Just around the corner

Phew. I have a couple of days rest between visitors and I finally have the chance to hop online and catch up on all the posts I've missed!  I have truly enjoyed my slightly hectic summer so far and it is nice to be forced to not think about school and work!  Instead, I have enjoyed the beauty of Washington!

As soon as my guests left, my mind switched back to school.  I have taken on a lot of additional responsibilities this year, aside from the typical "back-to-school stuff," and I am beginning to realize that August/school is just around the corner!  I was reading this list of 21 Things that Will be Obsolete by 2020 and I started to get even more anxious! Number 15 is Paid/Outsourced Professional Development.  My district has taken the leap toward trusting teachers to run professional development for the district and guess whose team was asked to be the first guinea pigs!  I truly view it as an honor that the district I work for trusts my skills and the skills of my teammates to ask us to lead a professional development day for all 3-5th grade elementary teachers in the district.  I was so excited when we started talking about the possibility in April.  Now, now that the date is set and is less than a month away, I am beginning to question my common sense!  I can't believe that I agreed to lead a workshop on August 21st- less than a week before school starts!!  You know, despite the stress that I will certainly feel, I am still very flattered that I get this opportunity and I just hope that my peers treat me and my team well!  We are leading a day on interventions and how to use data to form your intervention.  It should be a productive day with plenty of time for teachers to work with their own data.  I know that no matter how fantastic we will still get negative reviews, but I will need to brush them off and know that I did my best and my team and I have the best interests of the students at heart!

Expect an update sometime this week on A Courage to Teach.  I am almost finished and it has been a fantastic read.  It is one of those books that you read slowly so that you can stop and reflect/remember the amazing words on the page! Looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you.

I'm baaaaaaack!!!

It feels so good to be home and I can't wait to sleep in- in my own bed tomorrow!  I have learned SO much in the last five days.  I can't believe how much information was packed into five short days!  For those of you who don't know, I spent the last five days in Portland, OR studying with the brilliant Anita Archer and preparing myself to be a district trainer in Explicit Instruction (her new book).  I will probably post a couple of things throughout the year- but I am technically not supposed to give away too much information- otherwise you wouldn't need a trainer!  I did want to share some "Archerisms" right away and as I practice my own instructional skills throughout the year I am hoping to post with video and talk about all that I learned!

Easy to remember classroom "Archerisms"

• Easy lesson design: I do it, We do it, You do it
• While monitoring practice: Walk Around, Look Around, Talk Around
• Regarding management: Avoid the void for they will fill it!
• Regarding management (especially for recess/cafeteria): Scan, predict and move toward
• Teach with passion, manage with compassion

That's it for now! Here I am with Anita at her house for a cocktail reception.  Some people think we look alike!  I would love to be as knowledgeable as she is one day- I'm on my way!

More from Daily 5!

I have heard some people say that the structure of Daily 5 doesn't allow for direct instruction.  This opinion has always interested me- especially because I am leaving tomorrow for a workshop with Anita Archer (the master of explicit instruction).  I can see the benefits of direct, explicit instruction and I can see the benefit of giving students the time to practice reading.  Gail and Joan actually addressed this concern during the workshop and I was so glad that they did!

The typical structure of Daily 5 could look like:

7-10 minute lesson (direct instruction)
20-30 minute rotation
7- 10 minute lesson (direct instruction)
20-30 minute rotation
7-10 minute lesson (direct instruction)
20-30 minute rotation
7-10 minute lesson (direct instruction)

That is 4 separate times throughout the day where the teacher is directly instructing students on reading strategies.  In other words, 20% of the day is direct instruction while 80% of the day students are practicing reading.  For me, this makes sense.  Have you heard of the 10,000 hour rule?  This idea comes from Malcolm Gladwell and his book Outliers.  Basically, it means that experts become experts because they practice more than other people.  Specifically, "experts" practice a skill for around 10,000 hours.  Don't we want our kiddos to become expert readers?  I know that my students don't always have opportunities to read at home.  Their house might not be a safe place, they might not have access to books or they might be moving from place to place each night and can't keep track of books.  If I want to close the achievement gap and I want my students to be able to have the same opportunities as any other child their age, then I need to give them the time to practice at school!

