barone feb post

Barone: Routman Chapter 7

I really enjoyed reading this chapter and couldn’t agree more with the statement that assessments should bring benefits for children. It can be so overwhelming for teachers to know how, when, why, and who to assess and to make sure that they are assessing properly. Aside from the stress of all the standardized tests, teachers need to know how to truly make meaningful assessments daily and in a variety of ways. The first thing teachers need to ask themselves when assessing is if their assessment is valid and useful. Once the teacher has assessed the students, they need to determine how they are going to use that data. Teachers can record student’s strengths and weaknesses and monitor and adjust instruction based on the results of assessments. The best teachers are flexible ones because when you are truly teaching, constant assessment is being done, which results in the students guiding your lessons. Lesson plans are obviously important, but their meaning and paced is always controlled by the students. Great teachers plan with passion and adjust with understanding. Using daily assessments throughout teaching, teachers can monitor and adjust accordingly to ensure student achievement. If teachers are not constantly assessing, their lessons would have no meaning and validity. I really loved the section of the chapter that talked about goal setting. Every year I have my students create goals for themselves and I also set goals for myself. Throughout the year we discuss our progress together and it really creates a positive and encouraging environment.

Gallman Blog #7

Chapter 12: You Only Have So Much Time

In the world of teaching, you definitely only have so much time!!! I have struggled with time management over the course of my first year of teaching. There are so many things to cover between lesson planning, grading papers, and even just making time to talk to your students to make sure they everything is fine with them. This chapter does a good job of giving suggestions on how to make every moment count such as keeping work simple and meaningful, reducing interruptions, keeping a lively pace, etc. However, these things are not always practical or easy to do. There are always things that are going to throw you off course; whether it is a disruptive student, a parent showing up unannounced for a conference, snow days, etc. it seems nearly impossible to stay on track. You can have the perfect plan that you want to carry out, but it's hard to complete every task. Lesson plans just seem to get pushed back further and further and time just gets lost.

I like how the author says to do less, but more effectively. That is definitely something that I need to work on. Instead of adding in many meaningless and time consuming activities, I can focus on the bigger picture and find deeper and more thoughtful ways to engage students and help them learn. I can also do as the author suggested and look at my schedule more carefully. It is difficult to create a schedule as a first year teacher because you have no idea how long anything takes your first time trying things out. I have learned better throughout the year to pace myself and follow my long range plan more carefully. I have had to force myself not to spend my entire weekend and entire afternoon working on lesson plans and school work. I look forward to the days where I will know how to manage my time more effectively so that I don't stress myself out. As a teacher, there really IS only so much time, and I have to learn to make every moment count!

Raegan Shaw, Blog Post #6, Ch. 7 Make Assessment Instruction's Working Partner

When I found this chapter in the book, I was so relieved.  Out of all the things I struggle with as a first year teacher, I feel that assessment is absolutely the most confusing and frustrating.  I have been blessed with many Social Studies and ELA resources, as far as formal assessments are concerned, but not many informal assessments.  Of course, I have a grasp on how my students understand things on a daily basis through their facial expressions, willingness (or lack there of) to answer my questions or respond to my prompts, and an occasional entrance or exit slip, yet I still feel like I do not use enough written informal evaluation before my formal evaluations.  I want to meet my students where they are at and raise them up where need be, yet I struggle to find the confidence or resources to do so, sometimes.  This chapter has helped me see a light at the end of the tunnel.

When this chapter suggested that teachers make evaluation a "daily routine," I assumed that this meant the formal evaluations that I had been lacking, but in reality, it discussed how teachers make assessments as they are teaching instead of after, necessarily.  What it boiled down to, when I was done reading the section, is conferences with the students.  It both shocked and embarrassed me when I thought of my own practice from this year and realized how little I have had individual, instead of whole class, conferences with my students this year.  Often, it is hard enough to find time for conferences with my homeroom; the fact that I have two other classes that revolve in and out of my room, daily, doesn't make it any easier.  I wish that I had already found the time this year to make deeper connections to each and every student.  Of course, there is a big handful of them that I have made these connections with, but I should always strive for more.  It is not too late for me, though.  This chapter has given me more initiative to seek out the specific students who really need my help--those of which I have not yet conferenced with yet, fully.

