Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Join Us: Nonfiction Picture Book Event #nf10for10

Join us February 19th for this
nonfiction event.

As many of you know, for the last three years Mandy Robek, of Enjoy and Embrace Learning, and I have hosted an August picture book event. Those who join the event share 10 picture books they just can't live without. The result has been three amazing picture book resources:

Last August, Julie Balen of Write at the Edge, suggested a similar event featuring nonfiction might be fun. Mandy and I are always up for a little challenge, and thought Julie was exactly right. For some time now, publishers have been improving the nonfiction releases for young readers. As educators, we are fortunate to have so many interesting nonfiction books to add to our classroom libraries. Now, with the release of the Common Core, there is even more discussion focused around nonfiction.

It has been six months since our picture book event. Many of us are stuck inside as temperatures plummet and snow covers our roads. We thought this might be the perfect time to talk about nonfiction. There has certainly been a lot of banter about nonfiction on Twitter. We're wondering what are the 10 nonfiction books you cannot live without in your classroom? What books do your students love? What nonfiction books would you suggest for other educators?

So...

Julie, Mandy and I are hosting a nonfiction picture book event.

What: 10 nonfiction books you can't live without
Hashtag: #nf10for10
Who: Anyone interested --- educators, media specialists, librarians, parents, etc.
When: Tuesday, February 19th
Where: All posts will need to be linked here at Reflect and Refine on February 19th.

Start creating stacks of your favorite nonfiction and consider the 10 nonfiction books you just couldn't live without. On February 19th --- because as Mandy said, "9 favorite nonfiction books plus your 1 very favorite is 10" --- link your post to this blog. (Yes, I teach first grade...I know that 1 is really a ten. Bahahaha. It's a stretch, but work with us here.) I will then compile the posts into a Jog that will be a terrific nonfiction resource for everyone.

We hope you'll join us!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Stand Tall: Books About Bullying

Tragically this week there was a fifth grade student in the county where we live who committed suicide. There is much talk about the cause and much blame on bullying. I cannot imagine what must be going on in such a young child's mind for her to take such a drastic step. I also cannot imagine the pain her family is enduring right now. My heart goes out to all in this sad situation.

I do not know this child, nor do I know anything about this story, but it did make me stop to think a bit. Tragedies like this are reminders to stay vigilant in our work in the classroom. They are reminders to listen closely. They are reminders to not only notice bullying and address it, but also to build children so they can stand tall. This tragedy has reminded me of some of my favorite picture books for talking with students about this tough subject:

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

One by Kathryn Otoshi

The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill

The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

My Listmania for other books about building social imagery. What are you favorites?

Sunday, January 27, 2013

If You Liked Danny, Meet Lucky

Sometimes the Reading Recovery teacher in me, from years long ago, just creeps back into my life. This was the case when I stumbled upon the book, "A Lucky Pony," by Mia Coulton. I was familiar with the Danny books published by Mary Ruth Books from my years as a Reading Recovery teacher. My students always enjoyed the books about Danny, and were delighted as the collection grew.

I'll be honest, I'm easily pulled into books by characters. Like my students, I enjoy seeing characters return across multiple titles. Who can resist Ladybug Girl, Bear, Marley, Tacky, or the myriad of other characters who return in picture book after picture book? Thankfully many of the texts designed to support young readers also have characters that return in stories across our collection. My students enjoy Baby Bear, Ben, Mr. Cricket, The Meanies, Tom, Mrs. Wishy-Washy, and many more.

Lucky is a must have for any character collection. My class particularly enjoyed "A Bath for Lucky." In this story, Kate tries to give Lucky a bath. Lucky isn't crazy about the idea and tries to hide in a variety of places, but being a horse doesn't make it easy to hide. Finally Kate tricks Lucky into getting a bath, but Lucky gets the last laugh. Students enjoyed the photographs used to help tell this funny story about giving a horse a bath. The vocabulary is a bit controlled as is the case with many early books for young readers, but the story is interesting. If your class loves fun characters, you'll want to check it out.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Happy 3rd Birthday, Dear Blog!

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. Ryunosuke Satoro

via blueskycollection.com

Seriously, where does the time go? It's hard to believe it has been three years since I started this blog after encouragement from Mary Lee Hahn and Franki Sibberson of A Year of Reading. When I first began the blog three years ago, my intent was to reflect on the learning in my classroom. My hope was that by sharing reflections of our classroom, professional reading, and other learning conversations I'd improve the work I do with students.

However, after three years I've learned something else; it isn't about the blog at all, but instead about the learning community I've become a part of over the last three years. Honestly, it isn't writing the posts that helps me to rethink learning, but the reading of posts written by other bloggers. It isn't the time I put into posts that causes me to pause, but the thoughts of readers who take the time to comment. It is the conversation that carries across blogs that really pushes my thinking.