My plan for the upcoming school year is to implement the structure of Daily 5 during my 90 minute reading block.  We do ability group our students (which I know is a "no-no" according to the sisters) and that has worked for my team and I in the past.  During my block I will hold 4 7-minute mini lessons and 3 20-minute Daily 5 rotations.  The students don't have to do each option every day.  In fact, read to self and work on writing will be 2 required rotations each day.  The third rotation will be their choice.  They will also be able to choose which order they complete their rotations.

Okay, now on to thinking how I am going to integrate the content areas into my literacy block...

See you in a week! Wish me luck with Anita Archer! :)

Daily 5 Conference

I survived the last day of school!  All of my kiddos are deeply into their second day of summer vacation and I just wrapped up the Daily 5 and Cafe training that I was fortunate enough to attend.  You might not believe that I get to go to so many conferences.  I know that not everyone is as lucky as me, but look- that's me in the scarf (in June- I live in the pnw) with my teammates and the sisters!

The workshop was DELIGHTFUL.  The sisters have such a wonderful rapport and presence that I can honestly say I was engaged 90% of the time (which isn't true for many workshops I've attended).  I have been a newbie on the daily 5/ cafe train and was so excited to learn from the masters and they didn't disappoint! In fact, I learned so much that I will probably stretch out all of the information into manageable chunks over multiple posts...the sisters taught me that!

My first reflection and "a-ha" of the workshop was on engagement and motivation.  The sisters highly recommended this book: In a Reading State of Mind by Fisher, Frey, Lapp

From their research they noted that students are motivated to read when:

• They have access to a wide range of materials
• We (as teachers) trust them enough to choose what they want to read
• They are given ample opportunities to engage in sustained reading
• They are allowed to socially interact with others about the text
• Classroom incentives reflect the value and importance of reading

Well, duh!  As I was sitting there listening to this I couldn't help but think about my own experience with reading especially in regards to the social interaction.  I obviously crave that social interaction otherwise I wouldn't be writing this blog!  How do you cultivate that love of reading if you don't allow your kiddos to talk with each other about books!  I have seen a couple of different ways to do this and I recently pinned an adorable book recommendation chart on Pinterest.  I am thinking about making our book recommendations a little bigger this year and I am curious to know what y'all think! 

My students in the past have written their own blogs.  I use the host site at www.weebly.com and it is free to use and you can sign up students for their own account while you still have administrative access over it.  In the past, I would give them a topic to write about and they would go to the computer and write about it.  Their friends could go to their site and leave comments as well as parents or other family members who knew the web address.  I am thinking that next year I will have the kiddos add a book recommendation page on to their blog.  They can write a review of the book they are reading.  Family and friends can read it and leave comments.  I was also thinking that just like many of us do- the students can leave comments on friends blogs telling them to check out a book review they just wrote because they know their friend will love it.

My wheels are spinning! I learned so much.  If you have the opportunity to check out the 2 Sisters, I highly recommend it!

Summer Reading List

I couldn't help but join the other fabulous bloggers at Clutter Free Classroom in their Summer Reading List Linky party!  Go check them out and join up yourself- it's painless :)



This is my summer reading list!

There are a TON of school books in there...normally I don't like to be tied down during the summer but this summer I am making an exception!  

I have the opportunity to spend the last week of June training with Anita Archer- so Explicit Instruction will be the first book that I read this summer.

Jonathan Kozol is a favorite of mine and I have been re-reading Letters to A Young Teacher bit by bit throughout this school year.  I will finish it during the summer though- so it counts as a summer read!

When Teaching Gets Tough was passed out by my principal with the expectation that we would read it this summer.  I know nothing about this book- it doesn't even have any amazon reviews! So, if you know about this book, leave me a comment! :)

I have wanted to read The Courage to Teach for a while and I am thinking that this summer will be my year.  "This book is for teachers who have good days and bad — and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes only from something one loves. It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts, because they love learners, learning, and the teaching life." — Parker J. Palmer [from the Introduction]

The other three are on my "if I get the chance" summer reading list.  I have them and I want to read them but, like I said, I don't like to be tied down in the summer!

