#G2Great – Page 2 – Literacy Lenses

Feedback That Moves Writers Forward With Guest Host Patty McGee

by Jenn Hayhurst

On Thursday, April 6, 2017 #G2Great began a conversation with Patty McGee about her new book Feedback That Moves Writers Forward from Corwin Press. Teachers enthusiastically delved into the topic and the conversation sparkled with brilliance and optimism. I think @TeachWriteEDU captured the #G2Great experience beautifully with her tweet:

I am filled with complete gratitude because as @TeachWriteEDU put it, “there is so much goodness here…” this chat spurred me to think about some questions we all can ask ourselves.

How does feedback influence our writing identities?

Formative feedback and identity are essential to growing as a writer. Feedback is like a continuous story that we tell our students to extend meaning making. Feedback maximizes a learning stance from a position of strength. Feedback is an invitation for students to know that we hear them, we see them, and that together we are authoring their unique writing identities. This is big work. This may be how students decide what writing will mean to them. How will it will fit into their lives? Through feedback we strive and to help each student to find an original voice and influence:

With Patty in the lead, we all focused on how specific feedback builds a writer’s identity with our students:

In Patty’s book she recounts an experience she had during a workshop with the incredible Ralph Fletcher: “In a writing workshop by the inspiring Ralph Fletcher a few years back, Ralph asked the audience of hundreds of teachers to raise their hands if they considered themselves readers. Most hands went up. Including my own. He then asked, ‘How many of you consider yourselves writers, or even like to write?’ I looked around, oddly comforted by the fact that I was not the only teacher who seemed to be doing their best to fake the love of writing for students.” (p 5)

What experiences formed your writer’s identity?

As I thought about these question, my thoughts turned back to the story of my childhood that had a lasting impact on my own writing identity…

Yellow sunlight streamed in through giant panes of glass, warming us as we sat around the kitchen table. Coffee cups steamed darkly in contrast to the brightly painted porcelain cow creamer. Her mouth, forever frozen, in an open circle of surprise. There I was drinking actual coffee with my father! No longer just a gawky twelve year old girl. No, now I am a writer. I am one of two writers, drinking coffee, and thinking deeply. My dad leaned over my paper, loosely holding pencil in hand and laughing at the funny parts. A swell of emotion filled me and I became light headed. I don’t know if came from the caffeine or the pure elation at his response to my writing. That experience marked the beginning of a lifelong love with writing… and coffee.

A Call To Action – A #G2Great Community of Writers: What’s your story?

We invite you to reflect on the experiences that have shaped your writing identity. Blog about it, so that we may leave each other feedback that elevates our practice. If you leave your links in our Comment Boxes we can continue to examine who we are as writers and practice giving feedback that pushes writers forward. We can generate writing experiences for ourselves so we may lift the level of writing for our students.

Patty McGee Links

Patty’s Websites:

www.pattymcgee.org

www.drgravitygoldberg.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmgmcgee

Patty’s Book: Feedback That Moves Writers Forward (Corwin)

https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/feedback-that-moves-writers-forward/book251633

Help Students Reflect and Set Goals for Powerful Learning by Patty McGee (Corwin Connect)

http://corwin-connect.com/2017/02/help-students-reflect-set-goals-powerful-learning/

The Power of NOT Answering Content-Specific Questions (Corwin Connect)

http://corwin-connect.com/2017/03/power-not-answering-content-specific-questions/

Three Moves to Awaken Dormant Writers by Patty McGee (Corwin Connect)

http://corwin-connect.com/2017/03/3-moves-awaken-dormant-writers/

ILA Blog Post Part 1: Looking for a Fresh, New Design for PD? Try a Residency

https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/03/16/looking-for-a-fresh-new-design-for-pd-try-a-residency-part-1

ILA Blog Post Part 2: Looking for a Fresh, New Design for PD? Try a Residency

https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/03/23/looking-for-a-fresh-new-design-for-pd-try-a-residency-part-2

Saying “No” To Teacher-Centered Practice So That We Can Say “Yes” to Student-Centered Practices

By Jenn Hayhurst

Kathleen Tolan Memorial Fund

Dear Readers,

On a personal note, this blog post is dedicated to the memory of Kathleen Tolan, who devoted her life to student-centered practices. She would have been the first to, unapologetically, say “no” to whatever was not in the best interests of students. For this, and so many other reasons, she was a teacher to admire.

On December 8, 2016 #G2Great continued a conversation in our Five Part Series: Saying “No” So We can Say: “Yes” as we examined the topic – Saying “No” to Teacher-Centered Instruction So We Can Say “Yes” to Student-Centered Practices. These conversations are essential to the health and well-being of our profession because as we examine our beliefs, we clarify the work the work that needs to happen in our classrooms. Our professional growth is both an individual and collective process. If we keep the conversation going, we can begin to uncover the power of our impact. Ours is a community that is devoted to discovering professional empowerment.

Get Set:

Saying yes or no to any practice begins with reconciling what we believe. Now more than ever we need to make decisions around best practices that link to an authentic philosophy for educational practices. Our stances must be informed by formative and summative data and it is imperative that we read and write professionally, This is how we have the good judgement to say yes or no to a mandate that does not keep students at the center of decision-making:

Get Ready:

Part of keeping students at the center of instructional decision-making means that we value independence. We say yes to independence when we flex guided practice. Setting explicit goals, modeling and reflection are some practices that we need to incorporate into our instructional day. These are practices that every teacher can say yes to despite any mandate that comes our way:

Letting Go:

During the chat our conversation took a turn toward agency. For me, agency is a topic I return to again and again. It is the ultimate intention for every teacher – to have students who work with as Peter Johnston put it “a sense of agency”. Working in classrooms We know there are many paths to independence as we work to create our maps for empowered learning. No matter where we work or what curriculum we follow there is always room for the gradual release through guided practice and collaborative learning. When we can finally let go and have and give students room to teach and learn from each other we know we have achieved a classroom built on a foundation of high expectations that students can grow into:

A teacher’s life is immersed in growth We are always evolving as if we are waking up to new understandings for how students learn best. Coming together each week for #G2Great is a way to uncover these best practices and that is amazing. However, I think what I love the most about our brilliant PLN is that no matter where anyone is in the journey, we are always coming back to kids at the center and to learn with a sense of joy and wonder.

#G2Great With Guest Hosts Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz A Mindset for Learning

By, Jenn Hayhurst

On 7/21/16 #G2Great celebrated the amazing book, A Mindset for Learning by Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz. With Kristi and Christine at the helm, we spent the hour thinking about the stories we tell ourselves about growth and learning, and how to attempt to see the world through the eyes of our students. Promoting a growth mindset for students begins with us.

This post is dedicated to many the many voices who embrace the search for knowledge over the safety of what is already known.

Christine, Chris, and Mary…

It’s a funny thing that risk has everything to do with loss and yet it’s synonymous with growth. How do we build environments for risk taking? Well it’s a lot more than a collection of rules – it’s a frame of mind. Start the school year with fresh eyes and be ready to create a world for new students. Build spaces that support independent work. Look at classroom design and think, how am I supporting growth and learning? The choices we make are ours alone, and we are obligated to make smart decisions for our students:

Kristi, Jen, and Pam…

Learning is an experience. Our work is not done in isolation because every lesson is connected to a larger process. If we want to make a positive impact on how students perceive themselves then we have to hold them in the highest esteem. We need to read our students as thoughtfully as we read our professional texts:

Christine, Briana, Justin, Bryan, Eric, and Kristi…

Having a growth mindset is a lovely idea. If I believe I can do it, I can achieve it. How do our actions really support that kind of thinking? Growth mindset is rooted in the learning process itself. It isn’t accomplished by the end of the day, or week, or even the year. It’s the work of a lifetime. A growth mindset is a way of life that begins as an extension of our beliefs about ourselves and our students:

Akilah, Kristi, Kristin, Christine, Dana, Sonja, and Kate…

Our students are living in the narratives we write for them. The kinds of stories we tell them and ourselves impacts the kinds of teachers we become. Akilah’s tweet inspires me to write some professional development work around storytelling and growth mindset. Kisti shared a collection of articles about the power of stories, and Kristin shared a Prezi as a resource for growth mindset. Thank you so much! Our #G2Great PLN is a community, one that supports, connects, and encourages us to dream:

Mary, Christine, and Kristi…

We are teachers and joy is our job. Our message of joyful learning that embraces play is an important one to send out the to world. We live in serious times and students will inherit a world that requires flexible thinking that stems from creative play. Our kids will need to be resilient in the face of adversity. Empathy will deconstruct walls to progress, and persistence will help to unlock inner strength and stamina. We are not just teaching reading, writing, and math we are teaching students how to read the world. Above all else let’s be a part of building strong optimistic hearts and minds. Thank you Kristi and Christine for writing such an important book for teachers everywhere:

#G2Great Who’s Doing The Work Series: Sharing A Love for Reading: We Can Do This Together

By, Jenn Hayhurst

On Thursday June 23, 2016 Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris joined #G2Great to chat about shared reading. In their book, Who’s Doing The Work How to Say Less so Readers Can Do More, Jan and Kim offer a fresh take on this tried and true practice. We are always growing, and in the search to understand more, we continue to evolve in our understanding for what works in the classroom. Refining our practice for shared reading enables us to do more to tap into its power. Jan and Kim refer to this new slant of shared reading as“Next Generation Shared Reading” (p 57) that offers exponential growth for readers of all ages and abilities.

Each week my #G2Great community pushes me to sharpen my instructional lens. As I look back on the chat some key points and ideas really stood out as we move closer toward Next Generation Shared Reading.

A natural context for shared professional learning…

Learning begins with authenticity and an open mind. Before we can fully appreciate a new take on this practice let’s zoom in on a little history. Shared reading was introduced by Don Holdaway in 1979 with primary children in New Zealand and Australia. Holdaway’s Natural Learning Model is predicated on the belief that all learning is social, that children learn best through: demonstration, participation, role play and performance. Next Generation Shared Reading challenges us to think strategically while encouraging greater participation through collaborative work. We began our chat by taking an honest look at where shared reading breaks down:

hared reading is meant to be inclusive, to promote problem solving through the use of authentic literature that reflects the interests of your readers so they will want to do the work. This ought to be a joyful invitation for learning how to read. This is what it looks like when students are doing the work.

Shared reading builds a community….

Shared reading nurtures self-esteem and a feeling of belonging. It engenders consistency by linking instruction: literature, history, math, science, and writing all have potential for amazing shared reading experiences. It is a powerhouse for collecting formative data. When students are allowed to do their work we can focus on ours. Our important work is to observing, recording, and recommending while students practice, and implement learning for themselves. Strategic planning bridges connections and provides collaborative learning through social experiences. Students “try on” more sophisticated texts as they experience success. In many ways, it’s the first step towards independence:

Using texts as tools throughout bands of complexity…

Next Generation Shared Reading takes this practice out of the primary grades and recognizes its power and potential to elevate the thinking and reading levels of students across all grades. When teachers understand how books work they understand how to create openings for students to access them. They can delve into complex genres while promoting the idea that all reading should be impactful and that understanding will be deeply personal. We uncover what reading means to students when we allow them to learn within a community that values many voices. This is what it looks like when students are doing the work:

Parting words on shared reading…

Thank you Jan and Kim for writing a book that has inspired all of us to think deeply about shared reading. You remind us to take shared reading practices out of the box through a more flexible implementation. We have a repertoire of instructional techniques at our disposal and Next Generation Shared Reading offers a more limber cohesive way to utilize Holdaway’s dynamic work for our students:

Dedication And Generosity: Celebrating Independent Reading

By, Jenn HayhurstOn Thursday March 3, 2016 #G2Great hosted a chat that began a conversation about the importance of independent reading. This blog post is dedicated to anyone who is “holding tight” to this work, either at home or in the classroom. It is for those of us who believe that literacy reveals a path of growth and self discovery through text.

The following Saturday morning, I was part of an incredible team of teachers from my district, @SCCentralSD . We went to an event sponsored by a local organization called @TheBookFairies. This amazing nonprofit opened their doors to teachers everywhere and we were able to shop for free books!

Imagine all of us giving our time, the Book Fairies volunteers and so, so many teachers. I am struck by the generosity of amazing people who gave up a gorgeous Saturday to build robust classroom libraries for students to enjoy:

Many people were telling touching stories about the readers and writers in their classrooms. There was not a mention of levels. Wise teachers value levels because they are an important tool that informs instructional practices. Levels are not to be mistaken with labels that hinder a love for independent reading:

We were all swapping stories as well as books. You could hear teachers excitedly saying, “Oh this is so great! Jorge is going to be so happy!” “Look what I found.” “I can’t believe I found this book, my mother used to tell us this story!” and “I’m so excited I can’t wait to get to school on Monday!”

It was quite a sight seeing everyone loading books into boxes, crates and bags. One teacher could barely close her trunk for all the books she and her colleague were taking back to school. We need to share our stories about the lengths teachers will go to promote literacy. We need to encourage our students to become connected so that they can share their love for independent reading.

When we work together, we are creating a community with a purpose for reading. We are being the change we hope to see in education. Literacy changes lives. Our dedication and generosity to that effort is the flip side of the urgency we all feel. For these reasons, teachers are opening up their classroom libraries and giving free access to books because that’s one way to keep students at the center of all that we do.

