On October 5, 2017 #G2Great welcomed two of the greatest advocates for our youngest meaning makers. Kathy Collins and Matt Glover support our earliest readers in nurturing ways by promoting a healthy reading identity while thye develop a love for reading as they make meaning with texts they read, whether they read the words or make meaning through the pictures or their memory of a familiar read. In their book, I Am Reading, Kathy and Matt open their introduction in part by sharing that their fascination wtih children’s thinking is what brought them together, which makes complete sense as Kathy came to the collaboration from a background of reading and Matt came from his experience with writing. Reading and writing are really rooted in the thinking that comes before, during and after both reading and writing. They are about making meaning.
Limiting children only to just right books impacts meaning making and reading identity
Children may be developing decoding skills as they advance through these levels, however they may lose the benefit of making meaning with texts and engaging in a playful sense with books that help to develop the thinking skills that children develop even before they can read conventionally. Reading identity begins to develop right away and if students are limited by choosing only just right books they begin to limit their own reading identity by these levels. The rush to advance through levels further impacts reading as students lose opportunties to interact with texts in real ways where they are developing the thinking and talking work that develops comprehension and meaning making with texts.
There are many benefits of children rereading familiar texts. Often the reading of familiar texts is discounted and comments such as, “She has heard it read so many times, she has just memorized it.” It is helpful to consider what the child is doing when reading the familiar book:
Applies reading or thinking strategies
Paces the reading to the pages/illustrations
Uses picture cues to make meaning or support memory
Returns to previously read pages to start over
Adjusts voice to reflect meaning of the text
Recalls and uses rhymes and patterns in the text
In addition to strategy use and thinking there are language benefits to both reading aloud familiar books and children reading familiar books.
Vocabulary
Expressions
Concepts
Literary language patterns
Syntax
A child’s initial moments with unfamiliar books are critical and how we support them matters
As a child encounters an unfamiliar text they will engage with the book in different ways than they do with familiar books. How we encourage and support this interaction matters. It matters because when children read unfamiliar books before they are reading conventionally it can be empowering. When children have opportunities to engage with texts that are unfamiliar they will need to be resourceful, put in effort, make meaning, take risks and solve problems. It is not as common for a child to pick up and engage as deeply with an unfamiliar text and for this reason how we support them matters. Children need to be provided with opportunities to choose and to read unfamiliar books as well as have motivation to do so. Supporting students to choose unfamiliar books that are:
Interesting and accessible
Have illustrations that are detailed enough to support meaning
Have characters who look like they are saying something
Elements of the illustrations are somewhat consistent
Just right books, familiar books, and unfamiliar books were just some of the topics we explored durring the chat. To learn more about supporting our earliest readers such as informational books and the value of conferring check out our #storify for the chat with Kathy Collins and Matt Glover. Their book, I Am Reading is a great source for anyone who reads with our earliest readers and wants to look deeper at ways to nuture early reading.
As I began reflecting on this post, my personal fascination with what motivates authors to write a book was at the forefront of my mind. When I read Readers Front & Center, my curiosity was instantly piqued to know what inspired Dorothy. I didn’t have to wait long since her motivational muse appeared in her dedication, “For Nora, wherever you are” and first paragraph of her acknowledgement where she explains the book ‘seed’:
“This book began many years ago with a child–Nora–and I first want to thank her and the other students on the New York City Public Schools who show up (usually) and do what they’re told (usually). We owe each of you so much more, and my deepest hope is that somewhere within the cracks of the system you’ll find a few exhilarating moments, as I have in my teaching–as I did in my conversations with Nora–and that those moments will sustain you and help you create more exhilarating moments.” (vii)
As I read on, I found myself reading and rereading pages where Nora reappeared as I imagined myself in the conferring seat beside them. I am struck by the idea that we can only put readers front & center if we intentionally seek those ‘exhilarating moments’ and bring them to life in spite of the system cracks. Motivated by my desire to capture this idea in writing, I began perusing her words in a glorious hour of conferring with Dorothy #G2Great twitter style.
