Sunday, November 2, 2008
Observations...
When you find the time to observe one of your colleagues, please find this space on the blog and post your thoughts about your observation. What is something that you left the observation wondering about? What is something you will try as a result of this experience? What did you notice? What did you learn? How is this classroom the same or different from your own? What did you notice about the particular strategy lesson you observed? What did you notice about the structure of reading in the classroom?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
17 comments:
Hi everybody,
After being asked to observe a colleague, I immediately thought I would like to observe Helen Minkle teaching music. Incorporating the creative arts into the curriculum was not only a grad. major for several of us, but I am certain an important aspect to all of our teaching. Additionally, "these days" it seems to be getting harder rather than easier to do. I thought I would like to see how Helen might incorporate reading and language into her music class. She's amazing. I observed her teaching my second graders for one class.
Something I loved that Helen does is the way she starts out her class. Her way of taking attendance is to say Hello_____ to every single child, and they answer her back....sounds like a simple idea, yet I can honestly say I just say "Hello Team 10" when they come in.....yet saying I hello to each one just seemed special....and I mean more than just asking their lunch choice!
Knowing we were doing a cowboy story in class, Helen taught "Home on the Range" using a storybook with that same title. The strategy that was prevelant throughout her lesson was that of questioning.....and though most of the questions came from Helen, the children brought into the lesson several strategies of their own:
Inferring (why would cowboys sing?)
Answers: no radio, tell about adventures, sit around the campfire
Schema: Vocabulary
Answers: bisons are the same as buffalo; able to name instruments--banjo/guitar
Connections: "This reminds me of a book....)
Other strategies: Children discussed the cover being the same as one of the illustrations, wanted to go back to certain pages after the reading; used cowboy voices to "sing" the song after hearing it read!
Part 2 of the lesson was about Christopher Columbus....
I noticed that once again, Helen used the questioning technique about what do you already know....
She incorporated math skills in counting back to 1492.
I loved how Helen used movement at the end of her lesson about Columbus. One child who is extremely withdrawn and shy smiled the most I have seen him smile the entire year.....each and every child was engaged and in control! All this in 40 minutes time! We often feel so limited by interruptions and time constraints....obviously a specialist who meets with each class for one session a week has to be a master at making the very most of that time. Things for me to consider back in class: keeping connected to specialists with integrating with each other....using movement in a more focused way....(great for organization and summarizing----Helen had them act out the story of Columbus starting from asking Queen Isabella for the $---to planting the Spanish flag in the ground.) Next step: I would love the opportunity to observe art and more music classes----as I know they both use literature in their classes.....this time in other grade levels.
Thanks!
fj
Calling all Teachers...
I would love to see a lesson by anyone in our group. If I could come in your room on Tuesdays at 11, Wednesdays at 12:45, or Fridays at 11:05 let me know. These are my specialist times, therefore I wouldn't need coverage.
<3 Sheila
Today I had the pleasure of observing in Karen Verry's classroom during their Reader's Workshop. I chose Karen's room as I was interested to see how my former fourth graders were doing with the workshop model.Karen gathered her class around her on the rug, her topic for her mini-lesson was "questioning" She started the thinking of with a quotation. She modeled her lesson using her read aloud The Sign of the Beaver. Karen read a chapter from the story, the kids were involved in the story and were great listeners. Karen went on to model what she wanted her students to do with the questioning strategy when they returned to their own seats and read from their own novels. She asked the students to find a burning question and modeled her own burning question from her novel. Will Matt be able to teach the Indian boy how to read English? What would be difficult? What problems might arise? How would it make him feel to try and read a new language? Karen modeled her questions on the paper and shared with the kids. We were able to make a great connection with the text as Karen has a new student from China who speaks no English how great for the class to be part of her English languge training!!The kids returned to their desks, and were very engaged in their own books and got started on their own questions. Karen conferred with the kids, as did I. I enjoyed talking with former students about why they chose their books, how they liked their books, and what they were writing for their questions. They are proud of their book selections and are active participants in their reading. Karen is an excellent teacher, this is evident in her well run classroom.She is encouraging her kids to go beyond the surface in their thinking and they are reading like crazy!! Karen and I have had a few discussions about this process. She too is looking for the best way to implement the workshop model and ways to make it successful. It is nice we can all discuss this, and feel free to share success and our doubts! BABT STEPS!! Thank you Karen for sharing a special part of your day with me Great job! You are an inspiration to your students.
Hi me again I meant to add that after Karen's kids did their reading and writing, they returned to the rug for a "share" of their own burning questions. It was great to hear one student tell of how confused she was when she started a new book. She told the class that she was unsure of what was going on in the story, soooo, she began again and reread the first few pages and it all made sense! Strategies that work in progress!
Yo!
Carlene & I also observed Helen Minkle, but with Nancy's 4th grade class. Her easy flow of the MOT language within the music lesson was great. How many specialists spend the time to learn and intergrate this language? Kudos!! I have to agree with Faith's blog 100%
As you have already read from Linda, I observed Helen's fourth grade music class. She was very gracious for we burst in on her unannounced, fitting in our observation during our planning time. She was working on a Native American song with the group. They discussed the vocabulary of the song along with the images it evoked. Students used their schema and offered connections. They choral read the lyrics, and clapped out the rythem. Different groups were given the opportunity to play an instrument or sing a stanza. Helen smartly incorporated some kids who were "getting itchy" as a way of drawing them back. I was very impressed with her style, and she is certainly using the language and strategies of MOT. I wondered if I might try using a song in a reading lesson. Today using the lyrics We're Going To Be Friends by The White Stripes we visualized, used schema and discussed connections before singing the song through a couple of times with the music. We all had fun and I'll be using more songs in the future. Thanks Helen!
When I arrived in Karen Verry’s fifth grade classroom, the students were already seated at the rug…the focus of the mini-lesson was “How do we find out about characters?” Karen did a wonderful job explaining that we as readers connect to character’s emotions-- and made references to an anchor chart the class had made a few days prior. Karen began talking about the emotions we have as readers about our past reading experiences. The students turned and talked about how they learned to read—the triumphs and struggles they had or have been experiencing. It was really nice to see older students (many were in my third grade class) turn and talk—and REALLY turn and talk…. Not all, but a few of my third graders just sit there and barely say anything when asked to “Turn and talk”. Some even pretend… I was very impressed with the fact that ALL of Karen’s students were discussing their past reading experiences…. Are they better at this because they are older??? A few of my students are just not “into it”… and this concerns me. Something to work on with those few kids…. After the turn and talk, Karen asked students to share what their partner had said--- I really enjoyed seeing some of my previous students sharing their thoughts so clearly--- very articulate—much has changed since third grade!!! I was VERY impressed with their thinking. Then, Karen read a chapter from Sign of The Beaver—asking students to pay attention to the changes the characters were experiencing… ( just as they had experienced changes as readers over the past years). I really liked the way Karen connected these two different ideas… I plan on using a similar technique when I focus on characters. After discussing the characters, students were sent to their comfortable reading spot—where they began reading their novel…. Karen asked them to write a short response on the back of an index card--- discussing the changes the character of their book was experiencing… their insights on the character they were reading about. I like the index card idea…it makes the process (for me and the students) manageable and less intense than a “journal entry”. Karen sat with me for a few moments while the kids were reading, and explained how she manages “Status of the Class”. (which was a help b/c I haven’t really attacked that yet). Observing Karen, and talking with her was more than a valuable learning experience …. It helped me generate some new ideas, as well as validated that I am on the right track… giving my students the tools (although on a simpler level than fifth grade) they will need to succeed as readers. I hope I am able to observe Karen again—she is an outstanding teacher, and I really benefited from having the opportunity to watch her and her class in action. ~Jamie
Arriving in Jamie's 3rd grade class, I found the students encircled on the rug. The mood was inculsive and welcoming as well as focused and lively. As I was observing, their chat was really a deep conversation about a Shel Silverstein poem students had annotated with questions and thoughts for the previous night's homework.I was impressed with the high level of engagement and quality of the 3rd graders thinking as I listened in on their whole class conversation. And it was a real conversation where one idea led to another,then questions to connections to schema, engaging all the students whether they were talking or listening. Jamie kept gently nudging them to delve deeper and to question their own thinking by saying "Tell us more" and "What did your neighbor say?" They were all participating and equally important enjoying the free exchange of ideas.Jamie subtly guided the conversation keeping it purposeful but allowing the conversation to flow naturally. It wasn't only few confident kids speaking,through her skillful and patient approach, Jamie encouraged thoughts from the less confident students signaling to everyone,"your thoughts are important...you matter" Making the time and place for these valuable conversations gives students the chance to get their thoughts out of their heads and into open so their thinking can be stretched and strengthened.
I left Jamie's classroom excited about the capabilities of 3rd grader thinkers and to the possibilities for all students to participate in real learning in real ways.
Jamie's lesson was simple but effective. Fanning of flames of young thinkers through purposeful and productive conversations helps all of us especially our students on the rug in front of us.
This summer, I had the pleasure of teaming with Amy McNeil in the extended school year elementary special education program. We had a great experience working together. I absolutely loved seeing the joy and excitement of learning she ignited in the diversified group of learners were charged with. That said, I thought it would be wonderful for me to see her working with her students. When I entered Amy's room, they were seated on the rug and the hum of anticipation was evident as they chatted about their homework. They were assigned the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and were charged with making predictions about the main idea of the poem. Amy explained to the class that they were working on clarifying questions to make the main idea clearer. She also relayed to the students that they were to think about "fat" questions that would help them to delve into the details of the poem. She noted that many of them mayend up changing their thinking. The poem was read by two students who volunteered to do so. The students then began to ask questions about the poem. Amy gently guided them by asking a question that elicited more questions from the students. The discussion was very animated and all students participated. She asked the students to pair up or in groups of three and share their thoughts about the poem and their ideas and questions. Amy listened in to guide them when necessary When the group came back together, Amy asked them if they still agreed with their predictions and used the questions to help them see the details. Students were finding examples in the poem to support their ideas. At the end of the lesson, many of the students had a very clear idea of the main idea and how it differed from the superficial prediction that they had written the night before. The students were released to their Reading Workshop. With book, journal, and pencil in hand, they were off to discover more questions about their thinking as they read. Amy continues to instill the joy and excitement of lea.rning that I had previously witnessed Her students were eager to share their questions and ideas. I came away from the observation with a reminder that a lot of learning can come from a single skill lesson that engages all students. She provided the time for them to talk with each other and share their ideas through discussion. The teacher is the facilitator rather than the lecturer resulting in a meaningful learning experience for all of them.
Sara was reading The Patchwork Quilt aloud from the Gr. 3 anthology when I arrived. (No, I didn't request the story, it was just a pleasant coincidence!). Students were gathered on the floor in front of her. Prior to this session, Sara and her students had created a chart of Thinking Stems for questions, which was now clearly displayed. She had obviously reviewed it , then instructed her class to keep these questions in mind as they listened because they were very focused and recording their own questions on sticky notes as she proceeded. Upon completion of the story, Sara asked volunteers to read their questions aloud. She accepted all questions, reinforcing that each one had value, and was careful not to comment on whether any of these were "better" than others. It was interesting and encouraging to hear the variety and depth of their questions. My 1st graders tend to be more literal. All students were engaged and respectful in this sharing part of the lesson and followed Sara's lead - I never heard any judgements or anyone trying to answer others' questions. Sara transitioned smoothly into the next part of the strategy by posing another set of questions. "Which of these questions help us understand the story better?" and "Which are just nice to know?" She then asked specific students to repeat their question and stand. I was very impressed with how carefully Sara had listened to the students' sticky notes. Knowing where she was going with this, I could see that her choices ensured there would be plenty of opportunity to discuss and categorize their questions.If they decided the question was "Nice to know" the child would sit down. Sara also kept their discussion on track by reinforcing the strategy -"But does it help us...?", then encouraging them to explain why or why not. At one point there was a difference of opinion, with good reasons on each "side". Sara posed the question, "Are there some questions that fall in the middle?" (They decided this child should kneel.) It occurred to me that this acknowledgement of middle ground is what keeps the reader thinking, because it forces them to go beyond the "right or wrong" answers. She concluded the lesson by setting a purpose for their next independent reading session -that they would record and categorize questions from their own reading.
Watching Sara and her students reminded me of the importance of these Launching Lessons. Plenty of modeling, opportunities to practice strategies together and setting a purpose will increase the likelihood of independent application down the road. It was encouraging to see the 3rd graders implementing reading and thinking skills at a more complex level. I have to keep in mind that more often than not, I'm planting the seeds for ideas and skills that may not come to full fruition until my "crop" of students has moved on. And that's OK!! Across grade levels, what we ask our students to do with these strategies may change, but the core of what we do isn't really so different, is it?
I observed Heather for many reasons. One reason being that I wanted to see how students were interacting with the same reading concepts we are working on in first grade. I also wanted to view Heather because she had the opportunity to observe Dover teachers in order to better her Reader’s Workshop. Finally, because she always has so many wonderful ideas to share at study groups and classes, I just wanted to see it in action.