Here is what I probably will read instead

I LOVE Terry Pratchett and I am a bit of a nerd about it.  After our wedding my husband and I had to drive the 36 + hours from Michigan to Washington and we listened to me- reading Terry Pratchett out-loud- the WHOLE trip! :)  It is one of my favorite memories and every summer I add at least another Terry Pratchett book to my repertoire.  There are a TON of them so it isn't difficult.  Terry Pratchett writes parody fantasy books- as in, the books follow the "rules" of fantasy but he does it in a hilarious way.  He has this whole Discworld collection of books where he invented this whole universe and many of the characters pop up in each others books.  I am terrible at describing Terry Pratchett but if you are looking for something to read that will make you laugh in the vain of Douglas Adams or Neil Gaiman then I highly recommend it! 

Okay- now your turn! Go link up! :)

Peer Observations

So, today was an eye-opening day for me as a teacher.  I had the privilege of observing my teammates as well as the current 2nd grade teachers and a couple of the first grade teachers!

Here is a little video that explains some of the thought process behind peer observations



I need to preface this post by saying that not *everyone* was on-board with the peer observation idea.  In fact, some teachers were shakin' in their boots a lil' bit!  We had to do it on a voluntary basis as well, so some teachers did say that they didn't want me or my third grade teamies to come in and observe them and we were respectful of that.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest :), let me tell you how wonderful it was!  First of all, I spent the morning observing my two teammates.  I have been with one of them for four years and she is a master teacher.  I had the privilege of observing her during my first year of teaching and she has helped me out in so many ways.  It was interesting to see how even though she has taught for 20+ years, she has changed and grown in the 4 years since I last observed her.  It was also funny to see some of the ways that my teaching style has rubbed off on her and vice versa!  My other teammate is a new teacher who subbed for 6 years before finding her forever home.  She is one of the funniest people I have ever met and you can see her personality all over the classroom.  She has a tough group and I was amazed to see how she  dealt with some of the more difficult kiddos with such humor!

Since it is towards the end of the year we decided that we would focus our observations on classroom environment and community.  It took the pressure off of us to create a fancy pants lesson to impress and instead we were just able to be normal!  I would suggest that if you are planning on observing peers and you have someone who might be shy or nervous, find one of the areas of teaching that they are most proud of and decide to focus on that!

Another takeaway I got from this experiment is that teachers WANT to learn from each other and they want constructive feedback.  I had so many meaningful conversations today that I would never have had if I hadn't had the opportunity to see a teacher in their "natural habitat."  I made sure that before I left each room I said thank you and gave some positive feedback to the teacher in that room.  That feedback sparked so many neat- yeah but I really want to improve ______________ conversations that I could have spent a whole day with each teacher!

I was left today feeling so positive about what is happening at my school and feeling like I got so many more ideas from visiting a few classrooms in my building than I would have if I had attended some fancy pants training.  If you ever get the opportunity to learn from the teachers in your own building- take it- it is worth it!

Why I became a Teacher

It is teacher appreciation week! I am excited, even though my school doesn't do anything to celebrate.  I usually like to take time this week to reflect on why I became a teacher.  I thought I would share my journey with you and if you are so moved, I would love to hear all of your paths to teaching!

**Edited to link up with 3-6 Free Resources and their Show Me Sunday Linky!

I come from a family of teachers.  My dad is a vocational arts teacher in a very tough middle/high school just outside of Detroit.  My mom is a preschool teacher. My older brother is a teacher.  I was certain that I would never be a teacher!  I always enjoyed learning and I was an avid baby-sitter when I was young, but  I liked goofing around with kids, and I knew enough from my parents to know that being a teacher didn't have much to do with goofing around!  I also didn't like school very much.  You never would have known it- I tried to keep it a secret- but I didn't like my teachers! I knew that it was rude of me not to like them and I wanted to do well in school, so I pretended.  I wasn't the type to draw pictures for my teachers or bring them little tokens of my affection.  I just came to school, was quiet, did all of my work and was respectful.  I did well through high school and then went to college where I did well but I didn't know what I was going to do when I graduated.  I had my first thoughts of teaching when I was fortunate enough to work in an orphanage in Peru.  Even then, my thoughts were of travel and not teaching so I explored teach abroad opportunities that didn't require a teaching certificate- but it wasn't right for me.

Then I took a job as a nanny.  It was a difficult job for me, not because of the little boy that I was in charge of, but because I struggled in my relationship with his mom.  This little boy was in kindergarten and just going through the process of being diagnosed with autism.  It was a stressful time for his family and since I was the one with him most often, I was the one who received the brunt of the stress.  He definitely had major sensory issues that caused him to lash out at school.  When I first began working for the family,  he went to a private school attending half-day kindergarten.  His teacher used a microphone in the classroom, when she was asked not to use it because of the sensory issues my little guy was having, she refused.  It was disheartening to see how this school and this teacher could so overlook a child that needed her.  I would pick my little guy up from school everyday and everyday I would get the same negative report.  I truly felt like he couldn't do anything right at this school and he and I were both miserable!  After a couple of months at the private school, he was kicked out because he hit the teacher.  It was a sad day for my little guy and his whole family but they decided to send him to the public school near their house and they asked me to attend school with him everyday as a *volunteer* in the classroom.  This is where I first thought seriously about being a teacher.  My little guy had an amazing kindergarten teacher.  She was so accommodating to him- and in allowing me to be in the classroom all day!  He was allowed to stand up and move around when he needed to, he was allowed to complete his work in a marker which felt more comfortable in his hands, she spoke softly to him and didn't get angry or take it personally when he had his meltdowns.  The problem was that even though his teacher was fantastic, the principal and specialist teachers weren't quite so accommodating.  One day when my little guy was in art class (I stayed in the classroom to help the teacher) he had a meltdown.  No one really knows why, but he did.  He ran from the classroom and ran out of the school.  I saw him running and called him back into the building- only to have the principal run out in front of me and grab him in a very forceful way.  Putting your hands on him when he was in that anxious state wasn't the best idea and so he started to try and squirm and pull away.  This only caused her to put him in to full restraint.  I stood there and watched him and I saw the way his teacher was able to stand down the principal and calm down the little guy who was so shaken and upset and I though- I have to do this.  I have to be a teacher.  I have to be there to help all the other little guys/girls that come into my classroom because every child is special and every child needs a little special something to get them through the day.  So now I am a teacher in a high poverty school where I can be the positive spot in a little person's life and I love every minute of it (most of the time)!

*phew* That was a long (and dramatic) post! I would love to hear how everyone else decided to become a teacher- leave a comment or make your own post! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Finally back!

I am finally back home and settled after the conference.  I thought I would have time for posting but I was exhausted! Frankly, I still am exhausted!  I thought I was tired after a day with the kiddos- but this was a new/different type of tired.  I heard some amazing presenters including the delightful Rafe Esquith.  If you haven't read Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire (I haven't yet either) I would recommend it based on his inspirational presentation!  Wow is he dedicated!

I still have to prepare my lesson plans for next week so I am off-

“Never compare one student's test score to another's. Always measure a child's progress against her past performance. There will always be a better reader, mathematician, or baseball player. Our goal is to help each student become as special as she can be as an individual--not to be more special than the kid sitting next to her.”-Rafe Esquith Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire

Met my Idol!

Quick update from the NAESP conference. I had the privilege of meeting Diane Ravitch. She is working hard for teachers!

Excitement!

I am very excited that I get to attend this year's NAESP conference in Seattle.  No- I am not a principal but I get to pretend I am one for three days!

I recognize that not everyone sees the value in these types of conferences.  I get that one argument against this type of thing is that my time might be better spent in the classroom with the kiddos.  I agree with that- to a point.  One of the reasons why I am so excited to go to this (even if I'm not a principal) is that I LOVE to learn.  At a national conference you get to learn from the BEST.  There are so many options for break out sessions that cover a variety of topics.  I will be attending some on RTI, a few on differentiation, a couple on teacher mentors and one on professional learning communities.  Learning new strategies, new techniques and methods helps me to be a better teacher when I am in the classroom.  Isn't it always a good thing to work smarter not harder?

Anyway, I will attempt to blog while I am away but no promises! I am going with a large group from my school, including some of my favorite new teachers- and we are spending three nights in a hotel! I can't imagine what kind of crazy shenanigans we might get up to- hopefully not as crazy as the last overnight conference I went to- but I'll save that for another post!