Saturday Sayings: So Smart to Ask

Vocabulary instruction is one of my weak areas.  I don't pick out a certain number of words to teach every week.  Instead it happens on the fly, most often during a read-aloud.  I'm not nearly intentional enough, and I haven't developed a system for ways to follow up and authentically internalize those words either.  I've got some work to do.  (I do have my eye on a great professional read called Words Nerds though.  Maybe that will help.)  I'm also aware of the times when I'm guilty of barging through a book and not allowing the time and space to even let kids know they should speak up about possible confusions.  I'm working on this and Regie's voice in my head definitely helps.

She reminds me to say things like, "Smart kids know when they don't understand a word."  Recently I've been purposely choosing read-alouds that force them to speak up about unknown vocabulary.  First I ask my kids to show their comprehension fingers, a strategy I learned years ago from Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmermann.  One finger means they understand, and two means they don't.  As soon as I see two fingers, I know to stop.  "What does 'famine' mean?"  My typical response sounds something like, "Thank you for asking.  That's so smart of you to speak up."  Of course, learning and using strategies for figuring out tricky words is another story and one we've been practicing as well.  First and foremost though, when I repeatedly tell my kids that the most important thing a reader does is understand, I'd better back that up every time a book is opened in my room with the knowledge, expectation, and invitation that readers know when they don't know a word and are so smart to do something about it.

Saturday Sayings: Self-Imposed Hard Parts

It's been a year of unavoidable hard parts.  I'm surely not the only one who can say that.  It's difficult to be a teacher without facing hard parts that are completely out of one's control.  Here are a few examples inspired by Regie Routman's list.  

My district and principal do not restrict my movements, but I know many out there do, placing requirements on their teachers that make it difficult to be a professional who's free to make choices about their classroom.  Required testing is completely unavoidable, and I feel for the 3rd through 6th grade teachers in my school who are faced with the challenges of the new testing beast that accompanies the CCSS.  New curriculum mandates come and go but can turn a teacher's life topsy-turvey.  Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the CCSS, but it's obviously messed with a fair amount of teachers out there.  Here's the one I currently know the most about: challenging students.  One doesn't teach for 20 years and not know the difficulties students can bring to the classroom.  I've experienced this unavoidable hard part on a whole new level this year though.  Then there's the myriad of ways we impose hard parts on ourselves, making the unavoidable parts even more challenging to deal with.     

Come January of this year, I had to start doing something nice for myself.  I gave myself two goals: leave school as soon you can on Fridays and don't let yourself have too much homework over the weekends.  Thankfully I've been able to accomplish both and as a result, breathe a little more deeply. I also made the choice to simplify my most recent writing unit celebration.  The project I had originally planned takes an extraordinary amount of teacher time to pull off.  It was a pleasure to do last year.  This year it would have been a chore.  

The trick is to get rid of the self-imposed hard parts.  We all have our own list that's tailored to what we've become accustomed to.  Routman provides some good examples.  During an already difficult season of the unavoidable, some of those things can go.  If you're in one of those seasons, find ways to simplify.  I'm ready for the school year to be less stressful and more fun, and I understand that I'm partly responsible for making that happen.  

Saturday Sayings: What Matters Most?

As we know, all professional development is not created equal.  I've sat through a few here and there during the past 20 years of my career that weren't as easy to latch onto as others.  Sometimes the speakers weren't engaging, but depending on the subject matter, I could usually look past that issue.  More often than not, I wasn't as involved because the topic lacked importance or relevance for me.  My students are really no different.  That's why at the beginning of the year, I take the time to spotlight each child's name and learn whatever we can about reading and writing from them.  Their names are at the top of the list of what's important in life.  

The above quote certainly challenges me though.  If I don't start with what's most important to them, I'm fighting an uphill battle and dragging them along behind me.  Surely, there will be many who are predisposed to love every little thing we do.  There will also be many who are simply normal and will give their best effort when the focus is on something that's important to them.  I'll admit that it's not always easy to pull off.  Bridging the gap between the types of things that are important to 6 year olds and the long list of items I need to teach them in 9 months takes purposeful and thoughtful planning.  I'll also suggest that there's an essential difference between importance and cuteness.  I'm not implying that cute is bad.  I just know that we teachers like to cutesify things in an effort to make them appealing.  Even though it's much easier to add cuteness to a lesson than to focus on what's important to the child, I believe Regie Routman would want us to start with importance more than anything else.  She's of course right.  

"What matters most to this child?  Start there."  Regie Routman, Teaching Essentials 57

Before you do anything else, you should visit Laurie.  She's sharing her own Saturday Saying this morning, and anything Laurie shares is worth reading.

Saturday Sayings: Their Beautiful

If I weren't a teacher and went to work elsewhere each day, I bet I'd want that space to look like me.  I'd want to see myself on the walls just like my students want to see evidence of their presence.  I've found over the years that my adult life wishes aren't too far off from what my kids want in their world (something to keep in mind when making all sorts of decisions that affect our students).  I doubt it's that they dislike commercially published materials, but I'm betting on the fact that they find their contributions to the classroom walls much more meaningful and worthy of their attention.  For me, that's enough of a reason to avoid materials made by strangers if possible.  I don't mean to say the walls should be completely naked on day one.  I have a few items that I've enjoyed creating and displaying in my room that I do believe add nicely to the atmosphere I wish to create, but the majority of space is wide open and waiting for its most important inhabitants.  Although it doesn't take long for the walls to be covered in graphs, photos, artwork, environmental print, charts, etc., I'm positive I can always strive to put more of them and their beautiful on our walls.  

