Willing To Accept Imperfection

Over the last few years I taught reading and writing.  The journey was extremely educational.  I found that everyday that I walked into that room, I faced 150 students who hesitated coming into that room because I was going to ask them to do two things…read and write.  Neither of which is the most popular subject among the majority, including adults.  I also experienced the same vulnerability from writing (Like right now!) because it’s like putting yourself out there for “viewing.” Not comfortable.  I promised my students that I would never ask something of them that I didn’t ask of myself.  Reluctantly we all began the journey.  When they finished their first narratives, we all sat back and soaked up the pride.  It wasn’t easy.  We took baby steps.  And boy did they surprised themselves.  I, on the other hand, fell in love with the writing process because of what I witnessed.

This doesn’t happen when we enter into writing with the feeling “it has to be perfect when I put it on the paper.”  That feeling is stifling.  There are many in the field of writing, but most of the writer’s workshop practices originated from Donald Graves.  I love what he said in an article called “All Children Can Write.”

“When writers write, they face themselves on the blank page. That clean white piece of paper is like a mirror. When I put words on the page, I construct an image of myself on that whiteness. I may not like my spelling, handwriting, choice of words, aesthetics, or general cleanliness of the page. Until I can begin to capture what I want to say, I have to be willing to accept imperfection and ambiguity. If I arrive at the blank page with a writing history filled with problems, I am already predisposed to run from what I see. I try to hide my paper, throw it away, or mumble to myself, “This is stupid.” But with every dangerous, demanding situation, there is an opportunity to learn. Teachers who follow and accompany children as they compose help them to deal with what they see on the page. The reason writing helps children with learning disabilities is that they do far more than learn to write: They learn to come to terms with a new image of themselves as thinkers-thinkers with a message to convey to the world.”

So true.  A blank piece of paper forces us to acceptance.  And good writing instruction gets ALL students to that place.  Writing is instrumental in becoming a thinker.

Here’s the full article.

All Children Can Write

Actual Time Reading

Down to the minute…how much actual time do your students read each day? Write?  Not filling in blanks or giving simple responses, but composing thoughts from within his or her own thinking?

A few years ago, a friend and I decided to chart our school day to see actual instructional time.  We used Excel to create a chart showing each minute of the day.  It was eye opening.  I wanted to make sure that I was organizing the day to squeeze every ounce of learning opportunity from the school day and with a few minor changes, I squeezed even more out of the schedule.

This came to mind as I was reading research by Richard Allington.  His paper was explaining what practice they found in highly effective classrooms.  One thing in effective classrooms?  Students were reading and writing 50% of the day.  More commonly, in other classrooms, they found the amount to be around 10%.  This made me think about the previous charts of instructional time. Stopped me dead in my tracks.  I wasn’t sure what my percentage would have been.  I think my “intention percentage”, if you will, would have been high.  Not sure if my actual classroom time would reflect 50%.  Pretty sure it wouldn’t.

If you took your daily lesson plans and accounted for the time students were reading and writing, real reading and real writing, where would you fall?  I think it would be worth the self-reflection.  With Common Core and PARCC, no time like the present to make these changes.

Other great reminders from the report were model, provide open-ended questions, give explicit instruction, and allow time for students to talk about the content.

 

But if you want to read it for your own take-away, here’s the link to his article called “What I’ve Learned About Effective Reading Instruction From a Decade of Studying Exemplary Elementary Classroom Teachers.”

 

Richard L. Allington

Go Here Now

If you haven’t been here, go now.  YIKES!  Good stuff.

Also, many 5th grade classes are starting fractions or have started.  I found this read to be very interesting.

Teaching About Fractions: What, When, and How

Math…It’s Getting Crazy Around Here!!

Crazy, how?

#1) The ideas coming my way from teachers at MCS are coming so fast, I can hardly keep up with posting them here.

#2)  There’s a whole lot of resources out there!!

If you haven’t checked out the math arcs Karen Hawkins sent out a few weeks ago (the ones the state is releasing), you need to put that on your to do list!!  GREAT tool to help with CRA.

ALSO, Ms. Dickerson, at Scales, sent these resources to me following the math training at Scales for tier 2.  I am just now getting them out to you.  These are worth your time!!

Weekly Problems

Essential Questions for Math

Resource for Math Lessons-Illuminations Website

Thank you Ms. Dickerson!

Group for Differentiation with Ease

(Should I tell you the names of the individuals sharing the ideas?  I haven’t been, but I’ve decided I can no longer keep the secrets.  I must tell you from this point on!  This entry comes from Mrs. Strevel at Scales.)

It’s amazing to me how the things teachers do are “just what we do” to the point we don’t even realize how wonderful they really are!  That happened today.  During a conversation, Mrs. Strevel referenced putting Post-it notes on the desks of her student to make small groups for further instruction based on needs.  I asked her to explain how that worked.

While she teaches her lesson, she places different color Post-it notes on the desks according to how the students are performing (need help, almost have it, got it, etc.).  After the lesson, this system provides her with immediate groups ready for small group instruction based on the previous lesson.

That’s not all.  As exit tickets, she gives a slip of paper with a small task from the lesson.  Those exit tickets give her one more peek at levels of performance.  She then groups according to student needs, and again the next morning, codes the desk for small group instruction.  In addition to Post-it notes, she uses instructional tools, such as pattern blocks or money.  Calling groups then becomes another instructional review.

Brilliant.

Why do we insist on making our job harder?  This is so easy.  And why didn’t I think of this???  To her, it’s just “what she does.”  We should share more of what we do!!

So…let’s get some comments going here…what do YOU do?

Dreamers Need Dreamers

While at the TAG Convention, the recipient of the Nicolas Green Award gave his speech to a room full of educators.  While this child stood in front of us, I was captivated by the wisdom his life had already absorbed.  Following the speech, he walked around the room, shaking hands, and greeting the adults.  Confident.

I found his father afterwards and asked if he’d email the speech to me.  The message about failure is important, young or old.  I wanted to capture the words used by Logan to share with you.  He has it figured out.  Failure doesn’t define you unless you let it.  Also, it is when we do not attempt to do something we are sure to fail.  Be inspired to be brave.  Dreamers are waiting on you.

Here’s a little of Logan Guleff’s speech.

“In my opinion there are 3 elements that are on the path of success: Dreaming Big, Trying Everything, and Understanding Failure.

 

#1.  Dreaming big is what gives you the drive to try to go to the White House, or climb a rock wall, or own an underwater restaurant. It is the dream of owning a spice business that helps me create new spice blends for sale. The dream to be a BBQ judge prompted me to take the class and become one. It is the dream that gives me the courage to face my fears, and try my best. It keeps me creating new recipes and earns me great rewards.  Dreaming big is everything to me.

 

#2. Trying Everything.  Most kids don’t like to eat new food.  For me that is never a problem and the fancier the better. I love new experiences. I am always first to try things from fencing to sushi. Trying again gives you a second chance. I put a lot of effort into a sandwich contest, and I felt bad that I didn’t win it. Then came the First Lady’s  Healthy Eating Contest.  I wanted to go through the process of making the recipe and doing the work. So I tried again with another recipe, and I made it to the White House.  Without trying again, I never would have met The President and First Lady.

 

#3. Understanding Failure. This is important because when you fail you can learn from your mistakes, but more often you learn from your effort. Failure is not the opposite of success; it is just on the path. I’ve learned that sometimes a recipe can be too complicated.  A simpler recipe may be the answer. To me, failure is really the absence of not trying.

 

Failure doesn’t have to define you especially when you have great teachers and mentors.

 

This is where you come in. You provide the encouragement to dreamers. Because dreamers need other dreamers.”

 

Grammar

As promised, here is a little from the Tennessee Association for Gifted Conference I attended over fall break.

Michael Clay Thompson has a very logical way of teaching grammar.  Explore this link for free downloads.  We take weeks and weeks to teach units of grammar that he teaches in one lesson.  Take a look.

Michael Clay Thompson Downloads

Challenging Math Resource

Found this the other day.  Check out the documents.  Pretty cool!

Bard Math Circle

Finance Friday

Latoya and Reggie are thinking about going into the milk bottling business together.  They came up with some questions that they need to be able to answer to see if this is a good idea.  Can you please help them find the answers to the various questions listed below?

BASIC INFORMATION:

These are some basic facts about the dairy business.

• Milk is sold in units of 100 pounds.
• One Hundred pounds of milk is sold to the Milk bottling companies for $11.00.
• A gallon of milk weighs 8.3 pounds.
• A good cow can produce 12,000 gallons of milk per year.

QUESTIONS:

• How many gallons of milk will a good cow produce per month?
• How many gallons of milk will a good cow produce per day?
• How many gallons of milk can they get out of every 100 pound unit?
• How many 100 pound units can a good cow produce every month?
• How many ½ pint cartons can a good cow produce every month?
• How much money can a good cow produce for the farmer every year?

Find the answers to the questions.  Please use an equation and model to explain your findings and proof for your answer.

 

Discoveries From the Discovery Center Trip

As I stated in an earlier entry, Sheri and I took a field trip.  As we toured the Discovery Center, there were many resources right at our fingertips.  I wanted to call this list “The Top Ten”, but I couldn’t rank them.  So, here’s “Ten.”

1.  A STEAM lab is on it’s way!

2.  Curious George is, too!  Which happens to be the #1 traveling exhibit in its category in the nation.  It will be the exhibit that replaces the current exhibit called, “It’s a Nano World.”

3.  “It’s a Nano World” is the current exhibit located upstairs (catch it before it leaves).  Magnification and the power of 10 are a few things you will find in the exhibit.  (Thanks to the WONDERFUL Jones Foundation for providing so many opportunities for children.)

4.  There is a tiny town that has a replica of downtown Murfreesboro,  AND it will be decorated for the holidays!

5.  A field trip to the Discovery Center can be in addition to your TWO yearly field trips.  That’s right.  It doesn’t count as one of the two.  Hey! Hey! Or they will come to you.

6.  There’s a  wheels and wings exhibit.  Nissan sponsored. The wheels section has a car on a lift, complete with mechanic supplies.  How cool is that?

7.  Construction is almost complete…a new outdoor play area…with a water table!

8.  Field trips are conducted by education specialist AND they will supply a pre and post test.  The education specialist will help you find resources if you call and ask.

9.  They also have a shed full of rubber boots for exploring in the water outside. Oh, oh, I almost forgot.  They’ve seen otters in the water with their babies feeding on the fish.

10.  A science bus is being designed and built that will be traveling around to the Murfreesboro City Schools to teach science to 4th graders.  Now that’s cool!!

So if you haven’t thought about taking your class to the Discovery Center here in Murfreesboro, I encourage you to look into what’s going on there.  Pretty neat stuff.

http://explorethedc.org/exhibits/