A million things to teach and NO time??

I was thinking today about the frenzy many teachers are in right now. Everyone's scrambling to 'catch up' because of snow days and illness; rescheduled meetings and test prep. I know that feeling of pushing plans forward day after day and thinking, "How am I supposed to follow the curriculum map (if I have one) with no time to teach the curriculum??!!"
Although we know it is a somewhat futile exercise, the impulse to make sure we 'cover' everything is strong. This makes strategic planning all the more critical. It forces us to look at not just 'what' we are teaching (or trying to 'cover'), but 'how'.

Making the most of the time we have by incorporating best practice is key. You cannot teach 'everything' to any student. You can teach some very important things to every student. One of the most important being the development of their own metacognitive skills.


Reading
You can teach, post, and remind all students of word attack and comprehension fix-up strategies. Good readers use a number of tools to make sense of what they read and students need to continually practice these while reading a range of texts, especially those of their choosing. There are a whole range of strategies and approaches. The key is that students are monitoring their own comprehension with you as a guide for what strategies they may need to engage more often.

Depending on your grade level or individual student needs, you may choose to emphasize different strategies with different students. For example, if you have a student who has good decoding skills, but whose miscues affect meaning, you could emphasize 'does this word make sense?' vs. 'sound it out'. She could set a goal of trying that strategy when she gets stuck to remind her that she should be reading for meaning.

If you teach in a content area, it is critical that you reinforce self-monitoring and comprehension strategies, as your students may struggle with reading the most when faced with a language foreign to them, e.g., Math, Science, Social Studies.

Whatever subject area you teach, you should find strategies here that will benefit your students:

Monitoring for Comprehension (Self-monitoring):
Students need to be aware of when their comprehension breaks down. Teachers need to explicitly teach students to be aware of their comprehension as they read. Once they realize they have lost meaning, they can then begin to apply the following strategies below:

Use picture and/or context clues

Ask questions

Go back & reread

Summarize & Retell

Make predictions

Graphic Organizers


http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/comprehension/flowchartofbehavior.pdf

Word Attack Strategies
Students who are learning to read need strategies besides decoding to help them read unknown words. Decoding is the most common strategy that students use but many words in the English language do not lend themselves to decoding. Therefore, children need other strategies for reading words.

Look at the pictures.

Try to sound out the word.

Look at the beginning letters.

Look at the ending letters.

Look for a smaller word inside the word.

Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence.

Try to guess! Does your word make sense? Does your guess look like the word?

Use the words around it.

Go back and re-read.

Put another word in it's place.

Look in the dictionary.

Ask a friend or an adult.

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/fixup_strategies.html

SCUBA-D

S-Sound it out
C-Check the clues in the sentence
U-Use main idea
B-Break word into smaller parts
A-Ask for help
D-Dive into the dictionary

http://www.unl.edu/csi/Pdfs/scuba.pdf


Math Problem Solving
-While you do not have time for students to master every skill in the state standards, you can teach general problem solving strategies so they have tools to work through math problems.

Find a Pattern
Make a Table
Work Backwards
Guess and Check
Draw a Picture
Make a List
Write a Number Sentence
Use Logical Reasoning

http://www.mathstories.com/strategies.htm

Do your students love to read? They should and they can!

Images from the classrooms of Sarah Johnson VTC 2011, Brittany Jackson VTC 2012, and Kendall Paine VTC 2012

For the last couple of months, I have been talking to more and more teachers who are trying to address student
engagement in reading. By giving students more time for independent reading, through a Daily 5-type format or Reader's Workshop, they are seeing their students' skills and attitudes improve. They find students reading for pleasure, building their stamina, and developing independent strategies.

Are you considering moving to a workshop format or making space for structured, self-directed reading? Where are you in the process? Read one teacher's reflections on the impact of implementing Reader's Workshop on her students. And then, please share your thoughts and experiences.




When I first began teaching last year, I taught reading the way I was taught to teach it in my undergrad education program. Every student in my class read the same book at the same pace at the same time. There were quizzes over chapters, writing assignments, and final tests. The books were great: Maniac Magee, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and The Westing Game. I was enthusiastic because these were books I loved when I was growing up. However, my students dreaded reading. They would groan and make faces any time I asked them to take out their novels. Reading simply wasn't fun for them. I was devastated. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I wanted my students to love to read as much as I did. Faced with being the reading teacher for the middle school the following year, I knew something had to change.
Fortunately for me and my students, over the summer I discovered Nancie Atwell. I read her book In The Middle cover to cover, convinced she was a god. Nancie Atwell advocated completely free choice reading - and lots of it. She called her method “Reading Workshop.” Each day, she taught her students a short mini-lesson over author's craft, procedures, or comprehension strategies. The students then proceeded to read for a solid chunk of 20 to 30 minutes. There were – gasp – no tests, quizzes, or book reports. There didn't need to be. The students read for the joy of reading alone. The results, she wrote, were amazing.
I was hesitant to jump on Atwell's bandwagon at first. I was worried about classroom management and holding students accountable for what they read. But slowly, as I read more literature on Reading Workshop, my mind began to change. I could visualize what Reading Workshop might look like in my own classroom. I was excited.
I am happy to say that this year, my students love to read. My 5th and 6th graders have embarked on an amazing literary adventure with me and I can't say that any of them miss the old novel sets. Instead, they squeal with delight when I book talk a new or interesting title in the library. They ask for and give recommendations. They share favorite books with friends. They add entries to their book logs. They laugh and cry with their favorite characters and write letters to me about the books they've been reading. I've seen reluctant readers transformed into reading fiends. I've seen experienced readers explore new genres. The kids are reading volumes – I have a handful of students who have finished nearly 20 books already this school year.
Needless to say, my eyes have been opened. I'll continue stocking my library with great books and teaching engaging mini-lessons. And I'll leave the novel sets in the storage room where they belong.

If you'd like more information about Reading Workshop, check out these books:
In the Middle by Nancie Atwell
The Reading Zone by Nancie Atwell (This is the Reader's Digest version of In the Middle)
Revisiting the Reading Workshop by Barbara Orehovec and Marybeth Alley
Day to Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop by Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak

Sarah Johnson, VTC 2011
5th/6th Grade Reading/Writing
St Agnes of Bohemia





http://www.readersworkshop.org/

Good teaching is good test prep!

ISAT and Terra Nova testing is months away (at least a few). Still, teachers are continuously preparing their students for all manner of assessments and laying the groundwork for testing in the spring. Good test preparation arms students with strategies that will help them reduce stress and perform their best on test days. These strategies are also strongly linked with solid instructional practice.

Check out the following article by Nell K. Duke and Ron Ritchhart from Harvard. They include ways to help students navigate different formats, to use specific strategies for math and reading, and to ease their stress.


http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4006


Six Tips for Nipping Test Stress in the Bud

1. Don't Skimp on Practice Tests: They are vital to helping students understand the mechanics of the tests. Call your test company to request samples.

2. Promote Positive Attitudes About Testing: When discussing tests with students, make three recommendations: Be serious, confident, and strategic.

3. Deal with Basic Roadblocks: Do your best to circumvent problems such as inadequate breakfast, lack of sleep, and chronic tardiness prior to testing week.

4. Plan a Fun Day-of-Test Activity: Avoid academic activities immediately before testing. Instead, try something less stressful, such as Simon Says.

5. Look Out for Daydreamers: Seat easily distracted students in cubicles and corners. Encourage them to stay on task by checking off each line they read.

6. Talk About Those Last Few Minutes: The final moments of a test period are valuable for checking work and guessing on remaining questions.