For our January novel study, I wanted to test out a new type of literature circle activity. For 8th graders, the "jobs" version of literature circles never worked quite as well as I would have liked it to. Plus, it's a lot of work to set up, and the kids never seemed to know what they were supposed to do when.
After hearing Kelly Gallagher speak this summer, I tested out a new version of literature circles. I think that this would work well with all ages of middle school and up through high school. I don't have much experience with elementary, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for them too.
To begin, I sorted through the books available to me through my school's library. I selected eight that had themes loosely around the topic of prejudice.
After finding this super valuable resource from Daniels and Stieneke on literature circle mini-lessons, I used the "Book Pass" activity to have students select the books they were interested in. Essentially, they read all 8 options for 2 minutes, then selected the two or three books they would like to continue reading. There were no first or second choices, only choices they would read.
I then sifted through the options grouping students according to their selections, my understanding of their reading levels and group dynamics. We ended up with six different novel choices.
Students then got together to divide their book and decide which pages they would read for each meeting. Kelly Gallagher suggested that students should be able to read a book over the course of four weeks, but in retrospect, I should have gone with five or six for my students.
Students then completed "reading notebook" activities for each meeting. Based loosely off of this handout from Kelly Gallagher, students were supposed to track their thinking over time. With the goal of getting to the author's big idea(s). I assessed each reading notebook on five criteria:
1. They used one of the three "track your thinking" stems
2. They included their thinking about the book.
3. They included how their thinking had changed over time.
4. They included a "lit circle moment" that they wanted to share at the meeting. Something that was funny, interesting, confusing etc.
5. They included details in a way that showed they read the assigned pages.
I didn't require any specific amount of writing, and students completed their journals in a variety of ways. I had some students included sketches, but mot students wrote in sentences.
When the students met in their lit circle groups, they shared their "moments" as well as analyzed the character development through their novel.
In the last few meetings, they also used the "Save the Last Word for Me" strategy from the Daniels and Stieneke book. That was really successful in ensuring they had an actual conversation about the moments and didn't just take turns reading from their notebooks. Check it out if your students are struggling with this part of literary discussions!
In the end, students did a theme analysis activity for their novels. They analyzed the central conflicts to determine any possible messages the author might be trying to get across, and selected one that they could support its development throughout their novel with text evidence. They then had to create a symbolic representation of this theme to take the message beyond the pages of their novel. Students gave short presentations to share their themes with the class.
These presentations enabled students to see the shared themes between the novels. Many of the books had similar theme statements in the end, and we'll be able to come back to these during our Holocaust unit study later this year. I would have liked to have students record the themes of their classmates, then decide if this theme could also apply to their novel, but I didn't get that part off the ground. There's always next year!
All in all, it was a successful implementation of literature circles.
Next time, I will have students practice the reading notebook technique with a short story before we begin the lit circles.
In the end, I did have several students tell me they really enjoyed their books - so that in itself is a success!
The books we read were
A Wrinkle in Time
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Across Five Aprils
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Dragonwings
Please share any ideas or questions you have about literature circles!
Monday, February 22, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
We are Changing the World!
I am excited to announce that for 2016 - my classes have adopted a "Change the World" mindset for our Genius Hour.
We are currently deep into the topic selection process, and students will begin researching soon! (Would have been today...but then, snow day ❄.)
THIS is the website I created for this project. I have combined our argument writing unit into this project. I know this is controversial for some Genius Hour advocates, but it is how I can tie it to the standards and make it happen in my school. We are calling this "Phase One".
Students have also created websites for their projects, which are viewable to each other. My district does not allow them to be visible to the world. Hopefully, I'll be able to share some screenshots as we get going.
I am most excited about Phase Two of the projects. This is where students will take action! I cannot wait to see what students will come up with. Another exciting element of our new Genius Hour is the Change the World Expo. Here students will be sharing their projects (and the action they've taken) with other students in our school.
I can't wait to keep everyone update on how the projects are progressing!
We are currently deep into the topic selection process, and students will begin researching soon! (Would have been today...but then, snow day ❄.)
THIS is the website I created for this project. I have combined our argument writing unit into this project. I know this is controversial for some Genius Hour advocates, but it is how I can tie it to the standards and make it happen in my school. We are calling this "Phase One".
Students have also created websites for their projects, which are viewable to each other. My district does not allow them to be visible to the world. Hopefully, I'll be able to share some screenshots as we get going.
I am most excited about Phase Two of the projects. This is where students will take action! I cannot wait to see what students will come up with. Another exciting element of our new Genius Hour is the Change the World Expo. Here students will be sharing their projects (and the action they've taken) with other students in our school.
I can't wait to keep everyone update on how the projects are progressing!
Genius Hour - A Reflection of Sorts
Egads! I drafted this post two months ago, but I forgot to post it. Better late than never!
This year (2015) I jumped into Genius Hour. I didn't have everything completely planned ahead of time, which normally isn't how I operate. I thought I would get started and see where the kids took the project.
See this post for my thoughts about one month (halfway) in.
Now that we've wrapped our first round for the year, I have a few more ideas to add.
1. If I know what my goal is, I have to help students develop the skills to reach it.
I tied this to my curriculum standards by using Genius Hour as my informational text research and writing unit. At the end of the day, I wanted students to read some informational text and cite it appropriately.
I grossly underestimated how much work that would require upfront. I assumed some of the students had background knowledge in the area of citing their sources, but most were not able to draw from that.
I made available videos (flipped classroom style) for students to access if they needed help and support with MLA format. I provided mini-lessons to students who felt like they needed more direct instruction from me. I was available for students while they were working on their projects to answer questions related to citing sources.
In my end of project survey for students, a number of them expressed the project would have been better if they didn't have to worry about MLA. I was trying to mini-lesson on this as went along, but it clearly didn't work here.
Solution - Next year, I'm going to develop a pre-assessment for students to see where they are at on MLA format and citing sources well before the project even begins. Students who already have an understanding will be named experts to help their classmates. I will provide pre-teaching lessons whole group to have some exposure to MLA citations and works cited pages. I will still provide the videos and mini-lessons, but I will have a mid-check assessment to see where students are at before the project is due. This will enable me to see who needs a more direct check in.
I need to do a better job at making clear the purpose of MLA and problems with plagiarism. I also plan to talk to our 7th grade ELA teachers to ask them to use the terminology MLA and Works Cited page so that it is familiar and consistent for students.
2. Give fewer specifics up front.
After we launched Genius Hour, I gave students the option to write a paper and/or create a video at the conclusion of their project. Part way through the research process, I encouraged other options. A number of students expressed in my end of project survey that they wished they had known all of the options up front. Even though I thought I made clear they could do whatever they wanted to meet the criteria, I confused them by at the same time giving the options of paper or video.
Solution - I will simply give them the requirements that they need to meet, and then allow them to create whatever they think will best meet those. I will want them to access their own creativity before I provide any specifics and/or sample products.
3. Embrace the idea that some students will get more out of Genius Hour than others.
This seems to be something that is difficult for most teachers. We want all students to achieve at high levels, but we have to accept that that high level is going to be something that is different for all students. Also, as usual, there will be different levels of buy-in from all students.
I had this idealistic vision of what my students would achieve, but in reality, I didn't create the environment for that to happen for them.
Solution - I need to trust that each student will meet me where they are, and that I am able to help them grow from that point. I also need to do a better job of creating the environment I truly want - one of exploration and discovery. If I put too many constraints on the process, it is likely to hamper this process. I didn't let students struggle through enough, which I need to remember for next time.
I also tried to do too much in a short time frame. I had intended to have our projects stretch a semester, but I didn't get started soon enough. So, we worked twice a week for 9 weeks, instead of once a week for 18. In retrospect, we would have been better off with it stretched out for the semester to allow more time for thought and mini-lesson support between our workdays.
This year (2015) I jumped into Genius Hour. I didn't have everything completely planned ahead of time, which normally isn't how I operate. I thought I would get started and see where the kids took the project.
See this post for my thoughts about one month (halfway) in.
Now that we've wrapped our first round for the year, I have a few more ideas to add.
1. If I know what my goal is, I have to help students develop the skills to reach it.
I tied this to my curriculum standards by using Genius Hour as my informational text research and writing unit. At the end of the day, I wanted students to read some informational text and cite it appropriately.
I grossly underestimated how much work that would require upfront. I assumed some of the students had background knowledge in the area of citing their sources, but most were not able to draw from that.
I made available videos (flipped classroom style) for students to access if they needed help and support with MLA format. I provided mini-lessons to students who felt like they needed more direct instruction from me. I was available for students while they were working on their projects to answer questions related to citing sources.
In my end of project survey for students, a number of them expressed the project would have been better if they didn't have to worry about MLA. I was trying to mini-lesson on this as went along, but it clearly didn't work here.
Solution - Next year, I'm going to develop a pre-assessment for students to see where they are at on MLA format and citing sources well before the project even begins. Students who already have an understanding will be named experts to help their classmates. I will provide pre-teaching lessons whole group to have some exposure to MLA citations and works cited pages. I will still provide the videos and mini-lessons, but I will have a mid-check assessment to see where students are at before the project is due. This will enable me to see who needs a more direct check in.
I need to do a better job at making clear the purpose of MLA and problems with plagiarism. I also plan to talk to our 7th grade ELA teachers to ask them to use the terminology MLA and Works Cited page so that it is familiar and consistent for students.
2. Give fewer specifics up front.
After we launched Genius Hour, I gave students the option to write a paper and/or create a video at the conclusion of their project. Part way through the research process, I encouraged other options. A number of students expressed in my end of project survey that they wished they had known all of the options up front. Even though I thought I made clear they could do whatever they wanted to meet the criteria, I confused them by at the same time giving the options of paper or video.
Solution - I will simply give them the requirements that they need to meet, and then allow them to create whatever they think will best meet those. I will want them to access their own creativity before I provide any specifics and/or sample products.
3. Embrace the idea that some students will get more out of Genius Hour than others.
This seems to be something that is difficult for most teachers. We want all students to achieve at high levels, but we have to accept that that high level is going to be something that is different for all students. Also, as usual, there will be different levels of buy-in from all students.
I had this idealistic vision of what my students would achieve, but in reality, I didn't create the environment for that to happen for them.
Solution - I need to trust that each student will meet me where they are, and that I am able to help them grow from that point. I also need to do a better job of creating the environment I truly want - one of exploration and discovery. If I put too many constraints on the process, it is likely to hamper this process. I didn't let students struggle through enough, which I need to remember for next time.
I also tried to do too much in a short time frame. I had intended to have our projects stretch a semester, but I didn't get started soon enough. So, we worked twice a week for 9 weeks, instead of once a week for 18. In retrospect, we would have been better off with it stretched out for the semester to allow more time for thought and mini-lesson support between our workdays.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Lessons Learned: Genius Hour 2015
After launching into a modified Genius Hour without having all of my metaphorical ducks in a row, I've learned a few lessons.
1. Think about how you will keep track of everything.
Problem: I asked that all of my students have their Essential Questions for research approved by me. As I approved their questions, I typed something into their Google Doc that noted I had see it. I didn't, however, mark down anywhere that I had seen their question. This caused me to have no idea which of my 85 students had their questions approved and which had not. As a result, I had to reopen everyone EQ document to see if I had approved it.
Lesson Learned: Next time, I'll have a spreadsheet of all students so I can mark off when they've completed specific parts of the project. I've started it now, so we'll see how it goes for the rest.
2. My students don't really know how to research.
Problem: I've asked them to create complex Essential Questions, but a lot of my students don't have the research skills to break down their question into the necessary parts. They aren't able to select the key terms they'll need to search for while doing their research. Some of them aren't sure what I mean when I use the word "source". These are all issues I did not anticipate being so widespread.
Lesson Learned: Next time, I'll do some preassessment on research skills before beginning Genius Hour. And/Or I'll be sure to have mini-lessons closer to the start of the project. In the mean time, I've created a mini lesson on search terms, and made some videos to help them with some of their reseraching problems.
3. It's not as scary as I thought it would be.
Problem: I was hesisitant to jump into something without knowing exactly how it will end up. I didn't know what I wanted them to create at the end (I'm still not sure). I didn't know what sort of Essential Questions they would come up with. I didn't know how they'd use their time.
