Struggling to Persevere

My current book choice is Peter and the Starcatchers. While I have chugged along through the Percy Jackson series, and made my way through the first book in the Penderwick series, I've struggled to move through this one. Why is that? As I was reading some of the posts in my Google Reader, I came across one that hit the nail on the head. While she was reading an adult piece of fiction, she was having the same struggle I was having. Desire to finish, but the simultaneous feelings of love and hate.

I'm about 125 pages into the 400+ page book at this point. Who knows when I'll finish, as I've been reading it for about a week and my slow reading rate isn't what is holding me back. Instead I simply can't get into the plot, and don't really have the desire to know more about the characters. That is in stark contrast to my feelings with Percy Jackson or the Penderwick girls. While I thought the Penderwicks dragged, I was curious to see what trouble they might elicit because of the class differences with their hosts. Perhaps it was also the feeling of the latter two stories being written in a way I could relate to them, as they are set in more recent times (full disclosure: I'm also not a huge fan of boats, preferring land to sea any day).

All of that makes me wonder how some of my kids tackle books. I had a few kids this year that read books incredibly quickly, and were able to give fantastic retells with detail. But I also had a few other kids that just struggled to move their way through books, and had some books sitting on their desk for weeks on end. It makes me wonder whether the right thing to do when someone is struggling is to have that friendly conversation about their interest in the book. Why is it that you don't like it? Tell me about the book thus far? What do you think would make this better (and be specific)? I don't want to encourage kids giving up on books easily, but rather having them think critically about why a book doesn't work for them.

Reading Challenge

I've finished the first four books in the Percy Jackson series. Thus far they have been very entertaining. I've enjoyed how Riordan mixed mythology into the stories without being teachy. The books were action-packed, and moved along fairly quickly without an overwhelming amount of downtime.

Having read all four, and planning to purchase the fifth when it comes out in paperback on July 27th, I couldn't help but think of my previous class of kids. They would eat the books up (some were reading them during the year). But going further, I think I am going to create a 40 Book Reading Challenge or something like that. Essentially I'll be going through ALA Notable books, Newberry Award winners, etc to create a list of books that kids *should* read. We'll also do some book talks during the process. The end goal being to get kids reading books that are widely recognized as being good literature. I'm going to stay away from some of the older books that I plan to use for novel study, if for no other reason than they are older (kids and older books can equal pulling teeth). Where did the idea come from? The Reading Zone... the idea came from here.

Where to begin?

I went by my classroom on Wednesday. My parents were in town, so I wanted to bring them by in order to show them what my room looked like, and what the school looked like. It was also a chance for me to grab some of the curriculum materials that I need to get planning. I brought home my whole Houghton Mifflin reading set (unit guides, assessment guide, etc), my Units of Study box (planning guides for each writing unit), and my Social Studies materials. The latter I really don't need since I relied on it throughout the course of my first year. The other two I used, but to a somewhat lesser degree.

Where to start? Well I need to look at the standards again to re-familiarize myself with the grade level expectations. From there I want to look at my reading and social studies units to see what is standards are taught in each, as well as how manageable the material is. Even though it is in the curriculum guide, it doesn't mean your kids will find it engaging. I'll then look at the different assessments to see how they line up, and start to plan out my year (when I hope to teach particular things, how long that will take, potential deviations).

Where I hope to really focus some time (this month if possible) is on assessment. I want to find effective pre-assessments for our reading materials so that I can really see the growth of kids in particular reading skills. While reading is done holistically (difficult to separate out skills), I want to ensure that I am pinpointing skills like inferencing, main ideas, asking questions, etc. I also want to be better prepared to mix in novel study books at appropriate levels. Some of this past year relied on moving kids as they got into books, largely because what I anticipated didn't work out. Some of that goes back to effective pre-assessing of reading skills/levels. Having better pre-assessing will allow me to better target my instruction, and move into effective small groups.

For now the materials will stay boxed in the downstairs bedroom/office.

Rules

I just finished Rules by Cynthia Lord. As a whole I really enjoyed it. The book is about a middle school (or intermediate) aged girl who has a brother with autism. She has to take care of him often, and finds that others don't necessarily understand her. But the story becomes complicated by a boy that she meets at her brother's OT sessions. The boy happens to be in a wheelchair, and be mute. Additionally, a girl her age moves in next door and Catherine (the main character) hopes that they will become friends.

I see the applications to my kiddos. The themes of difference and acceptance run throughout. In addition I think many of my kids could associate with the idea of wanting to be friends with someone that is different than they are (with a disability etc) but struggling with the discord that is struck between what is popularly considered normal. Many might not really say that they have been in Catherine's shoes, but I would be willing to bet that more than 3/4's have. It is particularly important at an age where social status and fitting in starts to become more apparent.

Definitely will be considered for my novel study groups in the fall!