One final thing that I found interesting was the questions that are recommended for teachers to ask during conferencing. Discussing students' strengths and goals with them seems to prove to be very successful in student learning.  When I think of conferencing, I simply think of book talk; it is so much more than that.  I think that if I take time to spend with each student and set an individual goal with them all, they will be more likely to meet that goal than ever before.  All students crave learning and structure in some way; as teachers, it is our job to find out what way that is.  Conferencing helps us get beneath that hard shell and help the students understand themselves more as learners.

Gallman Blog #6

Chapter 9: Emphasize Shared Reading

I definitely had to stop and read this chapter on shared reading. I love in the chapter where it states that shared reading is something that is missing in grade levels above second grade. We are currently reading our second novel study in my ELA class, and I may be enjoying it more than my students. I have found that the students really enjoy reading novels together and are learning a lot with each other. Each student has their own copy of the novel, and we are able to read together and really dissect the the book as a whole. Students are given the chance to read a paragraph aloud to the class which gives them a chance to practice reading with meaning and expression. As we read we stop and make predictions about what we think is going to happen next, we look for examples of figurative language, take annotations, and discuss anything crazy and exciting that happens. I teach the middle level ELA group, and I think shared reading with our novel study is helping my class to really understand what we are reading and is teaching them how to take annotations for future knowledge when they are reading a novel that they will be tested on. I am looking forward to next year to have more opportunities for shared reading in my classroom.

Schmidt Blog Post #6

Routman (2003): Chapter 12: You Only Have So Much Time

March 14, 2016

          Since August, I have been so stressed out about getting every single thing done that I needed to do, even if it meant using all of my extra time working on it. The beginning of this chapter taught me how important it is to still have a life outside of teaching. Creating all the amazing centers and papers won't necessarily help the students become better, that time needs to be spent working with them, giving them things that they can handle. It is important to make sure that all work is meaningful to the students, not "busy work". Work should also be kept simple. Students need to be able to do small amounts of things that they understand, rather than a lot of things that becomes difficult for students and they get frustrated. If this happens, they won't get much out of it. Work should also be paced well. "When the work is interesting and we move along at a fast pace, we keep kids engaged (pg. 206). I have struggled with this at times.

        One thing that I learned in the book that would be very beneficial to me is to time myself while I teach. Students get lost and exhausted if you give them too much time on something. To keep them engaged, keep the teaching time to a minimum. Give them something to look forward to the next time. Rearranging the school schedule to spend less time on some things and more time on others is also beneficial. There was an example in the reading that I really enjoyed, of an old schedule versus a new schedule. I would love to rearrange my schedule, but I feel that I don't know enough to know what needs to happen where. I already struggle with time management as it is.

     I hope that as I become a more experienced teacher, I can get better at these things. I really hope to become a teacher that feels like she has her stuff together, and feel that the students are benefiting. I'm not saying that I don't think my students are learning, but I know that they probably could more engaged if I took a different approach at teaching.... I just have to figure out what approach that is and how to go about it.

     This was probably one of the most useful chapters to me. I hope that I can use what I have learned in the classroom to make my life easier, and the learning of my students more beneficial.

Raegan Shaw, Post #5, Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

As a first year teacher, I am constantly worrying about my classroom library and wondering if it has enough to offer for my students.  I also worry about having enough books that are leveled appropriately for my readers.  I went into this year thinking that most of my students would be on a fifth grade level or higher, since they are in fifth grade; however, I quickly realized within the first few months of school that my a good chunk of my students are far below grade level.  This being said, I failed to prepare my library accordingly and have been playing catch-up here and there all year long.  This required reading chapter has not only opened my eyes to the entire importance of a relevant, appropriate, classroom library that is full of variety, but also a classroom library that is organized, challenging, and enjoyable.  This chapter compels me to enhance my book selections and make them ever-more appealing to its seekers.

What l found most interesting about this selection is that it is actually encouraged for classroom libraries to have “light reads.”  These types of books are typically books that may seem quick and easy, yet serve as a motivator to students.  I connected with this part of the chapter because I see a good bit of my students reading comic books.  At the beginning of the year, I was very concerned.  I always thought that comic books were full of short sentences and mostly pictures.  What I failed to realize is that most of my students who read these comics are usually picking comic books that coordinate with my social studies lessons!  Even though these reads are not the longest reads or the most challenging—especially vocabulary-wise—I have found that these short, witty books often lead my students to choosing longer, more thought-provoking books on the same topics or even different topics.  Even as an adult, it’s nice to pick up a magazine or something short and sweet to read!

Another part of this chapter that I enjoyed and found intriguing, and honestly shocking, was that as a teacher, I should be encouraged to de-emphasize leveled books.  I have always leveled each book to coordinate with Accelerated Reader.  I never really thought that students would gravitate toward their own level without my help.  Reading this section of the chapter freshened my childhood memories of reading books that were too hard for me, at the time.  I will never forget the day in third grade when I picked up a Harry Potter book and saw the word ‘muggle’ and threw the book across the room, crying, “this isn’t on my AR level!”  As hilarious as it may seem now, I really did know (or thought I knew, seeing as muggle isn’t a tough vocabulary word, but a word that the author had made up for their own novel) that Harry Potter was above my level, without my teacher ever having to share this with me.  This being said, I know that if a student picks a book that may seem to be a “just-right” book, I need to ensure that they do not get discouraged when they see a few words throughout the book that they do not know the meaning of.  I should encourage my students to use dictionaries, context clues, and nearby adults to help explain new vocabulary, for this is how students’ AR levels grow, anyways!

I really enjoyed this selection and it truly has urged me to create a whole different reading vibe in my classroom.  If not by the end of this year, then definitely by the beginning of the next school year, I would love to re-vamp my entire classroom library.  This article gave me some sort of hope for the future!

Tori Miller Teach with a Sense of Urgency Chapter 4 (Feb/March) Blog # 6

These pictures are from the insect unit discussed in the blog below: 

As I read Routman’s chapter 4 I responded to the statement that the author said she always asked teachers: Name the top 5 things you do in your classroom to ensure excellent readers. I would have to say… 1. I read to them A LOT!! 2. I have lots of books available for the students to read that have different topics and genres. 3. I do independent reading, giving students individual times to conference with me. 4. I provide inviting places in the room to encourage reading throughout the day. 5. I allow them to read with their peers and other students in the school-sometimes even 1^st and 2^nd graders! And then I could not go on without adding number 6. I teach them that they can learn and find information that they would like to know from books. I have shared many times about my reading experience throughout school and at home and how it was short of teaching me to love reading, so my desire is to teach my students to love books and enjoy when they have time to read them.

This chapter also spoke of guided reading practice and how “trail and error supported by judicious teacher feedback, allows the learners to develop a self-improving system.” This statement I have found to be very truthful. Although it’s very hard at time, like watching your own children struggling to do something independently and you just want to jump in and do it for them BUT what will they learn from that. Teacher support and feedback is essential to a kindergarten learning to read and write and feeds the growth of every student. However, I know that I’m guilty of just fixing it for them and moving own because our time may be running short. And this brings me to my next point (from the book)…Promote joy in learning!! To me this is just as important for the teacher as it is for the students. The 3^rd year I taught kindergarten at LOES the district had adopted the Journey’s series as its ELA curriculum. I must say that was the most boring year of my kindergarten life thus far! I used those units religiously and taught it just as the teacher book told me to do and by December I was ready for school to be out so imagine how those poor kindergarteners felt. Over Christmas break I pulled together units and books that I thought would be of interest to my students and was very excited to go back and January, those 5 months were much more enjoyable than the first. This year I have worked a lot with my students to research subjects that I introduce to them that they would like to know more about (animals, insects, Spring). This has been so much fun and the students come in every Monday asking, “What are we learning about this week!” I even have parents contacting me when my students are absent to ask, “What are you teaching this week because he/she is home sick today and crying because they are missing school?” My most recent (currently in progress) research is on insects. Now I have to tell you that the students were so involved that I didn’t get to the author study of Eric Carle that I had also planned this week that is on my LRPs but we did discuss him during a few of our mini lessons, sometimes promoting joy in learning means penciling in and scratching out things on the LRPs! The students are so excited and have such a joy while learning.  The students are researching their favorite insect using books, computers, observations of crickets in our classroom and a fabulous animal habitat that my assistant made (pictures attached above). The students are collecting their thoughts and gatherings and using Storymaker (link on abcya.com) to type and create their own insect books, using inventive spelling as mentioned on page 51 of this chapter.

Raise your expectations and your students will grow…”If you expect them to achieve and take time to model carefully, provide lots of supported demonstrations and guided practice in which they can try out what I am teaching, and continually support their growing approximations, they always succeed (page 62).”

Teach with a Sense of urgency no matter how much time it takes!!!!!!

Pictures from insect unit below: