School is officially over in our district, but our school, along with 2 others have to make up one day due to an earlier power outage. Our principal has planned a fun day for the kids and of course I had to plan some kind of party that included me baking something for the kids. We are having a hot dog party in honor of our Mo Willems author study(including watermelon, chips and my famous homemade sugar cookies). After reading Franki’s blog about Mo’s new DVD (which I asked our media specialist to buy), I couldn’t resist weaving Mo into our last week of school. He’s been a favorite all year. The kids have loved reading about the antics of Pigeon and the Piggie and Elephant books have given my readers a boost as they realize they can read these books all by themselves. We made a chart comparing his books and their thinking amazed me. When we charted the characters to Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Mason said, “We are the characters too.” (I was secretly hoping someone would mention that). When I asked him to explain he said, “The pigeon and the bus driver keep talking to us in the book. That means we are in the book too.” Wow!
Mo gave my students inspiration for illustrating some of their books based on Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle BunnyToo. Many students found pictures in magazines to glue into their books and then drew more scenery in the background. They also wrote a class book entitled, Don’t Let the Pigeon… where they came up with their own ideas of the catastrophes the pigeon would cause if allowed to do certain things.
I”m sorry that we only had a week to focus on this study, but it gives me lots of ideas for next year. One thing I want to try for sure is to give kids digital cameras so they can illustrate their books more like Mo Willems did in Knuffle Bunny. I can only imagine what they will come up with. It’s as I believe…give kids the opportunity to read, write, and talk about what they notice, and they will come up with ideas that I never would have thought about! They are remarkable!!
I am looking forward to participating in Mother Reader’s 48 Hour Book Challenge this year. I’ve read about it before in Franki’s blog and I’ve always thought it sounded so fun…spend 48 hours focusing on something I love to do…READ!!! Now that I’m an official blogger, I decided that I should join in the fun. I’ll be celebrating my mom’s birthday that weekend, but I will definitely take time to get some reading in. Maybe I can get my mom and sisters to join me! Our last day of school is Monday and I can’t think of a better way to spend my first weekend of summer vacation. One of the stipulations is that the books be for 5th grade and above or adult reads. So, I’ll get to explore some new titles. It’s been two years now that I’ve taught first grade, so my focus has been on picture books lately.
Mother Reader has added an extra challenge this year. She has suggested that readers work for the greater good. Different bloggers will be raising money for different causes. A dear teacher in my building just lost her husband to Alzheimer’s. I am going to donate $2.00 per hour that I read to the Alzheimer’s Foundation. I hope that others might want to sponsor me.
I am looking forward to reading lots of books that are in my ever-increasing pile of “to read” books…Readacide, The Element, finishing Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For, The Higher Power of Lucky (I know…it’s been around for awhile), Beneath My Moher’s Feet, Garden Spells(my book club book) and I’ve been wanting to read The Graveyard Book. I’ll be blogging about each of the books over the weekend. I definitely think this gives me a good excuse to go book shopping!
One of my favorite websites to go to for quality literacy ideas is Read Write Think. Check this out for ideas to keep your kids reading and writing this summer. These ideas would be great to send home to parents as we wind down the school year. There are ideas for all grade levels Pre-K through 12th grade.
I love to garden and I’ve been spending a lot of time getting my garden ready and planting flowers and vegetables. Of course, I can’t help but make a connection to my own students who have grown so much this year. When I think back to the beginning of the year, my little ones were just emerging as readers and writers, like the tiny seedling in my garden. Their written stories were simple and their spelling showed what few sounds they could hear – usually the beginning and the end. They drew more than they wrote, but the details in their pictures were amazing. And the stories they told orally could rival any professional storyteller. At the beginning of the year, they learned that readers can read the pictures or the words as they read to themselves and the room was filled with a loud buzz as they all read their books aloud. (First graders don’t read in their heads). We could read and write for 5 minutes at the most.
Now it’s time to harvest the fruits of my labor. I’ve tended to them carefully, feeding them with good books and conversation, weeding out some of the bad habits (at least I tried), and giving them time to grow as readers and writers. Oh, how they have grown! They love the beginning of the day when they can sit and read and notice what authors do. They can write for 30 minutes and many of them don’t want to stop when it’s time to move on. The buzz is a bit softer during read to self time, and these remarkable readers and writers are so proud of themselves!
And now, it’s time to pass them on- to let other gardeners tend to them, feed their minds, and watch them grow. It doesn’t matter what grade we teach, we all find ourselves standing back at this time of year, marveling at the work we’ve done. It’s hard, back-breaking work, but oh, so worth the effort.
Our staff had the privilege of working with Lynn Gatto today. Lynn taught for over 30 years in Rochester, NY and was named NY Teacher of the Year. She is the real deal! She talked to our group about using nonfiction writing across the content areas and gave many examples of the writing she did with her own students. She was lucky enough to loop with her kids from 2nd grade to 4th grade. I must say, her kids were lucky to have her for a teacher. I wanted to be in her class! Her message was strong and one that I wholeheartedly agree with…students need to write for authentic purposes and audiences. Yes, we need to do “writing for school” (i.e. writing to pass the test), but what is most important is that the writing we ask our students to do is real life writing. We need to ask ourselves hard questions: What are we asking our students to write? Why are we asking them to write a particular piece? What purpose does the writing serve? Who will read the writing? Does the writing help students become writers for real life?
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t prepare students for state tests, but it should not dictate our writing programs. It has its place, but its a small place. When will our students ever be asked to write an extended response in the real world? And I will argue with anyone that if we give students enough authentic purposes to write, they’ll be able to answer those 4 point questions. I saw my own 4th graders be able to do it.
Lynn’s visit today just validated everything I believe in. I’m already thinking of ways to broaden my units next year and integrate my curriculum in some more ways. Spending time with people like her who are passionate about what they do and love going to work with kids every day are the kind of people I want to spend time with. I must say that I am lucky enough to do that very thing every day!
I had the privilege of hosting Carl Anderson in my classrom last month through the Literacy Connection. He recommended the book, Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones by Thomas Newkirk. Well, if Carl Anderson is going to recommend a book, I’m going to read it. Each page brings validation to what I strongly believe. He argues that many of the mandates passing through our schools are only holding our students back. He cites the study The Neglected Rpublished by the National Commision on writing: Writing is how students connect the dots in their knowledge. Although many models of effective ways to teach writing exist, both the teaching and practice of writing are increasingly short-changed throughout the school and college years…Of the three “Rs,” writing is clearly the most neglected. In this time of NCLB, teachers feel the pressure to make sure their students perform well on state mandated tests and good teaching often goes by the wayside.
Thomas Newkirk has 6 principles that guide his teaching: (1) Balance the Basics: An Argument for Parity Between Reading and Writing, (2) Expressive Writing: Maybe the Best Idea of All, (3) Popular Culture as a Literacy Tool, (4) Literacy and Pleasure: Why We Read and Write in the First Place, (5) Uncluttering the Curriculum, and (6) Finding a Language for Difficulty: Silences in Our Teaching Stories.
This thought provoking book is easy to read. Thomas Newkirk presents his points in a humorous way that blends pedagogy with day to day stories of real life in the classroom. It is insightful as you will find yourself saying, “Yes!” many times over. I highly recommend this book for all…those frustrated with the direction their district is taking, or those who just need validation that what they are doing in their classrooms is what is best for kids.
