Thoughts on Teaching & Learning Day 4

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself doing a lot of reflection trying to get this online teaching right.  I keep meaning to get my thoughts on paper but then get caught up in the day-to-day work of teaching in this pandemic era.  I know if I can catch my breath, there is a lot to learn and reflect on during this time. So, I decided that every day in May, I will share my thoughts on Teaching and Learning.  This is Day 4.

It's Not About the Tool...Or Is It?

For so many years, as we've been thinking about embedding technology into learning, we've heard "It's Not About the Tools" and I wholeheartedly agreed. It is about the possibilities and the creation and what we do with the tools. It is about pedagogy and practice that is right for kids.  As long as technology has been around, there have been tools that providing exciting possibilities as well as tools that are digital practice of easy-to-measure skills.  

During this online/pandemic teaching though, it has been a bit more about the tools than we would like.  We have to make the best use of the tools we have, the tools our students have access to. And different tools provide different possibilities. I know teachers who have to prepare paper packets because their students don't have internet access. Packets are probably not their idea of great teaching but it is the tool their students have right now. It is the only thing they can send home to support learning.  So they are making the best of it. I love Google and am so glad we have Google Classroom with Google Meets. But I am a tad bit jealous of my friends who have Zoom instead because Zoom allows small group breakout rooms. I am thrilled that Epic Books gave students free home access during the pandemic and I emailed parents about those free accounts right away so kids had access to books. But there are  other tech companies offering resources free to teachers and students that I am not so excited about. Those tools don't invite authentic reading experiences.  

One great example is Pear Deck. I wish I had spent more time playing with Pear Deck because I see huge possibilities for learning in reading, writing, revising and annotating, but I didn't learn the tool like I wanted to, so it isn't really an option for me right now. I need a bit more time to learn it so that I don't fall back on some of the skill and drill, multiple choice type things it advertises. When I looked at it a few months ago, I saw lots of things we could do with draw tools to annotate and think together around a text, film or piece of writing, but I never really explored. A summer goal I think. 

So  I guess my point today is two-fold. First of all, I get frustrated with people in the tech world who remind us during this crisis that it is not about the tool. Because it kind of is.  We only have the access and resources to the tools we have and that our students have. Every district has put things in place and we have to use the tools and resources we have.  And they have to be tools I know how to use well. I think for this crisis time, this is the right move.  Teachers, students and families are dealing with a lot and using tools we are familiar with takes away some of the stress. 

But I also know that it is my responsibility to examine the tools I am using and try to use them in the best way possible and avoiding those sites and apps that go against the kind of learning experiences I want for my students.  And in the future, to build my toolbox.

Thoughts on Teaching & Learning: May 3

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself doing a lot of reflection trying to get this online teaching right.  I keep meaning to get my thoughts on paper but then get caught up in the day-to-day work of teaching in this pandemic era.  I know if I can catch my breath, there is a lot to learn and reflect on during this time. So, I decided that every day in May, I will share my thoughts on Teaching and Learning.  This is Day 3.

Invitation Or Accountability?

I have been doing a lot of thinking about accountability during these last several weeks of online learning. Anyone who knows me knows that I worry that we've put so much accountability in place for students, that they don't often have enough choice or ownership in their work. Because this online/pandemic teaching has allowed us to worry less about accountability and testing, I have seen some amazing things happen. I have been able to reflect a bit on the role of invitations and choice over standards and accountability.

I've always been committed to authenticity and agency. I see a big part of my role as a teacher as one of throwing out invitations, letting students know what is possible. I have written about this several times, but this online/pandemic teaching has me thinking about these invitations in new ways.

When I think about my own life as a learner, it is full of invitations. I bet yours is too. A friend recommends a book. I get invited into a book club. I see an announcement for the next #nctechat Twitter chat in my feed. I get a professional journal in the mail. I find out about webinars being offered. A colleague invites me to a workshop. All of these are invitations—things I am being invited, but not forced, to do as a learner. As a learner, I get to decide what makes sense in my life at any given time.

