See the #G2Great chat Wakelet artifact with Nawal Qarooni HERE
By Mary Howard
On 3/28/24, we were honored to welcome our good friend Nawal Qarooni to our #G2Great chat for a social media style discussion of her exquisite new book, Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations: Elevating Home Experiences and Classroom Practices for Collective Care (2024, Routledge) It was such an honor to engage in this video conversation with Nawal. She lives and breathes this book quote below and extends her thinking in such a beautiful way in the video.
VIDEO DISCUSSION (CLICK ON the link to the left to watch the video)
NAWAL BIO
Nawal Qarooni is an instructional leader, writer and adjunct professor who supports a holistic approach to literacy instruction education spaces across the country. Drawing on her work as an inquiry-based leader and as a mother, Nawal’s pedagogy is centered in the rich and authentic learning all families gift their children every day. She is the author of Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations: Exalting Home Experiences and Classroom Practices for Collective Care. She was a longtime classroom teacher in both Brooklyn and Chicago, and formerly a newspaper journalist. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism, and Brooklyn College. She serves on the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Advisory Board, which funds powerful literacy programming in the world, and Reese Witherspoon’s LitUp committee to select historically marginalized voices for publication. Learn more or connect via @nqarooni on Instagram and Threads, @NQCLiteracy on X, or her website at NQCLiteracy.org
REFERENCES
Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations: Exalting Home Experiences and Classroom Practices for Collective Care (Routledge.)Also available from Amazon
Read an excerpt from her book via KQED on creating community maps as inclusive practice here.
Today is the beginning of the ninth year of our #G2Great chat launched 1/8/15 in honor of my book, Good to Great Teaching: Focusing on the Literacy Work that Matters(2012, Heinemann). We have celebrated eight years with 371 Twitter chats focused on books, topics, articles, and podcasts including weekly chats for the first seven years until 2023 year eight when we moved to monthly chats.
After contemplating the future of #G2Great with co-moderators, Fran McVeigh and Brent Gilson, we decided to make another shift in 2024. We did not take this decision lightly but due in part to participation and the dramatic and continuing changes in our social media platform from Twitter to X. We are still committed to the goal that inspired us to begin this journey in 2015 which is spreading information through conversation within a social media network, but we will do this using a more flexible process rather than a predetermined annual schedule.
Beginning on our 2024 year 9 anniversary, these changes will take place:
• we will continue to use #G2Great hashtag as a conversational sharing space
• we will offer chats as they speak to us rather than using a predefined schedule
• we will continue to house past and future chats in our Wakelet Collections
• We will consider options such as book reviews or interviews with authors.
Each of us feels blessed to have created and nurtured a space where we can all engage in respectful conversations around a wide variety of topics. But we also know that these are challenging times for educators in terms of the political mandates and rigid dictates for what you can and cannot do sweeping across the country. We continue to be dedicated to offering this space where we hope you will share your thinking and both initiate and engage in conversation. And as opportunities arise, engage in conversation with us as we have in the past.
We are grateful to each of you for your educational commitment and your willingness to share that commitment with us through social media-style dialogue. #G2Great was created in YOUR honor and has been a labor of love with YOU in mind across the years. We hope to see you again as the 2024 progresses.
With deep gratitude to each of you!
LOOKING BACK AT EIGHT YEARS OF ANNIVERSARY BLOG REFLECTIONS
Just as I’ve done over the last eight years, here are our past anniversary posts:
Since this was the final chat of 2023, we decided to do something different this week. Yesterday, my friend and co-moderator Fran McVeigh wrote a lovely #G2Great chat reflection. We both agreed that this book was deserving of double attention, so for the first time in our eight-year chat history, we decided to share a second tribute. In this post, I’ll focus exclusively on The Heart-Centered Teacher rather than the chat that Fran covered so beautifully. My goal is to highlight why I believe every teacher needs this book and why it means so much to me personally. I consider The Heart-Centered Teacher the #1 MUST-HAVE professional book as reflected in my endorsement and Amazon Review.
In 1988, Regie Routman became a trusted friend I had yet to meet. That was when her first book was published: Transitions: From Literature to Literacy (Heinemann). Even though I was in my sixteenth year in education, she spoke to everything that I hold dear both then and now and further sharpened my lens of understanding. I knew that I had found a kindred spirit. From that day on, I renewed and extended those beliefs with each new Regie Routman masterpiece, as our long-distance-never-met-yet friendship continued to grow along with my knowledge, insight, and unwavering desire to know and do more as time went on. More recently and with deep gratitude to Twitter, we became digital friends and in 2018 I met Regie for the first time face-to-face over her famous Strawberry tart. I’m forever grateful that our book friendship that began from afar thirty-five years ago transformed into a treasured real-life friendship.
In my book endorsement, I described The Heart-Centered Teacher as “a personal love letter in the perfect book with the perfect words at the perfect time.” I can’t think of a better description of a book that has brought so much professional and personal joy into my life since the day I received my personalized copy. Regie quickly brought the title and spirit of The Heart Centered Teacher to life for me in her opening, “Living a Heart-Centered Life: A Letter to Readers” with the words that helped me to understand the book WHY I embraced as I read:
“I want to lift you up–to nourish your heart, mind, and spirit.” (p. xix)
By seeking to nourish my heart, mind, and spirit in an age that is riddled with challenges, Regie gave me and everyone who has read this beautiful gift that is designed to touch the whole of who we are in an age where it’s needed most. Educational books often focus on a professional view. While that is no doubt critical, I’m not sure it’s enough in challenging times. Regie understood that and thus, it’s “the perfect book with the perfect words at the perfect time.”
In her wisdom, Regie crafted a mixture of “heart, mind, and spirit” that would not just enrich our thinking but also awaken all that it means to be engaged in a world that is clearly under stress. I have come to realize through rereading and frequent referencing that this is what has been missing most for me in these post-pandemic times we live. As educators in a time of crisis, we are struggling to find ourselves professionally but we are also struggling to find ourselves personally. As we stand on the precipice of uncertainty, I now understand that it is impossible to separate one from the other when they are mutually supportive and sometimes even mutually broken. In times of challenge, one can breed that challenge into the other. If I don’t feel whole personally, then how could I possibly feel whole professionally?
I fell in love with the design of the book from the start. Regie made it easy for me to access the words that would nourish MY heart, mind, and spirit. Her table of contents reads like an invitational directional guide that allows us to be the decision-makers based on what we need most at that time. Each chapter with its carefully considered sections feels like a personal-professional mix celebration that allows me to choose where I need to go. When I’m struggling with a sense of loss, I can go to Chapter 7 and explore any or all sections. If I need wise advice on developing professional knowledge, I can turn to Chapter 5 and explore any or all sections. Depending on what I need on any given day, I can easily find my way to wisdom and unwavering encouragement. Her love letter keeps the promise with each reading and I find myself feeling ‘lifted up and nourished from a heart, mind, and spirit’ perspective. (p. xix)
A beautiful thread that ties The-Heart Centered Teacher and each of the chapter sections together is done in glorious Regie Routman style. Through storytelling drawn from her own life experiences, she eloquently and often courageously shares those stories and then uses them to make connections to the personal and professional points that follow – often weaving in both at once. Her stories offer a loving springboard to envision the critical features of an expansive view of comprehensive student-focused “heart-centered teaching.” She takes us with her on a journey decades in the making and writes with candor and humility as each story translates into insight we can use to maneuver those challenges. I often found myself mentally creating related in-the-head stories that personalized and magnified her message and ideas even more.
Through Regie’s willingness to open her heart to her own stories of joy and pain and then apply that in personal and professional lessons, we learn how to pull from our life experiences. Her generosity in sharing intimate details of her life is a model for what courage in action looks like. The Heart-Centered Teacher is raw honesty between covers. I return to these pages of wisdom often for solace and inspiration, as I have done so many times before and will continue to do.
As I close, I’d like to share one more quote. Regie’s book touched me as an educator and a human, so there are an unlimited number of possibilities for sharing. But I’d like to draw back to the opening in Living a Heart-Centered Life: A Letter to Readers for one more look at the WHY that guides my thinking as I read and reread every exquisite page:
“At this moment in time, the whole world feels broken. And yet. Living a good life is still possible– and necessary. Heart-Centeredness is a way into the good life and is a major theme of this book. It is that peaceful state where we live our core values with compassion, generosity, and authenticity–even in the midst of sadness and strife.” (p.xx)
Whether we are seeking to find a path forward professionally or personally or merge them together in concert as life often does, ‘living our core values in our schools and in our lives with compassion, generosity, and authenticity feels like the one thing that we can control in a time where control feels as if it has been stripped from the very fiber of the educational landscape. But Regie’s words across The Heart-Centered Teacher have given me a sense of direction.
Yes, the how, where, what, with whom, and under what circumstances will vary for each of us. But if we hold tight to Regie’s wise words based on what we are seeking, I know with certainty that we can find our way to The Heart-Centered Teacher that Regie so eloquently illuminates. It is compassion, generosity, and authenticity that our teachers and children need most now and so richly deserve. The Heart-Centered Teacher shows us what that might look like while Regie has instilled the belief that she trusts us to remain at the helm of our choices.
And THAT, my friends, is why this “perfect book with the perfect words at the perfect time” is so desperately needed right now. Regie honors each of us as caring and capable at a time when the constant message coming from every direction is as far a departure from that as one can get. I for one feel energized and strengthened by Regie’s reframing grounded in flexibility and respect for each of us as individuals. As I share these words, I find myself thinking about what would be possible if Regie Routman were in charge of the educational universe… But for now, The Heart-Centered Teacher is a worthy start!
In closing, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Regie the final word and end this post just as Regie ended her book in the Afterwords:
“What we do, what you do matters. Changing the life of even one child is monumental. Here’s a crucial lesson I learned over many decades. I have had many encouragers along the way but some naysayers too. There will always be people telling you it can’t be done, that it’s too risky, too costly, too difficult. Ignore those voices. Listen to your inner voice. Start dreaming. It hasn’t been done yet – until you do it.” (p. 262)
Thank you, Regie, for being our cheerleader, our confidant, our inner voice, and a fellow seeker of the possibilities we may not even yet know exist both within and around us. But your heart map will help us make that glorious journey!
This past month the #G2Great community was brought together to discuss Laura Robb’s new book Increase Reading Volume: Practical Strategies That Boost Student’s Achievement and Passion for Reading. We are so grateful that Laura was able to join us and share her knowledge and experience.
I love the chance to talk about reading and how we can get students to read more. When I started teaching, I was introduced to independent choice reading as part of my “Daily 5” model. As I moved to later grades, the model of my literacy periods shifted, however, the mainstay has always been Independent reading.
Looking at the most impactful moves I have made in my classroom regarding reading, the first has always been choice. I work to talk about books, to get kids excited about books, but I want always to make sure I honor their choices as readers, that I recognize their identity as a person and also as a reader who knows what they like. Too often, I think kids hear, “You are too old for this” or “Graphic Novels are not real books. Choose something else.” I can’t help but think that if a kid is reading anything, that is better than reading nothing. One year I had a student, a hunter, reading a book about knife-making. He was absolutely engrossed in every class as he learned how to craft his own hunting knife. I guess I could have bugged him to read something else. Maybe offered him Hatchet for the millionth time because there were not a lot of books he was interested in reading, but instead, I let him read and inevitably write about what interested him. Looking back at the above quote, he turned to books to learn, and he most certainly enjoyed it. This story is just one of countless stories from the classroom where readers were found and found themselves.
Choice in the classroom is such a powerful tool. It empowers our students; it shows them that we believe their voice matters. As Sarah points out, this empowerment leads to progress and growth.
Laura shares with readers the ideas of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop and the power of texts to serve as Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors. This is still, at times, a struggle to convince many educators that texts that serve as mirrors for students are essential. We find ourselves arguing about the literary merits and that time spent on classroom reading should only be for “worthy” texts; I wonder, though, what is more worthy than a text that helps students see themselves?
An often-mentioned statement by well-meaning gym teachers turned Administrators who have never been literacy instructors is, “How do you assess independent reading?” I love Mary’s reflection on this topic.
