Archive of ‘Teaching Reflections’ category

Here come the books!

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

What is the best way to come back to school after spring break?  Why by taking my classes to the book fair all day!

If you could see the piles and boxes of books I have stacked around my house and classroom, you would know that the book fair is the last place I need to to spend my day.  But what could be better than spending time every period browsing the new books, pointing out favorites to my students, and discovering new titles that look intriguing.  To make it even better, this is the BOGO book fair.  How can I turn down a deal that lets me get a free book for each one I buy?

I also had chance to look at next year’s Young Hoosier Book list and buy some of the titles for my classroom.   I can tell I am much more aware and current with my reading.  When I first started promoting the Young Hoosier books through our book club at school, most of the books and authors were new to me.  When I looked at this year’s list, I realized I already owned eight of the titles in my classroom library already, and several of the other titles have been on my wish list.  I am looking forward to discovering a few new books and authors as well.

The more books and authors I know, the better I am able to recommend the right book to my students.  And my students have been reading up a storm this year.  I currently teach 113 students.  Those 113 students have read a grand total of 2,121 books so far this year.  I think that rocks!

31 Days

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

For the second year in a row, I have joined Two Writing Teachers in the month long Slice of Life blogging challenge.  For the second year in a row, I wasn’t sure I could actually pull it off–write and share every day for the month of March.  For the second year in a row, I did it.  I wrote, posted, shared, and commented every day.  For the second year in a row, I have learned more than I could have imagined before I started.  What have I learned?

  • Writing is sometimes hard, but I can still do it.  There were quite a few days when I had no ideas, no words.  Those were the days I dug through notebooks or read posts (especially the inspiration posts–Thanks, Stacey) from other writers to find ideas when my brain was empty.  One day I even wrote about having nothing to write about.
  • Somedays I wrote better than other days.  I cringed as I published some of my posts, but I am grateful for the kind words of people who encouraged me to try again the next day.
  • I can find time to write every day.  Usually how long it takes me to write a post depends on the amount of time I had available.  On busy days, I could crank out a post in less than 30 minutes.  During spring break and weekends when the entire day stretched before me, it would take me an hour or two to write a post.  The posts on those leisurely days weren’t necessarily better than the others.  They just took longer.
  • I have readers I didn’t know about.  Throughout the month, I would run into people at school and church who would comment on my posts or ask me a question about something I wrote about.  I usually share my posts on Facebook and Twitter, and sometimes responses would come there as well.
  • I love comments!  I still get excited when someone takes the time to write a comment about my posts.  I also love reading and leaving comments for others.  I could spend hours reading and commenting if I had the hours to give each day.  Sometimes, though, it is hard to know what to say.  Sometimes I wish I could be there face to face instead.
  • I am glad to have found and become a part of this community.  The slicing community is filled with some of the most dynamic and passionate teachers, literacy coaches, administrators, and parents that I’ve ever met.  I have learned so much from what you have shared from your classrooms and homes.  I am inspired to become an even better teacher and mother.

I stand in awe of those of you who have classrooms of students slicing with you.  By next year I am going to figure out how to organize and keep up with 120 language arts students so I can share the excitement with them as well.

I will be back tomorrow for the weekly round up of slices each Tuesday!  I hope to see you there, too.

Case of the Missing Sequels

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

 

I shooed the last students from my room

and raced to the library

in a desperate search

for a missing book.

Destiny said the single copy should be on the shelf,

but no matter how many times I raked

my eyes back and forth across the books

standing tall and straight on every shelf,

this title did not appear.

Next I hunted through the display case

when a glimpse of yellow and black

gave a glimmer of hope,

but the historical fiction tome

would not replace the dark and twisted–

and downright funny–fantasy I needed.

Just as I was about to give up hope,

I spied a different missing book

that had proved as elusive as the killer

lurking within its pages.

I snagged it from the shelf

and delivered it to an unexpecting student

who had never given up the longing

to read how the sequel spun its tale

while breaking bad news to another

that another sequel went missing.

To Read, or Not to Read

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

That’s not really the question since I’m always reading.  But believe it or not, I don’t wish to read every book I’ve come across.  When I came across this post from Deb Day, I knew I wanted to share it with my students and write it myself.

The assignment is inspired by a quote from Oscar Wilde:

Books, I fancy, may be conveniently divided into three classes: 1. Books to read 2. Books to reread 3. Books not to read at all.

That reminded me of a quote from Sir Francis Bacon that I first encountered in high school.  I’ve never forgotten it (or the gist of it, anyway.  I had to look up the exact words).

