Raising Readers and Writers

My youngest daughter (14 years old) and I decided to take a cake decorating class together this summer.  It was one of those things that was just for fun!  I love to bake and actually took cake decorating when Annie was a baby.  So, when she expressed an interest, I jumped on it.  I knew it would be fun for us to do this together and it really was.  

One of my summer goals was to work on finding balance.   I’ve come to the point in my life where I realize how important it is to balance my professional life with my personal life.  I’ve started bike riding on the different rails to trails with myhusband and some friends, reading some “beach books” just because they make me smile, gardening, and doing lots of baking.

As August approaches, I am starting to get that anxious/excited feeling that I always do at this time of the summer.  I’m looking forward to a new year and am hoping that some of the good habits I’ve cultivated will carry over during the school year.

Just as I finished posting my blog, I thought I’d check out Scott’s blog to see if he had done any writing.  Well he has!  He has 2 parts of a story that he’s writing about playing Red Rover with his cousin at the lake.  Scott’s mom is the technology teacher that I mentioned in my previous post, so he gets lots of support when it comes to digital composition. He even added a link so you can vote on what he should write about next. His list of topics is on the right side of his blog.

Scott’s blog is great because it is a digital portfolio of his work.  He’ll be able to watch himself grow as a writer and his work is out there for everyone to see.  He’s writing for an authentic audience and he gets feedback from the people who read it.  I am learning along with Scott and hope to have my writing club create blogs just like his.  When you get time, take a look at The Kick Board.

I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the teaching of writing and how technology has impacted our classrooms.  And as I get ready to write another grant to continue work on creating a Model Writing School, I am trying to get my arms around what is most important.  Whenever I sit down to write, I am faced with the daunting task of “where to start,” and that’s where I am right now.  Some of the things I am reading include Will Richardson’s Blogs, Wiki, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Webtools for Classrooms. I am going slowly through this book as I try some of the things he suggests.  In the first section of the book, Richardson expresses the immediate need to bridge the gap between what our students know and can do on the web as compared to what they are exposed to in school.  I see this conundrum in my own personal and professional life.  My own children are intuitive learners when it comes to anything new with technology.  My oldest daughter, who is majoring in Digital Design is building her portfolio online.  I know that if I’m stuck on something at school, one of my first graders is sure to be able to help me.    Since getting a new iPhone for my birthday, I am slowly learning all of the different features available to me and thinking about how I can use that knowledge in my classroom.  Sometimes it’s mind boggling!

I also checked out NCTE’s website to read their Policy Recearch Briefs, Writing Now and 21st  Literacies.  Some information that I want to be sure to include in my grant proposal is  the importance that writing instruction be holistic, authentic and varied.  I’ve written before about my core beliefs that writing needs to have a purpose and students need to be able to have choice in their work.  We need to give them many opportunities to write in a variety of genres in elementary school so that they have a firm foundation on which to build.  Grammar and mechanics instruction should be interwoven within writing workshop instead of asking students to fill in the blank on multiple worksheets (a personal pet peeve of  mine…ok, off my soapbox).  Our goal as writing teachers is to produce life-long writers who can move seamlessly between writing for home, school, and their jobs.  One of the goals of the grant will be to create a common vision of what authentic writing looks like in our building.

Another goal is how to use technology in writing instruction.  I was talking with our technology teacher last week about moving into the digital world.  She mentioned the importance of teachers making the shift from creating the same traditional projects on the computer, to exploring all of the possibilities available to us now.  Research shows that students who are able to compose on the computer are more engaged and produce works of greater length and higher quality.  I see that in my own 16 year old son who had been a struggling writer.  When he was finally allowed to compose on the computer in upper elementary, the whole world of writing changed for him.  To this day, he does very little writing with pen and paper.

I also have to think about the integration of visual information along with the written word that digital technology allows.  And what about working collaboratively with others beyond our classroom walls?  Blogs, podcasts, and voicethreads, are only a few ways that students can interact with each other.  I would love for my after school writing club to be able to share their work with other students to get feedback.  As noted in the 21st Century Literacies Brief, many teachers who use the computer at home for word processing, researching lesson plans, recording grades, etc. feel unprepared when it comes to using technology  in their teaching.  (I am definitely one of those teachers!)  For that reason, I want to incorporate some professional development that focuses specifically on digital composition in the grant proposal.

I have learned a lot this summer as I have ventured into blogging, digital storytelling,  and podcasting.  And I know that I haven’t even begun to touch the surface of all there is to know.  I still have a long way to go.   I am looking forward to continuing this journey with my colleagues as we explore how to create an authentic writing environment withing our new and growing digital landscape.

Bossy Bear (2007)  and Just Like Bossy Bear (2009)  will find their way into the Good Manners basket and I will be reading them at the beginning of the year as we start to set expectations for our classroom.  There will  lots to talk about as we discuss the behavior of the main characters in these books.  Bossy Bear is VERY BOSSY!  He wants everything his way and he wants it right now.  As can be expected, he doesn’t have very many friends.  That is until he meets Turtle.  When he demands Turtle’s balloon, Turtle very willingly hands it over.  Bossy Bear asks him, “You don’t think I’m bossy?”  Turtle tells him honestly, that he is indeed bossy, but he doesn’t have to be.  That gives Bossy Bear something to think about and he lets go of the balloon.  The last 2 pages show Bossy Bear giving Turtle a present…a crown to match his own.  The reader is left with the hope that Bossy Bear has learned his lesson.

Alas, it’s not to be.  In Just Like Bossy Bear, Turtle watches his friend shout, demand, and yell at the characters around them.  Now Turtle wants to be just like Bossy Bear, so he starts making his own demands (“Gimme! Do this! Now!).  Hmmm…Bossy Bear realizes that Turtle is not being very kind and he knows he needs to change his ways.  He decides to set a good example.  Bossy Bear stops being bossy and starts being friendly and considerate.  (Reminds me of the first time my then young daughter used my favorite 4 letter word and I realized that I had to set a better example.)  Will it work?  The reader has to wait until the very last page to see if Turtle has learned a lesson from Bossy Bear and starts using good manners.

The author, David Horvath and his wife Sin-Min are the creators of the Ugly Dolls.  The simple cartoon-like characters resemble the Ugly Dolls.  The sparse text is in a bold font on bright, single colored backgrounds.  I think these books will invite young readers to go back to the book over and over.  Emergent readers will be able to “read the pictures” from the start and transitional readers will be able to sit and read the words.  I found a Bossy Bear doll and am thinking I might get one for my classroom.  My kids love to get out the stuffed animals and read to them, so they might like having Bossy Bear right there to remind them to use their good manners.  I’m even thinking that making our own Bossy Bear book of manners might be the first class book we publish.

You know, Amazon gets me every time when I order a professional book.  If I add “$whatever amount,” to spend $25.00, I can have free shipping.  They’re geniuses!  I just got a new box in the mail with Will Richardson’s book (which I will talk about later…there is so much to think about) and 2 books by popular authors for first graders. (I added these to get to my $25.00 goal; however, I went way over $25.00!)  I know my kids will love these books and I’ll be adding them to the baskets in my room for the beginning of the year.

Scaredy Squirrel was a hit in my room last year and I was happy to see this title.  I thought it would be a great book to start the year off when many of the kids would still be thinking about going to the beach or pool.  Melanie Watt has the wonderful ability to tap into what kids fear (probably some adults too), but she does it in such a fun way.  Scaredy Squirrel wants to go to the beach, but he thinks it’s much safer to just stay at home where everything is familiar.  There aren’t any pirates, or sea monsters or falling  coconuts at his home in the trees.  So, he being the resourceful squirrel that he is,  decides to create his own beach at home.  However, as he lies beneath his flashlight sun, he realizes that he’s missing the most important part…the sound of the ocean.  He knows he has to overcome his fear and trek over to the real beach to get a seashell, so that he can hear the roar of the waves at his “home beach.”  Of course you know that he will face his fear and maybe find out that the beach isn’t so bad after all.

Part of what I love about these books is the variety of illustrations Melanie Watt uses.  She mixes maps, step by step “how to” instructions, labels, and insets within her humorous cartoon drawings.  Kids will see that authors don’t necessarily have to be writing nonfiction to use these traditional nonfiction conventions.  I can imagine that many of my young writers might try some of these techniques in their own writing.

Next, Jan Thomas’ A Birthday for Cow is one that will be added to my Jan Thomas basket.  I discovered her a few years ago and love her simple readable text.  My early readers always feel successful because they can go back and read her books  themselves after we’ve shared it in class.  This book is a fun one because the calendar on the end pages tells the reader that it’s Cow’s birthday.  Pig and Mouse are so excited to make him the best birthday cake ever.  (Right away, I can relate to Pig and Mouse…I’m already thinking about the birthday cake I would make).  However, Duck has other ideas…he thinks Cow would love a turnip!  A turnip?  If he can’t add the turnip to the batter, maybe he could stir the batter with it or just add it to the top instead of candles.  Pig and Mouse are adamant…no turnips!!!  Well, you can guess, Cow is estatic when he sees what his friends have prepared for him and the kids will be rolling on the floor when they see the expressions on the faces of Mouse and Pig after Cow gobbles down the …turnip. 

This seemingly simple book has a lot going on besides the simple words in the text.  The reader knows immediately that Duck is pretty sure  Cow will not want a cake for his birthday just by the look on his face and the way he says, “Cake?”  There is much to infer from the expressions on the characters’ faces, the size of the text, and the variety of punctuation used.  I can see us going back to this book over and over.

One more thing…the turnips.  I can’t let an opportunity go by without trying something new.  Since I have never even tasted a turnip, I am pretty sure that many of my students won’t have either.  I guess I’ll be shopping in the produce department the night before I read this book!

Welcome to Shelly and Lisa and their new blog.  Check them out!  They are sure to have a lot to share about their thinking.

If you love to bake cakes, you need to check out this book.  I bought Sky High:  Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes in January after reading about it on a cooking blog, www.smittenkitchen.com. I was searching for something different for my mother-in-law’s birthday cake and actually ran out to Barnes and Noble right after reading the review to purchase it.   It became a joke in my family as to what 3 layer cake I would be bringing to family functions.  Every cake I have made (and I’ve made a lot of them) has been delicious!  The directions are easy to follow and I have even learned to make real buttercream.

The story continues…During  our Spring Break trip to Nashville, TN, my husband and I were visiting The Loveless Cafe, a famous, quaint  restaurant I had read about.  (I like to read about food too…not just books)!  Imagine my surprise when I noticed a newspaper clipping about my favorite cookbook and its author hanging in the hallway.  Intrigued that this clipping would be at this restaurant, I bent down to read it more carefully.  THE AUTHOR WAS THE PASTRY CHEF AT THIS RESTAURANT!!!  I rushed back to tell my husband…I couldn’t believe my luck!  To make it even better, she came out and met us.  This was better than seeing Dierks Bentley on stage at The Grand Ole Opry!!

A friend of mine went to Nashville this week and she kindly took my crumb coated cookbook with her to get it signed.  I just got it back from her, happy that Alisa Huntsman is a good sport and doesn’t think I’m some kind of stalker.

So far,  I’ve made Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (chocolate crumbs are sprinkled all over  this page), Triple Fudge Cake, Vanilla Bean Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream, Southern Coconut Cake, Sky-High Strawberry Shortcake, Triple Decker Boston Cream Pie,   Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Fudge Frosting, Apricot Carrot Cake, Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Caramel Filling, Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake, Pina Colada Cake (made this for book club tonight), Orange Grand Marnier Cake, Black and White Park Avenue Cake, Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, Ice Cream Birthday Cake and next will be Chocolate Raspberry Cake.  There are more I want to try (Key Lime Cake with Mango Curd, Dulce de Leche Cake). 

