Recording Booth

All too often we want students to record in class. How can this be done without asking them to work in the (busy) hallway not under supervision? It's time to make a recording booth for INSIDE the classroom! My husband is the man in my life who can make (and fix) ANYthing. Thank you, Bob, for helping make this small dream come true for our 7th graders!

Materials:

• 5 pieces of acoustic tile, 12 inches square (I found 6 pieces for $16.99 on ebay.)
• Thick cardboard (Bob has ours saved in the attic from the washing machine back in 2014.)
• Box cutter
• Packing Tape

Create:

• Design it so it's 12 inches tall and deep, and 16 inches wide, with the front (12 x 16) open. (Easier said than done, I know. Bob is the expert I go to.)
• Cut, bend, and tape.
• Stuff in acoustic tile.
• Place an iPad in it.
• Begin recording!

Voila! Half an hour's work in the living room on a Saturday! As Ryan O'Donnell pointed out to me in a tweet, it will reduce ambient noise, provide personal space, and give a sense of professionalism.  I'm excited that the scholars in room 239 will be able to use this recording booth for book talks, reflections, movie making, and more!

Hacking Literacy - My Take Away

I am on Gerard Dawson's (High School English teacher) email list to get updates to his blog, so I was able to get a PDF copy of Hacking Literacy before it was published! I then proceeded to read this gem in two days...

The first three hacks (focus on the reader, develop a reading culture, and develop a classroom library) assumed that the teacher is a reader him/herself. I almost feel that a chapter was missing - how to read A LOT as a teacher. If teachers who are non readers (of children's / YA literature) actually read this book, they may get the hint that it's pretty imperative they start reading children's books. These three hacks validated what I've been trying to accomplish in my ELA class, and would benefit those who are on the edge of turning their classroom reading culture around.

The fourth hack - Implement Assessments that Build Community - is where, suddenly, my brain began thinking, "What if?" If you've been following my blog at all, you'll know I'm focused on feedback instead of grading. How DO teachers assess independent reading? How can my students use their independent reading to prove that they're learning? As Gerard was talking about the various ways students can share their reading with the class, I nodded my head as I notice familiar ideas, such as Penny Kittle's Big Idea Books, book talks, book reviews, and so on. I then added some of the ideas to the document I'm going to give students next year to keep track of their writing, grammar, and reading comprehension. This portion looks like this:

I then had an "aha" moment! I am so focused on feedback - how can I make it easier for me to give specific feedback about what students did well sharing publicly, and on what they can improve? Create a simple Google Form to fill out! So... I did. Here is my first attempt at creating a form that I can use to quickly check off boxes that apply to students sharing their books publicly - whether it's a book talk, video, on Instagram, etc. - http://tinyurl.com/FeedbackBookShare Feel free to copy it and make your own!


What makes me geeked about this form is that I can copy and paste the information as a narrative into the online gradebook as feedback for my students. I'm excited for this short cut! The more feedback students receive on the books they share, the more they may try to improve by sharing even more books with their peers.

As the author states... "Building a culture of readers is not easy. It takes time, patience, and consistent application of effective strategies ... It means empowering students to manage their own learning and measure their own progress. As the teacher releases rigid control and invites students to collaborate in building a culture of readers, the energy of the classroom transforms itself..."

Hacking Silent Reading Time

This school year, I tried four new "hacks" to get my 7th graders to read even MORE. These are in addition to TONS of book talks, reading alongside students, passing around a clipboard each day so students can write in what they're currently reading, and having set non-negotiable times each week for students to read independently for 20 minutes (in my beautiful 80-min. block) at a time.

Here are four types of students I have that do not exhibit habits of readers... yet. I have then listed the hack I've tried. I've experienced success with each one, and that's why it's time to share them with you.

The Great Pretender

She says she reads. At home. Each day in class, she chooses a different book. This book is usually one from my "browsing" shelf - Guinness Book of World Records, The Big Book of Gross Stuff, picture books such as Jumanji... I wouldn't keep these books on my shelves if I thought they were bad books, by any means. But this child exhibits all the habits of a non-reader. She'll try to fool you into thinking she reads. She might go so far as to give a book talk about a book the teacher read last year in class.

Hack:

Get the audio version of books, and download them to the classroom laptops (if you have them). I have six old laptops in our class (and two chargers that work - I rotate which get charged each night). On the top of the laptop, put a picture of the cover of the book. Book talk it, and let students read along while listening. My experience -- every time we read in class, my "Great Pretender" quietly gets a headset, opens iTunes, and is engrossed for 20 minutes.

Forgetful Frances
She's disorganized. She reads at home. (This is evident in the books she knows and her spelling, vocabulary, and grammar.) She doesn't remember to bring her book to class. Ever. She chooses a different book off the shelf almost every day, but then leaves it somewhere in the room and it takes me awhile to find it to put it back where it belongs. She can't find it the next time she wants to read it, so she chooses another book.

Hack:
Check out books you love(d) from your local library. Put a sticky note in them that says, "This book stays in room ___" so students cannot check them out. (I've been burned and had to pay for a book that never returned.) If this type of child is truly disorganized, she will not mind that the books have to stay in the room, because she would forget to bring one home or back to school anyway. Place them on the whiteboard (chalkboard?) shelf or another display. Make sure the covers face out - just like the end caps at the grocery store - make them VISIBLE! Have bookmarks on hand so she can save her spot in the book. My experience -- she's reading one book at school and one at home. In the books pictured below, there are THREE bookmarks (one for each of my three classes) in Fuzzy Mud (thanks for the rec, Sandy!). One bookmark is simply a corner of a piece of notebook paper. Now that I'm returning the book to my library today, students have said they'll check it out of their own library. (I will probably renew this copy, however... Am I an enabler??) I purchased a copy for the class, and it's currently checked out, with a sticky note inside of students who want to read it. 

The Distracted Diva

She only wants to read short, easy books. She starts books, and then abandons them after 20 pages. She'll read half of a graphic novel. She doesn't always bring a book to class. When she does bring a book, it might be one she's read before, or one in which she's had her bookmark on page 15 for a week or two before she abandons it. She likes to whisper and giggle with a friend during silent reading time or simply look anywhere but the pages of her book if her friends are too busy reading.

Hack:

Create an "article of the week" document that is viewable by anyone. Make a shortened, easy-to-remember link to it. Let students read the articles online using a device. My experience -- Our document is tinyurl.com/KirrAoW, and Scott Hazeu helps me add to it. My requirement if students use this source - they must tell us about the article(s) they read when silent reading time is over. Very few students have used this option, but a couple of them have, and that's good enough for me. Frankly, I think they've forgotten about it. I'll remind them of the link and where it is on our class website on Monday.

The Sports Hound

He loves sports. Sports. Sports. He doesn't bring his own book to class. He chooses fiction books from the sports section of our classroom shelves. He pretends to read. He succeeds at this until I decide to observe and then intervene. (I use this easy system, revised from Donalyn Miller's Reading in the Wild.) He's got a bit of the Great Pretender in him, because he sometimes gives a book talk to the class based on the information on the back of the book and the first chapter of the book. If you have a good relationship with him, he'll admit that he reads the first and last paragraph of each chapter. "That's enough to know about the book," he confesses.

Hack:

Use the computer at the front of the room for browsing articles. Have the student mute the volume so if there's an ad or video, it won't disturb the class. This student doesn't have to pretend to read anymore during silent reading time. This may even help him develop a daily practice of reading the news - at home. My experience - he comes in, excited for silent reading, heads to the computer, mutes it, finds his favorite sports site, and reads for the entire 20 minutes.

These children still may not read at home, but I'm going to do my best to be sure they DO read when they're in room 239. If nothing else, they know that developing the habit of reading for a solid block of time undisturbed is important to me.

P.S. This is all done without grades attached. Of course.

Parents in the Middle School ELA Classroom

What would you do if you were not afraid?

This question was posed by our new superintendent on Opening Day in August. Our principal then shared it again later that same day, and I heard it again in our ELA department meeting. In the last three years, I've tried so many things in my class (getting wheels on our tables, Genius Hour, the Cardboard Challenge, letting students decide so many things during our days, painting the tables with whiteboard paint, using iPads for whatever we could, trying to go paperless...), that I hadn't really thought I could answer that question when it came to education.

During our third annual Cardboard Challenge, however, I spoke to a parent (why do parents of my students scare me?!), and she mentioned that parents "don't really get invited into the classroom" after their children reach 6th grade. Hmm... THAT would be frightening! Inviting parents in? Why? For what reason could parents come into our ELA classes? Over Thanksgiving break, I made the decision to just TRY it. Here's what I did...

I decided parents could come in to give a book talk or read a picture book. I checked out the calendar. I created a Sign Up Genius site that included a "how to" on giving book talks, and all the possible time slots available. I posted it on our class Weebly. I added the invite to my two-week update email home to parents. And then...
I waited.

All good things come to those who wait... It's been so very good!

Responses have started coming in... Here are our results from January:
From January 13th - January 30th - only HALF a month of school, we've had the following visits:
     Book Talk - Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay*
                       - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
                       - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
     Picture Books - A Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams
                             - When the Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
                             - There Is a Bird On Your Head by Mo Willems

I have created a playlist of the parent book talks and have put them on our class Weebly. As for the picture books, you just have to be there to enjoy them! For the most recent, Mrs. L. asked the class if they'd read other books by the same author, and then even read it together with her daughter - just the way they used to at home!

It was so much fun to watch, that we had to recreate it with more students. In February, we have a grandmother coming in to read The Sweetest Fig, and in March we may have an author (parent connection) Skype with us to give a book talk on his own book!
*Bonus: Mrs. J. donated Sarah's Key to our classroom library, and a student is already reading it!

Note: I think it's a nice touch to have a note ready for parents in the office when they're coming to visit. I wrote on an index card a simple message with a thank you in advance and directions to our room.   --->

Am I still afraid of having parents come in?
     Absolutely!
Will I continue to have parents join us?
     Of course I will!
So... what's stopping you?
What would YOU do if you were not afraid?

Let's step out (and stay out for awhile) of our comfort zones and face our fears!

Want to see more of what we're doing? Follow @KirrClass for updates!

Update as of May 31, 2015...

     Ben's Grammie read The Sweetest Fig.

     Jenna's mom read Goodnight Moon, Goodnight iPad, and the poem "Sick."

     Elise's mom gave a book talk on The Wishkeeper, and we Skyped with the author, Maximillian Timm.

     She later came in to read us a story she and Elise had written - with student names as characters!

     Ben's Grammie read The Right Word (about Roget's Thesaurus).

     Ashly's dad read Dream Big, Little Pig

     Max's mom read More Parts

     Blake's mom read The Circus Ship

Totals: FOURTEEN visits from parents in five months. Success!

Quick Tip #7 - Reluctant Readers

Books with funny titles...

Full Transcript

Quick Tip Playlist

Spreadsheet View

Quick Tip #5 - Motivating Readers

When you're giving book talks, supplies to have on hand for a book talk lottery...

Full Transcript

Quick Tip Playlist

Spreadsheet View

Quick Tip #2 - Motivating Readers

One way to motivate readers...

Full Transcript

Quick Tip Playlist
Spreadsheet View

Blogging Blunders

I've tried blogging in my 7th grade ELA class for two years now, each with a different tilt...

Quick overview of 2012-2013...
My goal: have students reflect on what we're doing throughout the year - mainly for Genius Hour

We set up our blogs through Kidblog.
Pros and Cons:
     + I was able to see new blog posts easily.
     + One class was on one page.
     -  Not all three classes were on one page.
           Resolution: I easily created a page on our class blog for this.

Results:
I assigned blog posts for reflections - for Dot Day, Cardboard Challenge, and Genius Hour posts.
These were graded blog posts, but students chose how I graded them (from Sylvia Tolisano's rubric).
I really didn't assign a ton of posts - I only give independent reading as homework, and I need to check out the laptop carts if I expect them to blog in class. I also saw this as just a substitute for a notebook - I was not assigning authentic blog post assignments... It was also hard to grade them using a blogging rubric, as those were not always the standards we cover in class. So... blogging really fell by the wayside for us. I needed to change things.

Quick overview of 2013-2014...
My goal: have AUTHENTIC blogging experiences, so they continue to blog

We set up blogs through Blogger this time, as they all have Google accounts through school.
Pros and Cons:
      + Students could design, adding background picture or gadgets, or... so many choices!
      - They took a lot of time to set up.
            Resolution: Took the time when the reruns of Big Bang Theory were on.
      - I did not set up the blogs so I could moderate
            Resolution: I found out I COULD, thanks to @alcp! I may do this next year.
      - Cannot check the blogs easily (like on Kidblog) to see if there are new ones. 
            Resolution: @TeachMrsFerrari taught me how through Feedly! <-- post from @langwitches
      - All blogs are not all in one place.
            Resolution: I made a page on our class blog for a list of their blogs.
      + It was fun making a ThingLink for each class like I saw another teacher do (It's been so long I forget who deserves the credit!), and the kids love it.

Results:
I did not assign blog posts (except for the first paper blog). This meant that those students who don't do anything extra never wrote any more blog posts. That was the major blunder. Another was that since there weren't that many blog posts written, there weren't that many to share, hardly any comments on them, and not many in-class role models to celebrate as a class.

With that in mind, we did experience some successes:

-May Joy's description of herself - I never asked students to write this, but she definitely got what I was hoping our purpose for the blogs would be!

-Annie's story was featured on the 100-Word Challenge Showcase!

-Christina wrote a review of Hate List before she was even finished with it.

     The author commented - and then REPLIED to Christina's question!

Click here for the full post.

- Colin used his blog to raise money. His most successful was his water campaign.
- Claire kept trying different things - her novel(s), Psychology Saturdays, Fan Fiction...
    Sadly, she hasn't kept this up over the summer...
- Annie tried many ideas this year... For one blog, she copied and pasted funny photos 
      & videos.
   She ran into a few people asking about the appropriateness of the "cheeky quotes" 
       widget she had, and what the purpose of her blog was... She was upset by this.
   She then began a new food blog and that, too, was copying other people's ideas.
   By the time our genius hour presentations came along, she had begun 
       this book review blog! Sadly, she has not kept this up over the summer...
   I love how she experimented with blogs (although I was worried for her, and realized 
       I did not give lessons on "how to blog") and finally found something that works for her.

Some statistics:
Nine of my 64 students blogged - inconsistently, but they did blog for a bit. 
Four of these created NEW blogs!
One of these is still blogging over the summer - Woot! Woot! It matters to that one... 
       Please take a moment to check it out and comment. I suppose it was my dream for ALL
       students to keep a blog over the summer! I'll keep dreaming...

Changes for 2014-2015...
My goal: model throughout the year how to blog authentically, while requiring certain posts and using ELA standards on which to grade them

We will continue to use Blogger. This is so they may continue with their blogs in 8th grade...

What I will do to prepare my students for blogging...
--Share this document with articles regarding using other people's ideas on your blog.
--Set up something like this post - good "How To" to start with.
--Discuss WHY people blog.
     Share Top Ten Things I've Learned About Blogging from a 5th grader.
     Share some of the reasons from Pernille Ripp's post What Does Student Blogging Exactly Do?
--Start with paper blogging from McTeach - BEST LESSON EVER.
--Teach how to (and why!) comment.
          Solid posts regarding leaving good comments:
               How to Be a Good Commenter from John Scalzi
               Commenting from @BalancEdTech
               Quality Commenting - student guest post from @langwitches
               Leaving Good Comments PDF from Solution Tree
--Teach students how to embed videos, add Clustr Maps, give credit where due, set comments settings to "anyone" and "never" for moderating (requests were going to email accounts that the students never check).
--Go to #comments4kids on Twitter, and comment on some together as a class. (Then 
     tweet out #ICommented from your class account when your class comments!)
--Find a class that is blogging already and comment on some of their posts TOGETHER 
     as a class.
--Purchase a world map for marking reader comment locations. (Purchase pins and 
     string, too.)
--I've thought about requiring students to comment, but I'll work that out with my partner 
     across the hall... Still not sure about this one.
--Include parents - we had our first blog posts (passion paragraphs) ready for Open House.
--Email parents or advertise on your class blog when there are when stellar posts.
--Require reflection blogs, using portions and variations of this rubric or this rubric (or both).
     Does anyone want to help me with this? I'd love to create a short rubric that fits the 
     CCSSs & allows for reflections, as well!
--Require some (how many??) independent reading blog posts, using these rubrics.
--This rubric can be our ultimate goal, but I won't grade them with it!
--At the end of the year, emphasize once again how blogging is usually used for authentic 
     purposes. Show them that it is okay to delete posts they no longer need on their blog, 
     in order to start fresh. What do they really feel a passion to blog about? Or not...??

Final thoughts:
I exposed these seventh graders to blogging last year - it was really the first time they'd 
     set up a blog and been let loose with it. They currently do not blog in 6th or 8th grade,
     so I feel it is my duty to at the very least expose them to the idea of blogging and
     leaving a positive digital footprint. I know now that I need to model and require 
     some blogs from students. Model, model, model, and practice, practice, practice... 
     These will be my main changes for this upcoming year. How do YOU approach 
     blogging with your middle school students??

I know I will have many more blunders...

Book Speed Dating

Since my genius hour is centered around independent reading, I've GOT to get these kids to read. I've already done three sets of book talks (keeping track for the students here), but I wanted to spice it up. Here's one way I tried this week...

First, I did my research. 
The following two blogs I found tucked away in my Evernote notes were extremely helpful!
Tips for Getting Kids to Do More Choice Reading: Book Speed Dating
          by Erica Beaton (@B10LovesBooks)
Building Our To-Read Lists: Book Speed Dating
          by Colby Sharp (@colbysharp)

I then found a note I'd saved about putting a sign out on the door, so I decided to create the sign: 

"Be prepared to fall in love..."

From these two stellar resources, I created my own "How To" list.

That was the easy part. Now I had to implement it.
I had buy-in from the four other 7th grade ELA teachers, and we decided to meet Wednesday after school to pull books off the shelves. We didn't all make it, but we DID choose a TON of books! Next, we organized them by genre, knowing that our realistic fiction books were myriad, and we'd have to create sub-groups.

Here are the groups upon which we decided:
     2 tables - realistic fiction
     1 - sports/adventure/survival
     2 - nonfiction
     1 - memoirs/biographies
     1 - fantasy (in a realistic setting)
     1 - fantasy (not on this world or of this time)
     1 - science fiction
     1 - historical fiction

Todd H. moved the tables, Amy created the signs, Ashley cut off the lamination and helped hang them, and Todd S. and I put the books on the tables.

What I overheard...
     "Oh my gosh - that is SUCH a good book! You HAVE to read it!"
     "I already read these."
     "I don't want to read any of these."
     "Have you read this? It is soooo good!"
     "Mrs. Kirr, have you read this?"
     "I don't like the cover."
     "This book is too big!"
     "Woah! This one has ___ pages!"
     "Can I check this out now?"

One-liners from the 7th graders...
     "Mind if I 'check you out?'"
     "Fine! You're not my genre anyway!"
     "This book is out of my league."

 

What we learned:

     * If you are going with table groups, number them so students know where to go with each rotation.
     * If you are going with genre groups, know that some students will have a difficult time looking at books in a genre they "don't like" (yet!).
     * Three minutes per group may actually be enough! I thought it would be too short, but it seemed to be just right.
     * No more than 5 students per table group. Any more and students aren't as focused on the books.
     * Students who read often will LOVE this activity.
     * Some reluctant readers... will still be reluctant. I will keep working to find the book that hooks them!

What I might like to change:
     * Mix the genres so everybody has at least one book that interests them at each table. Maybe they can explore that one book in more detail.
     * Figure out a way to have my timer app automated so the alarm goes off and then resets the time once again.

Additional note 10/8/13:
I found another great wiki to help with Book Speed Dating here! There's even a score sheet! Enjoy.
And another from 12/9/13: Book Speed Dating: How I did it and why I'll do it again

Genius Hour Monday

Monday, in Genius Hour, we first watched a three-minute video, Matt Cutts - Try Something New for 30 Days, and some of us got some small ideas hatching in our heads... During 2/3, Francesco shared his Stickman Odyssey books by showing us a fort he made of popsicle sticks! In 5/6, at least three people shared books they'd read by giving tiny book talks. Josh even showed us the origami Yoda he created for The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. One-on-one conferences in 8/10 showed that many students were exceeding their goals - so we continued to make new ones for the next two weeks! Meanwhile, our photographer in 8/10 took these pictures and created this collage! Thanks, A.J.!