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

These quotes do describe how I read books.  Some books I devour quickly in one sitting.  If it is a really good book, I might reread in order to digest it more slowly.  Some books I scan and skip through, looking for just the information I need.  Occasionally, I will find a book that forces me to slow down and savor from the very beginning.  It doesn’t happen often, but I have found books that I’d just as soon not read.  Here are my selections for each category as of right now. If you ask me the same question tomorrow, I just might have different answers.

Books to Read

This is the hardest to narrow down.  I have books to read stacked on my desk, stashed in boxes,  and listed on GoodReads–all waiting for me to read them.  These are the books that are nearest the top of my TBR pile that I will be reading over spring break next week.

Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant by Veronica Roth

imageI must be the only reader left in the world who has not read this trilogy yet.  It’s not that I don’t want to.  I just haven’t found time amongst all the other books, but now that the movie is upon us, I don’t want to put it off any longer.  I ordered the complete set last Saturday and look forward to reading them from beginning to end all at once.

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

imageIt was so hard to choose just one from the box that has the books from the latest book order.  All of these titles are ones that I’ve been hearing such good things about from my Nerdy Book Club friends.  The Mighty Miss Malone comes to the top because I loved Bud, Not Buddy.  When I heard that Curtis gave Miss Malone her own story, I knew I wanted to read it.

Books to Reread

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

imageI first read Jane Eyre when I was in middle school.  I can remember curling up with a stack of pillows and blankets in the bottom of my closet, reading by the light of the lamp I drug in.  (Don’t judge me.  The closet was the only place I could escape my brother and hide the soul-wracking sobs that the end of story brought on.  Jane was so brave and smart and feisty.  And Mr. Rochester was so mysterious.  I still pull this book out every few years to read again.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

imageA friend lent me her boxed set of the entire Chronicles when I was in the hospital in fifth grade.  Peter, Susan, Edmond, Lucy, and all the rest kept me company during those long days and nights in the hospital. (And caused my doctor much frustration because I preferred reading to resting.)  As soon as I got home, I begged my parents to buy me my own set.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve reread them in the years since.  They were the first chapter books I wanted to share with my daughter, and I still love them.  Whenever I need a break from my life, I know a trip to Narnia will give me a fresh perspective.

Books Not to Read at All

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

imageYes, I’m an English major and an English teacher, and I have never read Moby Dick.  I tried.  I got about a third of the way into it (when the main character–I’ve forgotten his name and refuse to look it up–finally makes it onto the deck of the ship.  I found I had no patience for the lengthy detours and details on the way to the main story.  I did read the graphic novel version about the time I gave up on Moby Dick.  Comparing the graphic novel to what I did read, I can’t say that the graphic novel left out anything important at all.  I will not be going back to this one–ever.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

imageTrue confession.  I actually did read this book.  I didn’t get it.  I tried it more than once.  But I still don’t get it.  Why do people say it is a great love story?  Who could possibly fall in love with Heathcliff?  I just don’t get the appeal.  It’s dark and depressing.  I have finally given up.  This love story is not for me.  I will never get it.

A Day in the Life of Testing

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

My second period students poured into the classroom.  Some sat down quietly in their seats.  Others bounced like pinballs between the desks before they found their places.  As everyone got settled, I started passing out supplies.

First, I hand out the wintergreen mints.  No, you don’t have to take one if you don’t want one.  No you can’t have all the extras.  Next I hand out pencils sans erasers.  It seems that if you erase anything on the test, it creates an unreadable dark blur when scanned for the scorers to read.  If they scorer can’t read what you write, you can’t pass.  Finally I pass out the test booklets.  No, don’t open them yet.

I glance at the clock and take a deep breath and start reading the instructions.  After three days, we all have the instructions memorized.  I try to put in as much enthusiasm as I can.  Yes!  You get to write today, but they aren’t buying it.  Then the first hand goes up.

“Why do you have to read these directions again?  We all know them.”

“Why can’t we use erasers?”

“Who scores these tests? Do you have to be smart to score them?  How much money do they make?”

After three days, I recognize these questions.  They are delaying tactics.  The more questions they ask, the longer it will be before they have to face this session of the test.  I glance at the clock, knowing that we have scheduled just enough time to get through the directions and leave enough time for the test.  I cut the questions short. (I promise my students we can talk about them after the test if they wish. For some reason, no one has any interest in these questions then.)

I instruct my students to open their test booklets.  It’s time to begin.  They clench pencils in their hands and begin reading.  I prowl up and down the rows of desks, smiling encouragement at anyone who lifts their head to look my way.  Occasionally, a hand goes up.  “Can you tell me what this word means?”  I shake my head and reply, “I can’t tell you that.  Read it again.  You can figure this out.”

As time clicks by, I mark the remaining minutes on the board:  30 minutes remaining, 15 minutes remaining, 10, 5.  The hands go up more frequently now.  This time pencils have worn down and become dull.  I wander up and down the rows with a handful of freshly sharpened pencils, trading them for worn out lead.    At last every student closes their test book.

Now we wait to see what strangers think of our work this week.

10 Good Things Today

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

I have enjoyed reading a variety of posts with different variations of “10 Things Right Now.”  Since today has been one of those days where good things kept bubbling up and are still fluttering around my brain, I wanted to try to capture ten of those moments in a list of my own.

  1. My very energetic, very excited students in my homeroom/1st period class helped me to rearrange the desks in a large circle this morning.  It is such a relief to have something different than the rows required for standardized testing.  In fact, they did such a good job, I’m going to ask them to help me move the desks back in rows tomorrow morning before our testing begins.  Just two more days and we can get back to our regularly scheduled classroom fun.
  2. Since we are in the middle of state testing this week, my first two classes could not go to the library today because other classes were testing there during those periods (and our regular library day got snowed out last Monday).  Instead, I brought the library to them with the help of our awesome librarian/media specialist.  I couldn’t bring all the thousands of books to my classroom, but I did have a well-stocked cart of high interest, popular titles.
  3. Our awesome librarian even gave me the super secret password (Okay, it may not be super secret since the 8th grade library monitors get it, too.) to the card catalog so I could check out library books to my students right from my classrooom.  Oops!  I forgot to put due date cards in the books for one entire class.  I hope she won’t fire me because I am way too excited about this.
  4. My secret evil plan (to match students with books they are dying to read) worked.  Before my homeroom left, I spread books around the desks for a game of musical chairs–library style.  I have strict instructions that they could not look at the books.  Of course, they did, and before homeroom was over I was checking out books to students who couldn’t wait to start reading.
  5. Musical chairs–library style.  Don’t worry, it is not a contact sport, and the only thing eliminated are books that aren’t for you.  While the music plays,  students walk around the desks.  When it stops, everyone sits down and grabs a book from underneath.  After spending two minutes getting to know the book, students rate it as “Love it!” “Maybe,” or “Not for me.”  Then the music begins again.
  6. My most musical class got into dancing while they walked around the chairs.  They even broke out in song during our read aloud today from Gary Paulsen’s Notes from the Dog.  When I read the line, “Grandpa says we are a family of men,” I heard “Men, men, men”  in perfect harmony.  Wait a minute.  Surely 7th graders aren’t old enough to watch that show.
  7. Both classes listening to Notes from the Dog laughed at all the right places.  Thank you, Gary Paulsen.
  8. The class listening to Endangered by Eliot Shrefer hung on every word.  I savored that as most of the time no one wants to sit still for anything during the last class of the day.
  9. While my students were getting to know books through musical chairs, I discovered a new book by Margaret Peterson Haddix that I haven’t read–Full Ride.  It looks exciting.  I’ve already peeked, but I’m trying not to read it until Saturday when I have volunteered to sit in a bookstore window to read for their Read Across America celebration this month.
  10. Yesterday, I shared the awesome doodling that my students have been doing while listening to Moonbird by Phillip Hoose.  Today during lunch, I received an email that Phillip Hoose had left a comment on that blog post. OMG – You should have heard the students’ excitement when I shared it with them.  (And you should see the stack of doodles I have after today’s reading.)  Here’s the comment.  B95 is still flying!

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Doodles Aloud

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

I struggle to find time to read aloud to my seventh grade students.  I value its importance, but there is only so much I can squeeze into 46 minutes.  Now that we have extended our day by 45 minutes to help make up the fourteen snow days we’ve missed, I have an additional ten minutes for each class period.  During this week of standardized testing, I started reading aloud a book to each class.  Each class got to vote on the read aloud selection from my choice of books.

Much to my delight, three of my classes chose Moonbird by Phillip Hoose.  (It was a close second in several other classes, too.)  I introduced the book by telling students that I didn’t want to read it at first.  What could be interesting about a bird?  But once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop.  I also became quite obnoxious, sharing everything I learned as I read.  I don’t know how many conversations that week began with “Did you know….?”

This is the first nonfiction text that I’ve read aloud, and I’m learning again along with my students.  Where is the best spot to stop reading the main text and share the information in the sidebars and photo captions?  I wish I had a document projector so I could more easily share the illustrations and maps on the big screen, rather than walking up and down the rows.  (At least when this week is over, I can rearrange the furniture to make sharing the pages easier.)

