#SOL17 – #DigiLitSunday – Innovation
Link to #DigiLitSunday posts at Margaret Simon’s blog.
Innovation
Not merely regurgitation
Not just analyzing
But moving on to . . . dare I risk it? . . . innovation?
By reassembling ideas
Through some thoughtful reflection
Should I attempt it?
If you read my found poem yesterday here, you know that I did not attend the 92nd Saturday Reunion sponsored by the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. But I did follow along in the TwitterVerse and even collected my re-tweets here in storify. There are about 150 Tweets there if you want to see some of the quotes, ideas, and Tweets that caught my attention.
In the interest of accuracy, this is NOT my first reporting on LEARNING when I was NOT at the conference.
My Previous Learning Via Twitter instead of In Real Life
- May 2016 – New England Reading Association (#NERA2016) in Portland, Maine
- April 2015 – #TCRWP in Paris and #NCTE and Poetry
- and that doesn’t even include Ed Collaborative Gatherings here and here
- And yes, I had a Tweet Deck column following the PAWLP Spring Day today #PAWLPARTS17
Teachers need to have many layers of skills and knowledge. They need to be EXPERTS with their content skills and strategies (Knowledge Base – the what), pedagogy (how to teach in an interesting and engaging way), design (why and how certain aspects of environment, technology, and instruction overlap) and in student development (to understand the faces/bodies in front of them each day). Which of those gets precedence on any given day?
IT DEPENDS!
As a teacher, it’s important for you to know and understand the skills, strategies of the standards and curricula as well as your goals for your grade level so the learning targets are crystal clear. Communication skills must be honed so that students clearly understand the purposes of today’s work and the connections that build every day to meet those end goals. However all of these are totally influenced by teacher beliefs and expectations. The teacher has to believe that ALL students can learn and learn at high levels. And what is it that they must learn?
Learning and school CANNOT be about preparation for the next grade. Grade levels assigned by century old arbitrary calendar years are not working for students. The goal in every classroom must be to prepare the students to be productive and independent citizens of the world. So that means no more points taken off for papers turned in a day late (where does that REALLY happen in the real world?), and that students need more VOICE and CHOICE in the work that is done in classrooms on a regular basis. And they also need to be risk takers, entrepreneurs, brave, empathetic, and . . .
“Wow, Fran, I was at #TCRWP and I didn’t hear any of that?”
My Take Aways from #TCRWP by Twitter:
- What do you value? How do we know? Set clear expectations for your students. Share your expectations for the students with them and then share what they can expect from the teacher. Here is one example from a reading teacher. Source: photo and tweet by Jane Losinger
Why does this matter? This is NOT the same as My Job/Your Job. These statements share/show what you, the teacher value as a promise to the students. When I see these statements in your classroom or on your class website, I know how you will make decisions about time, resources, and even daily instruction. I can also make predictions about what I think your classroom will look like based on what you say you value! Bonus: This maters because of this Hattie result:
2. Be excited, passionate, enthusiastic EVERY minute of EVERY day!
Who knows when or which connection will work for a student? If it’s boring for you, it may also be boring for your students. You don’t have to be an entertainer and an expert at “song and dance routines”. But you do need to be reflective and consider your impact on your students. Ask yourself, “Would I REALLY want to be a student in this class?” Source: Keynote Address – Tweet by Mike Ochs
“Come to work every day like it’s your first day”—Drew Dudley
Why does this matter?
The first day of a new job is filled with excitement and wonder. Share that wonder ALL the time with your students! The students deserve your very best every minute. There really is no time in the schedule for “do overs” so make every minute count the first time. But also focus on how each student can be a future leader. Leaders are kind. Leaders are caring. Leaders are compassionate. Teach for long-term transfer. Know your class well so you can make wise, well-informed decisions that fuel your students’ passions and excitement.
3. Make the learning work visible and therefore attainable for students.
Make sure that you have a depth of knowledge about your content so that you truly understand what students need to do for the next increment of learning. That deep understanding is your own scaffold that you can later remove when students are successful. Tools that can help students reach for the sky and all those lofty expectations are critical. Source: Katie Clements tweet
“@missalissanyc shares an awesome progression to help Grade 3 mystery readers lift the level of their prediction work.#tcrwp”
Why does this matter?
Students need to have clear learning targets in order to meet them. They can’t be secrets. They can’t be moving targets. Clear. Attainable. Clearly defined for self assessment because then students can figure out exactly how to improve their work in order to meet the criteria. Predictions seem like a fairly easy skill but they don’t occur in isolation and need a cycle of predicting, reading/watching/viewing, considering the degree to which the prediction was met, re-predicting (rinse and repeat) with those elements based on both explicit text references and implicit or inferred responses to the text! And to top it off a student needs to be predicting while collecting evidence to help grow other theories. Reading is COMPLICATED and does not happen one individual skill at a time!
And this bonus from Hattie:
4. Readers and Writers must be thinkers.
In your adult life are you really expected to be a “fact regurgitator”? Or are you expected to be a problem solver? A creative thinker? Source: Tweets from Mary Ehrenworth’s presentation.
“We are not looking for your first thinking, we are looking for your best thinking.”
Create reading notebook pages that open up thinking and develop thinking not tell what you already know.”
Why does this matter?
Thinking in life is not optional. The twenty first century is leaving the adults in the dust and we REALLY have no clue what jobs will be available for our kiddos when they graduate from school and move into the work force. We need to stop pretending that we have any real ideas and instead support students to make choices now. Students need a lot of practice in making decisions and being successful as well as making decisions and FAILING. That really is part of life. How we respond in the face of adversity is a true sign of our character. Let’s support students to be more cognizant of their own need to self-advocate for time, resources, and choices to increase their own learning NOW!
5. Circling back around to values – How are you going to put them into action?
What is your plan? Where will you start? What will you do? “Talk is cheap.” Time is precious! How do you make your actions match your “Professed Values”? Source: Mr. Minor tweeted by Julie Jee
Why does it matter?
Without specific actions, what will change? Keep it simple and doable. Don’t make it another form to be filled out and submitted to the accountability committee for leadership committee for change. Make it a focus for face to face conversations. Build a plan with someone else to increase your own accountability!
Ultimately . . .
I am ending with my thoughts after reading many of the quotes from Lucy Calkin’s closing. I’ve been there. Inspired. Mesmerized. Prepped for action. Ready to conquer the world. Ready to slay dragons after a day at a Saturday Reunion. And yet I can also imagine the tears shed for our beloved friend, Kathleen Tolan.
Choose something.
Something you believe in.
Support it.
Work for change.
The Democracy in your classroom and in the world still needs your voice and the voice of your students who will inhabit this earth for many years to come!
Where will you begin?
Values?
Actions?
How will we know you are using your gift of learning?
Innovation = My application of doing new things as a result of what I thought/believed I heard today in my #tcrwp Twitter Feed.
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Lanny, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum and the #SOLSC that runs from March 1 to the 31st. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL16: #NCTE16 Friday Takeaways
Bookended by our Thursday and Friday evening dinners . . .
are over 16 pages of notes, hundreds of storified tweets, pictures galore and thousands of words. Words Matter. Words matter whether spoken or written. Words in the heart matter as well. As a #TCRWP aficionado stunned by the passing of Deputy Director Kathleen Tolan this weekend, I celebrate my learning about small group reading instruction last summer with Kathleen even though I still yearn for more. That gritty, passionate, talented, brilliant and sometimes “pushy” Deputy Director would want us to carry on . . . Make the students in front of you YOUR PRIORITY! FOCUS on students!
FRIDAY at #NCTE16
The Heinemann Breakfast on Friday honoring the Legacy of Don Graves was a star-studded celebration. I felt like the red carpet was rolled out to recognize the literacy superstars in the room who all had stories to tell that encouraged us to roll up our sleeves, pay attention to students and get to work. From Penny Kittle’s, “When Don asked me to do something, I did it!” to her credo “NCTE is a place to settle your soul” we were entranced! Katherine Bomer reminded us that “Writing to discover what we care about is brave and that writing is a way a student’s voice comes into power and reminds us that we are all human.” Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O’Dell shared that their “mentor text drop box – a way to organize and access mentor text – represents the generosity of Don Graves.” This breakfast was a family breakfast that reminded us of who we are and where we are going together. ( Heinemann Podcast Link)
Charts as Tools for Conversation, Advocacy and Action (Martinelli, Schwartz, & Luick)
The focus of this presentation was on the purpose of charts, ownership and environment, reflection and action. The two words that I heard over and over were “purposeful planning”! This is embodied in sketching out the steps to check clarity, the vocabulary used, and the ability of the chart to act as the teleprompter for the teacher. Of course, a crystal clear teaching point helps!
One caution was to make sure that students’ voices were included in discovering learning together . . .students could contribute definitions, examples, and even make their own tools to use. Tools that begin in the minds of teachers become ideas that can eventually be handed over to the students. (Isn’t that what transfer is REALLY all about?) I’ve heard many, many, many TCRWP staff members say that when we introduce a tool, coach and provide support for a tool, we MUST have a plan for the tool to go away. Graphics in a chart are really meant to be replaced by pictures or names of your own students. Or even better, by students who make their own charts because they know the purpose and that’s good for teachers, students, and LEARNING!
Vocabulary Matters! – Valerie Geschwind, Shana Frazin, Katy Wischow and Char Shylock
How do students ever learn enough words to improve their vocabulary? How do students become invested in their OWN learning? Who’s really doing the work in vocabulary learning?
Step 1. Listen carefully.
Step 2. Wait.
Too often when students say things that are untrue or unbiased, teachers jump in. Instead of the teacher teaching 24/7, maybe students should teach us so that they have the skills that they need for the rest of their lives!
Step 3. Think. What do we know ( or What do we think we know) about …”
Step 4. Audition what you know. Try it on. Is this idea never true? Sometimes true? Always true? (or True for me? True for us? True for you?) Set up a place or way for students to go do this!!!
Step 5. Revise and rename. What assumptions changed?
Step 6. Spread the word.
This presentation included opportunities for us to think about shifting our beliefs, taking note of vocabulary words, increasing our word curiosity and consciousness and “settling our souls in teacher church”. Shana Frazin told us that “English is her superpower and Hebrew is her kryptonite.” If we think of a word in another language, how does that add to our repertoire? How does working with “categories” help students access MORE words. And then Katy illuminated some FUN, JOYOUS ways to find a few minutes to incorporate vocabulary work. . . in a closure – share, in a mid-class tip, in spare 5 minutes before the bell rings or even a simple conversation like . . .
“Wow guys, you are doing such fascinating work with characters… let’s talk about…. which would you rather be, character A or character B and why?”
Some activities take time:
- Sentence game
- Grid game – person and question
- Play with words – Beck’s Bringing Words to Life (Would you rather? How much would you like to ? Which is more important to ? When/ how should you?)
- Word sorts – content words for open or closed sorts
- Other work – paintings or artwork.
Vocabulary work that has student learning and ownership as the goal WILL stick with students. Vocabulary work that has “correct answers on the quiz” as an end goal . . . NOT so much!
The Power of Low Stakes Writing with Ralph Fletcher
Fun
Laughter
Advice from students
“Use top shelf adjectives and verbs”
Metaphorically
Like a big balloon…
Real choice
Audience (beyond the teacher)
A sense of fun and adventure
Teachers who value
Invention, originality and voice
So what happened to the big beautiful balloon?
Student Choice increases energy and excitement to make the balloon soar.
Test prep brings the balloon back to the ground.
There is a battle between freedom and discipline
But teachers do have choice and must be
BRAVE to bring choice back with any of these . . . (and also low-stakes)
- Free Choice Fridays
- The Writer’s Notebook
- Class Writer’s notebook- Students inspired by what others write
- Classroom blogs
- Slice of Life Challenge
- Open Cycles – where students chose the topic and genre
- Need writing green belts – tap into the writing Ss are doing
- FERAL writing
- Study Driven Writing (Source Katie Wood Ray)
Recklessly wonderful writing.
Students choose to work on writing because
The ideas of writing give them energy.
