What if the book was invented after video games?

The readability of this chapter was challenging, however, the concepts brought forth by Donna Alvermann can begin to change the way you think about scientific reading instruction. I was following her rationale without great contemplation until she added the section from Steven Johnson's, Everything Bad is Good for You where he challenges you to imagine how we would respond to books if they came along AFTER children had been playing video games for centuries. His scenario was so susinct, placing us in an alternate society that you could not refute. This is the kind of information and line of thinking that will stick with me and creep up on me when I find myself struggling with a student. The relevance of technology in the classroom can no longer be denied. I feel like I want to write a grant to bring my classroom current. The overhead seems insulting to the learning processes of my students after reading this book.

Readicide- Kelly Gallagher

What I wish I would have known in August

I have to quote Sara Kajder, "We're past the point where we can keep doing old things with old tools, or old things with new tools. Students simply won't allow it." I have to say that I could have used this information at the beginning of this year. The kids I have this year are extremely technologically motivated, however I did not recognize the extent of this motivation and learning opportunity until the last month of the school year. As we learned propaganda, I gave my students the chance to develop their ad campaign on Windows Movie Maker or Power Point or whatever other new form of technology they wanted to explore. I told them that I would not teach them how to use the technology, but that they were allowed to use whatever they could figure out. The kids produced some fabulous ad campaigns for their fictional products and proved to me that they understood how to use the various techniques to reach the intended audiences. I had no behavior problems during this time. Students were motivated and focused. If something disrupted our learning, the kids were asking when they could finish their projects. Not only did the technology make it easier for me to teach, the students learned much more than in previous years. They were truly proud of what they did.

Had I known information from this chapter back in August, things might have been different this year. I might have had an easier time. This was one of my toughest years of teaching--engaging the students was a great challenge. This was a social group with a collected disenfranchised mindset. Had I known how to use the technology to engage them, more learning could have occurred.

I intend to utilize more of the technology with my students in a way that engages them and takes their learning to a whole new level. No longer will technology be used primarily as a reward for reading or improving scores. It will be used to support reading and improving scores. How can you use technology in your classroom?

Once again, a timely read.

As the year is winding down, I am able to see cumulative data and really analyze the growth of my students. As I have explored the Aims Web data, I have realized that essentially, my students can read. The problem is they struggle with comprehension. I'm realizing that even some of my strongest students have some comprehension difficulties. I was trying to figure out what the problem is. Then I read chapter 7 in Adolescent Literacy.

Janet Allen makes a strong argument for the role vocabulary plays in comprehension. She also brings forth the same issues I have dealt with in vocabulary instruction--boring, out of context and memorization. I don't want to do anything with these qualities, so why would my students?

The strategies Allen demonstrates in the chapter are so simple. I can see the potential for growth in using these strategies. They are similar to some of the Sharokky Hollie strategies, and they extend beyond what he taught me. This is yet another piece that I was looking for. I loved the strategies I had, but I didn't want to use them so much that they lost their effectiveness. I now have tools I can add to my toolbox that will be equally effective. The more you have, the further you can stretch them. I am excited to rework my vocabulary teaching for next year. I like the word wall in the classroom as well as the individual student word walls. I think this will be a more effective method for organizing our personal thesaurus. Now I just wish I could find a list of tier 2 words.

Alan November - 3 Skills Students Need to Succeed

SchoolTube - A Vision for k-12 Learners Today

SchoolTube - A Vision for k-12 Learners Today

How do I make what I envision a reality?

As I began to read chapter 20, The Role of Handover in Teaching for Democratic Participation, I was annoyed. The idea of making my classroom a political forum agitated me. What if the kids don't share points of view on an issue? What if parents don't understand the process? Then I kept reading. I came to realize that the whole class scenario initially described was that of a beginning, but not one that promotes transfer. Randy Bomer goes on to describe how to develop a writer's workshop environment that promotes social action in which each student has a voice about what they are passionate about.

