Wait List

It was quiet reading time the other day when I heard two of my students deep in a muffled negotiation about a book. They were whispering back and forth then I saw an exchange between them.

One student opened the cover of the book, pointed to a Post-it inside, then handed the book to the other student. The other student put aside the book he was reading (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and began reading his new trade.

I was curious as to what was on the Post-It so I went over to ask. I smiled when I saw that it was a Wait List of students who wanted to read the book.

The book?

The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner.

If you haven't read it, you should add your name to the Wait List. My kids know a good book when they see one.

Research Writing: Forget the "Expert" List

As I was writing my plans for our new research writing unit, I was concerned that my students would write about something they already knew a lot about, thereby foregoing the need to really dig deep into their research. By 5th grade, most kids have figured out on their own that if they choose a topic to research that they already know a lot about, their job will be easier.

But this unit was to be more than just about writing. I wanted them to learn something about their topic and really get into the research process too.

Knowing this, I thought of a way to help my students choose a fresh topic to research....and here's how:

We began by creating a list of everything we were an expert at or knew a ton about. I set the timer for three minutes as my kids wrote away. Creating this list was easy.

When the three minutes was up, we created another list -- a non-expert list. These would be the things we've always wondered about, wanted to learn more about, or held our curiosity. Another three minutes on the timer, but creating this list was a bit tougher for many.

After both lists were created, I asked the students to look at their expert list and circle the thing they knew the most about. We then did a whip around the room and as each student read his or her most expert topic, everyone either added it to their own expert or non-expert list. This helped the lists grow.

When we were finish sharing, I told my class to put a giant X through their expert list. They could not choose a topic for this project from their expert list.

      Shock!

            Horror!

                  Gasp!

After I explained that this writing project would not just be about writing, but should also teach us something, they understood the method to my madness. Everyone relaxed and got busy picking a new topic to research that would take them from having non-expert to expert status in no time!

Mission accomplished.

Students Need a OLW Too!

Happy new year!

As we return to school this coming week, it is the perfect time to plan for and set goals for the new year.

Many of us do this in the form of a resolution, but I prefer to choose a word that will serve as my mantra and guiding light for the year. It's just easier to remember than a bunch of things that I will or will not do that come in the form of a resolution. (Even the word 'resolution' sounds harsh, doesn't it?)

By now, you may have chosen your One Little Word (OLW) for 2017. But have you considered having your students choose an OLW as a part of their goal-setting for the new year?

I have put together some resources for you to use to make this easy and fun.

This video can get things started:

This graphic organizer will help students choose a word. You can find it here.

Once students have chosen their word, they can reflect on how they will use it to meet their goals. This graphic organizer will get them thinking and help organize the writing process. You can find it here.

Looking for other ways to bring your students' OLW to life?

* Work with the art teacher to have students create a graphic representation or collage of their OLW.

* Give students a mailing label. Have their write their OLW on the label as a sort of name tag to wear.

* Students include their OLW after they write their name on their papers.

* Students write in their reflection journal at the end of every day of how they called on their OLW for guidance in decision making and action.

* Change name tags on desks (or add another one) to include students' OLW. This will help keep the word front and center during work times.

* Create a class book of OLW's. (Thanks Beth Foraker @inclusionchick for the suggestion!)


Best of luck to you as you begin 2017! I wish both you and your students much success in meeting your goals this new year!

Celebrating a Flurry of Kindness {12.17.16}

Have you read Jacqueline Woodson's book, Each Kindness?  (You can see a video of the book here if you haven't.) Each Kindness is a story about a girl who is given many opportunities to show kindness toward another, but chooses to focus on herself and her own needs instead.  Through a series of events, the girl learns that being kind not only affects the person on the receiving end of the kindness, but others too. It is like a ripple in the water.

I wanted to think of a way to share the message of this wonderful book with my students, but also create those ripples and bring good feelings to others.

Enter the Flurry of Kindness Snowflake Challenge.

Each week in December, I have challenged my students to complete at least five random acts of kindness. These kind deeds could be anything from holding the door for someone else, completing a chore without being asked, giving a genuine compliment, reading to someone, or anything else they thought of.

For those who complete the challenge each week, they cut out a snowflake and we hang it from the ceiling in the hallway as a visual reminder of the kindnesses we show each other. The other classrooms in our hallway are participating as well, creating quite the sight to see!

Walking through the hallway is very joyful. Because six classrooms are participating, our flurry of kindness is turning into a blizzard. It's hard to be there without feeling the ripple of peace.

For this, I celebrate.

Ideal Readers: My Students Give ME Writing Feedback!

