Lots of Learning with The Teachers College

I received some amazing training this past week.
As I included in an earlier post, I am in training with Natalie Louis from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

One aha moment was Inquiry Lessons.
Have you heard of this?
This was my first time hearing of them and they are complete genius!
Which is to be expected from Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College.

Here is an example of one way you could use an inquiry lesson:

Inquiry Lessons These lessons happen about three times throughout a unit; approximately every eight days.  It is not considered a mini-lesson as it will take quite a bit longer.  The purpose is to assess student progress and monitor what learning from daily lessons they have and haven’t tried. First, the teacher reviews learning from the unit by looking over anchor charts created. Next, using his/her writing notebook, the teacher models rereading entries and evaluating what learning has been tried so far. Keeping the students together whole group, the teacher will encourage them to do the same with their notebooks.  The teacher walks around coaching students. Then have the students discuss what they have tried out with their writing partners. Next, the teacher will look over the charts and reread through notebook to determine what he/she has yet to try from the unit’s learning. After that, the teacher determines a goal as to what he/she would like to try in their writing. Keeping the students together whole group, the teacher will encourage them to do the same with their notebooks.   The teacher walks around coaching students. Last, the teacher will send the students off to work on achieving their goals. This lesson should be repeated about 8 days later and include additional learning since the last inquiry lesson.

In my earlier post, I included a video from Vimeo which the Teachers College shared.  Click here to read the post and view the video.  The Teachers College has 40+ videos on this site and the handful I have viewed are wonderful.  I am looking forward to watching many more.
If you haven't checked out the Teachers College Vimeo channel, you should put it top on you list of todos.  Click the image below to go to their channel.

On a side note- I am new to the world of Twitter and am extremely excited to say that I received a Tweet (I think that's what they're called lol) from the Teachers College, thanking 4321Teach for sharing their video!  I was so excited, that I took a screen shot of the Tweet to share with everyone! :)
I know... I'm a dork! lol

I want to share another Vimeo video from the Teachers College channel.
It is an inquiry lesson done slightly differently than what I described above.  This lesson's focus was to help students transfer learning from persuasive speech to writing a persuasive letter.  Same concept of reviewing and assessing previous learning though.

Hope you enjoy it!

Have you ever taught an inquiry lesson?  What do you do to involve your students in reviewing and assessing learning throughout a unit?

I would love to hear your ideas!

Antoinette :)

Vimeo- Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

Have you ever searched for videos on components of Balanced Literacy on the internet?
Mini-Lessons...
Conferences...
Small group lessons...
Share time...

Have you ever been a little disappointed with what you found?
Well the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project has decided to do something about that.

Do you know about Vimeo?
It's sort of like YouTube...
You can upload, share, and view videos.
The best part about Vimeo, in my opinion, is that on this site, Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College are uploading and sharing videos for teachers all over the country to view.
Oh yah, and it's free to view!

When you are in Vimeo, do a search for TCRWP (Teachers College Reading and Writing Project) to find their videos.
Or click on the image below to go straight there!

The video below is one we watched in my training.  The little boy is absolutely adorable and there is so much to learn from this conference.

Have you ever used Vimeo?

Antoinette

42, Baseball, and Reading Workshop

PLAY BALL!!!
Do you love hearing those words?
I do...

Which is why I had to see the movie 42.
It is a MUST see; baseball fan or not!
Jackie Robinson's story is so inspirational!
His courage to take a stand...
Not just a stand for equal rights of all...
But a stand to not fight back when so many are against you.
To not fight back when you are humiliated, ridiculed, injured.

One of many favorite quotes from the movie was when Branch Rickey called Jackie Robinson into his office to talk to him about being the first African American in the Major Leagues.

The conversation went something along the lines of...

Rickey:  I know you are a good ballplayer.  What I don't know is whether you have the guts.

Jackie Robinson:  Mr. Rickey, do you want a ballplayer who doesn't have the guts to fight back?

Rickey:  I want a ballplayer with the guts enough not to fight back.

WOW... WHAT POWERFUL WORDS!!!

Here is the trailer to the movie in case you are interested:

So how does this tie into reading workshop?

