View the NCTE/IRA vignettes at your level in the pdf standards handbook and then engage in an online discussion group on our class blog.
1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss,
2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and
3) respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group.
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ReplyDeleteThe two vignettes I connected to the most were vignette number 5 and 6.
ReplyDeleteVignette 5
Number 5 dealt with a workshop model for writing. Writing has always been one of my favorite subjects to teach because of the challenge of getting students to grow as writers and to view themselves as authors. I think this vignette deals with a struggle all teachers have when using a workshop model. It is the, “I’m done!” portion of the workshop. How do you get students to understand that revising means to “see with new eyes” and not to fix the punctuation? I believe this vignette was the perfect opportunity to model and successfully guide Katelyn towards this stage as a writer. I have this great fact about how many times Mem Fox revised a draft of her book before it went to print. Of course it now escapes my memory but it is over a hundred drafts. I like to share this fact with my students. It shows how published authors view their work as a process. Sometimes one that takes more than the thirty minutes allotted for independent writing.
As a classroom teacher who used the workshop model I can relate to this vignette because these are the moments you pray for as a teacher and hope you are not to preoccupied with the management of the lesson to miss the opportunity.
So here is the question – How do you get your students to see their work as a process, always changing and evolving?
If I were Katelyn’s teacher I would have used that opportunity for a minilesson. I would have taken out my notebook and shown that small group how to take an idea and rework it into a different genre. If the teacher doesn’t have a notebook handy, she could have used the morning message or another written piece the class had recently composed. Then, challenge that group to do the same with one of their pieces. This may have encouraged Katelyn to do the same. Ask them to share their progress at the end of the workshop.
What do you think? How can we encourage students like Katelyn to listen to their peers, respect their ideas as authors, and be flexible as authors?
Vignette 6
The second vignette that seemed like it could have happened in my own room was number six. This vignette was about Mike’s difficulty selecting a book. “I can’t read. I hate to read. There are no good books here.” I can hear these words echoing off the walls of my classroom. Many of the students whom I work with have a similar outlook on reading. The thought of reading turns their stomach, and they count the minutes until they can get away from me.
So here is the question – How do we encourage reluctant readers to read?
It is a short sentence for a meaty question, but I think it is something we all struggle with daily. As a teacher, I do three things to help encourage my reluctant readers. First I get to know their interests. This helps guide me towards providing books with content that will interest them. Second, I keep an array of genres in my library. Everything from classics to comic books lines my shelves. This helps us find a book that has the right format. Third, I Iet them know that I too struggled with reading until I found a genre that captivated me. Unfortunately, that did not happen until much later in life, and I stress that I don’t want it to happen to them.
As classroom teachers, what do you do? How do you open your students’ eyes to the many types of literature that are available to them? How do you go from finding the books for Mike to giving him the tools to find it himself?
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ReplyDeleteHi Girls!
ReplyDeleteBeth, you connected to the same ones that I did. After reading Vignette 5, I am reminded of my own class at the beginning of each year. Students want their writing to be perfect the first time around. Katelyn thought her letter to her mom was good just the way it was. I often feel badly working on revisions because students feel like their work isn't good enough. I have found that after a day of writing, it's helpful to read a story or part of a story at the beginning of the next writing period to focus on a particular technique you want to encourage. When you talk about how beautiful the words are, how descriptive it is, or the flow of the structure, students will want to try to make their writing sound like that too. It takes some of the pressure off of the teacher and lets the student decide how to revise. This is only one strategy.
ReplyDeleteToday was very interesting. The author, Tony Abbot visited our school and discussed how he rewrites a story five or six times before sending it to the editor. Then the editor sends it back with sticky notes all over it. He talked about how he gets frustrated, but in the end he's appreciative. He actually had a picture on the projector of his work covered in sticky notes. I'm sure it made an impression on the students. He also talked about writing down your ideas when you get them so you won't forget them. He does this for the revising stage as well.
I also do peer reviews. But I do not leave it too open ended. I have the students look for certain elements in the writing that we have worked on. In other words, they might look for main idea sentences, similes, vivid verbs, etc. and then write those on the lines. Then they can make a comment about what they think the other student should work on. The management part takes time, but once they get the hang of it, they work well.
That is very cool. Anytime students can see what an author goes through to get their piece published is great. i think a lot of time is spent showing students finished pieces and not the process that goes behind it. I think we as teachers need to offer our writing up for revision so that they can see how we react to "peer reviews". I always had a hard time with peer reviews in my classroom. Students weren't sure what to say. I think having them lookfor elements you are stressing in your minilessons is a great idea. Is the author staying for an extended period of time? What grade do you teach?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Vignette 6, I was also wondering how some of you get your students interested in independent reading. Although I think what the teacher did is great and can work sometimes, there can be a student who is disagreeable to reading any book. Are there any strategies you use to reach that student who never makes an independent choice or doesn't stick with it?
ReplyDeleteI find reading stories aloud and involving students in deep discussion, encourages those readers who say they don't like reading. They need to have enough enjoyable experiences before they realize they can produce that feeling on their own. But some of those students who say they don't like to read, have difficulty reading text. I think the teacher needs to know the student very well and may need to work on helping the student reach a true independent level before expecting him/her to venture out on their own. Sometimes we think that older students should be reading, but we fail to see that they can't. Even if it sounds fairly fluent when they read out loud, they may not understand what they are reading.
I agree students do need to see the revision process. A great strategy is to share the writing instantly. We do this in our meeting area. Then we discuss how to revise certain sections together. It's a very safe place. The more we do together, the more interested the students become. They also see it is not just one person that needs to revise. I find it much more satisfying than conferencing because the students are engaged and take the suggestions seriously. They usually end up revising right on the spot.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting that students will analyze what we write much more critically than what they write? If I make a grammatical error, my students are quick to see that it doesn't make sense. It shows that they are learning what we teach. I think they love to talk about writing. They crave interaction.
Oh, I teach fourth. Tony Abbot was only there for half of the day. He did two presentations and signed books for us.
ReplyDeleteI work in a town that has no cultural diversity. I have learned a lot about ELL students and ways to faciliate their reading and writing; however, I never have the opportunity to put it into practice. After reading Vignette 4 and learning about Keoni, I was wondering how some of you encourage cultural diversity and help ELL children learn to read in English? What challenges do you face?
ReplyDeleteYou are right regarding fluency and comprehension. I use this sentence when trying to get parents to undertsand.
ReplyDeleteThe pig is in a brown wrapper at the chicken coop.
Even though they can decode it they can not tell me what it means. It is trucker talk for: there is a policeman is an unmarked car at the weight station.
i even use trucker talk with my kids to help them understand the difference between word calling and active reading.
As far as getting them involved in reading, I get to know them and their interests. Also, I expose them to all sorts of genres. I used comic books with my third and fifth graders this year. What a hit. I stressed all the same comprehension strategies but using the graphic novels. What a difference in student motivation and management. They didn't want to leave. Then I noticed they were asking for my books to borrow more often. It was as though my cool factor went up and I must know something about books and being a kid. I think I fooled them.
I think we are all on the same page here...I definitely connected to Vignette 5 and 6 the most because I experience these issues in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI also use the Reader's and Writer's Workshop models, so when I read Vignette 5, I thought of many of my students who are reluctant to revise. One strategy that I am becoming more comfortable using is modeling my own writing and the processes I go through. The students love to hear me share my writing and modeling how I revise has been successful. We are currently in a Memoir unit in writing, using the Lucy Calkins books for our program. Fortunately, she includes many student samples of published pieces that I often share with the students. I agree that it is important for students to see not only the process but also the final product. In this particular unit, there are also samples of students' revisions to their notebook entries. I put these on the overhead, and together the class and I read through this student's first piece of writing and all the drafts they revised until the final copy. The students were able to notice a lot of strategies the student used. They also thought it was neat because it came from a real student, even though they didn't know who it was. I liked that even though the student in this sample had gone through lots of revision, the piece still wasn't perfect. The writing was good, but it wasn't something that seemed unattainable to the students. I think if you show work that is too good it makes the task seem daunting because some kids will think they can never write that good.
I like the idea of peer reviews but struggle with students giving each other good feedback. They often say things like, "you used a lot of good detail." but won't tell the writer the specific things they did that make their writing good. I like Lisa's idea of giving them specific areas to focus on, but I guess my question is, how do we help our students take their role as a writer serious enough to become a peer editor and use what they know to help their peers be successful?
I have a few ELL kids that I see one on one. It is a challenge. We do a great deal of background building and vocabulary work. I always try to connect the content in the stories to something they know. I tell them learning new information will work better if we can velcro it to some old information. I feel as though ELL is an area of weakness for me. I am always trying new strategies to help them accelerate. I find that conversation is a large part of our time together. Getting them to be able to express themselves orally before we attempt to do it in writing. My ELL kids this year were in 2nd grade reading at a level 6 and 5th grade reading at a 16 at the end of the year. I don't consider them a sucess, but am motivated to do a better job next year. Do you have any good professional reading that may help?
ReplyDeleteLisa I agree, the models you show students need to be attainable. It's like those teachers who use Patricia Pallaco as an author study. Great, but who writes like that? I think the key is to treat students like authors. How often is their work published? How is it celebrated? When I was in the classroom we had poetry Wednesdays. I found it a great way to get in minilesson regarding parts of speach and craft, and my students loved writing poetry. Half-way through the year we had a poetry jam when all the parents were invited and the students shared two pieces. It was ok. I noticed a huge difference the second half of the year in their writing. They knew it was going to be shared with all the parents. The second Jam was always much better. Although the Jams were a lot of work for me, it gave them a goal. It held them accountable.
ReplyDeletesorry, I meant Danielle
ReplyDeleteBeth, in Dr. Weiss' class RDG 503, we learned that the best way to help ELL students is through sight words, cognate word walls (word in English next to the word in the other language) and conversations. A lot of this information was in the All Children Read book. I don't know if you took that course yet. If you didn't, you have to do a research paper on it so you get to look at a lot of good articles. I found it fascinating, but again, I don't get to apply it. I feel some of the strategies can be used with low readers regardless of native language.
ReplyDeleteThe other vignette I would like to respond to is 6, with Mike the reluctant reader. I'm sure we all have a "Mike." Mine is in the form of two girls in particular who always have the dying urge to use the bathroom, get a drink, or get a tissue in the middle of reader's workshop! Sound familiar to anyone? Lisa, I agree with you that most of the kids who are reluctant to read are the ones who have the most difficulty. It's heartbreaking to see them try to pick up books that are way too difficult for them just because the books are popular and their classmates are reading them (Harry Potter, Twilight).
ReplyDeleteBeth, I have similar ways of getting students interested in reading- keeping a variety of genres, trying to match readers with books that have topics of interest, and having honest dialogue with them. I also try to work with them to set small, attainable goals for them to be successful with. I make a very big deal when they move up a reading level, or even just finish a book, so that they will try to see the positive outcomes that reading can bring.
In reading workshop, we do a lot of work with bookclubs, which also helps reluctant readers. First, the students are matched with other readers on their level, and together they choose interesting books. Second, they make their own reading goals and if they reach them, they get the privelage of having a book club conversation. We try to make it fun by letting groups choose a name for themselves and picking a meeting spot in the room for their conversations. The group members do a great job of keeping each other on track and encouraging each other.
Although I've found these strategies to be successful, they are not foolproof. It's nice to hear a success story such as Mike in the vignette, but I know it doesn't always happen that way for me.
One other piece of this is that students have to read 30-40 minutes at home each night. For some students this is a big challenge, even with reading logs that they are required to fill out.
My question to you girls is, what strategies have worked for you in helping kids to be responsible for the reading work they have to do at home?
Danielle, I think it takes practice to get your students to take the peer reviews seriously. We go over the reviews to see if they really help the writer. Modeling is always important, even in the peer review. The first time my students completed this activity it was horrible. We discussed the expecatations, I modeled, we tried again. Students enjoy teaching each other. They need a lot of "training" in how to do it. I think we get nervous when something doesn't work well the first or second time. Whenever I try group work, partner work, and so on, I look for slight improvements each time. As long as there are slight improvements, I know the students are moving in the right direction. But again, there is lots of modeling and feedback.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, My students need to do a weekly response. In order for the response to be meaningful, they have to be reading. It also helps them practice response writing and lets parents see what is expected. I have sentence stems and frames for them to follow until they feel comfortable. I have also assigned books to students who do not read at home. We pick out the book together and decide on how much they will read each night. You can't control everything, so nothing is foolproof, but these methods have helped my students.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the elemenary vignette 5 I wondered, "How often do I model writing to my students and do I model writing for various purposes?" I feel that many times as a third grade teacher much of my time is alloted to modeling the narrative writing diamond. After various professional development sessions on scoring a writing prompt I learned that the main components scorers look for is organization (sequential order of events), fluency of ideas, details and elaboration. Students need to produce a coherent and detailed process piece. I am looking forward to learning new ideas for the writing notebook because I do supply notebooks to students and could use some new innovative ideas that build upon student background and student interest to improve motivation. I too find revisions to be challenging because I do not want to be the person telling the child what to revise. I would like my students/authors to learn that writing is continual process and even when authors publish they are still thinking of possible revisions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a classroom teacher, I was very strict about the 30 minutes of reading. But now I have three kids, and I think my perspective has changed. I get to see them for such a short period of time each day. By the time they get home, do their math work have a snack...it's time for dinner. I like to be with my kids, play, run around, I can't stand the thought of them doing homeowork for another hour when they get home. Reading for 30 - 40 minutes, one or two worksheets and spelling. I suppose that I am at a time in my life when I understand how the parents struggled with getting their kids to do homework, and I wished I had been more understanding as a classroom teacher. I do agree that kids need to read, but when???? With my own children I read to them every night and they read in bed as they are falling asleep. I'm not sure how their teachers would feel about this, but I'm OK with it. Probably shouldn't admit that as a reading teacher.