Lesson Learned: Kids are resiliant. They are willing to take chances with you if they know you'll be there for them. I did a lot of pre-activities about finding your passions, and talking about getting a chance to drive their own learning ahead of time. I think that really helped with the buy-in. Also, a number of students were way more excited about getting to choose what to do at the end that I had aniticipated. Mark that as a win for student choice.
I need to do a better job of keeping up the intiial excitement. I had a number of inspirational videos to show, but I only did one. I can feel the excitement waining (the end of the Genius Hour time period is drawing slowly ever nearer), so I'm going to show another video tomorrow.
In the end, it's going so far much better than I had anticipated in some aspects and not really as much in others.
I'm going to do some surveying of my students tomorrow get their feelings on how everything is progressing. I'm sure after that I'll have even more lessons learned!
1. Think about how you will keep track of everything.
Problem: I asked that all of my students have their Essential Questions for research approved by me. As I approved their questions, I typed something into their Google Doc that noted I had see it. I didn't, however, mark down anywhere that I had seen their question. This caused me to have no idea which of my 85 students had their questions approved and which had not. As a result, I had to reopen everyone EQ document to see if I had approved it.
Lesson Learned: Next time, I'll have a spreadsheet of all students so I can mark off when they've completed specific parts of the project. I've started it now, so we'll see how it goes for the rest.
2. My students don't really know how to research.
Problem: I've asked them to create complex Essential Questions, but a lot of my students don't have the research skills to break down their question into the necessary parts. They aren't able to select the key terms they'll need to search for while doing their research. Some of them aren't sure what I mean when I use the word "source". These are all issues I did not anticipate being so widespread.
Lesson Learned: Next time, I'll do some preassessment on research skills before beginning Genius Hour. And/Or I'll be sure to have mini-lessons closer to the start of the project. In the mean time, I've created a mini lesson on search terms, and made some videos to help them with some of their reseraching problems.
3. It's not as scary as I thought it would be.
Problem: I was hesisitant to jump into something without knowing exactly how it will end up. I didn't know what I wanted them to create at the end (I'm still not sure). I didn't know what sort of Essential Questions they would come up with. I didn't know how they'd use their time.
Lesson Learned: Kids are resiliant. They are willing to take chances with you if they know you'll be there for them. I did a lot of pre-activities about finding your passions, and talking about getting a chance to drive their own learning ahead of time. I think that really helped with the buy-in. Also, a number of students were way more excited about getting to choose what to do at the end that I had aniticipated. Mark that as a win for student choice.
I need to do a better job of keeping up the intiial excitement. I had a number of inspirational videos to show, but I only did one. I can feel the excitement waining (the end of the Genius Hour time period is drawing slowly ever nearer), so I'm going to show another video tomorrow.
In the end, it's going so far much better than I had anticipated in some aspects and not really as much in others.
I'm going to do some surveying of my students tomorrow get their feelings on how everything is progressing. I'm sure after that I'll have even more lessons learned!
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
First Days? Begin With the End In Mind.
I am in limbo. For 7 of the past 10 years I have taught 8th grade language arts (three years in the middle I was an academic interventionist). There is a possibility I will be moving to 6th grade for this school year.
This year. The one that starts in 14 days - 7 of which I will be out of town.
Normally by now I will have my room set up and ready to go - able to fully enjoy my last days of summer by doing whatever I want because there is nothing I feel like I HAVE to do. But, I don't want to set a room up I might have to pack away, so I haven't done anything.
This unknown and uncertainty is frustrating and stressful.
By now I like to have pictured my first week or so - with rough outlines of lessons. Ideas on how to get everyone up to speed on my classroom rituals and other procedures. Everyone getting to know each other.
But, I've been mostly frozen. How can I possibly plan the first days of school when I don't know what I'll be teaching?!
Then - just a short while ago - my perspective changed. I can do some truly great work while living in this limbo.
I've got the opportunity to create a clear vision for what I want my class to be this year. Not the physical space, or even the curriculum and materials, but the emotional space, the environment, our culture. Regardless of what I end up teaching, that cultural element should be the same.