Multiple Layers of Literacy Learning –
(Amy Brennan, Dani Burtsfield, Jill DeRosa, Kim Gosselin, Jennifer Hayhurst, Kathryn Hoffman-Thompson, Marissa Moss, Stefani Nolde, Erica Picarole, David Schultz, and Kari Yates)
What do you think of when you hear professional development? Who is it for? This session included conversations about learning for teachers, parents, and students. Learning, fun, and choice are necessary ingredients for multi-dimensional opportunities for all to grow! Summer school included learning for teachers and the students!
Advocating for Revision in Reading: Meaning Making as a Journey, Not a Destination – Ellin Keene, Matt Glover, Dan Feigelson and Kathy Collins
Students who are reading and writing A LOT know a lot. Ellin had an example of a six year old who understood the use of metaphor. Students who read and write have the tools to share their thinking at deeper levels than we may have considered. How do we help them revise their thinking? Sometimes it means the adult must close his/her mouth in order for the student to take the lead! Students need to learn to be comprehension decision makers! Students have to be flexible thinkers and not seekers of “right” answers. Building a “Reader’s Identity” is a desired outcome, not a letter of a level! What are the characteristics of a reader that you admire? That’s a different question than those that are typically part of a story inquisition! Product and process do matter so
“Privilege all texts”
” Our attention shows what we value!”
“Show reading identities.”
“Elevate the book.”
“Elevate the readers of the book.”
Dear Reader, Are you still here with me?
At this point we were off to the #HeinemannPub reception for the #TCRWP Reading Units of Study Libraries, the #StenhousePub reception for authors, and then dinner with #G2Great Voxer cousins! Many miles of words and ideas heard, considered and studied!
So what caught your attention on this overview of Friday’s learning at #NCTE16?
When were you nodding your head and saying, “YES”!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
And a “Paul Harvey – the Rest of the Story” video here . . . How Friday ended!
#TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 5
Amanda Hartman
Rev Up Your Teaching Muscles to Make Your Whole Group Instruction as Potent as Possible (Mini-lessons, Shared Reading, Read Aloud) (K-2)
Practice, practice, practice was the focus of our small group work. Sometimes it was the role of the teacher. Other times it was the role of students. Our workshop model provided multiple opportunities for practice in our groups with quick tips from Amanda. We always referred back to these criteria.
“Powerful Whole Class Instruction for K-2 Students
- Clarity and Concise Language
- Engaging and Engaged
- Assess and Give Feedback
- Links and Skills (Strategies) to Independent and Partner/Club Work
- Opportunities for Oral Language Development “
Takeaways:
- “If Reading Workshop was the Olympics, I would have a gold medal in Read Alouds.” AH
- “As you are reading aloud make sure that you have transferable skills for the unit that will TRANSFER to any book. REPLICABLE!” AH
- “Try out a whole class conversation at the mid-point of the Read Aloud book. You do not have to wait for the end of the book!” AH
- I think “Think Alouds” are weird because lean and meaningful is hard! Getting students to think with you as well as help them know how and where to think is just not easy!!!
- Reading Workshop will follow the lead of the teacher. There is room for engaging, fun, joyful, active, learning side by side with students!
Kathleen Tolan
Beyond Guided Reading: Expanding Your Repertoire of Small Group Work in Nonfiction (3-8)
Today we looked at more tools and saw a simple goal sheet for a first grader that listed 3 goals for Fiction and 3 goals for Informational texts. Six goals for a first grader. Six goals chosen by a first grader. Six goals written by a first grader. Six goals. Attainable goals. Clear goals. Skills a first grader DOES need to work on.
Students at other grade levels CAN set their own goals. Teacher expectations are critical. Goals based on self-assessment of the progressions or some work with tools that lift the level of student writing is the right work. The work could go more than one way. Choices for students. Choices for teachers. Choices!
Takeaways:
- Magic is coming back together – planned, taught, revised so it goes better – Now ready to go when need it again!
- Who is doing the work? It needs to be the students!
- The job of the tool is to provide reminders so the student can do the work without an adult.
- A lean, clear Teaching Point makes the small group most effective.
- Have realistic expectations, consistent practice, and work towards multiple goals to maximize small group work.
Closing:
Singing
Reading
Sharing
Thanking,
The staff developers with a standing ovation
All the support staff
Special thanks to Tim and the tech support staff
Shanna, Brooke and Audra for their lead work
Kathleen Tolan for the oversight of all institutes
and then – the finale
A speech with one-liners, audience participation, singing, pictures . . . and all that jazz!
On Getting Good at Goodbye
(a found poem from Natalie Louis’s speech)
It all begins with a Hello
There is so much advice about how to begin
Goodbye is another thing.
Everything is a process
Meaning-making, problem-solving and in that order
Do note that I got to the title – That’s a craft move
Productive process
Everything begins with a goodbye . . . real powerful change
Need someone to “git-er” done and hold your heart
A partner can be the difference between crying alone in the corner or beginning that small group
When something is big and truly new, it is okay to approximate!
“Ish it!”
A moment of goodbye
Ready, Fire, Aim
Doing new teaching is the learning!
It takes a lot of slow to grow – I know!
We all come from places of the heart!
Getting good at goodbye . …
What are you getting good at?
What life progressions have you studied?
Dear friends,
Any errors in reporting from #TCRWP are mine –
This blog represents what I thought I heard . . .
It’s only one view of the learning
Filtered through my eyes and ears,
A fun-filled week of writing and a week of reading!
#TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 4
Writing about Day 4,
Anticipating how Day 5 will go,
Downloaded Nine, Ten.
Opened Nine, Ten.
“Everyone will mention the same thing, and if they don’t, when you ask them, they will remember. It was a perfect day.”
Rush, Rush, Rush.
Pack, Toss, Go.
Downloaded Raymie Nightingale.
Opened Raymie Nightingale.
“There were three of them, three girls.”
Revise, Plan, Revise – Finish that homework.
Worry just a bit about the weight of the carry on suitcase.
Tweet about need for book 3 for flight.
Boarding pass screenshot saved in gallery.
Repack day/work bag.
What do I REALLY need for today?
Checking to see if there’s a long-lost “un-read” book on my kindle.
Procrastinating
Something about writing Day 4 post that seems too rushed . . .
Not ready for Day 5
It’s too soon . . .
The beginning of the end!
Enough! What about Day 4?
