Joy is truly in the eyes of the beholder – whether it is the gifter or the givee! And my heart was so full of JOY at finding a solution that I knew JOY needed to be a part of my personal and work life every day for the next year.
Confirmation?
This Christmas gift to me said it all.
Why JOY?
Not convinced?
My life every day this year will include: happiness, success, delight, gaiety, bliss, or the source of delight – wonder! (And see how sneakily seven other words fit under this umbrella of JOY!)
Schools and learning need to be filled with Joy, happiness, success, delight, gaiety, bliss, and the source of delight – wonder! And I will be looking for Joy in all its formats every day in schools and in my own learning.
So I will be looking for JOY each and every day and with my “half-full” perspective, I am sure that I am going to find it!
Have you found your #OneLittleWord?
Has your #OneLittleWord found you?
P.S. [Truth – three days of wrapping and organizing (after one day of LOCATING) and I was close to buying/repurposing boxes in order to scrap the bag idea. I had a hard time getting the exact number and sizes of bags that “matched” the recipient. New Solution: I just bought extra large, medium and small bags. After all my gifting, I used 31 bags and that was more math than my JOYOUS brain could handle.]
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Thank you, Anna, Betsy,Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
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