By not being tied to any specific curriculum at the moment, I can focus in on what activities and experiences will truly lead to the vision I want.
So, I ask you to think about your initial plans. What type of space would you want to create for your students regardless of the content? Age level? Number of students?
Really focus in on what you want for your students this year, and work to create that before you get wrapped up in content, standards, and the day-to-day dealings of education.
This year. The one that starts in 14 days - 7 of which I will be out of town.
Normally by now I will have my room set up and ready to go - able to fully enjoy my last days of summer by doing whatever I want because there is nothing I feel like I HAVE to do. But, I don't want to set a room up I might have to pack away, so I haven't done anything.
This unknown and uncertainty is frustrating and stressful.
By now I like to have pictured my first week or so - with rough outlines of lessons. Ideas on how to get everyone up to speed on my classroom rituals and other procedures. Everyone getting to know each other.
But, I've been mostly frozen. How can I possibly plan the first days of school when I don't know what I'll be teaching?!
Then - just a short while ago - my perspective changed. I can do some truly great work while living in this limbo.
I've got the opportunity to create a clear vision for what I want my class to be this year. Not the physical space, or even the curriculum and materials, but the emotional space, the environment, our culture. Regardless of what I end up teaching, that cultural element should be the same.
By not being tied to any specific curriculum at the moment, I can focus in on what activities and experiences will truly lead to the vision I want.
So, I ask you to think about your initial plans. What type of space would you want to create for your students regardless of the content? Age level? Number of students?
Really focus in on what you want for your students this year, and work to create that before you get wrapped up in content, standards, and the day-to-day dealings of education.
Friday, July 17, 2015
EdCamp Leadership in Sketchnote
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about women in in Ed Leadership, combining some thoughts I had about women in ed tech leadership with thoughts about educational leadership in general..
I promised myself (and the Internet I suppose) that I was going to show up. I was going to do what I could to get my voice into the conversation.
So, I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to EdCamp Leadership. I hadn't ever attended an EdCamp, am new-ish to Twitter, blogs, PLN, etc, and am just now working on identifying myself as a leader. I was excited to have this networking experience and stick my toe into the leadership waters.
I thought that the team from ConnectedEd did a great job organizing the day in St. Louis. I felt like they framed the day in a way that even people new to EdCamp (like me) had the information needed to be engaged in the process. Going to an even like this without anyone that I know is really branching out for me, and I felt comfortable to contribute.
I really hoped I would have some sort of wonderful statement to make, but I don't. I keep thinking about it, reviewing my notes, and hoping that something will come to my mind that will make a great blog post - but it's not happening!
So, I made my first official sketchnote.
What I learned about sketchnoting -
I promised myself (and the Internet I suppose) that I was going to show up. I was going to do what I could to get my voice into the conversation.
So, I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to EdCamp Leadership. I hadn't ever attended an EdCamp, am new-ish to Twitter, blogs, PLN, etc, and am just now working on identifying myself as a leader. I was excited to have this networking experience and stick my toe into the leadership waters.
I thought that the team from ConnectedEd did a great job organizing the day in St. Louis. I felt like they framed the day in a way that even people new to EdCamp (like me) had the information needed to be engaged in the process. Going to an even like this without anyone that I know is really branching out for me, and I felt comfortable to contribute.
I really hoped I would have some sort of wonderful statement to make, but I don't. I keep thinking about it, reviewing my notes, and hoping that something will come to my mind that will make a great blog post - but it's not happening!
So, I made my first official sketchnote.
What I learned about sketchnoting -
- I should have made a different note for each session
- It would be easier to make as the session is going along
- I'm a natural doodler, so I'm loving the idea of sketchnoting!
I have a few PD opportunities left this summer, so I'm hoping to get in a few more sketchnotes.
Overall, I had a great time at EdCamp; I will definitely try to go again. It seems to be an experience that gets better with practice. After years of "sit and get" PD, it's challenging to really be in charge of your own learning experience.
As I'm going to try to be moving to a more student-led, student empowered environment in my classroom this year, I need to remember that feeling. Perhaps, that is my biggest take-away of all.
Monday, July 6, 2015
I'm going to show up.
