#SOL19: Day 5 SOLSC
A Day of Learning
The joy
The pleasure
The fun
And learning
Kate and Maggie for an entire day
Keeping it real
Learning
Having fun
How does this help me as as learner?
How does this help the learner?
Which tools help the memory?
Which tools keep the learner learning?
Tools?
Ready?
Paper
Check
Sharpies
Check
Post Its
Check
Ideas
Check
Create on!!!
When does PD stir your heart, soul and mind?
How does learning spark your own creativity?
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.
#TCRWP: 3 Tips
Day 3 Countdown . . .
Tip #3.
Working with Jeff Anderson’s Patterns of Power this week in Marie Mounteer’s section has been a special treat in a section where our focus has been on Interactive Writing,
The steps for a lesson.
When to use.
Work with Conventions. Spelling. Capitalization.
Work with Grammar.
Beginning with the standards.
Using student writing to determine needs.
Formative assessment at its best.
Analyzing student writing to plan for one small group of three students with different needs.
Lifting the level of work for all.
It all began with this:
Everything you will need for planning is in Jeff Anderson’s book. Sample sentences from fabulous literature that you will be reading to your students. The only exception would be an actual sentence from the reading students are doing in your classroom.
Everything
is
in
Jeff
Anderson’s
book.
Don’t consult other sources like TpT!
Use the research-based work from Jeff Anderson! (never a rip off) as you work and plan with a partner – Priceless!
Tip #2
Simone Fraser and Toolkits
What do you include?
- Mentor Texts
- Checklists from Writing Pathways
- Progressions from Writing Pathways
- Tools to do big work (micro-progressions! Also see Kate and Maggie and DIY Literacy – link)
- Anchor Chart – Anchor Charts for the whole unit as well as charts from previous years
How do you organize?
So many possibilities. By units or within bends.
“I organize by the stages of the writing process.”
Working collaboratively to create tools and share . . .
Tip #1
Do.not.ever.pass.on.an.opportunity.to.hear.Georgia.Heard. What an inspiring keynote!!!
Her writerly life will inspire you as she details her process and shares the final product.
Her student examples will bring you to tears.
Gaspar’s Heart Map with a single wavy line down the middle to represent the line at the Mexican border. He wrote a poem off of that map about his Mexican heart and American heart with alternating lines written in English and Spanish. Awe-inspiring.
“Heart maps are a powerful tool for writers and writing. No one has ever said, ‘I have heart map block.’ Many students have said (prior to heart mapping), ‘I don’t know what to write about.’ Small moments can change us. My writing teacher who wrote ‘add more details’ was really saying, ‘pay attention and gather ideas for your writing.'”
What are you learning this week?
How are you filling and fueling your brain?
How are you filling and fueling your writing heart?
#CCIRA18
My #OLW for 2018 is “curious” and being curious led me to #CCIRA18: LIteracy Renaissance: Invention, Intention, and Close Study in Colorado. The conference keynoters, speakers, and format all made me curious about the learning opportunities.
Check out the entire #CCIRA slide show on their information page! And then the registration for sessions sealed the deal – preregistration for sessions! My only regret was that I had waited and some sessions were already closed. Slides 2 and 3 were so convincing and looked just as incredible on the big screens yesterday in Evergreen Hall!
So small wonder that the ideas behind the theme were brilliantly repeated in session after session on opening day with a balmy 61 degrees outside!
Curious and Study
Ralph Fletcher talked of studying his grandson playing in order to determine the “play” elements that should also be included in writing.
Maggie Beattie Roberts talked about being curious and her study with Kristen Warren of students’ Independent Reading Journeys to:
- Help adolescents discover the rhythm of thinking . . .
- Help adolescents discover the nuances . . .
- Help adolescents live comfortably in the gray.
Jeff Anderson talked of being curious and studying punctuation and grammar in a way that “sticks” for students and also is not black and white.
Kile Clabaugh and Keith Patterson in their “Primary Sources” work talked of using the Library of Congress format of “I see, I think, I wonder”.
At lunch, Kate and Maggie both shared some of their thinking behind DIY Literacy which grew from being curious about WHY students had problems with memory, rigor and differentiation. And then Kate created a tool in front of us explaining, giving tips and embracing mediocrity.
Cris Tovani talked of student curiosity driving the compelling questions that students could study to move them from disengaged to empowered.
Troy Hicks talked of curiosity as we studied a picture and a “I see, I think, I wonder” viewing format.
Other Words I heard repeated and demonstrated throughout the day:
Questions
Student-Centered
Joy
Create
and so much respect for Mentors and the Research/Authors Behind their Work!
#CCIRA18
so easy to feel welcomed,
so easy to navigate,
so easy to learn.
#CCIRA18
a class act,
great speakers,
marvelous learning, and
incredible organization.
Thank YOU, CCIRA18!
And off to Day 2!!!
Reflection: Top 10 Posts for 2016
Which of my 131 posts during 2016 were most read?
In reverse order (10 to 1) with a few notes:
10.#SOL16: #WhyIWrite – No More Red Ink!
What happens when a teacher “edits” with red ink?
9. #SOL16: What are you planning to read?
Five books in February that were on my “MUST READ” list from authors: Stacey Shubitz, Kate and Maggie Roberts, Kim Yaris and Jan Burkins, Sonja Cherry-Paul and Dana Johansen, and Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie.
8. #SOL16: Professional Development
Characteristics of professional development were highlighted for four different “sessions” attended within a two-week time frame. Are these important for you?
- Choice?
- Free?
- Learning Collaboratively with Others?
- Available 24/7 to Revisit?
- Passionate and Inspiring?
7. #TCRWP Writing: Takeaways Day 2
Different ways to share – a symphony and a museum share from Celena Larkey, why students need to write with a pen from Colleen Cruz, letting students lead with mentor texts with Mary Ehrenworth, and “DON”T KILL THE BOOK” with Donald Graves keynote.
6. #TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 2
The value of READING mini-lessons with Amanda Hartman, the value of “practice, practice, practice with Kathleen Tolan, What readers need in order to become AVID readers with Mary Ehrenworth, and Matt de La Pena’s keynote! “Teachers and authors don’t often immediately see the results of their work. Patience . . . you will!”
5. #SOL16: Who’s Doing the Work?
Have you read this book? You should have annotated and dog-eared it by now! This post celebrates the twitter chats (with links to the storified archives) as well as an inside look into many of the activities Kim and Jan developed in their study guide. How do you know you have “learned” something? How do you expect students to share their learning? So many DIFFERENT ways are shared here!
4. #TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 3
Learning about the many ways of shared reading with Amanda Hartman, inquiry for developing fluency with Kathleen Tolan, close reading with Kate Roberts and the keynote session with Donalyn Miller. What a fabulous learning day!
3. #TCRWP Reading: Takeaways Day 1
A Lucy Calkins’ keynote on developing reading community, sessions with Amanda Hartman on “one-focused teaching point” and Kathleen Tolan – a mind-blowing small group read aloud. Never.thought.of.a.read.aloud.for.a.small.group. And so obviously why I need to continue to learn. Such a privilege to have been a part of Kathleen’s June Institute.
2. #SOL16: March Challenge Day 23 – DIY Toolkits
Have you read this book? You can create your own tools after reading this book. Better yet . . . study it with a friend and then work together on creating tools. Tip: Best part of this blog post is the “summary tool” that Kate created and the links to other pages about this session (Tara, Sally and NCTE).
1. #TCRWP Writing: Takeaways Day 1#TCRWP Writing: Takeaways Day 1
This post includes quotes from Lucy Calkins (opening keynote), revision across the day with Celena Larkey, the power of stories with Colleen Cruz and planning for two or three days of small group sessions at a time from Amanda Hartman. What an amazing first day of Learning for the 2016 #TCRWP Writing Institute!
Reflection:
Data is so interesting. I was not surprised at the popularity of the #TCRWP posts as the June learning has been quite high on the list in previous years. Some of those posts continue to be “all-time” highs as well. I was surprised that the top 10 was split evenly between #SOL posts and #TCRWP posts and absolutely delighted to see that three of the posts where Kathleen Tolan really stretched my brain were in the top 10. I learned so much from Kathleen this past summer and YET had so much more that I needed to learn. It’s time to practice, practice, practice. I do write more “slices” than any other “type” of posts so I thank my slicer readers for boosting those stats! It was great to reread those posts with a “reader’s eye” as I considered WHY those posts were read more often than others!
What are you reading? What are you writing?
How do you set goals and reflect on those goals?
And as always, dear readers . . .
#SOL16: March Challenge Day 23 – DIY Toolkits
My learning from the 90th TCRWP Saturday Reunion continues . . .
Session 2: DIY Toolkits for Reading Workshop Teachers!!! with Kate Roberts
Please check out what fellow slicers said about this session:
- Tara Smith’s blog post on #dothework is here.
- Sally Donnelly’s notes on this session are here. Scroll down to “Kate”.
- And my own notes – Session 3 here from NCTE 15 with Kate, Maggie and Mike
The book will be available in APRIL and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival!
So I’m deviating from the norm here as I’m not going to recapture all the information from the session (see the links above). Instead I want you to think about what I heard as the spirit and the intent behind this session, at the TCRWP’s 90th Saturday Reunion.
Kate began with laughter. The whole point of the book that she and Maggie have written is to “make our teaching go better! Make it easier! ‘I said it!’” After 17 years of teaching “every single year it feels like our jobs get harder!” “We want to raise the bar because our students will rise to the challenge.”
“It has never been easy to teach WELL!”
There is an art to being a good teacher and teaching well. Now more than ever, all students need good teachers. How do we do that? How do we teach the content and meet the individual needs of our students that seem to be a never ending task every year. You have to “Do The Work.” But you don’t have to do it alone!
The tools in Kate and Maggie’s book will help us. How?
“Tools extend our reach and help us tackle big problems!!!”
For students, the tools put the work in their hands. They provide prompts so students can and do “Do the work”.
But more importantly, for teachers these tools will also serve as “mentor tools” so that we can create the “just right” tools that our students need.
Will there be a tool for every student? Every situation?
Only if the book is 1,000+ pages long and has perpetual updating. But what this book will do is provide a framework and enough models that you will be comfortable with adapting and / or one day creating your own tools! Kate even suggested that groups of teachers should get together to create tools!
This was the second time that I watched Kate create a tool in less than 5 minutes for a topic drawn from the audience. Let me repeat. . . a topic from the audience . . . create a tool based on a request from the audience . . .The sheer recollection of that tool-making takes my breath away. Kate’s ability to have a conversation with a packed room of teachers and administrators and simultaneously create a tool – a demonstration notebook page – is awe-inspiring. Here’s what that page looked like as it was developed.
Summarizing
Step one: Draft text
Step 2: Add Title – Cloud like color around it
Step 3: One strategy
Step 4: Second strategy
Step 5: Post-its = space for student practice =Final page
VOILA!
The goal for the page:
- Match the purpose (Increase your confidence in being able to make your own page)
- Make in 4 minutes or less
- Be visible
- Kids should see text as quickly as possible (My interpretation – not after 30 minute lecture!)
How would a page like this help you, the teacher?
How would a page like this help your students?
Process/Goals:
The goal of this post was not to simply recount the workshop content. I gave the reader two links for additional information and the book that will be released in April. I really wanted to focus on the “WHY”! And then share just how quickly Kate created the demonstration notebook page. In order to meet those goals, I reread my notes, Tara’s post, Sally’s post and crossed off the “how – to” details for everything but those 4-5 minutes of creation. Truth: Today it took me longer to locate the pictures that I wanted to use than it did to write the blog post.
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: What are you planning to read?
New professional books in the field of literacy are headed your way this spring from the following authors: Stacey Shubitz; Jan Miller Burkins and Kim Yaris; Kate and Maggie Roberts, Dana Johanson and Sonja Cherry-Paul; and Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey and John Hattie. Get ready for some amazing learning!
Stacey, Two Writing Teachers, has this book out from Stenhouse this spring: Craft Moves: Lesson Sets for Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts. Stacey blogged about her book here.
Jan and Kim’s book (available May 2nd from Stenhouse):
Kate and Maggie’s book (available April from Heinemann):
Dana and Sonja’s book also available in April from Heinemann :
And from Doug, Nancy and John (March, Corwin Press):
Coming later this year a new book from Vickie Vinton . . .
Waiting is so hard . . . sometimes waiting on “new friends” is harder than waiting on Christmas.
Where will you start?
What books are on your professional reading list?
Do you share “your reading plans” with your students?
(*Truth: I have some 2015 books to finish soon to clear the decks for spring break reading!)
Addendum:
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. Get ready to share your writerly life in one week with the March Slice of Life Challenge!
#NCTE15 Involving Students!
A common theme in these four sessions that I attended at #NCTE15 was the importance / necessity of involving students in their own learning. (It’s a connection that I could make about ALL of my #NCTE15 sessions in retrospect.)
1. Bring Students into the Conversation: Goal-Setting, Tool-Making that Supports Transfer
#TCRWP Staff Developers: Valerie Geschwind, Marjorie Martinelli, Ryan Scala, Amy Tondeau began this session with a “Turn and Talk”.