Just as I was making the connection between his ideas and the multi-genre writing of Tom Romano and reading, Bomer began to list the variety of genres that would be required to develop a social action project. I found myself trying to rework what/how I would work things in my classroom. Could I find a "buddy room" to blog with? Could I find a teacher that is already working this out or is willing to go the distance with me and make this work? The ideas are buzzing in my head right now. Combining a book with a research, multi-genre social action project. I don't even know how many GLE's that would be?! I am super-stoked to make this work.

This book offers more links and ideas than I know what to do with. Each chapter is like going to a great conference and leaving recharged for the year. However, I have to be careful that it doesn't push me in so many directions that I can't make learning make sense for my students. When I get excited about what I am learning and I begin to visualize the equivalent of a movie classroom in my head, I tend to lose the cohesiveness and consistency needed for middle school.

I think this is where I need to remember my last post--I need to synthesize and maybe find an explainer. How do you bring social action into your writing classroom?

Questioning--is it the same as critical thinking?

I am so glad that Kylene Beers chose to put the Robert Probst article after Ellin Keene. She had some great ideas, but as I read on, there was something about her tone that felt elite and was turning me off of her ideas about understanding. As I read the Probst chapter, I felt more comfortable with the concept. It amazes me how vocabulary choices can impact the reader so much.

I loved the tools that Probst offered teachers as stepping stones into teaching questioning to the kids. They are user friendly and easy to tier to a variety of reader levels. (I fully plan on using Find the Poem to put my students into their seating charts.) His strategies reminded me of a technique from the Kylene Beers book, When Kids Can't Read, called "Say Something". It is very similar. We tried the say something strategy this year, but it was challenging. I think that using some of Bob's techniques to scaffold to Say Something would be helpful. I agree that questioning and working for understanding are some of the most challenging aspects of reading for my kids.

At times I feel that they lack stamina when reading and that's why they give up, but I am realizing that it is not so much an issue of stamina as it is a lack of knowing that you have to struggle to understand. They feel that struggle means stupidity and they quit before they ever get the reward that comes from struggling.

I think video games would be a good analogy for teaching this. I was watching my son play a new game this weekend. He tried and failed and tried and failed, yet he never quit and I never heard him saying he didn't understand. He did comment that it was hard, yet he kept at it. Once he got it, he knew there would be another challenge coming. Why do kids like to simulate the struggle of learning, but they do not enjoy doing it for real? He was able to analyze his mistakes, question how to fix them and then act on the corrective action. To me, this was critical thinking or creative problem solving. Is there a difference between this and questioning for understanding?

What does it mean to REALLY understand?

Whenever I read an article by an "expert" or learn a new strategy at a workshop, it always seems that they make magic with a text. Really, I have to say, they just were aware of a meaty text. I have learned that once I find these strong pieces, I too can work magic with the strategies I already know. So what does this mean for me as an educator? I need to be well read. I have been trying to decide what my other elective will be, and I'm starting to think it should be a Literature class of some sort. How did these "experts" come to collect all of their tools? Is it experience, lots of collaborating, education or a combination of these?

This was the first thing that came to mind as I read Ellin Oliver Keene's chapter in Adolescent Literacy, The Essence of Understanding. As I read on, she asked readers to pause and reflect on a time we were exploring a complex concept or trying to understand an overwhelming amount of information. She then asked, "What contributed to your eventual understanding?" Choosing just one time is difficult, but I would have to reflect on my recent challenges with data team cycles. Although I am not sure I have come to an eventual understanding, I am trying. I am asking questions as we go through the process and I am having meaningful conversations with my team. We first had to admit that we didn't get it before we were willing to ask for help and support. We have struggled through the process together, tears and all. We had the stamina to keep going when it felt fruitless and we tried even when we were afraid it was wrong. Without this experience, none of us would be this much closer to "getting it." Reading her dimensions of understanding list, I feel more confident that I will "get it" because she described exactly what we have been doing and what I have been feeling through the process.

Try it, think of a time you explored a complex concept. What contributed to your eventual understanding? Take that one step further...how would your students react when they experienced those same feelings as they struggled? How could you help them "get it?"

Who is your favorite teacher?

OK, chapter 2 of Adolescent Literacy, titled "Flying Blind" is written by novelist Chris Crutcher and should be read by every teacher at the beginning and end of everyday. In his chapter, he reminds us who is in our classrooms and what they bring with them. He states, "Favorite teachers save lives."

I have to say, from personal experience, this is true. I had a few teachers in my life who, for no other reason, were my favorites because of a look, or a well wish about my personal life. The ones that proved that they SAW me and knew I needed a nudge or a reassurance are the ones I remember. I remember them more than the grades I got or the things I learned. I also have a life lasting love for those subjects and a greater confidence in my abilities in those classes. How many English teachers can say they LOVE chemistry? I can, all because of Mr. Wilson. He just knew when I wasn't OK and his guitar playing while we worked made it better everytime. I'm sure it wasn't all for me, but he had a way of making sure he checked in on you when your body language suggested you were not ok.

He is just one of many that I learned from and try to emulate as I teach in my room. In years past it has been successful...this year, my focus was wrong. This year, my focus was on school (Masters program) and data. It shows in the motivation and relationships in the classroom. It hurts. I find myself wanting to loop, just so I get the chance to "get it right" and make a positive impact in my kids. They deserve better than they got from me this year. Chris Crutcher's article will be read many times by me.

This book seems to be a must read for every teacher, regardless of the content you teach. It reminds you that the kids are the puzzle, not the GLE's and the best way to get the test scores you want.

Who were your favorite teachers and why?

It takes a risk...

This article on becoming a leader is timely, not only for me, but also for my students. As eighth grade looms for them, so does taking on new leadership roles. Roles they may not expect. My best advice is to look within and believe in what you see there. With the willingness to try comes the greatest learning and reward.

What advice do you have for future (very near future)leaders?

Suburban Journals | Opinion | OPINION SHAPER: Becoming a leader turns fear into quiet confidence

Suburban Journals | Opinion | OPINION SHAPER: Becoming a leader turns fear into quiet confidence

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What is success?

Just finished chapter 1 in the Kylene Beers book--Adolescent Literacy and the first thing I have to say is WOW! There is no holding back here. She jumps right in attacking AYP and how schools measure success. From there, she basically states that in order to redefine success, we have to restructure schools.

I love this woman and her courage to go out there, believe what she believes and articulate these beliefs in a way that makes one think so much. I remember when I started teaching and felt the pressure to conform. I fear that if I were to stop learning, I might fall into that conformity--to accept things as they are. That is when I am done--when I succumb to the ideas around me stopping my forward progression.

She challenges the education system's definition of success--"teachers distributing information and then students giving it back." As soon as she has you down, realizing that you are a part of a broken system, she poses a ton of what-ifs--"what if schooling looked different?" This is where she echoes many concepts and thoughts I had as an education student working towards my certificate. Mine were not as articulate as hers (how could they be?)but they had the passion and the fire. They had that, "try and tell me I'm wrong and that this can't be done," attitude. The kind of visions that veteran teachers find laughable because they have seen/heard the passion so many times from new teachers and then watched it fade as those first few years wear on.

She makes you ask, "What IS my definition of a successful education?"

Well, here goes nothing...

In my class last night we discussed literacy for the 21st Century and it got me thinking...am I preparing my students for literacy in a global community? I would have to say...NOT EVEN CLOSE!

This really disturbs me. There is so much that students of today need to learn in order to compete for jobs. Who knows what technological changes will come by the time they enter the work force? So, I have decided to start this blog for my classroom. At this moment, I am not sure how to make it work, but I have many people who will support me (including students), so I know I will figure it all out eventually.

Anyone have experience with this? I found an excellent article about getting started and it even discussed potential problems. If I can figure out links, I will link the article on here.

What are you doing to prepare your student or child for literacy in the 21st Century?

http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/blog-basics

Here is the NCTE position on 21st Century Literacy:

http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition