Keeping It Mini

Also known as short, tiny, brief, concise (but still powerful) lessons!

There are two qualities that the majority of teachers I know share:  the desire to help children and the desire to talk.  Have you ever been in a room full of teachers?  It is not quiet!  We just can't help ourselves.  Therefore it only makes sense that we would have a tendency to sometimes go on too long during a lesson.  After all we want to help our students.  We want to make sure they understand.  It's easy to fall into the trap of "just one".  Just one more example...  Just one more story...  Just one more problem...  Just one more explanation...  I know they will get it this time!  The trouble is we have just pushed the kids beyond their capacity to retain what we said. 

It's important for us to keep our lessons mini.  Brain research shows that the age of the child is equal to the amount of minutes they can maintain attention.  That means a five year old can focus for five minutes, a ten year old for ten minutes, etc..  (I'm forty-two which means I should be able to focus for forty-two minutes right?  Actually research is showing, regardless of age, ten minutes is the threshold without brain and body breaks!)

Think of it as a challenge!  How could you chunk instruction into shorter segments so students can retain and sustain their learning?

Some Ideas

*Keep your lessons brief and to the point.  Pick one skill to focus on.

*Switch your position in the room or the position of the students.  Move the whole class from the carpet to their desks, move from the whiteboard to the document camera, have students swivel facing front to facing back, etc..

*Use the think, pair, share strategy to give everyone a chance to share without adding length to the lesson having students respond one-by-one..

*Don't be afraid to stop for a brain or body break.  If you feel like your class is losing attention, they are.  If you think they are still learning, they are not.

*When they have reached their learning maximum release them for some independent practice, bring them back together to extend or revisit the skill.  

*A specific skill or strategy may be taught as a mini-lesson over several days.  No one expects you to teach inference in one day, in one lesson, and never discuss it again!  Don't be afraid to stretch it out.

Mini Lesson Outline

1. Name the concept or skill being taught

2.  Teacher Modeling

3.  Guided practice as a class

4.  More examples/discussion

5.  Review what was taught (circle back to #1)

 

Bonus Tip:  If you are stuck about what to confer with individual students about, touch on the strategy that was just taught in the mini-lesson.  This will give you an idea of whether or not it stuck!

Example of a Mini-Lesson Template

Another Template

Mini-Lesson Example

Whole Brain Teaching Video (If you search "whole brain teaching" on You Tube you will find dozens of powerful examples.)

Brain Breaks

Brain Breaks on Pinterest

What I Learned from Gail and Joan

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to attend a two day Daily Five/CAFE workshop with Gail and Joan.  I need to point out that I am no stranger to them.  I've attended their workshops before and listened to them speak at the MRA (Michigan Reading Association).  Their books-I've read.  Their DVDs-I've watched.  Their website-I'm a member.  Their Tip of the Week email-I get it!  Why am I such a fan?  Three magic words-authentic reading and writing!  How can a teacher not love to see their students participating daily in authentic reading and writing?  Even being a self-professed Daily 5 geek, I still learned a great deal from this workshop.  I'm going to share here just a few of the tidbits I gleaned from those wonderful two days.

-Add "bathroom stamina" to your charts!

-3 Rounds per day (Kindergarten and Intermediate-2 rounds)

-Don't have the children "brainstorm" when creating your I Chart.  Just label it.  You may have to create the I Chart in two separate sessions based on children's stamina.

-Teach the 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence in chunks.  3-4 different times throughout the day to fill up the chart.  It is too much for student's to digest at one time!

-Age of child=number of minutes of direct instruction.  (This stops at 10 minutes.)

-Ask your Media Specialist to teach the Good Fit, I PICK book lessons in the library as well.

-Model the strategy "go back and reread books in your box when you are done".

-Read to Someone is last to be taught

-Fluent readers are 5-7 words ahead in their brains of their voice!

-Leveled classroom libraries are discouraged.  Leveling systems are for teachers not students.

-Reading level is not the primary determinate for placing students into a group-it's the skill needed!

I could go on and on and on.  Everything they said was spot on and they have the research to prove it.  In the classrooms I visit throughout my district I see powerful results of Daily 5 implementation as well.  It's hard to argue with kids reading and writing everyday!

 

"The person in the room that does the most work does the most learning."

I'm a Reluctant Reader!

Perhaps I should start as I WAS a reluctant reader.  Or maybe reluctant is the word that doesn't fit, it should be I was a stressed-out, busy, stretched-too-thin reader.  Summer is typically when I dive into books, books, and more books.  Reading is my favorite pass time and I read each day.  In the summer I love to tackle heavy books ("East of Eden", "Mayflower", "Jane Eyre", etc.) that I might not have time for during the school year.

