Reading Workshop: Informational Text Analysis Begins

This week we start more intense work with informational texts in Reading Workshop. Since October, my students have researched topics that interest them for their self-directed learning projects. This has included two column notes to record main ideas and details, as well as writing blog posts about what they are learning and the process of their research. Some have synthesized their research and presented to the class as well.

Now, in Reading Workshop, we will focus on all elements of nonfiction reading including text features, reader's purpose and author's purpose. This work will include work together hovering over informational texts that they bring in and evaluating them. There are great forms and activities for this work in a book I picked up at Barnes and Noble. Just the Facts! Close Reading and Comprehension of Informational Text by Lori Oczkus (Shell Education) is an amazing resource for this kind of analysis of text.

On our class blog, I wrote a post introducing this work to my class:

http://kidblog.org/MrsMilnersClass-2/837a2724-97ad-49c4-8caa-a2d27142b8d3/informational-texts-purpose-for-reading/

Students are gathering their texts to bring in this week, so that the investigating we do will help them directly with their self-directed projects. I will share more as we go through the process.

Teach Like a Pirate Part Two

So my first post about Dave Burgess' book, Teach Like a Pirate, was a reflection on the first part of the book only. Now that I have finished reading it, once again, I am inspired to share about how it is going to improve my teaching! 

In order to start incorporating the hook questions into my lesson planning, I took notes while I read all the great ideas. I will refer to them consistently while planning. There are some that I already do naturally, but plenty that I had never even thought of doing. So invigorating to my teaching!

So these notes are in a small spiral with my other notes and to do lists. In addition, I bought three spirals, one for each subject I teach: Reading Workshop, Math Workshop and Writing Workshop. Found cute ones at Ocean State Job Lot! I will brainstorm in these notebooks for each lesson I do. 

Part Three of the book was very motivational and it is so true that you can get started right away. All your ducks do not have to be in a row to try some of these ideas! It is also helpful to read the section on criticism. 

As the school year goes on, I will share my successes and failures here and on Twitter. Best PD ever!!

It's Been a While

Happy New Year!

Here I am finally catching up on some blog posts. It is the night before school is supposed to start up again after a lengthy winter break. I put in some time over the vacation to write thank you notes to my students, do some planning, and finally read a book having nothing to do with education. 

I sat here this afternoon all ready to return to school tomorrow, but sad that I didn't make the time to catch up on my blog writing. Then it happened...Winter Storm Hercules! The call, text and email arrived informing us that we will have no school the next two days! I plan to get caught up on what has been happening in room 16 since my last post on August 5th.

At the end of August, I started a blog entry about my classroom set up and then never finished it because I got all wrapped up in school beginning and learning and teaching three new curriculums (new math program, as well as Lucy Calkins' writing workshop and reading workshop). I will start by finishing that post including classroom pictures.

I also want to share our progress in writing workshop including personal narrative and informational writing. This will include at least two blog entries and an additional one just to share pictures of our two celebrations. This is my first year teaching writing strictly from the Lucy Calkins series of books. I am teaching writing to three classes of fifth graders and it allows me to engage in some collaboration with the Social Studies teacher.

Along with Writing Workshop, I want to blog about my Reading Workshop with my homeroom class and my first try at book clubs instead of the guided reading group structure. I will share what worked and what didn't for me in this process and what my next steps will be.

I may also have time to blog about the organizational structures I have put in place in my classroom and how they are going. I have never been a binder kind of person, but I will share what is working for me this year with binders. 

We'll see what else I decide to write about in the next two days. It will be a valuable self reflection for me. I may even make some New Year's resolutions for my teaching. 

It's good to be back!

Summer Professional Reading

1. Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement

By Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman

This book was a quick read and very helpful. In our district, we have been working with the Common Core for a while. This book clarified the ELA portion of the new standards and provided a clear game plan for writing instruction, especially. 

2. How's it Going? By Carl Anderson

After the weeklong institute a few weeks ago, I jumped on Amazon to purchase some recommended books. This fantastic, thorough book by Carl Anderson was highly praised by our presenter and after reading it, I understand. 

Anderson leaves no stone unturned when dealing with the subject of conferencing with students. He focuses on one on one conferences being a conversation. He goes through the teacher's and the student's role during conferencing. It is fascinating when he shares the mistakes he made and the justification for how he runs conferences now. He has excellent chapters on mentor texts, gathering information for minilessons and classroom management. Valuable read!

3. Narrative Craft Unit of Study by Lucy Calkins and Alexandra Marron

I am about halfway through this unit of study. It is slow going because it is very thorough and I am note-taking with post its for my lesson plans as I go.

Lofty, hopeful plans for professional reading in August, a.k.a. Books on Deck:

- Finish Narrative Craft Unit of Study

- Independent Writing M. Colleen Cruz

- A Quick Guide to Struggling Writers M. Colleen Cruz

- A Quick Guide to Reviving Disengaged Writers Christopher Lehman

- A Quick Guide to Making Your Teaching Stick Shanna Schwartz

- Mentor Authors, Mentor Texts Ralph Fletcher

- Launch an Intermediate Reading Workshop Lucy Calkins

- Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres Troy Hicks