Category Archives: Readers Workshop

If You Can Talk About a Book, You’re Not an Average Kid

Amy Rasmussen, Books, Readers Workshop, Readers Writers Workshop October 17, 2012 Comments: 6

I wish the library had a door that had one of those big misting foggers. You know, the ones at Six Flags in the summer where the water gently washes over all the sweat and grime of a hot day at the park? I’d like a mister to wash away all the negative feelings my students have about books–or at least dilute it, so I have a chance to baptize the kiddos into the wonder of the written word. So far they fight me like they are scared of water.

I don’t get it. My students are 14 years old. When have they ever been exposed to books enough to know that they hate them? Couldn’t be those evil slacking middle school teachers, could it? The ones some of my colleagues complain about: “What do they DO in middle school? These kids don’t know a thing!” Or, maybe the problem goes back to elementary: “If we don’t get this book read, we won’t get to play outside.” Hmmm.

Now, before teachers in lower grades than me get in a tizzy, let me be clear:  I KNOW you work your tired feet to the achy-breaky bone. I am sure at the end of the day, you are as weeping weary as I am. I am quite simply trying to figure this reading thing out. There has to be a reason why my freshmen hate books.

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and here’s what I think:

1. My kids only think they hate books. They don’t really hate them because they haven’t read enough to know if they like to read or not.

2. My kids think that reading is not cool. The experiences that they’ve had with books in the past have not been positive enough to make them risk the “nerd” factor in high school.

3. My kids will never love books if I (and teachers like me) don’t show them that there’s something to love between the pages.

4. My kids are lacking reading role models. Few in their families are readers, so they have no idea of what a reader does, or what she says.

This is where my job gets real. Real life can change for my kids, if I can get them to read.

How do I present scenarios that show the advantages readers have over non-readers? How do I introduce them to stories that mirror life and non-fiction that expands their world? Because their world is often the 10 square blocks in which they go to school, shop, play, and live.

First, I have to talk about books. I have to talk about books ALL THE TIME. Seems like for the past two years I’ve started off the year quite well. I line my whiteboard shelves with new YA titles and hold one up for a book talk every day for the first two weeks. Without exception, every book I’ve introduced is in a kid’s hand by the end of the day. Why do I stop? Why do I let the testing trolls make me think that practicing other skills is more important that independent reading? I must stop their incessant mutterings.

Next, I have to hold students accountable for their reading. I’ve tried Let’s Read the Most Books Contests between classes. They don’t care. I’ve tried threatening “If you don’t read, you’ll fail.’ They don’t care. I have to somehow change my idea of accountability. It’s not like I ever have to record a grade because a kid read a book. Wouldn’t it be better if I just found out that a child enjoyed reading it?

A teacher friend suggested I conduct Book Chats like she does. While the majority of the class reads silently, she asks one student at a time to come sit in the “blue” chair where she asks specific questions about the book they are reading. She says students clamor for the opportunity to have one-on-one time with her. I see the value in this. In my classes of 30 plus students, the teacher-to-student ratio prohibits much individualized talk. I bet I can learn a great deal about my students if I sit and talk with them. Maybe saying we’re talking about books is how I’ll give myself permission to take the time. And maybe through these conversations, kids will come to know that reading is cool because if you can talk about a book with a teacher, you’re not just an average kid.

Finally, I need to read more. Seems funny because I read ALL THE TIME. Ask anyone who knows me. I just don’t read the kinds of books that my students will get lost in: those urban settings with real-life teen scenarios. I work with teens all day, I don’t really want to read about their [drug, sex, gang, crime] lives outside of school.

But I will.

I will if it will help me match books to students’ interests. I will if it will help me show kids that books can help them solve their problems. I will if I can get kids to stop saying they hate books.

Honestly, I wish I would have had a teacher who loved books as much as I do. Maybe I did, but she never invited me to have a chat about reading. She never showered me with book ideas or helped me see myself through the voice of a character. I would have camped out in that blue chair and counted the minutes until we could talk.

