Nicole Brown Blog Post 2 (Sept.) Kidwatching article/“Watching and Listening to Children Read”

          The purpose of this article written by Dorothy Watson is to show teachers how they can use their own personal observations of their students to uncover how they respond to varies types of texts. I think often we as teachers rely heavily on test data to drive our instruction. I believe data-driven instruction is important, but we also need to be looking at observational data as well! No one knows a student better than their teacher, and her observations can be so much more informative than a number on a page.

          Miller encourages the use of pre-reading questioning to provide “information on which to make decisions about classroom organization, and (it) reveals students’ judgments if their own abilities to handle the assignment.” Using this techniques will allow teachers to know which students are ready for independent reading, those who may need small group or partner assistance, or may possibly need to work with the teacher individually.

          I love how Miller believes that we as teachers should “find out what a kid is trying to do and help them do it.” Often I find myself so focused on finding out what the student cannot do that I neglect to focus on where they are right now…including what they already know how to do. If we are focusing on what they can do we can build on that!

          My favorite words from Miller came at the end. I really think she puts things into perspective when she says, “no two snowflakes, popcorn kernels, or children are exactly alike. Therefore, to watch, enjoy, and describe snowflakes, popcorn kernels, and kids, a variety of devices (are) needed that can be used flexibly, and in the case of snowflakes and kids, FAST!” I believe this to be true. We need to base our lessons on the strengths of the students and learn from their reading mistakes. We should use them as clues to solve the mysteries of the readers we teach! 

Rachel Johnson, blog 1-August, Miller Ch. 1

            In the first chapter of her book Debbie Miller discusses the importance of independent reading time.  She stresses that independent reading time, or IR, is an essential part of the day.  In order for students to grow as readers they must have time to read-every day.  During this time of independent reading, students are able to practice the reading skills and strategies they have learned in class.  Does this sound like a great idea but there is not enough time in the day for IR to happen each day?  Miller offers a solution to this common argument-take a close look at what you are spending time on.  More than likely, there are areas of the day that can be shortened or taken out completely to make time independent reading.

            This chapter really hit home for me this year.  I teach on a three switch team and my team teachers and I looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year to see how we could expand the time for each block.  Since adding more hours to the school day was not an option we looked at how we were spending our time.  Previously, we did not start teaching until 8:10 because we were waiting for WAME and vision students to return to class and students were completing morning work packets.  We spent 5-8 minutes switching classes twice a day because we would take the whole class to the restroom in between each switch.   The list grew as we thought about our daily schedule.  While individually none of the above items was a giant time consumer, if you put them all together the time added up. 

            This year we start our teaching blocks at 7:45.  We have cut down transitions to 1-2 minutes by taking out the class restroom breaks.  I now have an hour and half with each block-something I never had before.  I have found that I am able to cover my lessons more thoroughly and have more lively class discussions.  Furthermore, even though I teach science and social studies I am now able to give students about 10 minutes of IR in my classroom most days.  While 10 minutes is not a lot, this is something I have never had the time to do before.  Students now get IR time in their ELA block and a small IR time in my room.  I am also able to incorporate more content reading into my science and social studies lessons.

            I am looking forward to seeing my students grow as readers through the IR time and increased content reading in my science and social studies classes this year.

Nicole Ashley Blog #2- August Routman Chapter 3

This chapter really made me think about the importance of sharing my love of reading with my students.  I think often times we get so boggled down in teaching reading strategies to our kids that we forget to talk about how reading affects all of our lives.  Since we are jumping into Independent Reading next week...I want to take some time this week and follow some of the suggestions he had.  I'm going to talk about the books I am reading, my favorite authors, my home library, etc.  I think they will love hearing about me in that way.  Any time I mention something I do outside of school, or talk about my family, they are all ears. I think it's true; some think you don't ever leave the building.  I loved the part in the chapter about your "now" and "next" book.  I am so that way....before I finish a book I need to have another ready to go.  I want them to start thinking in that way!  We have talked a little in my class about their libraries at home.  It's very interesting to hear them tell about their rooms and where they keep their books.  Some sound very elaborate, while sadly some just listened ....amazed.  I know some are more privileged than others.  I hope my library at school will make up for some of those students. The try it, apply it....when we do Star Student, they are asked to bring in their favorite books to share with the class.  Such a fun time....they love doing this and it tells the others so much about them. It's great to see their faces light up when they too have the same favorite book...then a book talk begins!

Nicole Ashley August Blog #1- The Habit of Kid Watching

Kidwatching....I started doing more of this last year during Daily Five.  I kept a notebook on my students....listing things such as what the article suggested.  I learned more about my kids last year doing that than any other assessment I had given in the past.  My Independent Reading notebook was my favorite.  I made notes on each child- their book choices, habits during reading, what we discussed together during conferencing, their answers to open-ended questions, struggles, and strengths!  This info mean much more to me than a grade on an assessment and I felt like I understood the students so much better.  We fought for no grades in first grade for this very reason.  It is so much more beneficial for all involved to not focus on a grade at such a young age....but to understand what type of learner a 6 year old is and build on their strengths.  I intend to keep the same type of notes for my students this year.  I liked the idea of having the students record themselves reading.  I would like to try that and see what they notice about themselves!!!  They usually surprise me with their insight!

Leslie Evatt- August Blog #1-The Habit of Kidwatching

     Timothy O'Keefe hit the nail on the head when he said, "What can a B+ or an S in reading really tell us about how much a child reads?" That sentence really hit home with me.  As an early childhood teacher, I struggle with giving young kids a numerical grade.  But even giving students  an S or N, there is much more I need to do then just assign a letter.  What are my kids actually doing to earn that numerical grade or letter?  That is where kidwatching comes into play.  O'Keefe explains how crucial  kidwatching is in driving instruction- which should be based on the individual needs of students.  He also states throughout the article how keeping records should not be one size fits all  but should be tailored to what each teacher needs each year. 
     I felt a sense of relief after reading this article.  I have changed my record keeping a lot throughout the years.  I thought that I wasn't doing it  the "right" way.  But O'Keefe says that it is ok to change how you kidwatch.  He stated that it is important not to reinvent the wheel and gave resources to help in record keeping. I also realized that the years that I kidwatched every day with every kid, I knew my students so much more- academically, socially and emotionally.
    

Nicole Brown's August Blog Post 1: Share Your Reading Life

Routman/Reading Essentials/Ch. 3 "Share Your Reading Life"

          At our August class meeting, we focused on fostering “book love” with our students. I chose to read this chapter in Routman’s book Reading Essentials because I believe in order to foster that love, we have to first show children that we ourselves have a “love of reading.” As we discussed in our small groups at the beginning of the class session, I believe it is important to examine our own reading life and what memories- good or bad, we have had. As you examine your reading life, Routman states to “make it visible to your students, and connect world reading with school reading. Many students will not see and feel the power of reading without your enthusiasm and modeling.”

          Having a class discussion about why you read will help students understand that reading doesn’t just take place inside the school building. For many of our students here at Anderson Mill, reading may not be something that is done or if done, even noticed in their homes. I love the fact that Routman keeps a simple record of what he is reading and what he will read next. What an amazing way to allow your students to talk about what they are reading and make suggestions to one another. Bonds over shared reading experiences will validate their existence as a reader. I am excited about using the Padlet website in order to share professional books and even awesome children’s books to the faculty here at AMES and anyone else who is interested. This is something you can use in your classrooms to allow students to talk about what they are reading, as well as make suggestions to others who may want to read it.

Talking to students about what they are reading will help you gauge their interests and learn what they are passionate about in order to make book suggestions to them. Sometimes finding the perfect book for your readers can open up a world they didn’t even know existed, and they can find their own passion for reading.

          Routman stresses the importance of having a personal library at home. Many of the homes of our students are filled with lots of toys and very little books. I believe if we start talking about and sharing the importance of having books at home, parents will chose to purchase more books for their children. If here at school we are fostering a love of reading, then students in turn will start requesting books instead of all the toys. Do you have students with young siblings younger than five years old? Send home the Dolly Parton Imagination Library sign up link in your newsletter https://usa.imaginationlibrary.com/register_my_child.php#.VdMry330-9Z . Many of the books are appropriate for children elementary school age and it is a way to get a home library started!

