Inspired Reading

What are the important components to include in your classroom that make sure students love reading?

Interest surveys:
-Talk to your readers. Spend time with them.
-Ask the librarian what students are reading. Find out what they like, what they don't like and then turn them on to a variety of books.
-Show them how to look up similar books on the catalog.
-Show them how the book jacket can give them clues.

Anonymity: Protect anonymity and confidentiality with readers' habits, themes and topics. It's a very personal thing and something librarians work hard to preserve. Confidentiality is a librarian's responsibility. Do reading lists support this? Value reading as a very personal action.

At a great training in SDUSD with the secondary literacy resources teachers and some amazing English teachers. I asked them if I could share some of their ideas. Here you go:

Read aloud picture books: Check out the Last Stop on Market Street.

Penny Nolan, lit teacher extraordinaire for San Diego Unified says you can print out the text and read from a paper instead of showing them it's a picture book. Some students are put-off by being read to from a picture book and may perceive it's a baby book or maybe they are being identified as a "bad" reader. What's your purpose? Stop and talk. Think about what you see in your head. Have them illustrate what they see in their brain.

Readers Theater with Rebecca Bellingham, SDUSD Resource Teacher "Bring text alive, otherwise, what is the point?" "Embodiment anchors thought and is an important principle." What: novel - copy a chapter 3 or 4 max re and reread
1) Decide what chapter you will choose to enact What passages you'll turn into readers theater?
2) Decide who will read/play what characters
3) Determine who and how many people will read narration.
4) Find at least one line you can read together.
5) Do your best to have fun by sprinkling in unexpected movement, props, or magic to bring this alive for others
6) Discuss what new ideas, thoughts, or questions you have after choosing, practicing, and performing the scenes together.

Elsy Romero, SDUSD English teacher reminded us that readers' theater is learning to "lift the lines" and invites students select the most powerful lines for themselves. In this activity students have the power to decide and take action. Could be one chapter to create interest. Could be three important events that show character development; makes me think about the movie Moonlight.

Try these stories: Amal and Bound; Brown Girl Dreaming; Fish on a Tree; Because of Winn Dixie.

From reading to writing with Rebecca Bellingham Using the Last Stop on Market Street, Rebecca says after reading the story all the way through then you can go back and read the book to see what the writer does "that is working?" Is there any place in our writing where we might want to say something in a "fresh" way? Is there a place in your writing where we can go back and rewrite using these types of action words? Great workshop leader! How did the author do this? What kind of words did he use to establish relationships and show something big? What do we know about the two characters? What choices will you make in your writing to show a relationship? How will we have our characters talk to each other to show their relationship? Super inspiring! If we love a text we linger longer. Identify why we LOVE this text. "Lead with love!"

In writing, rules are meant to be broken so ask "why do you think he left 'and' out of that sentence?" Discuss why. "You can't create this experience watching a You Tube video!" Thank you, Rebecca for reminding me why teaching fiction is necessary, fun, and worth it.

An amazing teacher in San Diego, Jean Chaplupsky, shared that in her class she gives students "tummy time" to mimic that warm fuzzy feeling children have when snuggled up reading with their parents when they were young. They get down on the floor for ten minutes and read at the beginning of each class period. She's down there with her students modeling the same.

How is your day structured? To what extent do these research strategies work for you, your own children, or your students as a reader and writer?
Students need:
TIME to read and LOOK through books
CHOICE students need to choose for themselves
RESPONSE respond in meaningful ways (conference, book talks, time to share with others around common interest)
COMMUNITY part of a classroom community with meaningful contribution to the group
STRUCTURE routines and procedures that supports student and teacher learners

Build in mini-lessons, independent reading time, teacher student conferencing, small group instruction, close/share)

Learn more from: Carmen Fariña, Lucy Caulkins, Donalyn Miller Donalyn Miller https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2015/01/09/in-struggling-schools-farina-looks-to-shape-how-students-read-and-write/ https://pernillesripp.com/2015/07/30/why-picture-books-5-reasons-why-they-belong-in-every-classroom/

Then...ask yourself what percentage of your middle school and high-school day includes opportunities for students to explore and enjoy reading based on their own interest?