Audience

During this school year, I had kids writing a lot. One of the pieces of writing that my kids had to do on a near weekly basis was summarizing a news article for current events. A key mistake that my kids made was assuming their audience (whole group, or myself) had read the article. For example, when the BP Oil Spill started we had quite a few articles summarized for current events. My kids might lead off with: "An oil spill happened and it is hurting wildlife in the water." I'd often reply, "Where was this? Was it in Elliot Bay? Did this happen last night?" My tone would often be one of surprise, showing how the missed information was a big deal (I might run out the door and be more responsive if it was so close).

You need to know your audience, and can't always assume they'll fill in the gaps. You need to know who is reading, what they likely know, and how to draw them in on your writing. Where is this going? A Philadelphia high school private school teacher was fired because of her blogging back in April. I had heard little about it until seeing a post come through my Google Reader. The student's parents claimed that the teacher had effectively bullied a student through posting about a presentation's political views, and lack of tone (per the assignment). I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find the original post, as well as reading some of her other stuff.

Without seeing the original post, it is difficult to make a complete judgement. But there are a few things that came to mind when reading about this situation. First, you need to know who is reading your blog. If you were asked to blog by your school, you know that they will likely be reading it. Being that it is a private school (and high school), it is likely that a student or parent is reading your work too. Even veiled comments about students can be trouble. Negative comments can easily be taken down a path you don't want to go (and which she found out). Second, kids' work is often a reflection of your practice. If you want them to do something different, then you need to provide instruction that moves them in that direction. If you really were upset about a student missing the lesson on "conciliatory tone," then it would be helpful to write about ways to fix it (or how you'll teach them to get there). Similarly, I can't simply be upset students are forgetting to include integral pieces of information. Instead I need to think about my plan to get them to include that information, and improve their work. The issue becomes my own issue, and not the student's.

Lastly, don't forget that the blogosphere isn't an isolated place. What you write creates a digital fingerprint, a paper trail, of you. You're intent needs to be clear, otherwise you run the risk of your words being misconstrued. Whether you like it or not, the digital you (your postings) are a representation of you (from blogs to twitter to facebook etc). Whether I like the author or agree with her isn't the point (don't know her, and haven't read enough written by her). But I do know that I'll re-read my work to be sure it is clear, and can't be confused as disparaging a student.

Problem Solving

During the summer I like to clean out posts from my Google Reader. I tend to read more of my sports related items during the school year, opting to leave education for the occasional weekend read or for a break. Today I was cleaning out a few posts (fewer since I'd recently cleaned it out) from Weblogg-ed. A post that struck me was this one about how teachers often ask questions in order to justify inaction (in particular around technology).

I see that point of view as prevalent beyond technology. Being a first year teacher this past year, I'd often sit in trainings (with other first years, but also with veteran folks at times) where the question seemed to begging for someone to just wave a magic wand in order to solve it. "But how do I fit that in? I'm already really strapped for time." Another common one was "Well how do you do that, how do you make it all work because the kids in my room won't do that..." While some of the same questions circulated in my head, I lacked the impulse to verbalize them.

Why? Teaching takes patience in a myriad of ways. There isn't a magic wand to fix things. The reality is that your classroom will have warts, just like your practice, and just like everyone else's. You aren't alone in that. Fixing the things that aren't going well, or that you don't like, takes time. You need the time to think about what it is that is being done, how it is/isn't having the desired impact, what possible reasons for that could be, and possible solutions. Waving the white flag of "how do I do this..." may get you a short term solution. But unless you understand why you are doing it, or how you can make it work for you kids, you'll be back at the drawing board soon enough.

The Penderwicks

Just finished The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. As a whole, I enjoyed it. This wouldn't be the first book I'd pick up though, largely because of content area. I prefer books with more humor or action. Why in the world did I pick it up? Well, I owe it to my kids to read some of the books that they like. Whether it is Charlie Bone, Percy Jackson, or the Penderwicks, I need to have familiarity with books of interest. Secondly, it was a National Book Award Winner... and I like award winners, largely because someone else has judged it to be good literature (so it is, right?).

General plot: 4 sisters and their father summer at a cottage not unlike the Kennedy compound (or so it seemed). The girls befriend the young boy who lives at the house (Arundel), and trouble brews because the rich mother is not pleased with who the boy is associating with. The chapters are almost like vignettes of mini-adventures.

I appreciated how the issue of class was woven into the story. My kids could certainly appreciate the notion that background doesn't determine who you associate with. Jeffrey, the boy, enjoyed being with the girls because of their sense of adventure. His mother had a vastly different opinion, entrenching the notion of the rich being pretentious.

I enjoyed it, and many of the girls in my classroom would as well. They can relate to the story, and the various characters. But I likely wouldn't read it again, as I wasn't captivated by the action or storyline.

Next up: Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan