14 Cows for America:Book-of-the-Month September 2009

Once again, our Principal presented a Book-of-the-month that kept the faculty on the edge of their seats! The faculty walked into the Media Center as a video played to activate schema for this book presentation.

Then the Principal appeared via Skype! She wasn't even at school! She was in South Carolina and was Skyped in for the presentation. She explained why she had chosen this particular book to honor September 11 and the sacrifice that has been made by so many. Then she read the book to us that had been prerecorded. This same recording will be used throughout the day of September 11 so that our children can also see why this book was chosen and hear the Principal read it.

Of course, we always have to learn a new strategy through the Book-of-the-month and this book was no different. The Principal introduced a strategy from Kelly Gallagher's Deeper Reading. She taught us an advanced strategy using metaphors. Not only did groups, divided into grade levels, come up with touching metaphors, but they thought deeply about using such an advanced strategy with their readers and writers. Once again, it was a book to remember. For more information about the book and presentation, check out the Chets Creek Book-of-Month wiki.

Jack and Jill

As part of our Skills Block we put a priority on phonemic awareness in these early days of Kindergarten. To bring phonemic awareness alive, I wrote a Nursery Rhyme Unit several years ago.  It includes nursery rhyme activities, and suggests teaching a rhyme a week, but uses the words from the rhymes to practice phonemic awareness. For instance, this week while we are learning the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme,

• the students are blending words from the rhyme (/J/ /ack/ Jack, /w/ /ent/ went, /h/ /ill/ hill), 
• identifying the first sound that they hear (What is the first sound you hear in Jack? /J/ What is the first sound in fetch? /f/), 
• What other words rhyme with hill? (Jill, grill, thrill...) 
• What are the rhyming words in the nursery rhyme? (hill-Jill, down-crown). 

So the meat of the lesson in phonemic awarenes is in between the comprehension of the nursery rhyme. To comprehend this rhyme we act it out, use motions to sing it to a tune, draw the rhyme's beginning, middle and end, draw pictures of all the nouns in the rhyme, etc.

Readers' Workshop - Star Books

Readers' Workshop begins the first day of school. Teachers begin by reading "Star Books" which are books that we have chosen because of their strong narrative elements (characters, setting, events, problem and solution). The list of books that we use, along with resources can be found on our Kindergarten wiki. We read these books every day, reading four new titles each month.

Mini-lessons. As part of our mini-lessons we identify the characters and the setting of each new book. We decide what the problem is and how the problem is solved. We talk about and draw the beginning, the middle and the end of each story. We also act out the stories, helping the children learn prosody by creating voices for the different parts. One the children's favorite early books is The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The children especially like being the troll and using their mean, tough voice!  Over the course of the week each child in the class will have a chance to be one of the characters.

She's the Apple of My Eye

I have mentored new teachers for the past ten years while I have been a Literacy Coach at Chets Creek. It's part of my job as a Coach and also as a National Board Certified Teacher but it is also a part of my heart. The older I get the more I realize that I have an obligation - a moral reponsibility - to share what I have learned. In fact, it's one of the reasons I felt so compelled to begin this blog. I have always felt like I am part of an amazing school that is different from the norm in so many ways and that we must share what we learn, that we must be transparent and honest, and that we are called to use what we know to train up a new generation of teachers. Maybe it's a little sappy to think about legacy but I do feel like we are forging a path for others to follow and eventually lead.

This year, I have the opportunity to mentor my own daughter as she joins the profession for her very first year. When I approached her about writing a "she said/ he said" sort of blog as a teacher and mentor but also as a mother and daughter, Courtney never hesitated. We have begun that path and I hope you will take a moment and visit our blog, will leave a message for Courtney supporting her first attempts at blogging, and will recommend the blog to any beginning teachers that you might know.

This is a journey that truly touches my heart! Join me!

First Readers' Workshop

Readers' Workshop in Kindergarten begins on the second day of school. In Mrs. Alvarado's class she gathers the children on the carpet, teaches them the song that will let them know it is time for Readers' Workshop each day and then explains to them that Readers' Workshop is a time that we learn all about reading. She shows the children the baskets of books she has placed on each table and tells them that they will be "reading" the books today. Of course, a couple of the children pipe right up and say, "I can't read!" She goes on to open a picture book, shows the children a picture and tells them that even when they can't read the words that they can "read" the pictures. After all, that's what all good readers do! This is the beginning of teaching children to retell stories that they know from the pictures and teaching them their first comprehension lesson of looking at the pictures to get the meaning of the story. Happy Reading, Kindergartners!

A Back-to-School "Thriller"

Teachers returned to school today. I have written about our new theme, "Orchestrating a Symphony of Student Success" and today the theme came to life. The teachers assembled in the lobby for breakfast, grade level pictures (Kindergarten country cowpokes were first up) and the first "game" of the day. Each teacher had a famous singer/musician's name placed on her back. Each teacher had to guess the name on her back by asking one question to each person on her team. The first team to turn in all the names won the round and also a gift card for each team member!

Then it was into the Dining Room with its theme decorated tables including such items as music themed clip boards (handmade by the fabulous Marvine!), mugs, pens and booklets, and Peterbrook chocolate popcorn (yum!) Each grade level sat together because today is a day about team building. The first to enter were the Office Team which included the Principal, Standards Coach, Technologist and Office staff. They presented a skit that brought down the house with their version of Thriller - watch this little musical snippet!

Then each team in turn presented a funny irreverent skit based on their genre of music. Some of the skits were prerecorded using the technology that we have been learning and others were live, but regardless, they all left you laughing. Of course there were gift cards for the best skits!

Next on the agenda was the Principal's summary of our data story and an assignment for the teams to work on goals for the year. These were collected and will be used to drive the School Improvement Plan and the work of each Curriculum Council. The day alternated between work and play. One of the most entertaining activities of the morning was a chance to play at music centers where teachers got to play with percussion's "as if they were a child" and then each grade level presented an original musical number. Kindergarten was the big winner of the original song category with their musical rendition of a kindergartner! Hysterical! Again, of course, gift cards for the winners!

New teachers were certainly not ignored. They were given 5 minutes to come up with a Soul Train line, so they danced without abandon to everyone's delight. Then of course, they had to take the official Chets Creek pledge!

The day ended with the Principal, a former Kindergarten Teacher herself, reading us a children's book and finishing with a slide show of some of our most challenging children to the music of Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There?" It helped each of us get in touch with why we do what we do! Oh, and did I mention that there was a drawing on every grade level for an ipod? We finished by lunchtime and were treated to pizza. The afternoon was free for teachers to work in their rooms. Now this was really a back-to-school Thriller!

Greater Than Yourslef

This year's Leadership book study is Greater Than Yourself by Steve Farber. In usual Farber-style the book is a parable that tells the story of a philosophy called GTY, Greater Than Yourself. It's a quick read. It reminded me a lot of Jim Collins' Level 5 Leader - the self actualized leader with self confidence so intact that he didn't have to claim credit for himself - the leader who easily gives up the limelight to build up others. GYT includes three tenets: Expand Yourself, Give Yourself and Replicate Yourself.

Expand Yourself reminded me of advice I used to give my daughter. You will attract the opposite sex when you stop thinking about who you will attract and concentrate instead on being a better you. It's being good in your own skin that's attractive. Farber insists that you need to continue to learn. In this step he suggests that you take inventory of what you do well and then choose someone to share your talents.

Give Yourself means to give to that project without expecting anything in return. Of course, he goes on to explain that you really do get lots in return. This step to me is all about relationships and being able to share with abandon - without worrying if it will make the other person looks better. It's the total philosophy at Chets that we are transparent and that we have a moral and ethical obligation to share what we are fortunate enough to learn. It's the difference in being at a school with teachers that collaborate to make the whole better instead of being with a group of teachers that complete because they have to be top dog. In that type of school, teachers don't share because they want to be better than the next person so they share none of their "secrets.". In a school like Chets, everyone shares because they want everyone to be better.

Finally, Replicate Yourself. Find and train your replacement. It's sort of the way you feel about your children. You so want them to out-achieve you.

There's really nothing about this philosophy that I don't believe and try to live. I guess it's just the idea of intentionally identifying a project that puts me off a little. It seems a little arrogant to decide that you are so good at something and then choose somebody that's not to "fix." I figure I've been Melanie Holtsman's GTY project for quite a while now. She knows so much more about technology than I do and she gives time to teaching me almost every single day and she certainly expects nothing in return! Who else could have gotten me to try Twitter and have me thinking about Facebook?!! I guess it's just the part about ever being better than she is at technology that has me rolling in the floor! Nevertheless, this is an interesting book and something to think about...