Teach what you value...value what you teach.

Pet peeve - non-fiction vs. informational text

Another reason why we need librarians...

What does "no-ficción" mean? It means "no fiction".

If something is nothing, then how can it be something?

Non-fiction is just something that is NOT fiction.

So...what is fiction? Merriam Webster's Definition Fiction 1a : something invented by the imagination or feigned specifically : an invented story … I'd found out that the story of the ailing son was pure fiction. — Andrew A. Rooney b : fictitious literature (such as novels or short stories) was renowned as a writer of fiction c : a work of fiction especially : NOVEL Her latest work is a fiction set during the Civil War. 2a : an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth a legal fiction b : a useful illusion or pretense it was only a fiction of independence his mother gave him; he was almost totally under her power — G. A. Wagner 3 : the action of feigning or of creating with the imagination She engaged in fiction to escape painful realities.

Merriam Webster says non-fiction is informational text, but is it, always?

Nonfiction is Just Everything Else

Everything else would be in a non-fiction section in a library, so I argue that non-fiction is NOT a genre. Non-fiction just includes "everything else" that is not "fiction".

A non-fiction section in the library includes: -folk-tales and fairy tales -poetry -story-collections -jokes and humor -informational/topical texts (biography, sciences, sports, technology, curiosities, records, famous firsts, etc.)

What are your thoughts?

Chime in...what is the role and responsibility of schools to use or limit screen time?

Wow! When we came back from a vacation I asked students what they did over break and this was the first time in 20 plus years of teaching that most students said "nothing." The majority, when prodded, 90% or more, reported they played video games for most of their break. It was a huge surprise. Most didn't travel, didn't surf, didn't play football, didn't skate, didn't go to the beach or movies with friends. Instead they stayed inside, on the screen.

I also thought about a billboard I saw driving home from holiday vacation that was for a rehab facility. It had listed programs for alcoholism, drug-addiction, gambling, and gaming. I remember it surprised me. After hearing the students report their screen-focused vacation time, it really hit me hard and it suddenly reminded me of a family I knew years ago where two brothers both ended up logging over 50 hours a week on video games. They were known in my husband's circle as amazing gamers on the game "Ever Quest" but after a year of this "accomplishment" both were divorced; wives reported it was due to the video game addiction. My husband swore off the game.

I hadn't thought about it for years, until now. Am I on to something here as I lay on my screen, typing away after a day of "working" online? What is our responsibility as educators? How many of us are still on our screens, after we've asked our own children to go to log-off and go to bed?

Many of us have been dedicated to closing the access gap and getting technology into the hands of our students, but now are we contributing to this screen overload? I have friends who attend Waldorf and commit to no or little screen and I respect that, but in my own family, we really like to hang and watch TV together and find it really relaxing. But instead, is it just numbing out our brain and keeping us from being able to wind-down naturally?

Now it's really making me think as a parent and an educator about my habits and curriculum and how screen is part of everything I do. What do you think? I am urging students to investigate this problem at our school, to get a baseline of screen time. We are also getting more calls this year from parents concerned with their students performance and noticing that they can't get them off of video games and asking for our help.

What do you think? sleep, screen time, and video-gaming

Post your comments, research and/or experiences with screen time in your school, home, and community. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/04/18/school-principals-overwhelmingly-concerned-about-childrens-scree.html https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/07/16/is-internet-addiction-a-health-threat-for-teenagers/dont-limit-your-teens-screen-time https://www.screenagersmovie.com/sleep-screens/ https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/02/05/579554273/screen-addiction-among-teens-is-there-such-a-thing https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/video-game-addiction-no-fun#1 https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-life-stevens-wednesday-screen-time-doesnt-harm-kids-0109-story.html

A "Day On" or a "Day off"

A new year...a new commitment to service In memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. January is a month of service... Get started with these links to help you serve on January 21st: https://ysa.org/act/mlkday/ Check-out the Kindness Rising Campaign. https://leadasap.ysa.org/kindnessrising/ A day "off" or a day "on"? What will you do for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service? https://www.nationalservice.gov/serve-your-community/mlk-day-service

Library - Serving Up Creativity in the Maker-Space

Don't rename it..ReDESIGN IT. Tinker Lab Design Maker Space...better yet, call it a Library and help expand others' point of view of what a library is and can be.

We know it's the most democratic and accessible space in the building so call it a LIBRARY so everyone can CHECK IT OUT!

Art, design, tech and engineering companies have extra materials on hand. Have students design and send video requests for materials.

Students can ask for robots that have a glitch and put them in a bin and check them out to see if students can fix the glitch. Too often, we are buying kits that have a final product. NOOOO! Get a variety of materials in the hands of kids and let them go. Let's get out of their way and get them creating.

Ask your local companies to challenge your students with problems they can't seem to solve. Our students have not learned "no" in their design thinking. We can't wait for us to design curriculum that leads them to solutions, they need to find the problem and the solution.

Your library is the most democratic space in the building. Everyone has access and it's FREE. No signing up for a class and hoping you get in. Everyone is allowed in.

Have students help to design the space with art, design, tech, engineering materials, machines, and inspiration, put a barcode on bins and the tools, and let them check out as many consumable materials and the tools they think they'll need, or as many as they can carry and send them home to tinker. Set-up a spreadsheet where local businesses log problems and students can try to solve them.

Set-up a room with discarded electronics, goggles, tools, and train a monitor to oversee the space at lunch and let them go for it! CA Library Standards https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/librarystandards.pdf School Learning Commons (Dr. David Loertscher - my guru) http://www.schoollearningcommons.info/ Rethinking Our Library Space http://renovatedlearning.com/2015/01/28/rethinking-our-library-space/ Looking to Create a MakerSpace In Your Library http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2015/10/14/looking-to-create-a-makerspace-in-your-library-here-are-some-ideas/ Make it At Your Library http://makeitatyourlibrary.org/ Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces https://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/smart-spaces.html

Feedback - Ongoing, Where to go next, Just in time

Preparing for the year?

How will your students receive feedback? How will they know how to improve?

Learn more in this interview with John Hattie

How can teachers learn to give (and receive) feedback in an appropriate and timely manner?

There are two things I have learnt about feedback that are important – first think of feedback that is received not given. And while teachers see feedback as corrections, criticism, comments, and clarifications, for students unless it includes “where to next” information they tend to not use it.

Students want feedback just for them, just in time, and just helping nudge them forward. So worry more about how students are receiving your feedback much more than increasing how much you give.

Also, a third major finding is when teachers receive feedback about their impact then the students are the biggest beneficiaries.

Seniors Are Smart: a service learning idea

Feeling patriotic? Take a minute to recognize those who've come before us...

Seniors Are Smart: a service-learning activity for the first semester focusing on local seniors

Overview: Publish an anthology of stories from local seniors. Students interview local seniors at a senior center/home or host a day at a local library and invite seniors to come in and share their stories.
1) collaboration is key: ask your Librarian how to best set this up for a group of students to interview a group of seniors; pay attention to permission from facility and/or family of the seniors as well as safety, limitations, and logistics for all involved
2) investigate how to do a power-interview: questions, transcription, etiquette/manners
3) interview seniors
4) in class - students transcribe and read stories out-loud to the class
5) together, determine criteria for evaluating stories to include in an anthology
6) create a publishing house/company in the classroom (editor, copywriters, proofreaders, designers, illustrators, photographers, promotion)
7) compile and publish anthology of interesting stories
8) get photos of the publishing company and each of the seniors that made it into the anthology
9) publish and promote the book at the library or center/senior home if the seniors cannot leave their facility

If you have permissions from the seniors and/or their families/facilities please link your books to my Community Narratives blog at http://communitynarratives.blogspot.com/