Books about baseball and Jackie Robinson are great ways to teach theme, character traits and development, how characters respond to challenges, perspective, historical events, etc.

There are some great books out there about Jackie Robinson as well as many others who had the courage to stand up for what is right.

This message of courage is so important to teach children and can tie into many topics besides racism (bullying, telling the truth, peer pressure, etc.)

One of my many favorite books is Teammates by Peter Golenbock.

This book not only shows Jackie Robinson's courage to take a stand on segregation and racism but also his teammate, "Pee Wee" Reese's courage to do the same.

In "Pee Wee's" hometown, which at that time was not a fan of Branch Rickey's decision to put an African American into the MLB, he was confronted with a difficult decision- Go against the beliefs of his family and community and ridicule and shun Jackie or take a stand for his teammate and do what is right.

Such an AMAZING book with a powerful message for all.

Here are some other books, among many, about Jackie Robinson:

If you are a baseball fan and want to take this one step further, you could also go into the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.  In a time when most men were off fighting the war, women were asked to step up and keep alive the love of baseball.  A truly inspirational time in the history of females and their struggles to be treated equally.

Check them out!!

There are so many picture books out there that are excellent ways to inspire children to have courage and stand up for what is right.

What are some of your favorite books that have powerful messages or strong characters that face difficult challenges?

We would love to hear your ideas.

Antoinette :)

Test Taking Strategies

Another snow day today...

Luckily we didn't get near as much snow as was predicted but I guess that means that we will have school tomorrow.  Bittersweet...

With February just about behind us, my district has about a month and half until our state assessment; MAP.
It's like all of sudden, everyone is getting antsy.

With MSIP5, MAP is even more a factor in accreditation which doesn't help the anxiety.

So yesterday I spent some time printing released items off of the DESE website for my testing grade levels.  This will help them provide their students with sample passages and MAP-like questions.

Preparing for state assessments is absolutely necessary, but I feel very strongly that core instruction shouldn't be put aside, for extended periods of time, for test prep; especially with reading instruction.

I would use some time during my guided groups to prepare my students for test taking strategies.  We focused on comprehension skills but also threw in some test taking tips, as I would call them.

First, we would work on answering constructed response questions.  Somewhere along the way I learned a strategy called SLAMS which is an acronym for writing quality constructed response answers.  When trying to look for the source to give credit, I stumbled upon this Prezi which explains SLAMS.

Here are some other test taking tips:

Make a quick overview of the test (is it fiction or nonfiction, what is the title, what illustrations and/or text features are included, etc)

Read the questions first to help you be prepared for reading.

Read the text once all the way through.

Skim the text for key words or phrases from the questions.

Underline and number (according to the questions) the key words or phrases in the text.

Answer the questions (For constructed response use SLAMS.  For selected response, go through each option and eliminate incorrect choices)

For math, we practice problem solving all year.  We use a strategy that I also learned along the way called MAPS.

Mark all important information in the problem.

Application- What operation(s) do you need to use to solve the problem

Problem-  What is the problem you are trying to solve

Solution-  What is the solution?  Does it make sense?

I always liked to throw in an additional S where I would have my students write their answer in a sentence because it is sometimes hard to tell where the answer actually is.

Hope you find these test taking strategies helpful.

What do you use in your classroom to prepare your students for state assessments?

Antoinette

Common Core- Text Structure

Digging deeper into Common Core: RI5

One of my goals this school year is to REALLY learn the ELA standards; what they mean as well as how to take them to a more rigorous level.  In an earlier post, Digging Deeper into each Standard, I dove into the world of RL6.

In this post, I want to look at RI5 which deals with text structure.  I find it helpful to look at the College Career Readiness standard first because that is our ultimate end goal.

CCR: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (a section, chapter, scene, stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

Now for the standards K-8.  Looking at the vertical piece is extremely helpful because you can see how the standards build upon each other.

Now to dive deeper...  

A great start would be a quote from Lucy Calkins' Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement.  I am currently reading this book and it has some great information about the ELA standards.

