BEST Responses! Reading Aloud to Secondary Students!

Good evening, Friends,

Last Thursday morning I sent out a request for Language Arts teachers to complete a quick online survey about whether or not secondary educators read to their classes. This was in response to a request from KSL Radio host Mary Richards who wanted to chat about that topic. Since I had just written about that very subject, Carolyn directed her request to me, and I sent out the survey.

I want to thank the 70 teachers who took time to answer the 5 questions. I predicted the results would demonstrate that a majority of teachers read aloud to their students, but the numbers quite surprised me! I didn't expect the majority to be so significant.

I thought you would like to check out the numbers, too, and read over some of the comments as well. They are insightful! (Click HERE to view the summary.) Ms. Richards also appreciated the survey, and you can listen to her story - all 35 seconds of it - EARLY Tuesday morning or click onto ksl.com later that day.

Again, I thank you!
Renae

BEST Response to "Did I MISS Anything?"

Hello Friends,

It's 5:00 P.M. on Friday, and I've composed 15, yes 15, posts. I'm a little tired, so I'm closing out this work week with one of my favorite "teacher" poems. It lists a number of responses to that age-old question, "Did I Miss Anything?" Enjoy.

Did I miss anything?


Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours


Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent.


Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose


Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring the good news to all people
on earth


Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?


Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human experience
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered
but it was one place
And you weren't here.

by Tom Wayman, Poetry 180. Billy Collins Ed. Random House 2003

BEST Ideas: FUN with FLUENCY!

Dear Friends,

Today I think I was the lone secondary educator in the Tech Atrium at Copper Hills High - until Carolyn arrived, anyway. I was SURROUNDED by elementary teachers, literacy facilitators, principals, and assistant principals.

Holding tight to a microphone, Dr. Tim Rasinski belted out, "You're a grand old flag; you're a high-flyin' flag ...". From the JumboScreen, the song's lyrics shone down upon the rows of educators, and by the 3rd line, many voices joined in singing - including mine. At the end of the song, the volume had increased, and I couldn't help but applaud and holler, "Whoot, WhOOt, WHOOT!"

Even in a room full of elementary folk, I was the only one thus inspired to cheer, and so I hastily slumped down into the plastic chair. As I thought about the incident, I realized it wasn't just the spontaneous community sing that stirred up my enthusiasm; it was interacting with a passionate, knowledgeable, AND entertaining educator/researcher! (A researcher ENTERTAINING? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?)

Dr. Rasinski is a literacy ROCK STAR who sings the REAL, REAL oldies, and who is BEST known for his work in fluency and word work. Because of the correlation between both areas to comprehension, I was especially interested to attend the meeting arranged by JSD's Kathy Wittke and Scholastic, Inc.

Peppering his presentation with the perfect balance of research information and great ideas, Dr. R. shared instructional tools that support students in building fluency AND vocabulary. Among these are singing, choral readings and poetry recitations, readers theater, word building, and word ladders.

Back in the day, teachers required students to memorize poetry . I always thought the purpose was to scare the heck out of kids, but it was probably meant to help us appreciate poetry. I don't know if another purpose was to build fluency, but it also achieves that goal!

When I taught The Outsiders, I assigned students to memorize and recite "Nothing Gold Can Stay." What I did NOT emphasize was reciting the poem with expression or prosody (a fancy "learning-to-read" word for "reading with expression.") I didn't stress that part of the assignment because I didn't realize how repeated/practiced reading and expressive recitation could help build fluency. AND I didn't know about the correlation between fluency and comprehension.

Another reason I didn't push reciting with expression is because of the students who would rather die than recite poetry in front of their peers. So what do you do?

• Assign students to work and present in pairs to other pairs or small groups that include the teacher.
• Turn the poem or even the TEXT BOOK PASSAGE into a CHORAL READING just by having all or groups of students recite the words in unison - either formally or informally. (Dr. Rasinksi recommends content area teachers do this, too. Primary documents, biographies of great scientists, etc. can turn into some dynamic oral presentations.)
• Opt for readers theater instead or in addition. These are popular with students, BUT one cold read is the same as round robin reading. AND you know how heartily I DON'T recommend THAT! 
• To review how Dr. R. develops these lessons, click HERE! 

Before the month is out, I will write about the word work ideas Dr. Rasinski shared. I CHEERED again when he plugged the importance of learning Greek and Latin roots, pre- and suffixes. Such study is REALLY a BARGAIN: students learn about 30 words for EACH root! So cool.

I don't want to leave without sharing a link to "From Phonics to Fluency: Effective and Engaging Instruction to Two Critical Areas of the Reading Curriculum." Please don't let the word PHONICS scare you away. Yes, there are pages that definitely target the elementary teacher audience, but Dr. Rasinski works with middle school teachers and students, too, so peruse the pages, and you will be rewarded with lots of very helpful and engaging ideas!

In the meantime, HAVE A TERRIFIC DAY today and EVERY day!
Renae

BEST Instruction, More Ways to Get at the HEART of the Core Curriculum

Dear Friends,

 As we are discussing Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs), the heart of the curriculum, I want to share a few more specifics about motivating students. Because we want our students to have a greater appreciation for literacy and all it entails, we need to constantly work on motivating them to develop that attitude, and not with EXtrinsic motivators as they only work for a minute.

The previous post suggested that teachers' attitudes about students, teaching, and the content are main ingredients in promoting the value of learning. Indeed, a teacher's attitude lays the groundwork. I remember that if I was the happy mom at home, hubby and kids were happy. But if I was grouchy, hubby was cantankerous, and the boys were down right vile!! I soon learned that the same situation, time 5, existed at school. That's why I fought to hang on to even a thread of a good mood - at home and school. I didn't want a bad day to get worse if I could help it.

There are, however, several specific suggestions that we can follow to motivate students. Dr. Reutzel quoted Turner and Paris' article "How Literacy Tasks Influence Children's Motivation for Literacy" in The Reading Teacher (1995) to review six components related to motivating students to read and write. Let's take a closer look at these and reflect upon whether or not the 6 Cs are part of our instruction.

1. CHOICE ~ Do we promote choice in reading and writing topics in our classes?
1. Is EVERYTHING prescribed?
2. "Students, you must read a book that is at least 250 pages; it must be on this topic; and you MUST create a diorama that has at least 50 of the 60 requirements listed on the rubric." THAT makes me love reading!
2. CHALLENGE ~ Are students allowed to "modify tasks so the difficulty and interest levels are challenging?"  
1. "Ms. Needlenose, may I FILM a scene from the book?"
2. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Just do what the assignment says and DRAW it, okay?"
3. CONTROL ~ Do you "show students how they can control their own learning?"
1. That usually means modeling first, guiding them next, working with them until you can release the controls over to them.
2. The "I do it; WE do it, WE do it, WE do it, WE do it; YOU do it!" model!
4. COLLABORATION ~ Do you allow students to collaborate ...
1. ... in groups of 2, 3, or 4?
2. ... through flexible grouping?
5. CONSTRUCTING MEANING ~ Do you give students the tools they need to construct meaning from text?
1. Comprehension strategies
2. Metacognitive strategies
3. Writing to learn strategies
6. CONSEQUENCES of the TASK ~ Do you include consequences to build "responsibility, ownership, and self regulation?"
1. If you do ... "rockets' red glare will burst through the air!!!"
2. If you don't ... "the world will end as we know it."

As I read about motivating students, I see most if not all of these components, or a variation of them, listed over and over. There are more - environment, relevance of material, understandable examples, etc - but these 6 consistently make a difference.

Take care!
Renae

BEST Instruction INCLUDES the HEART of the Core Curriculum: ILOs

Good Day, Friends,

One of the most rewarding experiences a teacher enjoys is hearing from former students who take a minute to say thanks. It is THE BIGGEST PAY DAY when it happens - at least for me. And I'm guessing many of you would agree. Over the years, I've experienced a few of those pay days, but never have I received a thank you note for helping a student achieve a dynamite score on a standardized test.

I'm not saying that hasn't happened to someone; it just hasn't been MY experience. I have received email messages, however, thanking me for other applications of knowledge gleaned in my language arts classes. For example, a few years ago I found an email in my in-box from a former student who told me she learned to love writing in my classroom, and that writing literally saved her life as she worked through several psychological issues.  Housed in a rehabilitation center, she filled journal after journal with her thoughts, her reflections, her fears, and her hopes. Writing was therapeutic! And now writing is her career.

That is just one example of "goal accomplished," as outlined by the "over-reaching intent of language arts instruction, grades 7-12: ... to understand and investigate the self ... ."

Today we're going to look closer at the first detailed description of what students should take away from a language arts class, as found in the USOE Secondary Language Arts Core Curriculum.

1. Demonstrate a Positive Attitude towards Language Arts and Processes.
1. Develop confidence in the ability to access text.
2. Enjoy the processes and outcomes of reading and writing.
3. Develop confidence in the ability to express ideas, emotions, and experiences.

As I read over this elaboration, these questions come to mind:

• How many students have positive attitudes about Language Arts and processes? If they don't, why not?
• What can I do to help promote a more positive attitude about this subject I love and the processes I value?
• How many students enjoy the processes and results that come from reading and writing? Why do some students find them enjoyable and some do not?
• What can I do to help students better enjoy and appreciate processes and results?
• What does it take to support students in developing confidence in their ability to express ideas, emotions, and experiences? Why is that important? How can I help them value the ability to do so? 

While I won't answer each question separately, I do believe there are some basic answers that apply to many of these questions, starting with LIKING KIDS and possessing a PASSION for teaching. I know there are 101 buckets of problems that are dowsing the fire we try to keep kindled. I read the JEA survey results that 57% responded that morale is lower this year than last year, but losing our passion while working with students will only make the situation worse. Instead, let the interaction with students be the refuge from the bickering over budgets and the policies of politicians.

This post took a turn I didn't plan on, but I don't feel that we can get at the heart of ANYTHING if we LOSE heart.

Best wishes,
Renae

BEST Instruction: REMEMBER Intended Learning Outcomes!

WoW! That title is a grabber, isn't it? Uh, no! UNLESS the reader remembers what Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) are! Now most educators depend upon a definition that reads something like this:

ILOs: Statements that describe what students should KNOW, UNDERSTAND, and be able to DO with their knowledge as well as what they FEEL and BELIEVE as a result of their LEARNING EXPERIENCES.

While most teachers focus upon the knowing, understanding, and doing, many forget the feeling and believing. Why? Because the latter part of this definition - that "touchy-feely" part is NOT tested. Understandably so. How can test-makers create a standardized, summative assessment that measures how students feel and what they believe?

After all, in this test-taking day and age, why should we worry about what WON'T be on the CRTs, the UBSCT, the ACT or SAT? As long as we teach the core and prepare the students for the season of testing, are we not doing enough?

The answer is "no." ILOs are a part of the core curriculum, and are expected to be an important part of instruction. With added capitalization, I created my own Wordle  "word cloud" to quote this excerpt from the USOE Langugae Arts Core Curriculum Introduction:

The OVERARCHING INTENT of language arts instruction in grades 7-12 is for students to VALUE, APPRECIATE, and DEMONSTRATE LITERACY through EXPRESSIVE and RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE skills, and to UNDERSTAND and INVESTIGATE the SELF, OTHERS, the CULTURE, and the ENVIRONMENT. The INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILOs) describe the GOALS for language arts SKILLS and ATTITUDES. They are an INTEGRAL part of the CORE, and SHOULD BE INCLUDED as part of INSTRUCTION. PROCESS SKILLS in LANGUAGE ARTS domains are CRITICAL to the development of HIGH LEVELS of LITERACY and LEAD to UNDERSTANDING and INTERNALIZING ILOs.

ILOs are sometimes described as the HEART of the Core. While the voice of the above elaboration may be rather formal, some words and phrases create the heart. For example, the verbs value, appreciate, and understand, along with the adjectives expressive and critical, as well as the adverb integral denote passion and importance. The objects of the verbs - self, others, culture, and environment - specify subjects worthy of rigorous study and deep reflection. Skills and attitudes imply physical and emotional characteristics needed to develop high levels of literacy. 

As this is the time of year when goal-setting becomes a priority, it is also a good time to emphasize that ILOs describe the goals for Language Arts and that they should be included in teachers' instruction. But how long has it been since you reviewed the particulars of the core's Intended Learning Outcomes?

Over the next couple of days, let's look at a few of the ILO's descriptors. As we do, note the verbs used and the broad ramifications of those we examine.

Until tomorrow,
Renae

BEST Practices: LAST Call for Round-Robin Reading!

Dear Readers,

Part 3 of this series asked the question "who killed round-robin reading?". The question rises from a similar query posed hundreds of years ago. "Who killed Cock Robin?" refers to Sir Robert Walpole, the first prime minister in Great Britain to occupy 10 Downing Street. The rhyme referred to Sir Robin's downfall, not his death, and has since been parodied to denote the demise of a plethora of programs, agendas, ambitions, etc. 

In that spirit, this series has attempted to build a case AGAINST round-robin reading and BUILD a case for other options: Teacher read-alouds, think alouds/alongs, and paired partner reading. Today, we'll examine guided reading as it might look in a secondary classroom.

In the elementary classroom, balanced literacy includes guided reading. While students rotate among centers created to emphasize comprehension strategies, writing to learn, word work, etc., teachers work with groups of children as they rotate. During this time, students will read aloud from their leveled books while the teacher assesses their progress in fluency, decoding, phonics, etc.

Observers can find a similar model in secondary settings, but I'll wager that most of those circumstances center on expensive programs like Scholastic's Read 180. Some teachers, however, have tried to create their own centers so students have the opportunity to participate in small-group instruction.  Such an undertaking is labor and time-intensive.

As I've contemplated this situation, I decided that incorporating a guided reading experience into a literature circle format might work without investing as much time and energy into the project.

There are so many resources to support teachers in bringing lit circles to their classrooms, but I haven't found one that incorporates guided reading. I don't think it would be all that hard. Again, lit circles require intense training in the associated protocol if we want the groups to function effectively. Once that's established, teachers should be able to move from group to group to work on the needed areas of development.

On occasion, groups could be organized according to reading level as determined by Lexile measurements. Teachers could differentiate instruction by moving among the groups to work with one group that might struggle with fluency issues and another with comprehension concerns. By the end of the hour or block, the teacher may have interacted with 3 to 6 groups.

Books could be either the same or diverse titles, and instruction would be adapted accordingly. Currently, 3 teachers in our district are helping me create lesson plans for advanced readers. While all students benefit from this model, teachers can support students' needs by varying novels or assignments.

I don't think I've ever blogged about literature circles, so perhaps I will do that during this month of 31 posts. If not, the guru of lit circles, Harvey Daniels is scheduled to present at Literacy Promise 2010 (Feb. 17-19), along with a dozen other OUTSTANDING literacy experts.

Before signing off, can you answer who killed round-robin reading? Not the sparrow or the owl; not the fly or the kite. Hopefully, the strong practices shared here will bring RRR to its end!

Best wishes,
Renae