Shared Reading in the First Days --- and ALWAYS

Walking into one of our first grade classrooms, the teacher has a Keep Book projected on the large whiteboard.  Students are gathered side-by-side on the carpet, their eyes focused on the text as the teacher points and reads.  Their voices chime in and out with hers as they enjoy the story.  None of them notice I have entered the room as they are so engaged in the story.  As I watch I can't help but think about the ways shared reading has changed since my first years of teaching.  In those days, shared reading truly was limited to the big books you had in your classroom --- and big books were pricey.

We are nearing our sixth week of school.  We've spent much time getting to know our students as we watch them interact and work in our learning spaces.  We've completed assessments.  We've build up our communities.  As we begin to look closely at the information we have gathered in our first weeks of school, we pause to celebrate all the strengths of our students and we begin to plan next steps.  In looking at information we've collected, we've noticed our students need support in solidifying concepts of print.  We need to help these young readers begin to build their reading strategies.  Of course, we also want to begin to open up new possibilities in reading to them.  As we've talked and planned we have spent much time talking about the power of shared experience.  Our conversations have started to focus on the possibilities through shared reading to help these students get started.

Gathering to read a text together through shared reading allows us to scaffold young learners and set the stage for the next steps in their reading.  This highly supportive learning context also helps students to feel safe in taking risks and making new discoveries.  It also provides opportunities for the teacher to put strategies and language in place that will support reading instruction in other contexts in the days and weeks to come.

Possibilites in Shared Reading:

• Build Community:  In the first days of school, shared reading provides a shared context for learning together.  This connected experience can continue to hold a group together across the year.
• Create a Common Language:  As we start our year, and as we introduce new strategies and concepts, shared reading provides a context for creating a common language across our learning community.  
• Master Concepts of Print:  With our youngest of readers, shared reading provides opportunities for us to develop concepts of print including:  directionality, return sweep, one-to-one matching, concepts of letter and word, and other important book handling skills.  
• Develop Reading Strategies:  Shared reading can allow us to teach and model reading strategies that young readers can use to sustain reading.  These strategies include using pictures, utilizing visual cues, thinking about meaning, rereading, reading on, and other strategies to help readers successfully read new text.  Shared reading also allows us to help students learn strategies to help them monitor and self-correct as they read.  It can help with strategies for improving fluency as well.   
• Support Word Study and Word Explorations:  As young readers develop the knowledge to utilize more visual information, shared reading can help them look at words in new ways.  Moving from using known words, beginning sounds, checking endings, using more efficient chunks, and looking through words, toward flexible utilization of visual information in reading can be supported in this context.  Word explorations and word study work can also be discussed in shared reading opportunities.  
• Grow Comprehension Conversations:  Of course, reading is always about meaning.  Understanding the author's message is essential.  Continued comprehension conversations can be developed through shared reading.  Comprehension strategies such as connecting, predicting, inferring, synthesizing, determining importance, and visualizing can be taught through careful text selection in shared reading.  
• Foster a Love of Reading:  Yes, this one maybe should have been first!  There's something enjoyable about shared reading.  Chiming in together as words flow with ease from our mouths and pour gently into our ears.  These rhythms, patterns, words, and stories shared together, often quickly find their way into our story telling and writing.  Being able to revisit our shared reading titles independently in other parts of our day can help students to grow in independence.  

Considerations for Shared Reading:

• Shared reading can occur with an entire classroom community or a small group.
• Choose texts that are just above where students can read independently, but will allow readers to successfully revisit these texts independently at a later date.
• Texts selected need to have the characteristics of the texts students will be reading independently. 
• Choose shared reading texts that fit student need and work toward your focus of instruction.  
• Have shared texts available for independent reading opportunities.

The possibilities for shared reading have certainly changed in our digital age.  No longer are big books our only option.  Digital texts, picture books, magazine articles, poems, songs, and so much more can now be used for shared reading.  This shared experience provides a high level of support for helping our readers take next steps.  By having individual copies (or links) to shared texts, students can continue to revisit their favorites for continued practice and enjoyment.  No matter the grade level or time of year, shared reading is a strong first step in learning together.  

If you have favorite books or thoughts about shared reading, I hope you'll stop by to leave a comment and join the conversation.

Be sure to visit Elizabeth Moore's Post:  What is Shared Reading? for more information about shared reading.  You'll find this article and a few other links about shared reading here:  

Follow Cathy's board Shared Reading on Pinterest.

Reader's Workshop: Independent Reading Time

The teacher is finishing her read aloud as I enter the room.  The class is spellbound by the story as all eyes expectantly watch her as she turns the page.  Glancing around the group, I quietly find a seat toward the back to listen to the story and conversation.  The class pauses every now and then to talk about the questions they have as they read. The teacher closes the book and a discussion follows about the story.  

The teacher then reminds students of their job today during reader’s workshop, “Think about the questions you have about your reading.”  Lowering her voice, she adds, “Find those places where you wonder why something happened or what might happen next. Remember you can bring your questions back to share with the group at the end of our workshop,” she reminds her readers. "You can write your questions or put them on VoiceThread or on your blog if you'd like," she finishes.  A chart rests on the easel with the class thinking about asking questions during reading.

Usually when I enter the room the students are already nestled into reading spots with a small stack of selected books for their independent reading time.  There’s always a soft hum to the room as readers quietly enjoy their books.  Today the lesson was running a bit late so I was able to see the moment the teacher set them up for the thinking they would be doing today in their workshop.  The lesson was part of a growing conversation this class has been having about asking questions about their reading.

There will be conversations that follow to help students to refine their questions, think more deeply about books, and learn strategies to help them to grow as readers.  By keeping her lesson before independent reading focused to her point, students now have a purpose as they go out into the classroom to read.  Whether the teaching point is asking questions, noticing character action, finding the turning point in a story, making predictions, or holding the thinking required in chapter books, setting up a purpose for independent reading time helps to set students up to engage in meaningful work.  

Considering Independent Reading

As teachers, we create elaborate systems so we can meet with small groups and individuals to differentiate instruction.  Growing as readers requires more than small group instruction and conferences peppered across our learning day.  It is necessary to consider what our readers are doing when they’re not sitting beside us.  Students spend more time in our reading blocks away from us than beside us.  How can we make this time more effective for readers?

Have a routine:  Having a routine and structure for the time students are reading independently frees students to discover, think, and learn.  During reader’s workshop, I find it best to start with a focus lesson, provide time for independent practice, and then end with time to share.  During independent time students know they will choose books to read, find a spot for learning time, consider the focus lesson as they read, and be ready to share new understandings.  Together as a community we determine the way the room will sound during this time (different groups have different preferences) and the way we will work.  Across the year we build possibilities for thinking, talking, and responding to our reading.  

Provide uninterrupted reading time:  If we want students to grow as readers, they need to be reading.  Instead of rotations or assigned tasks, I’ve found it best to provide students with blocks of time to read and consider the new strategies we are learning in our community.  Developing readers need to read uninterrupted for extended periods of time to grow as readers.  Supporting students as they learn to make book choices and begin to consider deeper ways of thinking can help readers to progress.   

Set a purpose:  Young readers are using the time given to practice and develop the new strategies we are learning in our communities.  The focus lesson that begins the workshop, helps set a purpose for reading.  Students learn to consider this new thinking as they are reading and bring back new questions and discoveries to the community during the workshop share at the end of the reading block.  

Build possibility:  Notice the ways students use their time.  What are they reading?  What have they been thinking about?  How do they share their thinking with others?  Have students share what they are doing, and demonstrate new possibilities, so learners have many ways to grow their thinking during independent learning opportunities.  Across the year the options evolve providing students with a mental menu of options for developing their thinking and room to create new ways to share their questions, discoveries, and understandings.   

Teach students to make strong book selections:  The best book selections are not only those a student can read and think about, but those that help them to think more about the current study.  If we’re talking about character and a student uses the entire workshop to read nonfiction, she/he has little opportunity to think about new learning and join our community conversation. Teaching students to make strong book selections evolves across the school year as new genres are introduced, new ways of thinking are considered, and deeper reading strategies are mastered.  We talk a lot about balancing our reading choices so we have time to read what love and also set ourselves up for new learning.  Students learn to stretch as readers into new territories.  

Build student ownership:  When students own the book choice, own the type of thinking they will do, own their learning goals, and own the way they will share this thinking with others, our role changes.  We learn to listen, to notice new steps, and celebrate new understandings.  We watch for next steps and help students to cross new bridges.  We follow, coach, and work beside our readers.  

In her book, Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer’s Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits, Donalyn Miller reminds us, “Our true obligations regarding children’s literacy: fostering their capacity to lead literate lives.”  Independent reading time gives children the space, support, and opportunity to create the habits of a reader while learning new ways to dig deeper into the understanding of the author’s message.  What are children doing while we meet with readers and work with small groups?  They’re taking new steps in a literate life.  

Getting Started with Reader's Workshop

Shaping a Reading Community

The calendar turned to August and in a snap my mind began racing with thinking about school.  I’ve started making lists of things to do, items to purchase, arrangements to consider, ideas for learning, books to request, and ways to grow our learning community.  This part of the year always finds me a bit uneasy.  Though I am excited, I always worry a bit too.  Will our classroom become a place where students feel safe, are willing to take risks, and are interested in the learning taking place.  Will my new students be eager to be at school every day?  Will this group of first graders be able to grow a community that supports one another in learning?  Will I be able to help them to grow as readers and learners?

Last year, as March and April rolled around, I remember moments of looking at our learning community during Reader’s Workshop and smiling with pride.  I could have walked out of the classroom and students wouldn’t have noticed.  There were students engaged in a variety of types of learning.  I noticed a small group working together on a study of pets.  They had books collected on their tables, notebooks out, and were reading to discover the answers to questions they had asked.  There was a group circled on the floor with a collection of planet books talking about discoveries.  There were students blogging about book favorites on the computer.  There were pairs reading together, individuals snuggled in spots with a good book, and a variety of books being read in the classroom.  They had come to rely on one another.  The quiet hum of thinking, learning, reading, and collaborating could be heard around the room.  

Now it is August.  Uneasiness settles in as I wonder, how do I get back there?  Will we be able to accomplish this as a new community?  How will we determine the way we organize our library, the way we use our time, the volume we are comfortable with during the workshop?  How will we create a common language to use to talk about books and share our thinking?  Will we be able to learn to listen to one another, consider the ideas being shared, and add to them or even disagree politely with them?   

Getting Started

When making decisions about setting up our workshop and planning our first days together I try to step back to think about my beliefs about reading instruction.  What do we need to thrive as reading community?  What do young readers need to own their learning?  I want to start our workshop on the very first day of school.  I want students to know Reader’s Workshop is a place where we read books and my hope is they will look forward to this time each and every day.  As I get the room ready I try to think about:

• Time:  Readers will need plenty of time to enjoy books independently.  I try to be especially mindful of students receiving support in reading as often they end up with the least amount of time to enjoy books, yet they need the most.  Time reading provides authentic opportunities to use new strategies and come to greater understanding.  
• Choice:  The choice of books, reading goals, and ways to share thinking should belong to my readers.  Introducing possibilities, keeping an eye on new discoveries made by students, focus lessons and community conversations about developing our reading lives will help to grow the choices readers make during our workshop.  
• Space:  The classroom should have a variety of types of spaces for readers.  As I look around my room, I hope to create spaces for whole group conversations, small groups working together, pairs reading together, as well as individuals who prefer a little nook to quietly curl into as they read.  I also want to consider the location of books, tools, and technology for readers.  
• Strong Library:  Across the year our library will grow and change as it is shaped by the reading lives of the students in our classroom.  I like our library to surround us as we work together across the day.  I consider the placement of books, wanting to have books within reach no matter where students choose to sit during Reader’s Workshop.  Books will rest across the main shelves of our library, but they will also sit on our math tool shelves, near the reading nook created, on tables, in the center of the classroom, near our wonder area, and anywhere I think I can squeeze a few baskets.  
• Conversation:  Each year, our community seems to have readers who like the room quiet, readers who love to laugh over books with friends, and readers who like to think in small groups about topics of study.  This can be tricky to balance in small spaces and will be shaped in conversations across our first days.  However, I know I want to provide time, space, and opportunity for readers to talk about books.  For many, conversation and social interaction will be what brings them into books.  

First Steps

What will the first days of our workshop look like?  During the first days I will try to be mindful of the choices readers are making, notice the smart decisions they are making, consider the books they seem to revisit, and have conversations to discover who they are as readers.  In the first weeks I’ll try to consider where we are, but also keep an eye toward where we are going.  

First Days	Moving Toward
Reader’s Workshop is a place where we read books.	Reader’s Workshop is a place where we read books, share our thinking, and discover new learning.
Discover who we are as readers.	Grow our reading lives.
We talk about books.	We grow our thinking by talking, writing, and creating new understandings with books.
Books to begin our workshop.	Growing our library to support our reading lives and topics of study.   Discovering new genres, authors, and topics of interest.
My responsibility as a reader.	Student responsibility for the other readers in our classroom.
Reading with partners.	Talking and growing our thinking with learning partnerships.
Having a plan for Reader’s Workshop.	Setting goals for growing as a reader.

Getting Ready

Somehow the gathering of a few baskets of popular book collections to place around the room starts to put me at ease.  I try to think of collections I think students may have enjoyed in kindergarten, as well as books to help us with beginning community conversations.  Baskets of picture books about vehicles, pets, friends, reading, numbers, as well as song books are some of the collections I have started.  I only want enough books to get us started.  There are many empty baskets filling the shelves too.  This new community will decide what we need to add to the shelves that surround us.  I’ve requested many new titles from the library, created Evernote folders to document the reading journeys of these new young learners, and started to plan the structures to support our learning as the year begins.  I’m feeling a little better now.  I remind myself to trust the process and the new students who will soon share this space with me.  I’m looking forward to beginning a new journey.  

Planning for Independence: Stenhouse Blogstitute Reflection

When Donalyn Miller wrote "Let My People Read" for the Nerdy Book Club, I shouted a big amen.  It also made me think, "Let My People Learn."

I love summer!  Summer gives me the time to read and learn about topics I've been wanting to dig deeper into across the busy school year.  This summer is full of personal learning opportunities.  I want students to have these same opportunities in the classroom.  Young readers need time and opportunities to choose the books they want to read, to find ways to authentically use new strategies, to dig deep into a topic of study, to own their learning.

My Summer Professional Learning Board

Miller:  Letting Kids Dig In
Again this summer, Stenhouse is hosting their annual Blogstitute at the Stenhouse Blog.  On June 20th the event, which will continue for 9 weeks, kicked off with a thought provoking post by Debbie Miller:  Letting Kids Dig In (a post about planning in our workshops).

In her post Debbie Miller writes, "Now, once I identify our learning target, I no longer dive into planning the mini-lesson.  Instead, I plan what students will do during work time to grow as readers and get smarter." 

What really caught my attention was a visual representation she drew of her thinking about the planning process.  In this representation she talks about her thinking through learning targets, planning of the focus lesson, independent learning opportunities,  and sharing.  She has an arrow to illustrate where she places her planning for, what she calls, "plan catches."  Who will she confer with during the workshop?  Will she have small groups?  Who may need support for learning?  As she plans what students will do during the learning, she has questions she asks herself.

