Category Archives: Uncategorized

Write Here! Write Now!

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IMG_3193This year I invited the teachers in my district to join me in a writing group.  I have always encouraged new teachers to keep a journal or jot down vignettes from those hectic first days, months and years in the classroom.  I have worked with teachers who share their joys and struggles with parenting and urged them to pen some of those memories to keep them preserved.  I have colleagues whose aging parents’ memories and health are growing frailer each year, and hope that they will write the stories of their lives before they fade away.  But our constant struggle with limited time seems to be our biggest enemy.  It can be hard to justify carving out some to write about life when we are so busy trying to live it and deal with it.  I hoped that the peer support or pressure, would be our ally in this endeavor.

Our first ever group met this week at a local bookstore. It’s a rainy December afternoon. The five of us are all at different points in our careers and family lives.  We each grab a seasonal coffee or cocoa, find a table in the cafe and look at one another.  “Now what?” one giggles. We each pull out our writing books; there are beautiful new journals, spiral notebooks, and even scrap paper.

“What should we write about?” one asks.

“Whatever it is you want to capture, remember or create.” I respond.  “I really want teachers to collect those stories in their classrooms that they think they’ll never forget but they do. You could write a book for your students. You know what they love.” I add. “Write what you enjoy reading.  You don’t have to worry about it being good, just write whatever comes to you. Write about your life.  Capture a little slice of your life.”

One plucky teacher starts us off, “Were we supposed to bring something to share?  I’ve got something I could read.” She shares with us a poignant fictional Thanksgiving tale that left several of us with watery eyes. Here in our midst was writing with the power to move us.  I could hug her; I wasn’t expecting such a beautiful launch to our group.

There was a unanimous, “Wow.” We ask her how she came up with her idea and why she wrote that story.  She talks about wondering what Thanksgiving would be like without her mom and how sad she would feel.  It opens up a conversation about family. We all share ideas about relationships or events that would be topics for writing.  With that we pick up our pens, look at each other with a shrug and dive right in. Occasionally one of us thinks aloud or draws another into conversation about an idea, and then retreats back into the writing.  I look around at these four with their heads down and their pens flying.  I am so inspired.  I have goosebumps. Here is a moment I my writing can capture that I willIMG_3195 always treasure.

I know they will see their young writers a little differently tomorrow.  I am already seeing them a little differently.  I have always respected these teachers so deeply, but now I also admire their courage and willingness to take a risk like this.  I know as we continue this journey we will grow with admiration for the writers in our rooms.  We will empathize with their struggles and celebrate their successes more fervently.

We are writing teachers who write.  We are what we teach.

What’s On My Book Radar?

The-Witchs-Boy-Kelly-BarnhillThis book is magical, both in content and composition.  Author Kelly Barnhill can spin an enchanting tale that you won’t want to put down-at least I didn’t.  We follow the journey of Ned, who the villagers are convinced was the wrong boy to survive a tragic accident with his twin brother.  His mother (The Witch) uses magic in a desperate attempt to hold onto her surviving son, but there is always a price to pay.

We meet Aine, the daughter of the Bandit King and a mother whose last words were “The wrong boy will save your life and you will save his life.”  The two are destined to meet up and we follow their journey as they try to discover who or what is an enemy or an ally.  It’s not always as easy as you might think.  An entire kingdom is relying on them to make the right choices.

Clear your schedule for a few days…you’ll want to check this one out!

Tis The Season

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book-christmas-tree-step-6Christmas is one of my very favorite times of year, but it is also one of the very busiest.  I’m not complaining.  There are so many festive and fun activities that can fill my free time and I feel very blessed to have these opportunities.  This year I have even less free time as I am engaged in writing a book and I’m ever aware of my self-imposed deadlines.

I find I can no longer carry on a conversation about the tv shows or series my friends look forward to.  My family, my kids’ activities, and my writing are my  priorities outside of work.  But after that I carve out time for my books.  Reading is something that is just for ME.  I can slip into a book and immediately be somewhere else, experiencing a range of emotions, and making new friends.  I can return any time I wish.  I can be gone for as long or short a period of time as I desire.  I can’t imagine my life without books.  It is why I have dedicated my career to creating literate lives for so many children.  I want everyone to have these experiences.