Think of a recent goal that you have achieved.
What were the conditions that helped you to reach that goal?
Motivation is a Result of . . .
- Involvement
- Curiosity
- Challenge
- Social interaction
Tools that Support Self- Assessment
- Checklists
- Rubrics
- Tools created from Mini-Lessons
Goal Setting with Students and Language that Honors Choice
And then Val introduced the cycle of learning. . . in student language.
Novice
- I am working towards a new goal.
- Sometimes it goes well and sometimes it is really hard!
- I need my tool to know each step.
Practitioner
- I am practicing my goal all the time: in every book or in every piece of writing.
- I use my tool as a check-in.
Expert
- I can use my goal in lots of places.
- I can teach other people what my goal is and help them do it.
I loved the idea of the three stages. I believe Brook Geller first introduced me to the belief at #TCRWP 2013 July Reading Institute that most “students are over taught and under practiced.” Many students seem to need more practice time with specific feedback and a lot less “teacher talk”. In this case a practitioner is someone who is actively engaged in the doing, who repeatedly exercises or performs an activity or skill to acquire, improve, or maintain proficiency, or who actually applies or uses an idea, a method, or a skill across many scenarios. In other words, our students are the practitioners!
Practice does not have to be boring. There are many methods (see picture below) that can be used to reach “expert” status but the key to this entire presentation was that students would be working on a goal of their own choice and moving from novice, to practitioner, to expert. What wonderful language to put into the mouths of students . . . How motivating and empowering!!!
Caution: These are not stages to be RACED through. They will take time to develop. Students in charge of their own assessment of these stages will definitely be students who know exactly what skills and strategies that they do have in their repertoire.
Be the Force! Help students
- Take on their own learning
- Take on their own change
- Cultivate a growth habit of mind
- See each other as experts
Tools: Checklists, rubrics, progressions, charts from mini-lessons. However, a new look . . . Bookmarks with 3 or 4 choices. Students marked the choice that they were using with a paperclip. Clearly visible!!!! AWESOME!
And then a final reminder .. . .
You’ve met your goal. Now what?
- Celebrate
- Maintain your skills
- Teach others
- Get critical
- Set new goals
It was the first time for me to hear #TCRWP Staff Developers Valerie, Marjorie, Ryan, and Amy and I’m definitely looking forward to learning from them during future opportunities!!!
2. Responsible and Responsive Reading: Understanding How to Nurture Skill and Will
Kylene Beers, Teri Lesene, Donalyn Miller, Robert Probst
Of course this was a popular session so I was willing to sit on the floor (don’t tell the fire marshal) because I wanted to be able to be up front and see!
Donalyn’s presentation is here for you to review at your leisure. A very powerful activity included these questions: “What books and reading experiences would form your reading autobiography?” Donalyn explained that: What matters is WHY you chose the book? Insights from these responses lead to deep conversations with students. Convos for Ss
Teri Lesene’s presentation is here. This fact was startling to me! Obviously I need to read more than a book a week!
Kylene Beers and Bob Probst shared a great deal of information about nonfiction reading that has come from the process of writing their new book. This slide is something I want to remember. . . “when I have answers I need to question”.
And this one on the importance of reading.
3. Finding Their Way: Using Learning Tools to Push Rigor, Increase Independence and Encourage Learning in Your Classroom
TCRWP Staff Developers: Mike Ochs, Kate Roberts, Maggie Beattie Roberts
Maggie began this session with many great connections. “We haven’t seen teachers work harder than they currently are, YET sometimes students aren’t working so hard! ” Tools can help students buy into learning. Tools, in our daily life, extend our reach, meet our needs, help us tackle big problems and personally get better! Tools connect, access, build community . . . should change over time!
Struggles –
- Rigor and motivation
- Memory . . . Why don’t we remember things? (short and long term memory) “I’ve taught this 1000 times. I know they learned this!”
“A great coach never achieves greatness for himself or his team by working to make all his players alike.” Tomlinson
And then a typical problem from narrative writing. . . How to stretch out a frozen moment. Kate created a demo page in front of us and told us it was, “Messy!” Lean on a menu of ways, decide the color scheme, and title.
Another tool might be a Micro-Progression. It provides a clear description of behaviors that are expected so students will know where they stand. Middle level is good. Students don’t always have to think they should be at the top level of performance.
Bookmark – 5 or 6 most important things for students to work on. Let students create this for themselves. They can be different!
Mike – Framework for creating tools adapted from The Unstoppable Writing Teacher with a shout out to Colleen Cruz.
Do not plan to use a tool forever. Have a plan to remove the tools. Some tools we will always need (the hammer), some we want to go away/become automatic (steps to hammer a nail) Some tools become references, set aside until needed. Sometimes need an additional/alternate tool. Most writing tools are not designed to be used indefinitely.
Kate: “You find yourself getting as smart as the toolmakers as you use the ‘tools of others’ and you get better as teacher! You don’t want to teach without a sidekick. Your tools can be a sidekick.”
News : Spring 2016 a book from Kate and Maggie!!!! SO EXCITED!
4. Transforming Informational Writing: Merging Content and Craft
Seymour Simon, Kelly Boswell, Linda Hoyt
I think I know this boy! 
Seymour’s part was actually titled: Celebrating the Wonder in Nonfiction Storytelling. He began with a discussion of what nonfiction really means. If nonfiction is really “not true” than fiction should be “not real”. There is something about the use of “non” that marginalizes the texts that are labeled nonfiction. After all, who takes anything with “non” in the title seriously?
Not much difference between teaching F and NF. . .
- Who am I?
- What am I?
- What about me?
Mystery, wonder, poem, the universe!
Seymour read aloud many great fiction and nonfiction pairings. One of my favorite pairings was:
Kelly: How Mentors and Modeling Elevate Informational Writing
Mentor texts plus teacher modeling equals quality student writing. When teaching writing, FOCUS! If the target lesson is about leaving spaces between words, only teach “leaving spaces between words.” Don’t teach everything in the world of writing.
Kelly’s example for the text went “something” like this as an example of what NOT to do! “Class, we are going to work on leaving spaces between words today as we write. What does a sentence begin with? Good! Yes, a capital letter. (writes The) Our next word is ‘butterfly’. Let’s clap the syllables in butterfly. How many? Yes, three. What sound does it begin with?”
If the focus is “leaving spaces between words” – that’s the teacher talk!
On mentors and models – read the book once to enjoy, then mine for craft. Use a favorite book over and over and don’t forget to use it for conventions! Here’s an example from Hank the Cowdog.
Book Review
- Create a culture of Curiosity.
- Provide time for students to ask questions
- Immerse learners in fascinating informational topics and sources
- Focus on content and craft in the writing they see, hear, and produce
- “Float the learning on a sea of talk.” – James Britton
- Teach research strategies
- Teach visual literacy – First grade writing example
8. Writers Workshop Every Day
9. Make sure learners are writing all day long. Write to remember. Write to question. Write to think. Write to express yourself. Write to share your learning. In every subject area.
10. Write Using Elements from Real World Informational Texts (lists, emails, letters, notes, newsletters)
Involving Students Take Aways:
Students can set real goals and self-assess their progress toward their goals.
Students are motivated when they have control and real choices in their work.
Models and tools aid students in moving through a cycle of novice to practitioner to expert.
What are your thoughts about involving students at this point?
#SOL15: Celebrating the Little Things
I’m a newbie.
Still figuring this out . . .
This “grandma” thing . . .
It’s the little things,
With the so many possibilities!
Our list of recent celebrations:
5 months old
rolling over independently
reading (and eating books)
Mama’s red hair
Daddy’s dimple
that baby smell
those gorgeous red cheeks
the chunky, squishy muscles
the first trip to a pumpkin patch
the first tooth!
Although the miles separate us, I have pictures galore that celebrate every bit of cuteness and every single accomplishment!
How and what do we celebrate in our classrooms?
Our favorite authors?
A read aloud by the author? (with Julieanne)
A new accomplishment?
Drafting a new piece?
Reflecting on our work?
Considering our small group work? (Kari’s Small groups: So much more than a level and a kidney table)
Tara’s slicing . . . Slice of Life year round with our students?
focused learning . . .Keep it Simple, Get it Right from Kate and Maggie’s “Indent”
the magic and the newness . . . The Back to School Honeymoon is Waning from Shana
and a true treasure from Vicki . . . celebrating The Beliefs Behind the Shoulds
There are many, many, many wonderful blog posts but each of the five above included celebrations of learning and teaching and the oh, so right work!
Have you stopped to celebrate lately?
Are you celebrating often?
How would we know?
And more importantly, what WILL you celebrate next?
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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