A Year of Reading

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Self-Esteem Week: Valuing Ourselves

Zero
by Kathryn Otoshi
KO Kids Books, 2010

Zero feels empty. She doesn't think she counts, like the other numbers. Seven encourages her to remember, "It's what's inside that counts most," and "Be open. You'll find a way."

Zero realizes that she can bring value to the other numbers when she counts WITH them by leading the way before 1, 2, and 3, but also in combination with them to make all kinds of bigger numbers than they could make on their own.

When Zero is open to her true value, she feels whole, rather than empty.

Come back tomorrow for more picture books that build self-esteem!

Monday, December 10, 2012

On the Running Blog: Guest Post by Paul Hankins

I asked Paul Hankins to write a guest post for my Reading Teachers Running blog since he has been such an inspiration. As always, Paul is amazing and whether you run or not, his post is worth the read. You can find it here.

Self-Esteem Week: Everyone Counts

One
by Kathryn Otoshi
KO Kids Books, 2008

Blue is a little blue because Red picks on him. But along comes One, with a new message for the colors: Everyone counts!

Next time Red comes along, Blue stands up for himself and doesn't let Red roll over him. All the colors (now numbers) take a stand and tell red, "NO."

Blue is pretty special. As Red is rolling away, small and defeated, Blue calls out, "Can Red be hot...AND Blue be cool?" And One chimes in "Red can count, too."

ONE is a simple book with a big message: "Sometimes it just takes One."

I'm not sure how I missed this book 4 years ago, but I was glad to spot it at NCTE at the Books for Children Luncheon. I didn't sit at Kathryn Otoshi's table, but this title was one of my first purchases when I got home!

All this week, I'll be featuring books to build self-esteem.

Friday, December 07, 2012

Poetry Friday -- Teaching

TEACHING

I teach,

I watch.

They fall,

I catch.

I lift,

they soar.

I brood,

they hatch.

They spread,

I gather.

I pair,

I match.

I teach,

I watch.

They fall,

I catch.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Robyn has the roundup today at Read, Write, Howl.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

'Tis the Season

Glitch (The Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel Series)
by Karla Oceanak
illustrated by Kendra Spanjer
Bailiwick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

There's definitely more than a little GLITCH in Aldo's plan to get more presents for Christmas this year!

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas
created and illustrated by James Dean
story by Eric Litwin
Harper, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

In this take-off of The Night Before Christmas, Pete the Cat leaves the beach where we left him in his Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, and steps in for a sick Santa to save Christmas.

It's Christmas! (I Can Read Book 3)
by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Marylin Hafner
Greenwillow Books, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

A dozen very accessible poems cover Christmas from the decorating to the present of a sled in a year with no snow.

Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special
by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost
First Second, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Santa's nostalgic for the olden days when kids got toys for Christmas instead of electronics. With the help of the dragon and the knight from the first book, Santa delivers a book to all the children that makes them want to turn off their screens and draw comics...and of course, that is the book you just read!

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Kid Conversations

Hugh MacLeod, Gaping Void.com

I got the new Time for Kids iPad app, and we were looking at one of the articles (projected on the IWB). In it, we learned about a tiny dinosaur skull that was found in the field in the 1960s, put in a drawer at Harvard, taken out of the drawer again in the mid '80s, but only truly DISCOVERED as something amazing and new just recently.

I added this to my "All of the science has not been discovered yet" speech I give every time I get the chance. I don't want kids to give up on a career in science because they have some kind of perception that the field of science is a thing with boundaries. If they are curious about the way something in our world (or out of it, or within it) works, they have the beginnings of a career in science.

I thought of "Science is not finished" again yesterday when my new family doctor told me about a recent study that purports that too many cancers are being detected by mammograms. "Too many?" I asked, incredulously. Seems that not all of the tiny cancers they are finding are malignant, and some of them could actually be "cleaned up" by the body's own immune system, if given time. All well and good, but until we can tell the difference between the cancers, I'm going to remain happy that mammograms are finding lots of cancer early. And I'll pass this bit of "yet-to-be-discovered" science on to the next generations.

I'll end with this, overheard as we passed a line of tiny kinders giving themselves a hug with one arm, finger pressed to lips with the other, listening to their teacher give "When we get back to the classroom" instructions. I'm sure it will be in (or the inspiration for) a poem that I have yet to write. B said,

"I remember being that little, but I don't remember growing."

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Nonfiction Notetaking Part 2

I wrote last week about the ways in which I was rethinking nonfiction and my plans for December. This week was a good one in terms of nonfiction and kids are coming around to enjoying it a bit more than they used to.

We started the week with what I call a "Check It Out! Circle". Kids sit in a circle and I hand each one a book (this time a nonfiction picture book). For one minute, the child previews the book in their hand and then (when the timer goes off) passes it on to the person on their left. This continues until all students have seen all books. So by the end of 25 minutes, every child has previewed 25 books. I insist that kids are quiet during this time and that they do this independently because I want them to really immerse in the book for a minute. I want them to find books that they just aren't ready to pass on to the next person, books they want to go back to.

We also spent time on web reading. Just having time to check out all that is available on websites like Wonderopolis and The Weather Channel was worthwhile for the kids. Navigating a site takes strategy and they learned this. They wrote a blog post about their favorite nonfiction sites (classroom blog).

After the Check It Out! Circle, we talked about a few things. We talked about books we wanted to revisit and we talked about things that surprised them. They were surprised at how many times they thought a book was not interesting when it was handed to them, and then they realized that it was interesting. They were also surprised that some nonfiction sounded like a story. A bit more nonfiction reading is happening because of this and kids are realizing that these books are often worth reading beyond skimming.

The other big thing I started this week was a nonfiction read aloud. My hope was to take our note taking routine from our regular read aloud time and give kids time to think about note taking in nonfiction. My kids are comfortable taking notes on their thinking when it comes to fiction so I figured nonfiction read aloud would help them transfer these skills and ideas.

I had planned on reading The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series) but I decided to start with something a little shorter to see how it went. I started with the first section of the book Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature's Mysteries from Perilous Places (Scientists in the Field Series) from the same Scientists in the Field series. We are learning about weather and Hurricane Hunter seemed like a perfect read aloud. I am so glad i stared with something a bit shorter. In 2 days, we've only read 5 pages but the talk has been fabulous. The talk is around the content, the vocabulary, our reading strategies and their note taking. I started by showing them examples of various kinds of notes and we are using the document camera to share the kinds of notes kids are taking. Since drawing is huge in the classroom, we focused on a few paragraphs and really thought about what a good drawing might look like--what would we include?

The kids moaned earlier this week when I told them we'd be reading aloud a nonfiction book but they are totally glued to the book already and the questions they have about weather and clouds because of the talk are going to lead them right into the content of our standards.

Really, I learned so much from Kate and Chris in their NCTE session on note taking that my whole stance was different. I learned a lot about my thinking and the ways I might record it right along with my students. I am thrilled with the conversations we've had in only a few days. I am excited to see where our next week goes!

Monday, December 03, 2012

Staring a New Trimester-Goal Setting in 4th Grade

This week seemed like a perfect time to set goals, revamp a few things and move forward in our workshop. Our elementary schools works on trimesters so our first set of report cards went home this week and we are at the beginning of our second trimester.

My class is filled with readers. They read lots, talk about books, etc. But many seem stuck in a genre or series right now. This is typical and not necessarily a bad thing but I wanted to talk to kids about expanding their lives as readers. So we had a few conversations about ways readers can expand their reading lives a bit. My thinking was that we'd have the conversation and it would revolve around tastes as readers and it would get some kids thinking beyond the kinds of books they had been reading since August.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. The kids definitely talked about tastes as readers and the need to find more authors and series they loved. But they also decided that finding one author or series and knowing it well was a way to expand your life as a reader. Then the conversation turned a bit and they started talking about the ways in which they think when they read. They decided that one way to grow your life as a reader was to change the ways you think while you read. They also talked about changing the habits of your reading life. It was a fascinating conversation.

The next day, after kids did a quick write of their personal goals, they summarized a goal in a talking bubble that is posted in our room for the next several weeks. One thing I have learned as I started my life as a runner, was how important it was to make my goals public. They seemed bigger once I did so I thought posting them in a semi-formal way made sense. (And the self-portraits make me happy:-)

We also formed reading groups based on goals. We had groups set based on goals and kids chose the groups they thought met their goals. Then I looked at assessments and decided on some groups. I met individually with each student this week looking at the groups they had signed up for as well as the new ones I put together. I shared some general assessment information and the things I thought they could use some support with. Then together, we decided on a few groups and they signed up. These conversations were great and the kids were so smart about themselves. It is always amazing to the kids that I have noticed what they are doing. I also love the conversations that happen after I meet with a child. Sometimes hours or days later, a child approaches me and says, "I was thinking about the groups I signed up for and I think I want to add one. I could really use help on finding evidence in the text to support my thinking. Can I sign up for that one too?".

So we are set for the next several weeks. We have great things in place and great places to go. I love the time of year when the conversations become honest because trust is part of it.

Sunday, December 02, 2012

November Mosaic -- NCTE12

This month's mosaic is all NCTE and Las Vegas. You can view the set on Flickr here.

Saturday, December 01, 2012

Happy Birthday #nerdybookclub !!!

Happy Birthday to the Nerdy Book Club! We can't imagine life without NBC so we wanted to thank the founders by celebrating with a dance. Who knows, maybe someday we'll become Nerdy Dance Club....
Thanks Donalyn, Colby and Cindy!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Peanut Butter Poetry Friday

Our house favorite peanut butter is Skippy Super Chunk. My personal favorite is Naturally Nutty Butter Toffee on one half of my toasted English muffin, and that creamed honey I got at the Clintonville Farmer's Market on the other half.

Today I have an original peanut butter poem over at Jama's Alphabet Soup, and at Amy LV's Sharing Our Notebooks, you can peek inside my notebook and see how the peanut butter poem was born!

Amy has the Poetry Friday roundup today at The Poem Farm!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

How Do You Explain the NCTE Annual Convention to a 10 Year-Old?

First of all, NCTE is like a gigantic family reunion. I get to see friends from around the country who I haven't seen since last year, I get to meet people I only used to know through social media or (in the case of authors) their books. My two "family reunion" highlights this conference were

meeting Natalie Merchant (I wrote the teachers' guide for her book, Leave Your Sleep)

and presenting with these rockstar poets about the inspiration for our poetry and about the Poetry Friday Anthology

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, me, Lesléa Newman, Irene Latham, (new poetry friend Janet Fagal), Janet Wong, Laura Purdie Salas)

NCTE is also a book-lover's paradise. I took two very lightly packed suitcases to Las Vegas and came home with two suitcases that both nearly tipped the 50 lb mark on the scale when I checked them! I'm happy to report that nearly every book I brought back is now in the hands of a reader!

Here is a list of authors I heard speak or chatted with at a lunch or dinner or party:

Lemony Snicket,"Who Could That Be at This Hour?" (All the Wrong Questions)

Jon Scieszka, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

Jenni Holmes, Babymouse #16: Babymouse for President

Anita Silvey, Children's Book-a-Day Almanac

Kate Messner, Capture the Flag

Janet Tashjian, For What It's Worth

Cecil Castellucci, The Year of the Beasts

Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Julie Paschkis, Mooshka, A Quilt Story

Monica Brown, author of Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People

David Shannon, Jangles: A Big Fish Story

Deborah Ellis, My Name Is Parvana

Karen Lynn Williams, My Name Is Sangoel (Young Readers)

Floyd Cooper, These Hands (Golden Kite Honors (Awards))

Marla Frazee, Boot & Shoe

Last of all, NCTE is like going back to college. There are so many great sessions/classes from which to choose. Here are some highlights of my session notes:

Jon Scieszka: "Tell the boys that reading something written by women won't kill them."

Lemony Snicket: "Don't ask the obvious questions, ask the important questions...Avoid temptation to know what story means and insert a moral."

David Shannon: "There's a fine line (fishing line--ha, ha) between liar and storyteller."

Sharon O'Neal (with others): In a nonfiction study, use a blend of traditional nonfiction, "new nonfiction" and nonfiction poetry.

Ann Marie Corgill (with others): "Teach, practice, reflect, share. Resist the the talking so we can listen. Resist teaching so we can learn and answering so we can question. Don't say you can't because, NEWS FLASH -- you can."

Deborah Ellis (at the CLA Workshop: Books that Make a Difference: Kids Taking Action for Social Justice):

War = anything that kills people unnecessarily (diseases we've allowed to spread, poverty)

Afghanistan -- what if she couldn't do whatever she wanted to do just because she's a woman? Spent time in refugee camps. Her books about this time all have kids for whom books are important (illegal books). Parvana books.

Josef Mengele had access to books and education. Books aren't the sole answer to the problems of the world.