Planning for independent learning is hard because we want to support students as they make learning decisions.  Reader will choose their books, lead their conversations, write about their thinking, and try new strategies during our workshops.  So often it seems we feel pressured by a structure instead of the learning.  A voice whispers in our ear, "I need to meet with three guided reading groups each day. My students rotate through centers while I meet with students.  I need to make sure everyone is working toward the learning target."  We put a variety of structures in place to keep students working while we meet with learners, but Debbie gets at what really matters here; it isn't the time we are with children, it is the time they are engaged in learning.  Her support matches the goals she has for learners and is adjusted according to need.  I'm guessing that early in a learning cycle support may be higher than as students begin to gain control of new concepts.  

Planning for Independence
Debbie Miller changed my thinking about independent learning time years ago when she wrote Reading with Meaning (now available in a newer edition).  Debbie made me rethink the block of time students were using for learning.  After reading her book, I knew I wanted students to be spending their time reading and thinking.  Using assessments I began to plan my focus lessons, crafting lessons that would lead students into purposeful work, allow students time to work authentically on all we were learning, and turn the learning over to the children.

When I look at the large block of learning time in Debbie's visual, I know this is the time I want students to own.  I want students to choose their goals, plan their time, read, write, talk, and think.



Independent Learning 
Here are some choices readers make during Reader's Workshop:

Goal Setting:  During Reader's Workshop I like students to have time to read books of their choice.  Readers write their own goals for independent learning.  In most cases, these goals align with the bigger questions we are exploring in our classroom.






Book Conversations:  Readers need time to read together and talk about books.  Focus lessons lead students toward the work they will do as readers.  Readers take these community conversations into their independent and partner reading.  They talk about books the way we have talked about books.   Across the year students build their stamina or as Patrick Allen called it in a recent post, Stick-to-it-ness.  Reading is often thoughtful quiet business, but I think sometimes we have to remember that primary learners like to play and sometimes reading looks a little like play in a primary classroom.  There are occasions where students get up to move as they as they read Is Everyone Ready for Fun?  or Elephants Cannot Dance.

Writing About Reading:  Often in Reader's Workshop students choose to go our class blogs to write about a book they want to share with their friends.  They sometimes choose to read posts and comment as well.  

Reflecting:  In our classroom we use Shelfari to keep track of the books we read.  Students sometimes return to the shelf to find books they'd like to read or recall favorite characters.  In this picture, students are working on end of year recommendations for the next year's class of first graders.  

Thinking About Learning:  Students use Reader's Workshop time to read and think.  Often students choose to blog about books, write about characters, tell about stories, talk with friends about books, or share new learning.  In this picture, a student is learning about dogs and sharing new discoveries. 

Seeking Answers:  There's something amazing about getting to the point in Reader's Workshop where students know enough books, they've explored different tools, and are reading with purpose.  There's something about that point where students choose a goal or a question and begin to read to find out more.  This is one of my ambitious study groups.  These friends loved to learn together, and here they are each reading to learn more about pets.

Digging In:  This is the challenge of independent practice.  We can create strong focus lessons that lead students toward new understandings.  We make sure our libraries are filled with the kind of books our readers will want to spend time with during our workshops.  We can choose books that will help students move toward new thinking.  We teach students a variety of ways to share their thinking with our learning communities.  Ultimately, students will make independent learning decisions.  Students will be the ones "digging in."  Thanks, Debbie, for helping me think about this time once again.  

The Joy of Planning: Designing Minilesson Cycles

Today I finished reading The Joy of Planning:  Designing Minilesson Cycles in Grades 3-6 by Franki Sibberson and published by Choice Literacy.  If you don't teach grades 3-6, I still think you should read this book.  As a 1st grade teacher I found Franki's thoughts to be quite applicable to planning in primary as well (and am passing it to my husband who teaches middle school next).  Most of all, I found the book to be an enjoyable read that I know I will revisit again and again across this year as I plan.

Minilessons
Franki reminds us, "Minilessons should empower students and help them develop strong identities as readers."  This book not only helps us find ways to empower our readers, but I found it energizing and empowering for me as an educator.  Lately discussion in education has turned to measuring, sorting, comparing, and grouping learners.  This book reminds us that looking at data is just part of the work we have as teachers.  "When we know where we need to focus our teaching and what students need, then the hard work of planning and the important work of teaching can begin," according to Franki.

In this book, Franki revisits the significance of planning in instruction.   She shares the way she plans cycles of minilesssons and the way these cycles build upon one another.  She begins the discussion by talking about the key characteristics of minilessons and their importance in our classroom communities.  Then sharing the ways she uses what she knows about the students, the curriculum and the resources that will support and scaffold the study.  The goal always remains giving young learners the tools they need to grow as readers.

The Planning Process
In the book, Franki shares her thinking through the process of planning four different lesson cycles:

• Readers Think as They Read
• Exploring Character   
• Theme
• Nonfiction Reading

She demonstrates the way she breaks each cycle into smaller lessons and scaffolds students as they learn.  She talks about changing directions, the resources she uses, and the ways she monitors student understanding.  Franki's lesson samples provide a glimpse into her planning process and the way minilessons support readers in the classroom.  

Franki is refreshingly honest about her shifts in thinking across years of teaching.  In her chapter, "Nonfiction Reading:  Rethinking Lesson Cycles We've Always Taught," she shares the changes she's made in the way she has revisioned her nonfiction minilesson cycle to better support readers.  By reconsidering what students bring to the study, new types of nonfiction, demands upon the reader in nonfiction reading, and resources now available, Franki steps us through the process of planning this cycle of instruction through a new lens. 

Franki reminds us that the work we do is important.  The planning process cannot be replaced by companies and scripts that do not know the children that live in our classrooms.  I know this book will be invaluable as I plan and revision cycles of minilessons for learners.  Thanks for reminding us of the joy, Franki.

Read Other Reviews:

• Katie DiCesare, Creative Literacy
• Donalyn Miller, Nerdy Book Club
• Katherine Sokolowski interviews Franki at Read, Write, Reflect

Opening Minds: #cyberPD Begins Today

"The language we use in our teaching changes the worlds children inhabit now and in the future."  Peter Johnston, Opening Minds (p. 7)

The Conversation Begins
Today we begin our conversation about Opening Minds by Peter Johnston, our second annual #cyberPD event.  (Here is the Jog to last year's conversation about Patrick Allen's book, Conferring.)  I'm happy to be hosting this event with Jill Fisch (July 18, Chapters 4-6) and Laura Komos (July 25, Chapters 7-9).

Today the conversation about the first three chapters begins here at Reflect and Refine.  If you are participating in this event by posting on your blog, please add your link to the comments below.  As the host blog, I will then move your comments into this post.  If you do not have a blog, you are welcome to comment on Twitter using #cyberPD, leave a comment at one of our blogs, stop by our Opening Minds Wallwisher or any other way you can think of to join the conversation.  We're flexible.

Foundational Conversations
During my training for Reading Recovery we focused on the language we use to support readers.  We talked about the prompts we could provide for generative learning.  As I moved into work as a literacy coach, conversations continued to focus on the language we use with young learners.  We looked at ways to use language to help students become strategic thinkers and move them toward independence.  Peter's first book, Choice Words, changed the words I used as I sat beside my students each day.  When I saw he had a new book released I was excited to read it.  Language is such an important piece of learning in our communities.

In the first chapters Peter shared his beginning points about the language used in conversations in our classrooms.  Peter reminds us, "In classrooms, events happen, but their meaning only becomes apparent through the filter of language in which we immerse them."  In these beginning chapters he shares the way the conversations we have as a community shape the way learning will look in our classroom as well as the way students will perceive their ability to change, learn, and grow across the school year.

I thought the first chapters were the perfect chapters for thinking about the significance of the first weeks of school as we lay the foundations and set the tone for all that is to come.  I want young learners to think, as Peter says, "When you make a mistake, it means nothing more than that.  Fix it.  Learn from it. (p. 3)"  In our classroom students need to see themselves as "people who can act and have an impact (p. 3)" in our community.  They need to know their voices, their thinking, their learning matter to everyone in the community.  These first weeks are important in creating this learning environment.

Reader's Workshop
Across these chapters I thought often about Reader's Workshop.  The conversations we have as a class often lead into the independent reading students do within our day.  Johnston demonstrates the significance of these conversations in Manny and Sergio's conversation as they read A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting (p. 5).  Those are the kinds of conversations I hope students are having as they read during our workshop.  Many students like to read and talk about books with friends.  Having conversations that allow them to think more deeply about books, to negotiate meaning with friends, to agree and disagree, but most of all to understand that these conversations help them to grow as readers.

Goal Setting Conversations
Our school has been focusing on goal setting.  In our workshops across the day students set their goals for learning.  I have found this to be a way to shift the narrative by giving ownership of learning to the students.  Johnston's focus on changing the narratives of our classroom is powerful.  His discussion of the work of Carol Dweck and her theories of fixed and dynamic mindsets is important.  I read her book last summer and found it to help me reflect on the way students may perceive their learning.

As I think about the students in my classroom last year it is easy to think of students who had a fixed mindset.  These students worked under the premise that they were smart or they were not smart.  Those with more of a dynamic mindset looked at learning differently.  Students with a dynamic mindset were willing to work hard to improve.  They didn't seem to mind if things were hard for them.  Instead they noticed, and took pride in, the shifts in their learning.

Goal setting, especially when goals are about the process and strategic thinking, can be a way for students to see their growth.  It is a way to shift thinking from right/wrong, smart/not smart, and toward an understanding of how they change over time.  Students own this learning.  Instead of talking about how many levels students have improved in reading, they are talking about the ways they've grown as a reader.  Instead of talking about how many math problems they got right, they are talking about the strategies they can use to begin to solve a problem.  Instead of being a good writer or not a good writer, they are talking about new crafting techniques they've tried in their latests pieces.


Some Quotes

• "My intention with this book is to offer a basis for choosing more productive talk - how to make the most of those opportunities children offer us. (p. 4)"
• "In a dynamic view, the process - how they did things - is most important (p. 16)." 
• "Process information removes the 'genius' from performance and replaces it with both a dynamic-learning frame and the strategic knowledge of how the success was accomplished (p. 21)." 
• "interdependent reading" (p. 32 -- loved that term)

Some Questions

• What does all of this (especially the student conversation on page 5) mean for conversations during Reader's Workshop?
• Is it possible for someone to have a fixed mindset in one area and a dynamic view in another?  
• How do we help students with a fixed mindset develop a more dynamic view of learning? 
• What does this conversation mean within the process of RTI? 

