Sarah Lanier: Miller Section 1: “Not This” Blog Post #2

Section 1 of Miller is an eye-opening text.  After reading this selection, I reflected on my daily practices and the seconds that add up to valuable minutes I spend on things in my classroom.  For example, transitions.  I cannot tell you how many times when we’ve transitioned from one activity to another that I’ve wasted valuable time.  In the moment, it doesn’t seem like wasted time.  Of course you want every student to have his/her materials ready, sitting quietly, eagerly listening to the teacher to see what the next learning adventure will be in less than 30 seconds.  Unfortunately, that rarely happens.  In reality, it takes at least three to four minutes (on a good day) to make that happen.  Three to four minutes may not sound like much, but how quickly that adds up!  That’s twenty wasted minutes a week, eighty wasted minutes per month, and so on.  You get the point! That’s valuable time that could be spent on valuable teaching moments, including reading! I think it is imperative that all teachers take a step back and reflect on their daily habits and procedures so that wasted time can be minimized and learning can be maximized!

~Sarah Lanier 

Vicky McLain's September Blog Post 3 Finding Time for Independent Reading

I can remember writing DEAR time on my daily schedule as a first year teacher.  The acronym speaks for itself.  We would drop everything and read.  I would do a few running records and our time would be up.  It was about as thrilling as overhead transparencies displaying the black line masters from the basal!  In section 1, Miller not only effectively convinces me of the importance of prioritizing independent reading but also the importance of making it engaging, meaningful, and relevant to real life.  I agree that children learn to read by reading and they need proper support to read. When Miller began going through the practices that we could be guarding that are wasting precious time I felt like she was either guilty of them herself or has been in my classroom.  There are still changes to be made that will free up time so I can make more time for what is most important.

Blog Post 1: Jaime Steading's Miller Section 1 "Not This: Is There Enough Time?"

I have to admit, this is all new to me.  I almost feel like a first year teacher all over again.  This is the first time in almost 10 years I am teaching students who are already reading.  I have been teaching either preschool special education students or nonverbal low functioning students with autism, so this is a new world for me.  When I first began teaching, I was a general education teacher.  I taught second grade and third grade.  I remember taking a class on "The Four Blocks" when teaching third grade, but even back then we still relied very heavily on the basal reader.  I often found myself wondering how the basal was reaching the child not on grade level.  I guess my heart was always leaning toward that student who was behind or who needed extra support.  I know this was the beginning of my path to teach special education.  These readings have been eye opening, yet affirming for me.

Is there enough time?  Wow.  How many times do I ask myself this question everyday and the answer always seems to be "no."  When you are teaching four different grade levels everyday for every subject, there never seems to be enough time for anything, which often leaves me feeling very ineffective as a teacher.  After reading this section by Miller, I have realized how much time I can manage to waste during the day with what I thought were effective and important activities.  Some activities that Miller mentioned that stood out to me:
  *Calendar Time:  My students love this, so this is a hard one for me.  I have tried to really trim this down to the basics and find other ways to review these skills.
  *Lining Up:  I laughed at this one.  I often find myself saying, "If you're wearing red line up." However, I have students who are working on colors and also on following indirect or group instructions, so this is a tough one for me.  I try to only do this occasionally, now, so I don't waste as much time.
  *Transitions:  These are hard in a class for children with autism.  We are getting faster, though, with practice.
  *Miller does not mention this particular activity, but there is one thing that has taken a huge chunk of my time this year: testing.  All of my students have to be tested individually, which takes up huge chunks of instructional time with my students.  Luckily, I have two fantastic assistants who fill in for me.  However, where it may take a couple of days, at the most, for a general education class to take a specific test, it takes me weeks.  Doing this three times a year adds up to approximately 6-9 weeks of lost instructional time.  This time doesn't include testing for progress reports, report cards, and IEP goals.  I am trying to find ways to make the mandated tests work to my advantage and to be able to incorporate them into the IEPs and eliminate some of the additional testing.

It is easy to get frustrated with the testing or with the lack of time we feel we have.  When frustration kicks in, I always try to remember that, for me, the most important part of teaching is that my students know I love them.  No matter what happens, if a child knows I love them and care for them, they will work their tail off for me.  So, I am trying my best to make the time to show my students just how much I care for them. Whether it's a short conversation about their weekend, hanging up their prized drawing, or listening to them read, I want them to know that I am interested in them, that I love them, and that they are important to me.  Then, we can accomplish great things this year together!

Sarah Lanier: Routman: Chapter 4: "Teach with a Sense of Urgency" Blog Post #1

Teaching with a sense of urgency doesn’t mean you rush through the content because you have so much you have to cover (although this is a sad reality).  Instead, teaching with a “sense of urgency” means you make every second in the classroom count and make wise, educated teaching decisions that have a direct impact on getting your students where they need to be.  It’s making the most of every moment you have with your students and not becoming complacent on where your students are or what you’re/they’re doing.  I think one of the key ideas in this chapter was about promoting joy in learning.  Joy is contagious.  If teachers emit joyfulness with what they’re teaching and how they’re teaching it, the students will “catch” the joyfulness.  As teachers, we need to be excited about learning and making educational, memorable moments with our students.  On the other hand, complacency is also contagious and can be “caught” as well; therefore, teachers should be mindful of their attitudes towards learning and be sure they are sending the desired message to students.  When you combine joy with making every moment count, it adds up to a recipe for success!

~Sarah Lanier

Vicky McLain's August Blog Post #2: Teach With a Sense of Urgency

This chapter reminds me of the book "Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire" since the focus is on teaching what is most important with a restrained sense of urgency.  Routman encourages us to think deeply about what we believe about teaching, the essentials of literacy, and things we do to ensure successful readers.  As Routman walks us through the Optimal Learning model (inside front cover), she also reminds us to take our time to understand these principles first.  Once we understand, we can apply them.  When we have clarity of our vision we can enjoy teaching and students will enjoy learning. The atmosphere for learning must be optimal.  Elements of joy, respect, engagement, success, and encouragement need to be present for learning to take place.  The organization of the learning structure takes more time on the front end but the benefits of engaged learners is a great pay off!  Routman encourages us to maintain high expectations and model effectively. The optimal learning model is a handy tool to help us with transference of dependent to independent learners.

Vicky McLain's August Blog Post #1:Share Your Reading Life

I was intrigued by Routman's persuasion to share our reading lives with our students in chapter three. The opportune time to do this would be in the summer when I actually have time to read for fun and relaxation.  Since that isn't the situation in which I find myself it will take more of an effort to help my students see that I love to read for pleasure as well.  I like the idea of keeping a reading journal for myself so that I can readily and easily share those precious moments in which I find myself binge reading a book that has swallowed up all of my energy and captivates my mind for hours.  I also like the idea of sharing our libraries with our students. I plan on taking pictures of my library at home and at my husband's office to show how much we love our books but also to show the different ways we arrange our libraries to fit our own styles and preferences. Hopefully, by sharing our personal reading lives with our students we can be one step closer to fostering a love of reading for pleasure.

Rhonda White - Post #1
Okeefe The Habit of Kidwatching shares how important it is to get to know each student as a unique individual.  It’s “learning to see what’s there”.  Using a clipboard is an effective tool to quickly jot notes as I scan my classroom of students.  Secondly, coaching requires a 5 minute conference with each individual in which I can listen to each student read, chat, and for me to give advice.  This is our “time” together.  Most importantly, kidwatching should be a daily habit that requires commitment, risk taking, and valuing each child as a unique individual. 

Rhonda White - Post #2
Making a Match Between Books and Kids focuses on helping transitional readers increase their reading comprehension and level of reading.  Teachers who rely on leveled reader books to move readers to the next level are unfortunately limiting reading growth.  We should take into account the students’ interests, background knowledge, and motivation.  We need to provide books that support our students in moving them forward toward more independent reading and comprehension skills rather than moving them to a higher level of reading.  Books should be carefully chosen to help our students use text supports to strengthen understanding.  These books are known as “anchor books”.  These books should provide texts that allows the students to make inferences.  Other supports to consider are pictures, text setup, hooks, leads, illustrations, dialogue, and length of chapters.  Teachers need to be aware of the different supports that a book contains so that students have more opportunities to become better readers.  We can do this by not only using leveled readers but offering a library with a variety of levels, interests, and genres.