Sadly, we place so much importance on numbers that we often lose focus on what matters: the readers in front of us. In a time when some folks scream about nothing more than data, we need to remember the heart of this work we are blessed to do. The part we play in helping readers find themselves not some level or number grade but WHO they are as readers. That is discovered in the discussions, in the connections.
Considering assessment, I think about the work the readers of Room 157 do, the multimodal exploration of text, and the synthesis of big ideas. This thinking is inspired by the choice of texts my students and Sarah’s (pictured above) explore in the time we provide them. If we are looking to help students develop themselves as readers, we need to carve out the time in the day for them to build those habits. Kids are over-scheduled. Some have extra-curricular activities, others have home responsibilities, and others have both. Some have no access to texts at home, but they do in our classrooms. If we want to increase volume, we must show students we value it. Provide students the time to read and choice in what they are reading, and largely they will find themselves, and the volume will increase. It is really that simple.
If you’re professionally active and research-informed, you know Dr. Rachael Gabriel. A Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Connecticut, faithful educators across the world do a deep dive into her research articles and social media wisdom. Given that Rachael has long topped my MUST-READ list, I ordered How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction immediately. It quickly became my trusted daily reference.
In an age where we watch the tremendous impact of ‘persistent problems of policy and practice’ unfolding in our educational landscape at every turn, I cannot imagine a research reference more desperately needed in these challenging times. Rachael’s book highlights key aspects that we see playing out now and offers insight into the history as well as the impact these issues are having in current times.
In the preface on p. ix, Rachael identifies SIX CATEGORIES explored in the book which I condensed below:
1) Retention
2) Remediation
3) Early Literacy
4) Reading Difficulties
5) Language Learners
6) Teacher Quality
Rachael follows the identification of these six categories by explaining:
“These topics are among the most important topics in local, state, and national policy. Understanding the foundations and trajectories of such issues and arguments is vital in the study and design of future research, advocacy, and policymaking efforts to produce substantive, positive change.” (p. ix)
I rarely read professional books front to back, but rather use a personal path that makes sense to me. When my copy arrived, the preface and introduction set the stage but I then moved to Chapter 4 on Early Reading Instruction: Politics and Myths About Materials and Methods (pages 89-120). Authors Natalia Ward, Nora Vines, and Rachael Gabriel wrote the quote below shared early in the chat. This illustrates why I began by reading an issue that’s rapidly escalating:
If we don’t understand where we have been and draw from that knowledge in ways that will help us to maneuver where we currently reside in history, then how do we approach past issues that rear their ugly head again in thoughtful ways? How can we possibly hope to understand them from all sides so that we may address them in reasoned ways? I do that with a firm grasp on this book while also seeking extensions of the book for added meaning.
Session 8 on 4/10/23 highlights Chapter 2: Retention in Grade and Third-Grade “Trigger” Laws: History, Politics, and Pitfalls with Dr. Gabriel P. Della Vecchia
When Jennifer asked Dr. Della Vecchia about the social-emotional impact of retention, he emphasized a direct and lingering negative impact:
8:17 “One of the most striking things in the research about retention is how infrequently student voice appears. People don’t bother to ask kids how they feel about it. It’s always about the economic health of the nation or some gigantic thing and we forget to say that this is a child’s life; this is their one time through their schooling. How do they feel about this?”
In Session 9 on 4/17/23, Jennifer discussed How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction with Rachael Gabriel
18:57 “…what we really need to be asking teachers to do is learn their students well and respond effectively. That was always the name of the game. That is always going to be the name of the game.”
Jennifer posed a pertinent question at marker 19:39 “If you were to design a classroom for early literacy, what would it look like?”
19:56 “So, the easiest place for me to start is like non-negotiables. They’ve got to read write and talk about reading and writing every day. And I don’t want to hear the whole, ‘but they don’t know how to read or write yet’ because everybody is literate one way or another and we need to see the way that they’re using literacy in their everyday lives or even in their school lives. Notice it, name it as what it is and build on exactly what they’ve got going on.”
I found myself returning to these essential discussions as I read the book. I was able to merge these varied sources which elevated my book understandings.
Because these sources can be rich informants for reading, let’s shift our focus from the book to our #G2Great chat celebration of How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction. To do that, I’ll share Rachael’s Twitter-style words of wisdom in the form of tweets. The thinking that was inspired by the chat experience can also support and extend our thinking inspired by the book.
TWEETS FROM RACHAEL GABRIEL
Below are five questions with Rachael’s tweet/s followed by my thoughts.
Q1 Let’s start with the subtitle: “Understanding the Persistent Problems of Policy and Practice.” Why do we need to intentionally seek these understandings? What is one persistent problem of policy and practice you are facing in your professional life?
NOTE: Rachael shared the link to Allington’s article mentioned above HERE:
Rachael makes it clear across the book that research can both inform and enrich our WHY which can also support our future choices. She beautifully responded to this with two points that set our chat discussion up from the start (The 2nd part of the question is reflected by the Six categories listed in the preface on p. ix and in my opening words in this post.)
It’s worth reposting a quote I shared earlier here (p. ix)
“Understanding the foundations and trajectories of such issues and arguments is vital in the study and design of future research, advocacy, and policymaking efforts to produce substantive, positive change.”
Q2 If not reading laws, then what? What are other ways that states (or federal government) can thoughtfully address concerns about improving literacy achievement?
Rachael wisely shifts our attention back to students by asking us to consider conditions that will nurture and support our efforts for “ambitious, responsive instruction.” This is a critical point at a time when the political push and pull seems to be singularly focused on robbing teachers of agency while putting trust in programs that don’t even know the recipients of questionable dictates. When buying STUFF becomes our go-to knee-jerk reaction and diverts us from the impact teachers as decision-makers can have, we go against the grain of what we should be holding dear.
Q3 If early literacy development can take a variety of trajectories in terms of pace and focus based on individual differences among learners, how can a new generation of curricular tools take such complexity into consideration?
I was grateful that Rachael highlighted the powerful impact of “child watching + informed noticings.” Critical practices that inform and support our decision-making are too often supplanted for data-fied technological dictators that further remove teachers from more meaningful sources of understanding – understandings that could lead to in-the-moment professional actions our children deserve and need. In other words, putting our faith in pre-packaged nonsense demeans the impact knowledgeable teachers bring to bear on a day-to-day basis.
Q4 Globally, developing literacy in multiple languages in school is considered part of the norm. Why is this not the case in the US and what would it take to adjust this in the future?
This is beautifully addressed in Chapter 6 by Amber N. Warren and Natalia Ward: A Language for Literacy Learning: Language Policy, Bi/Multilingual Students and Literacy Instruction in these words:
“Language policy and literacy instruction in the United States need to reflect the cultural and linguistic reality of their students.” (p 159).
Rachael’s message about honoring all languaging is key but the words that gave me readerly chills were that this honoring would “then extend and connect like a flower that has found the sun.” Sadly the question remains although the response is as yet uncertain: “Will we bring those words to life or continue to ignore them?
Q5 What would be different if standardized testing was abolished? If a national curriculum was created?
Standardized testing is indelibly tattooed into the very fiber of educational systems, so Rachael’s response was a breath of fresh air. It’s hard to envision a time in education when we have engaged communities and design pathways to support suggested priorities. Some days it feels like an impossible quest, and yet it also gives me hope for the future. As this two-way tweet with Yvette Rosario-Perez suggests, imagine if the issues in education were removed from those who know little about teaching and put in the hands of those who have both knowledge and experience and thus can contribute most to this discussion.
MY LAST THOUGHTS
In Chapter 8 of Influence and Evidence in Reading-Related Policy, Rachael Gabriel and Shannon Kelley write on page 195:
“Growing in excellence as we grow in size requires expanding our frame of reference: for reading, its measurement, and teaching; for who is accountable for ensuring excellent reading instruction; and for what counts as excellent reading instruction for every child, every day. It requires quelling panic around persistent questions and instead engaging with the full complexity of providing opportunities to learn across contexts and cultures in a large and changing country. That this is difficult should not be cause for alarm or evidence of crisis.”
Imagine the powerful possibilities of discussions framed on the quote above rather than what we could do, buy, or force feed on teachers. Our conversations will always center on what we prioritize and this is grounded in the questions we pose and respond to. The time has come to recognize that we cannot have rich conversations by prioritizing the wrong things. Sadly,it is teachers and ultimately children who pay that price.
The authors gave me the perfect lead into “Every Child Every Day” so I happily followed. Given a solid research foundation decades in the making, Richard Allington and Rachael Gabriel detail six research-based elements that every child should have in place every day. We all too often seek solutions that move as far away from research-based elements as they can get. Rather we look for quick-fix solutions in favor of OTHER-ING, or trusting WHO or WHAT that removes us from these non-negotiables our children so richly deserve.
I shared a photo tweet from my #G2great chat chair in Honolulu near the end of the chat that is fitting closing. When Matt Renwick asked me about a book I’d recommend to administrators, I didn’t hesitate to share “How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction.” To be honest, he could have substituted any group and my answer would have been the same. Having followed Rachael Gabriel’s work faithfully, I have read and dipped back into her book repeatedly since it was published and check her social media feed regularly. I believe that this book should be in the hands of anyone making decisions for our schools.
Rachael’s wisdom warrants giving her the final words in chat question 6:
Q6 Our #G2Great discussion with Rachael Gabriel can inspire new discussions, explorations, considerations and directions. What is one thing that you learned tonight you want to pursue more deeply through personal research or professional dialogue?
We are indebted to Rachael Gabriel for generously sharing her wisdom on a #G2great chat we will long be discussing and revisiting. Thank you, Rachael!
RACHAEL GABRIEL BIO
Rachael Gabriel is Professor of Literacy Education at University of Connecticut USA. She studies the intersection of education policy and classroom practice, prepares literacy specialists and doctoral students, and supports teachers and schools to build systems that create equitable opportunities to develop literacy.
One of my favourite parts of being on the #G2Great team is the opportunity to reflect on the topic and write a blog post inspired by the discussions around the featured book. This week we looked at a topic that has always been near and dear to me as a teacher, the Read-Aloud. When I started teaching, I was in a 3rd-grade classroom. At the time, fresh out of University, I did not think about the books I chose to read. Most of the time, it was to inspire writing in my students; I did not in that first year understand the power of a read-aloud.
I remember the first time I really recognized the power of a read-aloud as a community builder. I was teaching fourth grade, and a student in that class was neurodivergent. When I started at the school, the class and the student struggled greatly. The combination of a lack of empathy shown by the class community and regular outbursts and class disruptions damaged the community. One day we gathered as a class to read Peter Reynolds I’m Here.
As we read the text, students started to look around for their classmate. He was not present that day and then connections and thoughts started pouring out of the kids. They asked if their classmate was like the boy in the story, and they began to understand him better in that very brief moment. This simple little story, read aloud, and the conversation that followed helped my students explore thinking they previously had not entertained, resulting in a closer class community. This book, like many others, helped my students approach a concept that seemed out of reach. The beauty of the read-aloud and the community we form is in the way our young learners can approach complex ideas.
As I moved from 3rd grade to 4th, then 6th, and then transitioned to Junior and yes even Senior High, the power and effectiveness of Read-Aloud with picture books continued to hold true. We discussed structures of thinking and ways we can build comprehension and then we would dive in to read and experience great texts. Reading aloud a story like I am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gillian Newland
opened opportunities for us to look at Residential Schools (I think referred to as Indian Boarding Schools in the USA). The conversations in my High School classroom may look different than in a Grade 3 room but the text remains the same. We would be able to dive not only into the powerful text and story but also the imagery, and how visual literacy skills help to convey tone. I find teachers who neglect the practice of reading aloud are leaving a lot of learning opportunities on the table, and I hope my High School colleagues will pick up a book like Read-Alouds with Heart to help build their practice.
In my own professional practice, I have witnessed the power of Read-Alouds as not just an instructional tool but as a community builder. The discussions that come after reading a book like Ibtihaj Muhammad’s The Proudest Blue, illustrated by Hatem Aly
in my rural 99% white classroom, are always focused on learning. As Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop famously coined. Books can serve as Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors for all our students. I find the Read-Aloud serves as a way teachers can help provide those mirrors and open those windows and doors; we just need to be willing and ready to.
Being able to help facilitate these discussions requires educators to be ready themselves. We can not lead or even provide a safe place for this powerful learning without doing the self-work required.
There is an authenticity in this work that is required to do it well. Without interrogating ourselves and doing that learning, we will be ill equipt to lead in our classroom communities. We can read all the books, we can share them with our students, and feature them on our Instagram feeds to show how “dedicated” to the work of anti-racism or SEL or any other focus in education, but until we are looking at our role in these systems, we will not be effective in helping our students learn and grow with Read-Alouds or any other practices within our classrooms.
I love the opportunity to write the chat blog because it helps me to think. It helps me to interrogate the practices I have in place in my classroom and look at how I can apply new learning found in great professional resources like Read-Alouds with Heart and in the discussions from the chat. We are better together as a community. Over the last few years, we have learned that more than ever. Read-Alouds with heart AND purpose, which this text provides, present us with the opportunity to build those communities.
Thank you to the authors of Read-Alouds with Heart, Dana Clark, Keisha Smith-Carrington, and Jigisha Vyas for joining the #G2Great chat this week.
If you are looking to pick up a copy it can be found here
As I began reading, I was immediately struck by their collective commitment on page 5 of Dear Reader (You can readthis beautiful letter in full at the end of my post). The authors explain that their collaboration began with “a seed of hope and a conversation.” I was inspired and very aware that their commitment can inspire ours. We too can plant seeds of hope by engaging in conversation that can become a rich springboard to change. If we are very wise, we will open this door to professional dialogue to come together for our children. Through our shared contemplation we can determine how to expend precious limited minutes in ways that will honor all of the beauty and brilliance that is within them.
Before our #G2Great chat began, we shared our first book quote below. This quote is a reminder that rising to the challenge of collective conversations is not limited to teachers. We must in turn extend conversational invitations to our children as we make them active participants in their own learning through rich inquiry centered on varied identities of book characters real-life people, self and others as we value the conversations they bring to the experience.
When we afford opportunities to contemplate real issues in their individual and shared corner of the world and beyond, we offer a precious gift. The renewed hyperfocus on scripted read-aloud dishonors the “RIGHT” described below. There is a vast difference between a read-aloud ball and chain vs. actively immersing children in exploratory thinking as they pose and contemplate their own questions in a safe invitational environment. We plant seeds of hope FOR and WITH children by giving them a seat of honor at the decision-making and discussion table.
PONDERING POINT: How are you keeping the promise of that “right“:“ alive?
Since this identity work is central to Read-Aloud with HEART, I wanted to draw from some tweets that Keisha, Dana and Jigisha shared in our chat.
Words of wisdom from Keisha Smith-Carrington
Words of wisdom from Jigisha Vyas
Words of wisdom from Dana Clark
In Dana’s last tweet above, she kindly shared TYPES OF CIRCLES added below
When authors grace our #G2great chat, we ask them three questions that offer insight into their book. Let’s look at their response to our first question focused on their BOOK WHY beautifully co-written by Dana, Keisha and Jigisha:
What motivated you to write this book? What impact did you hope that it would have in the professional world?
We have spent the last few years supporting students and teachers through unprecedented stress and uncertainty, in school, at home, and in communities. We’ve all been there–been through it, many of us hope we are on the other side of it. But it raises the question: What is ”it”? The pandemic? No, not so easy. To wildly varying degrees, we’ve experienced the trauma of watching our society come unglued in the midst of the pandemic. As our screens lit up with images of a black man lying on the ground begging for breath, the very best and very worst of humankind showed up. George Floyd’s three words– “I can’t breathe,”–became an echo in our heads and hearts, and a voice heard round the world, igniting a call for social justice. People in every corner of the world began marching in protests, pushing for legislative action, and propelling us towards justice reform on a scale not seen in decades.
But the worst was unleashed too, in chat rooms and on city streets, and in the heads of those who want to wall themselves off from diversity and equity. And children see and sense it all. The best and the worst.
For many students, the trauma of the last few years has been compounded by the fact that the so-called breaking news of violence is not new at all, but old and systemic. They know firsthand the way particular groups have been marginalized.
As educators, we have to help students process this tumultuous world. It’s hard to believe that a 32-page picture book has the power to heal or solve anything. But it does.
That’s what our book is about. As educators, the time is now to create more socially and emotionally conscious schools. We are standing at a critical junction right now, with the possibilities of more inclusive schools on the horizon if only we commit to that path.
Read-Aloud with HEART is more than a book about reading aloud. The authors ask us to view both choosing and using books as a vehicle to experiences grounded in hope, humanity and humility so that we may touch and thus impact the lives of the kids in front of us . On page 26, they write:
“If they are to thrive, every one of our students needs to feel they belong and have worth in the fullness of any identities they hold.”
Soak that as you acknowledge that this won’t happen by chance…
They ask us to take accountability and responsibility not only to know our children but ourselves as well and understand how our identities can carry biases, misconceptions and assumptions that can become blinders to the realities of others. Read-Aloud with HEART lessons are not one-size-fits-all book recipes that narrow our view but rather book inspirations that offer open-ended invitations with unwavering belief for worth in the fullness of any identities they hold. Their respect for teachers and students is evident across every page as they show us possibilities book offers so that we can choose the right book at the right moment for children who need that book and those conversations that book inspires as we celebrate child-centered opportunities.
The book quote below also speaks volumes. Sadly, our humanity is in question as book banning intensifies across the country and in schools where books are literally being pulled from classroom shelves. Most of these are the very books that a child could connect to the characters and the stories that make them feel SEEN! We must hold tight to an opportunity to push back against anything that robs any child of book experiences that could be a pathway to acknowledging and celebrating who they are not just as learners but as humans.
PONDERING POINT How do you identify and use books that hold our humanity?
Now let’s look as they respond to our 2nd question on their BOOK HOPES:
What are your BIG takeaways from your book that you hope teachers will embrace in their teaching practice?
