Reading...Really?

Reading didn't go quite the way I hoped for in my room this year.

We all know some particular combinations of students will make for different experiences from year to year; this class did have more students who were not reading 'at grade level' when they arrived but was that the reason things were not as successful?  I am not sure.

With all the current emphasis on putting the "right book in the right hands at the right time", with our "baggie" books going home in primary grades, levelled texts and guided reading sessions continuing up in to elementary classrooms now, are more students really engaged in reading? Choosing to read on their own?

I'm not so sure any more. I certainly didn't see it this year.  Have we, as educators, missed the boat with how we are 'doing' reading? Is it just a school issue?

I do know parents have become (overly) concerned about the level of the books brought home, particularly in primary grades here and may be communicating the anxiety about 'moving up' to their children instead of recognizing the time and practice that is built into any process of learning. That being said maybe the Home Reading program needs an overhaul in its approach to record keeping and reading logs and  ensuring that its only "just right" books that go home.

I do know that there are many (and major) distractions in our students' lives, enough that even if the only homework (more on that topic later) is reading, it does not routinely get done or is frequently completed under stress and in less than ideal conditions.

I do know more and more students have devices on which they spend hours after school instead of reading ...or reading in different spaces than we normally consider. That's a factor that has to examined.

Image from here

I have tried different approaches to foster the love of reading while aiming to ensure our English Language Arts outcome that refers to students' ability to select and read across genres is met.

Letting Go

So here I am ... in the middle of the first week after school finished.  I have time on my hands for a change (especially after completing my Master's) and so I have been musing about the past year and considering what I would like to do with the weeks ahead.

These first few days after school finishes are for letting go!

In cleaning up my desks (and moving classrooms) I have come across notes, sheets, articles and lots of treasure/junk that I have had to decide to keep or let go.  A lot of it I threw out! If I haven't used it or thought about it in the last year, then perhaps it wasn't as useful as I thought.  Let it go!

Letting go this week also means easing out of the care and concern for the twenty-two students who have been "my" kids for the last ten months.

No longer do I have to wonder if they are getting enough sleep or if she is still thinking  about her little brother and the operation he needs or if he is still fretting about the death of his cat. No longer do I have time to support her growing willingness to speak up or his to pipe down! No more time to spend laughing at her jokes or smiling at his stories.

As the summer goes on, no longer will I have to worry about their grasp of multiplication, or reading strategies or...  No longer do I need to find more time to carry out tutorials, to phone home, to meet with the team to plan interventions, and to prepare for mini-lessons and individualized conferences to address this need or that one.

I also have to let go of the doubts. I have to let go the nagging thoughts about whether or not I spent enough time with each child, if I coulda, shoulda said something else ... done more.

I have to let go of unrealistic expectations and use (some of) the time now to reflect on my own practice...what would I do differently? Why?

I also need to let go of my teacher "hat" and put on ones with more personal labels.  Then I will be ready to meet and greet the next bunch of Great Grade Fives in the fall!

So here's to letting go...

Image from here

What in particular are you reflecting about? Pondering and planning?
What hat will you wear this summer?

The Power of Connecting - the Global Read Aloud and Other Points

My Grade Fives and I have been rather busy this October; we are proud members of Global Read Aloud 2012!

Participating in this amazing project, thought up by Pernille Ripp, has been eye-opening for my students and certainly reinforced some very important ideas for me about the value of the Internet as a tool - a space - for teaching and learning.

CONNECTING

Of course there's the thrill of connecting with students their age in other parts of the world...it is the GLOBAL Read Aloud, after all!  For my particular class, we have been delighted to participate in the project with Ms. Sandler's class in Argentina; Ms. Rinker's in Illinois and Ms. Jones' in Connecticut; Ms. Boothby's Grade 5's way  over in Switzerland and shortly we'll be hearing from Ms. Bennett's class down in New Zealand (they've been on holiday)!  

from learningresources.com 

READ ALOUD
And then's there's the book itself - The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate! It is a wonderful story about hope and friendship and art and so much more; it is sure to be a classic like the other selection this year, Charlotte's Web. The power of words, well-crafted as is so evident in this book, can move us all to places and feelings new and familiar.

Knowing that other grade fives are actually hearing the same story pretty much at the same time you are in so many places around the world is awe-inspiring for ten year olds! Finding out they have similar thoughts and interesting differences to students around the world is an added benefit of sharing!

Learning from our Mistakes

How many times do you come across someone willing to announce to the world the mistakes they have made?  

Mistakes made in their classroom?  

Little boo-boos, yes, maybe, but sharing several BIG mistakes?

I was struck by an article  about blogging  I read recently that was all about just that. (see citation at the end of this post/no link available)

The authors, all instructors at a teaching college, stated that they made several assumptions when introducing blogging into their university courses for pre-service teachers:

 ..."that this generation of tech-savvy kids would enjoy this particular medium for discussing their reading."

... there was little need for direct instruction

... blogging would appeal to the wanna-be teachers who would be incorporating technology into their future classroom

WRONG 

Assessing What Counts

Blogging is now an integral part of my elementary classroom literacy block.  Like many teachers, such as  Kathleen Morris and Pernille Ripp, I have come to see the benefits of blogging with my students and wouldn't miss including it as part of our daily activities.

Within the first few months of introducing it, I added blogging as an independent choice for journalling, creative writing or completing reading responses in our Writing Workshop.

The importance of how we presented ourselves was established much like teacher Mrs. Yollis does with her Grade 3 class.  Having standards for 'publishable writing' is not a new concept in our school.

That being accomplished, and I have to say blogging was appreciated by the students as a 'cool' way to share their lives, their interests, and their book selections, it became a question of how do I use the blogs as part of gathering information about my students' learning?