Raising Readers and Writers

I was going to title this post, “I’ve got to warm up my bump,” but I didn’t know how that would go over! That was a comment made last week at my house where a group of teachers met to discuss Troy Hick’s The Digital Writing Workshop. We’ve been meeting since before school was out and it’s been a great opportunity to talk to others who have the same interests. We are from a variety of elementary schools and grade levels in our district and each of us has a different interest. We were sharing different ideas when someone mentioned a way to transfer pictures using the Bump app. Those of us with smart phones were downloading Bump and sharing pictures, which is when someone made the comment above. Even though there was lots of laughter and silliness at this point, we shared lots of good ideas. Each of us leaves the meetings with more to think about and new ideas to try in our classrooms that we wouldn’t have thought of on our own.

I’ve also been involved in a writing group led by Dr. George Newell this summer. It’s the first time I’ve been in a writing group and I highly recommend it for anyone trying to do any kind of serious writing. We are 4 teachers who taught at the summer youth writing camp and we each had our own agendas for writing. One teacher wrote an article about working with students from a rural school district, another is a new literacy coach who worked on professional development presentations, another was searching for a grant and writing a grant for the first time, and I am working on an article about the Family Oral History project. Again, this group was a mixture of teachers from different grade levels and school districts. I gained so much from this experience. First, we had deadlines, which was very helpful. More important though, was the myriad of ideas that we were able to present to each other. Since we came from different backgrounds, we each had a unique perspective and the feedback was invaluable. Having the expertise of George was an extra bonus. It didn’t matter what any of us was talking about, he was a wealth of information and suggestions for publication ideas.

Closer to home, a group of us from my school are meeting to read and discuss Catching Readers Before they Fall: Supporting Readers who Struggle K – 4. We have representations from kindergarten, first grade, third grade, and Title Reading. What makes this group so nice is that we can talk about the expectations for each grade level, things we’ve tried that work and don’t work so well, and it gives us a foundation to all be using the same language. I am a firm believer that in order for our struggling students to make the most progress, there needs to be strong communication between the classroom teacher and the support personnel. Sometimes, lack of time and busy schedules impede these communication lines, which is frustrating for everyone involved. These summer conversations give us the opportunity to share our beliefs and set some goals for the upcoming school year.

The beauty of these summer groups is that there is time to reflect, think ahead to the new school year, and learn from others you might not see during the school year. I appreciate the input that everyone brings to each group as well as camaraderie that has developed among old and new friends.

A small group of teachers met yesterday afternoon to talk about Troy Hick’s book, The Digital Writing Workshop.  I love that our group represents teachers from different buildings, different grade levels, and different comfort levels when it comes to using technology in our classrooms. All of us have a love of learning and a love for what we do each and every day in our classrooms.   One of the major topics of conversation was the importance of us, as teachers, taking time to actually explore and try the ideas presented in the book before we ask our students to do it.  We are going to work slowly through the book, giving ourselves permission to play with some new ideas, make mistakes, and learn from each other.  We are fortunate to have two of our district technology teachers be part of our group to help us on our journey.  We are also going to set up a forum where we can ask questions and share ideas online so that we can stay connected between the times we meet face to face.  I am so looking forward to this new study group and broadening my horizons when it comes to using technology with my students.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our teacher writing group had the assignment to take a risk in our writing instruction. My goal was to publish some writing digitally. I have taken the podcast class twice (so I should have a little knowledge) and created some podcasts with the help of our technology teacher, but I have not done it all independently. I have been putting it off for a couple of reasons. First, I wasn’t sure how to manage the rest of the class while I recorded the kids’ voices and the biggest reason…time! Where do I find the time to take their pictures, record their voices, and put the podcast together? Well, as always, when I have a goal, I find a way to make it happen.

I decided to record their voices while they worked on illustrating their personal narratives (which we will be publishing using iMovie next month!). After explaining the importance of working quietly when they heard my signal, I got started. The kids did a great job! Each time I announced, “Recording,” the class quieted down and we were able to get most of the class done. The art teacher was kind enough to let me pull the rest of them out a couple at a time to finish up.

I went back to the directions I received in my podcast class, Googled for more information, and went to work. OK..I was at work pretty late that night and the next day, the technology teacher told me that I made a major mistake in putting the kids’ names in the chapter titles, but I did it! I fixed the chapter titles and republished it yesterday.

