I’m hearing great things from teachers and kids who are piloting the English Language Arts modules that were released earlier this year in Albany. In fact, several of the elementary writers in the WNY Young Writers’ Studio asked if we would consider implementing different modules during our summer fellowship sessions this year. Seriously. All of this has given me great pause. As a teacher, I’ve worked hard to give my students a real voice…
Last month, a number of teachers and consultant friends of mine began kicking around the idea of creating an archive of paired passages and texts that educators could pull on for a variety of purposes. I liked this idea very much, but not for the reasons people might suspect. To be honest, I’m not sure how many people will find resources like this valuable in the long run. It’s not about the resource for me, though. It’s about…
Students’ ability to read complex text does not always develop in a linear fashion. Although the progression of Reading standard 10 (see below) defines required grade-by-grade growth in students’ ability to read complex text, the development of this ability in individual students is unlikely to occur at an unbroken pace. Students need opportunities to stretch their reading abilities but also to experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading within them, both of which…
Happy Friday! Last week, I was beyond excited when Jan Burkis and Kim Yaris invited to guest post over at their place. I took the opportunity to start a conversation there about creating and managing cognitive dissonance. It’s one I plan to continue here next week, as my experiences implementing the Common Core Learning Standards and the six shifts that underpin them have surfaced some new and unexpected realizations about this particular topic. I’m…
As teachers, we are often far more sensitive to the weaknesses that learners possess than we are to their strengths. Once we’ve targeted a weakness, it is common for us to slide into problem-solving mode. This inhibits us from empowering kids to identify what they are good at so that they may use their strengths to contribute to our classrooms and our communities. Have you considered how many young people graduate from our high…
Listen. It’s not just about the kids. We don’t get to choose the teachers we work with either. We don’t get to pick the ones who meet our ideal. We are called to serve the educators who walk through our door each day, so they may serve their students well. Want to help them? Watch them. Listen to them. Think about them. Create for them. Let them create for you and for others. We need…
Listen. You don’t get to teach the kids you prefer to teach. You don’t get to pick the ones who meet your ideal. That isn’t who you were hired to serve. You were hired to serve the kids who walk through your door each day. Want to help them? Watch them. Listen to them. Think about them. Create for them. Let them create for you and for others. Teach them, and quit comparing them to…
Where do great writing ideas come from? They’re often inspired by our own experiences, the things we read or hear or see, or the thoughts and feelings that are stirred up in response to those we connect with each day. Still, defining an idea worth investing yourself in can be challenging, and that’s why it’s often important to connect the things we love to do beyond writing to our writing. When I’m conferring with…
The Beginning of a Writing Process, WNY Young Writers’ Studio 2010 It happens every year. “We’re only here because our moms made us come,” they told me. “We hate writing. Seriously.” Seriously? I wonder if most kids are given much of a chance to consider what writing really is anymore or why they would even want to do it outside of the classroom. And so I suggest that writing isn’t just about linear text. It…
I just finished the last of five very different but very meaningful “opening week” sessions inside of the schools that I work in long term. It’s inspiring to watch teachers begin the year by engaging in collaborative goal setting and planning for a year of individual or team-directed professional development, particularly when not so long ago, conversations like this seemed close to impossible. Everything from wonky scheduling to tight resources to lack of protocols to…