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Simplify Your Teaching Life

Jenny Blanton

I am coming back to the classroom full time after staying out for 10 years.  Naturally the title of Chapter One (Simplify Your Teaching Life) stood out to me.  Some days I feel like a chicken with my head cut off.  I can use all the help I can get to settle myself and get in a groove!  I love all the things Routman had to say in this chapter.  She brought out several good points here about focusing on the things that matter the most, and that is teaching to our kids’ needs.  Obviously this can be challenging at times because all of our students have different needs, but it’s the best way to help them.  I think one of my favorite parts of the chapter was the list she titled “Ways We Complicate Our Teaching Lives”.  I am guilty of all of these.  I also like that she mentioned as teachers we need to be careful how we weigh research we read and make sure it’s credible. 

If I am completely honest I struggled with the fact that I felt that her thought process is contradictory to the way I perceive I am being guided to teach.  She talked a lot about using your strengths as a teacher and teaching how you feel is best for your classroom.  I often get the impression that we all need to be teaching reading and writing a certain way and even setting our classroom up a certain way, which makes it difficult for me to trust I know what is best for my students.  My hope is that once I get myself settled and do simplify my teaching life I can focus on my strengths and my students’ needs.

I really enjoyed this chapter.  Some of my goals after reading this is to be creative in how I can help my struggling students and get them engaged in reading.  I hope I can create a classroom environment that will be both comfortable and challenging for my students this year!

Robin Wright - Miller's Section #1: Not This - Blog Post #1

There is never enough time in the day to get everything done and more importantly, done effectively. Chapter 1 in Miller's book described this scenario, which is nothing any of us have not heard before a million times over. However, the chapter did make me realize how so very much time is wasted with the traditional things like morning shows, transitions, and morning work.  This year I have made it my personal goal to give my students work that is worthwhile and engages them from the start of the day.  This is not only very beneficial to my students, but also very time consuming for me.

I agree with the author that independent reading time should be so much more then just sitting at a desk with a book pretending to read.  The students should be given the opportunity to reflect on their reading.  They should also be taught different strategies of reflection to give them choice and make it more meaningful to them.  I love to confer with my students about the books they are reading, which poses another challenge with time.  Conferencing with all 23 of my students and making it meaningful is something that will take time for me to master.  Giving students the opportunity to read independently and respond to their reading through a variety of methods is essential in their growth as readers.

Karen Davis' Blog Post 1 - Debbie Millers' Section 1 - Not This (Is There Enough Time?)

Not This

Finding the time for independent reading is the most important thing we can do for our students.  This could possibly be the only opportunity afforded to them for reading a large amount of books on their “just right” level.  Research verifies that reading independently on the right level is the most important part of a balanced literacy classroom.  However, students must have a teacher who conferences with them regularly to encourage engagement.  Reading is much more enjoyable when someone discusses the book with you.  Also, it is crucial for teachers to keep students on the best fit for independent reading.  When students are trying to read alone at a guided reading level they will become more frustrated and begin to pretend to read.  Students who read on a comfortable level will find that reading is relaxing, will gain confidence, and will realize reading is exciting.  I love that Debbie Miller encourages slowing down during this time to allow for relaxed reading, conferencing, and no rotations.  One way I find to add the minutes into the day is to include student practice into workshops.  Spelling practice is a station, much of Science and Social Studies can be incorporated into stations, exchanging independent reading bags/boxes can be accomplished in a station,  and journal writing makes a great independent station.  With these opportunities provided during stations and guided reading, there is more time to add an independent reading block when the room is quite and students can concentrate on reading silently.  Debbie Miller states that, “It’s well known that in order to become thoughtful, strategic, proficient readers, children need to read. A lot.”  Sounds like we need to find time to do it!

Terri Thrailkill: Debbie Miller’s Is There Enough Time? August 2015

 As a retired teacher, I often reflect on the many years that I spent working with first and second graders.  This especially happens when I meet monthly for lunch with a group of my retired colleagues. After a brief discussion of our most recent health issues and world affairs, we soon begin to discuss how things have changed since we were in the classroom—back in the good old days.  I completely agree that many changes in education have occurred, but I also know that just as many have remained constant.

One idea that has not changed is the priority placed on reading in the early grades.  As Debbie Miller reminds us, it is still the goal to help students become “thoughtful, strategic, proficient readers.”  Much of the school day is allotted to this lofty goal. Best practices may have evolved based on the latest research, but providing a time for independent reading is essential for student achievement.

Unfortunately, lack of time is something else that has not changed. There never seems to be enough time to get it all done. I think I probably ended every day of my career with something left undone.  Most importantly, I worried that I had not been able to spend enough time with my struggling readers. Often it is independent reading time that gets shortened or eliminated when time becomes an issue. I totally agree with the author when she suggests that we ruthlessly evaluate how our classroom time is being spent. Whether minutes could be shaved by improving transition times, tweaking routines and procedures, or eliminating redundant activities, just finding the time for independent reading is not enough.

Debbie Miller states that students “need to practice and to make their practice productive, they need the tools that we [teachers] provide through instruction.  This extensive independent reading practice framed by instruction needs to happen in classrooms daily.” Even more overwhelming than finding the time for independent reading is our responsibility to provide focused instruction in a way that will be effective for all students.  The author reminds us that teachers must model good reading behaviors and talk about how they make meaning of a text so that students understand. They must monitor student reading, offering feedback that will help them improve.  Teachers must guide students in selecting books that allow them to be successful, while challenging them enough so that they will grow as readers. The author challenges, “It’s our job to do everything we can to equip children with the tools they need to stay engaged and motivated when we’re not there.”  Independent reading with no instructional framework will not accomplish this goal, but providing that instruction is an ongoing challenge.

I am convinced that the most important element in helping students become proficient independent readers remains unchanged.  And that is the classroom teacher. Her decisions about how to manage classroom time each day and her skill in focusing instruction for all students will always be paramount in the classroom. Her understanding of children and how they learn coupled with her ongoing desire to incorporate practices based on current research into her reading instruction will continue to make her invaluable.  That will never change!

     

Blog 1 Chapter 3 Routman- Turkette

Share Your Reading Life

·         Share your passion for reading: I start this from the first day of school! My students participate in Daily Five throughout the year. On the first day of school we sit as a class and learn about reasons why we read (it is fun and to become better readers). I ask students about their favorite book and I tell them mine.

·         Talk about favorite authors and favorite books: As a class we read different books throughout the year. My students are different grade levels so I often read to them as a class some of my favorite books. We also do author studies for a few months so I can share some of my favorite authors (Jan Brett, Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, and others).

·         Maintain a reading record: I have students keep a log of what books they have read by using the Roebuck Readers through our school library. I do not have them keep a log other than this and honestly I do not keep my own. I think this is a great idea and I may start doing this for myself and have students share their log they keep from the library.  

Katrina Hankins--Blog Post #2 Miller, Section 1: Not This: Is There Enough Time?

Maybe it is because I’m still in the midst of tweaking schedules or maybe it is because there is such concern about what we are supposed to be doing to raise test scores.  Either way I found Miller’s book validates what I truly believe is important for our schedules, for our schools, and most of all, for our students.  Section 1 of Miller’s book goes head on with the age-old dilemma of not enough time.  I have found that there is never enough time in the day—not for eating, sleeping, working, exercising, etc.  This roadblock is nothing new but it does pose a challenge.  That challenge is to find what is truly necessary and important with the time that we do have.

“Children learn to read by reading…but not without instructional support.”  The truth is that practice makes perfect for reading as in most things but the support of the teacher makes all the difference in this process.  Just as a gymnast or a football player perfects their skills with the assistance of a coach, so too do readers with the help of their teacher.  Student must be reading to become readers which may seem obvious until you look at classroom plans that have students completing worksheets about reading yet rarely really reading.  Just as Miller’s group in Maryland discovered, they may have talked about reading and provided some time to do some reading but it wasn’t the kind of reading that allowed teachers to get to know their students as readers nor was it the kind that encouraged growth in abilities of the readers.  It wasn’t a time that provided the support and guidance that is truly needed.

