Summer Book Study

I'm looking for some suggestions for this summer's book study!

I know I have been very MIA round here this year but I am hoping that with summer coming I can turn that around. It's been tricky going back to work with two kids, finding time to workout and get everything else I want to get done…done.

Something had to give and unfortunately it was blogging.

But the summer is just a short 5 weeks away (praise the lord!!) and I am thinking about some summer reading.

So lay it on me!

What book (or books) would you like to do for a book study?

100 Minutes- My Thoughts on Chapter 7 "The Foundation of Independence"

Another amazing post and fabulous chapter.

Thanks to Brenda from Primary Inspired for hosting Chapter 7. 

A great friend of mine in transitioning from many years in Grade 6 to Grade 3 next year (hello Sonia!!) and as I read through this chapter my first thoughts were, 

"Yes!! Sonia is going to love this and wow will it really help!"

And of course I texted that to her right away!

Love you, Sonia. 

It's funny. A fellow teacher asked me how I ended up picking this book for the book study and it's strange. I hadn't seen it anywhere else, or read a review of it. While I was browsing the Pembroke Publishers website it stuck out for me, I asked one of the reps about it and thought it sounded good...and here we are.

Aren't you glad I happened across this book by chance? 

I sure am!

So on to my thoughts about the book. Here are some things that really stood out for me...

Reading and Writing Cycle

Throughout my reading of the book I've been a little concerned (but keeping it to myself) about the idea that students would do 2 days of a reading cycle and then 2 days of a writing cycle.

Would this mean that they wouldn't have 

independent reading or writing 

EVERYDAY? 

But upon reading through this chapter I have decided to let go of my concerns and when September comes to go with the outline of the 100 Minutes framework. Everything makes so much sense and I am ridiculously in love with the idea of intentional sequencing that I MUST give the framework a fair chance before I attempt any kind of adaptation.

On page 107 Lisa talk about the "triangulation of student data" which is  HUGE thing in my board right now.

Using observations, conversations and products to assess and evaluate our students is so important. I have found in recent years that I am much more comfortable with this type of assessment and have learned so much more about my students as learners.

One of my goals for the coming year is to have my students track a personal goal for their own writing. It's something that I have read a lot about and have really wanted to try but just haven't done yet. Silly me.

Stamina

A lot of this chapter reminded me of The Daily 5 and the importance of building stamina and practicing routines in order to set the stage for a successful literacy block. If you haven't read the chapters in The Daily 5 where the Sisters discuss the first days/weeks of the year and setting up your routines and developing the students' stamina- I recommend getting your hands on a copy and checking it out. 

So worthwhile.

If you're like me and have read it...then re-read it.

There is nothing more important than the first days/weeks of your literacy block.

Using Book Boxes

Lisa talks about giving your students some time to browse and select up to 6 books for their book boxes prior to starting your independent reading routine (page 111). This is something I haven't really tried before, book boxes I mean, and it something I really want to do this coming school year.

Starting Independent Reading First...

Then Independent Writing

In my class and in my experience, it's better to start reading first and get a routine somewhat established before starting independent writing. 

You may disagree and that's ok!

One of the best things about teaching is that we all have the opportunity to try it our own way.

Somethings I'm going to consider over the summer:

Writer's Notebooks? 

Artifact Box? 

Writing Inspiration Board?

Family survey- "What did you write today?" (weekly homework?)

Reading logs?

Genre challenge- when to start? how will my program fit in to the 100 Minutes framework

I'm going to end with my favourite quote from this chapter...

"When you invest time in establishing routines for independent reading and independent writing, students will understand that the work they do independently is just as important as the work they do when working directly with the teacher."

(Page 116)

What was your favourite part of this chapter?

Don't forget to link up with your post and

 thoughts on Chapter 7.

Emily from Emmy Mac's Class on June 21st.

Stay tuned for Chapter 8- Small Group Learning. 

Also...you really should head over to Learning with Mrs. Leeby and checkout the amazing giveaway she has going on.

I heard a little something about Tiffany earrings!!

Whoa!

100 Minutes and The Daily 5...Joining Together!

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In my first post about the upcoming 100 Minutes Book Study I mentioned my desire to read this book because in the past I haven't been able to work The Daily 5 structure effectively into my own language program. 

Wow...did I get a lot of comments from other bloggers/teachers that feel the same way!

There is definitely a LOVE for The Daily 5 out there but like all things, it's not a one size fits all and it seems like there is a group of us that just can't get it to work with our teaching style. 

Does that mean we just just throw it all away? 

Give it up?

Start from scratch?

No way!

Lisa Donohue, the author of 100 Minutes, has a great blog post on her blog that address this exact concern. 

If you are on the fence about whether this book is for you, or whether you want to join in on the book study I highly recommend checking out Lisa's post. 

Lisa talks about connecting the strong independent activities and routines that are built using the Daily 5 structure with whole class and larger group activities, like Guided Reading or Writer's Workshop. She has come up with an acronym for this- AWARD time (Applying Writing and Reading Daily) and there is an entire section in her book about it.

Another great feature of Lisa's blog post is the diagrams that illustrate the reading and writing cycle that can take place in a literacy block. There is also a chart that shows how the 100 minutes of your literacy block can be divided and where The Daily 5 fits. 

100 Minutes and The Daily 5...a perfect match!

I'm planning to conduct an interview with Lisa Donohue to start the book study so if you have any questions you'd like me to ask please let me know. 
Leave a comment below or email me at 
thinkingofteaching@gmail.com

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I'm still looking for co-hosts for the duration of the book study. Being a co-host is simple....you sign up to host a chapter, post your thoughts, provide a linky so others can link up with their thoughts, and if you want to have a giveaway or a freebie that coincides with your chapter. 
(A freebie or a giveaway is not necessary!)

If you are interested in being a co-host 
for the 100 Minutes Book Study
 please click here to fill out the form. 

The co-host schedule is now full.

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The book study starts on May 23rd...
so you've got lots of time to grab a copy and get reading. 


Don't forget that we are celebrating this great book study with Pembroke Publishers and a giveaway! 
They have provided a copy of 100 Minutes by Lisa Donohue and Word Nerds by Brenda Overturf as a prize. 

 I'm also offering a choice of any product from my TPT store as a prize as well. 

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a copy of 100 Minutes, Word Nerds, or a product from my store. 
The giveaway ends May 2nd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

100 Minutes....How do you balance your literacy block? ~ Book Study and Giveaway

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For the past few summers I have been hosting and co-hosting a variety of book studies here at Thinking of Teaching and have found that it is a super rewarding experience. I love hearing the thoughts of other teacher bloggers about the reading and the response that come in about my own reflections.

For this summer I have picked 100 Minutes: Making Every Minute Count in the Literacy Block by Lisa Donohue

Here are some options to purchase the book:

Pembroke Publishers (Canada)

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Stenhouse (USA)

Why did I pick this book?

Well, I've read The Daily 5, The Cafe, checked out the sister's website, heard them speak live and visited countless blogs and pins about The Daily 5...yet I just can't get it to work in my class. It doesn't seem to fit my teaching style.

That isn't to say that I'm throwing it all away! There is a lot of about The Daily 5 that I love...the mini-lessons, building stamina, the CAFE board, etc but...I want to mesh it with something else. 

In Part One of her book, Lisa Donahue talks about all the things she has tried and done in the past during her literacy block and I swear it's like reading my own teaching story. How do we fit everything? What do the other students do when it's guided reading time? Where does modelled reading fit? How often do they have to work through the entire writing process?

The introduction to Part One alone has gotten me hooked!

I can't wait to dive in, start reading and even better....start talking to you all about it. 

But first, who's in?

I'm looking for co-hosts for the duration of the book study. Being a co-host is simple....you sign up to host a chapter (or 2), post your thoughts, provide a linky so others can link up with their thoughts, and if you want to have a giveaway or a freebie that coincides with your chapter. 
(A freebie or a giveaway is not necessary!)

If you are interested in being a co-host 
for the 100 Minutes Book Study
 please click here to fill out the form. 

The co-host schedule is now full. 

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But wait....maybe you aren't sure you want to co-host but you definitely want to read the book and join in on the discussion. Well, that's great too!

The book study will start on May 23rd...so you've got lots of time to grab a copy and get reading. We will discuss one chapter every 4-5 days. I will be posting on most of the chapters along with the co-hosts and we will provide a linky so that you can join in on the discussion as well. 

To help celebrate this great book study, the amazing people at Pembroke Publishers have provided me with a copy to giveaway! They also gave me a copy of Word Nerds by Brenda Overturf as a prize....whoooo hoo! 
(I missed out on the Word Nerds Book Study last summer
...but I hear there's another one in the works for this summer.) 
Finally, for fun I'm going to throw in your choice of any product from my TPT store as a prize as well. 

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a copy of 100 Minutes, Word Nerds, or a product from my store. 
The giveaway ends May 2nd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Children's Book Reviews

I was contacted back in the late spring by Heather from Thomas Allen & Son about reviewing children's books....and of course loved the idea! Then the summer hit, we moved house, I'm pregnant, it was hot...etc, etc and somehow the draft of the this post got lost in the shuffle.

But, I've found it and it's ready to go!

First up is Mad Science 2- Experiments You Can Do At Home, But STILL Probably Shouldn't by Theodore Gray.  The title alone is enough to get anyone excited about this book!

I think any boy I've ever taught would grab this book off the shelf and dive right in! (Quite of few of the men I know would do the same...and then run to the hardware store for supplies....!) This book has amazing pictures and some really interesting scientific information. The non-fiction reader in your class would probably gobble it up. I think it's a little advanced for my Grade 3 class, but I've no doubt the boys would enjoy skimming through and exclaiming over the pictures and ideas. 

I would recommend that this book be in classroom libraries for grades 5 and up, and could be used as a suggestion for reluctant readers. It would also make an excellent addition to a non-fiction text features unit!

Next up we have, Just Grace and the Trouble with Cupcakes by Charise Maricle Harper. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! The cover is enticing and the title grabs the reader's attention. My two and half year old daughter was even intrigued by this book and we have sat down together to read a few pages here and there...and if a chapter book can hold the attention of a toddler that's saying something!

I would love (and plan to) to get more copies of this book and the rest of the books in the series. I think they would be a fantastic addition to my Grade 3 classroom library and to use for literature circles or novel studies. 

Harper's writing of Grace and her classmates is very realistic and positive. It shows the actual trials and tribulations of a grade 3 student (especially a girl) without seeming preachy or condescending. I also enjoy the pencil drawings (i.e. Diary of a Wimpy Kid) found throughout the book. The drawings and heading require the reader to delve a little deeper into the text on the page as they are a part of the story.

Just Grace and the Trouble with Cupcakes is about the school fair that Grace and her classmates have been assigned to plan by their teacher. Of course, they have to pick a theme which leads to a rift in Grace's friendship with her best friend, then she ends up in a group of kids she's not sure she likes and to top it off the visit from her Grandma does not go as planned. The students will enjoy reading how Grace handles these real-life student problems and be able to connect to their own experiences in the classroom.

This book is definitely a A!

The first book I read when the box arrived was Parched by Melanie Crowder. 

What a powerhouse!

This is the kind of book that makes me miss teaching the older kids...where was it 5 years ago when I taught Grade 7 and 8! For anyone with a social-justice focus in their class this is a must have book. I will admit though, it's a challenging read. For some students the vocabulary and story-telling from multiple perspectives might prove to be difficult. However, it would do well as a class read aloud or a lit circle book for more advanced readers.

If your curriculum involves water and conservation than Parched would be an excellent way to integrate your literacy and science curriculums. Here is the description from Thomas Allen & Son's website:

In this haunting, lyrical novel told from three perspectives, Sarel has just witnessed the violent murder of her parents. But she is not completely alone on the drought-ridden land. Nandi is the leader of a pack of dogs who looks out for her pups and for skinny Sarel-girl. Nandi knows they are all in trouble, and she knows, too, that a boy is coming—an escaped prisoner with the water song inside him. A hard-hitting but ultimately hopeful survival story.

This book drew me in from the first page (okay, the cover) and I just couldn't put it down. Imagine the conversations it could spark!

The last book in the package was The Ugly One by Leanne Statland Ellis. 

This is an interesting book...and yet, I'm not sure if I liked it.

Here's the description from Thomas Allen & Son:

I had always been ugly, as far back as I could remember.

Micay has a deep scar that runs like a river from her right eye to her lip. The boys in her Incan village bully her because of it, and most of the adults ignore her. So she keeps to herself and tries to hide the scar with her long hair, drawing comfort from her family and her faith in the Sun God, Inti. Then a stranger traveling from his jungle homeland to the Sacred Sun City at Machu Picchu gives her a baby macaw, and the path of her life changes. Perhaps she isn’t destined to be the Ugly One forever. Vivid storytelling and rich details capture the life and landscape of the Incan Empire as seen through the eyes of a young girl who is an outsider among her own people.

