To the Family of...

This is a sample introductory letter, written in response to a class assignment.

Greetings from your fourth grade teacher! Soon we will be gathering at .... Elementary to begin our year as Adventurers and Explorers. I've had a wonderful summer with my family and friends, and I hope you have too. Still, I'm getting excited about meeting you and beginning our year together. Because I'm new to this school, I thought I'd take a minute to introduce myself. I was born on a farm in Colorado, and I've lived all over the US -- and even overseas. My family and I moved here when my husband retired from the Navy. I really like the friendly people and relaxed life style in the South. In my free time I love traveling, reading, hiking, music, writing, and learning new things. Playing the violin is one of my newest activities.

I'm especially happy to be teaching fourth grade this year, because it's all about adventurous people and interesting discoveries. We'll be learning about our country's history from its settlement by Native Americans through the movement West. If you like nature and the outdoors you will enjoy our Biome Project in November. It's not too early to start planning for this project by thinking about your favorite animal and how it survives in the wild. If you've always wanted to invent something, you'll have a chance to do that this spring during our "Invention Convention". I'll also be challenging you to read a lot this year. If you don't love reading yet, I want to help you find some books that will change your mind. Fourth grade is a year full of hard work, but I think learning can almost always be interesting and fun --- I hope you'll agree with me before our year together is done.

I'm enclosing the list of supplies for our grade level. Please have them here before the first week of school is over. We will be spending our first few days getting to know each other better, and creating rules for our class. So come with some ideas on what rules you would like to see in our classroom. I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas and getting to know you better!

I'll see you soon,

Mrs. Kelsey

Reading is a Right

Several different people and groups have grappled with the idea of rights for readers. I list a few below. They make interesting reading, but seem to leave out the most important points. So, to these lists I add two more points:
1. The right to have easy access to many books on appropriate reading levels.
2. The right to time and encouragement to read.
Without these, do the rest matter?

Reader's Bill of Rights by Daniel Pennac:
1. The right to not read.
2. The right to skip pages.
3. The right to not finish.
4. The right to reread.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to escapism.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to browse.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right not to defend your tastes.

Keira Parrott made one for reluctant readers:
The right to read at your own pace.
The right to choose whatever book you want.
The right to read graphic novels and manga.
The right to read magazines.
The right to read non-fiction.
The right to not like a book.
The right to read books published for different age levels.
The right to read at your own pace.


The Reading Bill of Rights from Scholastic:
WE BELIEVE that literacy – the ability to read, write and understand – is the birthright of every child in the world as well as the pathway to succeed in school and to realize a complete life. Young people need to read nonfiction for information to understand their world, and literature for imagination to understand themselves.

WE BELIEVE that the massive amounts of digital information and images now transmitted daily make it even more important for a young person to know how to analyze, interpret and understand information, to separate fact from opinion, and to have deep respect for logical thinking.

WE BELIEVE that literature and drama, whether on printed pages, screens, on stage or film, help young people experience the great stories of emotion and action, leading to a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly human. Without this literacy heritage, life lacks meaning, coherence and soul.

WE BELIEVE every child has a right to a “textual lineage” – a reading and writing autobiography which shows that who you are is in part developed through the stories and information you’ve experienced. This textual lineage will enable all young people to have a reading and writing identity which helps them understand who they are and how they can make their lives better. In short, “You Are What You Read.”

WE BELIEVE every child should have access to books, magazines, newspapers, computers, e-readers, and text on phones. Whatever way you read, you will need to figure out what the facts are or what the story tells you. No matter how and where you get access to ideas, you will need the skills of reading to understand yourself and your world.

WE BELIEVE that reading widely and reading fluently will give children the reading stamina to deal with more challenging texts they will meet in college, at work and in everyday life. And every child should be able to choose and own the books they want to read, for that choice builds literacy confidence – the ability to read, write and speak about what they know, what they feel, and who they are.

WE BELIEVE that every child has the right to a great teacher who will help them learn to read and love to read. Children need teachers who provide intentional, focused instruction to give young people the skills to read and interpret information or understand great stories they will encounter throughout life.

WE BELIEVE that in the 21st century, the ability to read is necessary not only to succeed but to survive—for the ability to understand information and the power of stories is the key to a life of purpose and meaning.

Teaching Reading in Small Groups

In the book Teaching Reading in Small Groups, Jennifer Serravallo "provides you with a rich repertoire of ways to lead small groups, and with suggestions for how to teach each well." (pg ix) Confessing that in her third year of teaching she began to ask herself, "Is what I'm doing a benefit to the student, to myself (teacher), or to us both?" (p3) She decided she was really not teaching reading as much as checking up on how her students were doing. What she was teaching, she decided, was books, not readers. So she began to examine and change.

Her goals for reading instruction are:
-match the individual
-move students to independence
-teach explicit strategies
-value time, volume, and variety in reading
-have predictable structures and routines

In the following chapter Serravallo shows various ways to assess engagement,reading strategies, comprehension and conversation, and how to use the results to group students for instruction. This is the first book I've seen that covers practical ways to assess engagement and conversation. This is followed by chapters on teaching each of these points. These chapters are filled with specific examples of student work, charts, and other helpful graphics. The author is never content with merely saying "This is what I do," but always works to help the teacher make the best choices for herself and her students.

Teaching Reading in Small Groups ends with the author's take on small groups and Reading Workshop structure. She recommends Lucy Calkins book, The Art of Teaching Reading, and her ideas follow Calkins' closely. This book would provide an excellent introduction to the Reading Workshop method for those who don't want to wade through Calkins' longer book. It could be a go-to manual for those who may have read the other, but needed something more specific. I think pairing both of these books with Debbie Diller's Making the Most of Small Groups gives a very complete guide to teaching reading, with or without the specific workshop model.

Teaching Reading in Small Groups: Differentiated Instruction for Building Strategic, Independent Readers by Jennifer Serravallo

Teaching Nonfiction Texts

Why?
It's an efficient way to teach skill and content.
It increases students' useful vocabulary.
It's a needed skill later on in school.
Kids, especially boys, like them.

How?
Use all types of written media.
Start with topics they're
interested in.
Kids teach others about their
favorite topics.
Brainstorm where they can find things to read about their "specialties" that will help them.
Kids read and share what they learn.
Get kids to notice opportunities to read
non-fiction.
"Demonstrating the ways nonfiction texts enter
our lives." p446
Read aloud, listen to non-fiction, radio, and
documentaries.
Teach kids to drop facts into other areas of life.
     “That reminds me of...”
Study voice and writing to emphasize structure.

What?
Teach for Style/ Content/ Structure
Look for things that surprise you as you read, things you wonder about.
Find the big and smaller ideas.*
    Which paragraphs are key?
    Use shared texts to demonstrate.
Follow the author's path.
    Demonstrate and scaffold taking notes.
    Can I divide this into sections?
    Look for the stock patterns and frameworks.**
    Watch for vocabulary clues.
    Use graphic organizers.
Analyze.
    Talk back to the text, disagree, question.
    Compare several pieces.
    How does this fit with what I already know?
    What do I know about the author, and what
     does that mean?

Reading and writing nonfiction must go together.
    "Tapping into the enthusiasm that writing
     nonfiction inspires in both girls and boys is
     something that  I believe we educators do not
     do enough..."    Tony Stead, Is That a Fact


*Which idea is the Christmas tree and which are the ornaments?
What is the umbrella everything else goes under?

**Description/ Sequence by Time/ Compare and Contrast/ Steps to a Process/ Persuasion

My Philosophy of Education

This is a work in progress.

I believe that all children can learn. They do not all learn best the same way, or at the same time, however. And, though there is often a progression of skills that students move across, they do not all follow every step.


I believe that students learn best when they are involved in activities that require real thought, when they can interact with others, and when they can make choices about what and how they learn. The best learning occurs when new information is tied to previous knowledge, when connections are made to students lives and interests, and when learning activities are meaningful to students.


I believe that learning can require hard work, but it can also be joyful, exciting, and fulfilling.

I believe that emotional and social growth are as important as intellectual knowledge, and that no student can learn their best if they don't feel emotionally safe and accepted.


I believe that not all learning occurs at school. Students come to us with a variety of backgrounds. We cannot change their home lives, or provide everything that a student may be missing outside of the classroom. But we can do our best for every child while we have them in our care.


I believe that a great teacher is always learning. Because of that we can often identify with our students' struggles and frustrations. We recognize our shortcomings, but never settle for less than our best, and always continue to grow in our skills. We insist on and expect hard work from our students, and give it in return.

I believe that a democracy cannot survive without an intelligent, reasoning citizenship. Education is the cornerstone that supports our individual lives and collective freedoms.

The Art of Teaching Reading

The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins is the most thorough and complete book on the reading workshop that I have found. It's written by someone who is passionate about both education and reading. It's also packed with ideas that real teachers actually use in their classes, conversations they have with their students, and complex thinking on what real readers do.

"Teaching reading, then, begins with helping children want the life of a reader and to envision that life for themselves." (p9) Lucy Calkins doesn't ignore that we now teach in an age obsessed with test scores. But she knows that teaching for high scores isn't enough. Reading well is more than the way to pass a test, or get A's on a report card. It is the key to a life of public opportunity and personal pleasure. When we teach, we need to be sure we're not passing on skills but destroying motivation. Reading workshop lets kids spend time reading books they've chosen, and share their reading with friends, so it helps develop motivation along with skills.

I read this book straight through twice, marking it and making notes both times. Part of that was because I found the structure awkward in a few places. There are two chapters on classroom libraries, but they are over 70 pages apart. A very useful chapter about teaching children to have deeper discussions about books pops up half way through; almost 100 pages later she digs deeply into the topic again. It would have made more sense to put all of this information together, and cover it earlier in the book. The fact that it is there at all, however, shows how thorough this book is. Also, there are a lot of specific ideas here, but they're hard to keep track of, so I appreciated the wide margins that gave me plenty of room to star and highlight things I might want to try in my class.

Calkins does a good job demonstrating how to start teaching reading in Kindergarten through Second Grade, taking several chapters to show the gradual introduction and development of reading instruction for primaries. She also gives an in-depth look into partner reading that really helped my understand the potential -- and potential problems -- with this. In the primary grades these partnerships are gradually transitioned into what Calkins calls Reading Centers. This is a poorly chosen name, as these aren't typical centers at all, but a more sophisticated structure for buddy reading.

Then she does the same for the upper grades. Her intermediate reading clubs are a different twist on literary circles. These clubs are groups of students who meet together over the course of several months, giving them a chance to develop a shared history of books and discussions. She also talks about book projects that the students come up with themselves, encouraging teachers to train their students, then release the reins and let them explore the world of books and writing independently.

Throughout this book Calkins makes clear the reasoning behind what she does, so the reader can make her own choices based on her situation and students. Always her intent is to show students how good readers interact with text. I wondered once or twice if she wasn't discarding some useful instructional ideas just because they didn't fit how adults read. After all, learning isn't always the same as doing. Some skills, like scales on the piano, have to be practiced in isolation. But few people are considered great pianists because they produce perfect scales. So I think some reading activities may be useful for learners even if they aren't "what real readers do".

One of the things I appreciate about Calkins is that she does not come across as someone who think she knows all there is about teaching reading. She doesn't insist you do it her way or else. She demonstrates, explains, and lets you in on her thinking. By doing this, she helped me to become a more reflective teacher myself.

My Ideal Classroom

My ideal classroom would be structured to support student choice, building community, and mutual responsibility. Physically it would have windows on two sides, with adjustable blinds, looking out onto trees, or maybe a meadow. In addition to the natural light there would be plenty of adjustable, non-florescent lighting. My ideal room would have a thermostat that worked, and solid surface floors for easy clean-up with deep, comfortable area rugs. I've often found that the best activities don't necessarily fit a schedule, so I value lots of counter and storage space, where projects can be moved out of the way when need be. Learning is often messy and can take up a lot of space! Also, the materials needed to teach project-oriented learning need to be stored and organized so you can find just what you need when you need it. Time is wasted and interest is lost if things aren't organized and prepared before a lesson starts. That requires significant storage. So I would have locking storage, counters, and running water, as well as a private bathroom.

Working with partners or in small groups improves motivation and learning, so I like having tables for kids to work at. However, I'm beginning to think it might be better to have desks that can be reconfigured as needed, yet give each student a place to call their own. There would be an area big enough for everyone to gather in a circle for whole group activities, and space to leave out science experiments or ongoing art projects. Ideally I’d like to have plants and animals -- fish, at least. But I know there can be problems with allergies. (Of course, in my ideal classroom, no one would have allergies -- even me!)

I believe every classroom needs a library with many books on the students' actual reading levels - fiction and non-fiction, picture books, novels, poetry, magazines, and just about anything else that students can read. These books need to be accessible, and displayed so kids are invited to browse. I'd love to have a space in the library for book talks and posters of kids' book recommendations, as well as comfy places for them to read.


This room would also have movable black or white boards and freshly painted walls that I could hang things on. When you walked into my ideal room you would see student made posters and pictures and writing. I would display photos of my students involved in learning. My room would be self contained and would have an intercom that was only used for emergencies. There would be enough computers for small group work, with access to secure sites for research and a classroom blog. I would also have my own computer with Internet access, and a printer with plenty of ink and paper. There would be storage lockers for each child's belongings, a place for wet/muddy clothes, and enough space for all of us to work and talk and move around, and learn. Oh, and a smartboard would be fantastic!

Classroom Management, Discussion #1