Our message is clear. We understand that now more than ever we need to “hold tight” to independent reading. Think of a classroom library as a garden, and every book a child reads is like a seed. Narratives and informational texts take root and grow to fill students’ heads with stories and ideas. This becomes our context to teach children how to read. But even more than that, we are growing a love for literacy that will last a lifetime.

Unwrapping the Joy of Read Aloud

By, Jenn Hayhurst

On February 4, 2016, #G2Great initiated our five-part series: Holding Tight to Practices that Matter and turned the spotlight on read-aloud

Teachers are living in a high tech, data driven, standards based world. Rigor and grit are expected from students and there is no time to waste. Should teachers squander precious minutes of the school day merely reading aloud to students? After all, what would students actually be doing while a teacher reads aloud? Besides, we have computer based programs that read to students, so teachers can use that time in more productive ways. Right? No that’s just scary! There are those who believe the best way to support standards, rigor, and grit is to devote time that might be spent on read aloud to other pursuits.

Teachers who understand best practices in literacy instruction know that nothing could be further from the truth. I do believe that students need to develop grit and that we are the gatekeepers of rigor. I also believe that reading aloud is a way to achieve both goals. Our brains are hard wired for story. Just do a quick search on Google and the neuroscience evidence is overwhelming to support this claim. But really, the only proof anyone needs is to to look out into a classroom full of students who are listening with rapt attention to their teachers. Children of all ages are drawn into complex narratives through a dramatic reading, or ushered into a world of wonder fueled by new ideas to understand the value of read aloud:

I couldn’t help but feel elated as I read the Storify from the February 4th #G2Great Chat, Holding Tight to Practices That Matter: Read Aloud. Educators from all walks of life were extolling the value of reading aloud. Teachers shared links, books, and ways to support the work with gusto. Why would they do that? The only reason I can think of is that teachers are remarkable, unselfish professionals who are motivated by improving the lives of students.

We are working to safeguard the practices that matter most because they have the greatest impact for student achievement. Building a community around literature is one way to ensure that we build both community and critical thinking skills. It seems simple but it’s true that everything begins with a great book. To that end, there were so many great books that were shared and will, with a little faith, find great homes in classrooms everywhere. Mary compiled a list of your recommendations and created a fabulous resource to share ( just click here ) with everyone.

I am not immune to buying more books than I can scarcely afford. I just bought Lester Laminack’s Snow Day! It’s a wonderful book and I can’t wait to share it with students. I wonder what books will be bought or borrowed because of last Thursday’s chat? How will this chat impact the work that happens with students? We constantly inspire each other to be the best teachers we can be because each day we spend with students is precious and we don’t have time to waste.

There is no question in my mind that the precious minutes we invest in read-aloud is time well spent.

Click here to watch Lester…

Snow Day! — Lester Laminack video detailing how text structures influence read aloud

Learning in the Company of Others

By, Jenn Hayhurst

On January 7, 2016 #G2Great took a look at the past and future when ur topic was: Looking Back So We Can Look Ahead

My hope is that more educators will make the choice to become connected in 2016. Whenever I bring up Twitter to my colleagues who are not connected they inevitably say, “I just can’t get the hang of it.” or “I tried it but it I don’t know what I’m doing.” and the favorite “How will it help me as a teacher?” I get it. Twitter moves quickly and it can be hard to figure out what it is, and what it really offers us. However, Twitter’s impact on me has been profound, it has shaped 2015 into a year of daily reflection.

I’m far from perfect. Many times I try to do something new and I fail, and then I fail again. But failure doesn’t define me because I am a learner. Now that I have Twitter in my life I can share my experiences and learn from others who embrace failure for the sake of learning. They understand that through failure we explore a better future for the students. If we stray from students we are going in the wrong direction. This has to be my take away reflection of 2015.

It’s been a year since we began the #G2Great chat and now more than ever I am feeling the impact of having a Professional Learning Network (PLN). Twitter allows me to share my thinking in the company of others and for others to share theirs with me. Thinking through this plurality sharpens my lens as to the kind of teacher I have been, and the kind of teacher I aspire to become. The teachers who join in the chat each week bring perspectives that are shaped by experiences and shared values. They are what connected educators call my “dream faculty.” These are people who I admire. I wonder what would it be like to actually work in such a district, although now that I have taken Twitter to a new level it feels as though they are always with me. Their advice and passion lingers long after the chat ends.