Claymation

One of my students made this Claymation piece to help share his research on the Bobsled. So cool!

That Workshop Book: Reflection 3

Literary nonfiction, research and sharing that research are huge units of study for both reading and writing in our district (and the state of Ohio) during third grade. Reading nonfiction can be really tricky for many readers- especially young ones. Most times, you are reading nonfiction for purposes different from those when you read fiction (namely, research). Not only are the students asked to comprehend what they are reading but they are expected to share it in an organized, factual, way. It is pretty tricky for most of my students to find their voice and share their research in a literary nonfiction writing piece. What better way to help them find their voice and create quality piece of purposeful work than MENTOR TEXTS!!?? Samantha Bennett really focuses on using mentor text to help scaffold final projects in That Workshop Book (pg. 63). I have created a collection of literary nonfiction books in my classroom that the kids have used to scaffold their research projects on the Olympics. These books have a variety of themes, layouts and ideas for sharing information. "Students learn to write by studying the craft and process of other writers."
Here are some of the books in our literary nonfiction collection:
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre
Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
What is Science by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
This is Your Life Cycle by Heather Lynn Miller
One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab by April Pulley Sayre
On This Spot: An Expedition Back Through Time by Susan E. Goodman
Trout Are Made of Trees by April Pulley Sayre
Animal Dads by Sneed Collard
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston
Unbeatable Beaks by Stephen R. Swinburne
Flight by Robert Burleigh
Home At Last by April Pulley Sayre
Lives: Poems About Famous Americans selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

After sharing some of these stories as mentor text, the kids had lots of different, fun and personal ideas on how they might share their Olympic research. As Samantha says, "It provides a variety of entry points for their own writing" and sharing.

What Should I Read Next?

Now- I know I shouldn't complain but after a long weekend- we have another snow day. Don't get me wrong- teachers love snow days. I just like mine dispersed throughout the winter- not all at one time. I am missing my kids, panicking about the amount of work we have before student led conferences AND I am getting some major cabin fever. However, all these snow days are providing some time for great reading. I tell you about some of the books I have been reading later. Also, I have been catching up on some of my favorite blogs while finding some new interesting blogs. Which brings me to the purpose of this post. While playing on the internet this morning I found a helpful website for book lovers (disclaimer: I have only played it briefly): What Should I Read Next? If you have read a book you really love and aren't sure what to read next- this website provides suggestions!! Let me know what you think!

That Workshop Book: Reflection 2

I would be willing to bet that if you asked most teachers what one of their biggest struggles with their jobs was, a vast majority would say- TIME!! There is never ENOUGH time for professional development, building meetings, teaching all subjects, conferences with students, allowing a study to end naturally, etc. We try to be so thoughtful about which aspects of our learning and our student's learning is most valuable and try to make sure those ideas take precedent (at least we shoot for a good balance). In return, I find that many ideas/beliefs fall through the cracks- not because they aren't important to my students and I- but rather- due to the fact- there is never ENOUGH time. After reading That Workshop Book- I realized that one of the ideas I have always believed in but seems to have lost its space in my classroom- was allowing my students (and myself) time to REFLECT. Samantha Bennett refers to this time as DEBRIEF. Lately, we have made sure to take the time to reflect on our learning and debrief, either as a whole class or individual/group conferences. The possibilities for the focus of this share/debrief time are "endless if you believe that student thinking matters most" (Bennett). The kids are beginning to rely on this time and, in turn, provides them with an additional PURPOSE for their learning. They know they will have the opportunity to check in and share their concerns and celebrations they have experienced with their learning. I have noticed an improvement in motivation and quality of work. I have also noticed, as the teacher, that I am more in-tune with their needs and strengths- it really helps to guide my instruction. As with my Reflection #1 post- another lesson in SLOWING DOWN and making time for what really counts!

That Workshop Book: Reflection 1

I heard about That Workshop Book, by Samantha Bennett, last year from my friend and colleague, Katie (Creative Literacy). It is now a cornerstone in my teaching philosophy. I find myself constantly referring to it in order to re-focus my thinking on reading/writing workshop. When I found out that a local literacy group (Literacy Connection) was offering a course that concentrated on the book- I jumped at the opportunity. For this course, we need to reflect on and share our thinking/teaching from the book. This is my first shared reflection:

I am in the wonderful situation of looping with my students from second to third grade. Due to our long journey together, I often take for granted what they have learned and assume they remember/use what was taught last year. However, I had reason to pause on this thinking during our "Guess Who Will Win the Caldecott" study. I had placed the top 50 "most talked about" Caldecott contenders around the room, asking students to place post it notes throughout the book sharing their likes/dislikes, prediction, etc. On the back of Lion and Mouse (the WINNER), one of my students wrote: "This makes no sense." Oh my goodness- had my third graders forgot all that time we spent on how important pictures are when telling a story back in second grade? Bennett writes: "Workshop is a structure, a routine, a ritual, and a system that helps teachers answer the question 'How do I know?'" She then explains why "teaching as listening" is more important than the traditional "teaching as talking." I was not listening to my students on this topic prior to READing this post-it. I had kept "talking", teaching new mini-lessons, without taking the time to ask "how do I know" they remember/are using what was learned in the past. I listened when I saw that post-it note and heard that my students had forgotten the importance of illustrations/pictures. We spent the next couple days studying wordless (or limited word) picture books. They loved revisiting old favorites and the idea of the importance of illustrations. They noticed details in pictures that help them put stories into words. This is a perfect example of the graphic spiral in Samantha's book: it is a straight line with student understanding written on it, wrapped in a coil/spiral that has assessment, planning and instruction on it.

It was refreshing to be reminded that we need to stop and listen before moving forward. It is a great reminder to just SLOW DOWN!!

A Touching Moment

So, Friday appears to be one of those days to either be forgotten or more meaningfully to learn from.  I must conclude that it was far from my best day as a first grade teacher mostly because I had a child who was having a very difficult day and demanded my attention and challenged my direction. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and I am sure he was too.  But we ended the day with a genuine hug and with the agreement that Monday was going to be a new and better day.  As we were lining up to exit for the day, one of my other boys came up to me and asked if he could hold my hand. I must say that his request, gratefully granted, made my day.  Whether he sensitively felt the angst of the day related to the conflict with my first little guy, or he wanted to assure me that all was well in his corner of the world, I cannot know. But what I do know is that he gave me a gift that reassured me that life was OK, and we, with strength and connection, will move forward.  This little boy is a joy who has cautiously, slowly, but assuredly grown more comfortable and relaxed with our classroom family with each passing week. I don’t know if he wanted to hold my hand because he is finally at the point where he feels at home in our room or if it were because he just intuitively knew that his request would be something that I needed and would love. Whatever the reason may be, he made my Friday wonderful.  He gently but powerfully confirmed that even on days that are very hard and depleting, he reminded me that no matter what, we are all joined together as a school family and will be here for one another. 

Binky the Space Cat

Haha. My fellow cat lover and friend, Cathy, just shared a new graphic novel with me- Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires. It is a silly story full of cat humor but I am confident even those not so fond of cats will chuckle a few times while reading. According to Binky- he is a space cat. In reality, he is a house cat that has never stepped paw outside of the house. However, he is determined to protect his humans from the aliens (aka houseflies). He secretly makes plans to go to Outer Space to destroy the enemies. However, at the last minute he remembers that he has forgotten something really important. This is the first in a new graphic novel series. I can't wait to read more about this fun character!