This is a little rambling, but it's my first post in a while. Forgive me!
So, this year I was #notatiste. I was fortunate to be sent to ISTE in 2011 in what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thankfully, there's a great and very active community of people who engage in ISTE style learning from their homes during the annual conference. I was right in the midst of a graduate course this year, so I was a little late to the game. I did participate in some Twitter chats and joined the Voxer group - which led me to this post -
http://msmayersmessage.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-did-majority-become-minority.html
This, has struck a cord.
First of all, I have lately been really having a feeling like I have something to give to the conversation. I haven't been sure how to get my toe in the water, for lack of a better analogy. I feel stuck. I have things to say, but I it hasn't yet formed into a concrete message. And how do you even get started?
Second, her points here really make me think about a conversation I had with the professor of the course I took this summer. I'm applying for admittance to an Educational Leadership program. This now, in the state of Illinois, requires the creation of a portfolio along with various other requirements to be reviewed by committee prior to acceptance into the program. After acceptance you have to options "principal" or "teacher leader".
While I haven't yet been official accepted, I am very confident in my application portfolio. However, I am paralyzed by this decision. Right now, I do not see myself as a principal. Leader - yes. Building principal - no. It's not necessarily what I want to do now, but who's to say it won't be what I want in a few years? I was talking with the professor about this inner conflict I've been having, and she suggested that she has seen this pattern with women.
She said that in talking with women in particular, they seem to not see themselves as principals - but then end up becoming one once they've earned the degree.
So, I'm wondering if somehow this is related to the lack of women presenters at ISTE. Do women, in general, struggle to see themselves outside of the roll in their classroom? Do we get so focused on what we're doing day to day and the connections we're making with students, that it's difficult to think beyond those walls?
For me, imagining doing something other than teaching is almost impossible. I love what I do. Would I be happy doing something else? Can I find a space in the universe to keep teaching but also share my voice?
I don't know.
But, I'm going to explore it. I'm going to put myself out there, try to get into the conversations, and share what I'm doing with the world.
There is value in what I have to say, but I have to be in a place where others can hear me.
I'm going to show up.
So, this year I was #notatiste. I was fortunate to be sent to ISTE in 2011 in what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thankfully, there's a great and very active community of people who engage in ISTE style learning from their homes during the annual conference. I was right in the midst of a graduate course this year, so I was a little late to the game. I did participate in some Twitter chats and joined the Voxer group - which led me to this post -
http://msmayersmessage.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-did-majority-become-minority.html
This, has struck a cord.
First of all, I have lately been really having a feeling like I have something to give to the conversation. I haven't been sure how to get my toe in the water, for lack of a better analogy. I feel stuck. I have things to say, but I it hasn't yet formed into a concrete message. And how do you even get started?
Second, her points here really make me think about a conversation I had with the professor of the course I took this summer. I'm applying for admittance to an Educational Leadership program. This now, in the state of Illinois, requires the creation of a portfolio along with various other requirements to be reviewed by committee prior to acceptance into the program. After acceptance you have to options "principal" or "teacher leader".
While I haven't yet been official accepted, I am very confident in my application portfolio. However, I am paralyzed by this decision. Right now, I do not see myself as a principal. Leader - yes. Building principal - no. It's not necessarily what I want to do now, but who's to say it won't be what I want in a few years? I was talking with the professor about this inner conflict I've been having, and she suggested that she has seen this pattern with women.
She said that in talking with women in particular, they seem to not see themselves as principals - but then end up becoming one once they've earned the degree.
So, I'm wondering if somehow this is related to the lack of women presenters at ISTE. Do women, in general, struggle to see themselves outside of the roll in their classroom? Do we get so focused on what we're doing day to day and the connections we're making with students, that it's difficult to think beyond those walls?
For me, imagining doing something other than teaching is almost impossible. I love what I do. Would I be happy doing something else? Can I find a space in the universe to keep teaching but also share my voice?
I don't know.
But, I'm going to explore it. I'm going to put myself out there, try to get into the conversations, and share what I'm doing with the world.
There is value in what I have to say, but I have to be in a place where others can hear me.
I'm going to show up.
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