When I first walked into Heather’s classroom, the students were on the rug ready to learn. The focus for the workshop was “Thick and Thin Character Traits”. She had an anchor chart that the students had previously created filled with both types of character traits to be discussed. I liked that she used a previous lesson to connect back to. During the mini-lesson, Heather talked more about thick and thin traits and handed out a list of possible traits characters could possess. She had the students Turn and Talk to their neighbors about these traits. One pair of girls said it would be fun to set these traits up as a matching game. For example, they said we could use sad and blue. The discussed among themselves how blue is a thick trait while sad is a thin traits. Although Heather’s class is big, each student had a chance to share their ideas. This was through either a Turn and Talk or whole group discussion.
After the Turn and Talk, Heather read a small piece of The Sign of a Beaver. Students seemed to enjoy this book because many cheered and were eager to hear it. The students were asked to discuss any thick or thin character traits displayed in the novel. After the mini-lesson, students were sent off to focus on character traits in their own books. During this time, I needed to leave. I was wondering how the students shared their ideas. Did you have so many students that day share or have everyone share? Additionally, how often do your students use their notebooks?
During the lesson, I noticed that Heather placed many interactive anchor charts to help with student thinking. She posted the rules and expectations for many aspects of Reader’s Workshop around the room. I was wondering how long you keep up your anchor charts?
Sheila was gracious enough to let me observe her class doing a lesson on sticky notes/connections. The children in Sheila's room are vey respectful and it's obvious that they are quite familiar with Readers' Workshop. Sheila is expert on being explicit, reviewing what the procedure is and placing value on all they share. She started the lesson with a question "What do we do for Readers' Workshop?" The answers were varied...use the notebook, pick out books, practice with sticky notes and Olivia concluded with "Share what we thought." As Sheila talked about the sequence of the lesson I could see the children confirming it with positive facial expressions. This lesson was to be a different kind, finding connections and writing them on the sticky notes. Sheila prompted "What does a good reader do?" The children shared how to read the title, check both the front and back of the book. She continued with "I'm going to tell you my thoughts and you're going to tell me my connection - what kind." They told her text-to-self, she wrote that on a sticky note and asked the children where to stick it. Sheila continued her explicit instruction right down to the picture walk. "Can I have more than one connection on the same page?" She also summarized with the 3 types of connections, writing them on the whiteboard. The children were then instructed to go get their "Schema" book from their bookbags and get to work writing the three different types of connections as they looked through their text. If they had questions, they needed to put their name on the whiteboard so she could meet with them. A few children took advantage of this invitation. During the process, children worked in all parts of the class.....delightful to see....Sheila took her 'most unsure candidates' and did an invite group. She helped them along in locating connections in their 'Schema' book. I stayed long enough to hear a few children share their connections. I was impressed with the level of understanding, the delivery of a quality lesson that was both thorough and sequential. It's a format I will be trying in my class. Sheila's students are similar to mine in ability. I believe they would benefit from the same type of explicit instruction given. Sheila's demeanor scaffold strategy learning and give opportunities for any misunderstandings to be cleared. I'm impressed with all that I saw. This old girl...me...can learn a lot from a budding new teacher. Thanks Sheila for sharing. You've helped me think and re-think my instruction. I need to be as clear and explicit as you are. I also need to take this in small steps in order to ensure better understanding.
I finally had a chance to observe someone. I decided to observe a teacher at our school who has been doing readers workshop since last year. It was very interesting to visit her classroom after having this course because I saw a lot of the things we have been learning. Things seem to make more sense to me. She started her lesson off with a group lesson on thinking deeper about what they have read and to think more about the characters. After the lesson the students went off to read their books and she had conferences with students. She also did a status of the class before they read. I liked the way she set up her notebook for this. She also had a neat chart she had the students record their reading on for that day. After observing this I ended up picking her brain and asking a million questions. It was very nice to know that someone in the building was doing this and that even after a year of doing it she is still working on "perfecting" the readers workshop and trying new things. I was happy to find out that she was doing readers workshop because I was unaware she was until this year. She had a lot of good ideas. I hope the sharing continues and grows once more people have taken the course.
I observed Sheila's class on November 14th. I know it's taken me a while to post this blog but I must say that I have already utilized a lesson that I learned from Sheila. I was so excited to see the little kids engage in Readers Workshop. And Sheila's class did not disappoint me. They were excited to join in the great conversation about what Sheila was reading to them and to share their own thinking. Sheila read the book, The Lonely Scarecrow. She started out activating her student's schemas about how you create pictures in your mind from what you read. She engaged the students in sharing their own ideas and also guided them when it was necessary. I loved her use of "spicy" words when describing and the great modeling she did throughout the lesson. The students also shared with a turn and talk and it was obvious that they had done this before.