ReplyDeleteWorking in Hartford for three years, working with ELL students and activating background knowledge is crucial to their success, particularly in writing. Many times students struggle with word choice and are general and vague when writing. Many of the students who are ELL in my class also participated in Bilingual Education last year and after reviewing their literacy profile in their cumulative file I noticed that they were successful when writing to a prompt in Spanish. The transition period can be sensitive and writing is already close to home. It is imperative to support ELL students when writing and scaffold appropriately. It is also important to group students with flexibility after conferencing and taking anecdotal notes. Students need not to feel "tracked" and at the younger grade level this can discourage students and harm their self-concept as a writer.
ReplyDeleteI only suggest how long to read. I think a certain amount of time is not natural. Beth, your kids are reading, so why should it matter for how long. It sound pretty regular.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lisa, but for some teachers it is very important.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the chat, see you all tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to layer many different approaches and programs into our curriculum, which seems to grow each year. We implement the Reading and Workshop Model, small group instruction, Tier 1, 2, and 3 models, etc. We currently implemented Rigby By Design in reading. It also provides a writing program, however we are advised to teach kids the narrative writing diamond. Our students have always performed well on the writing prompt, however editing and revising is another story. This speaks again to the ELL learners. The English spoken at home, if spoken at home and in the community, is not the proper grammar that is to be taught and tested in school. Although spelling does not count against students when writing, editing and revising needs to be accounted for in their personal writing. Students may be able to look at a model prompt and correct it, however we should strive to support learners to then apply it in their writing. This can be a very daunting task. Habits are hard to break! Sentence structure, tense, subject-verb agreement, etc. In the writing workshop model, such grammatical components are perfect to model in a minilesson. I would love a resource book that provided min-lessons on grammar so that students can be conscientious about their grammar when writing personal narratives.
ReplyDeleteSee you tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteBeth, I really liked your suggestions of how to approach the revision process, especially with something that is of significant meaning to children. Targeting a particular skill the next morning and then encouraging children to revisit thier own work is a great idea. I always struggle with revision in my classroom and have often found myself shying away from the entire concept. I teach in a special ed school, and so often my students despise even the hint of writing. With that said, I have really attempted to integrate writing across the curriculum, using peer sharing to encourage the entire process. I seem to have gained momentum over the years using a writer's notebook, but continue to struggle with how to encourage my students to relook their own work. In their minds, a writer's notebook is a place for their ideas, without worries of spelling, grammar, or any of the mechanics. Once they have communicated their ideas, their work is done! Therefore, as a teacher, I have really struggled. I find that my particular students only put their hearts into their work when it is for something incredibly meaningful...like a letter to their mother or to the principal asking for something to a policy to be changed. Asking them to "revise" or "look with new eyes" is sometimes like asking them to walk the plank. So as a teacher, I struggle with those moments of teach or let be...At what point do we as teachers tell the child it is beautiful just the way it is? Or are we doing a disservice to let one go....to "allow" the child to pass the letter along to her mother without revising and editing? I guess it comes down to knowing each individual student, their particular needs, their struggles, and their frustration level.
ReplyDeleteBeth, how wonderful it is that you make reading a part of your children's daily routines!! What a great way to instill the love and interest in reading! While I enjoy my job and working with my particular population of children, there are so many things I wish I could change. One of which is their exposure to books. Currently, I have 8 students in my classroom from 5 different towns. Not a single student has ever been to a public library! This year has been my toughest year yet with reader...I have 3 fifth graders reading at Pre-primer and Primer levels. It is incredibly difficult to find books that interest them that they can read! (as so many of you have voiced already tonight). I love the idea of integrating comic books and visual literature into the curriculum as a way to connect to students. But I guess my question goes even deeper...what can we do help these older yet lower readers develop that deep love for books? In what ways can we work with families to develop a child's love for literature?
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I loved the idea in Vignette 1 of keeping a class chart entitled "Strategies We Use to Understand What We Read". Each of you already discussed the importance of peer collaboration and the role it plays in developing a child's learning. I thought this particular chart was a great way of integrating peer learning into everyday learning. The chart empowers children to not only use resources within the classroom, but to utilize strategies with which their peers have been successful. By creating a safe learning environment where children can share their ideas and strategies, you are empowering children to take an active role in their learning. I have found that especially as children get older, they are much more apt to try strategies suggested by their peers than suggested by an adult...I will definately integrate this particular chart into my classroom learning next year!
Beth- nice job launching the conversation. Most of you connected nicely to the ideas in light of your own work. Others might want to work on this a bit more.
ReplyDeleteOverall a good start.