I spent the afternoon today in Rachel's Classroom. I was excited to watch her doing one of the lessons for her teacher work sample. When I arrived, I was excited to see that Rachel had arranged for a parent helper to come in for the lesson. The students are learning about maps and the lesson was centered on learning the 7 continents and characteristics of the continents. Rachel had created little booklets that the students took with them as they traveled around to 7 different stations. At each station there were books, artifacts and some type of video or audio for the students to view/listen to.
I was impressed with how Rachel had used technology in some form at every station. I got to work with two of the stations and do the technology component on the back computer. The students were interested in reading, viewing and hearing sound clips related to the 7 continents. Before the rotations began, Rachel taught her students a song that she found on teacher tube. The students loved it! I am going to post a link to the song on the sidebar.
Kinesthetic.
I can tell that Rachel does a lot of cooperative learning in her class because her students worked well in their groups. The students helped and supported one another and really did a great job of staying on task as they rotated around. At each station there were little cards with clues on them. The students had to open their booklet and guess the continent based on the clues. Then they had a list of tasks to do such as look at books, view artifacts, watch video clips, listen to sound files, etc. Then they wrote the actual continent.
I got to supervise two of the stations and it was a lot of fun. The students were so excited about the activities and were very engaged. They did a better job of filling out their booklets than I expected and the students seemed to really have a sense about the continents. For example, one student immediately knew that one of the stations was Australia simply by seeing a picture of a Kangaroo. Other students quickly identified Europe from a picture of the Eiffel Tower. This was interesting to me because the school where Rachel teaches has a high socioeconomic catchment of students. I wonder if this would have been the same in areas where students don't have as much life experience.
At this observation, I brought a digital camera and was able to take a few pictures. I will upload them later in the week.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Teresa is a life saver!
Teresa,
Thank you so much for coming and helping me with Writer Workshop!!! It was so good seeing all the different ideas that you had. One thing that I really liked is that you had the student's share a sentence that they thought was really good in their story. As they did this it got them excited to share. This is also nice for other students who are struggling to hear all the good things their peers are writing to help them get ideas. I really liked your ideas for conferencing. I'll make sure to model and go more in depth with this. I also liked how at the end you had students share things they changed in their story. We talked about how before they come to me to cheif edit they need certain things done. I thought you said you had a check list of the things they need. If you do could I get that? I know they need to have the red/green and the conference but I'm not sure what else. Thanks again for coming in! You're an excellent teacher and my kids loved having you come in.
Thank you so much for coming and helping me with Writer Workshop!!! It was so good seeing all the different ideas that you had. One thing that I really liked is that you had the student's share a sentence that they thought was really good in their story. As they did this it got them excited to share. This is also nice for other students who are struggling to hear all the good things their peers are writing to help them get ideas. I really liked your ideas for conferencing. I'll make sure to model and go more in depth with this. I also liked how at the end you had students share things they changed in their story. We talked about how before they come to me to cheif edit they need certain things done. I thought you said you had a check list of the things they need. If you do could I get that? I know they need to have the red/green and the conference but I'm not sure what else. Thanks again for coming in! You're an excellent teacher and my kids loved having you come in.
Meredith's Classroom 1/28/09
Today I spent the morning in Meredith's 5th grade. Her kids are so much fun and full of personality. Whenever I am there, I miss teaching and wish I could go back.
I owed her class a bingo game, since I didn't get to play bingo with them when I visited in December at Christmas time.
After that I taught a writing lesson on persuasive writing. The kids brainstormed a lot of great topics they could write about like getting a movie theater in Springville, improving the quality of school lunch, asking their parents for pets, convincing the principal to let them play tackle football. We also had a good discussion about how different forms of advertisement (commercials, billboards, Internet pop-ups, magazine ads, etc.) use elements of persuasion.
