Decken Blog 7: Routman Ch. 11

The quote at the start of this chapter immediately grabbed my attention!
"None of the exemplary teachers were tied to commercial materials.  Exemplary teachers taught children, and typical teachers taught programs." -Richard Allington

It brought me back to my senior year of high school when I met my teacher cadet teacher, Judy Anderson.  The one thing she ALWAYS emphasized to us was "teach people, not just a subject."  This has always been the thing that runs in the back of my mind when I get so caught up in lessons and the stress of teaching...am I doing all of this to simply teach a subject? If so, let it go. I always strive to make my focus teaching my students!!

Of course, good teachers always build off their best practices and re-evaluating/rethinking how they've taught something.  Like I mentioned a few blogs earlier...I've had to do just that this year! While my best practices didn't necessarily relate to teaching reading, it is still very true to take a step back and re-evaluate what you're doing.  If it's not working, change it. "There is no best program or perfect model." I couldn't have said it better myself!

Decken Blog Post 6: Miller Section 1

This chapter was based on TIME...is there time in the day for IR?  Is that time enough?  I definitely have the time in my schedule (it may be at the very end of the day, and there may be some days we don't get to it) but I definitely don't think I am implementing it as I should.  The text states that it is "more than just DEAR or SSR"...& if I'm honest, I've called it SSR a few times to my students. However, I have noticed this year how much of a struggle it is to get my students to WANT to read.  Some do enjoy it, but there are several that I feel like I nag to pick a book/I have had to help pick a book. I do conference with them as often as I can, just to keep them accountable and know that Miss Decken IS paying attention and wants them to read! In my conferencing, I ask them some simple questions about what they're reading, who the main character is, what the story is about, etc.  I also ask them if I can help them with anything as they are reading.  Most of the time, they want me to tell them how to say a word (which I always make them sound out).

Decken Blog 5: Routman Ch. 4

I feel that I already "teach with a sense of urgency"...as I am struggling to get all the standards taught! However, I need to take a step back on the anxiety meter and just let things roll as they come.  While I realize I DO have standards that I need to teach...what is more important is that the students are learning and getting where they need to be.  I don't need to stay in a place of complacency when it comes to teaching. I know that it is easy to go from year to year doing the same lesson plans and activities, but I need to plan my lessons around my specific group of kiddos that changes every year.  While the infrastructure of my plans can somewhat stay the same, maybe I change up how something is presented if I notice it didn't go over well one year.  I am especially seeing that this year with this particular group of 3rd graders. They do not catch onto things as easily has classes in years past.  I have had to S.L.O.W way down with skills and instruction.  (So much that I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything gets in before SC Ready.)

I really liked the point given about demonstrating "how to do it." This group this year needs that ALOT, so I've been doing it all year.  I guess I also kinda mix in shared demonstrating, too.  While I am demonstrating, I try to involve the students (partly because otherwise they will lose focus and partly because they need that) so that they fully understand what they are about to do independently.

Jennifer Pitman: Blog#7 March/April: R.Routman Chapter 12

     I want to high five Routman on the quote, "You only have so much time!"  Instead of exhausting ourselves we've got to pull together to work smarter not harder.  As a teacher you value your job, your connection and the impact you make personally and educationally.  This brings the emotional drain on us each and everyday.  Our time is valuable and we need to show our students this too.  Being the leader to challenge and make each day meaningful can be done without extra resources so our lives can still be enjoyable.  All of my business working friends think I have it made because teachers get holidays, snow days, and the summers off.  However they don't know we only get paid for the days we work, 180 days over a years time and we spend a lot of those days off at conferences, reading, researching, and spending our own money to buy resources for school.
     I have a new perception on teaching by using conferences, project base learning and other outside sources that allow me time to connect and evaluate my students learning through conferencing with them.  Routine works for a reason, it keeps us organized, well-planned and eliminates wasted time.  If the kids see us happy and eager to be at work learning with them I think the stress level decreases for everyone.  Ultimately I want more hands/another teachers help to maximize the full use of conferencing and assessing my students to get to all of them each day.  Having my literacy coach with me to help assist, teach, and conference with my 3rd grade Horizons on Fridays she can attend has been so nice.  It has made my plans easier to fulfill and each child gets what they need during the lesson too, it's been a win-win! I have to finish my thoughts on the quote in this chapter, "time spent reading, like time spent loving, increases our lifetime."

Karilyn Parker - Blog 7 - Routman Ch. 12

This chapter title made me giggle - You Only Have So Much Time! Amen, Regie! Every year something new has been added to the list of the tasks that were already on the list, but nothing is removed from the list of tasks. We always feel burdened with completing all of the requirements and it is very easy to take the things that are weighing on your mind about your students, curriculum or struggles from the day home with you.

I think the best advice is at the beginning of the chapter. Live an Interesting Life! Yes! We need to enjoy our time outside of the classroom and make memories & experiences that we can bring back to the classroom and help inspire our students or give them a funny story that will keep them hooked into our content that day. We need to take time and smell the roses not just be able to tell our students all about the roses.

As an educator, we need to trust that our instincts about our class are going to help us plan well and that our experience as an educator will help us improve our assessments for our students. This also will allow us to find the best possible way to teach our students especially if we notice that the way I taught last year isn't working for this new group of students then I can pull on previous experiences and try to find the best way to teach the content.

Karilyn Parker - Blog #6 - Routman Chapter 9

Shared reading was definitely a part of my elementary classroom that I loved when I was a student. My enjoyment of reading came from hearing my teachers and others get excited about what they were reading aloud. I also learned how to question what I read and find the answers by making inferences and drawing conclusions from what I was reading in the book by seeing my teachers model how that process works during our shared reading time. The funny part is that I didn't realize that I was learning those things at the time. I was just having fun and enjoying a book, but my teacher was using that to teach me excellent reading strategies for when I was reading by myself and needed to interpret the book that I was currently immersed in that day.

When I taught reading a few years ago, I loved reading books aloud on my back carpet. We all huddled back there and really were able to get to know each other better. The students saw my excitement for reading and I was able to assess what each student understood from class each day. Did they understand parts of speech, similes, metaphors, or onomatopoeia? Could they inference how a character was feeling by telling me what details made them decide how the character was feeling?

I love this statement that Routman shared about shared reading, "Shared reading is also powerful because it helps students and teachers bond; students are partners in an enjoyable process and see themselves as ultimately capable." Isn't that what we are here to do? To create a bond with our students and to allow them to feel capable of completing a task themselves without our assistance.

Casey Lyles- March/April Blog 7: Miller Ch. 2

In chapter two of No More Independent Reading Without Support, Debbie Miller discusses why independent reading matters and the best practices to support it.  A major key point that stuck out to me was that the “just right” amount of independent reading time may depend on reader proficiency.  Different time allocations should be provided for students at different stages of development.  We must not only find time for the class to independently read, but we also need to allocate time on a more individualized basis to meet student needs. The chapter discussed the importance in letting students choose their own books to read.  Letting students choose their text not only develops motivation but also assists in comprehension.

Miller also discusses the importance of a more active role for teachers during independent reading.  I can relate to the way the teacher from the chapter feels.  She states that she worries about what the other students are doing when she is conferencing with a student and she wants to ensure that everyone is on task and making the most out of their IR time.  The chapter provides many useful teaching strategies to incorporate in order to ensure that students are successful and on task during this time including large and small group discussions about texts, student accountability through creation of posters, reader response notebooks, etc. 

Miller’s basic key points and takes aways are that students need the following things to grow as independent readers:  classroom time to read, ability to choose what they read, instruction about what, how and why students read, to read a variety of books, access to a variety of texts, teacher monitoring, and the opportunity for students to talk about what they have read.