Miller challenges them and us with an eye-opening story on page 3.  This story clearly illustrates that sometimes we do things without fully understanding why we are doing them.  The problem continues until finally someone is bold enough to question the practice.  We have to question our practices.  Are our students reading volumes or just enough to get by?  Do we know each of them and how we can help them?  Is our priority where they are or what the standards say?  I don’t know if it is a balancing act or a juggling act but it is essential that we find the time to reflect and the time for students to really read.  Then be in that moment with them not to call them out as non-readers or fake readers or hopeless but to be beside them inspiring them to try just one more time ready for the reading success that each student deserves.  Just as Miller states, “Independent reading in silence without the kind of support described in this book means these students suffer in silence.”  All they need is a teacher who makes independent reading time a priority for her students and an opportunity to get to know them better and help them grow as readers.  Surely we can find the time for that.

Katrina Hankins Blog Post #1-- Routman Ch 3 Sharing Your Reading Life

When I think about all of the things we are trying to do at our school, it always comes back to the same thing.  We want our students to love learning which includes active reading, writing, researching, and engineering.  The engagement we seek for our students isn’t just for an evaluation but for validation that we are truly working with our students in the course of life and making the learning authentic and long lasting.  It all starts with love.

We’ve talk about creating a welcoming environment, accepting each student, and getting to know them well.  Obviously, that begins the process of bonding that makes sharing in a classroom a transformative experience.  Routman focuses on sharing your reading life in Chapter 3 as an important part of this learning experience.  Every summer I make a stack of books I want to read.  Actually it becomes 2 stacks as I gear some of my reading toward professional books but the other is a stack of children’s literature.  I look forward to reading books that are popular as well as favorites that have been forgotten.  I read these with the hope of finding the right hands to fill when school starts back up again.  Then we can share the excitement, not just a new book to read, but also the journey that takes place within the pages.  A journey that I’ve already made possible for them just by reading and sharing a book.

The sharing that takes place has to be real and continuous.  To me, there is always another book to read which can be so exciting. On page 26, Routman promotes this approach through two questions:  What is your “now” book? What is your “next” book?  This creates the momentum that as readers we are never done.  We have so much more to experience through the books in our stack.  Then as others in our class share their reading lives, there is even more motivation to keep reading.  The teacher is the one who can inspire this excitement mostly by sharing her life as a reader herself. 

If I could I would take my students to Barnes & Noble to rummage around until we each found a favorite.  Then I would buy every one so that each child could have it always and share it with a friend when they were done.  I can imagine them saying, “Just make sure you give it back, it’s one of my favorites.”  Then the next day the classroom would ebb and flow from excited chatter about the books they are about to read to the quiet of complete absorption and then back again when they read a part that begs to be shared.  All this would be the natural workings of our own class book club just as Routman suggests on page 30.  But an extravagant field trip funded by a wealthy teacher is not a prerequisite for such joy.  Our weekly visits to the media center to fill our book bags for free can provide the same euphoria when part of an environment that celebrates the life of a reader and their experiences as modeled and facilitated by the teacher.

Don’t know how you would inspire such a reading experience?  Routman generously offers many practical suggestions on pages 31 and 32 specifically.  If none of the options work for you, then maybe a small start would be better for you.  Read one book that is grade level appropriate and share the excitement whole group or with just one student.  Your sharing time after Independent Reading time can be an inspirational time or encouragement from just one student can start the process as well. 

Finally, Routman suggests a reading record which is often a killjoy for many of us.  I have to say that even though I have struggled in the past, I have adopted her approach of using a notebook.  For some reason it gives me just the right amount of support as a reader.  I jot down the title and author for each month along with a few notes so I remember the book since my memory doesn’t always serve me well.  Obviously, whatever system you use to record the reading in your class, the purpose should be to document the life of the reader instead of a chore.  As a reflective piece it can be so powerful to see where they have been and where they are going.  It is a record that can help us to know them better and encourage them one reader to another.  The record is to encourage reading, not kill it so make it a simple part of the process so that it supports them in the growing and sharing process.