Alisa wanted the recipes to be easy to follow for the home cook.  I would say that she succeeded.  My 14 year old has made several of the cakes unassisted.  The photography is beautiful – a must for me in my cookbooks.  I like to see what the finished product is supposed to look like. 

So, if you like cake, and you like to try something different,  check out this book.  You will not be disappointed!

I am a die hard fan of Gooney Bird Greene.  I loved Lois Lowry’s first book and used it a lot in my classroom for writing workshop.  Her newest book, Gooney Bird is So Absurd, is wonderful.  Gooney’s teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon, begins each day reading poetry to her second grade classroom.  She introduces her students to couplets, limericks, haiku, free verse, and poems for more than one voice.  What makes these poems extra special, is that they were written a long time ago by Mrs. Pidgeon’s own mother.  Her students then get to try all of these poems during their writing time.  Gooney Bird, always a little different from the rest of the class, wears green ruffled underpants on her head (calling them a two-ponytail hat) to keep her brain warm.  It must work, because she always comes up with some good poems. 

You get the idea that Lowis Lowry has spent some time in the classroom.  Each of the students in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class is recognizeable as a student in my own room.  There’s the kid with marker all over his hands, the little Japanese-American girl with a lisp because she’s missing her 2 front teeth, the boy who shouts out, the extremely studious child, and many more. 

Lois Lowry uses a lot of wonderful vocabulary that I can see adding to my “Interesting Words” chart- words like “savor” and   ”slurping through the slush.”   I also think that my students will find the antics of Gooney Bird and her classmates hilarious.    It is evident that both Lowry and Mrs. Pidgeon have respect for the students in this classroom.  Catastrophe strikes when a not-so respectful sub appears one morning.  A master story teller, Lowry creates a tug-at-your-heart ending that is very poignant.  I don’t know if kids will have the same reaction, but adults reading the book will understand the impact of the last poem.  It’ll be a great conversation to have with your students, especially the message that our best writing comes from our hearts.

I smiled as I read Franki’s post today, because I was thinking all the reading I’ve done and the reading I still want to do!  I have started several professional books (my brain is on overload), I have an unopened Amazon box sitting patiently, waiting for me to peel off the tape, I have a book on reserve at the library, and 2 new boxes arrived today, which I have opened.  All of them hold important information that I can’t wait to read. All of them will help me grow as a learner and a teacher.

I’m looking forward to going to Cover to Cover next week with some colleagues to order mentor texts.  I received a Jennings Grant to begin the process of creating a Model Writing School at our building last school year.  Our group, which included our building principal, developed a close relationship as we became a community of writers and professionals discussing our beliefs about the teaching of writing.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that we still had grant money to spend.  I guess that’s a good problem to have!  I ordered Mentor Texts and Nonfiction Mentor Texts by Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli for each teacher.  I have used Mentor Texts in my own classroom since it was published in  2007.  I was so excited when I discovered Nonfiction Mentor Texts.  One of the many things I like about these books is the Your Turn Lessons at the end of each chapter.  The authors give specific lessons to help the teacher get started.  Sometimes we need the extra scaffolding  just like our students.  I know I’ll be using this book a lot as I revamp my nonfiction unit for the upcoming school year.  I also was able to order several copies of Carl Anderson’s newest title, Strategic Writing Conferences for our building.  I’ll be exploring this book  and the DVDs  this summer.

I absolutely loved The Daily 5, so I was looking forward to reading Joan Moser and Gail Boushey’s (The Sisters)  The CAFE Book:  Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction.  My grade level colleagues will be meeting this summer to discuss the book and how to implement it in our rooms.  I began using Daily 5 and The CAFE in my room last year and I really liked it.  I made some modifications to meet the needs of my own classroom.  I love their style of writing because I feel like I am sitting across the table with them chatting about literacy.  Both books  are easy to read and user friendly.  For those who don’t know The Sisters, Daily 5 is a tool to manage your classroom during reading workshop.  Students learn to make choices among 5 different literacy activities (Read to Self, Buddy Read, Work on Writing, Word Work, and Listen to Reading) while the teacher works with students in small groups.    CAFE stands for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary.  After assessing students, The Sisters group students flexibly according to their  needs.  So the students in your groups may be reading at different levels, but need the same strategy lessons.  Students keep track of their reading goals and meet with the teacher in whole group, small groups, and individually.  You can read more about The Sisters and their work at their website www.TheDailyCafe.com. 

This evening, I opened Guided Math:  A Framework for Mathematics Instruction by Laney Sammons.  I often get frustrated with math because I feel like don’t always meet every one’s needs.  Last year, I dabbled in using a Math Workshop approach and was excited when I stumbled upon this title.  I already love this book.  After experiencing the same frustrations, the author created this model that allows students to develop their mathematical skills at their own pace.  (Sound familiar when you think about literacy?) There are 7 components to the model:  1. A Classroom Environment of Numeracy, 2.  Morning Math Warm-ups with Calendar, 3.  Whole Class Instruction, 4.  Guided Math Instruction with Small Groups, 5.  Math Workshop, 6.  Individual Conferences, 7. Ongoing Assessment.  I’ll review more of it as I read it.

Finally, I’m waiting for iBrain:  Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind from the library.  Our technology teacher told me about this book and it sounds fascinating.  Research has been done that shows our technologically native students’ brains are actually being rewired.  Because I am working hard to stretch myself when it comes to technology, this book is one I want to read. 

My friend laughed at me when we saw each other yesterday.  I had told her at the beginning of the summer that I wasn’t working this summer for the first time in many years.  I was just going to work in my garden and read books just for fun.  Well, she knows me better than that.  I guess there are just some habits I can’t break!

I received an ARC of The Magician’s Elephant when I visited Cover to Cover last month.  It’s due to be released at the beginning of September, just in time for the new school year.  I love Kate DiCamillo’s books.  Her writing shows a breadth of topics and genres, and each one has touched me for different reasons.  Her newest book does not disappoint.  In this story, an orphan of the late 1800′s, Peter Duchene, asks a fortune teller if his sister is alive.  He is thrilled when the fortune teller tells him that she lives.  You see, he’s been told by his guardian (a very sad, strict, former soldier friend of Peter’s father) that she died at birth.  However, he’s perplexed when the fortune teller  reveals that an elephant will lead him to her.  He knows of no elephants except those in India or Africa. 

In another part of the city of Baltese, a magician desperately wanting to impress his audience with an unforgettable trick, is surprised when an elephant comes crashing through the ceiling.  He is as surprised as his audience.  Unfortunately, the appearance of the elephant brings bad luck to several characters, including the magician.  We also meet a young girl named Adele who lives in an orphanage in another part of the city.  The Countess Quintet, is worried that all of the fuss surrounding the elephant is ruining the social season.  So she decides to move the elephant to her spacious home.  All of these separate stories eventually meld and bring these characters together.

This story is filled with sad, haunted characters, yet there is still an element of hope expressed.  One character, especially, is described as having the soul of a poet.  Leo Matienne , a police officer and neighbor to Peter, liked to ask, “What if? Why not?  Could it possibly be?”  Even though Leo and his wife are childless, the reader knows without a doubt that they love eachother very much and would make wonderful parents to some needy children.  You will find yourself hoping that they will find a way to provide a loving home for Peter and his sister, should he find her alive. 

Filled with hope, despair, magic, dreams and wonder, this story is as endearing as her others.  You will find yourself transported to another time.  Fourth grade teachers will be able to use this book as another example of fables in their classrooms.  In my opinion, it would work best as a read aloud.  The story is a little dark and there are many places where you can stop for discussion.   I think a sophisticated upper elementary reader would enjoy this as an independent read.