          One thing that peeked my interest in the chapter was Routman’s opinion about requiring parents to sign off on at-home reading logs. I have always required parent signatures on my students’ logs. I believed this was my “insurance” that it was being done. I think I didn’t trust their commitment to reading. I wonder if I trusted their love of reading more, if I would feel comfortable enough to do away the signature requirement and just trust them as a reader. Do you require a parent signature on a reading log? If not, do you feel like they are really reading? Could students participate in a two-minute book talk each day about what they read, so they are held responsible for the reading? Something to think about! I agree with Routman stating “too many of our students are reading because they have to not because they want to….they have so many requirements for each book- daily recording of pages and minutes read, having parents verify their child’s nightly reading by signing a form, writing a summary about the completed book- that reading had become a chore, something they dreaded.” As the school year is beginning, I want to portray to students that reading can be a pleasure and not always a chore. I want to foster “Book Love” with every student and teacher I work with this year. Will you join me on this common quest of fostering a love of reading?

Dawn Mitchell's August Blog Post 1: Finding Time for Independent Reading

Dawn Mitchell's August Blog Post 1

In Section I of Debbie Miller’s No More Independent Reading Without Support she writes that children learn to read by reading but not without support.  I love this challenge she gives us at the beginning of her book and I definitely think it is relevant to us at the beginning of this school year. 

Miller writes, “What if there were a way out? What if there were a way – at least for part of the day – where things slowed down, your students had their hands and minds on great books, and you had the pleasure of conferring with them about their reading and themselves as readers?  No rotations, activities, or worksheets – just you, your kids, and books. If you could find a way out, would you take it?”

Miller explains that independent reading isn’t just Sustained Silent Reading where everyone stops, drops, and reads, the teacher included.  She explained that truly effective independent reading provides an instructional component, an application component, and a formative assessment component so that students have support during independent reading time.  Miller advocates for a reading workshop model.  She knows that to do this well, there has to be a consistent block of time during the school day.

This time is an investment into the workshop structure.  It is an investment into independent reading and more than that, it is an investment into each one of our students.

For the last fourteen years of my teaching career I have worked to implement workshop structure for both writing and reading where students have a supportive context for their application of real world literacy skills.  I know first-hand how we, as teachers struggle against the clock for time to make this meaningful work happen.  This was the first roadblock I had when implementing reading/writing workshop into my own fourth grade class over a decade ago and it is still the first instructional roadblock I always hear from the wonderful teachers I work with.  We don’t have enough time.  I agree.  There never is enough time. 

Time is the great equalizer.  We all have the same amount, each and every day.  Since we cannot make any more time, I agree with Miller that it is worth our time to carefully examine our schedule and look closely for the time that is hiding.  There is time, chunks of it hiding in the minutes of morning work we do to keep kids on task while we take attendance.  I have found a little time here and a little time there in transitions that take too long or routines that may not be necessary to extend all morning.  Debbie also asked to take a long look at our existing reading block and to see if we were really using our time to engage students.  Do they really need the packets of worksheets, the isolated times for all of the activities in the basal reader…? 

I know from my own experience when I moved from a scripted program to an authentic workshop structure where I used time for independent reading and writing, for formative assessments to help me know who my students were as readers and writers, and what skills and strategies they were and were not using to make meaning I could design mini lessons to specifically target what they needed to work on.  This wasn’t always easy, but it was fulfilling and everyone in the classroom grew, including me.  I used every resource I had to create lessons and it was constantly changing because my students were. 

I love how Debbie explains the difference between SSR and reading workshop on page 7.  She says, “When students sit quietly at their desk with a book or magazine during DEAR or Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) time, we might see them flip a page every minute or so, but we can’t see what’s happening inside their heads.  We don’t have evidence of how they’re making meaning of the text, the specific ways they’ve grown as readers, or what they’re struggling with as they read.  Without that information, we can’t teach them how to get better and we can’t be sure that – even if they read every day – all students are becoming better readers this week than they were the one before.”

With knowing already before school begins that we have only 180 days to do the best we can with the time we have, it is vital that we utilize the most effective methods possible.  I want to know that my students are growing.  I want to see evidence of them applying what they are learning in their independent reading.  I want to give this year all I’ve got.  I want to give them independent reading with support.

Sincerely,

Dawn