I got to see Meredith working with a literature circle group. I like how she uses different clipboards to keep everything organized. When the students meet with the teacher, they grab their folders and the clipboard and bring it to the group. Everything Meredith needs to track the group is on the clipboard. The groups are very comprehension centered - as they should be in 5th grade. Her students are having great discussions about books and reading quality stories on their level. I am so thankful for guided reading and the opportunity it gives all students to not only work in smaller groups with their teacher, but also to read on their appropriate level.
Meredith - when I was in your class, I noticed a folder stapled on the front wall that students were putting pink papers in. What are those papers? Is that part of the guided reading assignment? What other things are you doing in guided reading that you like?
Meredith - when I was in your class, I noticed a folder stapled on the front wall that students were putting pink papers in. What are those papers? Is that part of the guided reading assignment? What other things are you doing in guided reading that you like?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Ashlee's Classroom 1/26/09
Ashlee,
This is going to be more of a working blog today. I just left your classroom and wanted to share some ideas with you about writers workshop. First I have to tell you that I was really impressed with your students and their writing. Once they really got down to the task of just working on their stories, most of the students went to work and were writing great stories. I am so glad that you are giving your students time every day for writing! The stories that the students write throughout the year are priceless - they are also a great way to assess how the students have grown as writer's throughout the year.
When we were doing the mini-lesson and getting the students started writing their hearts and wishes, I was feeling like it wasn't going very well and wondering if anyone was getting it. I think a few students did, but a few didn't. Setting up those kinds of routines in writer's workshop will take time and practice. Part of the problem is that I didn't have everything I would have like to have before starting a lesson like that. If I had a working story that I had been writing, the students could have read my story and practiced writing hearts and wishes about my story first before I sent them back to read and respond to each other's writing.
Here are a couple of ideas for upcoming mini-lessons that you could try with your students.
1) Do a mini-lesson on how to write good compliments and suggestions. On the orange poster, record prompts that students could use such as: I liked the part when....., You did a good job with...., It was exciting when....., .......was a good idea, Your story was...(organized, easy to understand, funny). Or for suggestions: Add more detail about......, I didn't understand......, Write more about......,
2) Do a mini-lesson on how conference corners work. Where are they located in the room? How do you act in the conference corner? Where are the materials (sticky notes/pens)? What do you do there? How do you choose a conference corner partner? (use your clothespins for this part) What are the rules?
Then have all of the students practice going to a conference corner and practice how to behave there.
3) Do a mini-lesson and model how a student can take the suggestions from the hearts and wishes and add more detail to their story. You might want to write a little story of your own on chart paper, have the students give you hearts and wishes on a sticky note and model in front of them how you would add more detail to the story or how you would cross out parts that don't make sense.
4) Do a mini-lesson and create a class chart that describes the rules for writer's workshop. Let the kids help you brainstorm. Here are some rules that my classes had: No talking when others are writing. Be respectful when other's are sharing their writing. Never erase or throw away stories (you might use them later!) Move your clips on the writer's workshop wall. Take care of the materials in writer's workshop.
The reason it is good to do this is that if any students start mis-using the materials (for example, wasting all the sticky notes) you can refer back to your rules, which have been clearly established.
5) You may want to consider getting an author's chair. Several teachers I know buy those cheap plastic chairs at Wal-Mart and every time a child shares a story in writer's workshop they get to sign their name with a Sharpie on the chair. At the end of the year, the class has a drawing and someone gets to take the author's chair home.
BUT - you don't have to do this, you can even just use one of the chairs in your classroom like I did today.
As a teacher, you can quietly encourage students who are normally too shy to share their writing to sit in the authors chair and share their story. You can decide if you want to let them read parts of their drafts or if the author's chair is only for published work.
I am going to look for more resources for writer's workshop and post those on Moodle. I will try to do that in the next couple of days.
Thanks for letting me come in...especially on a MONDAY MORNING! I know it was hectic and I appreciate your willingness to share your classroom with me. You are the best!
BLOG BACK AND LET ME KNOW WHAT OTHER RESOURCES YOU NEED OR WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT WRITER'S WORKSHOP!
This is going to be more of a working blog today. I just left your classroom and wanted to share some ideas with you about writers workshop. First I have to tell you that I was really impressed with your students and their writing. Once they really got down to the task of just working on their stories, most of the students went to work and were writing great stories. I am so glad that you are giving your students time every day for writing! The stories that the students write throughout the year are priceless - they are also a great way to assess how the students have grown as writer's throughout the year.
When we were doing the mini-lesson and getting the students started writing their hearts and wishes, I was feeling like it wasn't going very well and wondering if anyone was getting it. I think a few students did, but a few didn't. Setting up those kinds of routines in writer's workshop will take time and practice. Part of the problem is that I didn't have everything I would have like to have before starting a lesson like that. If I had a working story that I had been writing, the students could have read my story and practiced writing hearts and wishes about my story first before I sent them back to read and respond to each other's writing.
Here are a couple of ideas for upcoming mini-lessons that you could try with your students.
1) Do a mini-lesson on how to write good compliments and suggestions. On the orange poster, record prompts that students could use such as: I liked the part when....., You did a good job with...., It was exciting when....., .......was a good idea, Your story was...(organized, easy to understand, funny). Or for suggestions: Add more detail about......, I didn't understand......, Write more about......,
2) Do a mini-lesson on how conference corners work. Where are they located in the room? How do you act in the conference corner? Where are the materials (sticky notes/pens)? What do you do there? How do you choose a conference corner partner? (use your clothespins for this part) What are the rules?
Then have all of the students practice going to a conference corner and practice how to behave there.
3) Do a mini-lesson and model how a student can take the suggestions from the hearts and wishes and add more detail to their story. You might want to write a little story of your own on chart paper, have the students give you hearts and wishes on a sticky note and model in front of them how you would add more detail to the story or how you would cross out parts that don't make sense.
4) Do a mini-lesson and create a class chart that describes the rules for writer's workshop. Let the kids help you brainstorm. Here are some rules that my classes had: No talking when others are writing. Be respectful when other's are sharing their writing. Never erase or throw away stories (you might use them later!) Move your clips on the writer's workshop wall. Take care of the materials in writer's workshop.
The reason it is good to do this is that if any students start mis-using the materials (for example, wasting all the sticky notes) you can refer back to your rules, which have been clearly established.
5) You may want to consider getting an author's chair. Several teachers I know buy those cheap plastic chairs at Wal-Mart and every time a child shares a story in writer's workshop they get to sign their name with a Sharpie on the chair. At the end of the year, the class has a drawing and someone gets to take the author's chair home.
BUT - you don't have to do this, you can even just use one of the chairs in your classroom like I did today.
As a teacher, you can quietly encourage students who are normally too shy to share their writing to sit in the authors chair and share their story. You can decide if you want to let them read parts of their drafts or if the author's chair is only for published work.
I am going to look for more resources for writer's workshop and post those on Moodle. I will try to do that in the next couple of days.
Thanks for letting me come in...especially on a MONDAY MORNING! I know it was hectic and I appreciate your willingness to share your classroom with me. You are the best!
BLOG BACK AND LET ME KNOW WHAT OTHER RESOURCES YOU NEED OR WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT WRITER'S WORKSHOP!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Megan's Classroom 1/20/09
I spent the afternoon today in 4th grade in Megan's classroom. Megan invited me to come in and teach a writing lesson. I chose to teach the students how to do a better job at peer revision and editing during writers workshop, based on an earlier conversation that Megan and I had. She had mentioned that her students weren't giving well thought out comments or doing a good job with peer editing/revision.
When I first arrived, the students were finish up a science lesson and were sorting science words and matching them with definitions. I thought this was such a worthwhile activity and I could tell that the students were really thinking about the words and using the other people in their group for help and support. It was such a good way to make science learning more kinesthetic and hands-on.
I decided to use a checklist with the students and have them practice with writing samples I provided as well as with their own writing. A couple of things that I had found success with were having the students edit and revise only smaller parts of a story rather than an entire story at a time, which can quickly become overwhelming. Another thing I had done in my own classroom was to provide a container of red pens that were used ONLY during peer revision and editing sessions. This helped motivate my students to do more peer editing as they thought it was fun and novel to use the pens and checklists that were provided.
The students responded well to the lesson and did a good job of reading and working with their stories. However, one thing that both Megan and I noticed is that this skill might be a little too much for students who are extremely low in writing. One student couldn't read his own writing nor could anyone else. When you can't read the writing, how will you edit the piece? This made me start to wonder if peer editing is a skill that is only effective once a student reaches a certain level of writing proficiency? Megan and I talked about some ideas for helping the lowest students. Maybe they need to type their piece? Or provide verbal feedback instead of written feedback (but how do you do that?) It was very difficult for those low readers to look for grammar and punctuation errors in another students writing, when they can't recognize those mistakes in their own writing. This is a problem that I often encountered as a teacher and I don't know that there are any easy answers. I'll have to keep thinking about it.
I think that the class will need more direct practice before they really get the hang of it, but they are off to a great start. Megan has a few students that are extremely hard to motivate and keep on task. I am so impressed with everything she has done with her classroom management. She has created strong relationships with her students and they know the limits. It's funny that when I am there, those students push the limits with me. I am excited to spend more time in her classroom and figure out how to better manage those students.
Megan, thanks for sharing your class with me today. I want to see your guided reading template. Would you mind e-mailing that to me? I really enjoy working with you and want to thank you for letting me come in even though you aren't obligated to. That shows your level of commitment and willingness to grow and improve.
What are we going to work on next?
When I first arrived, the students were finish up a science lesson and were sorting science words and matching them with definitions. I thought this was such a worthwhile activity and I could tell that the students were really thinking about the words and using the other people in their group for help and support. It was such a good way to make science learning more kinesthetic and hands-on.
I decided to use a checklist with the students and have them practice with writing samples I provided as well as with their own writing. A couple of things that I had found success with were having the students edit and revise only smaller parts of a story rather than an entire story at a time, which can quickly become overwhelming. Another thing I had done in my own classroom was to provide a container of red pens that were used ONLY during peer revision and editing sessions. This helped motivate my students to do more peer editing as they thought it was fun and novel to use the pens and checklists that were provided.
The students responded well to the lesson and did a good job of reading and working with their stories. However, one thing that both Megan and I noticed is that this skill might be a little too much for students who are extremely low in writing. One student couldn't read his own writing nor could anyone else. When you can't read the writing, how will you edit the piece? This made me start to wonder if peer editing is a skill that is only effective once a student reaches a certain level of writing proficiency? Megan and I talked about some ideas for helping the lowest students. Maybe they need to type their piece? Or provide verbal feedback instead of written feedback (but how do you do that?) It was very difficult for those low readers to look for grammar and punctuation errors in another students writing, when they can't recognize those mistakes in their own writing. This is a problem that I often encountered as a teacher and I don't know that there are any easy answers. I'll have to keep thinking about it.
I think that the class will need more direct practice before they really get the hang of it, but they are off to a great start. Megan has a few students that are extremely hard to motivate and keep on task. I am so impressed with everything she has done with her classroom management. She has created strong relationships with her students and they know the limits. It's funny that when I am there, those students push the limits with me. I am excited to spend more time in her classroom and figure out how to better manage those students.
Megan, thanks for sharing your class with me today. I want to see your guided reading template. Would you mind e-mailing that to me? I really enjoy working with you and want to thank you for letting me come in even though you aren't obligated to. That shows your level of commitment and willingness to grow and improve.
What are we going to work on next?
Chelsie's Classroom 1/20/09
I spent the most wonderful morning today in Chelsie's 3rd grade classroom. (Thanks Chelsie, for allowing me to invade your teaching space and for sharing your amazing talents with me. I learn so much every time I visit your classroom).
I want to blog today about something I call "magic moments". These are moments when everything in a lesson comes together perfectly and all of the students are in-tune and are listening, right there with you in the moment. Well, I was so lucky today to witness one of those moments.
The day started with the usual lunch counts, daily oral language counts and silent reading. Then Chelsie gathered her students at the rug to teach a mini-lesson on Martin Luther King, Jr. She began the lesson by asking the students "What do you know about him?" The students actually knew quite a bit and even commented on things they had learned in previous grades. Then she asked, "What do you want to know?" She listed the students answers on a chart and used it to activate the student's prior knowledge and set a purpose for later reading and writing. Then she shared the picture book Martin's Big Words. The students were asked to touch their nose when they heard an answer to one of their questions and touch their shoulder when they heard something they already knew. She also pointed out the text structure of the book, with Martin's quotes in bold, colored letters.
After the read aloud, she gave each student a copy of the "I Have a Dream" speech and the students stood in a circle to participate in a shared reading. I mentioned that the actual audio file of the speech could be found on-line, so we found it and were able to listen to Dr. King himself giving the speech as the students followed along. I thought the students would get bored, but they were amazingly attentive and quiet. It was as if he was right there in the room with us. After this, Chelsie asked the students questions about how the speech made them feel. Several students made comments that brought tears to my eyes. Some talked about how grateful they are for the friendships they have with students in the class of different nationalities. One girl commented on how Dr. King sounded proud and happy of what he had accomplished. It was just magical. Right as we finished this activity, the class watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It was perfect. Chelsie commented that she couldn't have planned it any better and she was right. It was so ironic to think that fifty years ago, the African Americans were fighting for their most basic rights and now we have a new African American president. It was awesome and the students were perfectly behaved and attentive. They got it! I loved how well they followed along while listening to the King speech. The most important part of shared reading is that the readers eyes pass over the print with voice support. The students seemed committed to following along and so I would call it a very successful shared reading experience. Listening to the actual audio file also allowed us to feel the full emotion and passion of the speech as well.
Later in the morning, I was able to watch how Chelsie has organized her centers and guided reading groups. I was particularly impressed with a sheet she has created to track her guided reading lessons. She also told me that she has created a great new system of having the students edit their writing at home with their parents. She created a sheet to send home and several teachers at the school have asked her for copies and want to use her idea. Chelsie also mentioned that she had found some good online resources that will help her in working with her high readers in their guided reading group on the book Matilda.
Being in the classroom today reminded me of how much work it takes to stay on top of everything that needs to be done daily in a classroom. Wow!
Chelsie,
I was so impressed today with the depth at which you teach your students every day. It was a highlight to see how you are using assessment to guide your lessons. For example, today you used the KWL chart to get a sense of what your students already knew. Then, as you taught, you supported the students with any new information and used questions to guide you to the next thing you would teach or say.
You also do a wonderful job of getting your students to think critically without just giving them the answer. I saw an example of that when one of your students mentioned that black people use to be kept apart from white people. You immediately began giving clues and using questions to guide that student to use the word "segregation".
I don't know if you realize it or not, but you are skilled at supporting the students with their language skills. You explain definitions, have the students repeat big vocabulary words, teach students the correct way to say words that may otherwise be difficult and you provide visuals and other resources to support language learning.
Your students are so well trained, they knew exactly what to do at every minute. When you simply mentioned that the students would need to create a brainstorming web before beginning their writing on the I Have A Dream writing piece, I wondered if any of the students would actually do it. It was so refreshing to see every single student heading back to their desks and immediately begin work on their webs.
Your enthusiasm for teaching is contagious. After you finished Martin's Big Words, you looked at the students and asked, "Did you love that book?" Well, how could they not? You loved it and it showed. That excitement transferred to your students and set the stage for the later "magic moment."
Here are the things I need to follow up on for you:
Provide the sorting chart that can be used in conjunction with Words their Way
Provide you with a word wall chants, cheers and practice strategies handout I have in my files
Provide Words Their Way resources from upcoming conference
Schedule time to come in and teach guided reading
Get a copy of your Guided Reading Lesson Plan Template with the 3-columns. Could you e-mail it to me?
I want to blog today about something I call "magic moments". These are moments when everything in a lesson comes together perfectly and all of the students are in-tune and are listening, right there with you in the moment. Well, I was so lucky today to witness one of those moments.
The day started with the usual lunch counts, daily oral language counts and silent reading. Then Chelsie gathered her students at the rug to teach a mini-lesson on Martin Luther King, Jr. She began the lesson by asking the students "What do you know about him?" The students actually knew quite a bit and even commented on things they had learned in previous grades. Then she asked, "What do you want to know?" She listed the students answers on a chart and used it to activate the student's prior knowledge and set a purpose for later reading and writing. Then she shared the picture book Martin's Big Words. The students were asked to touch their nose when they heard an answer to one of their questions and touch their shoulder when they heard something they already knew. She also pointed out the text structure of the book, with Martin's quotes in bold, colored letters.
After the read aloud, she gave each student a copy of the "I Have a Dream" speech and the students stood in a circle to participate in a shared reading. I mentioned that the actual audio file of the speech could be found on-line, so we found it and were able to listen to Dr. King himself giving the speech as the students followed along. I thought the students would get bored, but they were amazingly attentive and quiet. It was as if he was right there in the room with us. After this, Chelsie asked the students questions about how the speech made them feel. Several students made comments that brought tears to my eyes. Some talked about how grateful they are for the friendships they have with students in the class of different nationalities. One girl commented on how Dr. King sounded proud and happy of what he had accomplished. It was just magical. Right as we finished this activity, the class watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It was perfect. Chelsie commented that she couldn't have planned it any better and she was right. It was so ironic to think that fifty years ago, the African Americans were fighting for their most basic rights and now we have a new African American president. It was awesome and the students were perfectly behaved and attentive. They got it! I loved how well they followed along while listening to the King speech. The most important part of shared reading is that the readers eyes pass over the print with voice support. The students seemed committed to following along and so I would call it a very successful shared reading experience. Listening to the actual audio file also allowed us to feel the full emotion and passion of the speech as well.
Later in the morning, I was able to watch how Chelsie has organized her centers and guided reading groups. I was particularly impressed with a sheet she has created to track her guided reading lessons. She also told me that she has created a great new system of having the students edit their writing at home with their parents. She created a sheet to send home and several teachers at the school have asked her for copies and want to use her idea. Chelsie also mentioned that she had found some good online resources that will help her in working with her high readers in their guided reading group on the book Matilda.
Being in the classroom today reminded me of how much work it takes to stay on top of everything that needs to be done daily in a classroom. Wow!
Chelsie,
I was so impressed today with the depth at which you teach your students every day. It was a highlight to see how you are using assessment to guide your lessons. For example, today you used the KWL chart to get a sense of what your students already knew. Then, as you taught, you supported the students with any new information and used questions to guide you to the next thing you would teach or say.
You also do a wonderful job of getting your students to think critically without just giving them the answer. I saw an example of that when one of your students mentioned that black people use to be kept apart from white people. You immediately began giving clues and using questions to guide that student to use the word "segregation".
I don't know if you realize it or not, but you are skilled at supporting the students with their language skills. You explain definitions, have the students repeat big vocabulary words, teach students the correct way to say words that may otherwise be difficult and you provide visuals and other resources to support language learning.
Your students are so well trained, they knew exactly what to do at every minute. When you simply mentioned that the students would need to create a brainstorming web before beginning their writing on the I Have A Dream writing piece, I wondered if any of the students would actually do it. It was so refreshing to see every single student heading back to their desks and immediately begin work on their webs.
Your enthusiasm for teaching is contagious. After you finished Martin's Big Words, you looked at the students and asked, "Did you love that book?" Well, how could they not? You loved it and it showed. That excitement transferred to your students and set the stage for the later "magic moment."
Here are the things I need to follow up on for you:
Provide the sorting chart that can be used in conjunction with Words their Way
Provide you with a word wall chants, cheers and practice strategies handout I have in my files
Provide Words Their Way resources from upcoming conference
Schedule time to come in and teach guided reading
Get a copy of your Guided Reading Lesson Plan Template with the 3-columns. Could you e-mail it to me?
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