Real readers…
Students should be given the opportunity to read what they like. Allow them to choose their books. Encourage them to try different genres to figure out their likes and dislikes. Schedule regular “choice reading” days for students to read books off-level. They could read magazines, comics, e-books, or listen to audio books. Our students spend plenty of time being forced to read things they don’t understand and can’t relate to. Teach them what it’s like to really enjoy reading.
Here a few of my students favs:
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 To some the thought of going to a “meeting” about your blog might dredge up images of offices with people in stuffy clothes and judgemental attitudes and deadlines and stress. Our blog meetings are quite the opposite.
We prefer to meet outside Sitting on the patio Cool breeze Lawnmowers and light traffic as soothing white noise Helicopter seeds fall on our heads as we giggle and sip more champagne, relieved that it’s not bird poop Angela’s chickens cluck and scamper around the yard It takes a special kind of friendship to work on a project together To share writing and ask for real feedback So rewarding to share a creative experience with a friend  It’s important to know who you are. This is important for life and true in any profession but i’ll argue that it’s crucial in education. Your teaching persona is the foundation of your classroom management style and the basis for how you will create a classroom community. We all have different versions of ourselves...the shades of difference in how you speak and behave based on the people around you at any given time. Most of us act one way when we’re with old friends at happy hour, a different way when we’re at home, differently again when we’re visiting grandma or meeting a potential employer. What version of you will make the best teacher for your students? Consider your true self...what are some common denominators among all the versions of you? What kind of teacher do you want to be? Does that vision align with your personality? Can you make small adjustments to enhance or exaggerate some traits and diminish or modify others?  My core personality traits: I am direct, considerate, loving, dependable, occasionally short-tempered, and I have a tendency to curse a lot. Some of these work very well in a classroom. Others do not. I obviously do not swear around or to students. Though I have been known to close the door at the end of the day and blow off some steam with a colleague ;) Early on in my career I knew that I would need to make some adjustments. I knew that my students needed someone consistent, firm, and loving. They did not need a reactionary hot-head. So I smoothed the edges to create this teaching persona. I stayed true to myself by finding this version of me that could be successful in the classroom. My teaching persona: The Straight-Shooter This version of me is clear, consistent, calm, matter-of-fact, loving, and welcoming. My students know that I mean what I say and say what I mean. Everytime. Everyday. Consistency is crucial. They know I am fair and honest. If I make a mistake, I apologize. Being consistent and using direct explicit language in the classroom helps students understand expectations and helps me keep my frustration level at bay which in turn reduces my desire to curse like a sailor. It’s win-win. I tell kids when I’m feeling frustrated. Modeling self-regulation and how to appropriately express emotions and feelings teaches kids strategies to monitor themselves and self-regulate their own behavior. It also helps me. Again, win-win. I make real connections with every kid. I make an effort to get to know them and their families. And I allow them to get to know me. I share pictures and stories during Morning Meeting and Writer’s Workshop. Building real relationships with students helps them establish a sense of belonging, significance, and fun. They feel safe enough to take academic risks and then true learning can occur. I am fortunate that my core personality and the needs of my students closely align. It was easy to find my teaching persona because it was a true version of me. I have known many educators who were excellent instructors and had a true passion for teaching children but didn’t have the right teaching persona. I’ve had colleagues whose personalities didn’t match with what our students needed. Its very hard for a soft-spoken, sing-song-y, needs-to-be-loved-by-kids person to succeed in the inner-city classroom. Even if they are super knowledgeable and great at teaching content. It’s hard for these folks to find a teaching persona that’s a true version of themselves AND also meets the needs of the kids. Some of these colleagues realized that this isn’t the right job for them. And that’s ok. They were miserable and their students were miserable. Life is too short to hate your job. Whether you are a new teacher or a veteran looking for a teaching style make-over, it’s important to consider whether or not your teaching persona and management style are working for you. I encourage you to find the persona that allows you to keep true to yourself AND will help you meet the needs of your students. Once you’ve found that persona, clearly define your management style to yourself. Consider ways to build the classroom community with your students. Create responsibilities (not rules) with the kids, clearly explain and model your expectations, and give them time to practice. All while maintaining the new version of you...the rock-star teacher. Check out these resources: To get to know yourself - http://schoolreforminitiative.org/doc/compass_points.pdf The best classroom culture program/research - Responsive classroom is the foundation of my classroom management and culture - https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/ Read this book! And anything else written by Paula Denton.   I know what good readers do. I’m a good reader. But how do I teach my students the specific skills they need to become good readers too? First, we know that good readers do a lot of things simultaneously. It is our job to untangle the multitude of skills and break them down into explicit strategies for students to practice. Their brains need time to practice each skill separately until they are strong enough to do them all together. (If you teach Guided Reading or Small Group Strategy lessons you know what I’m talking about.) To untangle this mess, consider the difference between goals, skills, and strategies. Jennifer Serravallo does an amazing job of explaining the relationship between each of these distinct categories in The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers.  “Within each goal, there may be one or more skills that a reader would need to work on. For example, if a student is working on a goal of understanding character, that may involve inferring (reading between the lines to name traits/feelings) but also synthesis (putting together information across a book to determine how a character changes). Once you’ve identified the skills, you can find specific strategies to accomplish those skills.” p.5 So how do we figure out what goal, skills, and strategies students need? Collect some data! Use your favorite diagnostic/formative assessment tool (IRA, DRA, QRI, running record, etc.) to determine your students’ strengths and weaknesses. Then use Serravallo’s Heirarchy of Possible Goals (p. 3) to prioritize.  Use the remaining chapters of the book to find specific strategies to teach during Guided Reading or Small Group Strategy lessons. Each strategy has tips for teaching and colorful visuals for students to use as reminders, post-its, bookmarks, charts, etc.
Stay tuned for a top 10 list of my favorite strategies and how to get students to use them independently! Resources: Reading Strategies Book: https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Strategies-Book-Everything-Developing/dp/032507433X http://www.jenniferserravallo.com/ Teacher’s College Reading & Writing Project Running Records: http://readingandwritingproject.org/resources/assessments/running-records |
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