One thing that Sheila asked her students was how what they shared helped them to understand the story? I loved that because sometimes I find my students getting off track with a strategy and this helped me pull back and help my students to focus on the strategies use. Now when I hear my students getting away from what my intention for the lesson was, I ask, "How is this helping you understand the text better?" Works like a charm. Thanks Sheila!
I too am late posting my observation but I had the pleasure of observing Sarah the day after Karen observed her. She was conducting a follow up lesson on the Anthology story "The Patchwork Quilt." The focus had been on questioning and today they would continue to share. When I arrived, the children were sitting on the rug with individual clipboards in hand (loved that organization piece and I plan on implementing it myself now). Sarah prompted the students to look at their questions from yesterday. She asked if any questions were "nice-to-know" questions and if so, peel them off the clipboard and hold in their hand. She reiterated that all questions are good but some just don't add a deeper understanding of the text. Children were eager to volunteer to read their "nice-to-know " questions. Sarah asked the group if they agreed with the volunteer. If there was a disagreement, kids voted on whether it was a deeper-meaning question or not and they were asked to give reasons why. This encouraged the kids to think more deeply themselves. Some questions, the class determined, could be viewed both ways depending on how you looked at it. There was a groan from the group when Sarah told them it was time to move on to their deeper-meaning questions. They were so engaged and wanted to share more! She reassured them they had time to share their other type of questions. One student shared a deeper-meaning question that actually illustrated how he had misunderstood a part of the story. Sarah asked thoughtful questions to prompt a better understanding from this student. All along, Sarah validated her students' efforts while giving them encouragement, clarifying concepts, and reinforcing their use of the strategy. What struck me during all this was how comfortable Sarah seemed. Although I knew this was new to her (as it is for me), she seemed very comfortable guiding this lesson as if she'd been doing it for years. I think that's an important piece of the puzzle. If the kids see the teacher at ease trying something new then the kids are more at ease as well. Great Job Sarah and thank you for allowing me to observe.
I chose to observe a session of reader’s workshop. I was interested to see how it would work in a classroom setting and, frankly, I thought it would be logistically impossible. I chose Heather’s class for several reasons. Heather and I have worked together before and I work most often with 5th graders. Also, I wanted to see how it would work with a large class. It was remarkable to walk around the room and see so many of our classroom lessons being used in with her students. There were charts for connections and questioning (which was the strategy Heather was working on at the time). Students began in a relaxed group session on the carpet, with two students sharing their bio book bags. Heather followed by talking about the “burning question.” Students discussed it’s meaning and how they would search for a burning question in that day’s reading. Heather quickly checked the students’ status and they proceeded about their business. Some students were working on letters that are written whenever they finish a book. One student was writing a review of their book. In every case, students were on task and engaged. Heather gave me a rundown of how she tracks student progress and how they are assessed. She made it seem effortless and, as we all know, it’s anything but. As a media specialist, I rarely get to see my students read fiction. They come in and chose books, sometimes telling us what they thought. Seeing these children actively thinking about what they were reading showed me how much more they can connect to their reading. Thank you, Heather. It was a pleasure, as always, to watch you help children grow.
Kellie reluctantly gave me the opportunity to visit her classroom while she was organizing a Reader’s Workshop. Thank you Kellie!! Kellie started off reading the students a Christmas story about three families. She recorded questions about the story as they came up. As she read, she encouraged students to share their questions and continued to write those on the chart as well. At the end of the story, they reviewed the questions and decided on what to do about them. Kellie looked up a few words in the dictionary to clarify the definition of some words, and then the other questions were discussed.
Students have their own reading response journals that they have been using. Kellie noticed that it was difficult to know where the questions came from. Her students were not writing the title of the book that they were responding to. She demonstrated that writing the title on the top of the journal page (like she demonstrated in on the chart paper) would help her and the writer to understand the thinking going on.
Students were then asked to get their book folders and reading response journals. They were about to be released to 1st write the title on the top of the page, then read and write any questions about their reading. Students paired up, non-readers with readers as well as readers with readers. They all transitioned nicely and worked cooperatively with one another. I was impressed to see all of Kellie’s first graders engrossed in their reading task.
I’m thrilled Kellie allowed me to share in her RW. I took a great deal from her that day, the book folders and reading logs. Now all I need is a comfortable living room set for my classroom. If her couch and chairs are ever missing, don’t check my room!!! Thanks again Kellie!!!
Post a Comment