Books Will Change Your Heart

Have you read this book?  It's been one of my favorites for several years now.  (It's not even written by Regie Routman.  Go figure.)  This post only deals with about two pages from it, so find yourself a copy and read the rest.  You'll be glad you did.

During our school's Read Week, I borrowed a brilliant suggestion from Growing Readers.  I invited five reading mentors to our room, one per day, to share their reading lives with us.  They brought in a collection of the things they were currently reading (novels, recipes, magazines, cards, nooks, picture books, bills, craft books, and the list goes on).  They told us a little about each item and why they were reading them.  Some of the mentors read a favorite picture book as well.  Here's a picture of one of our reading mentors (my best friend who works in the office) sharing some of the things she reads.  

After each mentor left, we took a few minutes to document the highlights of what we learned.  Take a look.  

Didn't the mentors do an amazing job of teaching us what's at the heart of being a reader forever?  Their real life stories are priceless!

Lastly, I asked the kids to think about the reading mentors within their own homes.  We brainstormed questions they'd like to ask that person.  I did a bit of editing as far as which questions were the most beneficial, typed up an interview sheet, and after practicing the interview process on each other, the kids took it home in search of that special reading mentor.

As Mrs. Peck told us, "Books will change your heart."  I hope that's exactly what happened this week for my young readers as they learned more about what reading really is.

A Nice Distraction

I wouldn't typically post on a Sunday night, but I'm officially on spring break so I can post whenever I want, right?  (While you're here, would you mind taking a look at my new button?)  Okay, so on to more important things.  


We just finished celebrating Read Week.  Our school has traditionally celebrated it the week before spring break.  It makes for a nice distraction for kids and adults alike who might possibly otherwise be thinking about those future days off.  (Not that I would know anything about that.)  This is the letter that I send home to parents about how their child can get involved.

I saw the idea for Read My Shirt Day from Lori at Chickadee Jubilee.  I left her a comment saying she inspired me to make a class book.  Here's a snippet of the finished product.

Saturday Sayings: Feelin' Better Already

Ouch.  Sometimes being reflective hurts a little, but if it means I become a more effective teacher and my kids have a better opportunity to learn and show what they can do, then it must be worth it.  This post isn't about laying blame though.  It's about reflectively looking at instruction to find out why the results might not be up to par.  


I'll offer a simple example.  We only use pens during writer's workshop, but it can drive me crazy (and I mean crazy) when kids scribble (and I mean scribble) out mistakes instead of simply crossing them out.  It sure makes the reader's job harder.  Is it really the kids' fault?  Why am I not getting the results I want?  I think the answer is found in something else Regie says in Writing Essentials.

"When my teaching breaks down, it's almost always because my demonstrations have not been sufficient."  (71)

She also says...

"One demonstration is rarely enough."  (75)

Okay, so the next time I find myself with results I'm not exactly happy with, there's no need to rake myself over the coals.  Instead I'll take a reflective look at how I can improve my demonstrations and prepare myself for better results next time.  I feel better already.  Don't you?

A Most Brilliant Idea

This could be the most brilliant thing I've ever blogged about, and I can say that because it's not my idea to claim.  Before reading on, I wouldn't feel right unless you first look here to see the original, but then please do come back.  Thanks to Lori at Conversations in Literacy for sharing such a fantastic project.  When Kim from our third grade crew saw that I pinned it, she got the ball rolling, we put some creativity to use, and voila. 

Staff members brought in childhood pictures.  We copied them in black and white.

They told us their favorite childhood book.  That's me in kindergarten.  I'm sorry to say I don't really remember my favorite book back then, but I do remember pink curlers.

To make it interactive, the staff member's name is under their picture.

It's been a favorite with the adults and the kids at our school.  I think we might have stumbled across a new tradition.

Without Missing a Beat

One of my favorite management tricks is sign language, and the cool thing is that I don't even hardly know sign language and it still works wonders.  Pretty slick.

When out of the corner of my eye I spot something that shouldn't be going on, I can send a sign language "no" that direction without even missing a beat or saying a word.

If I'm reading with some readers during a book club and someone walks up, let's me know with sign language that they need to use the restroom, I send a sign language "yes" their direction, and my group wasn't the least bit interrupted.

While sitting in an assembly and a bottom forgets to sit on its pockets, without being disruptive I can send a "sit" in sign language even though I'm ten feet away.

Although I teach various signs throughout the year, the following are the few tried and true managerial signs that I use most often.  

restroom

sit

stand

walk

I might suggest trying these out if you don't already.  They're great, simple, and effective tools to add to that managerial toolbox.  It can never get too full!

Why Didn't I Think of That?

I've struggled with how to manage differentiation with contextual math problems.  So many issues, both managerial and academic, can stem from numbers that are either too easy or are too hard.  It can be a dilemma for sure - one that can make me want to pull out my hair at times.


Do I have extra number sets mindful for kids who need them and just jot them in their math journal as I'm observing who needs easier or more challenging numbers?

Do I type the same contextual problem three times but with different number sets and then personally deliver them to specific kids?

I've tried both options, and for various reasons, they just don't flow and work as smoothly as I'd like.

I just bought this book and found an answer I can live with.  It was one of those, "Like why didn't I think of this?" moments.  This is how my contextual problems look now.  

The popcorn ladies popped (10, 26, 78) bags of popcorn.  They sold (5, 15, 45).  How many bags did they have left?

I found that some kids need a little guidance as to which numbers to choose, but even so, this is night and day easier to manage than anything I tried before.  You might give it a go and see if it saves you a few hairs too.

Saturday Sayings: Expect More

Last week's Saturday Sayings was supposedly one of my top favorites, but then there's this one.  I really do love this one.

(Maybe these Saturday posts should be called Saturday Sayings a la Regie Routman.  I promise I do read books authored by other experts.  I'll get to them soon!)

Expectations - oh how they've changed.  I can almost remember the days when I expected every child in my class to start and finish one and only one story each day.  I also thought I needed to meet with each one when they finished, getting my hands on every piece they wrote.  How this limited them.  They simply were not writing enough.

For many years I've been free of this micro-management type of teaching.  Even better, my kids have been free too.  They write and write and write.  If they finish a piece, there's no checking in with Miss McMorrow.  They know, "When you're done, you've just begun" and off they go to start a new piece.  Without a doubt my kids write a whole lot more than they did way back when.  In ten years, no doubt my writers will write even more and better than they do today.  Continue to expect more.