Get a Stinkin' Book

I am excited to participate in Teachers Write virtual writing camp hosted by author Kate Messner. If you haven't heard about it, check it out! Join in! 


"Library's closed!" barked the media specialist from inside her dimly lit office. 


"B.b...but my teacher said I have to pick out a book," he hoped to garner a little sympathy. After all his teacher had been hounding him every stinkin' day to find out what he was reading. The media specialist half-heard him and waved him on by, anxious to get back to her phone call.


Truth is he wasn't reading anything. Sure, he carried around a couple different Goosebumps books, but those were just so Teacher would see that he was reading. He'd dutifully open up to a place a little farther into the book every day and then spend the next 30 minutes daydreaming about whatever....sports mostly...and sometimes girls. 


But then his act was revealed. That Teacher carried around her notebook in class and would talk to kids, asking them what they were reading and what page they were on and what they thought about what they were reading. Whatever. So now he had to find a book besides the well-worn, unread Goosebumps books that had been his daydream companions.


He slunk on into the library despite the warning from the media specialist. She was such a dog. All those times the class had visited and he'd only laid eyes on her a couple times and that was to fix the scanner thingy that some kid had accidentally knocked over while trying to check in books.


He got the impression that Teacher was not happy with the barky media specialist either. He'd seen her roll her eyes when the media specialist screeched about using shelf markers or checking out too many books in one week. 


And yet, here he was...alone in the library. How was he supposed to find a stupid book in here? He'd thought there was a system or something he'd heard Teacher mention about finding stuff. She would wander around the library with the students and pick up books here and there to hand to kids. Those nerdy girls were always at her elbow asking nerdy girl questions. It was easy to avoid Teacher in the library. 


Teacher talked about lots of books in class. Sometimes she'd show us the covers and go on and on about how a book was so amazing. She always said, "Read what you LOVE." There was one she talked about a week or so ago that she'd just read. It was about a dog or some dogs in Alaska. The memory was fuzzy, but he tried to recall the details. Seems like the book was about a dog, but the title had another animal in it...wolf? Fox? Yeah...that was it...Something Fox. He'd search for that. It was a thin book which he liked and it was about dogs. Could be worse.


Now, where would Something Fox be in this library? It wasn't a huge library, but it was big enough that he could search unnoticed by Barky in her office. If only she'd actually help him. He knew she'd know. Shoot, maybe she wouldn't. He wasn't sure if she actually read any of those books she protected so fiercely. He'd never heard HER talk about books like she loved them.

I (mostly) hate sports.

     Anyone who knows me knows that I do not like sports. I have lots of reasons, but I think mainly I don't like being disappointed after getting emotionally invested in a game. Also I have a lot of resentment towards professional athletes who make millions of dollars for doing something that isn't nearly as important to our society as teaching children to read, write, count, and think. Call me selfish. 
     Here comes the big confession....I've learned so much from watching my kids at practices and in games. Just because I don't enjoy sports doesn't mean that I want to deprive my own children from developing athletic talents if that's what they enjoy. So I've spent quite a few hours watching karate, baseball, soccer, basketball, and tennis even though my kids are only 5 and 8 years old.
     I blogged about the fantastic karate instructors my son had awhile back and this recent post by Lori Sabo from The Daily 5 website reminded me of the amazing things I've learned from watching coaches. Sabo's main points include:

1. positive reinforcement - who doesn't like a kind word or a wink or a smile??
2. modeling - show the right & wrong way
3. monitoring - keep an eye on your students
4. differentiation - meet your students where they are and push them farther
5. purpose - explain why 
6. element of fun - people (big and little) like games
7. celebration - verbalize what was accomplished
8. current research - be smart, keep up with your field

     Of these 8 elements, I think differentiation is the most difficult, especially if you're working in the Land of the Little People (K or 1st grade) where attention spans and self-direction are in short supply. However, the other 7 things on the list are EASY. 

     I've noticed in the last month as I've included frequent games, dance breaks, and increased eye contact that my class has soared. I'm working with a population that is mostly ELL, mostly poor, and mostly behind academically - but they have risen to the occasion EVERY time I've challenged them. I'm checking off 1. positive reinforcement, 3. monitoring, 5. purpose, 6. fun, and 7. celebration from the list above. Woot!

     As for 2. modeling...I am fortunate to work at a school that hit the technology jackpot. We all received Hover cams in our classrooms last month and let me tell you that it is a blessing! My students struggle with oral directions. Their language skills are weak, but if I show them on the big screen what I'm talking about they jump right in. So there's a big check for modeling. 

     8. Current research? Got it. Thanks to my PLN on Twitter I've read a couple of great books lately, but have also been exposed to lots of amazing ideas through a variety of chats. 

     4. Differentiation here I come! This is my first year teaching 1st graders and I'm still working on the management issues that arise with 20 busy little people. I've just begun to scratch the surface in teaching self-motivation and self-direction. 

     Maybe I'll get some good ideas at baseball practice tonight??

Facebook Locally, Tweet Globally!

It's Sunday evening and like me, teachers everywhere are working on lesson plans and preparing materials for the upcoming week. As I reflected on my first two weeks with 1st graders I realized that I need to tighten up my literacy block - I had too much transition and lag time between activities as well as not enough movement for restless 1st graders.

In the process of reflecting and planning for the upcoming week, I sent out a Tweet asking for opinions on what I felt was slow progress in our Read to Self block. Immediately (like within 2 minutes!!) I received super helpful feedback from @qldteacher in Australia as well as from @MsHoughton in Seattle. Both were encouraging and informative. I tweeted back and forth with @qldteacher for a few minutes and she reassured me that her experiences had been similar with her first graders in Australia.

After sharing information with my Tweeps, it hit me how wondrous it is that when I have a question any time of day about anything I can simply ask and, more often than not, get immediate help and encouragement from a real person. Seriously amazing!!

In response to people who are resistant to the idea of using Facebook and Twitter, I offer this metaphor. Think about your kitchen. You probably have a spatula and a whisk. You could use these items for some of the same tasks - there's a little overlap in their usefulness. However, you wouldn't flip burgers with a whisk and you wouldn't beat eggs with a spatula. Facebook and Twitter can be used in similar ways, just as spatulas and whisks can be used for some of the same jobs.

Personally, I use Facebook for keeping up with people I know in the flesh. These are my close friends and relatives. These are the people whose vacation pictures I'd take a minute to look through and care about seeing how much little so-and-so has grown. I also have a group for former students so that I can continue to reach out to them even after they've left my classroom.

I use Twitter to know what's happening in the world. It's more of a professional learning network as demonstrated in my situation today. I follow a wide array of people on Twitter, although a majority of them are in education.

(Another striking difference is that when you're home sick for a day, Facebook is pretty boring because all those people that I'm friends with are at work like I normally would be. Twitter is still a happening place though! I've got friends in my Twitterverse from all over the country and several from other parts of the globe.)

I urge you to consider using both. What about you? Are you involved in more than one social network? Feel free to share your amazing experiences and uses in the comments!


My philosophy is: Facebook locally, Tweet globally!


PS: A huge "THANK YOU" to @qldteacher & @MsHoughton. If you don't follow them on Twitter, please do so now! :)