Welcome to 3rd Grade Day 1

At the end of last school year I opted to move from 5th to 3rd grade. I had a myriad of reasons, chief among them teaching all subject areas (instead of just literacy). Plus, I wanted a new challenge. If you're really comfortable I think it might be time to step outside that zone. So that's what I've done.

Day one is in the book. I'm excited about this group of kids. I see lots of potential. The major instructional difference is the pacing. While the first day isn't a huge instructional day, it sets the tone of the rest of the year. You build community, setup routines, and start some baseline assessing. The assessing part happened informally, no reading assessments on day 1! Why?

Pacing! Putting away supplies took about an hour. Working on our introductory letter (Dear Mr. Hanson) took another 45-60 minutes with many not finished. A team challenge activity (Marshmallow Challenge)? Pushed to Wednesday! The pace, particularly at the start of the year, will be a little bit of an adjustment. But so far so good.

Issue Research Redux

Just before spring break my kids finished their Social Studies CBA. It is a big project involving research on a topic, and analyzing information. Many of the pieces of reading- news articles, websites- are above grade level, adding to the challenge.

The work that kids produced was really great. Having done this 3 years prior, this was probably the best of the years as far as overall work kids produced. Instead of basking in the glow of good work, I wondered why the work was better. What made year 4 that much better than year 3, etc.?

I was more intentional with the skills kids would need to use. Being able to write a thesis statement is important, and we modeled doing that. Making inferences from quotes- another challenging skill. Analyzing all of the possible solutions- kids previously were locked into their solution. Instead, they were asked to see all viewpoints- and we tackled modeling that as a whole group. Another part of the success is embedding news articles in our weekly work (er, bi-weekly maybe). I asked kids to pick sides on issues during the year as well as analyzing points of view. When they see the CBA in March it ends up being less of an ordeal.

I still think there is room for growth. We found lots of statistical information... But we struggled interpreting it. Things like car emissions or accidents texting while driving were inserted with the "as you can see..." sort of line that assumes you can read the graph. Next time we'll actually write about the meaning of the data. But for now- job well done.

Literacy and Worksheets

My kids are working on issue research. They research and unpack the many points of view that comprise an issue. One student is working on paper usage in the US. This is similar to a topic done last year that focused on paper use in schools.

The big "A-Ha" for me was literacy and worksheets don't really mesh. In fact, I'd argue that if you're making a ton of worksheets for your literacy time (in the intermediate classroom :) you're in fact wasting your time (and your kids' time). Kids need the opportunity to real have authentic conversations about books, and record their thoughts. Countless packets of "stuff"? No. You can teach concepts that they record in journals- or that go on charts in your room. But daily spelling practice? Grammar work? You can do those in other ways without the class set of copies.

Next time you're heading to the copier think: is there another way that gets this done and meets the needs of my kids? I bet you'll say yes.

The Workshop Model

I enjoy using twitter. I get my daily sports news, running stuff (because it is different than sports!), general news, and education information. In my feed came a link to a post about the workshop model. Now the title is whether Lucy Calkins is insane, which would seem to be pure hyperbole for the sake of readers. Alas, further reading shows the title to be closer to the author's point of view than one might hope.

I've used the workshop model for 3.5 years. I used it in my student teaching, and have used it in my practice in 5th grade. Workshop has been a part of my practice for both reading and writing, although admittedly it hasn't been the only method I've used. Some are huge workshop fans, and others are very much against the workshop and the Teacher's College. Me? I'm probably more pro-workshop than anti-workshop.

Like any model or program it has positives and negatives. Positives are that reading and writing are more authentic through use of the Calkins model than through the use of a basal program, or scripted writing program. The basal program will have students focus on a particular comprehension strategy (envisioning, inference, etc) by having students read an 8-12 page excerpt, stopping periodically to monitor comprehension. In the workshop model students read, and will either record information in a reading journal or in discussion with a reading buddy. For me, I use the workshop model with a novel study. They will get together in groups, and they have people to discuss the book with. Questions will come at the end of the week as students summarize, generate meaningful questions from reading, and talk back to the text.

Comparing the two, as I've used both, kids have been far more successful with novels in their hand. Instead of parts of books, and drilling away at a comprehension skill with 3-5 questions while reading, they are able to read larger chunks. They can process information at the end of a 25-45 minute block, walking away with a far different idea of what reading is. A basal program just didn't do that with my kids, as I found them bored and meeting the minimum of what was expected. The basal essentially generated a script for me to follow, essentially making me an implementer of materials. While Calkins has a narrative for her strategies, I've found that you have great flexibility in your ability to chose strategies your kids need, and base them off of read alouds or books you have in your room. I've done inferencing and character description using Wildwood and Prue. Kids loved it, and were able to take the same strategies and apply them to their own stories they were reading.

There is one main question I've had in relation to this. Are my kids coming to me at a higher starting point than there's (therefore presupposing a higher incoming skill set)? Between 85-95% of my students have met standard in my 3 years (depending on year), a modest increase over where they were in 4th grade. If their skill set is higher, are they better able to fit in a less structured model? Is there an issue of materials available? I pour a ton of money into my classroom library each year- novel study and just plain novels. If you don't have a ton of books, particularly those at the levels of your kids, you're screwed in workshop.

The irony is the posting about Calkins and workshop mentions the lack of data to support the program's use. Education has been laden with pendulum shifts. If it isn't use of data for instruction, it is how data doesn't support a program (evidence based). If we aren't railing against programs that are too scripted and limit teacher freedom, we are railing against the lack of guidance and structure. I see the limitations in the lack of explicit phonics instruction. I see where having some smaller texts for small groups might be helpful in supplementing what you already do (to meet needs of students through ongoing assessment). But is Lucy Calkins insane?  Doubtful. Idealist? Yes.

When it comes together

Our Explorer Biography wiki projects are coming along. We've gone over finding important information, researching, when to fact check, note taking, and paragraphing. Huge undertaking, but certainly worthwhile. The achievement I'm most proud of is working on citations.

Citations are the bane of my existence. I know kids need to do it. But our projects typically bog down, and citations get swept aside. This time I had them do it in the middle of the project. We used the OSLIS citation maker (I'll add a link later, the downfall of the mobile blogger app). I demoed it and then each had to do 1 as a ticket to recess. The result? Success! MLA format citations on their pages!

This will dovetail nicely into our social studies cba (curriculum based assessment). The cba is next- a chance I research an idea, evaluate points of view, and construct a plan of action. Very excited!

*note: unfortunately I can't share our wiki pages. They are on our internal site called haiku (google it, worth checking out). It keeps us in line with child privacy laws.

Thank You Internet

We're in the middle of Internet research. The project is to create a biographical wikiproject on an explorer. Kids need multiple sources, and need to take notes aimed at gaining a variety of pieces of information. The information will answer questions that they posed- things they would expect in a biography.

While researching our ship ran afoul.. How you ask? We found faulty research! It was brilliant, and even more perfect than I cod have planned. You see you uncovered a site that, on the surface, looks like a regular website. Kids had found it, printed stuff from it, and went along their merry way. Then someone actually read it. The exchange went like this:

-Student: Mr. Hanson, the text says Sir Francis Drake returned to his baking company. I don't get it.
-Me: huh? Baking company?
-Student: yeah, it says right here that he used a stolen recipe to start his baking company that still bakes cakes today (Re: Drake's cakes).
-me: hmm, let's go back and re-read. I'm not sure we are getting accurate info.

Of course this led us to re-read and uncover the errors in our poor researching. New Jersey, boardwalks, and stolen recipes on CD were all part of the rather interesting piece of historical fiction. But it brought out the need to do some fact checking. As I read this aloud to giggles and hoots, the message was clear. Go back over your work. Since? The quality of research, note taking, and work has improved. Hallelujah!

How to balance...

I struggle with blogging. I want to. I do. Blogging using the blogger app helps, but doesn't eliminate my one impediment. Time.

I don't have the time I used to. Trying to balance teaching, parenting, and running is a challenge. Three full time jobs really. So some things have been cut out, at least temporarily. Blogging is one of those things.

But I resolve to be consistent. Every Monday - with a promise that if I can do more I will. We just started a wiki project where we are building biographical pages for explorers that came to North America. I love the project based work because it hits a number of items and has built in value- kids want to work through it, and they want to work on the tech stuff. Win win.

I promise to do better. It is good for me to talk it out.

Book Chat

I've resolved to reading a book a week. Sounds easy, but as a new-ish dad that teaches and trains for marathons it is a real chore. In fact, I'm not sure when I last finished a book.

Book 1 of 2013 was In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. It is the story of an immigrant trying to survive while not losing her family's culture and heritage. Little Shirley Temple Wong is an enjoyable character to follow. Her struggle as a newcomer is an engaging read. The mesh with popular culture- America in the 40s- is a bonus.

I'm using it as a book club book this round. I'm excited about having kids explore perspective, and the treatment of those who are different from the norm.

2nd Gear

Cars have gears. The lower the gear, the slower you go- your engine isn't firing at full capacity. That is my limited understanding of car anatomy. It applies to the first week back to school. You are back, but no one can quite rev the engine and speed like their in 5th.

Instead you ease back, give it some gas but don't push too hard. Kids are a bit weary, bleary eyed. I'm feeling my way through. We have projects from December that need to be completed, and a new unit on Explorers should be started. We've also got our district writing assessment to crank out- next week though. The work that needs to get done can only be tackled once everything is in sync.

So we muddle along. We do meaningful work, but wait to engage in the more challenging business until Monday. The three day ease in will be up, and we'll be ready.

Almost Back

There is a ton that I need to get done before we start up on Wednesday. First and foremost is figuring out what I am teaching. We ended a unit just before break, and now need to move onward. There are some social studies topics coming but I need to lay them out. I've also got to decide what novel study books will come next. I had 9 books going this past round, but still have a few in my library that I haven't used. Additionally we have a book room to access. Question is which books and why.

Just to make things interesting I have some work to score. These are the videos that the kids made. They shouldn't take that long, but it needs to get done. I need to start with a clean plate.

Lots coming, I just need to do it. Here's to getting it done.

Book Projects

Some teachers rue having students do book projects. This typically means having kids do a book report. I've opened the options for them, and I do them very infrequently. I can have kids show what they know in other ways, and don't want to burn through larger projects (project fatigue).

Heading into the holiday break I had kids working on their first book project. It was useful since I really didn't want to start a new unit just before the holiday- and I also didn't want to throw away 2-3 days. Instead we were making posters and book covers to advertise their favorite books thus far. The results have been pretty amazing. The artwork has been great, and the writing about the book has matched.

Like any project in my room, it isn't done when I thought it would be... But I'm pleased with where it is going.

When Projects Go Well

Projects are an investment. They are rewarding yet also frustrating. They require time to put together and don't always yield what you are hoping for.

Over the past 3 years I've done a project where students create an advertisement for a region of the US that native Americans settled in. I'll admit that when I started it in year 1 I didn't have a solid handle of how to get kids to the end I wanted. I said "here's the problem- find the best region" and let them solve it. It was the equivalent of dropping kids in the pool and saying "swim." Ultimately I ended up helping a majority, some far more than others.

Over time I've implemented more scaffolding, laying the project out in a more linear fashion. Now we start with the over arching question from the jump- checking in on it as we mine for information, and do some comparisons. We also work more systematically- gathering information, working in reading and thinking skills along the way in a planned fashion.

As they're finishing their photostory projects, I can see the fruits of that effort. We have developed thought out projects that are really good, particularly for their first time working on this size of project. I am genuinely excited to go through each am provide feedback- even if it will take some time.

Reading Novels

We are finishing our second round of novel study. I'm pleasantly surprised at the progress we've made. We can describe characters and identify story elements. We can make predictions, and provide evidence.

What we still need work on is writing at greater length. Moreover, I need to do a better job modeling what that looks like. I need to give kids a better model of how to link ideas together, knowing that too much is actually better than being brief. My kids, probably like your kids, like to be done so they can move on. Sometimes you need to linger.

Rigor at every level

What do you do when kids don't get it?

What do you do when kids get it, and need challenge?

Two questions I'm giving a lot of thought to.

The Secret to Being Observed

Being observed is part and parcel to your first 3-5 years of teaching. In year 4, I have 3 formal observations. I also signed up to help pilot teacher learning walks so I have teachers coming into my room (to give feedback) on another occasion (today, Wednesday, in fact).

Observations are a good thing. They I've you information about your practice. They should also give you a chance to be more reflective- not that you aren't, but let's not kid about the realistic time constraints of teaching.

But there is a secret: act like no one is there. Do the things you'd normally do, and get on with teaching the way you know how. No one wants to see a song and dance. If you are concerned about how effective your lesson might be- so something else (a different one) or rethink what you want to accomplish. Otherwise you create more work for yourself.

Gone 'til November

Around conference time I feel off the map. Yes I was still teaching, but blogging took a back seat. Between conferences, marathon training, an observation, challenge course, and Halloween I simply didn't feel like I had the time. It dropped down the priority list.

Where am I at?
We just finished our unit on Government. Our end tasks were to write a persuasive piece to get someone to vote for a candidate. We used information from CNN, and focused on writing with reasons and examples. The net result? Really impressive writing.

Where are we going?
Next is Geography and American Indians. Typically this comes first, but I moved government forward due tote election (timeliness and relevance). Beyond that I need to get back to blogging more regularly. I'm aiming for a weekly posting set into my Outlook calendar. I've found blogging to be an integral part of thinking lessons through and considering how they went. I need to return to it.

Until Friday.

We've Got Issues

I struggle mightily with homework. On one hand it is kids' time, and they should do with it as they will. On the other it is an opportunity for extra practice, connecting families (homework help), and good study habits. I dislike the daily homework seeing the legwork on my end to be significant compared to the payoff.

What I started doing 2 years ago was a current event. Kids select an article of their choice to read and summarize. It shows comprehension while also focusing on distilling ideas from a larger article into 4-5 key points. It ties into reading standards in a variety of ways while leaving little legwork on my end, and allowing kids choice.

This year I am going to tweak it a bit. Instead of an open ended free for all we will have a structured context to pick from within. For example, we started with Government this year in order to highlight the 2012 presidential election. The month of October will be focused on election stories- who is running, what they are saying, etc. it will provide some interesting context to go through facts/opinions and persuasive writing also. Later we will highlight other important events/milestones/themes. We will likely do something around community needs in December. January we will come back to government as the inauguration/government start up begin. February might be for finding something you love- animals, video games, etc.

I'm pretty excited about it. The evolution to something meaningful is going on, which is pretty great.

Fluency Testing

Last year I fluency tested my 5th graders that I considered to be low. They were students that missed grade level on the 4th grade MSP (state test), or we're close to the cut line. I opted for that approach, thinking it would be a time saver.... It was.

This year I have opted to fluency test our whole grade level. In a profession where time is of the essence, and oh so precious, it would seem counterintuitive. Why fluency test kids who exceeded grade level standard? The key is in knowing them as a reader. This is my first piece of information in my reading puzzle. From the conference I can see just how easy (by rate/voice) it is, as well as how they retell information. I can ask questions and see where they are, and the additional time is minimal because they are faster (by and large).

How does it inform my instruction? The key is it gives me a subtle benchmark for where to go. I don't fluency test them to the instructional rate because it largely isn't necessary- I can tell if books are right from simple passage reading if needed. But it tells me how the handle inflection while they read, punctuation (do they stop at periods?!), and what do they do in retelling? Do they rely on the cover, or can they give more specifics?

It is an interesting puzzle piece. It only begins to fill in as I continue my running records during reading.

End of Week Reflections

This year I have started doing two things differently. The first is writing objectives on the board during non-social studies block time. I write them during my literacy/s.s. block, but typically haven't during our get to know you or pre-assessment activities. I also did a thumbs up/down with it, and kids gave me a good check for how we are doing. I liked it, seeing it as important in this time when it seems like we aren't doing much.

The second thing I started doing is a weekly reflection. Kids are asked to come up with 2 things that were positive from the week- sharing with a partner, and a few to the whole group. This was awesome! Kids were willingly sharing, and had some great positives...

-I made a new friend.
-I climbed all the way across the monkey bars.
-people tried really hard

I want kids searching for those positives. I'm hoping it will only build going forward.

First two days

The best part about the mobile blogger app is that it makes blogging more accessible. I typically reflect on my day in the evening, and am not always in front of my computer. I also don't always want to be thinking about my school day while sitting with my laptop on my lap, or hunched over a table. So hopefully that leads to more blogging, or more reflection...

The first days are always a bit of a grind. You really aren't humming along, and everything takes a little longer than you think it will. But we got quite a bit accomplished. We've established our expectations, spending about an hour working on them- what is an expectation, what should the room look like during learning, what should the room sound like, and how do our interactions go. Kids have done this before, so it comes around after a few minutes of sputtering.

I've also committed myself to writing my objectives on the whiteboard where the schedule is. Why? I want kids to see where we are going. Right now that is me directing the ship, but soon it will be them crafting the objectives (with guidance). I surveyed kids (thumbs up/down) at the end of the day to see if we met our objectives... That gave me some barometer of how it went, as well as other things we need to work on (more community, more emphasis on reviewing routine).

So far so good. Very excited to really dig in. Tomorrow we will start doing some fluency work, and I'll also start to really dig into some initial writing kids are doing (intro letter) to see what we need some support with.