Language for the Classroom

• Let's see which of these problems is most interesting?  p. 18
• Repeat what he said for us so we can think about it. p. 27
• How did you do that?  p. 31
• How did you know that? p. 31
• How could we figure that out? p. 32

It's Not Too Late To Join
As I finished chapters 1-3 it was all I could do to not start Chapter 4:  "'Good Job!'  Feedback, Praise and Other Responses."  That usually only happens in fiction.  I can't wait to continue this discussion.  If you'd like to join us, but are just hearing about this for the first time, you can jump in at anytime.  The book is available at Stenhouse for 20% off during their Blogstitute Event.  Peter Johnston will be posting during the event as well so keep watching.

Stop By Participating Blogs
Wow, there are a lot of blogs participating in this year's event.  I know I'm going to have to spend some time in the next week revisiting everyone's thoughts.  The conversation adds so much to a book that already provides much to think about.  We also have people participating at our Wallwisher, writing reflections in the comments on our host blog, and sharing thoughts at #cyberPD.  Make sure to check it out.  (Also, it is never to late to add your post.  Just be sure to leave a comment below.  I'll see it.)

Laura Komos shares her reflections at Our Camp Read-A-Lot.  In Opening Minds Part I, Laura shares some of her favorite quotes and expands upon each.

Sit down with Michelle Nero at Literacy Learning Zone.  In #cyberPD:  Opening Minds - Part 1, Michelle talks honestly about the importance of the conversations we have with children.  She reminds us that every word matters as we sit beside by learners each day.

Maria Caplin shares her thinking at Teaching in the 21st Century.  Maria talks about the implications Johnston's work has on her thinking for her learning community next year in Opening Minds Ch. 1-3.  She shares some of the points of influence she considers in shifting students toward a dynamic frame for learning.

At Inspired to Read, Amy Meyer shares her reflections in Opening Minds Chapters 1-3.  Here she talks about the significance of the language we use to help build children.  She discusses her role as a third grade teacher in helping students to change beliefs they may already hold about themselves as learners. In her post she shares many questions that will keep you thinking.

Jill Fisch, another #cyberPD host, shares her thinking at My Primary Passion.  In her post, Opening Minds - Chapter 1-3, Jill focuses on the role of language in our classrooms.  Her synthesis of the chapters, plans for practice, and snippets of language make this a post you need to read.

Stop by Tony Keefer's Tumblr page, atychiphobia 2.0, as he shares his thinking in #cyberPD Opening Minds:  It's About Time.  Tony is joining this discussion on his own freewill this year.  How could he resist?  In his post he shares his reflections on Johnston's books including thinking about his planning of mini-lessons, considerations for developing a dynamic learning frame, and getting to know our students.

We are happy to have Dawn Little, The Literacy Toolbox, joining our conversation this year.  In her post, #cyberPD - Opening Minds:  Using Language to Change Lives, Dawn shares her reflections of the first chapters.  She discusses the significance language, links to the Common Core, and the mindset of young learners.

Barbara Phillips has also joined the discussion again this year at Wondering Through 2012.  In her post, Opening Minds #cyberPD Part 1, Barbara shares her reflections about the beginning of Johnston's book.  Barbara shares important quotes, mindsets, and questions to guide learners.

You have to stop by to view Mary Lee Hahn's graphic response to the first three chapters at A Year of Reading in CyberPD.

Barb Keister joins us this year at Reading Teachers / Teaching Readers.  In her Opening Minds post Barb shares the key points of each chapter as she reflects on the implications in her classroom.

Make sure you stop by Thinking Stems where Tracy shares her reflections on Opening Minds.  I think you will like the way Tracy pushes Johnston's thinking even deeper.  Her emphasis on what is next, change, and the forward momentum of learning is refreshing.

Karen Terlecky joins us at Literate Lives.  In her Opening Minds reflection she weaves together Johnston's points with small narratives from her classroom.  I very enjoyable read.

Valerie Ruckes joins us at The Sensibly Savy Teacher where she discusses Johnston's key points.  Her "quote" and "important words to think about" sections give more to ponder.

We are happy to have Noreene Chen join us for #cyberPD at My Beautiful Planet Earth.  Noreene talks about the connection between dynamic learning frameworks, process, creativity and innovation.  Lots to ponder here.

Stop by Lit Prof Suz's blog, In the Heart of a Teacher is a Student, to gain a clear understanding of Johnston's message in his bookin #cyberPD Opening Minds Chapters 1-3.  Important points in moving toward a dynamic learning are discussed as well.

Dun da da.  (That was red carpet announcement music.)  Let's welcome Amber & Lisa into the blogging world at FOCUS:  Clarity through Collaborative Reflection.  I'm always so excited when a new blog starts during #cyberPD.  Stop by as Amber shares her reflection in Stop:  Engage the Growth Mindset where she discusses that point when we stand between a fixed mindset and a dynamic perspective.

Ann shares her reflections of Opening Minds Chapters 1-3 at Work Hard, Be Courageous, Celebrate Growth.  Stop by to see what she has to say about these important words:  already, mistakes, mindset, influence, yet.  Ann also shares her next steps here.