"To analyze structure, do this: Look back over the text, and ask yourself if you could divide it into parts.  Look at the text as if you were in a plane, flying above it.  Instead of seeing fields divided by a ribbon of roads, you see paragraphs.  Think about the meanings in those paragraphs, about the different sort of work that is being done in one part of the text, another, and another.  Ask what each part does."

- Lucy Calkins

I really liked this analogy. :)

So text structure is more than identifying whether it is a compare, chronology, problem/solution, etc.  It is about how a text is shaped to help a reader better understand the information.  It is about preparing your brain to take in knew information by looking at structure (cover to cover, text features, sections, paragraphs etc.)  Authors are very strategic in how the set up their information.  There is a purpose to what is included and how it is arranged which, when carefully thought about, plays a huge role in comprehension of nonfiction texts.

Here are some resources I provided for my teachers to help them understand and teach text structure.

Teaching Text Structure

Hope this information is helpful.  I would love to hear from all of you.  How have you taught this standard?  What resources help you understand the new Common Core State Standards?

Antoinette :)

Top 5 Favorite Picture Books

Need some more picture book ideas?  Getting tired of reading the same books that everyone else is reading?  Well I had class again tonight and as I stated last week, I am going to tell you about my top 5 picture books that were shared tonight.

It is such an amazing class because we all either get paid or earn PGC (professional growth) hours for reading and learning about great books to use during reading and writing workshop.  Pretty sweet huh?

So my top 5 picture books tonight are... (drum roll)

Wild Child by Lynn Plourde

I might have shared this book before, but it is worth repeating.  It is a book about Mother Nature and seasons changing.  Wild Child is a great book for making inferences, asking and answering questions, and how illustrations enhance the meaning and beauty of a text.  Those skills are what I have used in the past, but when I was rereading it through the lens of a writing teacher, I found that it is also great for rhyming, alliteration, and creative endings to stories.  There are three other books that go along with this one.  I have not read them but can bet they are cute also.

We Are in a Book by Mo Williams

This book is absolutely hilarious.  Gerald the elephant and Piggie discover that they have an audience... the reader.  It is great fun for them at first but they begin to worry when they realize the book is drawing to an end.  This interactive book is very engaging and great for beginning readers.  There is a quite a variety to choose from.

14 Cows for America

Have you heard of this book?  WOW is the first word that comes to mind.  I literally cried while reading the endnote.  Such a touching true story about a man from Kenya who was studying in America during the 911 attacks.  His people were known warriors but his culture also taught him to be compassionate and strive to heal wounds.  So after the horrific attacks, his heart ached for the Americans and he decided to give a gift of a cow (which is precious to his people).  He returned home to ask for a blessing on this very special gift and his pain for the Americans touched the hearts of his people.  Instead of 1 sacred cow, they presented 14 and cried, with their hands across their chests, along with the Americans they presented it to as our national anthem played.  Like I said, WOW!!!!
These words below come from Amazon and are so powerful.

"A mere nine months have passed since the September 11 attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely from American and Maasai as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a world away."

Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger

This book is a beautiful story about Grandfather Twilight who takes a single pearl and takes a walk which brings on night.  As he walks, the illustrations display the oncoming night which grows larger throughout the book.  In the end, he sets the single pearl free to take its nightly place in the sky because after all, what would night be without the moon.  This book is wonderful for making inferences, asking and answering questions, and using illustrations to add to the meaning and beauty of a text.

I grouped these two together because they both share a common theme.  Two completely different settings and groups of people find beauty and love in their surroundings.  There is something beautiful and something to love in all of our lives.  Sometimes it is easily recognized and sometimes we have to look beyond the bad to see all the beauty.

Hope you enjoyed my book shares.  Have you read any of these? What are some of your favorite books?  I would love to hear about them! :)

Antoinette

We Give Books and Shared Reading

I am always on the lookout for great resources for teachers.  My latest frequent recommend is a fabulous site where you can get tons of free books to use in your classrooms.

You have got to check this site out!!!

Click on the picture above to go to the site.

They have a great selection of both fiction and nonfiction.  Check out a few below.

Now you do have to sign up for an account to access these books, but it is completely free.

One component of Balance Literacy is Shared Reading.  I was thinking this site is a perfect resource for this component because during Shared Reading, a teacher is using a text, that everyone can easily see, to model behaviors of proficient readers.

Here are a few sites with some great information on Shared Reading:

Hope this information is useful to you.  Do you do Shared Reading?  If so, we'd love to hear your insight on this powerful reading tool.  Also, What online book sites do you use? 

Looking forward to hearing from all of you! :)

Antoinette

Mentor Texts

I love learning about new books to use as mentor texts!!  I am taking a class where the majority of the time is spent looking through books and discussing them with fellow educators.  Each teacher is required to share one book with the class and prepare three lessons that include which Common Core standards could be used with each.  So 25 people in the class times 3 mentor texts equals 75 book ideas to share with our students. YEAH!!! :)

So I decided that throughout the time I'm taking this class, I am going to share some of my favorite ones with all of you.

The first one I was actually reminded of during a demonstration visit this morning in a kindergarten room.

OMG this book is absolutely adorable.  Can't you tell by the cover?  I wish I could show you the precious picture at the end with the dog smiling.  So cute.  The theme of the book is about friendship and how it sometimes comes and goes.  City Dog meets country frog and they become great friends.  They play together throughout the seasons but in the winter City Dog cannot find Country Frog.  It is quite sad at this time, but has a happy ending.  Don't want to ruin it for you.

The Royal Bee is based on a true story and has an amazing theme of the importance of education and how it shouldn't be take for granted.  Song-Ho is a poor boy who is not allowed to go to school because it is only for the privileged.  That doesn't stop him though because he listens outside the door of the school and learns a great deal.  The teacher knew all along that he was out there but never said anything until it was winter.  Freezing outside, Song-ho was invited in to learn with the other students.  The Royal Bee is a competition for the smartest of the smart.  Does Song-ho get the opportunity to go to it?  Could he actually win?  You will have to read and find out.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

This book is most famous as a writing mentor text because Eva has an assignment in which the teacher told her to write about what she knows.  She sits on the stairs on 90th street and has no clue what to write about because "Nothing ever happens on 90th Street."  Throughout the book, characters come up to Eva and give her advice about writing.  For instance, one character tells her that the world is a stage and to not forget to add details while another character tells her to stretch the truth and ask what if.  Eva decides to take her neighbors' advice and suddenly 90th street is quite an interesting place.  Check this book out to see the interesting turn it takes.  Now I said it's most famous for writing, but I have actually also used it for setting.  Some would say, "Duh it takes place on 90th street."  Yes, the author explicitly tells us that, but we do not know where 90th street is.  So we have to infer using the characters' words and illustration to find out, or at least try.  It would also be great for character traits and story elements.

How did I ever forget about this book?  Wilma Unlimited is an amazing book and a tear-jerker as well.  Wilma Rudolph is famous for winning gold medals in the Olympics but what some might not know is that life was extremely difficult for her from day 1.  She not only survived scarlet fever but overcame a paralyzed leg from polio.  Talk about determination...  If you want to teach your children that absolutely nothing should hold them back, this book is perfect for you.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks mentor texts.  I would love to hear about more from all of you.  What are some of your favorite mentor texts?

Antoinette :)

New Year and Mentor Texts

Happy New Year Everyone! :)

Hope everyone's is off to a great start and you continue to persevere with your resolutions.  So often in life we start something with great intentions... we get busy and it slips our minds for awhile.  I've decided that it doesn't matter if I forget for a bit or mess up a time or two, I'm going to have the COURAGE (my OLW) to persevere and keep up with mine.  Hope you all do the same. 2013 is going to be an amazing year!

So I have spent a huge chuck of my 2013, since I've been back to work, looking at picture books for mentor texts.  My district is in the process of ordering quality mentor texts for the teachers to use during reading and writing workshop.  That being said, I felt that there was no better place to research quality than to request recommendations for all of you.  So PLEASE make a comment with recommendations.  I want to compile both a list for this year and a wish list for next year.  Here's to hoping they give us money then as well. lol

When you get a chance, check out some of these books.  They are new finds and have great potential.  I am one of those people who REALLY don't like recommending something unless I have actually tried it, but seeing I no longer have a classroom (wipe a tear because I do miss having kiddos) I don't have as many opportunities to do so.  I'd love it if you all tried them out and let me know. :)

Such an inspiring story and she was from Missouri.  A great theme that will teach children that nothing should stand in the way of their dreams.

Synopsis taken from Amazon

"Ella Kate Ewing was born in 1872. She started out small, but she just kept on growing. Soon she was too tall for her desk at school, too tall for her bed at home, too tall to fit anywhere. Ella Kate was a real-life giant, but she refused to hide herself away. Instead, she used her unusual height to achieve her equally large dreams.

The masterful Klise sisters deliver a touching and inspiring true story about a strong-minded girl who finally embraced her differences. It?s the perfect book for every child who has ever felt like an outsider."

LOVE this book!  Such a sweet story with a wonderful theme.

Synopsis taken from Amazon

"Children are eager to grow bigger, and JoJo is no exception. He always asks his mother the same question: “How much did I grow today?” No matter how often his mother assures him that good things come in small packages, he is desperate to be bigger. After all, he wants to run in a race to win a pair of red Rocket Racer shoes. But how can he compete against bullies who are much bigger than he is? A delightful surprise ending illustrates how true growth is not always measured in inches.

Jane Barclay’s heartwarming story explores a theme that speaks to every child. Esperança Melo’s wonderful art complements the text to create a charming book that’s bound to become a favorite."

Isn't he just ADORABLE!  This is a series and is great for teaching younger grades informational text.

From School Library Journal (taken from Amazon)

K-Gr 2-The primary-grade crowd will love this early fluent reader series that discusses the infancy and development from birth to adulthood of various water animals. Physicality at each stage, diet, and social structure are addressed; predators are not mentioned in all of the volumes. Clearly labeled photographs complement the texts; words that are defined in the glossaries appear in bold in the narratives; and the glossaries include both definitions and photographs. The vocabulary is more complex than that found in many beginning-reader series, but each volume is chock full of fascinating facts. A map highlights where each animal lives. This series is a standout.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Myths are huge with Common Core and this series provides easier reads for elementary.  Now I questioned the jealous wife part but it wasn't too obvious.  Definitely read it first and see what you think.

Synopsis take from Amazon

"Callisto, a beautiful young huntress, is not looking for love. But Jupiter has been watching her, and he has a plan to make her fall in love with him. When Callisto has Jupiter's son, his wife is angry. Will Callisto and her son survive the wrath of Jupiter's jealous wife?"

Hope you all enjoy my book pics!  They are all new finds (for me) in 2013.  If you have read them or check them out after reading this post, please let me know what you think.  Like I said, I prefer to know as a fact they are good mentor texts and would love to hear your input.

Also, PLEASE share some great books you have used in your classrooms!

Thanks so much!

Antoinette

Reunited... and it feels so good!

Is your stress level astronomically high?
It's that time of year, I guess.

What better to relieve stress than a Girls Night Out?

That's just what Antoinette and I had tonight with 5 of our close teacher friends.

We were finally in the same place at the same time! (For those of you who are new to our blog, we used to work in the same building, but Antoinette is now a Teaching and Learning Coach at 2 other buildings.)

We all aired our grievances, shared stories, and had plenty of laughs.

We even talked about some teaching ideas, hopefully we will get around to sharing them soon.

How do you relieve stress this time of year?

Now onto something you can possibly use!
We are talking about narrative non-fiction in my classroom.
So of course I had to read Tarra & Bella.

Then we watched the videos of the them.  If you click the image it will take you to the CBS page with the videos.  (I only got watery eyed this year!)

I really wanted to emphasize to the kids that narrative nonfiction can be great for kids that don't like non fiction.  Heart warming and emotional, not just facts.

I had several other examples for kids to read during readers workshop.
Of course they are all knew:

and a Show Me Award (MO book award) nominee:

What books do read to start a more in depth study of non-fiction?

EmilyK