Ensuring Excellent Readers

Regie Routman has a great list of things to do to ensure that students become good readers. I have been able to see most of the list in action within the classroom but I would like to see how to evaluate students on a more regular basis. I find that time becomes an issue with this expectation. The struggling students are worked with on a regular basis and they are the ones that really need the extra time. I would like to know how to evaluate and challenge the students who are above average and give them equal time to ensure that they do not become bored with reading.

As I have observed many, many classrooms this year, one part of the classroom always catches my eye, the class library. Yes, every school has their big library but I am constantly amazed at the collection of books within the classrooms. In every classroom I have been in there are at least (usually more) two bookshelves filled with an array of books. Some are more organized than others, which I see being an important part of having a classroom library.

The class I am in for my main placement has an amazing library. Each basket is labeled with the author of the books or the subject/content of the book (like animals, holidays,etc). This way if the students enjoys reading a certain authors books, say Kevin Henkes, then they know to go directly to the basket with his name on it and find one that appeals to them. The students are allowed to check out books from the classroom library once a week and then a few students are in charge of returning the books to the correct baskets once they are returned.

Giving students time to read is also very important. I sometimes question the silent reading time that the students are given and wonder how to hold them accountable for their readings. I tend to see students day dreaming during reading time instead of them investing their time actually reading.

Spelling

In the first grade that I am currently working with there have been many discussions about spelling between my MT and me. We have discussed wether spelling tests should be given to the students or not. My master teacher does not administer spelling tests and says that there is no evidence that says spelling tests make the students better spellers. Reading the Templeton article brings some light to that statement. The article stresses the importance of the students learning patterns in spelling and therefore once they learn the patterns they will then be able to improve spelling.

I have observed a different first grade class which administers spelling tests every Friday. The only difference about this spelling test is that the students are able to self-select their words. The beginning list is compiled of site words that they should know but most are the words that are hard to decode through letter sound (they are spelled differently then pronounced). Once the students have mastered the words they are allowed to move onto a different list that progressively gets harder. The only problem with this is that I don't see the patterns within words being taught.

I tend to lean on the side that says that spelling tests are important and sometime repetition in practice can stick with the students. I like the idea stated in the article about if you choose to test students that you need to be teaching the patterns found in words. Once the patterns are learned then the meaning of the words can become the focus.

At the beginning of the year I was able to assist my MT in the qualitative spelling inventory of her students. The inventory told us so many interesting facts about where certain students in the class were. Are there a variety of inventory tests? This allowed us to not only see which level they would be in writing but had some connections with their reading level as well.

Mini Lessons

After reading Routman chapter 7, she says that mini lessons are taught into our students' intentions. During a writing unit, you should focus on what the students need to learn. By observing their work you can shape the lesson based on what is best to further and stretch their thinking. Throughout my time in my dyad placement I have seen this method time and time again. I actually taught a mini lesson for their writing unit on memoirs. I had started out planning my lesson on the bad words of literature (word to avoid when writing), but after observing their writing I thought it would be more helpful for the students to learn how to use a thesaurus first. That way later when they learned about words to avoid in writing they would have a resource for new words. I was pleasantly surprised to see the students use my lesson in their writing. Mini lessons are incredibly important for the simple fact that they expand on the writing lesson that the students are working on.

Hallelujah for raising the expectation for spelling :) I know I have written about spelling in previous blogs but it's refreshing to know that it's being talked about. I must say that I am surprised at some of the spelling mistakes that students in sixth grade are making. I am wondering when spelling became less important in schools. It seems like the good old fashioned spelling tests are gone...maybe they should come back. I talk about this with my adult friends often, and we all think it is "interesting" when we get an email or other various messages from other people and simple words are misspelled. It does lead you to make impressions on the person. I understand how teachers don't want to interfere with students writing BUT can't you look at students work to get an idea of which words to "practice" with the class. I like the idea of word walls; I have also seen personal word books that the students keep at their desks which are full of words (alphabetized) that they can refer to.

Why Blog?

Blogging is just one of the inexpensive, semi-risk free technology tools that are available to us. We are constantly on the search for ways to include parents, and make them aware of what we are doing in the classrooms and this just seems like a simple way to connect the classroom to our community. Setting up a blog is quick and easy (and free), and I think the privacy feature allows a sense of security. With technology growing so rapidly we are doing a disservice to our students by not teaching and allowing them to explore on computers. I could see having a classroom blog and having the students be in charge of updating it. Just like there are classroom jobs like holding the door, or passing out paper, I think it would be a neat experience for 2 students a week to work together and write a blog on different things they learned that week, or experiences in the classroom that they had. It's exciting to thing of all the possibilities that technology in the classroom could allow.

Geoffrey Canada

As an assignment for our families class we were told to watch the videos of Geoffrey Canada when he came to Seattle to speak about Solid Ground (Building a Community to end Poverty). I found him very inspirational to listen to. To know that he came from poverty and is so determined and dedicated to his project/dream of ending poverty. It's interesting, you always hear that the children are our future, yet you never see people willing to do anything to change the path that we have been on for so many years. What is happening in education is obviously not working, although I think there are some great ideas and projects that have been attempted it just never seems like there is follow through. I think that the idea Canada had about starting the charter school in Harlem (The Harlem Children's Zone) was planned for success. The idea of being with the children from birth to college helps teachers guide the students so they don't get lost in the crowd shuffling from school to school. After reading Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough, it makes you want to get involved and make a difference especially for the students/families who are stuck on the poverty road. All it takes is determination (the rest comes after).

One experience that Canada shared in the videos was that he remembered the day his mom told him that Superman was not real. Even though he was living in poverty and violence, finding out that Superman wasn't real was scarier than anything else. It was a terrifying moment because he then realized that nobody was coming to save him. He lost hope that there was a way out of what he was living in. How sad! I want to change that, so children aren't loosing hope but being able to see that there is away out and that they are in control of their destiny.

Week 10

Teaching Writing and Assessments

I found the section on aiming for fluency in Writing Essentials full of useful ideas. If we expect our students to become fluent writers then they must practice, practice, practice. In the classes that I have observed many of them use free writes everyday. The student’s benefit from these exercises, you can see the growth by keeping samples of their writing. I like the prompted writing too because I think for certain students, they can’t think outside of the box and being prompted allows them to think about different subjects (or styles of writing). Obviously students will do better on tests when they are not surprised with content so making sure they are writing everyday is a great idea.

As far as testing students, I think that as long as students are prepared and know what is coming they are more likely to succeed. For assessing students I also like the idea of having students assess themselves. I have seen this in a few classrooms and notice that students are usually brutally honest about what they are doing right or wrong. Having students assess their own work opens up communication between the student and the teacher. It helps the student focus on certain aspects of their work that they need to improve or get help on.

Week 8

Week 8

This weeks reading is going hand in hand with my dyad placement. Our sixth grade class has been working on different genres in reading and writing. The class started reading memoirs and then experienced writing a memoir. Now they have moved on to mysteries and they have a writing activity that goes along with this genre also. I found the framework for teaching writing genres on page 196 of Writing Essentials very useful. I like the idea of finding out what the students know about the different genres and then you could pick a few different types to focus on. The students definitely benefit from being able to read actual books that reflect the genre being talked about. It allows them to see different approaches to the literature.

On page 200, Routman talks about letter writing and how there is no substitute for an actual letter. With the internet being more prevalent these days students are more likely to know how to send a letter via email and not through the good old fashioned post office. I remember in high school we had a lesson on letter writing. Every student was to think of a business that they liked (Nike, GAP, etc.), we then wrote the business a letter saying what we like about their clothes, or products that they made. It was a fun way to learn the importance of letter writing. In fact, many of the students in the class received letters back from the company with either gift certificates or coupons for their store.

In both of the situations that I talked about above, there has been an introduction done by the teacher. On page 222, Routman talks about doing a shared writing to engage students and also show students what is expected of them. This ties back to the optimal learning model. Once the writing has begun, then I like the idea of students conferencing with each other and helping edit each others work.