I worry that in this last decade-the age of accountability, is that we are not as comfortable throwing out invitations as we used to be. Instead, in the name of standards, every good invitation becomes an assignment or a “have-to” for our students. And we talk about accountability with every assignment we give. And often, in the name of accountability, we end up giving students parameters that limit possibilities.

What I have noticed with online learning is that students seem to take me up on invitations that are interesting to them. There are some assignments that just don't get done by lots of kids. And some that get shared by almost everyone. I've watched over the last seven weeks at the things individual students choose to spend a great deal of time and energy on and the things they don't. I've given lots of open-ended projects that I assumed would be invitations to those students who wanted to go above and beyond the minimum expectations. I am noticing the most engagement in open ended assignments across content areas. I have students who, when given choice as writers, decided to work on the Prologue to a story this month and then to continue working on their fantasy novel through summer. I've had students spend 10 days on a science challenge that could have been completed in 30 minutes. The assignments were designed with this in mind, but even though I was expecting it, I have been reminded of so much.


One science assignment that was fascinating to me was the challenge to design a chain reaction machine as part of our learning about force and motion. I didn't really place any requirements on the project--just several video examples. And from my own experience, I know that even a 1-2 step chain reaction machine is not easy to create. I had students create simple (yet fabulous) chain reaction machines and others who spent days creating a very complex machine or figuring out a way to turn off a light switch with a chain reaction machine. This assignment was the perfect example of the accountability vs. invitation argument--there was no issue with accountability. Every child did it and was able to do the science learning needed. But had I put too many parameters on, those students who took up the invitation to work for days, would not have been able to do that.

Because we are not in school and because our students are sometimes looking for interesting things to do, it has been interesting to see how some of the invitations are received and how all students are spending extra time and energy on some things.  They are all learning the things they need to learn across subject areas, but I am seeing with some extra time and less dictated content, they are choosing to spend that extra time on a variety of assignments, based on their individual needs and interests at the time. 

In this time of online/pandemic teaching, how can we design projects that become invitations for more? What can we learn about our students based on when they decide to take us up on or ignore one of our invitations? How might we add more time for choice learning after seeing the power of choice and invitations during these last several weeks?

In my planning over this time, my focus has been about invitations and  possibilities instead of accountability and the response has been incredible. I am hoping that when we come out of this pandemic and go back to the school days that we all miss, that we will be able to think about invitations and accountability in new ways. I am hoping that we realize that every child can't be accountable for every single thing every day and that with invitations and more time for choice within content areas, students will learn so much more.

As I move through these last several weeks of school with limited time and resources, I've had to ask myself What is really critical? What do each of my students have to learn and do? What do they have to be accountable to? And then how can I make time within all of that for invitations to do more? How can we create invitations that have lots of access points?

I know that we have Genius Hour and Project Based Learning, etc. but these last several weeks have taught me that we have to let go of accountability a bit more than we've been comfortable with so that we can provide more invitations so that our students learn what they need to learn but also have time to learn so much more.

Thoughts on Teaching and Learning: May 2

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself doing a lot of reflection trying to get this online teaching right.  I keep meaning to get my thoughts on paper but then get caught up in the day-to-day work of teaching in this pandemic era.  I know if I can catch my breath, there is a lot to learn and reflect on during this time. So, I decided that every day in May, I will share my thoughts on Teaching and Learning.  This is Day 2.

Online Writing Workshop: Creating Lessons I Believe In

Early in this online/pandemic teaching experience, I had lots of conversations with Mary Lee and Julie Johnson and Clare Landrigan about how to make the asynchronous teaching relevant and meaningful and authentic. I realized right away how much of my teaching was about listening and responding and I had no idea how to do this in this new platform.  After lots of thinking with Julie, I created this Board of Writing Choices.