Who knows? Maybe my plans are too simplistic. Maybe the classroom library I’ve built will continue to gather dust, and my head will get mushy with too many teen stories, but guess what? There is no magical misting device that’s going to wash away students’ negative feelings towards books. There’s nothing that’s going to convince them that books contain knowledge and learning and friends. If my students are going to have a chance at all of learning to love books, it’s going to have to be me talking about titles and chatting about characters.

I am up for the challenge, and it begins now: I’ve got 55 new YA books in the trunk of my car. It’s time to get reading!

Standardized Testing: 5 Tips to Higher Scores

Heather Cato, Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop October 10, 2012 1 Comment

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With the implementation of a new statewide standardized test, teachers are anxious to figure out what they can do to get kids where they need to be. While I continue to read up on information about the test, I am more convicted than ever that the following statements must happen in order for us to see continued improvement in our students’ scores.

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1. Reading and writing MUST be integrated seamlessly into all content areas. It simply isn’t enough for students to be intentionally reading and writing in their language arts classroom.

2. You must now consider that all of your students are in your AP or advanced class. Everyone has to experience the rigor. It is not okay to just “get kids to pass.” That idea simply won’t cut it any more.

3. In order for students to do well, they must READ like a WRITERS and WRITE like READERS. You can’t have one without the other, and teachers need to be explicitly interlocking the two together as they teach.

4. It is not about the test. We can want to see more released questions/examples and have more data from the state, or whatever, but that really isn’t going to get our kids to score any better. The only thing that will improve our scores is improved instruction that utilizes sound teaching strategies.

5. All kids have to read and write more! Practice makes perfect, or so they say…. Regardless, our kids that struggle with reading and writing simply haven’t logged enough flight hours. —Ok, that’s a generalization, I get there could be other reasons for kids struggling, but generally speaking, students who struggle need more authentic practice.

It’s Monday! What are you Reading?

Amy Rasmussen, Books, Pedagogy, Readers Workshop June 11, 2012 Leave a comment

 

See this? These are the books I brought home to read this summer. The crate is full of YA literature, mostly early releases I picked up in the exhibit hall at ALAN in May. I probably left there with 100 books. I think I’ve read one. I also have a tall stack of ORCA Soundings, short edgy books for reluctant and slow readers, in that crate somewhere. I’ve read two so far, and yep, they are edgy. I think my hostile readers will love them.

I know if I want to get my students to read, I have to be a reader. But this is not how I want to spend my summer. I want to read me books:  mystery, adventure, romance…you know, reader candy, books that I devour quite simply for the sweetness of the story.

I do not think there is enough time in my summer days to do both.

In the bag on the right are my book resources for curriculum writing. There’s a whole shelf in my classroom empty because I may need these trusty friends. I am spearheading re-writing 9th grade curriculum to more effectively meet student needs as EOC/STAAR tests threaten to destroy us. (Okay, that’s over-statement, but still…our scores this spring were dismal.)  A favorite? I’ve become a disciple of Jeff Anderson and praise his book 10 Things Every Writer Should Know every chance I get. I’ll be using some of his ideas to coach teachers into conducting writer’s workshop with more fidelity. An ELA goal across my district.

See that book in the bag on the left–Instructional Coaching? That’s the title of my new job–Instructional Coach, and I’m reading it because I need to!  I am excited for the opportunity, and change always makes me eager to learn. I will be teaching two sections of English I on my home campus, and then I will be coaching English I teachers on my campus and the other three high schools in the district in the afternoons. I love that I get to keep working with students, and I love that I get to work with teachers. It’s a perfect marriage, and I think I’ll love it.

So much to read, so little time to read it. So occasionally I’ll claim to be a part of #bookaday, and I just signed up today for #summerthrowdown, although I won’t be too much help to Team Teacher. However, I will be reading. Every day I will be reading.

And I will read those YA books because I can read all the pedagogy books in the world, but if I can’t get my students to read…all the strategies in my toolbox won’t help a thing.

An Awesome Lesson in Inferencing

Amy Rasmussen, Readers Workshop June 11, 2012 Leave a comment

5 1/2 Blogs to Engage Online Readers: We <3 You

Readers Workshop, Student Blogs December 3, 2011 Comments: 3

Ted McCain (Jukes, Kelly & McCain 2009) reminds us in his book, Teaching the Digital Generation, that our world advances technologically, and otherwise, faster than we can imagine or understand:

 “Conventional wisdom is that is takes great strength to hold on to something.  In my view, it takes the greatest strength to let go of something you have done the same way for a long time.” (p. 7)

We forever stand on a precipice – we can inch back, teach the traditional way, and feel safe, warm and snuggly in our classic canon of literature with written assignments and worksheets that fit our required curriculum.  Or, we can leap forth into the unknown, embracing all that technology has to offer us – even if we don’t understand most (or all) of it, even if the students seem to fly past us in their faster cars with better smartphones using keener predictive texting skills – and find a new home.  Digital literacy, plain and simple, is the way forward.  It will not revert, remain static, nor go away.  We must jump from the edge of what we know – for our students are already waiting in the wide open spaces for us to move ahead, and not only walk with them, but also to lead them into developing stronger 21st century skills that actually prepare them for jobs, work, and higher education fields that do not yet exist.  Reading online about real people and genuine issues in a variety of areas might be just the interface students need to shift their digital engagement from passive bystander to active contributor in the world around them.

Here are 5 1/2 blogs we hope will engage young adults as they enhance and expand their digital literacy skills and improve the quality of their lives.

1. Seth Godin’s Blog – Godin is an entrepreneur that is attempting to change the way we think about writing by changing the way we think about, relate to, and connect with others. (His website is cool, too!)

2. Start Something that Matters – Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes, keeps a blog about community action on local, regional, and global levels, encouraging people that one person can make a difference, even with just a simple pair of shoes.

3. Postcards from Elysian Fields – This blog by T.R. Sullivan for the MLB highlights the trials and triumphs of the Texas Rangers baseball team, blending great writing and imagery with current sports news.  Sullivan keeps sports in a hallowed place in our hearts with each entry.

4. The Beauty Brains – 4 scientists called Right Brain, Left Brain, Sarah Bellum, and The Other Lobes, write this knowledgeable blog on the misrepresentations in popular culture on cosmetic products for both genders.  Its clever style and interactive format provides excellent chemistry connections to the science of beauty.

5. Holes in My Brain – Audrey, a recent high school graduate, writes this insightful and edgy blog about young adult literature “goodreads” and her views on the life of a [now waning] teenager.  This is a well-crafted and stylish blog that would inspire students to create their own.

5 ½. 100 Blogs for Those Who Want to Change the World – A comprehensive list of world-changer blogs in every major interest area of change, advocacy, global citizenship and aid.

As Zach Braff’s character exclaims in the film Garden State, “Good luck exploring the infinite abyss!”

Don’t worry.  We’re out there, too.  Let us know what you find on your journey.

I Want to Be That Teacher

Amy Rasmussen, AP English, Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop August 13, 2011 1 Comment

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Lately on Facebook I’ve noticed a rash of “You know you grew up in _____ if…” status updates. The comments vary from favorite restaurants and haunts to town and school traditions. It’s been interesting to note how often the conversation turns to high school teachers, and surprisingly, most of the comments are positive. I am fascinated by what people remember.

I have a few memories of my own:

Mr. Strittmatter who wrote out algebraic equations as if they were poetry, and I finally got math.
Mr. Tisdel who loved Melville and planted in me a love of literature.
Mrs. Shirey who devoted hours of her life, so I could say I created a great yearbook.

But here’s the thing: when I try to analyze what they did, I come up short. Was it kindness, patience, passion for their content, the sheer joy of teaching? A myriad of other things? I don’t know.

I do know I remember them: names, faces, the way they made me feel.

In a week, I start my 6th year teaching, and as I think about how I will partner with my students one question resonates:

What do teachers do that create the impact on a student that lasts for decades?

I want to be that teacher.