Before teachers get to bringing any of the books or lessons forward in their classrooms, we hope teachers understand that the journey of understanding our own identities and biases is essential and is ongoing. We hope teachers see the urgency around self-discovery and the importance of studying the intersection of their own identities and the identities of the students in their care. It is this understanding that influences their everyday interactions and can help them to avoid harm and love their students.
Read-Alouds with Heart springs from the premise that teachers are ready to open up their classrooms to diverse texts and conversations, and ready to cultivate social-emotional learning and students’ understanding of social justice, but they naturally want to do it “right.” With developmental appropriateness, nuance, authenticity, and not at the expense of developing reading skills. Picture books are a vehicle for achieving all these goals, of course, but the text itself is just the beginning. It’s for this reason that we provide specific lenses for reflection and conversation around each of the featured books, so that teachers feel confident and expert, every instructional minute. It is our hope that teachers will embrace and internalize this framework designed to help them select strategies and conversational prompts to bring to critical thinking and community to their classrooms.
The authors gave permission to add Table 1: Reading Lenses on page 9
In addition to the framework, we hope teachers can use our book to consider how our intentions for the experiences we bring to students inform more than the skill being taught; they also inform the structure we choose for the lesson. Our books’ lessons include multiple ways of engaging with students. We want teachers to know that if the goal is for students to share a pathway for thinking, or strategy, they might choose to frame a lesson with the step-by-step strategies offered. However, if their goal is to allow the voices and perspectives in the room to help students see each other’s ideas and be moved by each other, circles are the way to go.
SOME FINAL WORDS
As I come to a close, I’d like to share a lovely gift from the authors. When we asked them what was a message from the heart they wanted teachers to keep in mind, they generously gave us permission to share an inspirational two-page “DEAR READER.” I fell so in love with these opening pages that I shared a quote at the beginning of this post. Please read their message from the heart slowly because you will then understand the very heart and soul of this book that they eloquently bring to life across the pages that follow.
We are so grateful toJigisha, Keisha, and Dana for writing Read-Aloud with HEART. It’s a testament to teachers who will choose to open themselves up to someone else’s truth and to the childrenwho will see a change in the world and inspire their own change because of these conversations from the HEART.
Pondering Point: How do you open yourself up to someone else’s truth?
We hope you’ll join us when our wise and wonderful friends return to the #G2Great guest seat as we turn our attention to Read-Alouds with HEART grade 3-5 edition. This is a wonderful opportunity to extend our discussion and widen your read-aloud view further (or explore it from their eyes for the first time.)
I felt such gratitude to be in that room and I feel the same gratitude for this brilliant collaboration that brought Pat and Deborah together! It seems like a full-circle moment.
Before the chat, we shared a quote reflecting a timely and relevant BOOK WHY:
They extend that view on p. x adding: “The children are our inspiration.” Their shared emphasis that rises from every page is about honoring children. These five words are imprinted in my mind with the overarching imperative that we cannot honor our children unless we refuse to narrow the realm of possibilities as media-driven messages have expected us to do. We are not motivated to do this by engaging in a “reading war” but by showing that our dedication is to put the needs of children and the research that guides those decisions FIRST.
Let’s take this BOOK WHY deeper. When we celebrate our #G2great authors, we ask them to respond to three questions. Question #1 extends their point above:
What motivated you to write this book? What impact did you hope that it would have in the professional world?
Deborah: “I was motivated to write this book after reflecting on my own educational experiences as a student, teacher, coach, and teacher educator and realizing how at every turn I was influenced by the reading wars – or the politics surrounding teaching children to read. It’s difficult to be in the field of literacy education and not get caught up in the war metaphor/discourse. Becoming aware of how this discourse shaped and influenced my thinking opened space for me to recognize when I was responding to an idea, a curriculum, a practice from an ideological position rather than an informed one. It allowed me to see that at any given time I was not considering the full spectrum of knowledge around the learning and teaching of literacy. I hope that this book supports other educators in exploring multiple dimensions of knowledge that must inform practice if we are to serve all children well. We don’t have to choose a side. We can put children at the center and use the best knowledge available across multiple dimensions to be responsive educators.”
Pat: “Our book is an opus for me in seeking to provide a full range of understanding, what Deborah and I call a knowledge map, based in the literature on literacy education and with attention to the diversity of learners who populate our classrooms. In the introduction I talk about my own history as a reader and a literacy teacher. I was a first grade teacher and reading specialist for almost two decades. My education grounded me about the benefits of phonics instruction and also about the importance of providing an instructional environment that builds a sense of competence and agency in young readers. The ongoing debate known as the ‘reading wars” has never been productive. Every classroom in the city where I am now a teacher educator is full of learners who bring cultural, linguistic, ability, and social resources that must be attended to and tapped to develop a full learning program including strong skills AND attention to those learning resources. Teaching literacy is not a single story but instead requires all of us invested in quality literacy education to transcend the debate and access the range of knowledge available to move learning forward.”
These reflections are all important, but two key ideas below linger in my mind:
Deborah MacPhee: “We can put children at the center and use the best knowledge available across multiple dimensions to be responsive educators.”
Patricia Paugh: “Teaching literacy is not a single story but instead requires all of us invested in quality literacy education to transcend the debate and access the range of knowledge available to move learning forward.”
Their words are a reminder that a single story asks us to wear blinders to whatever doesn’t fit within the story that EACH child brings to the learning table. While the desire these days seems to be for a simple view of literacy, we recognize that ‘Learning to be Literate’ is complex and simplicity ignores that complexity. I’m inspired by the authors’ literary gift that focuses on what our uniquely diverse learners deserve based on the depth and breadth of knowledge about all that they bring to learning!
In keeping with that thought, I’d like to begin by sharing a few #G2Great Twitter-style reflections during our chat using our first question:
TWITTER RESPONSES TO Q1
Note that you can see all #G2Great Twitter responses HERE
Early in the chat we also shared this quote from the authors.
Since I selected tweets for our opening question (Q1), I’d like to do the same for our closing question (Q6) that relates to this quote and to the message of paying attention to “More Than a Single Story”:
TWITTER RESPONSES TO Q6
Note that you can see all of the #G2Great Twitter responses HERE
This a good time to pause again to see how Patricia and Deborah responded to our second book reflection question:
What are your BIG takeaways from your book that you hope teachers will embrace in their teaching practices?