Questions I asked myself:

What were things in the standards that most kids could benefit from and that could be applied to every type of writing?

How can I make these minilessons feel closer to the mini lessons in the classroom?

How could kids be active?

How could I use mentor texts as I usually do in writing minilessons?

If I use any of the fabulous videos by authors, how can I embed those in a larger lesson?

I knew the lessons would not be exactly as they are in the classroom but after asking myself these questions I realized a few things:

• The kids were excited about their writing from the first day. They loved the choice and got started right away. I knew I could easily find skills to teach that would help kids if I focused on revision.
• My minilessons were always planned in cycles. We never did something and checked it off the list. Instead we explored several ideas around some concept and then tried it.
• I used mentor texts for kids that we mostly knew and I often threw in a bran new text to study.
• When I used videos from outside authors, etc. I often embedded those as one of the ways we study an idea. It never really stands alone.
• On the floor in the classroom, kids always have a chance to "try it" in their notebook before they go off to work on their own.
• We would need time to talk. 

I created 3 revision lessons that spanned about a week and a half.  I created slides with audio on each slide so that I could talk to make it sound and feel as much like a mini lesson as I could. I read aloud a book on Kindle that I embedded for us to study. I embedded videos from experts and I sent kids off to read a few books on their own (free access throough Epic). I highlighted some excerpts from picture books and invited kids to stop the audio to analyze the piece as a writer and then I shared my thinking aloud.  I also pulled some excerpts from our past and current read aloud books to study as writers.  I found excerpts that were great examples of the things I was trying to teach. And then I gave them a very small spot to give things a try (like a large sticky note but on slides).   Below are copies of the 3 lessons I shared with students (I'm not sure if you can access the audio files on each slide, but you can get the idea from these slides, I think.)

Revision Lesson 1

Revision Lesson 2

Revision Lesson 3

In between these lessons, I scheduled small groups for writers. I tried to meet with all students and most showed up to one of the groups. Groups ranged in size from 4-8 and students came at various places in the writing process. They each had their writing as anchors for talk and we also had these revision lessons. So we could talk about which things had worked, share their revisions, give each other feedback etc.

This was in no way as rich as it is in our classroom with daily writing partners, daily live feedback, individual conferences and the absence of a pandemic. But these lessons felt more right and more real than any I had done up until this time. For a few minutes during each of the small groups, I forgot we were on Zoom. I hope the kids did too.

Things I am still thinking about...

• We only have a few weeks of school left. And with all of the other subjects and the limited time we have each day, we probably only have time for one more set of writing groups. But I want to learn from this and to reflect on the things I would do differently next time.
• It worked to have the lessons asynchronous and the focus of the writing groups on the conversation and feedback. I think the key was that the minilessons were active and had many of the same features kids expect from minilessons in the classroom (even though timing was different).
• Things are slower in this online/pandemic teaching. I haven't quite figured out how much time kids need.  I have found that with choice, some put a lot more time and energy than expected into writing projects they love.  But without daily sharing, etc. kids shared the challenges of doing their best writing at home, writing without the support of a community, etc.
• I want to use student work as I do in the classroom. Using student work as mentors to study.  That is such a powerful part of our classroom learning and I think that would be an easy add.

This online/pandemic teaching has made me feel like a new teacher on many days. I feel like I am not quite sure what is right for kids in this space. But I felt like these lessons helped me find some grounding and help me think about what we needed more of during these days. And they helped me think about what is possible and how to bring in more of who we are as a classroom community.

Thoughts on Teaching and Learning: May 1

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself doing a lot of reflection trying to get this online teaching right.  I keep meaning to get my thoughts on paper but then get caught up in the day-to-day work of teaching in this pandemic era.  I know if I can catch my breath, there is a lot to learn and reflect on during this time. So, I decided that every day in May, I will share my thoughts on Teaching and Learning.  This is Day 1.

Today I am feeling thankful. Thankful for the community of educators who are working so hard to make these months right for our students and to support each other.  I have always relied on thinking with others and I've always believed strongly that none of us can do this work alone. I noticed right off--after saying goodbye to my students not knowing when we'd be back in our classroom--how much I relied on colleagues.  When I found myself planning and teaching alone in my house, I missed thinking with others almost immediately.  I realized how often a 2 minute conversation in the hallway helped me make sense of something and helped me know what to do next in the classroom. I realized quickly that I would need to figure out how to make collaboration happen during this time when all of every educator I knew was busy just trying to keep up and figure this out.  I have relied on so many people to figure out how to do this online teaching and to keep up my energy and hopefulness during these days stuck at home.

I am in awe of all of the sharing and support we are giving to each other and I am so thankful for it. It is truly amazing what we have accomplished together.

I am thankful for Antero Garcia, Detra Price-Dennis and the entire NCTE staff for hosting Member Gatherings each week. When I've been able to attend these gatherings, they have been nourishing and inspiring.

I am thankful for NCTE Ambassadors, Christina Nosek (@ChristinaNosek) and Michelle Rankins (@MichelleRankins), for hosting an NCTE Social Hour that was an hour of self-care that was truly needed.

I am thankful for my Zoom Book Club. After weeks of not being able to read (even though I had plenty of time), I have gotten my reading life back:-)

I am thankful to Mary Lee for her month of poetry. Each one of Mary Lee's poems has helped me make sense of these days and all I have been feeling.  Especially this one.

I am thankful for the authors who have shared lessons, read aloud and been so generous with their time.   And I'm thankful for all of the publishers who have revised policies so that teachers can share books with kids online. And a big thank you to Kate Messner for curating all of this for us, so that we could find everything we need in one place.

I am thankful for Julie Johnson, Mary Lee, Ann Marie Corgill (@acorgill)  and Clare Landrigan who spent more time than I think they probably wanted to helping me think through choice and agency in these early days of distance learning.  Having colleagues who helped me figure out how to stay grounded in the things that are most important--how can we do this work without that?

Thank goodness for group texts --I can't imagine doing this work without being able to text my 5th grade team and local colleagues to get ideas on resources, think through a lesson, figure out a tech tool, etc.

And thank you to the all of the teachers who are writing and sharing their journeys so that we can do better-- Kristin Ziemke and Katie Muhtaris, Stella Villalba, Aeriale Johnson, BernNadette Best-Green, Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle.

I am so thankful to have rediscovered our National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman. If you have not watched and rewatched "The Miracle of Morning", you must. I have watched it several times over these last couple of weeks.

And I am so thankful for this new gift from Katharine Hsu--LemmeTryThat--reminding me about balance and to make time for joy and hobbies and fun. Her weekly newsletters and social media post are fabulous.

As I said early in this post, I noticed during those first few days at home--after we said goodbye to our students not knowing if we'd be back to school--that I have never taught alone. That it is the thinking together that helps us do the best job we can for our students. I worried so much about how that would happen during those first few days planning alone at my kitchen table. But I shouldn't have worried. Our educator community is one I've always been proud and grateful to be part of. I can say that now more than ever.

Poetry Friday -- Highlights of The Flipside

I had a lot of fun with this year's National Poetry Month poems. Early in the month I started writing etherees, inspired by Liz Garton Scanlon's video lesson.