Early in the chat, Dorothy instilled a sense of urgency for this work:
Dorothy’s challenge asks us to sharpen our vision for what is possible with our students – the very possible she so eloquently describes in page after page in her book. I love the dual purpose of this challenge in that we cannot possibly make this shift for our students unless we are willing make this shift for ourselves in the form of professional responsibility to students by virtue of our day-to-day instructional actions. This dual shift allows us to create professional stepping stones that will alter the very way we approach instruction – and thus change the trajectory of success for us both.
And so in honor of an enthusiastic exploration to ponder how we can make this shift, I’d like to share five ‘exhilarating moments’ that will keep all of the Nora’s of the world front & center as we work relentlessly to support our shared journey side-by-side with students as they work with complex texts.
Exhilarating Moment #1: Begin with the Reader
Dorothy reminds us to keep our students at the center of all we do as we celebrate their identity as a reader first and foremost. I have long been concerned that many districts make the questionable decision to initiate formal assessments at the beginning of the year. I can’t help but wonder why we would want numerical assessments in our hands before we know the child behind the number. In order to keep children at the center of all we do, we must begin by exploring who our students are as readers before we allow those assessments to cloud our view of their emerging identity.
Exhilarating Moment #2: Be Present in Reader Moments
In Dorothy’s book she asks us to “notice smarter,” a point highlighted in her reminder to become expert kidwatchers. These precious opportunities afford us the time to be quietly present in student learning moments so that we can notice what they do as they actively engage in literacy work. Those quiet moments allow us to name what we see and hear so that we can make our noticings public within literacy conversations with children in order to make the thinking work they do in the course of learning visible.
Exhilarating Moment #3: Engage in Research Conversations
Dorothy’s intentional use of the word ‘research conferences reminds us that within these rich literacy conversations reside the data that will drive our instructional efforts. One of the most powerful aspects of conferring is that we are able to make in-the-moment decisions as we listen intently to what our students do or struggle to do. Dorothy celebrates the potential of not knowing as she recognizes that the best instructional agenda is often the agenda that only the child engaged in literacy work can share with us. In other words, they are making us privy to our next step moves in the heat of those literacy conversations.
Exhilarating Moment #4: Celebrate the Thinking (vs. Doing)
One of the myriad of problem with lesson plans and scripts is that they focus on the text by making preconceived instructional decisions for teacher without the benefit of knowing the students in front of us. This contradicts the idea that the text is only the vehicle but it is the child and the thinking they engage in during the experience that demands our attention. This priority mismatch distinguishes instruction as a process of doing vs. instruction as a thoughtful student-centered process that begins with the reader. This means that we are less interested in what they do or struggle to do than we are with the thinking that occurs within those doing moments. A script blinds to here and now thinking moments and can even thwart our view of them.
Exhilarating Moment #5: Make Room to Meander to Meaning
As adult readers, we know that there are many pathways to understanding and that we choose those pathways as we engage in reading work. If we acknowledge that this is the central role of reading, then we need to support our students in assuming that role as they do the heavy lifting beside us. By refuting the traditional view that we are looking for the right answer, we can be open to the flexible thinking that invites unexpected responses – thinking that can enrich the experience from both sides. When we create a positive and supportive experience for this thinking and allow students to engage in the messy process of problem solving beside us, we then begin to relinquish control of the very process that we engage in during reading. And within this process grounded in trust, our students begin to grow as readers.
I preceded my five points with Dorothy’s words of wisdom, so I’d also like to close with her final words of wisdom. Together, those opening and closing words form an invisible thread that hold my exhilarating moments together:
In order to celebrate who our students are as readers we must trust the books that they are choosing to use alongside us. I can’t think of a better way to bring their reader identity to life than the books that reflect their reading lives in the context of authentic day-to-day engagement as we hold both in high esteem.