Deborah: “There are many things that I hope teachers embrace from this book, but most importantly I hope that the teachers who read it understand that they are the most important factor in educating children. With that, I hope it gives them confidence to continue to seek out knowledge across cognitive, socio-cultural, affective, and critical dimensions and courage to trust themselves as they apply that knowledge in practice, keeping children at the center.”
Pat “In the course of writing this book, we spoke with teachers and adult family members and asked what questions they had about how the children in their care learned to read. One common comment was that there was a need by the family members to know what to ask when in dialogue with their child’s teacher. In the final chapter we provide some guiding questions for both teachers and family members to use for those meetings. A second comment was from teachers who wanted information to support a responsive way to navigate the school curriculum to teach and assess their students. A third was to provide a frame for evaluating current instruction in a school setting to ensure that students were receiving the skills and also the dispositions necessary to become independent and effective users of their literacies. Our ALL framework (Active Literacy Learning) provides set of criteria based on the best in the field to ask what are we doing and what else needs doing in a classroom as well as in a school.”
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Having read this beautifully crafted co-collaboration from Pat Paugh and Deborah MacPhee, it is my hope that every primary educator will hold this book close and refer to it often. Our primary responsibility to our children is an act of KNOWING and Pat and Deborah ensure they provide this support across their pages for their book:
Know the Research.
Know the Child.
KNOW research-informed instructional practices.
KNOW how to engage in professional decision-making that is responsive to the needs of children based not on mandates but on our critical KNOWINGS.
On page xvii, Pat and Deborah said what feels like the perfect closing:
“We are unabashedly on the side of every child who is striving to become literate.”
I believe that this is the very heart & soul of Learning to be Literate and our ability to honor MORE THAN A SINGLE STORY. Pat and Deborah remind us that we cannot allow taking “SIDES” to block our view of this beautiful perspective. This essential book supports us as we focus on what matters most: CHILDREN
I’d like to end this post with the inspired thinking of Pat and Deborah as we turn back to our author reflections in our third question
What is a message from the heart you would like for every teacher to keep in mind?
Deborah: “You are in a position to make a positive difference for every child (and family) who enters your classroom. Keep learning, trust yourself, and always reflect on your practice in the light of new knowledge.”
Pat: “One of my favorite children’s books is about Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in Congress. The title is Shirley Chisholm is a Verb (by Veronica Chambers). My rif on that is Literacy is a Verb! All our young learners should “do” things with their literacy to participate in their world – just like Shirley Chisholm.”
On behalf of our #G2Great Twitter Chat team, I would like to express our deep gratitude to Pat Paugh and Deborah MacPhee for giving us so much rich food for thought and the wonderful ideas to put that thinking into glorious action. They have encouraged us to hold tight to the idea that our choices must reflect MORE THAN A SINGLE STORY and always in the name of ‘children as our collective inspiration.’ Thank you for giving us all the support we need to make that a reality Pat and Deborah!
AUTHOR BIO
Patricia Paugh is a professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she teaches literacy methods courses and is graduate program director for elementary education. Pat’s scholarship is centered on issues of critical and disciplinary literacy in early childhood and elementary education primarily through collaborative research with teachers in urban classrooms. Her work has been published in academic and professional journals including: Language Arts, Journal of Literacy Research, Reading Research Quarterly, Literacy Researcher: Theory, Method, Practice, and Teaching Education. She has also published three co-edited volumes focused on literacy learning: Teaching toward democracy with post-modern and popular culture texts, A classroom teacher’s guide to struggling writers, and A classroom teacher’s guide to struggling readers. Pat brings an extensive background as a first-grade teacher and elementary reading specialist to her current practice as a teacher educator in a public university and as an advocate for teachers’ professionalism. She also currently serves as co-editor for Talking Points, a journal of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Deborah MacPhee is a professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, where she teaches literacy methods courses for undergraduates and directs the Mary and Jean Borg Center for Reading and Literacy. Deborah’s research critically examines discourses of literacy coaching and professional development school interactions and metaphors used in media portrayals of the science of reading. Her work has been published in several academic and professional journals, including Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, The International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, School-University Partnerships, and The New Educator. Deborah is a former first and second grade teacher who currently assesses and tutors students who experience difficulty learning to read.
Interviewby the NCTE Standing Committee on Assessment by Bobbie Kabuto from Queens College.
TITLE: Literacy Assessment as Advocacy: Learning to Be Literate: More than a Single Story,
Dr. P.L. Thomas, EdD is a Professor of Education at Furman University, in Greenville SC. I’ve enthusiastically followed his work since “The Science of Reading” first appeared on the educational landscape. His blogs on the topic at Radical Scholarship are read widely and he is a much sought-after speaker at conferences, webinars and podcasts. I attended a wonderful recent Zoom podcast with principal Matt Renwick: The Science of Reading Movement and the Never-Ending Debate: A Conversation with Paul Thomas.
As our chat opened, a quote from Paul’s book set the stage for our discussion:
With fingers resting on the keyboard, I reflect on our timely Twitter-style discussion with Paul and ponder the direction of my post on a chat that will long stay with me. I’m suddenly drawn full circle to my deep appreciation for Paul’s tireless efforts to inform and inspire us in challenging times.
My timeline below reflects key events with Paul that have fueled my thinking:
September 10, 2018: Hard Words: Why Aren’t Kids Being Taught to Read (Emily Hanford APM REPORTS). This important early introduction is what Paul refers to as “ground zero” of the Science of Reading Movement.
June 1, 2020: The 1st edition of Paul’s book was published. I am fortunate to be in an online group with Paul, so we had the advantage of a pre-publication read. It was instantly clear that his book was a rich contribution to this discussion.
August 1, 2022: The 2nd edition of Paul’s book was published with essential updates with ‘new developments around the “science of reading,” increasing impact on state policy and legislation, and an expanded research base’. Once again, it was what we needed.
November 21, 2019: I met Paul face-to-face for the first time at the ILA Annual Conference in New Orleans: Misreading the Science of Reading. It was the 1st time any major conference had broached this topic. The sense of desperation for guidance was evident when ILA had to find a larger room and we moved into a standing-room-only space. I shared my after session notes HERE. Looking back, I recall the atmosphere in that space of learning and I knew that this is what HOPE looks in a room where gratitude and relief filled the air.
Going back to “ground Zero, here is a quote we shared during the chat;
For additional inspiration, it’s helpful to hear from the author. We asked Paul to share insight on his book including what motivated him to write the book, what impact he hopes it will have and any key takeaways. Here is what Paul said:
After blogging for a couple years, starting in 2018, on the growing SOR movement grounded in the media, specifically the work of Hanford, I realized I had enough material for a book.
The blog posts were important (and still are) but I felt a book would help raise the credibility of the work even though I am primarily concerned about impacting the public and political narratives around education and reading, ultimately seeking ways to curtail really misguided reading policy and legislation.
The grounding of the book, I think, is to put today’s reading “story” in historical context so that we can step away from the crisis/miracle dichotomy found in media and political discourse and ultimately policy.
The book, I hope, can better focus on the realities of the challenges children and teachers face when learning/teaching reading (poverty, inequity, class size, etc.) so that we may find opportunities to recommend complex and different policies and practices that will support students learning and teacher effectiveness.
My work in literacy is at the core of my 40 years as an educator, and I am grounded in Paulo Freire’s belief that literacy is liberatory; it is our work to help children read and re-read the world, to help children write and re-write the world.
“Education crisis, teacher bashing, public school criticism, and school-based culture wars have a very long and tired history, but this version is certainly one of the most intense– likely because of the power of social media. The SOR movement, however, exposes once again that narratives and myths have far more influence in the U.S than data and evidence.” (p. 13)
To extend this influence, I’ll highlight our #G2great chat discussion with Paul to broaden the potential for social media to offer a useful counter narrative to what is all too commonly shared by The Science of Reading. To that end, I’ll spotlight some of the wonderful Twitter messages shared during the chat. (You can revisit our full chat discussion on Wakelet HERE.)
#G2Great Tweet Examples
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
In his book under the heading, “The Big Lie About the “Science of Reading” Paul writes
“Social media can also be a powerful window into how we think about and discuss education. The current reading war has been fueled significantly by social media, in fact, empowering parents and advocates for students with dyslexia armed with a compelling refrain, the “science of reading.” In many ways, the reading war fits perfectly into Twitter and Facebook, even though it has its roots many, many decades before either were created. (p. 25)
For too long, social media has taken an alarming dark path into a virtual battleground where speaking up comes with great risk. For many of us, this unfortunate and unexpected shift is now commonplace. As I think about this new digital atmosphere, I’m drawn to the chat tweets below. Just as I felt in that room the day I met Paul Thomas for the first time, our chat discussion with Paul gave us all a sense of hope and we are ready to meet the call and speak up on behalf of this profession, the teachers who work tirelessly to put kids first and above all the children who have always been at the center of our efforts. We can reclaim this space for respectful conversations that are needed. Find an inroad where such dialogue is welcomed while also being hypervigilent to avoid the quicksand of name-calling that too often rises to the surface and walk away.
These tweets below express what many of us are feeling:
We are grateful to Paul Thomas and so many others who are helping us to face these waves of uncertainty mixed with hope and possibility. Paul’s support will help us maneuver those Twitter Waters with a fresh new outlook.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and share your research-informed beliefs. Because if we don’t, then our voices will be silenced by the noise and chaos hiding in waiting behind unexpected corners.
And when in doubt remember Paul’s words in the heading of his amazing blog…
PAUL THOMAS BIO:
P. L. Thomas, Professor of Education (Furman University, Greenville SC), taught high school English in rural South Carolina before moving to teacher education. He is a former column editor for English Journal (National Council of Teachers of English) and author of Teaching Writing as Journey, Not Destination: Essays Exploring What ‘Teaching Writing’ Means (IAP, 2019) and How to End the Reading War and Serve the Literacy Needs of All Students: A Primer for Parents, Policy Makers, and People Who Care 2nd ed. (IAP, 2022). NCTE named Thomas the 2013 George Orwell Award winner. He co-edited the award-winning (Divergent Book Award for Excellence in 21st Century Literacies Research) volume Critical Media Literacy and Fake News in Post-Truth America (Brill, 2018). Follow his work @plthomasEdD and his blog (http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/).
For a record of the chat, check out the Wakelet here
I remember my first classroom still—a grade 3 class. I taught half-time. I was assigned to teach “Creative Writing” and Social Studies. The morning teacher was responsible for Math, Science, and Reading. I remember at the time thinking how weird it was that they would split reading and writing, but we did the best we could. When the kids were with me, we wrote and covered more writing-specific lessons. The idea that these two elements of language arts were separate and assigned to different teachers was hard to understand. I vowed that when I had my classroom, I would ensure I taught them together. This was long before I heard about a workshop approach to teaching.
Over the years, I learned. I implemented things like The Daily 5 and Café; we started adding different writing opportunities to our centers. As I moved up in grades I realized that students did not need to have as much structure as I was providing and I shifted to even more choice. In my last years of elementary teaching we had arrived at a literacy block of 90 minutes that was choice driven but I still had some rigid rules like “once you have chosen a task stick to it for 20 minutes” The idea of jumping back and forth was not something I was ready to embrace.
Transitioning to High School and the shorter periods, I have still been unable to totally figure it out but after the discussions from the chat I see myself embracing the idea of Literacy Studio when we return to the classroom in September. Some thoughts that helped renew my commitment to the Literacy Studio.
Further points highlight the reciprocal nature of reading and writing.
When we know that reading and writing compliment each other so well why are so many of use still invested in the separation and teaching of each in isolation?
It can be hard to imagine instruction differently than we were taught. It can be difficult to look at the way things have always been done and not only dream of better but to turn that dream into reality. It can be difficult but it is a challenge we can meet and one our students deserve. Reimagining the way we approach literacy instruction to not only be responsive to student needs but also respectful of student choices. That is what the Literacy Studio provides.
Big thanks to Ellin Keene for this rich text, joining in on the chat, and really helping teachers see different ways they can bring meaningful literacy work to their classrooms. If you have yet to pick up a copy make sure to check out The Literacy Studiohere