Gratitude
I
give thanks
for the clouds.
Yes, the same ones
that spoiled your picnic,
that rained on your parade,
that flooded the soccer field.
I am thankful for clouds because
without them there'd be no rainbows, and
behind them there will always be blue skies.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Now, More Than Ever
Breathe
in hope,
then exhale
your gratitude.
Remember these truths:
students over standards,
patience over procedures,
compassion over compliance,
care over content, and grace over
gimmicks. We must humanize our teaching.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Fifth Grade Lessons
You're
only
eleven
and you're learning
life requires you to
(first and foremost) show up.
Read directions, do your best,
ask for help, give help when you can.
Put one foot in front of the other.
Never take "ordinary" for granted.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020



I wrote lots of haiku (sometimes that's all the brain space I had after a day of online teaching). Inspired by Jarrett Lerner, I kept a haiku diary for a day:

Haiku Diary for April 15

I wake up whiney

the sameness of every day

I'm on my last nerve

exercise, shower

a mug of hot tea, breakfast

sun peeks through the trees

my heart pumps, blood flows

lungs reliably inflate

some sameness is good

going to work means

down the hall into office

alone/together

Google Meet is fine

but like all the rest of life

you have to show up

food delivery

a small thing for us to do

makes a big difference

lunchtime luxury

listen to a podcast

nurture my spirit

hours and hours of screens

my brain is totally fried

the cure is ice cream

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Here are two of the stories I told. The first one is 100% true, but the second one is mostly fiction. In the first stanza, I am the Grandma, the second stanza is me, the third stanza is fiction (after the first line, anyway!), and the fourth stanza is where I was and what I was doing when I wrote the poem.

I Have a New Friend
I have a new friend.
We've never met.
She chalks art and exercise challenges on the sidewalk.
She leaves the chalk out.
I write and draw my thanks.
Her chalk sticks became a pile of chalk pebbles.
I left a package on her porch --
Highlights magazines and gently used sidewalk chalk.
She left a package on my porch --
coloring pages, crayons and markers, four Cra-Z-Loom bracelets.
And a note.
I have a new friend named Annie.
We've never met.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Lunch

When Grandma was a girl
she sometimes walked home from school for lunch.
She remembers grilled cheese and tomato soup,
kidney beans and cheese on toast,
peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

Now that school is in my house,
I eat lunch at home every day.
I like to eat the same thing I did at school --
pretzels and a cheese stick, veggies and a fruit.
Keeping lunch the same helps me remember the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was loud and messy.
I traded pretzels for bites of sushi or mini Oreos.
After lunch was recess. I miss recess --
the swings, the big toy, even the muddy soccer field.
I even miss indoor recess.

Sitting on my porch
eating my not-a-school-lunch
at home-is-now-school,
I close my eyes in the sun, listen to the birds,
and remember everything I miss about school.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Liz has the Poetry Friday Roundup for today at her blog Elizabeth Steinglass. Happy May!

nature carries on

nature carries on

hyacinths are gone

viburnum is swarmed by bees

daisies will bloom next 

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Lunch

Lunch

When Grandma was a girl
she sometimes walked home from school for lunch.
She remembers grilled cheese and tomato soup,
kidney beans and cheese on toast,
peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

Now that school is in my house,
I eat lunch at home every day.
I like to eat the same thing I did at school --
pretzels and a cheese stick, veggies and a fruit.
Keeping lunch the same helps me remember the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was loud and messy.
I traded pretzels for bites of sushi or mini Oreos.
After lunch was recess. I miss recess --
the swings, the big toy, even the muddy soccer field.
I even miss indoor recess.

Sitting on my porch
eating my not-a-school-lunch
at home-is-now-school,
I close my eyes in the sun, listen to the birds,
and remember everything I miss about school.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

There's No Such Thing

There's No Such Thing

There's no such thing
as something from nothing
but potential can surprise us like Spring does
can unfold the way a leaf opens
the way Einstein grew out of an inauspicious childhood
into his genius.
It is the way of the world to
make the improbable possible,
then real.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020



The phrase "make the improbable possible, then real" is something Maria Popova said during the live stream of "The Universe in Verse" on Saturday, April 25, 2020.

In the Recent Past

in the recent past

"infectious" and "contagious"

referred to laughter

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Dandelions, Ten Days Later

temporary sun

now a galaxy of seeds

blown dandelion

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020