Christmas is a wonderful time to give books as gifts.  As my children were growing up, our collection of Christmas books grew each year and our traditions of reading them together are some of my most cherished memories.  I would wrap 25 books and place them under the tree. Each day Bailey or Casey would choose one to unwrap and we would read it together.  Some were old favorites, some were new gifts.  I still can’t read Patricia Polacco’s Welcome Comfort without remembering my kids snuggled up beside me near our twinkling tree.

I love seeing posts from friends showing pictures of their families creating their own reading traditions around the holidays.  Books have been such an important part of my family’s life, I wish it were so for every boy and girl.  If you have friends with children I encourage you to share your traditions and ideas for making books integral to their lives and memories.  Give books as gifts.  Read to a child.  Read to yourself.

If you are looking for book gift ideas, I would recommend some titles that I think are contenders for the American Library Associations Newberry or Caldecott Awards.  I’ve created a padlet for each to share these great books.

According to the ALA, the  Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Here are my “picks” for contenders of the 2015 award.

The Newbery Medal was the first children’s book award in the world. It is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year.  The books are usually middle grade level.

So if you are looking for gift ideas, I would recommend starting with some books from these lists.  You won’t be disappointed.  Tis (always)the season (for reading)!

What’s On My Book Radar?

After meeting several of my favorite authors at NCTE, I wanted to go back and read some of their work. Gae Polisner’s The Summer of Letting Go was one of my favorite books of this year and so I sought out The Pull of Gravity, her first novel.  I LOVED it. She has a way of taking the ordinary and weaving in the quirky to give her characters depth and to tug at your heartstrings.  This coming of age road trip is less about the adventure and more about the discovery that everything is not always as it seems.

8891408So while I try to get my hands on all the newest books being talked about, its always kind of cool to discover a book  I missed my first go around that satisfies so nicely!

#NCTE14

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IMG_2430I just got back from the National Council of Teachers of English 2014 national conference in Washington D.C. (technically National Harbor, MD).  If you can overlook the fact that technology/internet was an issue with the facility, it was a beautiful venue near the heart of our nation’s capitol.

It is an experience I wish each teacher I work with could have.  I have already contacted my administration to begin brainstorming ways to make it happen.  We all need those opportunities to connect in a more global way with teachers and educators that can influence practice and enhance our lives.

You meet the people who are your “heroes” when you are immersed in books and texts and writing.  You hear froIMG_2388m those who can speak what is in your heart better than you can begin to do.  You finally connect with the tweeps who have fed your professional soul for the past year (if you can recognize them from their teeny profile picture).

Rather than go on and on with how enriching the entire experience was, I put together a short video to share some images from my days at NCTE14.  I want to thank everyone who came up to say “hi”, signed my books, listened to my ideas or recommended some new titles.  Our interactions are what made the event profoundly meaningful and a powerful professional development opportunity.

When I sit down this Thanksgiving, here is something that I am incredibly thankful for…

https://animoto.com/play/Ufo0AVpBmtWJtS1N2pH7qQ

 What’s On My Book Radar?

image-289ojfl-198x300I finally got my hands on an Advanced Uncorrected Galley of this gem at a book signing this week!  If you thought One For The Murphys was a great book, you are in for a real treat!  We get to meet substitute teacher, Mr. Daniels as he shows his students that great minds don’t think alike.  He celebrates the achievements of all his students, no matter how small and helps them to appreciate the uniqueness that makes them special.  Lynda has become one of my biggest heroes and I can’t recommend her latest offering enough.

Safeguarding Democracy

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IMG_2363 Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education. –Franklin D. Roosevelt

Sometimes as teachers, I think it is important to step back and think more existentially about what we are doing in schools.  Why do we do what we do?  Why does it matter? On a personal level, we are improving lives one child at a time.  On a global level, we are safeguarding our democracy.

IMG_2470That thinking really hit home with me today as I began my NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Annual Conference here in Washington D.C.  My colleague and I took a tour of the nation’s capital; a three hour excursion to visit our treasured monuments and memorials.  Some were inspiring, some were sobering, all were deeply meaningful.  Each represented the lives and accomplishments of Americans that were not born great, but rose to greatness.  Their acts created, defended or extended democracy to the citizens of America.  My job as a teacher, is to honor their acts and to ensure the way of life they worked so hard to define as American.

“An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.”-Thomas Jefferson

I felt an enormous sense of responsibility as a teacher today, wandering around these monuments.  This country is depending upon us to educate our children who will grow to create, interpret and defend our laws.  They are depending on us to perpetuate the ideals of a free and democratic society, to question authority and solve problems with tenacity and ingenuity.

IMG_2424As I attend the conference sessions this week, and then go back into my schools, I want to carry that sense of responsibility with me.  I want to keep the big picture in mind as I am knee-deep in the muck and mire of tedious ‘non-education’ aspects to working in schools. I want to reflect on it as I prioritize where my energy and attention will go when teaching.  I want to remember WHY it is important to teach critical thinking skills, and WHY I want our students to question what wIMG_2454e say and teach.

So I will endeavor to look beyond picking up some tips for classroom instruction.  I will celebrate the task and responsibility for educating our young citizens with some of the best and brightest in the country.  I will rededicate my efforts to creating an informed citizenry that will grow to take the reins of our democracy for generations to come. As I look around at this conference,   I am surrounded by those who take this responsibility as seriously as I do and strive to create engaged, active and educated young citizens, ready to take the reins one day.   I am confident we are in good hands!

 

What’s On My Book Radar?

One of the best sessions I attended at NCTE 14 was how authors themselves use mentor texts when they write.  Featured here:

Varian Johnson: The Great Greene Heist, Linda Urban: The Center of Everything,  Laurel Snyder: Seven Stories Up, Kate Messner: Manhunt, Sarah Albee: Bugged: How Insects Changed History, Erin Dionne: Ollie and the Science of Treasure Hunting

IMG_2634When you hear an author talk about their process and the thinking behind the words, you can’t help but become intrigued and anxious to get your hands on the books! I can’t wait to get these books on my bed stand for some night time reading!! These are definitely on my radar now!

Comic Matters

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“Comics are a gateway drug to literacy.”

-Art Spiegleman

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by Mark Pett. Cottonwood Press. 2000

“Get a real book.”  “That’s not real reading.”  What are the chances that some student in your classroom has heard that remark from some well-intentioned adult in their life?  There is a common perception that comics are the equivalent of our trashy novels or beach reads, something to be read for fun or escape but not to be taken seriously.  I think it is easy to understand that analysis if your evidence is a limited to noticing a small amount of text in relation to pictures and an audience that includes a large amount of reluctant readers.

But for anyone who has looked closely or studied some of the creative process that goes into creating a comic, a different perception emerges.  Recently I have developed a deep appreciation for the intentionality and design of comics and think we can use these elements to help our readers and writers build stronger literacy skills.  Entire books have been written to help with this, but I’ll just mention a bit of my latest thinking.

Comic authors get to the heart of the story.

Because space is limited in a comic, authors need to make purposeful decisions about what to include and exclude in their comic.  Their word choice is often quite precise and concise.  Their dialogue is relevant and moves the story along effectively-there is little room for superfluous chit chat.  What images and text they choose to include in each panel is meaningful to telling the story, rarely are they unrelated to the ‘main idea’.

How could this help your students?  Imagine giving them the opportunity to write summaries of their reading in a comic format.  Could they retell the heart of the story with a few panels?  Imagine them planning their stories as a comic first-this story board format could help them organize a logical event sequence, focusing in on important plot points.

Comic authors force their readers to infer…a lot.

Comics are a perfect example of the concept of closure.  Author Scott McCloud defines this as “a phenomenon of observing the parts but perceiving the whole”.  The readers sees two panels that may seem unrelated and they piece together the story that connects them.  The “gutter” is the term that refers to the gap or line between panels.  Readers must infer what happens in the gutter in order to make sense of the sequence.  This “filling in the gaps” is the essence of inferring.  Those transitions are important parts of the story that are actually excluded from the story, forcing the reader to interact with the text more closely and collaborate  with the author in telling the  story.

How could this help your students?  Engage students in conversations about those gutters?  What do they think is going on?  What makes them think that?  Why do they think the author excluded that from the panels?  Invite them to write those transitions for the gutters.  When discussing other types of texts that have transitions in time or setting, relate these to the concrete notion of “gutters” to encourage readers to think about what happens between those transitions.

Comic authors show, don’t tell.

The concept of “Show, don’t tell” in writing is a hard one for many of our students to comprehend.  We encourage our writers to share experiences in their pieces with actions, thoughts, senses and feelings rather than description.  We share examples such as His hand trembled as he reached for the bloodstained doorknob, and yet students still write He was scared.  He opened the door.  The illustrations and icons in comics show the reader the important elements going on in the story and allow the reader to interpret them through their own lens of experience and knowledge.