It's not just a blog, it's a community. A couple of days ago I was reminded of this when Tracy at Thinking Stems wrote a post reflecting on a comment I made on her blog nearly six months ago. Like Tracy, I often find that the comments made by each of you stay with me for a long time. Your thoughtful reflections bring me pause and give me energy. On this, my third blog birthday, I'm reminded of how significant it is to be able to learn with other educators from around the world. I'm reminded of how much I appreciate all of you who stop by to chat with me.

So, in celebration of 3:

3 Favorite Post from the Past Year

3 Collaborative Events I Enjoyed

#cyberPD: Changing My Frame
#pb10for10: 3rd Annual Picture Book Event
Slice of Life Challenge: The Habit of Writing (Note: I participated in this event from my other blog: Merely Day by Day)

3 Resolutions for the Next Year

Return to my goal of posting AT LEAST once a week. (Yes, I've been struggling a bit.)
Respond to all comments as I appreciate all of you that stop by.
Return to reading and commenting on at least 3 other blogs each day.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Otis and the Puppy

One of my favorite things about NCTE's annual convention is getting down to the exhibits. Though finding time to get there is challenging, it is interesting to have time to visit the booths of publishers to see what new picture books are on their way to the world. This year one of my favorite finds was at the Penguin table. There I found Otis and the Puppy by Loren Long scheduled to arrive on shelves March 12, 2013.

Our class had just read, Otis, before I left for NCTE. When I arrived with a sneak peek at the newest book about Otis my students were absolutely thrilled. Young readers enjoy seeing the same character return in new picture books. My class had fallen in love with Otis in his first book, and couldn't wait to see what adventures were ahead in this new story.

In, Otis and the Puppy, Otis lives happily on a farm where he busily helps the farmer and plays with his friends. One day the farmer introduces a new puppy to everyone. The puppy is supposed to be living in his doghouse in the front of the barn, but he is sad and lonely being there all by himself. Otis the tractor comes quickly to the rescue. The puppy and Otis become fast friends.

Days later the two are playing hide-and-seek near the woods. The puppy becomes distracted by a butterfly and is soon lost. Everyone is looking for the puppy, but he cannot be found. When night falls, Otis is worried about his friend being out in the dark all alone so he decides to leave the barn to find him. Will Otis be able to help puppy this time? Will Otis be able to overcome his own fears of the dark to help his friend?

As you would expect, the illustrations in Long's book complement the story. Long's story moves from full page illustrations to small scenes arranged within the text. I always think these small pictures sprinkled within the text move the story along nicely and work well with the longer pauses of larger illustrations. The way he moves from the bright colorful pictures of two friends playing together to the darker colors of night creates an unsettling feeling as young readers hope these two friends find one another again.

Our class loved this book, and cannot wait until it's March arrival so we can get a copy everyone can check out to read at home. We also look forward to being able to add it to our Shelfari shelf of books we've read. (You should have heard the students when the book wasn't even on Shelfari yet.)

A Note: What?!?! So I'm busily writing this post and linking to sites when I realize Loren Long has another Otis book recently released. How did I not know this? Do I live under a rock? Anyway, I am on my way to search for a copy. I think I'll surprise my students with it. Oh, I can't wait! #nerdybookclub comment for sure!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Telling Your Story in Pictures: A Visit from Christopher and Jeanette Canyon

"A journal gives us a place to explore our thoughts and develop our ideas in many ways." Christopher Canyon

On Monday illustrators, Christopher and Jeanette Canyon, visited our school to share their work. It was interesting to get a glimpse into their process and learn about the very different way they both tell stories with pictures.

My students were fascinated by the work of Jeanette. I think she had them at, "I use kitchen tools to make my illustrations." Jeanette then showed the students her studio and the myriad of kitchen tools she uses to work with polymer clay. It was interesting to see how she works with color and shape to create her illustrations. It was interesting to watch her blend colors, sculpt shapes, and then create a page.

Jeanette Canyon also shared her research process for illustrating her book, Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef. Since she needed to know about a coral reef to create her illustrations she started by reading. Then she went to the coral reef to study the creatures that live in this habitat. She took pictures and then came back to decide how to best make these creatures for the pages of the book. You can learn more about her process here.

Christopher also shared his work as an illustrator. He talked about how he uses his notebook to practice his ideas and drawings. He showed students how he draws a character in many different ways before beginning to work on the pages in a book. Christopher Canyon, in addition to other work, illustrated a set of books based upon the songs of John Denver. He talked about how he sketched his pages and using watercolors in his illustrations. He shared how he experimented with different papers, different types of paints, and different techniques to find the best way to illustrate the books.

The Canyons reminded students to have fun creating and sharing stories. Reminding students to share stories in all kinds of ways. My students decided they wanted to add a post about the visit to our class blog.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

English Teachers in Vegas?

I had to laugh when a tweet came across #ncte12 of a participant rolling in her Vegas winnings....books. So what happens when English teachers go to Vegas? We all come away a little richer; not in money, as I didn't hear about too many slot machine winners. Instead we return rich in energy, inspiration, and thinking.

Tweeted by Jennifer Heymoss @jheymossy

Here's What I Won

Meeting Amy LV

Connections New: Always one of the best things about NCTE's convention is the conversations with other educators. Opportunities to listen to speakers share their latest thinking, chat with colleagues, and discuss education in +140 characters with Twitter educators who always push my thinking. Somehow I never manage to meet everyone I hope to meet, but this year I did get to meet Alyson Beecher (@alybee930), Kristin Ziemke (@1stgradethinks), and Amy (@amylvpoemfarm). How fun to finally make connections with educators I've been learning from for such a long time.
Connections Old: NCTE is the place where I have time to talk with local colleagues, educators I've connected with in previous years, and those I've collaborated with in projects here and there. I'm always happy to have time to reconnect with Ohio's contingent which is well represented: Sharon Esswein, Mary Lee Hahn, Julie Johnson, Tony Keefer, Mandy Robek, Franki Sibberson, Karen Terlecky and Stella Villalba. I was also able to reconnect with Patrick Allen, Ann Marie Corgill, Katie Keier, Pat Johnson, JoEllen McCarthy, Jen McDonough, Debbie Miller, Donalyn Miller and brief hellos with Katherine Sokolowski and Jen Vincent.
Connections with New Books: Squeezing in time for exhibits is challenging with so many great sessions. I did manage to go to the exhibits for a morning to talk with publishers about new picture books. I hit the jackpot with a variety of review copies of new picture books soon to hit the shelves. I can't wait to share them with the young readers in my classroom to see what they think. You'll be seeing a few of these great titles soon right here.
Connections with New Authors: There are always opportunities at NCTE to meet the authors whose work supports the learning in our classrooms every day. I spotted Lester Laminack, Kate Messner, and Ralph Fletcher among the crowds. While attending NCTE I also discover authors new to me. This year I attended sessions with authors Marla Frazee (who answered questions from the young writers in Lisa Cleveland's classroom) and Marissa Moss (who shared her process as JoeEllen McCarthy & Erica Pecorale shared ways to use her books as mentor texts). It was eye opening to see their work collected in one place and listen to them talk about their writing process. I will be adding a few of their books to our classroom library immediately.

Nuggets to Ponder

While attending sessions I won a few golden nuggets to ponder.

Students Need Reading Communities: Donalyn Miller reminded me that reading communities benefit readers by increasing the amount of reading of members, fostering connections with other readers, challenging readers to stretch themselves, encouraging mindfulness, building empathy for the world, and inspiring readers to write.
Reading Communities Can Be Grown Online: Franki Sibberson talked about the way she uses blogging to grow her reading community and that of her students. She reminded me that blogging allows us to save our thinking in new ways, it creates traditions, builds conversations, and gives readers a chance to say things they thought of later or didn't have the confidence to share in the group.
Students Need to Own Learning: Sir Ken Robinson reminded me that "creativity is the way you live your life" and that imagination and creativity aren't the same as "to be creative you have to do something."
Technology Helps Us to Make Thinking Visible: Kristin Ziemke shared ways the young readers in her classroom thoughtfully use technology to discover, learn more, and share with others. She shared ways her students read with a question in mind and then tell where they found the answer. She shared ways she uses Croak It, Book Creator, eBook, Keynote and Songify among other applications for first graders to share their thinking about reading.
Students (and Teachers) Need Time to Reflect: Kelly Gallagher, Tom Newkirk and Penny Kittle reminded me of the importance of having time for reflection and writing that matters to students. Gallagher said, "We need the kind of writing that comes from reflection." Kittle reminded us that "story drives all kinds of writing." She shared ways she supports students to "find their own opinions, talk, and compose evidence" to support their thinking. Newkirk reminded us that narrative is "the core of how we write ---- it's who we are."
Students Need Opportunities to Find Their Stories: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater reminded me that "writing is more about discipline than talent." Marissa Moss suggests teachers help young writers to know their lives are interesting. Georgia Heard suggests we try to figure out why children are writing something and what their beliefs are about writing. JoEllen McCarthy reminds us that books are essential co-teachers of writing in our classrooms as authors help students to discover the ways to tell their stories. Jen McDonough and Kristin Ackerman shared ways to set clear goals with students and support their growth as writers.
My Tweets: I've used Snap Bird and Google Drive to archive my tweets from the convention.