I allow students to doodle while I read. (But not play games or pass notes–and yes, writing a letter is the same as writing notes.)  Yesterday, one of my students asked if they could share their doodles afterwards.  Since I’ve been playing around with doodling as a form of note-taking, I offhandedly mentioned that some people doodled to remember what they read or hear.  I suggested that if they wanted to share doodles, it would be about the book.  I mentioned it to each of the classes that listened to Moondbird yesterday, and I was blown away by what my students came up with.

Here is another doodle that didn’t fit into the Tapestry story very well, but wowed me with all the information capturesd:

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Now I’m even more convinced that doodling can be a powerful tool to help my students learn.  I’m ready to learn more and share with my students.

PS – I used the Tapestry app to showcase my students’ doodles.  It’s my first time using the app.  (I learned about it from fellow slicers during the past year.)  I’m not sure how it will play on all devices, but there is a website, too.

Found Poetry

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

Poetry lurks in the most unexpected places.  Today my students went on a search for some found poetry among the books on my bookshelves to create book spine poetry.  I was amazed at the thinking going on as my students worked to put together book titles in surprising ways that still made sense.  We also got to practice revisions when students brought a stack of books that didn’t make sense when we read the titles together.

I did this activity last year and created a photo gallery of their poems.  This year, I selected my favorites to create a movie.  I had to leave out some of my favorites because iMovie cut off the top or bottom book when I placed the photo.  I’ll display some of those around school for us to enjoy.

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Fridays are for Reading

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

I look forward to Friday’s in my classroom, and not for the reason you might think.  Friday’s are the day we set our reading goals for the week.   For 10 minutes we all read together.  Since students need to read for the entire 10 minutes to set their reading goal, I don’t feel guilty for not conferencing with as many students as I can during this time.  Instead I get to read along with my students and share with them from the books I am currently reading.

I also take time to watch my students while they read.  While each class is different, there is nothing I love more than to watch my students read, each lost in their own world within the pages.  Some students on some days still look for distractions, but most of them eagerly look forward to the time of uninterrupted reading.  Here are some of the scenes from yesterday:

  • A boy who finds it difficult to sit still in a desk perches across the top of two desks pushed against the back wall, reading Gary Paulsen’s Flat Broke.
  • A girl who had not read much this week finally got her hands on John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars Thursday.  When she came in Friday, she had read 170 pages and couldn’t wait to dive back into the story.
  • A girl in a different class is also reading TFiOS.  She came in and told me, “I’m in love.”  I asked, “With Augustus Waters?”  She nodded and I answered, “Me, too.”
  • A boy in one of my morning classes groans when the timer goes off at the end of the 10 minutes.  “We can’t stop now.  I’m at a good part.”
  • After I shared the book I was starting this week–Hollow City by Ransom Riggs–one student shared the first volume he started yesterday.  Another student quickly snapped up a second copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children that another student had just donated to our library.
  • While students share a summary of what they’ve read, I hear students claiming dibs on classmate’s books as soon as they’ve finished.  As students enter class, I hear a common refrain, “Have you finished ____ yet?”

Now I’m off to finish Hollow City this weekend so I can give it to the students who are waiting to read it next.  I hope your weekend is filled with good reading and writing.

Finding New Shoots of Reading Love

imageI’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

As I slog through the cold, dark days of February every year, I always wonder if I make any difference at all with my students.  With the weather disrupting our schedule more than usual this winter (last week was our first week of school with no snow days, two-hour delays, or early dismissals), I’ve found it even harder.  But if I look carefully, I can see signs of new growth among my readers, just like I will see new green shoots poking up from the ground soon–even if we do have more snow on the way!

Many of these signs of reading taking root came after discussions about abandoning books.  Maybe some pruning is needed for new growth to take root.

  • One of my boys was reading a book of poetry (I ask students to read at least two poetry books) that he hated.  When I asked why, he replied that he didn’t like any poetry except for limericks.  I offered him John Grandit’s Technically, It’s Not My Fault, and he devoured it in less than a day.  Now other students are lined up to read it, too.
  • Two girls in another class are swapping books back and forth between them.  Now every day I hear, “Have you finished The Fault in Our Stars yet?”  Before that it was “What page are you on in Michael Vey?  I’ve finished the first one and am waiting for the second.”
  • Speaking of the Michel Vey books, they may not escape my fourth period.  As soon as one student finishes one, someone else grabs it before it makes its way back to the shelf.
  • One of my boys who would much rather be doing anything outside than reading, discovered the Amulet series.  After hunting down copies of all the books in the series for him, I had to ask him to stop reading to do our other work–writing.  He even wrote about how much he loved the Amulet books (quickly, so he could go back to reading).

There are more signs of reading sprouting among my students if I look for them.  I will keep looking and nourishing.

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