As I close this post, I find my thoughts inextricably drawn back to Nora and the potential impact that one conversation can have on our thinking and the thinking of students. As I read Dorothy’s conversations with students, I found myself leaning in as if I were part of each exchange. Then I opened to Dorothy’s closing chapter and soaked in her oh so wise words:
“But I believe if we do listen, our voices will be more authentic and insightful. This book was born out of such a pause. I pulled a chair next to first one student and then another and simply listened as they read. I didn’t talk, though the teacher was watching me, and the students themselves seemed to expect me to fill those moments with what I knew or thought I knew. I had to give myself permission to pay attention.” (p. 144)
September 14, 2017, was a very special #G2Great. We celebrated our friend, Rich Czyz’s new book The Four O’Clock Faculty A Rouge Guide to Revolutionizing Professional Development. Rich wrote this book to help us to expand our thinking about what professional learning might be. The #G2Great PLN understands that professional learning has been forever changed. They embrace and look for new opportunities to learn.
As I reflect on this chat I am struck by four takeaways that can shape what professional learning might be. These learning opportunities are always there for us when we know what to look for…
Learning Opportunity 1: Always Say YES
We can always say yes to learning. It begins when we define and envision what our professional learning ought to be. Once we know what we need, there are ways to incorporate 21st Century technology to our learning lives.There are virtually limitless resources available to us, and makes our learning lives relatable to our students. We can take what might be a negative learning experience and make it purposeful. Our learning is what we make of it:
Learning Opportunity 2: Set Meaningful GOALS
Learning is synoomous with growth. Intellectual growth does not just happen to us, it requires our care and attention. Each day we can challenge ourselves to learn more than yesterday. We can decide to engage the learning process with an open optimistic hearts. In the end there is no finish line for learning. Our teaching degrees grant us admistion but our training goes on throughout our lives:
Learning Opportunity 3: Create Community
We are smarter together than we are by ourselves. The more connections we make with each other the greater the learning reward. When we learn collectively we get the benefit of each other’s perspective. So read, talk, write, and create community:
Learning Opportunity 4: More is MORE:
Choice is an essential part to learning. We can find ways to open up pathways for teachers to get what they need. Personal responsiblity, open communication, and becoming personally vested in the learning lives of ourselves and our colleagues is how our profession will continue to evolve:
Thank you Rich, we appreciate the innovative conversation that your work inspired. I think the best way to close out this post is with your remarkable words of wisdom:
The idea of differentiating instruction to accommodate the different ways that students learn involves a hefty dose of common sense, as well as sturdy support in the theory and research of education (Tomlinson & Allan, 2000). It is an approach to teaching that advocates active planning for student differences in classrooms.
Differentiated instruction can, for many educators, be a Pandora’s Box of sorts. We know there are powerful outcomes when we commit to research-based instructional moves that enrich learning for all kids, but if we’re honest, we also worry about the burden and hardship.
Every educator understands the cost of thoughtful, careful instructional planning based on close observation of the kids in their care. We know it, and at the same time we must admit that for many of us, we dread it.
It’s clear the time, energy, additional research-reading that must take place for an intentional approach that “advocates active planning for (all) student differences…”
This week’s #G2Great chat was the perfect antidote for our teacher fear of all that differentiation entails. We begin, I believe, by reflecting on the very questions guiding the chat tonight; the profound, rudimentary bits of an indomitable approach to teaching that’s committed to personalized instruction for all our kids.
Mary Howard shared, “Differentiation reflects our commitment to see each child through a lens of their uniquely individual learning/emotional needs.”
When we’re able to start from that understanding, that teaching kids is as simple as celebrating their uniqueness, we allow ourselves and our beloved students room for genuine growth. When we’re able to begin with an inclination to see and celebrate all our students’ endowments, we start with promise and not privation. When we choose to think of differentiation as a “student-centered” mindset then we open up the possibility that every day holds tremendous possibility and opportunity for joy. Joy in discovering the unique assets (and needs) of each child in our care.
The tweet from Julie and Missy below captures the idea that it takes a belief or a single thought to lead to an action. Being aware of our own beliefs and developing an awareness of whether that belief will lead to an action or not is critical in making a change. We need to be honest and aware of our beliefs to ensure that they are going to make a positive impact and lead to change that will support students in our care.
FLEXIBILITY
The challenges that come with change require us to be flexible and willing to understand our perspectives as well as the perspectives of others. As leaders, as educators there are so many aspects of our work that are beyond our control. It is critical to remember that while some things may be beyond our control we are truly in control to the way we respond to any given situation or change. Flexibility requires practice, each time we encounter a challenge connected to changes we can use that as an ppportunity to practice flexbility. Flexibility in our responses and perspectives can help us navigate a journey to improvement in the name of our students.
POTENTIAL
We will always find what we are looking for, so we need to be certain and intentional in what we see when we look at our students and our schools. Approaching students from a strengths perspective, by looking for what they are doing rather than a deficit model provides a window into what a students can do. This provides an opportunity for learning the very next thing that is within their grasp. Viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning with a lens on a particular student, class, school or district opens up potential. This is Unmapped Potential!
I was personally elated on August 31, 2017 when we opened our #G2Great doors to welcome guest host Laura Robb. Laura has long been a professional inspiration to many educators, but her presence was an added blessing for me since she is also a treasured friend. On this night, we gathered enthusiastically around the Twitter screen to soak in Laura’s immense wisdom and celebrate her newest book, Read Talk Write: 35 Lessons That Teach Students to Analyze Fiction and Nonfiction (Corwin, 2017).
In his opening foreword, Harvey “Smokey” Daniels eloquently describes why we need Laura’s remarkable book:
For decades, we have understood in principle that kids need to talk about their reading. But in practice, we have been slower to develop a broad repertoire of classroom structures that stimulate, facilitate, guide, and assess that kind of abundant intelligent talk. Laura Robb to the rescue once more. (xiii)
Laura Robb to the rescue indeed. In 249 pages of brilliance, she offers a treasure chest of powerful practices that are sure to promote the abundant intelligent talk that will lift student voices into the learning air in celebratory harmony. Laura’s book beautifully organizes 35 powerhouse lessons into six thoughtful categories of student centered dialogue:
Turn-and-Talk
Whole Class Discussions
Partner Talk
Small-Group Discussions
In-the-Head Conversations
Teacher-Student Discussions
Our #G2Great conversation with Laura reflected a clear shared commitment for engaging students in meaningful reading and writing talk. But Laura lives and breathes this commitment in her own work in classrooms and through her writing. After the chat, Laura shared four key ideas with me via email that she hopes our #G2Great family will take away from this experience And so as I reflect on her email message and her #G2Great chat tweets, I’d like to depart from my traditional chat overview by merging Laura’s messages and tweets into four Conversation Inspirations. These will offer a professional guide as you generate the abundant intelligent Laura-inspired talk our children deserve:
Conversation Inspiration 1: Create a Culture that Celebrates Student Talk
I’m hoping teachers re-evaluated the importance of talk. Talk is an oral text, and students do a great deal of thinking, considering, and refining to craft a response others can understand. I see talk as a prelude to meaningful writing. (Laura Robb’s email message)
My reflection: Our first step is to take professional responsibility for this process. We cannot create an instructional setting where student-centered talk is valued by students until we are willing to hold this process in the highest esteem. Before we can create an environment where the high quality talk we desire for students becomes a habit of mind, we must acknowledge our role in this process. When talk is viewed as a professional must then it will become the WHY that drives us each step along the way to this rich collaborative dialogue. Laura reminds us that this is not an occasional event to be scheduled at key intervals in the day, but a non-negotiable daily priority that permeates the very air that we breathe across every learning day.
Conversation Inspiration 2: Celebrate the Talk Journey with the Gift of Time
It’s important to know that it takes time and practice for student-led discussions to run smoothly and achieve depth of thinking! The gift of time, practice, and debriefings are crucial. (Laura Robb’s email message)
My reflection: In order to create the powerful discourse we deem worthy of our students, we must first build a strong bridge between teacher supported and student engaged talk. We begin by creating a safe and supportive environment that will nurture the kind of engaging talk we want for students. Within this safe environment we can then offer the instructional models to demonstrate each step of the talk process. These scaffolded supports allow us to show our students what rich dialogue looks like, sounds like and feels like so that we can begin to relinquish responsibility to them for accountable talk. With productive and meaningful talk always in our sights, we heed Laura’s wise reminder that we cannot rush this supportive phase. Conversation Inspiration 3: Hand over the Reins of Student Ownership
When students lead discussions, they have multiple opportunities to observe peers reasoning process as well as valuing multiple interpretations supported by the text. (Laura Robb’s email message)
My reflection: This release of responsibility allows us to create a forum that will support the kind of real life conversations we want students to have with their peers. These authentic conversations are grounded in ‘passionate and intense’ talk that we want students to continue to have with others long after they leave our classrooms – the very kind of conversations we have in our own lives. Once we have set the talk stage with support, we then begin to step back and allow students to craft the structure of these conversations so that they can assume control of the decision-making process. We trust our students to make these important decisions based on the foundation we have put into place as our role shifts from a supportive one to that of facilitator as we use these experiences to fine-tune and extend learning. Conversation Inspiration 4: Value the Talk Process Through Your Actions
Don’t grade talk. Talk is thinking out loud and writing is thinking on paper. Talk should always precede writing. Teachers can model various journal responses that can be assessed and have students write a paragraph that explains their position or defends a point of view. I don’t grade readers’ notebooks as I view those as exploratory thinking that students can refine, adjust, and change. Out of notebook writing can come assessment projects.(Laura Robb’s email message)
My reflection: I opened this overview by emphasizing that we must begin by valuing the talk process as we make it integral to every instructional day. We maximize our framework by stretching talk across all content areas but this is only the beginning. We are cognizant that all we choose to say and do will send a message to students about how we view these experiences as we allow these conversations to grow with students. In other words, our day-to-day actions and how we treat the talk experience with the respect it deserves will impact students most. Making time and space for student-centered talk is important but we must also show in every aspect of our practices that we value an organic process for meaningful dialogue. We do this by choosing not to apply a grade to this process-based practice, by creating experiences worth talking about and by celebrating that students assume increasing control. We acknowledge that student-centered talk cannot be relegated to a list of narrow questions that revolve around trivial conversations. Above all we trust students to reach ever higher as their conversations begin to take on a life of their own and we honor this transformational student-driven process each step of the way.
Read, Talk, Write reflects Laura’s commitment to the role student talk plays in the learning process. We are grateful for her deep belief in the power of literary conversations and her support in helping us to envision this process through her very wise eyes. In the closing words of her wonderful book, Laura extends each of us an invitation to join her on this journey so that we too can breathe life into abundant intelligent talk. Laura’s vision of daily student engagement in literary conversations is sure to inspire dedicated educators everywhere to thoughtfully craft rich student-led dialogue across the learning day:
You are the key to developing highly literate students. And when you make learning meaningful for students with literary conversations and writing about reading, you keep students at the center of instruction, inspiring them to read, think, talk, and write– and continually improve their reading and writing expertise. (page 236)
We accept your invitation Laura and we will carry each of your conversation inspirations in our back pockets as we put your words into action where it matters most – in high impact talk infused classrooms across the country!
More inspired tweets from our amazing #G2Great family
On August 24, 2017, our #G2Great community welcomed back Pernille Ripp with open arms. We celebrated her book, Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Childwith a thoughtful and heartfelt conversation about what it takes to be a teacher of reading. Pernille is a teacher, she is one of us. She is open and honest about her own personal struggles and shares her celebrations and successes. She lets us into her classroom, and in doing so, we see our own teaching lives revealed.
As I read through my Twitter feed, I imagined that I was part of an extended faculty. A member of a dynamic group of educators who cares deeply about our profession. Teachers who understand that together we are changing lives. We are united by a shared purpose and our conversations with Pernille are a prelude to all the good work that lies ahead of a new school year.
As you read this post, imagine we are in the faculty room, and we are having a good conversation, thinking about the complexities of the work that goes into helping students discover their passion for reading. What is the most important thing to focus on? What should I do to set up a successful year? What do I do if students don’t even like to read?
Establish Reading Rituals…
Nurture Reading Identities…
Create a Reading Culture…
Set Attainable Goals…
Design Learning Environments…
Prioritize Time to Read…
Honor Authentic Choices…
Share Your Hopes & Dreams…
Thank you Pernille, you inspired so many of us to dig deep and share what we know. This chat was a glimpse into your marvelous book, which is a beautiful read that is both poignant and practical. Together we can wrestle with the big important questions, and find solutions through our collective wisdom. Fortunately, there are so many talented teachers to learn with as we begin this exciting new year of learning for students as well as ourselves.
On August 17, 2017 Harvey “Smokey” Daniels joined #G2Great to lead us in a discussion about fostering curiosity through student directed inquiry. We gathered around the #G2Great table and were inspired by Harvey “Smokey” Daniels as he engaged us in so many possibilities around creating a curious classroom.
Curiosity – “Wait, what?” Often we hear this question from our students and we shrug it off – almost thinking they were not listening when they utter those words. If we think about why someone says, “Wait, what?” it is the first sign that they are curious about whatever it is they heard. Something caused them to pause and say, “wait, what?” they inherently in that question want to know more. When we hear kids say this we should embrace it and push them deeper into inquiry. Kids should jot down, at that very moment exactly what it was that caused them to say, “Wait, what?” Schools should be a place where students leave more curious, wanting to go out into the world and learn more. Inquiry breeds curiosity and promotes effort, developing the habits of mind we want for all of our students.
Choice – “Choice matters!” Any of us, adult or children thinkers, writers, and readers just think better when we have a choice about what we are thinking about. We are more motivated to dig deeper and invest more time in topics that we can choose. How do we support the development of lifelong thinkers, readers, and writers? We encourage them to think about, read about and write about topics that matter to them, topics that they are curious to learn more about.
Community – Curiosity and choice go hand in hand with thinking amongst a community. When we embrace curiosity we begin to model and support an environment that functions as a safe community. Students who engage in inquiry, are best supported and encouraged in a community where collaboration and team work is valued. Students who work together learn how to mutually respect and support others and their ideas.
If you want to learn more about The Curious Classroom check out Harvey “Smokey” Daniels’ book!
If you are interested in hearing Harvey “Smokey” Daniels share more ideas you can listen to a podcast on the Heinemann website.
I was thrilled when Brian Kissel took our #G2Great seat of honor on 8/10/17 as we settled in to engage in a Twitter style celebration of his incredible new book, When Writers Drive the Workshop: Honoring Young Voices and Bold Choices (Stenhouse, 2017). Judging from the response, I’m obviously not the only educator inspired by his celebration of writers between two covers.
My growing friendship with Brian was an unexpected gift that began when I was perusing new books at Stenhouse and happened upon his book by a stroke of pure luck. The title literally reached out from the screen and grabbed me by the heartstrings so I excitedly opened the preview and began reading the first page of his introduction:
“Today I’m worried. I’m worried because I know too many classrooms where mini-lessons begin with “seed” stories that germinate from laminated watermelons, predetermined conferences that always start with a compliment and end with a next step, and, if it’s included at all, an author’s chair or sharing time entirely driven by the teacher to reinforce a point he or she made during the mini-lesson. Rarely do children reflect on their own writing. And if they do, it’s often to fulfill a teaching agenda rather than a learner’s agenda. When did packaged programs and Pinterest replace children as the driving force of instruction? When did everything start to look the same? (Brian Kissel, page 5)
Brian’s powerful words and two questions made it clear that I had just found a kindred spirit. In typical enthusiastic Mary style, I immediately sent an email with a #G2Great invitation at the forefront of my mind. And so began our first exchange illustrating our shared concern:
Mary: I just found out about your new book, When Writers Drive the Workshop and I must say I’m very excited by your message. I’ve become increasingly frustrated that the heart and soul of writer’s workshop has been confiscated and steadily replaced in far too many schools with instructional boxes that are turning teachers into compliant disseminators. Your book was a breath of fresh air.