Amanda Hartman
Rev Up Your Teaching Muscles to Make Your Whole Group Instruction as Potent as Possible (Mini-lessons, Shared Reading, Read Aloud) (K-2)
We brainstormed a list of all the things that could go wrong in shared reading and then came up with some solutions. What fabulous work for a grade level PLC or vertical PLC? How many different ways can we solve those recurring issues? If we don’t have the solution, we can reach out and pose the question on Twitter or check into the topics of the weekly #TCRWP Twitter Chats!
Pace . . . speeding up our instruction, and adding a bit more enthusiasm and excitement did help meet the “Engaging and Engaged” criteria. It’s not about being a “mini-Amanda”(which would be amazing!), but it is about considering exactly which behaviors contribute to the success of a lesson. So many ways to check in on students – thumbs up, turn and talk, act out, share outs – without slowing down to wait for 100% of the students!
Takeaways:
- Teaching students how to self-evaluate is so important ~ Even on Day One in kindergarten!
- Lean teaching – less teacher talk and more student talk and work is critical – I already know it!
- Shared Reading – Use a story telling voice; not a point to every word boring voice!
- Not every Read Aloud book has a book introduction. Don’t kill your Read Alouds. Know your purpose!
- Do you know Houndsley and Catina? Such great characters with so many problems!
Kathleen Tolan
Beyond Guided Reading: Expanding Your Repertoire of Small Group Work in Nonfiction (3-8)
Today we saw some different options for note taking for small groups. The key is to record the information that is vital for continuing on. Did you check in on Joey? Ok? Not? Quick notes – no complete sentences needed – that will keep the groups and you moving forward.
We also presented our series of three lessons and had some superb coaching that led to our revision assignment for tomorrow! YAY, Revision! Fixing and making stronger YET leaner! What a challenge. Not more words . . . but more precise words! Clarity in the Teaching Point and Link!
But the amazing part was watching Kathleen, quite masterfully, run three different groups in the room at the same time in 12 minutes. Simply amazing. All three groups were working on different goals. All three groups had some group and individual time with the teacher. It did NOT seem rushed. But yet there was a sense of urgency and a need to get busy and accomplish the work!
Takeaways:
- Written Teaching Points keep you focused!
- Try 2 simultaneous groups. Assign locations and then get all students working on reading first!
- Know what your end goal is!
- Have your tools and texts organized with extras handy!
- Give it a go! Nothing ventured; nothing gained!
Choice Session
Katie Clements
The Intersection of Guided Reading, Strategy Lessons and Book Clubs
Key Principles of Small Group Work:
- Kids do the heavy lifting.
- Small group work is flexible.
- Small group work is assessment – based.
- Small group work is for EVERYONE. (so is independent work)
- Small group work empowers kids. (set goals, work with partners, or lead own group)
- Small group work builds skills over time. (cannot master in 10 min. – or expect transfer)
I loved creating this chart (putting Katie’s info into the boxes) to compare the three types of small group instruction that we typically see in classrooms. How are they alike? How are they different?
| Guided Reading | Strategy Lessons | Book Clubs | |
| Who? | Kids reading at or close to same reading level | Kids who need help with the same skill, goal, or reading habit
Not level dependent |
Kids who read at or near the same reading level |
| What? | Teacher – selected texts
Slightly above independent reading level |
Usually kids’ independent reading books | Kids have limited choice over the books
Multiple copies of the same title |
| Why? | Move kids up levels | Help kids strengthen reading skills, goals, habits
Support transference |
Deepen engagement
Deepen reading, writing, talk about books Provide authentic reading experiences |
| How it goes? | Book introduction
Kids read/teacher coaches responsively Ends with conversation and a teaching point |
Begins with a teaching point and brief teach
Kids try to do the work with teacher coaching Ends with a link |
Kids develop agendas for reading, thinking, jotting
Teachers coach in to support skill work and talk |
Takeaways:
- Book clubs provide so much student choice and need to be used more frequently.
- Book introductions can definitely go more than one way – so helpful to SEE two different ones for the same book.
- Scaffold student work – figurative language can be found on this page that I have pre-posted for you. (Student finds word -Teacher has narrowed down to this page, and this one, and this one! – So smart!)
- All students reading before teacher starts coaching tends to lead to lean coaching. (Not answering task questions)
- Think as you read. When do you wish for a tool? Something to help you through a tricky part? That’s what students need!
How important is community to adult readers? To our novice readers?
How do teachers practice enough to be “skilled” at their teaching/coaching craft?
#TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 3
And today’s theme across the day was:
Teachers,
Do what it takes to BUILD a community of Readers!
. . .
Amanda Hartman
Rev Up Your Teaching Muscles to Make Your Whole Group Instruction as Potent as Possible (Mini-lessons, Shared Reading, Read Aloud) (K-2)
Spending more time studying shared reading is definitely NOW on my “To Do” list for this summer as we heard (and experienced) the benefits of shared reading where the teacher has a large text (big book, chart, smart board, doc camera) that the teacher and students read chorally. The three basic purposes that we explored for shared reading were: introduce a new text, reread a text, or as a warm-up text. As with many reading components, the amount of time spent on shared reading can vary as long as students are ENGAGED! And to learn that the time could be just five minutes here or there makes the plan to include shared reading so much easier!
The benefits for students are many. The most obvious is that accuracy, fluency, and comprehension all improve with rereading so beginning approximations are celebrated. Students are rereading with their friends so they have built in support from the teacher and fellow students. And shared reading helps build that sense of a community of readers in the classroom.
We participated in demonstrations and we demonstrated. Just a few of the skills we considered:
- guess the covered word
- 1:1 correspondence
- slide the word
- the word begins with
- the word ends with
- rhyming word
- clues from the picture
- cross-checking print
- retelling – comprehension
- rereading for fluency – “let’s reread that together”
- what do you predict next
- look for patterns
- build vocabulary
One book we used was Brown Bear, Brown Bear. This shared reading could end with writing our own book.
______, _____ what do you see?
I see ______ looking at me.
If student names are on post its and the class practices reading this with their own names, they are also beginning to get in the repetitions needed for some sight words. Will some be memorizing? Of course! It’s so important that auditory memory gets involved, but the teacher can, by pointing to the words, have students match her pacing!
Takeaways:
- Shared reading is a valuable use of readers’ time when students are reading!
- Interactions can include gestures and movements during shared reading.
- Text variety is important: listening centers, You tube video with text or Raz kids. You don’t have to wait until you have little copies of the text!
- Shared reading is a safe way for students to “join in” reading. Not everyone’s voice will be heard the first time but the goal is to encourage student voices to become the voice heard in shared reading.
- Shared reading is fun, exciting, and joyful. What a great way to sneak in a bit of content/holiday/fun that just doesn’t fit elsewhere!
Kathleen Tolan
Beyond Guided Reading: Expanding Your Repertoire of Small Group Work in Nonfiction (3-8)
I love that Kathleen starts a bit each day with the WHY we need to be doing this work. And it’s all about “Just DO it”! If instruction is responsive we need to have “way more conversations with our colleagues” in order to be more cohesive. “Responding to the needs of your students requires content knowledge and planning! (not showing off tools)”
For this reason, supervisors need to understand workshop and reading processes! When they are in classrooms, they need to KNOW what they are seeing. In repertoire teaching, the teachers also need to be specific. You would hear the teacher say something like “I expect to see some of you doing . . . . and some of you will be doing the work of the lesson.” Teachers need to be educating supervisors by setting up lessons for “repertoire” in connection and link. “What’s one old way? What’s one new way? What are the two things you will do as a student? (BRILLIANT!)
Two teaching methods that we worked with today were inquiry (fluency demo) and reminder – definitely coaching light! We have to continue to know how to help students meet their goals and build the habits of readers. Again this requires deep content knowledge.
Takeaways:
- Organize your small group materials. Have extra copies of all tools out for students with a student as “Tool Monitor”.
- Study the progressions with colleagues. Develop the “cheat sheets” – four levels on a page to be cut apart.
- Reading notebooks have the evidence of work towards student goals. That can be an index in the back.
- Make sure that a student does the work during small group time. They have to be practicing and doing the work for it to transfer. And group time does mean LESS reading time!
- Celebrate what students CAN do! Focus on the CANS! Celebrate all the things the readers CAN DO! (They already know what they can’t do!)
Choice Session
Falling in Love with Close Reading in Nonfiction – Kate Roberts
Kate began with a bit of background about close reading. What it is. What it isn’t. How long we have been close reading – “since the monks were in caves with candle lights flickering trying to determine the meaning of the divine”.
Witty,
Articulate,
Planned,
Engaging,
Engaged . . .
Learning and
Laughing Together!
If you need background on Falling In Love with Close Reading, do go to Kate or Chris’s blog here. It’s so NOT boring to do some close reading with Kate.
Process:
Lyrics for: “Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Justin Timberlake
Step 1. Listen to the song twice. What would my kids say the message or meaning is? Listen again and make a vertical list of all the words or phrases in the song that speak to you and go with your current message.
Step 2. Sync up your list with a partner and look for patterns. What words or phrases are the same? Use this list of evidence to find patterns (This is the HARD work of close reading.) Which words or phrases go together? Color code!
Step 3. Think some more – what is the message in this song?
Step 4. Transfer to written text. Practice with nonfiction text.
Takeaways:
- We do “close read” the things we love – pay attention and even “hyper attention” to those things we love. Let’s build upon that awareness/attention/attraction.
- Close reading should be fun and joyful.
- Close reading with a song or poem is a wonderful entry point. It can’t be drudgery!
- Close reading is about beginning with the text for evidence. Don’t leap to interpretation or “guessing” what someone / test writer wants!
- An act of close reading is taking the rough draft idea to a more interesting idea for you!
Keynote
Voice and Choice: Fostering Reading Ownership
Donalyn Miller
This slide sums up much of what Donalyn Miller said to us. I have so many responses to Donalyn’s presentation: as a teacher, coach, mother, grandmother, and most of all, as a reader.
I listened to the heartbreak in her description of her daughter – an avid early reader – whose reading life diminished in middle school because “that’s just not so important here” to the joy of being at a Montana reading meeting when Sarah called her, “I just finished The Great Gatsby and I need to talk about it but Dad doesn’t remember it.”
What harm is being done to students in the name of inappropriate actions, beliefs and practices? Well-intentioned? Yes. Mis-guided? Yes.
To support you, go to Donalyn’s most popular posts.
“No More Language Arts and Crafts”
“I’ve got research. Yes, I do. I’ve got research. How about you?”
or to hear about books – The Nerdy Book Club!
Takeaways:
- To be better readers, kids need to read every day.
- Provide access to books that kids CAN and WANT to read.
- Access to books should not depend on teacher’s ability to fund his/her own library. “NO ONE asks the basketball coach to provide his own basketballs.”
- Books need to be mirror, windows, and doors to lead readers to connections.
- “We are in the hope business. Now more than ever there is a need for critical reading. For a better world, send more readers out in the world. It is never to be late to be a reader.”
How are you building communities of readers?
What actions support your beliefs?
What is your plan to build even stronger communities that love to read and choose to read?
#TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 2
The joy of Advanced Sessions is that you choose the topics you are interested in and then hope and pray that you get your first choice. I’m in my first choice sessions and they are exactly what I need for myself and for the teachers/buildings I work with.
However, my learning curve has been straight up this week. And that intensity and upward knowledge increase has caused some mental confusion and had me thinking deeply about what I know, what I think I know and what I actually can DO myself! Perfect learning . . . sometimes painful learning.
Amanda Hartman
What are the methods that we can use to teach our mini-lessons?
- Demonstration
- Guided Practice
- Inquiry
And what details are most important? It depends upon the purpose! Inquiry can be the most engaging for the Teacher and also provide high engagement for students. Guided practice works best when students need the practice and aren’t learning a “new – new” skill.
In two days, we have been reading, writing and teaching mini-lessons. Some lessons we have read four times under Amanda’s directions. We have, more than have half of us, taught our own mini-lesson to another table group in the room. Our prep time has been minimal. That’s been a good thing – we can’t obsess over perfection.
But we can quickly review our work through the lenses of Powerful Whole Group Instruction:
- Clarity and Concise Language
- Engaging and Engaged
- Assess and Give Feedback
- Links and Skills (Strategies) to Independent and Partner/Club Work
- Opportunities for Oral Language Development
In two days, our teaching points are more explicit. Our coaching is more specific. On the spot feedback keeps us on track. Our mini-lessons are improving because of our partner work and our large group work!
Takeaways:
- A mini-lesson does not need to be fully scripted but it is helpful to have a plan that includes anticipating approximations.
- Why do my students need this lesson? When I can list multiple reasons both the connections and the links are stronger.
- ONE, ONE, ONE teaching point. Keep it simple silly! ONE!
- What coaching can you plan for?
- Practice, practice, practice. I loved that Molly’s lesson was like 5,000 times better than mine – such a great demonstration! I need to see, hear, and teach MORE lessons!
Kathleen Tolan
Kathleen began today with a story about playing cards in her family and then compared it to our small group work.
“Down and dirty”
Serious.
Take a risk.
Get in the game.
Do it!
Great words of advice for me!
We spent time on pacing. Small groups often become bogged down when it’s about the teacher (which it isn’t)! Teachers feel compelled to impart great wisdom and sometimes forget to listen and follow the lead of the students. Again in this session, I had the privilege of coaching a demonstration lesson in a small group after four minutes of planning with a wonderful partner. More than 4 minutes wouldn’t have made it better; I needed to teach it! I envy friends who do teach more than one class in a day because, with practice, the lesson/coaching improves each time. But sometimes you do just have to jump in and do it!
Kathleen challenged us to work smarter. If we meet in a grade level group or vertical groups with all the Units and a copier, we can create resources that will help us be prepared for small groups.
Example:
Perspective – Where and what does this look like in first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade? Copy the charts, any prompts onto resource pages. Add a text to practice – Voila!
Practice turning a chart into a cheat sheet for students. How would this look?
Study a mini-lesson on vocabulary. How does this go in all the other grades? Copy those charts – shrink them down so charts from three or four grades can be on the same page.
Practice, practice, practice. You will be better at “responding to students” by responding to students.
Takeaways:
- Practice teaching in a small group is like going to weekly Toastmasters meetings. Frequent practice will increase your confidence.
- There is no ONE right method for small group instruction. Focus on what your students need. Follow up with partner work and a second or third group meeting on the same content to ensure more practice.
- Sometimes we notice something else and go off a tangent. Use the cheat sheet / resources to stay focused.
- Check your prompts. Are they transferable? Or are they too specific? (borrow them from the progressions)
- Practice time means the students are doing the work. Set the conditions. Let them work! They, too, must do the work in order to become better, stronger, and more confident readers.
Mary Ehrenworth – What Readers Need
May began by asking us several questions to have us think about what defines our strongest readers. Then she said to consider that, “Potential avid readers are EVERYWHERE. Think of those who could become AVID readers. Not just the readers who are already reading at the highest levels in our classrooms. It’s all about expectations. Some kids are just waiting to be recognized. What if we don’t see them?
Alligton’s “What Readers Need” supports this work by providing the conditions:
- Access to books they find fascinating
- Protected time to read
- Expert instruction.
And then thinking about the structures that will help more readers be extraordinary readers:
- Choose books more purposefully
- Series, series, series
- Strong reader partnerships and club
- Start informal social clubs around reading
Takeaways:
- 400 million kids read 4,000 pages in the Harry Potter series. Those students may have worked on their synthesis skills – How did Harry Potter change? How did others’ perceptions of him change? Have you studied a series?
- We need to study our classroom libraries. If my 5th grade library looks almost identical to the fourth grade collections there may not be many choices for students.
- We
needMUST teach students how to find books everywhere so that they can always be reading because extraordinary readers DON’T just read for 30 minutes each day in class. - Our classrooms need to be where our students flourish! They can’t flourish in spite of us – after our assigned readings, after a book that takes 3-4 weeks to read as a whole class novel . . .
- Of the three conditions, which one do you need to work on? Access to books they find fascinating? Protected time to read? Expert instruction? When will you start?
Matt de La Pena – Keynote
To have an autographed and stickered book; yes, it is worth having more than one copy of this book. Especially now. Matt closed his speech Tuesday to the rapt attention of hundreds of teachers, administrators and even authors in Cowan Auditorium, by reading this book to us.
Matt inspired us with his story and his humility. He talked about his beginnings in National City (even asking who was from that area) and sharing that his Mexican-American heritage is not reflected in books. Matt connected his growing up with two completely different sets of families was like “code switching” and also the impetus for this book.
His ticket out of his neighborhood was basketball. His message of needing more books that reflect our students’ culture is critical. But his story of hope and aspiration is also important. I, too, know what it was like to be the first graduate from a four year university in my family. Education is powerful and sometimes we get there through totally unexpected paths.
What book did Matt read 12 times during his public school career? (If it’s good, why not reread rather than starting a new book?)
The House on Mango Street
What book did he read in two days while on a basketball out of town trip, upon invitation by a college instructor, before he graduated?
The Color Purple
More on his books and his background can be found on his website here. While autographing my copy of Market Street, Matt mentioned that he was headed to Iowa for appearances in Ames and Cedar Rapids so I was especially pleased to read about a previous trip (2014) to Cedar Falls, Iowa here. If you have not yet read his Newbery acceptance speech, it is here.
Takeaways:
- “Teachers and authors don’t often immediately see the results of their work. Patience . . . you will!”
- “Books do not include the diversity that reflects our kids!” Help kids find themselves in books!
- “You need to consider the possibilities in your self-definition.” Don’t let your background limit you.
- “Some of the best books you will read will start out uncomfortable!” Readers need to know this!
- “Books make me feel emotional.” Books need to connect. Books can be a lifesaver. Find the books that connect.
What book(s) have been the inspiration or possibilities for you?
How do you help students find those books/stories?
How do you continue to “outgrow yourself” as a reader, thinker, or writer?
#TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 1
And so it begins . . . this week I am attending the #TCRWP June Reading Institute and it’s off to an amazing start! This is what my brain felt like about 2 pm on Monday . . . with an hour and a half YET to go.
08 May 2001 — Exploding head — Image by © John Lund/CORBIS
WHY?
Information Overload!
Just plug that CAT 6 cable directly into my brain and let me power on all the assistance I can. It’s going to be an exhilarating experience!
Lucy Calkins Keynote
Why do we read? How does reading benefit us as a community? How does the community benefit when we are readers? These questions weren’t posed by Lucy but so many questions ran through my mind today during her “Call to Action.”
“We come from 38 countries and 41 states . . . 1300 of you to learn about teaching reading . . . to learn about yourselves . . . to learn from each other . . . From places in the heart . . .To say no . . . To say yes”
TCRWP isn’t just an event. It’s not about attending for a week, soaking up knowledge, returning home, and regurgitating that knowledge to a welcome (or unwelcome) audience. TCRWP is about the community – face to face this week – on Facebook and Twitter in the future and even on blogs like this between institutes and Saturday reunions. If you take risks, are vulnerable this week, you will never be the same reader or teacher of reading in the future. You will grow. You will stretch. You will fly. Empathy is built day by day. We can and we must learn and understand by thinking ourselves into other’s places.
Takeaway Questions:
- How will you support your reading community?
- Maybe we need a new educational story. To reach, to dream, to grow strong . . What do you need in order to grow yourself?
- How can you grow your own version of #TCRWP? Your own nest?
- There’s important work to be done. It will be hard work. We as educators are asked to outgrow our own work. How will you outgrow your own work?
- It’s not just about naming the strategies, but inducting kids into the identities and values of READERS! How will you create a safe community for your readers?
Amanda Hartman
Rev Up Your Teaching Muscles to Make Your Whole Group Instruction as Potent as Possible (Mini lessons, Shared Reading, Read Aloud) (K-2)
Funny.
Fast-paced.
Articulate.
Explanation and Demonstration.
“Powerful Whole Class Instruction for K-2 Students
- Clarity and Concise Language
- Engaging and Engaged
- Assess and Give Feedback
- Links and Skills (Strategies) to Independent and Partner/Club Work
- Opportunities for Oral Language Development “
Read and Study Mini-lesson individually. (1st grade, lesson 10 – Readers learn new words as they read.) Mini-lesson Practice with Partners. Mini-lesson planning table group. Mini-lesson Delivery. Debrief. Discuss Goals. Video of Mini-lesson. Discussion of how that was the same and how that was different. Mini-lesson Delivery. Discussion of Goals.
. . . and in all that “What were we studying in the Mini-lesson?”
Teaching Point
Pacing – Vitality, Having students think alongside us, Student talk/listen/feedback
Assessment
Feedback
Takeaways:
- Whole class teaching – staying focused is critical! Don’t let student responses lead you down the rabbit hole!
- Knowing the Teaching Point is critical. Forward, backward, what comes next? What came before? What it looks and sounds like when a reader REALLY does this.
- Focus on one Teaching Point. Not a “Never ending Teaching Point”
- Growing students means lots of practice. That lesson won’t have teacher demonstration but will instead have tons of student practice – PLAN.FOR.IT.
- Study lessons together. Discuss the work together. Build your own community to support your learning about the teaching of reading!
Kathleen Tolan
Beyond Guided Reading: Expanding Your Repertoire of Small Group Work in Nonfiction (3-8)
“Small group work is hard. Our goal this week is to open up our repertoire about different methodologies to deliver small group instruction.”
What is your vision of small group work? I’m most familiar with guided reading groups but also like literature circles and book club work.
What’s preventing small group work?
Management – What are the rest of the kids doing?
Fear – I’m not good at it! (not enough practice)
Results – It doesn’t really work for my kids. Or took 40 minutes to “drag that group through the lesson.” There’s no time to do that every day!
Today, I saw, heard and was a part of . . .
- Demonstration Small Group
- Read Aloud Small Group
We watched Kathleen in action and then “copycatted that exact same lesson” into our small groups with two different members as the teacher (not me, not me!)
Remember that brain on fire at the top of this blog . . . this was the first time I’d ever seen a Read Aloud Small Group. So new. So much to absorb and process. My mind was swirling. . . Where would this happen? When? With which students? Why?
I had to take a deep breath. And then another one. The engagement of the students in the Read Aloud Small Group was intense. No student could hide. Everyone had to do the work – in order to contribute to the learning. What a way to know exactly what kids are thinking and to “get them unstuck” and moving!
Takeaways:
- On any given skill I could be the top, middle, or bottom. The goal of small groups is to grow and move ALL readers – not just the “struggling readers”.
- TC – Kathleen – said that they have been studying small group work for the last year and a half. It’s okay that I don’t know this!
- Increase your accountability for small groups with a public, visible schedule. That will push you as the teacher as well as the students.
- Teachers over plan small group work. The small group work should be a continuation of the mini-lesson. It’s not about going out and finding new, wonderful text to use. It’s about more practice – more student practice and way less “teacher talk”.
- Feedback is hard. It is about tone. It is about the length of the message. It’s also about giving and receiving feedback. So very complicated!
What new skill/strategy are you practicing?
Have you found / created a safe community to practice?
How does what you are learning from your own learning impact your planning for instruction for your students?
This is my story of learning.
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. Writing makes us all more human!
#TCRWP Reading Begins Today
On the schedule for today:
Registration
| Keynote
Lucy Calkins @ Riverside Church A Call to Action |
| AM Advanced
Amanda Hartman Rev Up Your Teaching Muscles to Make Your Whole Group Instruction as Potent as Possible (Mini-lessons, Shared Reading, Read Aloud) (K-2) |
| PM Advanced
Kathleen Tolan Beyond Guided Reading: Expanding Your Repertoire of Small Group Work in Nonfiction (3-8) |
| Choice Session
??? |
So many great sessions to choose from with staff developers:
Kathleen Tolan
Cheryl Tyler
Kathy Collins
Jen DeSutter
Shanna Schwartz
Lindsay Barton
Brooke Geller
Jennifer Kean-Thompson
Natalie Louis
Pablo Wolfe
Audra Robb
Lucy Calkins
Shana Frazin
Katie Wears
Molly Picardi
Keynotes for the remainder of the week:
Matt De la Pena, Donalyn Miller, Freddy Hiebert, and Natalie Louis!
It’s Monday, June 27th!
So blessed to be learning for a second week at #tcrwp.
However, it’s 2:00 in the morning!
First-day excitement!
I can still sleep for hours and hours!
Anticipation!
Way toooooo early!
Post a blog!
Back to sleep!
Dreaming of life and learning in NYC!
What will you be learning today?
Will you be following the Booth Bay tweets? #bblit16
Or #ISTE16? Or #NOTatISTE16?
What’s on your learning plan?
#SOL16: Anticipation
“My bags are packed,
I’m ready to go.
I’m standing here outside my door”;
SCREEEECH! (needle on record player scratches the vinyl record)
BECAUSE my phone says, “3 days until my trip to New York City”.
What a bummer!
Does this look like a summer rerun?
On Friday, I’m off to my fourth #TCRWP June Writing Institute and the #June Reading Institute and I am ready to go.
I’ve checked my list at least three times . . .
1 trip to the bank
2 packed carry on bags
3 pairs of black shoes
4 notebooks to separate the week long sessions
5 colors of Pilot erasable highlighters
6 colors of Flair markers
7 th series of flights to #TCRWP ( 4 Institutes and 3 Saturday Reunions)
8 the midpoint day of this round of travel
9 th trip to NYC in my lifetime
10 google docs already created and labeled for each day of note-taking
11 electrical devices and power cords
12 hours to grade graduate work
13 chapters to read and I can finish three professional books before I go
14 days of learner – ready apparel to plan for
15 days of fun, learning, and hanging out with some Twitter, Voxer, blogging, reading and writing friends!!!
Priceless ~
Necessary learning in order to grow as a professional . . .
I will
In fact, I will flourish because this is my FIRST agenda for learning!
Rock Star Facilitators Celena, Colleen, Amanda, and Kathleen!
And also . . .
“Fun Home” on Broadway,
Dinner with friends,
Twitter Book Club Chats,
Google Book Club Chats,
Conversations on Voxer
because Iowans in NYC are always on the go . . .
and Iowans at #TCRWP soak up every minute of learning!
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Thinking . . .
and oh, so JOYFUL (#OLW) to have this opportunity to grow, learn, live and laugh!
How will you grow this summer?
How will you increase your knowledge and skills in order to be a “better you” next year?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. Thank you for this weekly forum!
#TCRWP 89th Reunion: A Reprise
What are some of the literacy buzz words in your school or region?
Do any of these sound familiar?
- RTI
- MTSS
- Interventions
- Data-based decision-making
- Screeners
- Benchmarks
- Cut Points
- Progressing
- At Risk
- Substantially Deficient
- Research-based Reading Interventions
Session #2 Kathleen Tolan: Maximize Small Group Instruction in Reading Workshop: A Super Easy Sequence of Small Group Work that Can Fast Forward Your Readers
Sound familiar? Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might remember a July Reading Institute Session here. (Scroll down to the closing workshop.)
After a second go round, here’s what finally clicked!
INTERVENTIONS MADE EASIER!
Interventions.Do.Not.Need.New.and.Different.Materials.
Interventions.Do.Not.Need.New.and.Different.Materials.
Interventions.Do.Not.Need.New.and.Different.Materials.
The goal is to plan 3 – 5 interventions to get closer to mastery. Then our work seems validated. The time. The energy. The accountability for teachers and students seems to pay off. With this approach the smorgasboard of interventions is gone and the laser-like focus is on those skills that have been identified as critical for mastery.
Who’s doing the work?
Who needs the practice?
Who needs the learning?
The plan: Small group of 4 – 6 students. Partnerships will be created. Partners will support each other before or after the mini-lesson.
Target: Meet 3 – 5 times. Create incremental learning through practice (like sports or musical instruments). Thoughtful planning, explicit learning targets. (opposite of over-talking, over-coaching, where all the students hear is, “blah, blah, blah”)
Session 1: Redo the mini-lesson with a small group
- State the Teaching Point
- Use same skill/text as Mini-lesson for whole class.
- Teacher will remind or read a little (not the whole read aloud).
- Together, students will re-create the demonstration with students taking the lead.
- Students will practice skill more in turn and talk.
- Then students will transfer learning and use skill in his/her own book.
- The group will come back together and the teacher will give the lesson a LINK.
How do students benefit?
- Students do more reading.
- Each student is reading in his/her own book so the work is differentiated.
- Students help teacher get rid of bad behavior of talking too much.
- Students are doing the reading work.
How do teachers benefit?
- Over planning allows teacher to have more than one session planned with clear incremental targets.
- Makes small group session more manageable
- Students improve a little bit each session.
- Teacher interaction changes.
- Link – Teacher says, “We will be meting again on —” and says when with the student recording the date.
- Student partnerships extend the teacher’s reach as students support each other.
- Provides task for students to bring back as evidence of transfer and applied learning.
- So when students come back, they have done the work!
Second Lesson Series
Focus: May be shared writing. Use learning progressions to set targets. Then students can also self assess. Record keeping can also become student responsibility.
- Redo mini-lesson (less demo – more coaching)
- Reread read aloud and together come up with shared writing on a post-it or notebook entry.
- Students do the same work in their own reading books.
- Inquiry – Students need a post-it to write about where they are on the learning progressions.
- Students lifting the level of work by looking up the levels of progressions with a partner.
- *At any time, teachers can repeat any of these steps.
Readers’ Notebook: Table of Contents – Example= Level of prediction…p 3, 7, 22. 31
With students doing the work, the teacher’s role is “Show me the work you did”… It should feel more like check ins…name the work done in the lesson. How can we use data for ages instead of individual? This can be more manageable for us and them! “Will you please leave your notebook open to…. when you go to lunch?” Sometime students may check in.. Sometimes study their own work! Product, a la Peter Johnston . If work doesn’t go up on board, complimenting effort will keep them working. Struggling students want to be appreciated and these sequences validate their effort!
Small group ideas?
Intervention ideas?
How did this add to your learning?
My biggest Aha happened when Kathleen shared how this format could also be used for fluency practice with that learning progression. The mental gears clicked then. I had an idea of the way it would look!!! Definitely worth a second listen in order to now try it out AND explain it to others! After my work with teachers to review screening data and plan for instruction and intervention, this makes more sense after the second time as I can actually “see” the framework that provides the extra practice!
Resource - Full 