A small moment

It is a reward unlike any monetary bonus or plaque. I can't speak for other educators, but I live for the moment when there is that small, fleeting glimmer that there has been a connection between students and teacher.At this time in the school year, I am still sorting out student learning styles and personalities. Still trying to figure out how to engage some students or get out of the way of others.I noticed one of my more quiet second language learners, one who hardly engages in eye contact, trying to avoid any engagement with me for several days. As part of interactive read-aloud, we had been working on verbal stems for acceptable (and polite! Politician take note!) discourse - "I agree with ____ because.....", "I disagree with ____ because....", "In addition to what ____ said, I think...."). This activity may sound stilted to you, but for my students who don't really speak in sentences - second language or not - it is a critical building block for oral language, socially acceptable expression of opinions, and written language.So yesterday, as we "discussed" the plot of Kevin Henkes Julius, Baby of the World, I put my new friend on the spot. At first she did what many second language learners do - she shook her head no, she averted her eyes, and she locked her lips down. Those of you who know me, will know that wasn't going to fly.So gently, I fed her the stem.... and after 2 or 3 cajoling nudges, out came the most wonderful contribution to our discussion! And with that, a small glimmer of a smile previously hidden from me. The moment was so brief that I wasn't sure I had caught it. But for this one student, it seemed to convey, a new confidence and a connection to not only me, but to the safety of our classroom group.And that is exactly why I love teaching!

Reading About Reading

Although widely thought of as a math geek, at least as far as elementary math pedagogy is concerned, I am spending some time this summer researching literacy.The first book on my "must read" list happens to be Richard Allington's What Really Matters for Struggling Readers. It will come as no surprise that many of my readers struggle, and so far I've found Allington's work very informative and affirming.  Maybe that has a lot to do with the Daily Five and its structures; many of these are based on Allington's work.When I think about fluency, I know rereading an appropriate level text is important.  Allington advocates for a couple of strategies that have enormous potential with my readers: Tape, Check, Chart and Tape, Time, Chart (Allington, R. What Really Matters for Struggling Readers. (2012). Boston: Pearson Education. p 110-111).When I take a running record of a child's reading, I always share what the checkmarks and codes mean. In Tape, Check, Chart, students read a short text into a tape recorder, mark it up using child-friendly markings, and over the course of multiple readings (Allington suggests 4 with a different color pen for each mark-up) increase fluency and accuracy.  Tape, Time, Chart provides similar practice with fluency.As I think about Daily Five activities for the coming school year, I know that the addition of these two choices will be powerful, not only for the students but for me.

Raising Rigor in Readers' Notebooks

I used to look with envy at those spiffy Readers' Notebooks available through a nationally known publisher.  In fact I envied them so much, I figured out how to customize a similar notebook for my students to use.And while they seemed to work pretty well, I've come to realize that maybe the beautifully GBC-bound notebooks and forms I'd created were not all that.Asking my students to write a weekly response in the form of a letter to which I would write back produced writing about reading. But what I mostly got was a retelling (plot) or even worse, an "I like this book...." without a "because".I'm reading Aimee Buckner's Notebook Connections and discovering something about what has passed for a reader's response in my classroom. Because my students were so wrapped up in writing a letter to the teacher - and maybe even in getting it done over revealing something they were thinking - the thoughts about reading and literacy were pretty much on the surface.I want my students to learn to do more than that! Upping the rigor of a response means that I will need to teach students to first notice their thinking and then record it.  And then dive deeper into what the author chooses to do when writing; it's all interconnected.So I'm no longer envying teachers who can purchase those fancy Readers' Notebooks for kids. I want to raise the rigor on what students write in reading responses. I want them to think in depth about a text and wonder. I want them to notice an author's craft and how it impacts a reader.What I am thinking about for next year is a much more simple tool for holding ideas than the fill-in the form I've grown comfortable with over the last 2 years.  Students need a space to record a year's growth in becoming literate, a place to keep track of genres and kinds of books (given the opportunity, some of my kids would only read Arthur books!), and a place to record and notice not only their own thoughts as they read but how an author crafts writing.It's a tall order with many opportunities for missteps on my part. By breaking down the Readers' Notebook to what is essential, I hope for depth in thinking. A spiral notebook and some self-sticking tabs should do the trick. 

Revisiting Notebooks

Having read Notebook Know-How (Aimee Buckner) this spring; I've moved on the another of her books, Notebook Connections. Know-How is to writing as the Connections book is to Reading. What I am discovering though is that they both are interconnected - as they should be.At this time of year, many of us start thinking about what we need in place on Day 1 of the next school year.  Last year, by this time, I had a very elaborate, custom-designed Readers' Notebook all mapped out and in the copier. That Notebook had many of the elements of the fancy Fountas Pinnell Readers' Notebooks and some of the elements that Beth Newingham uses with her Third Grade Class.What I've come to through reading Notebook Connections and seeing what was tedious, is that much of what I have in the current notebook needs to be revised or maybe even removed.  My students are fairly consistent in completing the daily book log that is part of their current notebook. We both refer to the Color Conference (book level) page and the Goals page. Each week we write back and forth to each other about reading.  But there seems to be lots that is not in use and some places where the Readers' Notebook is not effective.I think I still need something more structured than Ms. Buckner's notebooks so I will keep the basic structure of a separate dedicated notebook for reading. But as I read more of Aimee's book, I want to create something that is going to be more authentic and clearly connects what my students read to what they will write. I want to move my students past retellings to deeper thinkings about texts, so I will make the shift from a Dear Mrs. Bisson response to students actually recording their reaction to parts of texts or strategic reading.While I am savoring each day with my current students, I am looking forward to a new year with new faces and new challenges. And getting excited about trying new strategies for learners.