Saturday Sayings: Weighed Down

What a perfect visual.  Stuff attached to books actually weighs them down.  I believe it in turn weighs the reader down as well.  Books and readers aren't meant for such things.  I would never make the point that teachers knowingly attempt to weigh books down.  They sincerely believe the stuff will benefit their readers.  As part of an acculturated profession that learns from one another, and rightly so, they've seen plenty of other teachers attach packets, worksheets, projects, dioramas, book reports, and so on to the books their students read.  To me, authentic reading, that Donalyn refers to, mirrors the kind of reading that happens in the real world with adults like you and me.  The real world finishes a book and then talks with their friends, possibly does some personal  research on the topic, participates in a book club, journals their reflections, immediately tracks down the next book in the series, etc.  None of that looks or feels like stuff.  Books never weigh me down and they shouldn't feel heavy to my young readers either.  My goal is to model how I handle books in my classroom after what adults enjoy about reading.  I take responsibility for the fact that I'm not altogether there, but even as I write this, I'm thinking of how to modify what I already do.  How can we set our books and readers free?  
  

Saturday Sayings: Cut Some Strings

Book reports.  That's the first thing that comes to mind after reading this quote.  Has anyone really ever learned to love reading by doing book reports?  I'm thinking not.  Like Donalyn Miller says, there are often so many strings attached to reading that it turns into schoolwork instead of an enjoyable activity that students will choose to do even when their lives are removed from the classroom.  

When I think of things required of students, I like to think of them in terms of what I as an adult would or would not like.  So far this summer I've read 11 books and not once did I complete a diorama, take a computer test, complete a packet of some sort, fill in a worksheet, and the list goes on.  I did, on the other hand, talk about what I was reading with friends, make comments on Facebook, and make a few recommendations as well.  I even chose to jot down some of my favorite quotes and make notes about how some of the books could influence my teaching.  If my adult reading behaviors can translate into the classroom, then the fewer strings attached to reading, the better.  What would happen to our readers if we teachers created an atmosphere similar to what we as adults enjoy?  When possible, let's cut a few strings, let them read, and find out.

I'm off to run 13.1 miles.  Bonus points for anyone who remembers what city I'm running in and who I'm running with.  :)

Saturday Sayings: A Trail (Plus Some Guests)

Even though I love this quote, I've been avoiding it for several Saturdays because of its sensitive nature.  It won't leave me alone though, so I'm forced to acknowledge the need to let it find its way into a Saturday Sayings.  I promise not to dwell on it too long.

Whether worksheets are used by choice or are mandated, I worry that our young readers might associate reading with filling in the blank, multiple choice, etc.  As Donalyn has so wisely expressed, worksheets are not able to connect readers to books.  I'm afraid they might do quite the opposite.  I simply don't believe a trail of worksheets will lead us to readers who have made a lasting and loving relationship with reading.  Sigh.

After that uplifting post, you'll definitely want to visit my guests.  Meghan, Jenny, and Kerri are joining me today with their own Saturday Sayings.  I know they'll have some wonderfully thoughtful things to add to your day.  Let's head on over!

Meghan

Jenny

Kerri

Saturday Sayings: Parts, Wholes, and Special Guests

Don't you just love a good Donalyn Miller thought?  This one reminds me of something I learned years ago in my Reading Recovery training.  It's managed to help shape much of how I teach reading.  It's that whole-part-whole concept.  The parts don't necessarily drive instruction as much as the whole does.

This concept determines how I use my daily shared reading of big books.  It all starts with engaging and quality literature.  There's the whole, which we read daily and enjoy first and foremost.  The parts come from right off the pages of the book.  I find myself asking, "What parts does this big book offer that fit the needs of my students and the curriculum?"  We take the parts out.  We investigate and work with them and very importantly put them right back into the context of the whole as Donalyn has suggested.  It's all about real reading experiences, which seems to allude to the fact that there's such a thing as fake reading experiences.  Hmmm.

Before you go, pretty please take a few minutes to visit some special Saturday Sayings' guests of mine.  I'm really excited that three very sweet ladies are sharing quotes and thoughts this morning too.  I, for one, can't wait to read them.  Ready, set, go! 

Kerri  Jenny

Meghan

Saturday Sayings: Reading on Your Head

(click above for other Saturday Sayings)

I secretly nabbed this shot a few weeks ago.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  All I knew is that it was priceless.  When I came across the above quote while looking for a good Saturday Sayings for the day, I knew I had the perfect picture to use.

There are certainly lots of ways to promote choice for readers.  Location is just one of the many.  During Read to Self, my readers get to choose where they sit.  As long as they're not close to anyone and their spot allows them to be the best reader they can be, they can sit on desks, under desks, under tables, in corners, sprawled out on the carpet, and obviously even on their heads.  As an adult reader, I'm the same way.  I might not read on my head, but making my own choices about reading motivates me.  Kids are no different.  

"Purpose + choice = motivation."  Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, The Daily 5 21.

Saturday Sayings: Not on the Table

(More Saturday Sayings are a click away.)

From the moment my kids show up on the first day of school, everything about the way I run my classroom, from my actions to my words, simply assumes that they're all experts in smartness and will love it here.  You're readers.  You're writers.  You're mathematicians.  Did you know that Mr. Graves only sends me the best kids in the whole school?  This is what I preach before I even know them well enough to memorize their names.  Thankfully, they believe me.  The power of persuasion is a wonderful tool in first grade.

Three days ago though, I came across a non-believer and honestly, it brought me to tears.  There's a whole sad behind- the-scenes story that I obviously can't share, but basically after only two days in my classroom (having missed a week of building confidence, routines, and stamina) I heard this student angrily talk about their hate of reading, books, writing, school, and themselves.  I found myself thinking, "Wait a minute.  This kind of talk isn't even an option in my class."  As Donalyn says, it's "not on the table."  How does a six-year old even come to the point of thinking such things?  How do they know that a complete and all-out refusal to try is a choice a person can even make? I know there's a lot in this little person's life that I can't control, but I pray that what I can do is prove them wrong.  The road of life ahead is going to be a long one if I can't.

"Believing they can read is the first step towards children's reading success."  Regie Routman, Invitations 29

Reading Trumps All Other

There aren't many times in the day when my kids have to wonder, "What do I do now?"  If they complete a piece of writing during writing workshop, they start a new one.  If they finish a book during read to self, they read another.  In those rare moments when there is a task that they'll finish at different times and need something to do, they learn quickly to head to our living room or library and read.
  

Many teachers have fancy systems in place for kids who finish tasks early.  Even though I've believed in my system of simply expecting them to read, over the years I've felt a little guilty about this.  Maybe I should be doing more?  

This summer I finished The Book Whisperer, and I must thank Donalyn Miller for validating my very simple read-when-you're-finished plan.  She makes it very plain that kids need to spend more time with their noses in books.  Simply reading trumps all other activities, and she talks about the ways she squeezes out as much extra reading time in her day as she possibly can.  So any way I can get books into my readers' hands is not only okay, it's essential!  Phew.  

"No single literacy activity has a more positive effect on students' comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, spelling, writing ability, and overall academic achievement than free voluntary reading."  Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer 51

"What do adult readers do when they finish their work for the day?  They reward themselves by snuggling up with their books."  Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer 57

"The volume of daily in-school reading many children routinely experience is below an optimum level."  Richard Allington, What Really Matters for Struggling Readers 33

"We no longer need to feel guilty that students are 'just reading.'  Reading is probably the most worthwhile activity students can be doing."  Regie Routman, Invitations 42

I'm planning to give up the guilt.

Saturday Sayings: Unexamined Wallpaper

(Click above for previous Saturday Sayings.)

Unexamined wallpaper...I'm guessing we all have some of that hanging around our classrooms, our schools, and our districts.  Whatever the wallpaper represents, we've always done it and never thought twice about whether it's best for kids or not.  


Take for example, spelling tests.  Years ago in my classroom, spelling tests fit into the category of unexamined wallpaper.  The teachers around me gave them.  The parents expected them.  The kids just played along.  I gave one spelling test to the whole class every week, because that's the way it was done.  Then I came across some professional reading that challenged the concept.  Are weekly spelling tests best for kids?  Should everyone in the class, from the most challenged speller to the child who can spell beyond their grade level, be accountable for the same words?  Will a spelling test teach them to spell correctly in their daily writing?  I experienced a paradigm shift, and as a result, my own classroom culture changed.  I took down the old wallpaper and replaced it with something that I felt met the needs of my kids better.


That's just one example, but over the years, a lot of wallpaper has come down from the pedagogical walls of my room.  In fact, there are still some unexamined bits and pieces hanging around.  In all reality, I doubt there will ever come a day when I should feel content that it's all been removed.

"We must always look critically at ourselves and our practices in order to improve and refine them."  Regie Routman, Literacy at the Crossroads 37

If I've opened a can of worms and you'd like to know more about what spelling looks like in my classroom, go here.


Chrissy from Read Write Sing is joining me today with her own Saturday Sayings.  Let's go see what she's got to share.  It's bound to be good!

Saturday Sayings: The Real World

(Click on the graphic for previous Saturday Sayings.)

Saturday has arrived early on my blog this week since I'm participating in a blog swap tomorrow.  Saturday Sayings are near and dear to my heart though, so I had to fit this in.

(I love this pic.)

That's what it says.  What does it mean?  To me it means that the learning that takes place at school, whether reading, writing, math, etc., should mirror the learning that takes place in real life.  As much as possible, they should be one and the same.  We could probably make a list of things we ask readers to do in the classroom that we would never expect them to do in real life.  How about this example?

"How many adult readers would choose to read if they had to take a multiple-choice test for every book they finished?"  Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer 131

(If you're interested in reading what one school is doing instead of computerized reading quizzes, a.k.a. AR, read Lori's post at Conversations in Literacy.  It's a good one!)

I'm just simply reminded that I need to keep a watchful eye on the kinds of things I ask of my readers, writers, and mathematicians.  I hope I can set up my classroom in a way that prepares them for lifetime thinking instead of only 12 years of school thinking.  Here's Regie's thought on the matter.

"Is this a practice that occurs in the real world?  If it's just a school thing, we need to question the practice."  Regie Routman, Teaching Essentials 39

I've got great news before you leave.  Tammy from First Grade at Storybook Cafe is joining me today for her own Saturday Sayings.  Ready to be inspired?  Head on over and enjoy her thoughts.  I'm on my way.

Saturday Sayings: Expect Nothing in Return

(More Saturday Sayings can be found if you click on the graphic.)

Have you read this?  I recently finished it, and it could easily supply me with enough quotes for about two year's worth of Saturday Sayings.  It was that good.

That's my pa.  Fishing or playing with his cell phone?

Here's a little moment of truth from my own teaching experience.  I shudder to think that I even did this.  During my first few years of teaching I had a chart on the wall with each child's name.  I kept track with tallies of the number of books they read at home.  Every time a child read 10 books, they got some kind of prize, which I doubt was anything special.  The whole things makes me cringe on so many levels.  What an embarrassment for the kids who didn't read much at home or at all for that matter.  Most of the time at my grade level, that's a parental issue anyway.  It's not the child's fault.  Most importantly, by "paying" them to read, I regret the message I was sending.  

"Rewarding reading with prizes cheapens it, and undermines students' chance to appreciate the experience of reading for the possibilities that it brings to their life."  Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer 151

This next thought might some day become its own Saturday Saying.  As much as possible, school reading and life reading should be one and the same, and how often is that not the case?  As an adult reader, no one rewards me after I read ten books.  My reward is so much greater than that, and that's what I've learned needs to take place with young readers.  Their reward should be found in the ways their hearts, minds, and lives connect with the books they read.  As with most things, I'm still learning how to get better at making this happen, but my goal is to grow readers who love reading so much that they'll do it forever and never expect anything in return, except simply that feeling of satisfaction they get from being readers.


(Disclaimer:  My school does participate in a few reading incentive programs, such as the Pizza Hut Book-It program, but I try to downplay it as much as possible.  "Hey guys.  I know you don't read so that you'll get pizza, but the people at Pizza Hut love to read.  They heard that you love to read too, so they'd love to celebrate being readers together" or something like that.)

It's very possible that you're reading this at the very moment I'm running 13.1 miles in Seattle.  Pray for my friend's feet.  They're both recovering from surgery, and they don't always play nice.  We're planning on enjoying ourselves regardless though.  :)