What Are YOU Reading?

If we are going to ask our students to read, shouldn’t we ask the same of ourselves?  I know…time.  (Notice I haven’t posted since the 9th of Feb.?)  Well, this spring break, I read the Divergent series.  It’s amazing to me how literature changes you.  In some way, small or big, you change.  (More about that thought can be found in the Inquiry Circles in Action book.)

I also tapped into some of my professional books.  (I have a book problem.  I own more books than I could read in a year.)  This evening, as I read in Dr. Sain’s office waiting on my daughter, I had an idea.  Beyond the Binding….if we each shared the highlights of our professional books, think of all the information we could collect for our tool boxes?  So, I’m going to process that thought.  Hopefully I’ll have an entry for Beyond the Binding soon.

Until then, what are you reading?  Do you like it?  Why or why not?  Is it worth our precious tiny bit of spare time?  Currently I’m reading the following…(it will take 8 years to finish)

Inquiry Circles in Action by Harvey and Daniels (Thank you Mrs. Campebell for the suggestion!)-LOVE what they have to say about literature circles.

How to Teach so Students Remember by Sprenger-A quote I like…”This understanding is not taught as much as it’s discovered through inquiry.”  She referring to an enduring understanding.

A Sense of Urgency by Kotter-LOVE THIS!!!

A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children by Webb, Gore, Amend, and DeVries-Thick reading.  Not sure what I think of it yet.

So, I’ll get right on our first Beyond the Binding.  Until then, what about you?  What are you reading?  Tell us more.

Top 75 New York Best-Selling Education Books of 2013

This came to me in an email today.  The first thing I did was scan the list to see how many I owned or had read.  If you haven’t read The Last Lecture, you need to do so immediately!  I do own and have started The Smartest Kids in the World.  Interesting stories.  I am enjoying it; however, it’s not pulling me…demanding that I finish it.  (I will add here that I am embarrassed of the number of books in my life that fall into this category.) Pathways to the Common Core is a wonderful book.

Personally  I would add a few to the list.  I would also remove a few.  Since I haven’t read them, I’ll try not to judge a book by its cover.  I’ll probably look into a few of them in the near future (NurtureShock is one.)

I have come to this not-so-brilliant epiphany (Can I put that phrase with that word?).  Reading is scholarly and free to anyone who chooses to exercise the habit.  Far too many times I’ve witnessed how this plays out in the  hallways or on grade-level teams.  How do you respond to scholars at your school?  Do you welcome it or resent it?  (Yikes.  Even I am getting uncomfortable.)  We have to be honest with ourselves if we want to grow.

If you don’t read (for pleasure or professional development), I encourage you to try.  Decide what you’re interested in learning a little more about…what question is swimming in your mind?  Seek the information.  There is so much to learn in our great big world!!

Be careful though, you might become a scholar.

Don’t bother commenting.  (I’ll try reverse psychology.)

Book Study (previously mentioned)

If you are interested in following the book study I’ll probably be having with myself (ha ha ha), I’ll be posting comments on the following entry previously blogged.

Book Study: Square Peg: My Story and What it Means for Raising Innovators, Visionaries, and Out-of-the-Box Thinkers

Book Study: Square Peg: My Story and What it Means for Raising Innovators, Visionaries, and Out-of-the-Box Thinkers

I’m going to be reading a book called  “Square Peg: My Story and What it Means for Raising Innovators, Visionaries, and Out-of-the-Box Thinkers.”  I’d love to have someone join me.  I’ll post comments, questions, quotes.  Any brave innovators, visionaries, or out-of-the-box thinkers?  You won’t regret it. 

The author was a HS dropout.  He’s now a Harvard professor.  While telling the story of his life, it gives the reader (teacher) an opportunity to reflect on his/her practices in the classroom.  You will see many faces of students as you read through the book.  It will challenge your “traditional” approaches and push you to ask “why” is that what we do?

Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh MY!

Assessment ideas.  Strategies. Writing across the curriculum.  Vocabulary tips.  Oh my!!!  My personal interest right now is “STEAM,” and I ordered a book called STEAM Point.  The chapter on assessments gave some  websites with resources.  Immediately I thought “blog”!  Happy exploring!  Personal favorites were using RAFT across the content area for writing, formative assessments strategies, and vocabulary games (like the board game Taboo).  Be sure to check out response logs, too.

Teach21

Formative Assessments

Parent Requested

Several parents have asked me to suggest some of my favorite books for parenting gifted children.  I thought others (parents & teachers) might also like to see a few suggestions.

Parenting Gifted Kids: Tips for Raising Happy and Successful Gifted Children by James Delisle

When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers: How to Meet their Social and Emotional Needs by Ph.D. Jim Delisle & Judy Galbraith

Living With Intensity by Susan Daniels and Michael M. Piechowski

Add your favorites by leaving a comment.

Nonfiction Notebooks

One of my favorite professionals in the world of writing is Aimee Bucker.  Her big idea is the use of notebooks to build strategies for writing.  Hot off the press…”Nonfiction Notebooks.”  LOVE it!

Why?  Glad you asked.  If I might get on my soapbox for a minute…we ask students to “write,” but we don’t teach them how.  HIGHLY frustrating for the child and the teacher.  A child knows how to write if the child can write independently.  Teaching strategies will make the student a writer for life.

In addition to strategies, our lessons need to be bite size and specific.  When planning, start with the end product in mind and work backwards.  You’ll begin to see the necessary pieces that make the whole. Visualize stair steps…each step is a lesson leading to the end result.  Skipping too many steps could be hazardous to your health.

So if you are seeking more knowledge, perhaps you’d enjoy this book.  I am learning a ton from it.  What writing resources do you use in your classroom?

Short Films

I cannot tell a lie.  I got this from Pinterest.

When teaching abstract concepts and processes, sometimes it helps to remove the content.  By relating the idea to something we know or objects we use for other purposes, learning temporarily focuses more on the thinking involved.  This increases understanding of the process.  (Ah…metacognition, again!)  I discovered the power of this concept through a book called Comprehension Connections.  A MUST READ.

Once students start to understand WHAT they are doing when they read, they will be able to monitor their own thinking.  Isn’t real reading when we have a balance of text and thought?  We need students to pay attention to the thinking inside their head!  This shifts the idea of learning to read to reading to learn.

Check out these fun short films.  The students will love it, and they will have a stronger understanding of their thinking process during reading.  What a great way to practice our metacognition!

Movie Shorts and Reading Strategies

I started with “For the Birds.”  Hilarious!

If you use the short films, please share back here what worked and what didn’t work.

Enjoy!

Do You Have Radioactive Spiders in Your Classroom?

Expectations.  How do you know? How high is high enough when setting expectations?  We know about self-efficacy, but do we, as teachers, have the bar high enough to create superheroes (see article below)?

Good question.  One thing to consider is the student’s present level of performance; however, the student may be light years away from his/her potential.  Another thing to consider is the classroom environment.  Do you push thinking in all students by asking open-ended questions, asking students to justify answers, and providing ample wait time?

This article explains more about the “why” of high expectations…and superheroes.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/2013/09/09/why-education-needs-more-radioactive-spiders/

There is also a book, Teach Like a Champion, that has a chapter on high expectations.  It gives strategies for implementation.  Although I haven’t finished the book, I like how each activity or idea is modeled on an accompanying DVD.  The author explains and teachers model the way it should look.  Look for the sample of Chapter 1 on high expectations on this website.

http://Teachlikeachampion.com/

I encourage you to aim a little higher than you think they can.  You can always adjust the bar, but it’s easier to go down than up.  I’ve never had an experience where the students didn’t amaze me with what they could do.

Let’s do some bar raising!