Tag Archives: engaged

Monday Mentions

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Over the past couple of weeks, the posts below have given me reason to pause and ponder – savored with some combination of coffee, wine, and chocolate…

Are We Wringing the Creativity Out of Our Kids?

Teaching is a balancing act. On the one hand, we want students to be creative. Ideally, students independently explore topics of interest and demonstrate learning in a format of their choice.

On the other hand, we must measure and report learning as it relates to educational standards.

To what extent can the two expectations coexist?

Just Trying to be Better Than Yesterday

I love it when a fellow writer is able to articulate the seemingly indescribable. Author Kenny Pieper reminds us that we all experience foibles – lessons we plan perfectly that don’t run as expected. His article conjured up memories of my mother’s tongue-in-cheek comment: My lessons would run perfectly were it not for the students.

Kenny’s smooth writing style makes me want to open a bottle of wine and be swallowed up by a recliner. A good read. Really.

Don’t Underestimate the Quiet Ones

As a self-proclaimed social media introvert, I appreciate it when authors speak for folks like me who choose their words carefully. These are a few things about me that are often misunderstood:

  • I’m not arguing with you…but that doesn’t mean I agree with you.
  • I’d rather ask questions than give my opinion – especially at first. After hearing everyone’s point of view and digging through the research, I’ll come back with a few suggestions on how to move forward.
  • I prefer to say difficult things directly to people – in a quiet place where no one loses face. I’ve probably said tough things to plenty of colleagues – you just haven’t been around to hear them.

Grade the Work, Not the Behavior

Ah, one of my soap box topics. When I coach teachers, I often ask teachers to do the following:

  1. Articulate what you are seeing.
  2. Decide if what you see is an academic issue or a behavioral issue (sometimes it is a technical issue).
  3. Address the correct problem. Grades should reflect what student know and are able to do. Behavioral issues require a one-on-one conversation with the student. Try to “get into their heads” to identify the obstacles to being on time, submitting work, etc.
  4. If unsure, address the academic issue first. Many students hide academic challenges with behaviors that help them save face in front of peers. When the student feels successful, discuss ways you can help the student in the future – so that the disruption need not precede the academic assistance.
  5. If the issue is behavioral and a one-on-one conversation ineffective, round up a team of parents, counselors, and principals for intervention and support.

7 More Ways to Go from On-Task to Engaged

Bryan Harris has some great quotes:

Increasing time on task is pointless if the tasks themselves are not productive (quoting John Hattie).

While praise may encourage effort, specific feedback is necessary in order to truly learn and grow.

Some of the most valuable and long-lasting learning comes from the personal insights and “ah-hahs” we discover when learning about ourselves.

What have you read lately?

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For the Love of Reading

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In my previous post, I wondered how I can move students from engaged writing to self-motivated writing. Today I’m wondering how the same can be done with reading.

Reading is a tricky subject to teach in Upper Primary grades. My students are great word-callers – so it’s easy to think students are good readers when, in fact, they comprehend only on a surface level.

Reading is a tricky subject to assess. I can require a reading log to keep track of reading minutes – but written logs of titles and minutes on-task are not authentic signs of a reading life. In fact, reading log requirements may better assess students’ organizational skills than reading skills. The best readers I know don’t keep a log. They plow through stacks of books and refer to their books in conversation.

I also have to be careful about assessing reading skills based on students’ writing about reading. To what extent are literature letters a reflection of students’ reading abilities? Could I inadvertently be assessing writing ability more than reading?

Book reports and projects can help assess reading – but often, the time required to complete a project eats into students’ reading time.

The only authentic reading assessments happen through observation, individual conferencing and small-group discussions.

What outcomes do I want?
1. I want students to read. Lots. Varieties of items – blogs, magazines, online articles, realistic fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, poetry, recipes, graphic novels, mysteries …

2. I want students to talk about what they are reading. I want them to talk with me, with each other, and with audiences outside of school.

3. I want students to use their reading to come up with possible writing ideas. They should see the connection between reading and writing so that they can find and use mentor texts.

Once these reading habits are established, I can teach students how analyze character actions and text details in order to determine an author’s message. This first unit sets the stage for the rest of the school year.

Modeling and Building Excitement
When I began writing more, my students’ writing engagement increased. The same has been true with reading. In the first month of school, I read with students multiple times each day – picture books, novels, poems, and magazine articles.