The content of the book are interesting and I like connections to a Cinderella type story but I had some trouble maintaining my focus while reading. The slightest noise or movement would draw my attention away from the book. 

With the changes that have taken place in the Ontario Social Studies curriculum this year I am not sure where this book could be placed most effectively for integration either. I think that for a good understanding the students reading this book would have to be at least Grade 6 or higher, perhaps an advanced Grade 5?

I do think it's worth looking into if the description intrigues you...the storyline is rich in detail and lends itself to a great deal of visualization. I would love to see student drawing's of Micay as part of a class art project.

This is one I'm just not sure about. It wasn't my cup of tea but I wouldn't say it wasn't interesting either. 

Have you read any good children's books recently? I'd love to hear about them. 

Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 1

It's here!! The book study is starting!

Don't forget to use the hashtag 

#getyourmathon

for Twitter and Instagram.

I have been anxiously awaiting the start of this book study and can't wait to hear what you all think of this book. 

Brenda from Primary Inspired and I are hosting Chapter 1, so make sure you check out her post as well. 

I started peeking at Chapter 1 pretty early and immediately regretted not having a highlighter or post-it notes at home. I texted my husband and asked him to grab some on his way home! Crisis averted. LOL

As someone whose background is in literacy I can't believe that I never even thought of using the same comprehension strategies in my math lessons. The first thing that really stood out for me as I started to read through Building Mathematical Comprehension is the debate about core teachers vs. rotary teachers. It's a debate that's going strong at my school right now and one that I have changed my opinion about.

I started my career teaching only Language Arts, History and Geography and was terrified at the thought of Math. However, when I switched from Grade 8 to Grade 3 & 4 teaching rotary was no longer an option and I was faced with...Math! I must say, now I love teaching Math, I feel like I know my students so much better than I did when I taught rotary and reading this book has helped me cement my ideas on this subject. 

The BIG idea that I have come away with is that all teachers are reading teachers.

On page 22, Sammons displays a chart that shows the similarities between good readers and good mathematicians. It's very interesting to see how similar the two actions really are. I especially liked when Sammons wrote "Mathematics requires not only the construction of meaning related to mathematical concepts, but also comprehension of the written text that is so often required for problem-solving tasks." (page 23) I have found that many of my students have a great knowledge of math but when it comes to problem-solving, or communicating their thinking they stumble. (This was the focus of a 6-week intensive unit in my classroom this year that you can read about here)

I really like the idea of discussing math problems as a genre! What an amazing idea...I have also noticed the amount to which Sammons references Mosaic of Thought by Keene and Zimmermann. I have not read this book but really want to now. I think it would make for a good companion read as we work through the book study. Has anyone read it? Can they recommend it?

I also enjoyed reading about explicit instruction and modeling how to perform the strategy. I am glad that Sammons took the time to go through the steps involved in the scaffolding process because I think it's always an important reminder for us/me. I am especially bad at letting my students contribute when I am modeling and I want to make a conscious effort to get better in this area. 

Lastly, I am interested in integrating math texts into my guided reading more often. Wouldn't it be interesting to read a math problem and discuss it in a similar fashion to a narrative story? Author's purpose? Author's message? Etc

Some questions I had after reading this chapter are:

On page 26 Sammons writes that teachers should be aware of how they frame their expectations or goals for students in both reading and math but doesn't give an example of a good goal or expectation. I am wondering what one would look like? Maybe it will come up later in the chapter?

What was the most interesting part of Chapter 1 for you?

Now it's your turn. Link up below with your post about chapter 1 so we can get this book study rolling. 

Would you like to display the linky on your own blog? Grab the code!  get the InLinkz code

Get Your Math On! GIVEAWAY!!

Are you excited to join our new book study but haven't found the time to order your copy of Building Mathematical Comprehension by Laney Sammons?

Well, we have a giveaway for you!

Brenda, from Primary Inspired, and I will each be giving away a copy of the book to kick off our summer book study that starts on June 8th.

Enter below to win your own copy of Building Mathematical Comprehension

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We still have a few spots open for people who would like to co-host with us! Send me an email and I can hook you up. 

Summer Book Study...Get Your Math On

I am very excited to be hosting my annual summer book study this year for the third time and this year I have a partner in crime! Brenda from Primary Inspired!

Last year Brenda hosted the Guided Math book study that was amazing and seems to have transformed a lot of people's teaching, mine included. I am excited to be jumping back into the world of math with Laney Sammons for this summer's book study; Building Mathematical Comprehension.

As someone whose background is mainly language arts and literacy, I am very interested to see how I can apply my strengths to my math program. There's been a lot of discussion at my school lately about teaching rotary versus core (that is having a specialist teach math and a different specialist teach language, whereas with core one teacher teaches it all) and I am in favour of core. I can already tell that this book is up my alley because it talk about the importance of integration and that all teachers are reading teachers!

From Amazon: "Building Mathematical Comprehension provides a solid foundation for incorporating familiar reading comprehension strategies and relevant research in mathematics instruction to help build students' mathematical comprehension. This stand-alone book demonstrates how to facilitate student learning to build schema and make connections among concepts. Teachers will learn how to help students ask good questions, visualize mathematics, and synthesize their understanding of mathematical concepts."

Grab your copy and get ready to "get your math on"!

Are you interested in hosting a chapter? Email me at thinkingofteaching@gmail.com

Re-reading? A Do or a Don't?

Do you ever re-read your favourite books from when you were younger? Do you remember the book that created you as a reader? The book that ignited that spark? I do!

As a child I was in love with Anne of Green Gables (the whole series), and my second favourites were the Little House on the Prairie series and Little Women. It's not so surprising that historical fiction is still my favourite genre as an adult!

There is something special about reading a book that you love. You know what's going to happen, you know the characters like they are friends and yet you hang on every word waiting to see what's going to come next.

If you haven't read Anne of Green Gables- stop here! SPOILER

Every time I sit down to read Anne of Green Gables (which I try to do every year) I feel like I am greeting an old friend that I haven't seen in awhile. I anxiously wait to see if Marilla and Matthew will decide to keep Anne. I am indignant when Gilbert calls Anne "carrots" and enraged when Anne is forced to sit with Gilbert as a punishment. I cry big, fat tears when Matthew dies and wonder how Anne's life will ever be the same.

Reading an old favourite is like a warm cup of tea, or hot chocolate that greets you after a cold winter day. It's a hug from a loved one. It's the feeling I want to inspire in all my students, and now especially my daughter! I bought Avery her very own copy of Anne of Green Gables and it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. Hardcover. Pink with tea cups, teapots and flowers embossed on the cover. Gorgeous. I wrote a special note inside for my little little and I look forward to the day when I can introduce her to something that has been such a huge part of my life.

As I have grown older I have noticed that I connect with Anne at very different times in her life than when I was younger. As a girl I ached for Anne to get her puffed sleeves, just as I ached to wear the right clothes and "fit in". As a teen I wanted Anne to win that Avery scholarship and go to college just like I anxiously awaited my own university acceptance. I held my breathe on Anne's first day as a teacher and hoped she would be a success and loved by her students. On my own first day I tried not to let me nerves show and thought that if Anne could make it through then so could I.

And now I am a mom. I have finished Anne of Green Gables  and am working my way through Anne of Avonlea. I can't wait to get to the time that Anne becomes a mom. Will that resonate with me like all the rest of Anne's life has? I have no doubt.

As I always tell my students-  Re-reading a book is great. You are a different person now than when you first read it and can probably learn something new.

Literacy Workshop/Daily 5 (Freebie)

Last year I incorporated The Daily 5 into my classroom for the first time and really enjoyed the freedom of choice it gave to my students. They became such independent little workers in all areas of their studies and I think it was due to all the practice time we spent building our stamina. I am very excited to work with The Daily model in my class again this year, especially now that I am going to be teaching Grade 3. I am also planning to use all the fabulous strategies I learned during the Guided Math book study, so I can only imagine how independent and self-sufficient (fingers crossed) my little friends will be!!

This year I am moving onto a team that plans together! Yes, we already have our language and math long range plans done for the year. (And they are so pretty...all organized and on a chart!) But none of them had read or used The Daily 5 before. So I handed around my copy, got a few from our resource room and got everyone reading. That being said, a few of my team members use The Power of Retelling as the main part of their reading program. So, I got my hands on a copy and I have been reading that throughout the summer. 