Saturday Sayings: A School Thing

The voice of Regie Routman is one that has repeatedly played over and over in my head throughout my career.  She's taught me a lot, but the thought above is one of the most foundational principals that has influenced my pedagogy.  Regie preaches authenticity, and she sees a difference between what typically takes place in schools and what takes place in the real world.  She wants to bridge the gap by making classroom instruction mirror the world that kids live in when they're not in our classrooms.  Yep, Regie's all about things I'd like to be all about.  I can't say I'm altogether there.  There are things that happen in my classroom that are more school-ish than I'd like, and I struggle to find ways to make them more like the real world.  I guess that's what Regie wants of me though - to reflect and ask the hard questions about school things.  I so want to be like her.

This past week I read a blog post from Regie via Facebook and left her a message. 

Can I be me and her at the same time?

Saturday Sayings: Pickiness

I love this quote from top to bottom, but I'm focusing my thoughts today on the bottom half.

Time can be hard to locate.  There never seems to be enough of it.  I live in a rather organized little bubble, and yet I rarely feel like my mental teacher list of things to do ever gets any shorter.  As soon as one item is crossed off, a new one takes its place, and it doesn't get much better until the children deliver their final goodbye squeezes and I lock my classroom door one last time before summer takes over my mind.

With all that's on my plate, thinking about what I voluntarily make time for is worth contemplating.  We all know there are times when teachery stuff takes precedence over moving students forward, pushing thinking and reflecting to the bottom of the list.  By the time all the other things, like those listed in the quote, find themselves done, there's little energy left for reflections about instructional improvements.  Granted, there are often things on a teachers plate that are must-dos and will never go away, but I also think there are things we sign ourselves up for that could be significantly less complicated and less time-consuming.  Regie believes in simplifying, so we can concentrate on best teaching practices.  I concur.  On behalf of our students and moving them forward, we could use some pickiness when it comes to how we spend our time.   

(Have you heard Debbie Diller's rule about time?  It's a great one.  See here.)

Saturday Sayings: The Gatekeepers

(Click on the graphic to see other Saturday Sayings.  Last week's was one of my favorites.)

I'm a rule follower if there ever was one.  My speedometer doesn't know it can go over the speed limit.  When asked to read something for a class, I read every word.  When the doctor says, "Don't touch that bandage," I don't touch that bandage.  I could go on and on.  When it comes to my classroom though, I'm in a bit of a pickle.

I've been thoroughly spoiled during these 18 years of my teaching career.  My administration has allowed me to use my professional and moral knowledge and judgment.  I've been allowed professional autonomy, and I haven't been a follower.  I haven't been a rule follower.  Gulp!  

What would I do if my principal told me to dust off those teachers manuals?  What would I do if they wanted me to teach with fidelity?  (I have some opinions about fidelity.  Shocking I know!  Go here to read about them.)  What would I do if I were told to get out the basals? I honestly don't know what I would do.  The scenario pulls at my natural instinct to follow rules as well as my Christian principles of honoring authority.  Yet when it comes to my classroom and what I believe is best for kids, I just don't know how I could feel right about teaching in a way that didn't mesh with my pedagogy.  

I'm by no means advocating that teachers do anything that would jeopardize their job or relationship with administration.  I wholeheartedly believe in honoring those who have been placed over us.  What's the answer then?  Honestly, I hope to never be in a position to find out for myself.  When all is said and done though, I think I'll be sticking with Regie on this one.

"We need to be the gatekeepers for sane and sensible practices."  Regie Routman, Teaching Essentials 38

Before I leave you I've got great news!  Tammy from First Grade at Storybook Cafe is joining me for Saturday Sayings today.  Let's all go see what she's got to say.  I know it's going to be good!  (Let her know you were there if you don't mind.)

Saturday Sayings: The We-Do-Its

(Click on the above graphic to read previous Saturday Sayings.)

I've been looking forward to sharing this quote for a long time.  Hands down it's a favorite of mine.  I've even committed it to memory.  (Yeah, not impressive.  You'll see why.)

The way I feel about this quote is the way I feel about certain worship songs we sing at church.  Man, I wish I'd written that.  It's so simple and powerful all at the same time.  Regardless of its simplicity and power, it's not always the way we run the show though, huh?  

You do it.

or

I do it.  You do it.

or

I do it.  We do it.  You do it.

Anyone besides me guilty of abbreviating the process?  I suppose we get in a rush.  The time crunch is forever hanging over our heads.  Modeling and then sharing and sharing and sharing the learning process before completely handing it over takes time and planning as well.  If you're like me though, you can easily tell when all the we-do-its are accounted for. It's kind of obvious.  The kids understand, and the product we were hoping for meets our high expectations.  The equation works.  Thanks Regie for reminding us how much modeling and sharing the process make the difference in our teaching!


Have you been reading these other three Saturday Sayings?  If you haven't, you're seriously missing out.  I have been thoroughly blessed and inspired by these gals.  Do me a favor if you will.  Check them out today.  While you're there, let them know how they've inspired you too.  Thank you!

Lori at Conversations in Literacy

Julie at Lighting a Fire in Third Grade

Sandi at Literacy Minute