I’ve asked my colleagues to help me compile a list of favorite read-alouds so that we can order 30 common read-aloud titles for each classroom. The books/articles should be:

  • from a variety of genres
  • written by authors of various age levels
  • accessible to all students
  • usable multiple times during the year (i.e. re-introduce the nonfiction books during the nonfiction unit)
  • books that other grades [in my school] do not typically use

Most of the books will be picture books. Picture books often get a bad rap for being “childish.” Yet some picture books are terribly deep – and not suitable for younger children (Faithful Elephants, Pink and Say, The Wolf, The Butterfly, and more). Uma Krishnaswami wrote a guest post on the many higher-level reading skills that can be taught with picture books. Kevin’s Meandering Mind includes an article about picture books as mentor texts – a skill also endorsed by Colleen Cruz.

The first unit should have regular book talks done by both teachers and librarians. I was excited to read Tamara Cox’s post on ways to build book excitement.

What does that mean for this unit?

  • I need a set of read-aloud mentor text that will excite and inspire readers.
  • I need to call on my colleagues and the school librarian for book talks.
  • I need to help students find kid blogs that speak to them.
  • I need to help students compile a list of interesting online magazines and news articles.
  • I need to give students time to at least jot down what they are reading – in a format that is the easiest and least time-consuming for them. Perhaps some students will prefer screen shots of the books they are reading or links to blog posts.
  • I need to give students opportunities to talk to one another about what they are reading – and to talk directly with authors (when possible).
  • I should meet to talk with every student at least twice during the first unit. I want to know what they enjoy!
  • I need to give students the opportunity to talk about books with people outside the classroom – in a way that is interesting to them (A flat-classroom model? A video book talk? Written book reviews? Book talks with other classrooms?).
  • I need to include lessons about text features so that students can effectively use their books as mentor texts.

Please Help
I’m hoping you can help me with a couple of things:

  1. What are some great kid blogs to which my students can subscribe?
  2. How do I organize my classroom so that online articles are regularly read by students?
  3. What are your “go-to” mentor text picture books? I’m especially low on mystery book titles.

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For the Love of Writing

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Last Friday I was moody. No, I didn’t take it out on the kiddos. But as I sat at my desk during prep time, I found myself counting the minutes until dismissal and wondering if anyone would notice me leave with the students.

I spent the evening contemplating possible reasons for my mood. The February slump? Nope. The pile of unfinished tasks? Nah. Then it hit me.

I hadn’t written this week. I missed writing.

The odd thing about this feeling is that I only started writing (serious, regular writing) this past June. My blog has become part of my life – almost a living presence.

What does this have to do with the classroom?
In under a year, I have developed what Colleen Cruz refers to as a “writer-ly life”. As I have become a writer, my students have been more inspired to write.

Truthfully, no child groans when we begin writing class. Students are engaged and anxious to share their work with me. But I wonder what will happen this summer, when there are no expectations of publication, no explicit time devoted to daily writing. How can I help students take the step from engagement to self-motivation?

Curriculum Implications
The map of writing curriculum is set for the year. I’m leading out the team in planning the first unit of the 2012-2013 school year. The first unit is about establishing a writer’s journal or notebook, building a collection of pieces, and taking one piece through the entire writing process. The lessons are based on the Lucy Calkin’s writing series – lessons that suggest writers glean ideas from people that are important to them, places they love, important life moments, important objects, etc. These lessons lay a wonderful foundation.

My issue is this: If I were a student going through these lessons, I would comply and I would develop good writing skills. That said, my writing journal would be filled with teacher-directed pieces. I’ve been reading Speaking of Journals: Children’s Book Writers Talk about their Diaries, Notebooks, and Sketchbooks. All the authors organize journals in different ways for various reasons. I’m more or less insisting that student journals take a particular format. By doing so, am I becoming an obstacle to students discovering their own writing styles and habits?

The other thing I wonder is the extent to which I teach a limited number of writing genres. Most of the year is spent teaching personal narratives, essays, poetry, and realistic fiction. What about blogs? Video scripts? Plays? Commentaries? How-to pieces? Letters and emails? Infographics? Would students write more independently if they were exposed to these other forms?

I realize this post is filled with more questions than answers – but that is where my head is right now. I’ve decided on three outcomes:

  1. Students create a journal or writer’s notebook that works for them, and reflect on how the notebook organization reflects them as writers
  2. Students experiment with various writing genres and reflect on which ones are most comfortable or most challenging for them
  3. Students take at least one piece through the full writing process.

The ideas are coming together as “stations”:

If I expose students to all these writing forms and tools, I’m hoping that they will find one or two that “click” with them the way that blogging has “clicked” with me.

What do you do to bridge the gap between “engaged writing” and “inspired writing”?