At Raising Readers and Writers, Julie shares her reflections in her post, Opening Minds #cyberPD.  You'll want to stop by to read Julie's messages for her community of learners in the coming school as she begins creating an environment that empowers her students and moves them toward a dynamic learning framework.

Aimee joins us from Australia.  Stop by Teaching Journey where Aimee shares her reflections of Opening Minds by Peter Johnston.  In her post, Aimee begins to address the question of how to make the world bigger for the children we work with each day.

Stop by Nicole's Book Nook where Nicole shares her reflections in the first part of our discussion.  In Opening Minds Part 1, Nicole talks about our role in helping students' develop a dynamic learning framework.

Jacquelyn Sticca joins #cyberPD at Miss Sticker.  In her post, Opening Minds #cyberPD, she shares interesting points to consider about the language we use with parents.

Stop by Creative Literacy where Katie DiCesare shares the parts of Johnston's book she loved the explanations for his thinking.  In Opening Minds #cyberPD, Katie also shares some of the language she anticipates she will be using in her classroom this year.

Katie Keier joins the conversation at Catching Readers.  In her post, Opening Minds:  Sumer Cyber PD, Katie shares her "cheat sheet" of language she will be adding to the conversations she has with young learners next school year.

Melanie Swider joins us at Two Reflective Teachers.  In Opening Minds #cyberPD Post, Melanie discusses the type of self-talk we should model for young learners.

Stop by Snapshots of Mrs. V.  In Opening Minds Chapters 1-3, Mrs. V discusses the significance of this book on the work we do each day.

Beyond Classroom Walls

On Saturday, November 19th, Julie Johnson of Raising Readers and Writers, Katie Keier of Catching Readers and I shared ways to honor the voices of young readers and move conversations beyond our classroom walls.  The NCTE 11 conversation is shared here.

Redefining Choice in the 21st Century

Students need opportunities for their writing to go forward and go public - to reach audiences outside the classroom and the school - so that they can then begin to see how their words truly affect the feelings, beliefs, and choices of other people in the community.  Ann Marie Corgill, Of Primary Importance (p. 23)

I think about these words of Ann Marie's often as children write in my classroom.  New technologies not only provide opportunities to make writing public, but also cause us to rethink our definitions of composition and literacy.  In a conversation with Julie Johnson of Raising Readers and Writers, we will share our journey in revisioning choice in our workshops at the first ever conference of the Columbus Area Writing Project.  This collaborative effort with the Literacy Connection will also feature speakers Troy Hicks, Sonia Nieto, and Asma Mobin-Uddin.  Our slideshow (hopefully with links embedded) follows:

Discovering What Kids Know

I love the first days of school when everything is new.  New folders, new pencils, new crayons, new paints and, best of all, new students.  These first days of the school year are so important for setting the tone of our classroom community.  In these first days I want the children in my classroom to begin to see themselves as one community.  In these first days I want to learn how they work together, who leads, who follows, who listens, who talks and who builds on the thinking of others.  In these first days I want to know what they love to do most.  I listen to their stories to learn what is important to them at school and, of course, in their lives beyond our classroom.  We discover the ways we are similar and the ways we are different.

In these first days every step is carefully made to help us to live and work together in the coming year.  In a teaching world filled with data, I think the best thing about the first days of school is getting to know kids not by numbers, but by living beside them.  In these first days of school I want to know what they know.  I want to watch them in the messy work of figuring things out, as they settle in with a good book, as they look at that blank piece of paper and plan what they want everyone to know.  How do they make meaning?  I want to know what they know really well.  I watch them for signs of what they have under control, what they may be ready to learn, and what they may need help to accomplish.

In the first days I spend my time talking with children about their reading/writing.  It is in these conferring conversations that I learn most about their lives as readers and writers.  I learn by talking with students, but I also learn by watching them work in the workshop.  By carefully observing how they go about their reading and writing.  Much can also be learned by looking thoughtfully at student writing as well and talking with them about books.

Here are a few questions I ponder as I sit beside students to confer and reflect on their learning:

• What are the student's literacy attitudes and habits?  Do they read/write at home?  Do they have books in their rooms?  Do they have a library card?  Did they go to the library in the summer?  Where do they get books?  Do they read stories before they go to bed?  Do they prefer to read by themselves or with others?  Do they have places they like to write?  Do they see their family members read/write?  Do they approach reading/writing with confidence?  Do they have the stamina to attend to reading/writing for a lengthy period of time?  
• What do students know in reading?  How do they make meaning?  Do they search for the message of the books they read?  Do they have favorite books/authors?  What kinds of books do they choose to read?  How do they talk about reading?  What strategies do they seem to use automatically to make sense of books?  Do they monitor their reading/thinking?  
• What do students know in writing?  Where do they get ideas for their writing?  Do they write about a variety of topics?  Do they easily begin a new piece of writing?  How do they plan their writing?  Do they prefer to draw first or write words to begin?  How do they organize their writing?  How do they construct sentences?  Do they have a bank of known words?  How do they write new words?  Can they reread their writing?  Do they add details to their pictures/text? 
• Does the child's oral language support learning and communication?  Do they ask questions as they read/write/talk?  Are they able to articulate their thinking?  Can they connect their conversation to the thinking/discussion of others?  Do they use the vocabulary from their reading/writing in their discussions?  Do they listen carefully to others?    
• Do students have a sense of story?  Do students talk about their writing as if they are telling a story or just isolated events?  Do they connect ideas when talking through the pictures in a book?  
• What are the connections (and disconnects) between reading and writing?  Is it easier to write words than to read them?  Is it easier to read words than to write them?  Are they more confident in reading or writing?  Do they have strengths in one area that might support learning in another?  

So in these beginning days I will be sitting beside the young readers and writers in my classroom to celebrate and discover all they already know.  

"Conferring Ain't Easy"

Today is the final day of our cyber bookchat about Conferring by Patrick Allen (#cyberPD).  I'm a bit disappointed to see it end.  This summer I really wanted to take time to reflect the purpose and effectiveness of conferring in Reader's Workshop.  I had planned to read Allen's book, but I hadn't planned to learn so much from so many others reading it at the same time.  If you haven't had a chance to read all the posts, you'll want to find time to do so. 


Previous Conversations:
Entire conversation is here:  Conferring the Keystone to Reader's Workshop
Part I:  What Brings About a Good Conference Anyway? 
Part II:  What Are the Essential Components of Conferring?


Today we are discussing Part IIi:  “What emerges from our reading conferences?”.   Today's conversation is hosted by Laura Komos at Camp Read-A-Lot.  You’ll want to stop by to join the conversation.


Conferring Ain't Easy, But It's Important
Yesterday one of the participants in #cyberPD had been talking with a friend about conferring, likely sharing her excitement.  The friend replied, "Where's the research on conferring?"  Questions like these make me shake my head, not because they're not important but, because they're often asked to avoid change.  When I read the question I wished I was at school where I could get my hands on research, but in reality I know the difference conferring makes for my young learners.  I also know that the success of conferring has a lot to do with factors beyond just placing myself in a chair beside one student. 


Quick Shifts: In Support of Conferring
Yesterday I was reading the Mac page my computer opens to and realized a new operating system, OS X Lion, is coming out (yes, I live under a rock).  Now as a learner I could read more online to figure this out.  I could take a class to learn about the new operating system.  I could sit with a small group and learn about the system.  OR I could sign-up for a Mac one-on-one session.  Yes, I will learn in all of these situations, but I will learn a lot quickly sitting one-on-one with a knowledgeable instructor.  


The challenges:

• Online learning:  I'm going to have to spend a great deal of time reading and searching to find articles, videos, and conversations that answer my questions.   There will be a lot of information within these I do not need and may not understand.  There will not be someone close by to answer questions.
• Large Class:  Have you ever taken a technology class?  If so, you know the challenges.  There will be learners in the room wanting to know how to turn on their computer, learners wanting to know why they need to change, and learners who are trying to learn how to reprogram OS X.  
• Small Group:  I might be able to find a small group learning about OS X.  Here I will likely be able to find some answers, especially if the leader is knowledgeable.  However, the needs of each person in the group will have to be negotiated. 
• One-to-One "Conference":  Sitting down individually with an "expert" would allow me to have my questions answered.  The "expert" would be looking at my computer, s/he would be able to consider the way I use the computer as s/he answers my questions, s/he would be able to show me the way the new operating system will most help me do the work I do.  I could learn a lot quickly in this instructional context.  

I'm not saying any one of these instructional contexts do not hold merit in a classroom.  They each provide important avenues to learning and growing, however time vs. learning conferring has to be important.  If we look at some of the times in life we have learned the most we will likely find it was sitting beside an "expert" in something we like to do.  In Fires in the Mind, students tell us "some encouraging person guided them past that point [of frustration] by giving them an engaging task that lay just beyond - but not too far beyond - their skill level." (p. 44 eReader version)  

"The people who sit next to you have a big part in how you get better at something." Janiy (student FIM, p.16) 

The Whole Game and Conferring 
Recently I read, Making Learning Whole by David N. Perkins.  I found it interesting how much workshop models parallel playing "the whole game" as he calls it.  In his book, Perkins tells us, "In a setting of learning, a whole game is generally some kind of inquiry or performance in a broad sense (p. 35)."  He shares a few indicators of the whole game in a learning setting. The Whole Game:  "Walk-Aways"   Perkins states (Making Learning Whole pp. 35-36 eReader version):

• It's never just about content.  Learners are trying to get better at something.
• It's never just about routine.  It requires thinking with what you know and pushing further.
• It's never just problem solving.  It involves problem finding.
• It's not just about right answers.  It involves explanation and justification.
• It's not emotionally flat.  It involves curiosity, discovery, creativity, camaraderie.
• It's not in a vacuum.  It involves the methods, purposes, and forms of one or more disciplines or other areas, situated in a social context.

When I compare this list to Allen's "walk-aways" (Conferring pp. 158-162) it is easy to see the value of conferring.  As I begin the new year with conferring on my mind, I will be recording conversations to see what the "walk-aways" are for my young readers.  My hope is to improve the power of these conversations as the significance (and likely the research) isn't in the fact that I am sitting beside a student, but in the learning conversation we have together.