The plan is a mishmash of the two models that is ultimately designed with our students in mind. Simple? Ha!

The one things that I need to wrap my head around a little more is using a Monday-Friday schedule. Come from Grade 7-8 I have always taught rotary where I have very little say about when I am teaching which subject. My students would come for 45 minutes, leave and then I would have another class for 45 minutes. My school system works on a Day 1-10 cycle so I was stuck teaching what was schedule for each day...no matter how things may have been going. Now that I teach my own class all the subjects, with very little rotary I have a lot more flexibility to play with my schedule as I see fit. So excited about that!

Here is my basic plan:

 It's a very rough outline. 

I think it's going to take a few weeks of working with the 2 models to really see how things go, and to be honest those won't even be the first weeks of school because I have to work through the launching of all the aspects of the Daily 5. Maybe November? :)

I have also decided to call my program "Literacy Workshop". I disliked using the word "daily" last year because we didn't always fit it in everyday. I also don't want a number in the title because I am hoping to incorporate a little media and a responding to reading when I can so our rotation choices will be changing and flexible as the year progresses. 

The Power of Retelling uses a "Book of the Week" approach for modelling, teaching, and assessing the students' ability to retell and respond to what they have read. My teaching partners and I have discussed that this would be a good area to incorporate the Daily 5 as we could use vocabulary words during Word Work or a specific writing prompt for Work on Writing. Really, the possibilities are endless. I can also see a lot of possibilities for extending my students' learning during our guided reading groups as I use all the wonderful strategies from our Guiding Readers Bookstudy. 

I am very excited about developing my literacy program as the year progresses. I know it will be a lot of work but I think it will be very rewarding for both myself and my students. 

The third component of my literacy program will be guided reading and using all of the wonderful strategies that I learned during the Guiding Readers Bookstudy. My one concern is finding and having enough levelled texts to use with my students. This is going to be a goal of mine as soon as I can get back into the school. I want to check out what is available. 

Lastly, will be Writer's Workshop. This is always an ongoing project for me. I'm not sure that I've ever really liked my program in the past! I'm hoping this year is better...somehow! Something else to add to my list of goals, I guess. I have always found that the program I used in the past was too cumbersome and too involved somehow. I want to parr things done and make it more simple so that more time is spent writing and less time is spent doing whatever else we did!!

So, to get ready for all these changes in my classroom I have made a few freebies that I thought some of you might enjoy as well. 

I've decided to decorate my class using a Dr. Suess theme so I purchased some backgrounds and borders that fit in with my theme for my freebies!

This first freebie is for the book of the week work I will be doing related to The Power of Teaching. It follows along the weekly plan that I laid out above and includes a header for the work to be done on each day.

The second freebie is a Daily 5 inspired set of posters and schedule cards. I've decided to add a few of my own rotations (Respond to Reading and Interact with Media) so that I can be more flexible with my program. Here's a hint of what it contains...

Enjoy!! Don't forget to leave a comment after you've downloaded the freebies.

Guiding Readers Book Study- Co-Hosts Wanted

And away we go! The Guiding Readers Book Study will be officially starting on June 18th...so get your copy now. If you are interested in being a co-host, contributor, or whatever...just email me or leave me a comment with your email address and I'll get you all signed up and ready to go. Last year's Book Whisperer Book Study was a great hit so this would be a great way to get your blog out there and to do some professional learning too. If you just want to sit back and enjoy the ride, then that's just fabulous as well!


Here's a button I created for all the fun. Feel free to grab it, post it and share it around. The clip art comes from the amazing Scrappin Doodles...of course!

<center><a href=" http://thinkingofteaching.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://s1187.photobucket.com/albums/z383/elizabethlyons/GuidingReaders.jpg"/></a></center>
Plus, keep an eye out for my new blog design....to be unveiled soon. I am super excited and can't wait for you all to see it!!

Book Study Updates

Here is a link to the book study schedule over at We Read, We Blog, We Teach.



This blog will be running a book study on The Daily 5, and The CAFE book!!

Here is the link to the book study for Guided Math: A Framework for Mathematics Instruction.

My copy of Guided Math just arrived in the mail today...and I may have to dig in (on a Friday night! Yes, I am that much of a geek). I will be hosting Chapter 7....can't wait. 

Guided Math Book Study

I am so excited to be starting the Guided Math: A Framework for Mathematics Instruction! Even though it's the end of the school year (17 days!!) and things are winding down I am excited about this opportunity to learn more about teaching math. It's definitely not my strongest area and one where I have done very little professional development.


Click here to head over to Primary Inspired to get all the details and to start reading!

Summer read along?

I am starting to think about hosting another read along this summer (like last year's Book Whisperer) and am looking for suggestions!

Perhaps something about math or writing? Leave a comment and let me know, especially if you are interested in co-hosting or being involved in any way at all!

My Summer Bucket List

What an amazing idea....ohhh summer, where are you? Here in Ontario we will be in school right up until June 29th so thinking about summer vacation this early is a little bit of a dangerous past time but I like to live on the edge sometimes.





So what do I want to get done...hmmm.
1. Knitting- I bought some gorgeous hand-painted wool to knit a light cowl for myself, and just today I bought a new pattern and fair isle patterning yarn to make a sweater for my daughter.
2. Professional Reading- so much!! I have a few books on guided reading and reading responses plus one of my new teaching partners just told me about "The Power of Retelling" so that's going on the list too.
3. Running- my husband and I started training to run a 5k and I am hoping to sign up for a charity run in August
4. Cottaging- we will be at the cottage for 2 glorious weeks in July....the beach, the sun, the food!!
5. Become an aunt!! My sister is due in August and I can't wait to meet the little man.
6. Plan for next year- things are changing and I am very excited to see what the new year will bring.
Head over to link up with this great party!
Miss KindergartenA Modern TeacherA Cupcake for the Teacher

Culturally Responsive Practices

I spent the day today in a workshop for mentor leaders in my school board discussing culturally responsive practices. It was very interesting and informative...I think I will be reflecting on my own teaching practice for quite awhile after today.

The first thing that we did was have an icebreaker type activity called "Who's in the room?" You can do this by either having people physically stand up to indicate their inclusion in a group or answer a question. For example, we stood up if we taught in the K-8 panel. We stood up if we were currently mentoring a new teacher. We stood up if we had been mentored by Bruce Wellman. It was very interesting because you could see who you had things in common with and who you might be interested in networking with to learn more.

The second activity we did was similar except that we used clickers to indicate our answers. In this case we were able to answer more sensitive question anonymously. Each participant had a clicker and we used it to answer yes or no to questions based on culture, gender, religion, etc without being singled out. Then we could discuss the responses based on a graph that was displayed of the results. (If you've ever played the trivia style game that is in some restaurants/pubs then you should know what I mean by clickers.) It was interesting to see the results of questions like-
"Have you ever been the target of racial graffiti in the workplace?"
"Have you ever felt unable to voice your opinion because of your gender?"
"Have you ever felt that someone was hired based on their gender/ethnicity/culture/religion?"

Everyone was able to "participate" in the discussion completely anonymously! And it made for some intriguing results....

I would love to get some of these clickers for my school! It would be a great way to see the pulse of your students...how many are understanding a concept? It would enable to quieter students an outlet to "participate" in class without speaking in front of a large group. You can also type in response numerically or with letters. The possibilities are endless.

Once we had completed these two ice breakers we moved onto the nitty gritty of the day's agenda. The overall idea of the workshop was that we need to be aware of who we are culturally and our own beliefs and values so that we can confront and prejudices we might hold. Only then can we be open to creating a culturally responsive teaching practice. It's an important step to creating an inclusive learning environment.

Cross-Curricular


We spent some time talking about how we can use culturally responsive practices in a cross-curricular way. One suggestion was made in regards to the types of word problems or story problems that are used in math class.

This is a Grade 4 example:

Instead of...


If you wake up at 7:30 a.m., and it takes you 10 minutes to eat your breakfast, 5 minutes to brush your teeth, 25 minutes to wash and get dressed, 5 minutes to get your backpack ready, and 20 minutes to get to school, will you be at school by 9:00 a.m.? (Taken from the Ontario curriculum document for Math)

Try...

Think about your morning schedule. What time do you wake up? What routines do you follow in the morning as you get ready for school? How long does it take you to do each of the tasks? How does your morning routine compare to the morning routine of a child in a developing country?


The same math expectations are addressed in both problems...elapsed time...but the second question also looks at the math through a cultural lens. And, it's not that hard to do!

I am very interested to try this in my own class. I do recognize that a question such as this would require some pre-teaching or schema development. It may be necessary to research the morning routine of a child in a developing country...but what a great opportunity for a rich discussion based on such a simple math expectation! As a Grade 4 teacher, I could also ask students in compare their morning routine to the morning routine of a child in the middle ages and it not only integrates culture but social studies as well!

Assessment


The next topic of discussion was based around assessment and the work of Anne Davies. We discussed her ideas around the triangulation of assessment- observation, conversation, and products. Essentially these three ideas form the basis of your assessment practices, a triangle with the student in the centre. We brainstormed all the types of assessment we currently use in our classrooms and then placed them where we thought they best fit on the triangle. I was very proud of myself to see that my assessment practices have moved from largely product-based to a lot more observation and conversation. I think I have developed more confidence in my own abilities to assess my students that I don't always need to see a written product in order to give my students a grade!

When we are using conversations and observations it is still very important to have a checklist or a set of criteria based on the curriculum. In this way we can still differentiate our instruction/assessment, we can be inclusive and culturally responsive!

One very interesting strategy I learned that I am going to try out in my class tomorrow (and then tell YOU all about it!!) is Talking Pictures. Ask your students to draw a picture illustrating what they know about a topic. I am going to ask them to draw what they know about division. I am then going to assess their drawings using "Glow/Grow". If the student has demonstrated an understanding based on the question/topic you have posted then you use a symbol (smiley face, check mark, plus sign) that indicates that the student is glowing in this area. Any place that shows the students still needs to work or has some misconceptions you use a symbol (minus sign, question mark) where the student needs to grow.

Resources


Here are some books and resources that were also discussed today at the workshop:

Math That Matter by Davide Stocker

Maria the Remarkable by Tara Langlois & Patti McIntosh


The Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction- Volume 7, Media

Good Questions- Great Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction

So I bought some professional books...

First of all, I would like to apologize for how long it has taken me to post about Reading for the Love of It! While it was an amazing conference and I had a great time...I also came home that night with strep throat. So here we are, a week or so later, a round of antibiotics done and... 10 lbs lighter! It's amazing what not eating can do in a short amount of time. But I am healthy, back at work and ready to share!

This post will be mainly about the professional resources I bought while at the conference and then I plan to share my thoughts on the workshops I attended in a separate post.

1. This is a set of reading comprehension cards I purchased that are aligned with the Fountas and Pinnell reading levels. As a former Grade 7/8 teacher I know VERY little about guided reading and am not proud to admit it's rarely done in my class. I just don't know what I am doing! So, I made it a goal to work on this area and this is one step towards that. These cards are both fiction and non-fiction and come with questions to discuss with the students. I figure if I start out small and get my feet wet I will feel a lot more confident when trying to do guided reading.

2. This is a book I had been eyeing up for my Medieval Times unit. It's full of monologues and dialogues of various people in the middle ages. What a great way to learn about the way of life and to integrate some drama!

3. These are my two big resource purchases! I saw both of these authors speak- Tony Stead and Lori Jamison- and loved every minute of it! I have heard Tony in the past and knew it would be great. I really enjoyed hearing Lori on the first day and went back to a second workshop on the second day of the conference but due to the settling in of strep throat I was forced to leave a little early.

Tony's book- Good Choice! is all about reading response in Grade K-6. Again, I am relatively new to Grade 4....only have taught until December last year and then going off on mat leave with my daughter. So here I am back in January feeling like a brand new teacher again as I make up everything as I go. (Thank goodness for Pinterest and blogging!!). I have done a lot with Reader's Notebooks in the past with my 7's and 8's but really felt like a lot of what we did couldn't be brought into a Grade 4 classroom. I am hoping that this book will give me some ideas and insight about how to do reader response with my Grade 4's.

Lori's book- Guiding Readers is a another steo towards my goal of learning how to do guided reading. She provides some great example mini-lessons and activities that she does with the students. The book is written very clearly and outlines how guided reading should/could look with readers working at different reading levels and stages of development. I am very excited to dive into this one!!

4. I also purchased The New Dramathemes, 3rd edition to complement my ongoing drama program. I have read through the previous editions but did not own a copy for myself.

Ahhhh. books! Gotta love them!