This summer however life was frantic.  Besides taking care of my three boys, we remodeled our house, sold it (twice), packed up the entire thing and moved.  I just was too warn out to go serious with my reading.  I wanted lighthearted and fun.  I did not want to back up and reread!  I did not want to sketch a map of characters in the back cover.  I wanted brain candy!  So I spent a great deal of time this summer reading magazines, articles online, and fluffy books.  So while I was reluctant to tackle a 600+ page novel, I did not give up reading.  I adjusted my style.

Many of our students are reluctant readers.  Is our goal as educators to get them to read OR to get them to read what we deem worthy?  I firmly believe we need to let our students read whatever they like as long as they are READING!  Yes we can introduce them to classics.  Yes we should read aloud books of quality.  Of course we need to pack our bookshelves full of as many choices as possible.  But sometimes a kid, and an adult, just wants a little brain candy!

Below is a sampling of books for reluctant readers:

"Fly Guy" Series by Tedd Arnold
"Don't Let the Pigeon..." Series by Mo Willems
"Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa" Series by Erica Silverman
"Daisy Dawson" Series by Steve Voake
"Cinderella Smith" Series by Stephanie Barden
"Stink" Series by Megan McDonald
"My Weird School" Series by Dan Gutman
"Captain Underpants" Series by Dav Pilkey
"How to Train Your Dragon" Series by Cressida Cowell
"Ramona" Series by Beverly Cleary
"Fudge" Series by Judy Blume
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" Series by Jeff Kinney
"NERDS" Series by Michael Buckley
"39 Clues" Series by various authors

I realize that all of these are series books and there is a reason behind it!  Reluctant readers love series books because they do not have to start from scratch each time they start a new book.  The characters, setting, format are usually quite similar.  This can be a life saver for a struggling reader.  My goal is to get them reading now so they can love it their whole lives!

Common Core Conundrum

Lately it seems that the majority of my work focuses on the Common Core Standards (you may have heard of them).  There is always some trepediation when a seemingly huge shift is about to happen.  Eyes glaze over, faces go blank. and heads tilt to the side in that "really another change" stare.  Currently we are in the process of developing an implementation plan to get our teachers ready for this new challenge. 

We have had standards in Michigan for years (GLCEs) and I can honestly say, on the surface, the CCSS seem much more compact and meaningful than what we have had in Michigan.  During our first meeting we spent time discussing the shifts, each ELA standard, and finally focusing on writing.  There was a measurable wave of relief as we worked our way through the standards.  The teachers know that they can do this and do this well!

As with anything new, products will follow.  I noticed at MRA that there are many companies touting "Common Core Aligned" for many of their products and textbooks.  Wow that was fast!  I'll proceed with caution regarding these endorsements but I will say I have seen some quality information and books out there.  Whether they are good solid retools of old favorites or new insights into what is on the horizon, they offer valid ideas!












Common Core Shifts...

First Focus-MAISA writing units.

Learning Targets and I Can statements

It seems as if every state is jumping on the CCSS bandwagon as well by putting out their own documents.

Ohio

North Carolina

Kentucky

Back to the title of my post the conundrum, I feel, will lie in the assessment piece that is coming down the road.  There will be no tears shed by Michigan educators when the MEAP test is retired but how will the new assessment affect us all.  How this puzzle piece fits with our newly adopted standards remains to be seen.

Might As Well Face It (I'm addicted to books)

The words have changed slightly from the Robert Palmer hit song of my youth but the message is similar!After coming home from the recent MRA (Michigan Reading Association) conference, I realized I had a problem.  My back was aching, my bag was ripping, and a smile was spreading across my face.  I had just acquired the above books hoping to inspire myself and the teachers I work with. The conference was filled with wonderful speakers sharing best practices and innovative ways to reach children.  When a book is touted by an educator I admire, I can't help myself, I must have it!  As I stacked them all up I concluded I had given myself a massive reading assignment.  Looking at my new books made me think nostagically about some of the author/educators and titles that have inspired my teaching through the years.  This blog is about some of those books!



In the past few months I have read The Ten Things Every Writer Needs to Know and Everyday Editing.  These are absolute musts if you are teaching kids to write.  Everday Editing will help you understand why DOL is DOA.  The Ten Things will give you relevant methods and examples to bring writing to life for your students.

 

Are you curious why many kids hate to read?  These books will give you motivation to turn things around for the readers in your class.  Choice is important!   Teachers like control but sometimes we need to loosen the reins and let kids read what they want to read.

 

Richard Allington has such wise advice that he backs up with research, powerful reseach.  His What Really Matters series explains,analyzes, and dissects many reading topics that sometimes baffle us as educators.  The best part is he always puts the puzzle back together by giving realistic and timely recommendations to improve instruction.



The writing in this comprehension guide is direct and meaningful.  As soon as a teacher sets it down, they can literally walk into the classroom and put the ideas immediately into practice.  Miller will show you how to build thoughtful and strategic readers.

 

These two slim books are jam packed with useful mini lessons for a reader and writer notebook.  If you haven't used notebooks with your students these books will encourage and guide you in starting.  The tips and plans will help you effortless add substance to your literacy block.

What I truly love about the above books is that they are practical, timely, and classic.  Not one of the above books will require a dictionary by your side.  You will not be bogged down in statistic after statistic.  You will not be bombarded with suggestions that seem impossible.  Did I mention that they are all thin?  You will not find a recommendation of 400+ pages (in a font size 10 no less) here!  I am all about useful recommendations.

These are just some of the career altering books I recommend.  I have cabinets full of even more (please don't report me to the show Hoarders) but I wanted to start small and simple.  If you have a recommendation I would love to hear it.  Perhaps some of my newly purchased books will be added to my favorites soon!

Fluency is the ability to read smoothly, easily, or readily.

(Please read that as fast as you can, three times, while I time you!)

Aha! You probably went back and read the title again! If you did this is one of the best ways to build fluency in children-rereading. There are many other ways to help your students gain fluency in their reading.

-partner reading
-rereading familiar stories or passages
-choral reading with the teacher
-poetry, songs, nursery rhymes
-build fluency with books at their independent level (not instructional, certainly not frustration)
-readers theater
-practice phrases (not words in isolation)
-read along with a tape
-use whisper phones


Do your students know what fluency is? They may think they that it has something to do with a timer and a cold reading but that is not fluency. Fluency is automatic, expressive, and accurate reading. (Thank you ,Tim Razinski PhD, for this simple explanation). To many children fluency is reading FAST. It’s up to us to explain, and model, what fluency is!

-record your students reading, let them listen to themselves (Audacity is a great program for this!)
-model fluent reading for your students
-explain that reading “sounds like a conversation”
-show them examples of fast reading with no expression, etc. so they can see that fluency is not just speed
-when choral reading, echo reading, or reading along with a CD show students what it means to match their voice

Fluency is such an important skill. It may at times get a bad rap because it is connected with timed testing. (Our district uses DIBELS. It’s a countywide mandate as well as a MiBlSi mandate.) But when you think about the components of reading words automatically, showing appropriate expression, and going at the right pace to read words right; it’s a no-brainer! Just as any skill we need to model it and teach it to our students!

Here are just some of the resources available to put fluency instruction into your daily practice:

Fluency Phrases
Reading A-Z has poetry, fluency passages, and nursery rhymes
Partner Read/Read to Someone Lesson
Poetry for Kids
Children's Poetry Archive

Why I love Daily 5...

As I cruise through the two buildings I work in, I love to peek my head inside doors to see Daily 5 in action. You see my role encompasses all things Title I, but I don’t actually have my own classroom of students. Our district became interested in Daily 5 about three years ago, at that point I was out of my own classroom and into my consulting role. I excitedly participated in reading the books, visiting other districts, and helping the teachers research. Last year they dove in headfirst and WOW I am so impressed. The authentic reading, increased stamina, and student conferring just brings a smile to my face. Of course I can’t forget the data-the data is great! We all know that for better, or worse, data is what people look for.
Along the way, there have been bumps in the road. How can we fit in all 5? (We can’t, we get in three.) Where will we get the word work materials? (We get creative and tap every funding resource we can.) My listening center is toast! (We write grants for MP3s, burn CDs, use Audacity, etc…) They will never sit still and read. (They do, we’ve proven it. We have classrooms with 30-40 minutes of stamina!) What about my behavior issue child? (Barometer children; we’ve brainstormed and collaborated as a staff to work this out and share possible solutions.) Our Daily 5 isn’t perfect but it is oh so good…
Students are in good fit books, reading at their level, for a good portion of the day!
Teachers know their students better than ever by conferring.
Authentic work (not busy work) is being done by students, whether it is word work or work on writing.
Our data is growing stronger.
Children are showing a love of reading!The last reason is so important to me! The teachers I work with have noticed this too. We all know, to get better at an activity we need to practice. For a child to become a better reader, they need to read more. We know this as teachers, but amazingly, it doesn’t always happen in our classrooms. When I peak into a Daily 5 room I see kids reading, authentic meaningful reading. I know they will become better readers for it!

Daily 5 Resources:

The Daily 5/Cafe Site
Mrs. Maiolo's 2nd Grade Website
Daily 5 Pinterest Board
Daily 5 Literacy Connections
Daily 5 Youtube Videos
Awesome Resource Page of Ideas

There are many, many others available!  If you are interested in, or fine tuning, the Daily 5, there are also Wikis, online bulletin boards, chat rooms, Pinterest boards, and Twitter!  So many answers out there, so many resources to tap into, you don't have to go it alone!

My number one suggestion is to visit a Daily 5 room and see for yourself.  There is nothing as amazing (not even the smell of new school supplies)!

Round Robin Reading is Dead! (Or it should be....)

I'm always shocked by the number of classrooms that still use round robin reading as a tool. On the other hand I realize why teachers stick with this tired, and proven to be ineffective, method.

1. We genuinely want to listen to all of our students read aloud. Fluency is important. Accuracy, automaticity, and prosody are necessary.

2. Lesson planning is challenging and time consuming work. Teachers need to cover the standards, develop relevant ideas in all subject areas, prepare for standardized testing, and make everything exciting. Sometimes we just need to have an easy way to read that material whole group.

3. It's what we grew up with and we turned out okay!

Let's blow these thoughts out of the water! First, round robin reading is not going to improve fluency. If I dedicate twenty minutes to round robin reading, my struggling reader may read aloud one minute of that. Instead of listening to the material the other nineteen minutes, that struggling reader has been panicked about the upcoming turn, or same struggling reader has tuned out because their turn has been completed. Second, it sometimes can be tiring thinking of one more way to get content across, while providing relevant reading practice. I’m going to give you some alternatives at the end of this post. Finally, I did participate in round robin reading and survived. I’m an excellent reader. (I even have old report cards to prove it.) Of course, there was little difference between myself and the struggling reader during round robin reading. While waiting for my turn, I strategically figured out when I would read. After my turn I tuned the others out and either read ahead or daydreamed. Below I’ve listed some resources to get this out of your classroom. Please get rid of this “worst practice”. This is one robin you have permission to eliminate!

Echo Reading
Partner Reading
Jigsaw Reading
Shared Reading
Choral Reading
Silent Reading (IF the material is at or below their reading level!)
Guided Small Group Reading
Whisper Reading
Recorded Texts
Read Aloud
Readers Theater
Reading Conference
Trio Reading
　
Recommended Reading:

New Year, New Me, New Books

A startling revelation hit me last night as I prepared myself to go back to work. I had not read one book over Christmas break (two weeks mind you) for pure pleasure. Oh I had read definitely. There were back issues of The Reading Teacher to catch up on. I devoured several educational books including What Really Matters for Struggling Readers and Everyday Editing. Being a literacy education geek, these books were fascinating and fun. However, I worried that I was loosing my reading mojo.

Since the beginning of the 2011-12 school year I have read, read, and read books, magazines, articles, websites, and even tweets all centered on education. I’ve stretched my beliefs, expanded my thoughts, and broadened my education network. This is awesome! I love my job! I love learning! But there was something missing. That feeling of settling in with a book, and only a book. That’s right-no highlighter, no pen and paper for notes, and no bending of pages because I just have to show my coworker what I discovered Monday morning.

I spend so much time as a literacy educator thinking of ways to entice children into reading, ignite their passion for books, turn them into lifelong readers. Almost half of all Americans NEVER read for fun! (Scary statistical stuff!) Modeling for my students is key but I had lost balance in my own reading life. So my New Year resolution is to add some frivolous books into my mix. I’m going to get lost in a story. I’m going to cozy up in a chair with a book I can’t put down. I’m going to storm the library looking for titles to add to my repertoire. Perhaps I will even get invited back to my book club (because I’m reading things that don’t need teacher lingo translations)! New Year, New Books, New Me!

My Will-Read List:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer
Catherine the Great by Robert Massie
The Sisters by Nancy Jensen
Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

Of course, because I am still an eduwonk at heart, these titles as well:
10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know by Jeff Anderson
Comprehension Going Forward by Various Authors
Catching Readers by Barbara Taylor
Cognitive Coaching: A Foundation for Renaissance Schools by Arthur Costa
Enhancing RTI by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey