LiterateLife

I have followed Harry Wong’s First Days of School editions since I bought mine back in the early 90′s.
I haven’t been sure how his objective-based lesson planning fit into my style, but recently, especially with RTI looming, I have spent some time over the holiday break creating a unit on Tone/Mood/Author’s Style using Bloom’s Taxonomy and writing objectives starting at Level One moving up to Level 6. I assigned point values to the mastery of the objective, and created an assignment for each objective that will show mastery. I like the organization of it, and I NEED the structure of thought. I am very right-brained, and require structure to take my ideas to fruition. Wow!
I’ve been teaching English/ESL over 15 years. I wish I’d tried this sooner.
I am working on my procedures binder as well.

Since my last post described a discussion on assessment in The Learning Network listserv about the Teaching/Learning Cycle, it’s logical to follow up with today’s post on the required training I attended today focused on assessment. An initiative in Texas this year is that all students who failed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test in reading as 6th graders last year will be assessed for fluency at the beginning of the year  using an assessment instrument developed by the Texas Education Agency and The University of Texas.

We have been encouraged, though, to use this instrument to assess ALL of our students on an ongoing basis, which is excellent educational practice, and a new paradigm for many secondary teachers.

The assessment, for reporting and following the progress of students, mostly focuses on reading rate and accuracy. However, it is easily (and we are encouraged by TEA to do so)expanded in its usefulness to us as teachers by coding student miscues (well, they were called ERRORS in my training). There is also a comprehension component that consists of asking the student to recall what the text was mostly about. This component is rated holistically with a 0,1,2 or 3.

We were given a table which “diagnoses” student instructional needs based on the numerical result of the 3 sample fluency probe and the associated holistic comprehension rating.  Based on results, we will choose instruction that targets decoding, fluency, or comprehension.

This kind of assessment is very new to secondary teachers. Since I taught in 3rd grade for many years, I had a lot of training in assessing student reading behaviors with running records and miscue analysis. I think that if used correctly, middle school reading/language arts teachers will find they can really inform their teaching.

I do have my reservations about the rigidity of the system, but I think it’s a move in the right direction for secondary language arts education in Texas. It’s also pretty prescriptive, but as a scaffold for teachers new to the idea of basing instruction on assessment, it’s a good start!

The Learning Network Listserv has just had a great conversation about The Teaching/Learning Cycle (TLC) (this is a transcript of the discussion at www.rcowen.com). This is the very first concept teachers need to know about when they begin teaching. I have been to the TLN Institute twice and it changed my whole way of teaching.

ASSESSMENT

 Any act of teaching begins with the assessment of a student’s ability to use a skill or knowledge of a concept. I was taught in college in the late Eighties, early Nineties, that assessment was the LAST step in the cycle. The teacher teaches the curriculum, then assesses understanding. Responsive (and economical!) teaching BEGINS with assessment, though.

I will focus my blog when the school year starts on how I am applying the TLC in my work as in-class ESL support for science teachers in my school.

Two weeks ago my AVID site team attended the AVID conference in Dallas, TX (just a hop, skip and jump from home in Arlington). I attended the Science Write Path I strand, instead of the English Language Learners strand (which I attended last year, since I am an English as a Second Language teacher), because this year my job description changes a bit. I will be going into the Science classrooms to support ELL students in class rather than pulling them out. THis is a great opportunity for me. I am not sure how this will work logistically though.

I don’t want to be a glorified homework helper, only assisting the students to complete their Science worksheets. On the other hand, is it fair to take up these students’ homework completion time to instead  give them intensive instruction on their science curriculum?

Or am I more a resource for the teacher in how to present the curriculum more effectively for ELLs? I know that my principal wants ne to help these teacher use more AVID methodologies in their classrooms. Less book-worksheet and more “let’s be scientists” and explore our world, sharing our learning through writing and speaking about it.

This will be an interesting endeavor that I will, of course, share here on my blog!

How cool are the science interactive notebooks, an AVID method that blends right brain and left brain to help kids really learn science concepts!

The right side of the notebook is always “input”: notes, information, etc. The left side is student “output” utilizing 4 colors, poetry, art, creative thinking and representing of science concepts.

A co-teacher has asked me to present with her during a Bilingual/ESL conference, and I was going to say no, but then woke up the other morning with an idea for using the read-aloud more systematically to develop vocabulary. I told my co-worker yes.

I am a firm believer in reading aloud to my 7-8 grade students regularly, if not daily. My ESL students need repeated exposure to English words in context. I know that my thinking aloud has helped my students understand how I process different texts, and how I think about the texts as a mental response, but I haven’t been satisfied with how I have used the read-aloud experience to really help the students develop wider vocabularies.

I had a flash of a procedure that would be a more systematic approach. What if I took just a few (maybe 5) great words from the portion of text I was reading (whether fiction or non-fiction) and did some more in-depth study of those words over a few days (until I chose some new words)?

For example, read a chapter from the current read- aloud choice, stopping at the chosen words as I read to highlight them. After the read-aloud/think aloud, put those 5 words on large index cards and post.  Discuss what the words means as used in the text. Alphabetize in a word wall. Multi-syllabic words can be “chunked” into syllables. They can be studied for affixes. The roots can be removed and then a circle map created for new words using the same root. An association game can be played using the word and the character/situation from the text that it is related to in some way. Words can be sorted by part of speech, or tense, or origin.

The point of this is that vocabulary becomes imbedded in meaningful reading of text, and that students get multiple, but short, exposures throughout a week.

A class wiki can be used by my class as a receptacle for examples of various literary elements from students reading. There could be a page for foreshadowing, figurative language, turning point or climax of a story, and other things I want the students to be on the lookout for as they read. Also, I’m thinking a page for cool words.

Format of posting will be important, and for grading purposes I can set a daily or project grade based on number of posts.

I found a really interesting article in the Journal of Educational Technology and Society that really explained constructivist learning theory.

 What I read here follows what I have been reading about acquisition of literacy from Calkins, Atwell, Fountas and Pinnell, and other prominent literacy teachers/authors.

 Intuitively, I am drawn to constructivism. I certainly find I learn best through hands-on exploration into a topic that interests me and with support from an expert who can help me along (much like my current self-immersion into edtech!)

But, I am NOT providing my middle school kids with much of this kind of learning, and I feel that it’s still not well-accepted in my school with a mostly low-SES ethnic population.

My main problem: Finding topics that inspire my students to practice the language arts in meaningful ways. Everything seems to bore them beyond social interactions and the people of popular media culture.

I would love to have a mentor on whose expertise I could rely to help me create the constructivist classroom I envision.

I believe those mentors are what I’m searching for in this foray into web 2.0.

Firstly, I really wish I could get some readers to respond here.  I suppose I am not doing enough commenting of my own, which might draw some readers.

Secondly, I really enjoy Two Writing Teachers blog, especially the daily snapshots of what is happening in the classroom. It inspired me to to do the same.

I teach in a Title 1 school, which is about 80% Hispanic. I am bilingual, and teach English As a Second Language. In my school, I AM the LAnguage Arts teacher for my students, all of whom qualify for ESL. My 7th grade students also have a reading teacher. I am the only LA teacher my 8th graders have. In Texas we have the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test which the 8th graders muct pass to go on to 9th grade (No CHild Left Behind Legislation).

The tests are over now, but school is in session until June 5th. For the kids, they’re done. I have chosen to read Where the Red Fern Grows as a class in 7th grade, and today we read aloud chapter 17. I have not been doing vocabulary lists,or an extended project. I want my kids to ENJOY reading, and even my successful students rarely choose to read. My main goal in reading this mostly aloud (students follow in their own copies) is to have success in getting into a story of novel length. Today, my feisty 7th period group listened (quite a few even followed along reading) for some pretty extended periods!

I do point out as I read where I might not know a word, and talk through how I deal with it (context? not worry about it and keep going? break it apart for roots/affixes?), or questions I ask myself. I commented today that the questions I ask the kids are questions that I ask myself in my head. One of my girls said, “I never ask myself questions when I read.” She earlier had commented that she understands better when I read aloud. She is one of my better students as well. We had a nice discussion for a moment on how good readers ask questions/make comments in their heads while they read

Tomorrow is Friday…yay! I need sleep!

So, let’s consider what “authentic” reading experiences. What do I mean by that? I think personal choice is what I mean. Most of my students just don’t like to read. Honestly that’s the hardest thing for me to get, because reading is my lifeline, my ultimate pleasure, and how I explore the world we live in and it’s ideas and offerings.

My first thought is that it must be that my students possibly just haven’t found “that book” that opens the door to pleasure reading.

I have access to a good school library, but my classroom library is weak. I want my students to have at least one day a week of free reading in my room, and everynight to read for at least 30 minutes for homework.

I had that schedule going pretty well for the first semester of school. My students earned tickets for free computer time, a homework skip night, free tardy, etc.

For some reason I abandoned it after the holiday break. I had a tough time keeping up with the reading logs of my students. That is the assessment/organizational piece I need to think through. Can technology help in that area? Can the students keep and online reading log? What program is suited to that? A spread sheet? a blog? I only have 4 computers in my room for student use. Most ofmy students do not have online access at home; many don’t have any computer at all.

I’ve been thinking about 1) providing authentic reading experiences for my 7-8 graders

                                           2) how to assess those experiences

                                          3) how technology applications can help/support both goals 1 and

                                              2 above

I have been reading Seeking Diversity by Linda Reif, and have already read In the Middle by Nancie Atwell. I have also read Strategies That Work (Harvey/Goudvis), The Art of Teaching Reading (Calkins), and Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency (Fountas and Pinnell).

 Add to those objectives the fact that I teach English As a Second Language in a Title 1 school that is 80% Hispanic. I also have a pretty limited classroom library of books for my kids to self-choose. We do have a good school library and a great librarian, though.

I believe my students should be

1. Choosing their own books.

2. Trying new genre periodically to see how they like it.

3. Keep a log of what they read (daily? when a book is finished?) This is not necesarily authentic. I personally don’t keep a readng log. Some people do, though. If it was online, in the form of a wiki or blog, maybe it would be more authentic?

4. Respond to what they read (but how is the question? Again, blog/wiki posts and comments to others in the class/school/greater online community? Art? Digital art?)

Just some thoughts for me to mull about in planning for next year.

Also: I need to develop a check out and cataloguing system for classroom library