Sharon Doyle - March/April - The Final Post

     As I selected the topic for my final post for this course, it seemed to end where I began.  Earlier, I wrote from Debbie Miller's Is There Enough Time?.  To end, I looked to Routman in Chapter 12, You Only Have So Much Time.  I clearly see the word 'time' as a four-letter word.  I have yet to find a single teacher as we approach the final nine weeks of the year facing so many interruptions with testing, holidays, and general spring and summer fever, looking for additional curriculum at their grade level because all has been taught.  Instead, March Madness to me is equated with high anxiety, stress, and a general mood that describes one of guarded desperation.

    Routman brings me back to a more centered approach while I can almost hear her yelling, "Take a breath, people!"  She brings me back to those strategies that I know work: use your experience to plan well and embrace the craziness in your plans, remember to think about your goals and the necessities within the curriculum, ask yourself frequently 'why' and if you can't answer this with integrity, move on.  Also, at this time of year, it is important for students to feel satisfaction and success.  We don't want them to give up now, this is a critical time for them to feel empowered.  Engagement and encouragement sprinkled with genuine fun will go so much further than complicated skill and drill activities.  Students also need a sense of closure and recognition of just what they have accomplished.  Reviews that look like games that demonstrate to students a visible measure of what they have accomplished and recognition of what they may not have yet truly mastered provides the teacher and students with valuable information for this time of year. 

     Sometimes, I must remind myself that it is me, not them that has become fatigued.  As each assignment, checklist, and job bombards me, I become less capable of handling the mess.  Routman reminds us that when students are in the room, make every minute count.  This is a time to revisit the lesson plans, assess what has been accomplished and what is needed to lead them into the new year and close this year with a feeling of accomplishment.  This is also a time to evaluate, not so much the students, we know there is enough of that already required, but ourselves.  This is a time I ask my students how I have done for them.  Do they feel that I as a teacher have provided them the support they needed.  At the beginning of the year, I chart with students their expectations through interest surveys for me as their teacher.  I remind them of these ideas and we take a pulse of which have been fulfilled and what is left.  I also ask them if they as students have met their commitments to the class.  I find that this helps students to refocus as to why they are in the classroom and find it easier to maintain attention to the very end. 

      Finally, Routman reminds us of the need to maintain and create structure to maximize participation.  This time of year, we must structure every moment or our students fill the moments with their most creative ideas, not necessarily productive, but definitely creative.  Varying group dynamics with individual, small group, and whole group activities provides variety and interest.  Rubrics that are given at the beginning of the lesson help students maintain focus and holds students accountable.  Assessments that help me recognize 'strugglers' are also important allowing me to provide additional support for students who may not necessarily feel successful.  I want students to leave the year feeling successful and as stated earlier 'time' is the dreaded constant.

Rhonda Dickerson- March-April Blog

March-April Blog

Routman- Chapter 8- Teach Comprehension

This chapter nails it!  So many of my students can read with automaticity- they know every single word- yet they cannot tell very much about the story.  They have a difficult time sharing the main idea, giving a concise summary, discussing why the characters behave as they do, and discovering what the author’s purpose is.  I appreciate the “Try It, Apply It” sections in the chapter.  There are some excellent ideas to aim for in the classroom.

I agree 100% with the list of strategies teachers consider most important for helping them understand as they read.  I would have listed reread as my number one strategy.  “Trust what we do as a reader to guide our teaching.”  The research-based strategies do not dominate the list.  Then why do we spend most of our time on these?  Do we follow the research or go with our gut? 

When I conference with students, I encourage them to reread.  This, however, is not their favorite thing to do!  I hear comments like this: “Why should I read it again?  I already read it!”   I need to model this more when I read aloud to them or with them individually during conference time.  I must make this strategy more visible in the classroom.   I should show them that even adults go back and reread to make sense of text.  I am guilty of reading an entire page and then realizing I did not comprehend a single thing. My strategy- go back and read it again.  They have to understand this is okay to do.

The three simple, yet powerful self-monitoring questions on page 125 need to be in every student’s toolbox.  I am constantly telling them to ask themselves if it makes sense.  If it does not, stop and go back.  I love “Does this sound like language?”  as many will just insert a word that begins with the given letter and keep right on reading! I will add this one to my list!  When I meet with a student and he/she is already into the book, I will ask them to summarize or tell me what has happened so far.  This helps me assess if the student comprehends the text.  Many will show me pictures on the pages and jump to their favorite parts, while others like to start back at the beginning.  We are working on summarizing and focusing on the most important details. 

I appreciate that Routman included a section on keeping fluency in perspective.  Let’s don’t just call words- let’s understand what we read as we read fluently.  Just because a student can read an appropriate numbers of words per minute does not mean he/she comprehends the text. 

Perfect practice makes perfect reading.  It is, indeed, important to strategically teach strategies so the students eventually make them an invisible part of their personal reading.

Anderson's March/April Blog Post

Routman's Chapter 8: Emphasize Share Reading

This chapter was a little bit of a tug of war with the educator inside of me. Throughout the reading I found a few things in particular that really caught my attention. First, that shared reading should especially be done starting in second grade...pause for thought. When I taught second grade we used the Basal reader and had essentially a shared reading time every day - maybe some of the questions weren't structured the same way as the questions in the examples that Routman shared, or the lesson itself wasn't as diverse as those that were given as examples; however reading the same text while students had copies, me reading and them following along, stopping periodically and asking questions then doing some sort of follow up with the text after the story was always part of my daily lessons in second grade.

In kindergarten things are quite different though. When I continued reading I came across Routman's ideas for kindergarten: that they should primarily be rereading new, familiar, and favorite texts, using big books, maybe even a pointer to track reading, then follow this time with guided reading or independent reading. When imagining this in action I can't help but reflect on when I was in Kindergarten - my teacher with a Little Miss Muffet poem written on chart paper with homemade puppets, a star pointer, and a craft that followed. Not to offend my amazing kindergarten teacher but wow, how things changed. With expectations what they are now, and the resources that are available: it is possible for students to have a copy of a text (I don't have student copies of many texts however I do know they exist for Kindergarten), teachers to have a big book, and for so many more skills to be taught during this time. But that tug of war is still taking place...we are working so hard to individualize instruction that it seems we have moved away from whole group shared reading - but to guided reading, small group reading programs, and even push-in/pull-out programs that help students with reading skills. With how busy we are, how can we possibly do guided reading, shared reading, and independent reading daily?

I do love shared reading time, I do read alouds daily (unless this time is otherwise interrupted), and my students love being read to. There are so many skills you can reach through a good read aloud, as well as observations that you can make to help assess students' needs. I enjoyed reading through several of the examples Routman had in her book about what her shared reading time looked like in the upper grades - I would have liked to see her dialog and a more detailed layout of what her lesson would have looked like with Kindergarten to see how closely my read alouds (without group texts or big books) are to her shared reading times.

This chapter has confirmed that doing all three: guided reading (ReadWell), shared reading (whole group lesson), and independent reading is one of the more reliable ways to ensure that my students are getting the most out of our reading block.

Olivia Boykin Blog Post #6 Routman Chapter 12: You Only Have So Much Time

    “How do we do it all and not work sunrise to sunset every day of the week?  Teachers are burning out and retiring as quickly as they can in our district.”  (A group of K-5 teachers in Colorado p. 201) 

    This quote sums up my feelings almost perfectly.  I don’t feel that there is enough time in the day to do everything I need to do and I’m becoming more and more exhausted, getting less and less completed, and many of my students are still not showing they are retaining and applying the knowledge I thought they had obtained this year.  This book was published in 2003 and, even 13 years ago, Routman stated, “…more keeps getting added – curriculum, standards, mandates, new students, programs, in-service, materials, testing requirements – and that doesn’t include the demands of our own personal lives.”  (p. 202)  When she talks about a teacher declining an evening out because she had papers to grade I thought to myself, “That’s me, and I don’t want to be that person.”  An administrator once said to me, “Maybe you just need to find another career.  Maybe teaching just isn’t for you.”  That cut me to the bone because teaching is all I’ve ever wanted to do.  I know I just need to find a balance and find my happy place again. 

Routman says there are many things we can do during the school day to make our teaching lives easier and more efficient so the students aren’t having to do so much paperwork and we, as teachers, aren’t having to grade so many papers.  That sounds great!  Let’s see, I let my students “turn and talk” in math and science.  During small group time I call on students who don’t volunteer and guide and support their responses.  I make notes on each student’s struggles and comprehension.  I use a timer throughout the day to help keep us on track and to make sure we don’t spend too long on one thing.  I do utilize “student-led groups” (though this is a work in progress and is quite a bit of prep work in itself).  I don’t use my transition times as effectively as I used to, especially for my review in the hallways.  The disrespect and lack of caring has gotten to me and the review isn’t as effective when several people are using that time to giggle, talk, etc.  I suppose I can start the day by letting my students read science texts instead of working on a math review paper, but I just don’t feel I can allow them to have time to read a book of their choice, write a letter to someone, or talk about their reading with someone each morning.  As lovely as that sounds, those minutes count toward math and science in my room and I have no minutes to spare. 

Now, my question is this:  If we just talk about our learning, read about science and social studies, discover new things on our own, practice our math facts and skills, and read, read, read for learning and pleasure (my favorite thing to do, by the way) all the while making notes and talking to the students, where am I going to get grades for the students?  If I based my grades on oral answers to my questions in group discussions and/or on an individual basis I’d have at least double the current number of honor roll students every 9 weeks.  Most of my students can add and subtract if someone is there beside them to encourage them and/or walk them through the steps.  Most of my students will connect the dots when asked orally how landforms and earth changes are related and connected.  Put those same students in front of a piece of paper and ask those same questions and 7 times out of 10 they’ll answer incorrectly.  I’ve been in the situation where a child was graded based on what he could do and that child suffered for it because he couldn’t get extra help because his grades didn’t show he was struggling.  I’ve heard (too many times to count) parents say their children have never had a problem in school before because they’ve always been on the honor roll.  If I grade students based on observations and participation will it save me time grading papers?  Absolutely!  Will it show what they truly know when nobody is there to prompt them?  I truly can’t say it will.  Don’t we, as educators, have to show a range of data in order to have students considered for certain types of help if we see them struggling?  If I don’t have the students complete worksheets that I have to grade, how do I get the data?  Yes, I can start uploading everything to the computer and have the computer grade it for me.  Yes, that will save me time.  Should I spend part of my summer uploading items into itslearning for future years?  What happens when itslearning is no longer utilized?  People say it’s going to take our current students into high school, but so many programs have come and gone just in the 17 years I’ve been teaching that I can’t 100% believe that is true.  Do I feel comfortable putting a subtraction or addition math test on the computer?  Not really.  What about those students who followed the steps but made an error in calculation?  What about those students who wrote a number wrong when they copied the problem from the computer to their paper to work it out to get the answer?  Can the answer chosen tell me why they are struggling with this certain skill?  No, it can’t, so doesn’t that still mean I will have to look at and analyze the papers?  I’m not trying to be Negative Nancy, either!  I really want someone who: is a really good teacher, gets everything done during the school day, and leaves at a decent hour without taking work home to tell me – no, show me – how to do that, too.  I miss my family.  I miss reading books.  I miss sleep.  I miss my friends.  I miss having a life outside of school.         

Heather McCraw: Blog Post #6: Routman Chapter 5 Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

I read the chapter on classroom libraries; how enlightening it was!! When I first started teaching 11 years ago, I never pushed independent reading the way we do today.  I had students keep a reading log for homework each week documenting a set number of weekly minutes spent on at-home reading. I also tried to have a daily drop everything and read time, but this was never a huge success. Independent reading sadly felt like somewhat a waste of my instructional time. L I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to independent reading.

When our classroom libraries recently got enhanced by district allocated funds, I sorted my books into categories and levels. Now after reading this chapter, conviction sets in. I must have it all wrong!!! Last year as I was talking to Melissa Wells about my classroom library, I told her I don’t really like for students to use it. She held her face together in a neutral pose although I’m sure her insides were screaming, “YOU DON’T LIKE STUDENTS TO USE YOUR LIBRARY?!?” My response, “They mess it up.” I had spent my time sorting all the books into exactly the right spots where I wanted them to be and apparently the students didn’t understand this categorization. Routman’s suggestion: let students help you decide how to sort books, and have a “book caring” policy so students know how to take care of the library. Melissa, if you’re reading this, I DO let students use my library now! Thank you for labeling my books so I could release some of that control I had about the classroom library!

Another moment of conviction for me was in reading about forcing kids into levels. We are very strict about keeping kids in their ZPD so they’re growing the most as readers. But according to Routman, this is not really what makes kids grow as readers. Reading books develops comprehension; emphasis on levels probably turns many kids off to reading. Conferences between students and teachers can lead to selecting more appropriate books. Interesting!

Last thing that spoke to me was about having book recommendations so that kids get interested in what to read next. I used to love watching “Reading Rainbow” to see what cool books were recommended each week. Unfortunately I rarely went to the library to check out these recommended titles, however, if my teacher would have had them on hand in her classroom library with the title facing out, those recommended books would have likely been my next selection!

Elizabeth Graham Post 6: Routman's Chapter 6 & 7

As I read Chapters 6 and 7 in Routman's Reading Essentials, I was struck by the concept of "just right" books. As a teacher librarian I am all in favor of student choice for independent reading, but I recognize the reality that many students need help identifying what a "just-right" book is. This is something we talk about during our library classes. For example, our third grade students are reading chapter books and many of them take pride in walking around with the largest chapter book they can find on the shelves. Harry Potter #7 anyone? If the student is ready for this reading challenge, I am all for it. However, if they are not ready and are just imitating the look of a reader, they are wasting their time and giving us never opened books to reshelve. I have worked with our third graders to identify some accessible, high-interest book series, compared text sizes, discussed how some series and books have pictures and cartoons while others are text-heavy, all with the goal of making the students self-sufficient book selectors.

As far as making assessments part of reading, I like the idea of "teaching intentionally". Many times when I am reading a book to a class, I will let them know that at the end of the story I will be asking them a question and that they should pay attention and prepare their answer. For example, with the book, Churchill's Tale of Tails, Churchill the pig has lost his tail and tries on other animal tails to see how he likes them. The question for my students was, "If you could have an animal tail, what kind would you pick and why?" At the end of the story, students shared their choice. This kind of question or prompt helps students pay more attention to the details of the story. It also serves as a mini-assessment and lets me know if students followed the plot line and can make connections and meaning from what they heard.

Blair Wright Blog #6: Emphasize Shared Reading

   According to Routman, shared reading is an under used component in the teaching of reading. Shared reading is mainly used in kindergarten and first grade classrooms and casually fades away about 2nd grade. Routman however, says that it is needed through high school to help promote and demonstrate what good readers do when they read. Shared reading is a way to promote many aspects all at the same time.
   I remember as a child that my teacher used big books. My teacher would read the story to the class, the class would read a long, she would ask questions, introduce new words, etc. All of these are skills that good readers use when they read and she was teaching them to us all at the same time. As students are learning to read for the first time in kindergarten or 1st grade, this is terrific. I can see why it has faded as students get older. However, after reading this chapter I can see the benefits of using shared reading in the upper grades. Shared reading to me is almost as if you are experiencing the book together as a class, so at any age this would be beneficial to their learning.  It also gives many students who do not read on the same level an opportunity to be on an even playing field with the rest of their classmates. It can also help students to make connections with each other as they talk about the text. The chapter also indicated verbiage students and teachers can use when they are thinking out loud or turning and talking which encourages students to focus on the topic at hand and learn from one another. One of the best parts of shared reading is that it can be done with various types of texts, like poems, chapter books, and even nonfiction books. I agree that shared reading is an important component in reading that we cannot leave out.