What did I learn? I learned to give myself permission to make mistakes (don’t we remind our students all the time that it’s OK to make mistakes?) and to be patient with myself as I learned a new skill. Plus, I am gaining confidence in myself in trying new things with technology. Google has become my best friend! Taking a chance with this project has stretched me and I’m ready to do it again. Next time, it will be even easier. Take a look at the wonderful research work being done by a great group of first graders.

This was the 21st year for the Dublin Literacy Conference and the theme was 21st Century Literacies. I have to say that this was one of the best conferences. I had a difficult time deciding which sessions to attend. I love being surrounded with like-minded people who share a passion for literacy and exploring new ideas. My mind is spinning with all of the possibilities for my first graders as well as my after school writing club (both teachers and kids) groups. As I took notes (yes, the old-fashioned way…I used a pen and a notepad), I came up with several ideas for my blog posts. It also got me thinking more about Dr. Bloome’s risk taking assignment and how important it is to take risks in our teaching so that we don’t become stagnant. We truly are on the cusp of new and exciting work. I’ll be writing more about the great thinking that happened today.

In a previous post, I explained the new task presented to the teacher writing group. My friend, Sara, popped her head in today and said, “I was you today.” I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. She told me that she began Writing Workshop today and it ended up taking her whole morning. She didn’t get to anything else.

You see, last year, Sara (who is one of our ELL teachers), did inclusion in my room for the literacy block. We were a well-oiled machine, and we both loved working together. However, it never failed, when she would come in after lunch, I was not where I was supposed to be in our schedule. I think I probably drove her a little crazy. So, today, Sara had one of those days. It happens to the best of us!

Today, Sara took her risk with a group of 17 ELL kindergartners. She wanted each of her students to write in the style of an author of their own choosing. Below is her description of her day. I wish I could have been there.

It was the first day, first lesson of letting children choose their own craft and/or mentor text. At 3:30 in the morning, this seems to be when I do by best thinking, I was already feeling a sense of panic, as I knew it would be nearly impossible to have all of the texts I needed for conferences at the tip of my fingertips, but it was a risk I promised my colleagues I would take.
Oral Story Telling- child one wanted to write a text on dinosaurs, non-fiction. We discussed a few facts he knew and off he went. Not exactly the type of text I had in mind but, oh well, he’s writing. Child two, three and four….not so sure yet where they wanted to go, many still looking through the texts. “Who wants to write like John Butler” I stated, and of course many hands went up. I began to feel secure again, as now I could guide my children together, using only one or two mentor texts…but just I was getting ready to model and read “Who Says Woof” out loud, Child Two raises her hand. “Remember Mrs. Kennedy, you said we could choose anyone. Today I am choosing Mo Williams, I am going to write a story like that pigeon except I want make-up” and off she went to write.

Oh to be five again. From there, I stepped back (refrained from hugging her tightly) and realized that today she had taught me, instead of me teaching her. Taking risks also takes time, and what we learn or try the first time, won’t be as strong or significant as what we might try with more practice and time and explorations. And by the way, I didn’t have that Mo Williams book with me today, but she knew it well enough, it didn’t matter, and tomorrow it will be on her desk waiting for her as she arrives!

A colleague stopped in tonight as I was finishing up with my after school writing club (4th and 5th graders writing scripts for the drama club). She had read my article in Choice Literacy about the teacher writing group and shared that she had an “aha” moment. She explained that she hadn’t come to our January meeting because she was feeling poorly about her writing that we did in December. After reading the article and realizing that she wants and needs that writing community, she realized that many of her students must feel the same way. You know the ones…they have to go to the bathroom 2 minutes after writing workshop begins or they wander around the classroom library for way too many minutes looking for a “just right” book when they should be reading (or writing, or doing math…it doesn’t matter. If it’s hard, they want/need a break). It gave her a whole new perspective on many of her students.

That’s one of the best parts of the teacher writing group. We are learning, without realizing it, the frustration as well as the joys our students go through each and every day in our classrooms. I believe it is this knowledge that makes us better teachers. We are also there to support each other through the ups and downs in this crazy, yet wonderful profession. Learning together and leaning on each other is what it’s all about. My friend said that the article gave her just what she needed today. She’ll be back for the next meeting, ready to go!

So, the next time one of your little (or not so little) guys has to leave the room when the work gets to be a bit much, it might just be that he needs a little break to regroup. And that’s OK! We all need that sometimes!