Stenhouse Books I Can't Wait to Read

I always love hearing about new resources from Heinemann and Stenhouse. Yesterday I ordered Alfred Tatum's Reading for Their Life after receiving a promotional email from Heinemann about it.



This weekend I got the fall catalogue from Stenhouse, and these are the books I can't wait to read:

*Mark Overmeyer's What Student Writing Teaches Us (I also got a flier yesterday that also mentioned his book When Writing Workshop Isn't Working. I can't wait to read it either.)
I have wanted to read this one since his blog tour this summer. Just as I loved Anderson's ideas, I can't wait to read Overmeyer's full books. They reference each other and seem to have complementing viewpoints. Insights from both will strengthen my workshops.

*Ralph Fletcher's Boy Writers
Ralph Fletcher is what my college professors would have referred to as a "big name" when it comes to workshop. I also love the angle of capturing the attention and igniting a passion for writing in my boy students. I shared a slice of life story from the book with my students this fall and it was an excellent model. I know this resource will also be extremely beneficial to the development and improvement of my first attempt at a workshop model. I already have Fletcher's co-authored Craft Lessons books (fiction and non-fiction).

*Jennifer Allen's Becoming a Literacy Leader, Tools for Teaching Content Literacy, and More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy
After reading Allen's A A Sense of Belonging I can't wait to read more. I love her writing style and it is apparent that she has a strong knowledge base in literacy.

*Janet Allen's Inside Words
In our dual immersion school developing academic language with our middle schoolers is a goal that is moving to the forefront and an essential skills that they must develop in order to be successful in high school and college. My teaching partner and I are both focusing our attention on this need and viewing it as an important part of our philosophy that middle school is a time of transition aiming to provide students with the abilities/skills necessary to be successful in their next phase of education. This book appears that it would give us more thoughts as we consider how to best address this in our middle school programs.

*Amy H. Greene and Glennon Doyle Melton's Test Talk
I always love ideas on how to integrate test preparation in to best practices, rather than addressing the issue through formulaic, isolated means.

*Matt Copeland's Socratic Circles
This one has been on my to-read list for quite a while. One day I will finally get it...

*Patrick A. Allen's Conferring
Coming in November, this book will be so helpful as I am doing a reading workshop model for the first time this year. Conferring is one of the areas where I would like to dig deeper as I develop reading and writing workshops. I know that this is an area where I can still improve a lot and it is essential for a successful workshop.

*Steven L. Layne's Igniting a Passion for Reading
Expected in December, I can never resist a book aimed at creating life long readers and a culture of reading.

Reading Workshop Reflections

We are now five weeks into the year and just wrapped up our fall conferences. The first quarter has been flying by. Last week I finished up administering QRIs in English and Rigby running records in Spanish (for those who were still within the level range available for the assessment). This weekend I have been able to analyze my data and decide my students' strengths and needs as I transition from setting up expectations and administering assessments to small group instruction and one on one conferring.

I have also been reflecting on the CAFE Menu in general. For my middle schoolers who are already reading above grade level, I am planning on having them participate solely in book clubs and independent reading. At this point, I do not think that it is necessary to provide CAFE Menu strategy lessons because they are already comprehending what they read and utilizing many of the skills. Up to this point they have been getting exposure to the concepts through our whole class lessons.

However, over the last couple of weeks I have been reflecting on how it is hard to fit in all the components that I thoughtfully considered as I was developing my literacy block this summer. This weekend an idea popped into my mind that maybe I do not need to do the whole class CAFE lessons. It may be better to use them solely in small group settings, as needed. Yet, I am not completely sold on this concept because I also like the idea of all students in my room getting exposed to the different areas. As it is, I already narrowed down the items on the menu. I kept all of the comprehension strategies, but I reserved some of the items to only use on an as needed basis in small group meetings. For example, many students are at the stage as readers that they do not need as much support in accuracy. They have already developed these skills as readers.

Initially I am planning on cutting back on my whole class lessons, which will make more time available for work in their reader's notebook using Buckner's ideas. The time will also be utilized to extend the independent reading/small group instruction time on some days. I will also be able to dedicate more time to much needed book talks, an area that has been scheduled in but then often skipped over when there was not enough time to do everything. I know making book talks, a hallmark of reader's workshop, a priority is essential. I can't continue to skip over them in my lessons.

Whereas, The CAFE Menu concepts will be essential for my students who still need assistance with comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expanding vocabulary, established students have different needs. With book clubs I will make sure that they continue to utilize strategies to comprehend more challenging texts. Some of my students have expressed interest in classics, such as Jane Austen and Shakespeare, but they are not accessible for them to read on their own. I may integrate some of these books into their book clubs later on this year, so that that they will challenge themselves as readers with the support of their peers and an adult.

I am excited to start this new phase of beginning small group instruction. I am comfortable with the goals that I have for each of my students and the groupings. The area where I need to closely monitor and adjust is during Spanish weeks. It was easy to group my 7th graders according to need because I know about them as readers from last year. A large portion of my 6th graders are beyond the scope of the Rigby assessments we have, and I have not had a chance to really get to know them as readers in Spanish yet.

Getting a better grasp on my new students' Spanish literacy needs and continuing to adjust and adapt the components of my reading block to best utilize the available time will be my primary goals over the next few weeks. I will also have to keep a close eye on making sure that the expectations for independent reading time continue to be apparent as there is a chance for a higher level of distractions with the noise generated from small group instruction.

The importance of analyzing literacy data and utilizing it to guide instruction is one of the threads on the discussion group about Jennifer Allen's new book A Sense of Belonging.

Monday Musings

Today I noticed Ruth's Monday Musings, and pretty soon after Shelly had her post up as well. Here goes my musings for the day:

*Today I was complemented on my lesson preparation. I am still trying to balance feeling prepared with spending too much time in my classroom on the weekends. I always keep on thinking if I just spend one more extra day in the classroom I will be set up for the year on another area. While this is true it seems like another new area of need pops up to press me to wanting to spend another "just one more day". It always feels so good to get one more level of organization in place or to feel just a little bit more prepared on a unit. Eventually additional time in my current position and classroom should lead me toward the pay off when I will have many pieces established that I am still working out now.

*I am so grateful to have a grade level teaching partner this year. This is the first chance that I have ever been able to really work closely with a teaching team. It has been so nice, and I could not have asked for a better fit. Best of all we are able to laugh together a lot, whether it is to share celebrations or to work through our challenges with humor.

*Today I realized that I don't have to keep moving through a news writing genre study that I had started with my 6th and 7th graders. Instead I am going to take a couple of steps back to better establish the workshop model and what it should look and sound like. I am using ideas from Ruth's post to create classroom blog posts and classroom charts on the process. We will still continue along with the genre study, just at an altered time-line. Even though it is always hard to decide whether to pause and take a step back or to keep moving along, in this case I think it will be well worth it. In addition, I have my reflective notes written down so that next year I will remember to add in this pieces in my yearly outline and have a smoother start to begin with. My students also started to work on their heart mapping today. I had wanted to do this for a long time but somehow forgot. Last week I ran across the idea and emailed myself a reminder to add it into my agenda. However, I will be using it to inspire any type of writing, rather than just poetry (as in Heard's book).

*Yesterday while at school I remembered to check out Nancie Atwell's video. What a special treat! She has always been so inspiring. Today I was reflecting on how much I try to fit into my day. Every piece is "essential", closely aligned with my philosophy of best practice, but I may need to incorporate some pieces on alternating days because there is not quite enough time in the day to incorporate it all.

*I loved my first TCI lesson in social studies. We started out with a geography challenge, which was a perfect follow-up to our start of the year geography intro on a world-wide scale. Now students are zeroing in on the specific geographic area that we will be studying. It was fun to see the level of interaction that the program incorporates. I can't wait to teach more of the lessons, but know that it will require more planning on Spanish weeks since not all of the materials are available in both languages. It will be one of my favorite parts of English weeks though.

*I am still trying to balance out the best way to have my environmental print fully reflect the language of the week, while also being time efficient. That is enough to be its full own post though.

Update

The year is flying by. This week we will already have our fall conferences. Granted they are earlier than usual, I am still shocked the time is here.

Today I went into my classroom, and it felt great to have a very productive afternoon. I was able to do some minor adjustments in my room that I have wanted to do for a while but have not gotten to with the end of the day rush during the regular week. For example, I turned my desk slightly so that it is at an angle rather than straight. I have been administering running records at my desk this year, and it has been working out really well. However, I wanted to have my desk at an angle so it would be a little bit more confidential.

Another mini make-over was cleaning out one of my new cupboards in the back corner and turning the cupboard and shelf above it into my word study station. I have all of my supplies in one place, and it will run much smoother and feel less chaotic. This year I am trying to manage more different groups than last year, and I have not had a regular 5 day English week yet since I implemented the different groups, so it is even more hectic trying to make the multiple groups work on less days. However, tomorrow will start the second week on the rotation, and I have high hopes that the reorganization as well as deciding to do a second group during writer's workshop when necessary will make all the difference.

Reading workshop is going the smoothest out of all the components in my classroom. Today I was reflecting that it should not surprise me since reading is the area where I feel the most comfortable, have the most background, and was able to set up most of the foundation for what I am doing now in previous years. It feels like this is going to be the celebration year when everything clicks together.

While not as smooth as reading workshop, writing workshop is also going well. There are many areas that I am adjusting and reflecting on, but I realized that this is the first year that I have really implemented a full on writer's workshop. Last year I attempted, but it was more of bits and pieces without having it be a consistent presence. Thus, there are some kinks along the way as I find myself making more notes about what I should have done to make the process run smoother. Nonetheless, the fact that I am able to get the workshop up and running and know that it will be a constant component in the classroom is reason enough to feel a sense of accomplishment. Each year it will just get better.

This week I received a curriculum kit from Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI) for social studies. I first heard about the program in Sarah Cooper's Making History Mine. Originally I was not going to have a commercially prepared program, but I met with my director to express my concerns of having a hard time finding sufficient resources to address the concepts on our 7th grade curriculum map (such as medieval Europe and the renaissance). I was thrilled to received the materials, and I am so excited to start using them tomorrow. I have heard feedback from a few different people saying that the curriculum changed them as teacher. I am most excited about all of the interactive activities and that they have an interactive notebook, so it will be perfect since this year is my first attempt at using INs. I will still continue to have students create pages in our class created INs, rather than switching to the program INs because I like the idea of still creating our own to specifically meet the needs of our classroom. However, I will use many of the ideas from TCI.

Today I was also able to program some more classroom blog posts. My projector has not arrived yet, and I will not really use the blog on a consistent basis until I am able to show it to students on the Smart Board, but it still feels good to start getting different posts up, beginning to establish a valuable resource for my students.

Whew! A month into the year I am still caught up in a whirlwind of activity. However, little by little I am getting more pieces in place, and with each piece an overall better sense of calmness. I still have not been able to cut out weekends, but I am hoping to do so shortly or to limit myself to a few hours.

Student Choice

At the start of the school year there was a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about a The New York Times article about reading and student choice. Today I received the flier shown in the image via email, and it was interesting to see so many great minds on one discussion post. It was almost intimidating to put my own thoughts since everyone else was a published author. For some reason Nancie Atwell's video is not working properly on my computer, but I can't wait to get to a computer where it does. I love how technology is opening up opportunities to fill the need for discussions with a wide range of educators from various perspectives.

A Sense of Belonging - The Teaching Side

Yesterday I posted about all I learned from A Sense of Belonging from a mentor angle, and tonight I will discuss what I gained from the book as a teacher. Aside from making me reflect on my teaching journey, it also made me consider additional ways that I can improve my classroom.

A key concept that Allen expressed was the importance of data and appropriate use. This comes at a perfect time as our school has been heavily reevaluating the way we collect and utilize data. We have been really excited about all the ways that we have been able to improve based on a heightened awareness for what data can show us about our students and to guide our instruction. Allen stated, "The reality was that it takes years to learn to read assessment data and know what it means for instruction and that you can confer with kids one on one only if your classroom routines and management are firmly in place" (34). Lucky for the teachers at Allen's new school, they receive a lot of support in both areas. Another comment that I noted in my book was her comments that assessments are to gain information about students, so at times we may do something that is not exactly as the directions indicate in order to meet our purpose of seeing the fullest picture of our students possible (41). Later in the book Allen dedicates a chapter to further emphasize the necessity of on-going, consistent data (92-104).

This year as I am beginning my first venture into classroom blogging, I was excited to see the idea that one of the teachers at Allen's school networked with college students who contributed frequent comments throughout the year (61). Ruth at Two Writing Teachers recently mentioned how comments fuel writers, and this is an excellent opportunity to motivate our young writers. It would also provide a great model from someone other than the teacher of quality feedback. Last year many local college students participated in a reading buddy after school program with our students. I am sure that I could find some students that would be willing to interact with my class in this way once I get the student component going. It would even be a convenient experience for them because the hours would be flexible and whenever it was convenient for them.

Another way that Allen supported the same teacher was by reviewing one of her rubrics (61). That reminded me that I should have our new instructional coach review my workshop rubrics. When we discussed my goals at the beginning of the year I mentioned the direction I was going, but I was still processing it myself. Now that I have a working document it would be beneficial to have feedback in case I have overlooked something.

When discussing introduction of new resources, Allen provides a list of resources they have provided staff before with examples of how teachers have utilized them (69). I made reflective notes all over this page to remind myself to revisit these ideas and to note ways that I could utilize them in my classroom.

Allen also referenced Ralph Fletcher's "Dude, Listen to This!" frequently, and it is now on my list of resources to look into along with his book Boy Writers. (I am even more excited to read Boy Writers because last week the on-line preview of the book popped up as an example of Slice of Life writing. I shared the excellent example with my students, and I will do a separate post later about the positive impact it had.) I also loved a couple examples of implementing status of the class into workshop because I had just been revisiting this concept and she showed it from a different angle, opening up more possibilities (87-90).

Finally, I also loved the emphasis on being a reflective teacher. Allen said, "it's easy to miss some of the long-range plans and needs if you don't have regular times in which you stop, reflect, and look at the year as a whole" (107). At the start of this year I started a word document for both reading and writing workshop where I was going to reflect daily. However, it has been hard to keep up with, so I decided to switch to a weekly recap and reflection. Not only is it going to help me stay centered this year and to remind myself to integrate reteaching into my lessons when necessary, as well as ways to improve the next time I teach similar lessons. Previously I wrote reflections on individual lesson plans and left put them in a binder, but this method will be more accessible.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Allen's book to reflect on myself as a teacher, as well as to evaluate how I can contribute the strong sense of collegiality at my school by being conscious of how to best mentor when asked for suggestions. I am looking forward to the book discussion starting this week.

A Sense of Belonging - The Mentor Side

I started reading Jennifer Allen's A Sense of Belonging: Sustaining and Retaining New Teachers with the mindset of learning ideas on how to best support new teachers, but quickly realized that I would be reading it through two lenses. I gained just as much about supporting other teachers as I did for ideas in my own classroom through her specific examples. I will do a post for each side.

AS A MENTOR

I am not currently in an official mentoring position, but in our small school we have frequent collaboration and time to discuss what we are doing in our classrooms. I imagine that throughout the year every member on our small staff, new or old, will feel that they are mentoring other colleagues in one way or another. Even in a casual mentoring role, Allen's suggestions are very beneficial. As Allen mentions, "I see it as our job as educators to support one another and create learning environments that will nurture and support new teachers" (131). I will definitely revisit Allen's book from time to time to evaluate how I am doing in supporting other teachers, especially if I eventually move into an official mentoring position.

Throughout the text some common mentoring themes emerge, which stuck with me as important components to my personal emerging mentoring philosophy. I will put some specific places where she mentioned these concepts in parenthesis, but there are many other locations in the book where the concepts emerge.

*The importance of listening and facilitating reflection (4, 70, 77)

Over and over Allen discusses the importance of time - time to process information, time to think through practices, time to talk with colleagues... Her school implements many components that demonstrate a value of time in order to support new teachers.

*Recognizing that teachers need multiple exposure to topics (33, 86, 105)

I enjoyed her comments in this area because it helped me reflect on my own teaching journey, and realize that what I have experienced is common for teachers. Allen reflects on first learning about reading inventories, "I am sure the literacy specialist tried to explain to me all that I could learn about a student through the assessment, but all I heard and took in were the literal directions on how to administer it" (33). In my own experience I have often thought about how something finally clicks after hearing it multiple times once I hear it at the right phase of my teaching career. Now, when colleagues ask me about how I do certain components in my room, I have to remember to give suggestions based on what is feasible to implement as a first step in order to make sure that the implementation will be successful, rather than overwhelming. I appreciate how Allen brought up many times that it takes years to get a firm grasp on all the pieces of classroom instruction. I have definitely noticed this in my process and it was nice to have that validated.

*Provide resources and options, but let teachers make the decisions for their own classrooms, and always remember that there is not just one right way (51, 106).

Allen stated, "I try to work within the learning environment that the teacher has established" (51). Thinking back to all of my excellent education mentors, this has been a common quality. Our new instructional coach met with each teacher individually for teachers to discuss their own personal goals. I appreciated this approach. Last year when we started doing professional development on data as a full staff, our facilitator always looked at her trainings and suggestions through the perspective of our school culture rather than having a one-size fits all approach, and we all appreciated that effort. We quickly gained an added level of respect and excitement for what she had to offer us because of this mindset. Allen reaffirmed the importance of keeping this in mind.

*Being respectful with suggestions (both for the teacher that you are directly mentoring and for other staff in the building).

One of the core philosophies at our school is integrity. Allen highlights the necessity of being a good colleague in her book as well. She references a quote by Dorothy Neville, "The real art of conversation is not only to say the right ting at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment" (55). Allen said that at times she needed to hold back from expressing some of her opinions in order for teachers to evaluate their own effectiveness (56).

Allen's books gives a comprehensive overview of an example of a very thorough teacher support framework. It shows what it looks like for teachers in their first year and how that support changes in successive years.

***Right now there is an on-line book discussion. Find details here and the discussion here.