Brian: For the past several years I’ve been bothered by the workshop being overtaken by these packaged programs, scripted lessons, Pinterest, etc. Our writers should be the curriculum! So, I really wanted to write a book that puts the focus back on writers and gives teachers permission to trust that their writers can lead the way. I hope that message comes across in the book.
Oh yes, my wonderful new friend… that message came across loud and clear! Early in our #G2Great chat with Brian, our first conversation resurfaced in a Twitter exchange:
Brian’s words should strengthen our resolve to reclaim writer’s workshop in honor of our writers. As I write celebratory words of an unexpected friendship, I reflect on our #G2Great chatand find six Brian-inspired Driving Lessons to gently nudge us to return writers to a rightful place of honor in a writer’s workshop model envisioned by great minds so many years ago:
Driving Lesson 1: Keep the Writer in Your View
If we hope to reclaim a writer’s workshop in the spirit of these great minds, we must begin by relinquishing a death grip on lessons created by those who do not know our writers. A quick google search of the words “writer’s workshop” puts an unlimited array of resources at your fingertips. But do we ever pause to consider if this plethora of questionable grab and go ideas and tools are worthy of our writers? Lesson scripts are plentiful in this day and age, but Donald Grave’s vision that we must teach the writer should highlight our obligation to reach higher by being responsive to the writer in front of us.
Driving Lesson 2: Be Present in Writer Moments
Brian reminds us that one of the most important ways to be responsive to the writer in front of us is to truly listen to the thinking we readily and willingly invite in the course of writing. We can only glean from the wisdom each writer brings to the writing table by paying close attention to little voices that rise joyfully above our own. When we are willing to step into precious learning moments that occur within the writer’s workshop experience, we acknowledge that our silence can make room for in-the-head writerly wisdom – wisdom that can lead us in unexpected directions we may never have considered before.
Driving Lesson 3: Respect Writer Perceptions
The first question we should be asking is, “Who is the writer in front of me?” The value of reflection, both from the writer’s and teacher’s perspective, was a recurring theme across the chat. Reflection allows us to see the writer from all sides using both a cognitive and emotional lens. How our children perceive of themselves as writers will play an essential role in the instructional process. In the course of listening we begin to understand the writer through their writing, their words and their actions during the writing workshop experience as well as across the entire learning day. The writing is the vehicle but the writer is our inspiration and instructional motivation that moves us into action.
Driving Lesson 4: Embrace Writer Instincts
Why is it that goal setting is often viewed as something we do for the writer rather than using the writing experience as an opportunity to turn thinking inward. When we use their writing as a source of goal-setting inspiration, we can help children notice new possibilities as they emerge so that they can take ownership of this process. We support this thinking by acknowledging in the moment understandings that can move children from where they are to where they could be. When we actively engage writers in learning from the mindset of a writer in action, we can co-collaborate a journey of unique student-inspired step by step moves that will allow us to merge both their needs and interests.
Driving Lesson 5: Celebrate Writer Journeys
The word ‘choice’ came up repeatedly in each chat discussion. Brian reminded us that we not only need to ensure that choice is seen as an integral part of the writer’s workshop model in general but that we broaden our view of choice. When we explore choice from a broader scope, we can begin to consider how to offer our writers choice in not just what they write but also where, how, and with whom they write. Choice is a critical ingredient as it actively engages the writer in a writer-centered view of writing where joy ignite new thinking. But this will only occur if we welcome our writers to the decision making table.
Driving Lesson 6: Release Writer Potential
Our final lesson begins with another important question, “Why do we write? First and foremost we write for written expression within a safe environment where we can explore who we are and what we think and feel. But an inspired exchange with Courtney Kinney illustrates that we also write to share our ideas with others in ways that could actually change the world we live in. When we beckon a wider audience, we increase the potential for social change within and beyond our school walls. These shared experiences can give our writers the confidence and desire to use their words in powerful and purposeful ways.
As I write the closing words of this post, I can’t help but smile as I reflect back on my passionate exploration that led me to Brain and his amazing book. What began as a shared concern about the current state of writer’s workshop has since become a collective commitment to at long last put the writer back into writer’s workshop. We are inspired by Brian’s wisdom and his devotion to children. This devotion is evident with his book dedication to Tameka, a child he describes as his most important teacher who “taught me that writers must drive the workshop.”
Brian’s Twitter page quote by Isaac Asimov further reflects his spirit of resolve:
Your words are ‘planting the seeds that will flower’ into amazing young writers who reside in the writer’s workshop our children deserve Brian…
Thank you for reminding us that our writersare the curriculum!
Writer’s Workshop Learning Images Brian shared during #G2Great
More inspirational tweets from our #G2Great friends
On August 3, 2017, authors Katie Stover-Kelly and Lindsay Yearta joined #G2Great to extend a conversation that began with their book, From Pencils to Podcasts Digital Tools for Transforming K-6 Literacy Practices. Providing an education in the 21st Century means that whatever our role: teachers, administrators, professional developers, or college professors we need to be open to seeking out ways to intentionally integrate technology with learning.
This post is dedicated to the vibrant #G2Great Professional Learning Network, (PLN) because we are a community of educators who are unafraid to try new things, to learn, to mix it up and push ourselves forward in the name of our students. In that spirit, this post is beginning where our chat ended with our future technology goals. To boldly step out of our comfort zones and meet learning at the cutting edge of the 21st Century.
Our last question initiated BIG GOALS for future learning…
Global Read Aloud is an opportunity to connect and learn around story with a digital backdrop. According to Katie and Lindsay, “In this age of digital tools and multiliteracies, there are increasing demands of students to collaborate in order to consume and produce multimodal texts in online spaces.
If you are interested in learning more about Global Read Aloud: “The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are official tools you can use such as Skype, Twitter, Write About or Edmodo, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year. “ – Pernille Ripp
Twitter provides a unique social learning environment, It gives a space for intellectual engagement through live interactions with others. Katie and Lindsay underscore the importance of Twitter in their book, “Twitter provides students with a digital space to connect with other readers and authors to share and discuss books.” However, due to its organization and fast pace, Twitter can be daunting. There is a solution. Tweetdeck is a web-based tool that helps users to organize their Tweets into more manageable columns. It offers many useful features such as enabling users to “pre-tweet” or schedule tweets ahead of time. This is especially useful when planning and facilitating Twitter chats.To learn more, watch this video.
Understanding why a goal is important is essential, answering what you will do to accomplish the goal ties it to an action. This article offers 15 dynamic ways to make reflection a habit of mind in the classroom. In their book, Katie and Lindsay remind us that, “In the 21st Century, information is updated and readily available in real time.” Collaboration, and reflection begin with us. Teachers who lead by example, are the ones who will give students experiences that will help them grow to meet their potential.
If you visit Kate Messenger’s blog, you will see that she has created a platform to connect readers and authors through FREE Skype visits. Technology offers virtually limitless opportunities to provide access that would otherwise had been impossible. All we have to do is step out and take a risk and try. In Katie and Lindsay’s words “It is through the struggle that we learn. Additionally, the struggle provides you with thoughts and ideas to share with your students…”
Flipgrid allows teachers to create video discussion platforms. There are so many creative ways to incorporate this technology tool that are too numerous for this blog post! The important thing about Flipgrid is that it is a tool that amplifies student voice from pre-K to college aged students and beyond. It’s ok to start small with this technology, but the important thing is just to start. We need to start because we are educators, “As teachers we have the responsibility to equip our students with the tools that they need to fully participate in our interconnected, global society.” – Stover & Yearta
Thank you for writing this book Katie and Lindsay. It is an incredible resource that teachers need to have in their hands so they can put your ideas to work in their classrooms. I especially love that at the close of your book you extend an invitation to keep the conversation going through Twitter. That’s just what you did, and now we have even more resources and ideas to explore. That is is what learning is all about, and we are educators who fully embrace a learning lifestyle. We are flexible thinkers who are fueled by a collaborative spirit ready to take the next step forward together.
LInks to share…
From Pencils to Podcasts by Katie Stover Kelly and Lindsay Yearta