After following Kimberley Moran's journey with the Institute of Children's Literature's Writing for Children and Teens writing course, I decided to give it a go myself.

My first assignment was to write a 500 - 750 word story based on one of three pictures. I wrote and wrote -- and rewrote and rewrote -- my story.. Finally, I had a finished product that satisfied me, but fell short of thrilling me. I wasn't sure exactly what about the story didn't sit right with me, but I knew there was something.

Lucky for me, I teach a room full of ideal readers (10 year olds) that could help me out by reading my story and giving me their feedback. Problem solved!

In our classroom, we provide writing feedback using the TAG method:
   

Tell something you like

Ask a question

Give a suggestion

When a student finishes a piece of writing, they find someone to "TAG" it. Reader feedback can be so valuable to a writer, and we have spent a lot of time learning how to give meaningful feedback that can help the writer make revisions. (In other words "I like it" and "This was good" are not helpful.) 

So on Friday, it was my turn to have my writing tagged by 20 readers.

It was the best move I could have made.

My students worked in partners to pour over my writing. They knew how important this course was to me and asking them to participate in making it a successful experience was a job they took very seriously.

After about 20 minutes, I called the group back together to give me their feedback.  They noticed some amazing things about my writing that had even slipped past me. The questions they asked and suggestions they made were both thoughtful and helpful. I now realize what it was that didn't quite sit right with me and have a plan to fix it in revision.

But sharing my writing and asking my students for help did more than just help me improve my writing.

It empowered my students.

A win-win for all of us.

The "Special" Bookshelf

There's a bookshelf in our classroom, right next to my desk, where I keep my "special" books.

These are the titles that have grown near and dear to my heart throughout the years. The ones that I reach for when a student says, "I don't know what to read." The ones that I often look to when I am looking for a new read aloud.

At the beginning of the year, only a few students will wander over to my shelf to ask if they can borrow one of the books. But lately, more and more students have been doing so.

I like that.

It tells me my students and I have connected as readers.

Yesterday, one of my boys got very excited when he found Kwame Alexander's Booked on my shelf. He asked if he could borrow it. At the end of our reading time, he came back to me to tell me how much he loved the book so far.  He opened the dust jacket and read me the words that printed there as a teaser. "Isn't that awesome, Mrs. Laffin? I just love the way he writes."

Yes, it is awesome.

Books, "special" or not, are powerful things.

Messing Around

We are finishing up a round of Genius Hour projects, getting ready to share our learning with each other. I asked students to prepare their projects for a three to five minute presentation. One boy decided he wanted to create an iMovie for his project, but said he didn't know how.

"Okayyy....," I told him a bit nervously, "I'm not very familiar with iMovie, but let's give it a shot."

I handed him my iPad and told him we could create a practice video together. To gather footage, he went around the school looking for places where math concepts were being used and put together a short video. We worked together to learn how to import clips, add photos, and edit his video snippets. He was pleased with his test project and made plans to take video for his Genius Hour project.

When he returned to Genius Hour class yesterday, he had his video recorded and saved to his Google drive -- All 15 minutes of it in one continuous clip.

"Can you help me edit it?" he asked. "There's some stuff I need to take out."

Together, we figured out how to load his (very long) video into iMovie.

"Hmmm...I'm not sure how to edit something in the middle of a clip," I told him. "We could Google it." (Google is one of my favorite teachers.)

"I still have my video in my Google drive just in case. Should I just mess around and see what I can figure out?" he suggested.

"Yes! Great idea!" I told him, slightly relieved. "Sometimes we just have to mess around with things until we figure them out."

He went off to his desk, putting his headphones on so he could hear the audio without disturbing others. He was super focused on the task at hand, determined to figure it out. Soon, he was next to me, teaching me how to use the "clip" button to edit footage within a video.

He was quite proud of himself. (I was too!)


This got me thinking.

How often do we allow our students time to just "mess around" with their learning?

Probably not often enough. 

We are so driven to get them to their learning destination that we forget the joy in the journey. We don't have time to allow kids to wander off the lesson plan path to see what new discoveries they can find. This kind of learning is messy. It may require us, the teacher, to admit we don't know something.

But that's okay.

This student reminded me that sometimes messing around with something is the best way to learn about it. I could have taught him exactly what to do, (after I Googled it, of course), but chances are he wouldn't have learned as much from me as he taught himself.

My goal is to introduce more messy learning whenever I can. To be okay with telling a student I don't know something, but that we can find it out together. To allow my kids to explore and learn from mistakes, then teach others what they've found.

This can be the best kind of learning.

And a good reason to celebrate.