It seems, in my mind, it doesn’t hold the same validity as novels for readers' workshop. I don’t believe certain forms have those large chunks of text that my students need to develop stamina in their reading. I don’t trust that my students are reading every page. I don’t see it as an easily measurable genre in my workshop format. I need fight this reaction and begin to see all that nonfiction can bring.
Nonfiction November has opened my eyes. I carry biases against nonfiction. Do I read it myself? In volumes! Do I love the pictures and facts in the nonfiction books I purchase for my library? Absolutely! Does my stomach turn when one of my students in my Readers’ Workshop is curled up with certain foms of nonfiction books. Sadly, yes…
It seems, in my mind, it doesn’t hold the same validity as novels for readers' workshop. I don’t believe certain forms have those large chunks of text that my students need to develop stamina in their reading. I don’t trust that my students are reading every page. I don’t see it as an easily measurable genre in my workshop format. I need fight this reaction and begin to see all that nonfiction can bring.
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It's that time of year again! What will the library theme be this year? Well, I'd love everyone in our school to just Get Lost! It's actually much more positive than it sounds... I was out walking in the forest with Lily & she was very concerned with where we were and did I know how to get back. I know one of her greatest fears is getting lost, but as a kid I got lost all the time. I swear sometimes we'd even pretend we were lost because it added an exciting element to whatever game we were playing in the back field. Road trips in high school & university often had a large getting lost aspect to them. I remember yelling at a Do Not Enter sign, "I'm not entering; I'm exiting!" because somehow we had gotten turned around in a place we weren't even supposed to be in. But isn't that the point of growing and learning? Thinking you are going one way and finding it's not the right way. Trying to figure out where you'll go next or following an exciting path that you like and finding you are somewhere new, maybe even somewhere better. It involves failure. It involves our students taking risks & exploring areas of interest. It involves the engagement that comes with choice. I believe our students should be experiencing that! I'm making my library board up in a couple weeks & want to know how you Get Lost! I have good guesses for some of you & I'm sure you know I get lost in words & the ideas they share. Unfortunately I don't get lost in the forest or on road trips as much any more. Over my life, I've heard many songs, jingles, tongue twisters, riddles and rhymes from the mouth of my grandfather and I think that opened my brain to the rhythm of words. Poetry was easy for me. Best read out loud and always enjoyed. I want that for my students. I had the pleasure of hearing Canadian poet, author, editor, teacher & co-founder of Anansi Press, Dennis Lee, speak at the Reading For the Love of It conference in Toronto last year (#RFTLOI). He spoke of "Poemicide" and how, we, as teachers, kill the love of poetry. This was his recommendation to overcome this phenomena and my response to it from a blog post:
The day after school let out I left on a road trip to Maine to participate in one of the most enjoyable PD experiences I've ever had! If you have the chance to attend Heinemann's Boothbay Literacy Retreat, do it! It is truly a community of learners on all levels with the faculty and speakers participating in and enjoying the experience as much as you are. Often they are at the table with you. Having Penny Kittle sit down to learn with you is a fabulous experience!
I need to write this post to consolidate the immense amount of learning I have done & process it from my point of view & my place in my teaching, so I can use it next year. I'm thinking of this post as my handful of knowledge from Boothbay, which focuses on the importance of Voice & Choice to Create Engagement. Here's what I took away from these five inspirational teachers.
Between Indigo Adopt a School, The Book Fair & SCC Funds to support OLA's Forest of Reading, I've ordered a ton of new books and book sets. The sets, designated for novel studies, are full of rich topics which will give your students a lot to discuss and debate.
Isn't that what a language class is all about! We explore the author's ideas about humanity, look at the choices they made when writing and analyse various aspects of the ideas they are exploring . The fun comes out in the rich discussions and arguments as students explore their thoughts about what is going on. A book that has truly helped me create rich discussions and build a reading community in Literature Circles has been Ariel Sack's Whole Novels. Check out my guest blog post on her site and much more to see the effect this program has had in classrooms. One of my favourite points in Literature Circles last year when a group of us were discussing Susan Nielson's Word Nerd and one of my students could not believe how the anti-hero, Ambrose, always focused on female body parts whenever he met a new female character. She was disgusted and didn't believe any boy thought that way. The discussion was rich, certainly not boring, and I died laughing...in my head. There was a window she wished she could close! Picture books are an important and engaging aspects of every subject we teach from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Use these new resources to engage your students! NUMBERS 123 EVERYWHERE Our own Ms. Mombourquette could have written this book, but author Elliott Kaufman beat her to it. Help your students identify found numbers in the environment and, maybe, even inspire them to go out and find their own! MICE MISCHIEF is filled with playful mice. Some doing what they are supposed to do & some not! Judith Rossell's illustrations will draw children in as they explore the various number sentences for ten. Another great book to inspire a fun math activity! Aaron Reynolds embeds social skills into his many layered story, HERE COMES DESTRUCTOSAURUS! See if your students can figure out what is really going on and what should Destructosaurus should have done. Your students won`t even realize they are learning as they laugh thier way through Jeremy Tankard's illustrations! What is going to happen when SAM & DAVE DIG A HOLE? Your students may disagree with the ending Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen came up with or want to create an alternate one. I know my William did! You`ll have lots of fun with this book! Michael Hall's, PERFECT SQUARE will make you want to rip apart a square or dig into the manipulatives drawer and pull out those tangrams. You may even be inspired to use a handheld hole punch to see what you can do. Art and math easily support each other! What can be done with a square? Join George Conelius Factor, also know as GFC, as he explores the many facets of fractions in Edward Einhorn's FRACTIONS IN DISGUISE. You'll be focusing on equivalent fractions as GFC uses his invention, the Reducer, to figure out how Dr. Brok has hidden the precious and unique 5/9th in plain view! Writing comes in many different formats, including the simple list. In WALLACE's LISTS you'll meet a mouse who creates lists to help him get through his day, but since meeting Albert he's beginning to realize that maybe his lists aren't letting him live life beyond the page. Fun lists and interesting list titles are sure to engage your students. This is a great book not only for Kindergarten, but to the exploration of any culture! Author, Sue Ganz-Schmitt, compares going to kindergarten to preparing to a trip to the moon and our explorer has to figure out the rules and the excitement that comes when exploring a new culture. What could you discover? Pull a book that fits your program out of the window & use it in your class today!
I was creating the overview for the Blue Spruce books and every time read a book, I thought of two other books that would pair nicely or I found some great links that would extend student thinking, so like wine & cheese or wine & a meal. (I think I see a wine theme here.) I've put together links, trailers & some perfect pairings for you! Ashely Spires explores the process of creativity in The Most Magnificent Thing. In the midst of fabulous verbs, we see our main character create designs and prototypes, but we also see the importance of getting away from your creation when frustration sets in. Sometimes coming back with fresh eyes and a relaxed brain is all we need to discover the beauty of our own Most Magnificent Thing. Perfect Pairings could be Dave Whamond’s My Think-A-Ma-Jink or Peter Reynold’s Going Places
This role reversal story has a Mother who comes to Kindergarten embarrassing her daughter due to her inability to follow the rules. A great book to outline what is expected and needed in a classroom & how it takes some time and patience to get there. Perfect pairings with a focus on rules for various spaces with a fun twist could be Robert Munsch’s We Share Everything, or Carmen Agra Deedy’s The Library Dragon. Last year we were introduced to Oddrey and we got used to her unique ways. This year a new kid joins Oddrey’s class. She is just as odd as Oddrey and, perhaps, stealing Oddrey’s limelight with outlandish stories. How will Oddrey figure this out? In Oddrey fashion, of course! Bob Shea's Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great is a perfect match for Oddrey. Compare how Unicorn & Oddrey handle new people in their social circle! Author, Christine Balacchino, was bullied as a child and the effects of it kept her world very small. She writes about it as a guest on the National Day to End Bullying website. Eventually Christine got brave enough to overcome the fears that restricted her and Morris Micklewhite is a fictional account of that bullying and the brave steps she took to not let bullying beat her. Morris Mickewhite's reasons for liking what he does and the tangerine dress are wonderful as the sensory descriptions accompanying them. Watch Morris defend his life choices with grace! A perfect pairing? Join these other children as they find voices and stand up for themselves and others with Louder Lili, by Gennifer Choldenko and Willow Finds a Way, by Lana Button. Roy Macgregor does it again. He explores and explains the magic of the number 9 in hockey history through the eyes of Gabriella , a move-creating, play- with-the-boys hockey girl, who truly dreamed of having Wickenheiser’s number 22 until her Grandma reveals some secrets and knowledge of her own. I love the play on what, "The Highest Number," truly means. A fabulous pairing with Kevin Sylvestor’s Splinters and, of course, Roch Carrier’s The Hockey Sweater!
Kathy Stinson’s The Man with the Violin is a deeply layered book with so many ideas to explore. The theme of being too busy to see what is beautiful is not only described through sensory language, but is revealed by the illustrator through the use of colour to juxtapose creativity against the dark noise of every day. Your students will love the jazzy use of sound running through the book. Pair this book with the very important end notes on Josh Bell and watch him talk about music and listen to him on his own website. Anne Villeneuve, is an author illustrator, who plays with colour using watercolours and ink. My favourite pages are at the end where, after an imaginative trip to Africa to escape the MEAN, HORRIBLE, STINKY brothers Loula & her kind chauffeur sit and enjoy the sunset. Each page is the same scene with different colours washing over them. Books with a similar them of running away to escape siblings or imaginative play is the classic A Baby Sister For Francis or Mark Teague’s A Secret Schortcut. Don’t let me tell you about this one. Click on the image below & let the MoMa explain the world of creativity, architecture and architects to you through links, images and the book trailer! Through a simple story, Ruth Ohi explains the power of a tsunami and the loss that can occur. It shows not only the journey of Kenta’s family after the 2011 tsunami hit Japan, but also the journey of Kenta’s soccer ball. Amazingly enough the journey and return of items after the tsumani was also a story that stayed in the minds of many. For younger students you may want to check out the story of one Japanese boy and his soccer ball and to examine the environmental aspects and see some footage of the tsumani check out the trailer of Lost and Found. This is a Hot Docs documentary that was made based on the journey of people’s possessions, where they went and the people who found them. There are so many great programs out there that can help your class build skills, develop ideas, and connect them to others around the world. See if one of these programs would fit into your year. I'd like to try a few of these this year. ***Please note all images have links to the sites and/or resources referenced. International Dot Day - September 15th Peter Reynold's books are all about inspiration,thinking outside of the box, being yourself and overcoming the fear that we can't do something. What an awesome way to start the year! I'll have a display of his books out for teachers to use with classes. What International Dot Day is about: This could be a great school event. We could have a group reading of the book. We can even access an online version through Tumblebooks on the Uxbridge Public Library Website! People could implement Dot Day their own ways. There are tons of ideas to be found in the Educator's Handbook, so check it out! It would be cool to have a Community Dot Wall, as well. We could invite the mayor, John, our crossing guard, John Cavers...he might even take a picture for the Cosmos..., past principals or vice-principals, staff at Blue Heron Books, Derek, our bird-box man, SCC members, Pizza people, Lunch Room Supervisors & anyone who is involved in Quaker in some way. If anyone is interested, I'll sign up our school and put together the media to share our mark! Global Read Aloud - Starts October 6th What Global Read Aloud is about: We have all of the books, except The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jenni Holm of Babymouse fame, which doesn't come out until August 26th, so we'll have a wait a bit for that one. Pernille Ripp states it best in her explanation of the program: If you are interested please check out thewiki. It has all the information you need laid out in a logical fashion to get going. Mystery Skype - Where In The World? What Mystery Skype is all about: It's like a game of twenty questions, only with another class somewhere in the world. It looks like an authentic use of mapping skills, geography and communication. Plus, it looks fun! Skype An Author Skype has a great offer for all teachers. If you register for Skype in the Classroom, you are eligible for free Group Video Calling which is a great tool to connect your classroom to the world. One great advantage of this, and I'm sure there are others, is that you can connect with authors either for free, with purchase and promotion of their books, or for a lesser charge, due to the lack of travel time. Imagine bringing the author you are reading or studying right into your classroom. How exciting! How empowering! Robert Paul Weston, author of Zorgamazoo and Dust City, was at our school a couple years ago and I still can't keep his books on the library shelves. He has a new book out this year, Creature Department, and when communicating with him on Twitter this year he told me he moved to England, so travel costs might be a bit much, but that he would Skype with us. The opportunity is there! Kate Messner, author and teacher, has lots of advice on skyping with authors. You can check out her articles Met Any Good Authors Lately? and An Author in Every Classroom: Kids Connecting with Authors Via Skype in School Library Journal if you would like more detailed information. World Read Aloud Day - March 4th, 2015 What World Read Aloud Day is all about: This day is important for a number of reasons. We can use it to provide a window to literacy rates and the lives of children around the world and give our students the chance to figure out the importance of education. Reading from sections ofI Am Malala might be a good resource for that day or you could visit the Malala Fund to find statistics on girls and literacy or read the English translation of her original blog. Another important aspect of World Read Aloud Day is the power of reading aloud to promote and gain literacy. If you have ever read Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook, you already know. If you haven't you should read it or just check out some of the amazing benefits that arise from reading aloud to children. Here's a snippet from his book: The World Read Aloud Classroom Kit is a great resource for the day. It provides Global Literacy Statistics, ideas to implement the program in your class, and a list of books to read aloud promoting character education.
I believe this week will be a great week for our Page-a-thons! Perhaps we can incorporate a fund raising aspect into it to support Lit World or the Malala Fund. So many ways to connect! Let me know if you are interested in trying out one of these programs or you already have. I'll be honest! I haven't and am excited about the possibilities! Also, let me know if you know another great program I've missed. I know there are many more! I had a great summer & I hope all of you did too & are ready to come back rested, rejuvenated & ready to go! This post is just an overview of: Library Organization Please note that I teach all afternoon this year & if you could keep distractions to a minimum that would be greatly appreciated. As well, Ms. Laszlo will be teaching out of the library the morning of Day 5, so that is something to keep aware of as well! Open Book Exchange: Small groups of students are welcome to exchange books any time! Please remember to only send down a maximum of 5 students at one time for book exchange. If you are teaching a Kindergarten or Grade 1 class you may set a regular book exchange period within the unscheduled times. Booking the Library...Goes Online..with the Laptops! Since booking the laptops, with the printing of the schedules on Monday morning worked so well, I’m planning on adapting the library tables & computer booking to that method as well. I will keep it in the same file as the laptop sign-out to make it easier. Desktop computers are available for groups when Ms. Laszlo or I are teaching, but please ask your students to be respectful to maintain this privilege. Laptop-wise we still have the downstairs cart and the upstairs cart where you can sign out any number of laptops you need and we have the mobile cart. This cart is for whole cart sign out only and is located in the back of the Science room. I believe there are 15 laptops on the cart currently, but I’ll get back to you on that! Partnering: If you haven't already, please check out and fill in the Library Survey to see the different types of partnerships that are available and so I can see how you would like our library to work. Think of when you might want to work with me & let me know, but know that organic partnerships that come our of nowhere are fun too. If we have planned a lesson & I don’t come see you, please don’t hesitate to remind me. Library Programs I’ve got lots of new plans to share with the kids this year. Here are a couple of the items I’ve planned for the library plate. Please, let me know which app you like to to use and why. It could be personal...sports site, music app or educational. I would love it for my beginning of year bulletin board. Also book your orientation so I can update your students on what's happening. Appy Hour! (Name stolen from Sherri Stokes, of course!) 1) Grades 3-5 for a six week cycle – Wednesdays at lunch from Wed, Sept 24th to Wed, Oct 19th. 2) Grades 6-8 for a six week cycle – Wednesdays at lunch from Wed, Nov 5th to Wed, Dec 10th. The focus of the club is to share Apps that students like to use images, music, sound, and more & then create & show collection of pieces created through the apps. I would also like to use the Lego Movie Maker App in conjunction with the Lego Club to create stop motion videos with their creations. Creators’ Club - Would like to meet once a month/every other week with a group of students grade six to eight who like to create stories through words, images or sound or a mix of the above. We can work on writing in different genres or the use of media for contests, assemblies or just for themselves. Re-organize library monitors to be Literary Illuminati with jobs to put away books, create displays, reviews, create videos & share their knowledge and love of reading…basically I’m putting to work all those kids who hang out in the library anyway. Have a bulletin board idea for this too! Code It – Using the great website https://webmaker.org/en-US/tools have students explore code by hacking and remixing. Maybe we could build an app with https://apps.webmaker.org/designer & Quaker parent/app designer, Peter Hansen. I am quite aware that I probably can’t fit all this in and stay sane this year so, If anyone wanted to use the coding app as a beginning of the year activity where kids remix and code their own posters, that would be cool. Check out the remix I made & remix one yourself. I do have to see if this site will work at school ... https://mscoleqvps.makes.org/thimble/LTY1NzMyMzUy/meme-maker Password Changes I’ll do a log-in username & password inservice with all grade 4 to 8 students as soon as possible. This new format may be difficult for some of our students to remember, so it will be a good idea to have a hard copy of the Usernames on hand & perhaps even copied for students to keep in an easily retrievable spot. Please click on the image to access a pdf for directions to print off the list of Usernames through PowerTeacher. Author Visits November 10th: Linda Bailey, the author of one of my favourite picture book series, Stanley, fame will be coming from B.C. to give a talk to our Grade One and Two students October 5th— Michael Wade will be joining us to promote his series And Then It Happened to our Grade 3 to 5 students. His series and talk is great for boys and reluctant readers. I’ve heard good things! He was here one year when Sarah Parry was in the library. Sometime This Fall Supposedly, Eric Walter, Ted Staunton, Richard Scrimger and the whole crew are coming to Uxbridge to launch Seven the Sequel. I’m hoping this is a great event for our grade six to eight students! Digital Bootcamp: It seems we are currently looking at a 4 period recertification with myself and the homeroom teacher for the grade sevens & eights with a full intro to the program for our grade 6 students. Blog Posts Coming Your Way Soon: 1) Connect Your Class Globally! A number of cool programs to connect your students with the world building engagement & knowledge through technology. International Dot Day with Peter Reynolds on September 15th! Could be cool! Who's in? 2) Five Great Teacher Resources To Build Program - I read some fabulous professional reads this summer and they were loaded with ideas to promote Technology, Accountable Talk, Close Reading, Readers & Writers Workshops & Inquiry Circles. See if one of these books catch your eye and has information on an an area you might like to explore. Any questions? Please don't hesitate to ask! Stef Articles Worth Sharing:
Check out this feature for links to interesting educational articles and blog posts. So my kids are in camp this week and I'm powering through school organizational files. Today, I'm supposed to be editing my long range plans for my language class by embedding the philosophies, ideas, new goals and teaching methods I've discovered over the year and figuring out how to get those abstract thoughts into a concrete plan that I could stick to...mostly, kind of, some days, depending.... I like to have a plan, even if it needs to change. A couple weeks ago Elinor shared a site on using memes to display your class rules: You can click on the image if you want to see the memes. They were quite funny. I didn't plan on using this with my class, but this morning before I was settling into work I happened upon this tweet. Greg's post on his goals and philosophy blew me away. You can check it out by clicking on the tweet too! I was also going to work on a couple pages of the photo album for our trip this year, but every picture I saw reminded me of what I want for my classroom & how my lovely, yet strange family, the photos I take of them, and the things they do seem to reflect my teaching philosophy. The two tweets merged in my head & the introductory-learning-living-being-in Ms.Cole's Class-meme show using original photos from last year emerged: I'll be using an adapted version of this to introduce myself to my class and to introduce the idea of the community I'd like to build in our class. I believe I'll be having my students create there own Meme Show to show me what they are about, goals they have & ideas they hold. Here's the outline I'll use to share this introductory project with my students.
Maybe, I can get to work now! |
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Some Great Teaching/Book Blogs Nerdy Book Club Teach Mentor Texts Free Tech for Teachers Reading, Teaching Learning On The Shoulders of Giants Edumcation Two Writing Teachers Dirigible Plum Three Teachers Talk |