Social action is expensive. It costs. It makes us uncomfortable. It loses us friends.

Feed the poor --> I am a saint. Ask "Why are there poor?" --> I am put in prison.

What if WE are the problem.

Center of the wheel is WAR. Poll -- raise your hand if you believe we will always have war, or if we will someday live without war as a part of our human story. Every human accomplishment has started out with a dream -- "What if..." It has to be the same with war. What do we really believe -- can we live in a world without war? Do we believe that governments can exist who don't use foreign policy to bash other countries?

Iraq war commentators tell about kinds of weapons being used, but forget to mention that there were people feeling the blasts, losing homes and being killed.

We know what war does. We have to decide what comes next. Are we going to continue to slaughter other people, or are we going to try something else. We're lying to kids if we tell them that anything else makes a difference in the world, until we settle in our minds what we're going to do to stop the war.

How will you answer when your children/students ask you, "What did you do to stop the war?"

Unless we can meet each other and talk to each other, we are the monsters under each others' beds.

We need to be careful who we allow to take and hold power, and make sure that no one's making money off all the bad stuff.

The first thing we have to change if we're going to believe that we live in a world where war doesn't have to exist is that we don't need to be afraid of the "other." They are like us more than they are different from us.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

December -- A Month of Nonfiction

When I looked over all of my fall assessments and I added that to observations of students over the last month or two, I knew that I needed to spend time on Nonfiction Reading. Even by 4th grade, my students have not really found nonfiction that they love. They read nonfiction only when they have to. I have spent years building a decent collection of nonfiction books--books that are not connected to any content unit that we study, but just great nonfiction books. Even though I've tried to incorporate lots of nonfiction since August, I knew December would be the month that we really dug in.

Then I went to hear Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts at NCTE. And I was reminded, as I was often at the convention, that I need to SLOW DOWN. I have somehow pressured myself with a teaching pace this year that I know is not good for kids. So, in December, I am taking lots of time to help kids fall in love with nonfiction reading and to think about the kinds of writing that might go along with that. Kate mentioned a yearlong study of notetaking and that idea was so freeing for me. I am going to spend reading workshop minilesson time, writing workshop time and content time, really discovering all that nonfiction reading and writing has to offer. A study on writing around nonfiction (notetaking and more without any finished product) will be part of this month's work.

Some goals for the month include:
-falling in love with nonfiction as a genre
-noticing different ways that authors approach nonfiction writing
-finding nonfiction authors and series to love
-developing tastes as nonfiction readers
-playing with notetaking with nonfiction--taking notes on thinking
-trying out various notetaking techniques and discovering how/when it makes sense to use them
-discovering nonfiction beyond text (websites, videos, slideshows, etc.)
-finding topics of interest (new and old)
-how we approach assigned reading differently from choice reading

As part of this study, I have decided to read aloud/think aloud a book from a series I love. I love the Scientists in the Field series and I recently purchased The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series) by Elizabeth Rusch. I know almost nothing about the Mars Rovers but loved that this was the topic of a new book in this series. So, I've decided to read aloud this book over the next week or two, without having really looked at it much at all. I want my students to see my true thinking when reading a book that is interesting to me (a little) --one that I have very little background knowledge with. This is a longer book so I am thinking my thinking, my notetaking, my questions, the resources I look to for more information will be authentic. This will be just one piece of our week but one that will be interesting for all of us, I think. This is also a longer nonfiction book so I am thinking the whole idea of stamina with a topic will come up---reading beyond short articles for more information. This is probably not the best place to start with my reading on a new topic. So I may pull up some articles --Wonderopolis has a few related articles that might help. (I'm also revisiting Chris Lehman's new book ENERGIZE RESEARCH READING AND WRITING--it is good to revisit it after I heard him speak at the convention.)

Another part of this week will be exploring lots of nonfiction books--getting their hands on books that have been sitting on the classroom shelves. I am hoping by the end of the week, they have discovered the genius of Steve Jenkins and Nic Bishop. I am hoping that a few kids have fallen in love with the Face to Face series. I am hoping that we build some baskets around certain topics of interest.

This week is all about rediscovering nonfiction as readers. I don't think it will be hard--there is lots of great nonfiction to fall in love with. I just need to give kids time to dig in with some minilesson support along the way.

Below are some tweets from Chris and Kate's session. Lots to think about.