atychiphobia

Stories From Room 226: Caldecott Love

When we returned from our Christmas break on January 3, we started reading and thinking about potential Caldecott Medal winners.  To prep before break, I used resources like the Fuse #8 blog, 100 Scope Notes blog, Nerdy Book Club Nerdies Picture Book Winners, #titletalk archives and our school's crazy knowledgable librarian to make a short list of about 15-20 books I wanted to share.  Below is a pic of the books my class has "analyzed" so far.

Note: I only read excerpts from Heart and Soul due to the fact it would take a few weeks to read it completely aloud.  The class did see nearly every stunning illustration Kadir Nelson created though.

We still have plenty of heavy hitters to get to before the announcement of the award on January 23, but something intersting has started to emerge from the classroom discussions we have had so far.  What I find fascinating is that my 4th grade students are really being thoughtful about the their decision making.  As each day has passed they have become stronger in explaining why a book should be considered "Caldecott Worthy."   They also are getting how hard it would be to choose one book out of the thousands of picture books published in any given year.

As of the end of this week our class would most likely award Balloons Over Broadway the Caldecott Medal.  Blue Chicken and Grandpa Green would earn Caldecott Honors.  Some of the "defense" of their choices include:

• Melissa Sweet showed so many different stlyes of art, but they all worked together well

• Balloons Over Broadway can be fun for all ages of readers, because you learn so much about Tony Sarg.

• I love how Melissa Sweet made some of the toys that she used in the illustrations.

• That one page in Blue Chicken has about a thousand shades of blue, how does an artist do that?

• The twist ending in Blue Chicken makes you want to go back and reread it.

• The picutures in Grandpa Green look so different than other Lane Smith books, he must have worked hard to change his style.

• I think the story in Grandpa Green is soooooo good.  Everyone should read this book and appreciate their grandparents.

In about two weeks, I will share the outcome of our class vote and the reaction my kids have to who actually wins the Caldecott.  It will be fun to see how close their decision making is to the actual results.  Who knows, maybe 27 fourth graders in Ohio will pick the winner.  If we don't pick the winner, I will be curious to see if we can respect the decision of the Caldecott panel or if we will think, as one of my students said, "Why do a bunch of adults get to pick the best picture book of the year, shouldn't kids be allowed to vote?"

Later,

Tony

It's Monday What are You Reading?

I decided to join Jen and Kellee from http://www.teachmentortexts.com/ on this Monday recap/review of what has been read in the week before.

This past week was busy for all of us I imagine.  I didn't read as much as I had planned, but I did manage to finish three novels for middle grade students. All three were gift books from students in my class.

I started the week with TroubleTwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams.  I was a little disappointed by this book.  Nix and Williams have created a fast paced fantansy that will appeal to many middle grade readers.  But the dialogue was too predictable and choppy in many places.  

My next read was Vaniushing Acts by Philip Margoilin and Ami Margolin Rome.  This is the first book in what I expect to be a series of middle grade mysteries starring Madison Kincaid.  I thought the book was a fun read.  I think most middle grade students would be able to connect with Madison.  I also like the fact that the mystery(ies) Madison helped to solve were a little more serious than a missing backpack or ipod, but not too intense for 10-12 year olds.

My last read of the week was Framed by Gordon Korman.  I loved this book, just like I loved the other books from this series.  Griffin and the gang are trying to solve another problem, but this time the problem is Griffin has been framed for a crime.  There were several times I laughed out loud.  I just can't believe it took me so long to read this book.  I guess that is what happens when the glass gets hooked on an author.  I think Framed was "checked out" since I put it into the classroom library back in September.  Which is why I am glad I got another copy as a gift last week.

This coming week my family and I are heading out of Central Ohio for a quick vacation, so I will be able to squeeze more reading time in than I usually get.  My backpack and Kindle are loaded up with some children's and adult books.  I hope to be able to read them all.

Later,

Tony

Coming Soon

In an effort to become a little more routine about my writing in this space I am committing to a few new regular events as well as joining a group of friends for a weeklong event in January.

1) Inspired by Jen Vincent and Kellee Moye over at Teach Mentor Texts (who seem to have been inspired by Sheila at Book Journey) I will be posting a quick blurb about what I have been reading.  The goal here is not necessarily to review the books and articles, but it will help me track my own reading.  Hopefully it will also help me keep better track of what I am logging on my goodreads account.  I have found that when I finish a book and I am not near a computer, I forget to update my goodreads accout.  Who knows, maybe you might even choose to read something I listed.

2) Colby Sharp wrote a thoughtful piece on his blog about a month ago that caused me to reflect on my role as being "just a teacher."  The tickles in the back of my brain from his post along with some interesting conversations with my principal, a very smart colleague from my school and a mentor on mine have made me wonder why I have tried so hard to be "under the radar" and not regularly share what is going on in my class room.  The students who I work with are awesome, so starting tomorrow I will do a regular Friday post that highlights something one of my students accomplished that amazes me.  Not sure how this will work, but "Stories from Room 226" is not meant to be selfish or showboating, I want these stories to honor students who have shown their love of learning.

3) In January I will be writing alongside some people who I admire greatly.  Frank Sibberson got the ball rolling on making me think about the use of mentor text with students who are composing digital works.  I think she is onto to something really big.  If we are wanting our students to produce authentic work that can be shared on the web, then we probably be thinking deeply about models that will inspire quality work.  It will be exciting to learn from Bill Bass, Katie DiCesare, Troy Hicks, Kevin Hodgson and Franki.  It will also be a little nerve-wrecking to read their "stuff", then go back and read my "stuff" and think "Man, I should have said that!"

Hopefully, openly broadcasting that I will be writing more regularly will hold me accountable to develop a more consistent habit of actually ... writing.

Later,

Tony

Conversing about Conferring: #cyberPD

The Nudge

My good friend Cathy over at Reflect and Refine graciously bullied me into joining her #cyberPD blog conversation about Patrick Allen's book Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop.  Maybe bullying isn't the right way to describe how I got the itch to join her group, but here is how I now imagine the sequence.

... late one night trolling through my Twitter feed I spot a tweet that leads me to Cathy's blog.  I read through the post and think "nice idea, but I am a little busy right now.   Then for the next three to four days I hear Cathy's voice in the back of my mind, "C'mon Tony, you should do this with us ... All the cool kids are doing it ...  just read a little, post a comment, ...  AND SUDDENLY I AM 35 PAGES INTO THE BOOK AND TWEETING "CATHY, I'M IN!"

The Thinking While Reading

As I read the first section of Patrick's book, there wasn't much that particularly challenged me, but there were many moments that made me think, "why haven't I considered this yet?" or "thank you very much for reminding me of things I have forgotten."  Some of these moments included:

1) Patrick's question near the beginning of, "What emerges from a conference?"

2) Patrick's repetitive usage of the idea of wisdom.  "What does it take to be a wise reader?"

3) The idea of looking into a classroom and asking, "Would I want my child to be in this room?"

4) The expliciness Patrick uses with his students when he shares why he, as the teacher does something.

5) The idea of being more open to a colleague coming into observe your teaching, or trying to observe a colleague teaching.

I think the main reason the first part of Conferring was more affirmation than anything else was that for quite some time, reader's workshop (specifically the part of the workshop that Patrick would describe as composing time) has been one of the few nonnegotiables in my room.  We read and confer everyday.  Even on the crazy days with assemblies, fire drills or standardized testing.  Thirty to forty minutes of every day in our room is spent on students reading while I am conferring with them.  I honestly wouldn't know what to do if conferring were not present in my reader's workshop.

The Reflecting

I loved Patrick's writing style and since I have met him, I kept hearing his voice as I read.  I loved that Patrick posed "ponderings" all through the book.  It was like Patrick was right there launching a thought grenade into my brain.  Most of these, like Cathy's bullying, made me slow down to consider more deeply the things I need to become stronger at doing.  So after some reflection and some connecting I have decided to dig deep and ...

1) Slow down.  An underlying current in the first three chapters was the idea of taking the time to purposefully build something that will last.  On page 92, Patrick wraps up his ashlar metaphor with the idea of looking at buildings that have stood the test of time compared to building that are falling apart way to soon.  Those that endure are the ones that are built to endure.  In this current era of accountability gone wild, I have been guilty of rushing too quickly in the name of coverage.  I need to slow down.

2) Observe more intently.  Like most good storytellers, Patrick is a master at careful observation.  It was easy to tell that whether he is teaching, conversing with a colleague or listening to his students that Patrick works hard at being there in the moment and observing carefully.  Much of the time I spent reading this book, I was making connections to various other lessons I have learned recently.  And one theme seems to be emerging.  Observe with intention and purpose.

3) Trust the lessons from your mentors.  I have spent the last 3-4 years becoming more immersed in the possibilities of technology.  I love my gadgets, I love infusing tech into the classroom and I think that we, as teachers, are irresponsible if we don't try to incorporate tech into our classrooms.  I have always struggled with the purpose of using certain tools.  Are we giving children a new platform to show what they know or are we doing stupid things that look cool.  Throughout the first 90 pages, many of the people who have influenced Patrick's thinking (Debbie Miller, Katie Wood Ray, Mem Fox, Franki Sibberson, Cris Tovani) have been huge mentors for me as well.  Interestingly enough, none of the works I have read by these authors are filled with blogs, wikis or podcasts.  Their lessons are about helping students become more intentional about the craft of reading and writing.  By no means am I going to shun the use of technology, but I think Patrick's references to all these fabulous teachers subtly reminded me that it is ok to question the use of tech for just the sake of doing something shiny and new.  I need to remember and honor my roots as I push forward.

Thanks Cathy, Jill and Laura for hosting this #cyberPD event.  I look forward to reading posts by other thinkers and the discussions that will emerge from our collective reading.

 

Later, 

Tony

How Value Added Kicked Me in the Ass

In my classroom, we are currently working on narratives and the hardest part of this process for many of my students' is revision.  Oh, how I wish I could be like one of my 10-year-olds and step back from a piece of writing and say, "It's great, wouldn't change a word."  After umpteen revisions of this post, I forced myself to become more childlike and say, "It's maybe good, but I am tired of trying to revise."

So, "How did Value Added kick me in the ass?"  In a nutshell rather swiftly and decidedly.  It wasn't a 15 round classic heavyweight fight in a smoke filled arena, where I lost due to a corrupt judge's decision.  It was more like UFC fight where Value Added forced me to 'tapout' in about 15 seconds by nearly choking the life out of me. 

For possibly too long my general philosophy of reading instruction can be boiled down to, "Read for joy, read a ton and think deeply about what you read."  I have always had the goal of getting students to become self empowered and intentional readers.  I wanted them to live in that place where parents wish their children would put the book down.  I know that not every student who has walked through my door in August became voracious reader when they say goodbye in June, but I have countless letters and emails from parents who thank me for returning joy to the reading lives of their kids.  As teachers, we cherish these notes.  I have a file where I keep them.  I pull of few of these notes out when I have a particualry craptastic day.  The file has been out a lot this year.

So when Value Added (the testing measure that has the goal of ensuring students make at least a year's growth in a year's time on a standardized test) crushed me this past year, I started questioning my philosophy of reading instruction.  Over the summer, I drilled deep into the data that the State of Ohio releases to teachers (which is muddy at best by the way, we get lots of numbers, but no actual work samples).  I learned a lot.  Maybe more than what I really wanted to learn. 

I learned that in the current field of play, my grounding reading philosophy just isn't a good fit with standardized testing.  Well, to be honest, I probably already knew that, but this is the first year where test scores are a legitimate stressor.  I am all for raising the standards of what we can expect kids to do.  Who isn't? As Sir Ken Robinson once said, "I've never met someone who is in favor of lowering standards in education."  However, I am concerned that among the many State of Ohio standards that my class faltered on last year was the idea of supporting thinking with examples from the test.

Sounds like a reasonable standard.  We can't have students pulling rationales for their thinking completely out of thin air, can we?  But when I looked at the sample scoring guidelines for various released questions I saw language like this:

"NOTE:  Responses must be text-based (ex. “It takes over” is not a reason why farmers are unhappy but “It climbs over everything” is a text-based reason) and not a result of prior, outside knowledge (ex. erosion). "

This type of scoring guidelines are put into the hands of people who have to score countless tests.  I know I wouldn't want to have this job because I know it would be hard to be that sctrict with the socring a test.   It makes me wonder how many points are lost when kids who answered the prompt, "Describe two reasons why farmers in the southern United States are  unhappy with kudzu today." with, "The kudzu plant took over all the other plants." instead of "It climbs over everything."  It is hard for me to understand, in the big picture, that the former is wrong and the latter is correct.  I am sure there is some testing guru out there that can enlighten me.

When you merge the last few paragraphs with a handful of meetings I have attended where basically  my grade level teammates and I were summarily told that a drop in Value Added scores is completely unacceptable and we need to fix that immediately,  you get Tony Keefer starting to question reality.   I have begun to take the step toward empowering my kids into understanding that a reading assessment is ... wait ... wait for it ... an actual genre of writing.  Thankfully libraries and bookstores don't have bookshelves in their children's section with "TESTS" embossed into a wooden plaque at the top (I am sure that would certainly bring the kids in again and again). 

In the past when I have read professional books with chapters about Testing as a Genre Study, I have wanted to throw up.  So you can imagine that I am now nearly wanting to commit seppuku.  This game I am playing by spending time explicity teching kids how to navigate reading tests will most likely improve Value Added scores this year (at least I certainly hope so) but, "At what cost to my core values as a teacher?"  Maybe more the more important question is, "At what cost to the joy of reading and the feeling of self empowerment for students in my room?"

 

 

 

Do we really want apathetic readers, thinkers, students?

Later,

Tony