How could this help your students?  Being able to show, don’t tell in writing requires the author to first visualize what it is they want to say.  They have to ask , “How do I convey that the character is scared?  How do I show that?”  They have to visualize it first and then share that image with the reader.  Inviting these writers to visualize the scene in their head the way a comic author does,  before they write it down could be tremendously helpful.  Sometimes it is okay to tell, if writers showed everything the story would be bogged down in the minutiae of details.  Discussion about what comic authors choose to show and what they choose to tell, could help clarify this concept for our writers in other formats or genres of writing.

Comic authors are artists.

For anyone who has taken an art appreciation course, the elements of design that we studied are exemplified in every panel of a comic. The level of realism or abstraction that the author chooses to use cause the readers to engage in very different ways.  When realistic images are stripped down the author/illustrator is focusing our attention on what they think is important.  They can amplify aspects in a way that realistic art can’t. We can often see ourselves in a more abstract, cartoonish image than we can in a realistic image of another person.  We respond and connect to the image more easily if we can see ourselves reflected back at us. These choices are conscious decisions by the author.

The way authors convey movement, action, time through a series of still drawings is purposeful and effective.  Their use of design elements “tricks” our brains in to seeing movement that isn’t there, hearing sounds that aren’t audible, and passing time that isn’t real.  The shape and layout of the panels helps to tell the story sequence and duration.  Are these design elements obvious to our students? Could raising their awareness deepen their comprehension?

For many of our students, this is as close to art appreciation as they will ever come.  Taking time to discuss design elements and principles, variety of media, and style would enrich our students’ respect for art and help them see the role it plays in our lives.

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by Mark Pett. Cottonwood Press. 2000

Comics are fun.

I think the number one reason for encouraging comic reading is that it is enjoyable.  Sure, we can learn a lot about art and literacy from comics, but not if students don’t enjoy them.  Tapping into their natural love for the format is a great way to sneak in a little education for those who seem resistant!  Don’t teach the books to death, enjoy them while you learn.  When our students can appreciate them more deeply they will begin to respect the literary and artistic aspects of the work and perhaps transfer that understanding to other works.  We want our kids to read.  We want our kids to write.  For some, comics might be that gateway drug that gets them hooked!

 

What’s On My Book Radar?

The two books that have most informed my thinking this year around comics and graphic novels are Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud and Draw Out the Story: Ten Secrets to Creating Your Own Comics by Brian McLachlan.

81VZc-YIAiL Scott McCloud has written a fascinating book that reveals the incredible amount of design and detail that goes into creating comics.  Told in comic format, he gives explicit examples of the concepts he discusses and shares the history and psychology that has shaped this popular media.  Intellectually stimulating for adults and very accessible for advanced elementary, middle school and high school students.  Though written in 1993, it is timeless and priceless.  I would have this as a “must read” for so many teachers!

 

91dWiidU8CLBrian McLachlan has written a fantastic “How To” book for designing and creating your own comics.  He breaks down the text features and design elements he calls “Comics Grammar” to help students appreciate what decisions go into making a comic.  This one is a current MSBA nominee that I think a lot of students will love.  I would definitely have a copy of this in any elementary or middle school classroom library.

51ee81F+HhLI would LOVE to purchase a copy of Mark Pett’s 2000 book Mr. Lowe: Cartoons from the Classroom but a new copy costs $6005.13 and a used paperback version starts at $53.76 so I might need to ask Santa for this one!  For now I visit his webpage to read some of his sample comics and thoroughly enjoy his energetic and fresh  perspective from new teacher, Mr. Lowe!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

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As I write this, the polls have been closed for an hour and election results are trickling in.   Though I spent my day engaged with teachers and students, I am spending my evening waiting and worrying.  Education is such a politicized endeavor.  I suppose other professions can declare as myour_vote_counts_button_3uch, but I find it very difficult.  Schools are the pawns in political chess matches far too often.  We are vilified when it supports someone’s agenda.  We are heroic when it serves another.  Changes in administrations at national, state and local levels cause the political winds to shift directions and inevitably new initiatives are thrust upon us.  We roll up our sleeves to plan and implement only to be stopped short by the next ‘great reform’ from the victors.

We wait to see whose teacher evaluation proposal will judge our expertise and skill.  We wait to see if the winner wants to inflict even deeper cuts into our anemic budgets.  We wait to see if we will be stripped of collective bargaining rights.  We wait to see if our retirement system will be there when we need it. We wait to see if our students’ struggling families will lose access to services they rely on.

This time tomorrow, the waiting will be over.  The political ads will stop running.  The phone calls will stop.  We’ll sift through the results and try to figure out ‘now what’?   Elections have consequences.  We will begin to deal with those consequences in the morning.  Tonight we wait.  I hope that will be the hardest part.

What’s On My Book Radar?

9d89645347d193e411816e9fa379ba25Tomorrow author Suzanne Selfors will be Skyping with a 5th grade class in our district.  I wanted to read her Maine Student Book Award offering beforehand.  Luckily for me, The Sasquatch Escape was a fun and quick read.  I think our students will love this book.  The characters are quite likable, the combination of illustrations and text are entertaining and the plot is engaging.  Looks like a great new series for middle grade readers.  I recommend you check one out-I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!  Can’t wait to “meet” the author and hear our students’ questions and conversation with her.

The View From Here

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This week I read a fascinating post on Grant Wiggin’s blog entitled A Veteran Teacher Turned Coach Shadows 2 students for 2 Days – a Sobering Lesson Learned.  She said of the experience, “I waited fourteen years to do something that I should have done my first year of teaching: shadow a student for a day. It was so eye-opening that I wish I could go back to every class of students I ever had right now and change a minimum of ten things…”

She goes on to share her experience and her reflections on her 3 key takeaways:

  • Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting.
  • High School students are sitting passively and listening during approximately 90% of their classes.
  • You feel a little bit like a nuisance all day long.

It got me wondering what takeaways we might have if we were to shadow our elementary school students.  I suspect we might find a few similar observations, but I also think that being in a self-contained classroom would havefrustrated-with-pencil its own idiosyncrasies.  I am sure I would have a lot more empathy for the students in my classes/ lessons, and some deeper insights into how they perceive the role of the teacher and the tasks they are given.   I would love to take a day and just be a part of a class, not as the teacher or coach.  I would like to try to follow the rules. No checking email. No going to the bathroom without permission from another person.  No getting up when my back hurt or my leg falls asleep.  I would need to do what was asked, when it was asked, and probably do it more quietly than I am used to.  I would have to sit next to people who might annoy me or bother me and just ‘ignore them’.  I would have to listen to people share answers that are incorrect or ideas that are confusing and not jump in with help or clarifying questions.  I wouldn’t do it to critique other teachers, I would only want to experience the view from the other side of the desk to help inform my own teaching. (The last thing we need is more teacher bashing!)

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So I’m not suggesting this to ‘dis’ teachers or the structures we have set up in our classrooms.  I am truly curious about to walk a mile in another’s shoes.  What does our classroom look like from the viewpoint of a child sitting in front of us?  What are their concerns, questions or frustrations?  What would a student think of my interactions or my directions?  Would this experience cause me to change anything about my classroom or my discourse?

What do you think YOUR students might be experiencing that you hadn’t considered before? Would YOU want to be a student in your own classroom all day long?  Knowing how much thought and intention goes into planning and engagement in our schools, I think many of us would answer yes, but I am wondering if we might tweak a few things with a different perspective.  I’ll let you know if I get a chance to try this out.  I’d love to hear YOUR perspective.

What’s On My Book Radar?

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I’ve been trying to finish this book for a few weeks now. Attempting to balance my professional reading, my writing and my family life has left my personal reading with the ‘short stick’.  As soon as I click “post” on this blog tonight, however, I am crawling under the covers  to complete Kepler’s Dream.  In this middle grade novel,  Ella has been sent to stay with her eccentric grandmother when her own mother is ill with leukemia and undergoing a stem cell transplant.  Staying with her father “wasn’t an option”.  When her grandmother’s prized book Kepler’s Dream goes missing one evening the plot begins to read like the game CLUE.    I love what Donalyn Miller posted on Goodreads in her review…”Books have bindings made of glue and thread and they bind us to each other, too.  This quiet book about family, loss, and books touched me. It isn’t perfect, but it’s beautiful. Just like life.”

As I was searching the web for an image of the book I came across an article in Albuquerque News announcing that principal photography for the feature film “Kepler’s Dream” began in August.  So if you want to be in-the-know with your students who love books that become films, you can encourage them to check out Kepler’s Dream by Juliet Bell.

Happy Reading!

What About Volume Writing?

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MLC Fall Book Bonanza

After last week’s Maine Literacy Council Fall Book Bonanza I had a longer list of TBR (to be read) books and an eagerness to dive into some of those new titles as soon as possible.  I love being a part of reading celebrations and sharing that sense of community with other readers.

One of the activities we did, was to create a grafitti wall where teachers could share new or favorite titles and a wall where they shared ideas for building a community of readers in their classrooms.  Some teachers shared ideas for encouraging reading with their students.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit these last few years about increasing the volume of reading in our students’ lives.  At our schools we have hosted 25 Book Challenge (for half a year), 40 Book Challenge (for the full year) as well as Summer Reading Challenges (Summer Kids), Maine Student Book Award Challenges, and classroom reading incentives.  The goal for all of these has been to encourage volume reading.  Much has been written on the importance of high volume reading to foster fluency, increase vocabulary, deepen comprehension and expand a students’ world view.  I don’t think I could find an educator who would dispute the importance of increasing the reading that most of our students do.

IMG_0844Lately I’ve been thinking about the importance of high volume writing.  As with any skill, the more you do it, the more opportunity you have to grow and become stronger.  Again, I don’t think any teachers would argue that more writing wouldn’t be a good thing for our students.  So where are the challenges and incentives to help us promote a greater volume of writing from our students?  Where are the studies that analyze its effects on student learning and skills?  Where are the tips for encouraging students to engage in more writing?

I’m not sure we need to wait for someone to conduct a study or promote a product to help us encourage more writing from our students.  I guess we just need to put it on our radar and look for those opportunities and create those supports.   So maybe we can share our thinking, ideas, and approaches for increasing the volume of writing in our classrooms and in our students’ lives.  Let me know what you are thinking?  Let me know what you are trying.  I’ll do the same.

How are YOU promoting volume writing in your schools?

WHAT’S ON MY BOOK RADAR?

One way to promote more writing, might be to introduce books that kids may want to try versions of their own.  This collection of biographies by  Brad Meltzer just might be a good choice.  The message in this series of books is that we can all be heroes.  He show us this by revealing the childhood lives of some very famous people.  They weren’t always heroes, they were first kids, just like our students.  They stretched their thinking, made good choices and weren’t afraid to take chances.

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For the Love of Good Books

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6K28vSfThis post will be short and sweet, as this week I am elbow deep in preparations for a wonderful book event next week.  Our Maine Literacy Council, formerly the Maine Reading Association, is hosting our 3rd annual Open House Book Bonanza!  I love this event because it is an opportunity to see what is new in children’s literature for 2014 as well as network with people who love books and reading as much as I do!

As president of the Maine Literacy Council I will be honing my emcee skills as my colleagues and I book talk some of our favorite reads of the year thus far.  We will also be showcasing Maine’s Student Book Award nominees for this school year.  I always leave events like this with by TBR (to be read) list multiplying exponentially!

We spend a lot of our days helping students find those just right books.  We believe that there are books out there waiting  for each reader to connect with.  We know how exciting it is when a kid experiences “book love”.  But what about our friends and colleagues?  How can we create a lifelong joy of reading and live what we teach?

Well, Book Bonanzas or Book Nights might be one way. It’s certainly one that I look forward to.  However, time constraints are a reality in our lives that we sometimes have difficulty overcoming.  If a night doesn’t work for you and your colleagues, what are some other ways you can share those titles and build a community of grown up readers?booktalk_logoWEB

 

  • Incorporate a 5 minute book talk at staff meetings.  Encourage staff to sign up and share a new or favorite book.  Think about the evaluating, summarizing and synthesizing skills we could practice as we prepare our talks!
  • Start a staff room book review board.  Post a copy of a book jacket on a refrigerator door or bulletin board with your review of the book. If others have read it, invite them to post their own review.  Change it up each month or keep an ongoing collection of book reviews.
  • You might like this if….create a 2 column staff favorite list.  On one side is the title of a loved book, in the other column teachers can recommend other books you might like based on the genre, author, series, etc.
  • Book Bunch Facebook group…invite staff (or friends) to join a group on Facebook devoted to talking up and recommending good books. You could discuss a book several of you are reading or simply post titles, recommendations and requests on the page that others could comment.
  • Book Groups….a classic, but a good one.  There’s nothing quite like sharing the reading experience of a good book with others and seeing what they took away from it or how they respond to it.
  • Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers to connect and recommend books. Their mission is “to help people find and share books they love”. What a fantastic way to belong to a huge community of readers.  They’ll recommend titles based upon your reviews and your likes.  You can see what your friends are reading and what is trending.

What are some other suggestions you might have for sharing the love of reading and good books with your friends and colleagues?  I would love to hear them!

In the meantime, if you are in Maine next week…consider yourself invited!

Screen Shot 2014-09-23 at 8.32.11 PMClick below for the Book Bonanza Invitation

https://www.smore.com/x1nr-maine-reading-associaton?embed=1

Seek and You Shall Find

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Trying to get back into the blogging routine at the start of the school year was a little tougher than I had anticipated.  One of my favorite tasks as a literacy coach is to support the new teachers in our district. This year we have seven at the elementary level, and  that is quite a lot by our usual standards.  I’ve spent days in classrooms and evenings messaging them on Facebook or scouring the web for resources.  It has been terrific and they have been amazing!  Their energy, enthusiasm and passion for teaching is contagious.  Even though I have been incredibly busy, I am energized.

Watching them prepare their classes and then step out of the role of student and into the role of teacher has been humbling.  They are tired, but they push through.  They get frustrated, but they persist.  They find success and they are eager to share it.  It reminds me just how hard and yet rewarding teaching is for all of us.

Some people think of new teachers as naive.  I choose to think of them as ‘fresh’!  They don’t have the baggage of preconceived notions about certain kids, their families or other staff members.  They are looking for the best in all of us, and they continually see it.  It doesn’t mean they are blind to student behaviors or deaf to parent comments.  It means they perceive them through a lens that is not jaded or biased.  They seek to understand, not to judge.  Experience will eventually shape many of these perceptions, but I think this group of new teachers are providing us with some great experience as well.

SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND

I have always believed that you will see whatever it is that you are looking for.  Our beliefs shape our perception.  Think about experiences you have had with some negative people (if you have been lucky enough to never meet any-use your imagination).  Comments like, “This class is so lazy.” or “These kids just don’t get it.” are supported by examples of students who don’t try, who refuse to make attempts or who submit sloppy work.  You would think that is all that exists in that classroom.  What are the odds of that?

Think about experiences you have had with positive people.  Comments like, “These kids really care about each other.”  or  “This is such a great group of kids.” are supported by examples of students who are kind to one another, polite, encouraging or well behaved.  What are the odds that every moment in that classroom is blissful behavior?

Our reality is shaped by our perception.

That isn’t to say that all you have to do is chant, “This class is the best in the school!” and the students will miraculously transform into brilliant scholars and benevolent classmates. But if you look for opportunities to ‘catch them’ being kind or trying hard-you will see it.  When you notice it, they will repeat it!  Some days and with some classes, we need to look really hard.  But I promise you-if you look, really look with an open mind and an open heart, you will see what you are looking for.  Being around these new teachers lately has reminded me of that.  I want to carry that with me as the energy and engagement ebbs and flows during the course of our school year.   I wish that for every teacher I work with.

What will you look for tomorrow?

 

What’s On My Book Radar?

I can happily report that I met my Book a Day Challenge for the summer.  It wasn’t as hard as I thought when I could read a few picture books a day to catch up!  I read some amazing books this summer.  Here are a few:

20660824I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when this book arrived in the mail.  I headed for the beach and soaked up the sun as I swam through the chapters.  Jackie Woodson’s words were like candy to me, and I just couldn’t stop.  The memoir of her childhood, told in verse is poignant and profound and perfect!

16143347Another “beach read” was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.  At first I thought it would be a trifling tale of privileged “summer people” who feel sorry for themselves with their first world problems.  Boy was I surprised!  Sure it was a story about privilege and power, but just below that superficial surface is a story of human tragedy and forgiveness that will leave you thinking about this family long after you close up the book and leave the beach!

19085562Time to lighten the mood with this fun story from Jenni Holm (Baby Mouse, Squish and Amelia May author).  When a bossy boy shows up at her school, who looks a lot like her grandfather, Ellie gets some science and life lessons she never could have imagined.  A well written, thoughtful and thought provoking story that makes me appreciate this author even more than I have for years.  A quick read-you’ll love it!