Demo-teaching 2011

One of the best things about Chets Creek is that we do lots of demo-teaching which means doing demonstration lessons for our peers and for visitors. Today I had the pleasure of watching a demonstration lesson by co-teachers Carrie McLeod and Laurie Thompson. Our Standard's Coach Suzanne Shall arranged the lesson for both the Reading Council and primary Science Council which means the teachers watching the lesson were the grade level leads for Reading and Writing at each grade level and the grade level Science leads for the primary school, plus, of course, the Standard's Coach and Principal. No pressure! I am sure Carrie and Laurie had a moment of stressful concern, wondering why they ever agreed to do this, but Chets Creek is a forum where risk-taking is admired and celebrated, and it is a safe environment where peers support and help each other... so they took a deep breath... and it was - on with the show!

The point of this lesson was to show both Reading, Writing and Science teachers what echoes across the day can look like. We know that we get a bigger bang for our buck when we are able to integrate the Science content into our reading and writing lessons and when we are able to practice those reading and writing skills in Science.

Readers' Workshop

Mini-lesson: Today's big topic in reading was Reading Like a Writer. Carrie and Laurie, whose rituals and routines are crisp and clean, began with a mini-lesson connecting today's lesson with the bigger topic. Next for the teach, they showed the students a report written by a 2nd grader (completed in 2nd grade but pulled from a 4th grader's cum writing portfolio!) The teachers identified some of the text features in the report, such as the Table of Contents, words highlighted that were found in the Glossary, headings, captions, etc. - all text features that had been covered in earlier lessons. Then the teachers labeled each noticing with a stickie note. For the active involvement they turned to a new page of the report and had the students "turn and talk" about their noticings so that the students could practice the strategy that had just been demonstrated. The teachers pulled the group back together and had them share out their labeled noticings. The link involved giving each group of two or three students a different 2nd grade report to repeat the same - notice and label text features.

Work Session: As the students divided into small groups (effortlessly!) they each received a 2nd grader's report that had been completed in years past (pulled from cum writing portfolios). Each of the small groups worked independently until they were joined by one of the two teachers to discuss their noticings and labeling. All of the observing teachers were either watching one of the presenting teachers meet with a small group or were soon sitting with a small group themselves helping the children through the task, asking them questions about what they were learning and generally thinking about how they could redesign some of their own work after seeing the lesson. The room was full of artifacts to support the learning that is being integrated. For instance, it is obvious how the day is integrated when you look at the essential questions posted each day. You can see some of the earlier mini-lessons as you read some of the charts that are hanging around the room. As students completed their noticings of the 2nd grade reports, they went to their independent reading, half of the students on the floor reading and half reading in their seats. As the students read quietly Laurie pulled a small group together to reinforce the strategies of text features in a non-fiction leveled book that was on this small group's reading level. At the same time, Carrie, pulled a different small group to go over testing strategies of a state assessment-style non-fiction test. I am assuming this group was pulled together after a task analysis of last week's assessment to work with the students that had specific difficulties with specific types of non-fiction questions. The point is that both of these small groups are off the topic that is echoing across the day!

Closing: The presenting teachers chose two groups as they were circulating to present in the closing. Each group had chosen one example to highlight for the larger group - a text feature that they had noticed and labeled with a stickie note.

Writers' Workshop

We had the good fortune to be able to stay for the Writers' mini-lesson so that we could see how these same lessons were being incorporated into the writing part of the day. The Writers' Workshop also included the 4-part mini-lesson.

Mini-lesson: The teachers began with connecting today's lesson with what the students were doing in reading and what they are doing in Science, which is a habitat and life cycles unit. For the teach the teachers are using butterflies as their example of a topic for writing a report. The students have plenty of background knowledge for this example because they are raising butterflies during Science. The teachers have a seed journal where they have been taking notes about caterpillars and butterflies. As the students begin their writing, they will each choose different animals to write a report on its habitat and life cycle. Some of the previous lessons are obvious, both from charts in the room and the teacher's seed journal example. Today's lesson was on how to organize the notes from the seed journal. The teacher thinks aloud her decision to start with a chapter on "Appearance" and then numbers her notes so that the sequence makes sense. For the active involvement she then turns to a new page in the seed journal where she has taken notes and has the children "turn and talk" about how they would organize this page of information. The link gives the children the facts they need to use the information they have just learned as they go into the work session.

At that point, we had to leave. We had been in the classroom for an hour watching this unforgettable lesson. We will debrief this lesson after school tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if my colleagues took away as much as I did. As for me, there will be things I will tweak and change in my classroom tomorrow because I have had this opportunity today!

Kevin Henkes Attribute Chart

On one of the side walls in our classroom the class has been working on an attribute chart of Kevin Henkes' books. Pictures of the books' covers run across the top of the chart. Down the left side are the headings for a retelling: Characters, Setting, Problem, Events and Solution. Each category represents a mini-lesson on a different day. For instance on one day we talked about Kevin Henkes' characters, the difference between main characters and supporting characters and how characters change during a story. I modeled selecting the main character from one of the books, drawing a picture of the character and writing the name of the character on an index card. Then each student was invited to choose a favorite Kevin Henkes' book, draw a picture of the character and write the name on an index card of his own. Then we chose a card for each of the titles. To show the children how the information in the mini-lesson transfers to a book of their own, each child was invited to identify a main character in a fictional "just right" book in the individual book bin and then to share out their discovery in our closing meeting.

On another day, the children completed cards on settings, problems and solutions. The events took a little more time since the children had to identify the events that show the steps in solving the problem of each story. In this case, I modeled one story and then invited the children to turn and talk to a partner. Together we wrote the events for each story over several days. This attribute chart will be a reference as the children begin writing their retellings.

Learning Story Elements for Retelling

The children spent last week orally retelling Kevin Henkes stories. This week they have been identifying the story parts. They have used a triangle to identify the beginning of a story that includes three parts (one for each point) - the characters, the setting and the problem. The middle of the retelling includes the events of the story and the ending includes the solution - how the problem was solved. To practice identifying the story parts, the students used the shapes as a graphic organizer to identify the parts of Kevin Henkes' stories. Today the children worked in pairs. Each pair selected one of the stories that we have been using and used a large sheet of white construction paper, first drawing a triangle to represent the beginning, a long rectangle to represent the middle and a circle to represent the ending of the story. Next they put sentences or phrases from the story to represent each story element. This will be the outline that they will use to write their written retellings.

Happy Birthday George!

I have the same birthday as our first President, George Washington. When I was very young my mother had birthday parties of red, white and blue and served cherry cobbler - patriotic all the way! I was quite upset when our nation decided to celebrate President's Day instead of George's specific birthday on the 22nd. While I have nothing against Abe, I just didn't want to share the day and certainly didn't want the date changed every year depending on when the third Monday in February fell on the calendar!

As we returned to school today after our President's Day holiday, I was talking to the children about George and Abe, trying to find out exactly what their background knowledge might be. They did know that George was the first President and that his profile appears on the quarter. They knew that Abe was born poor and had his profile on the penny. It's all about the money! They even identified our current President. They also knew that it was my birthday. They had made cards and had a surprise birthday cake with a little of my favorite Diet Coke on the side planned for the afternoon. Well into my fact finding mission, Tanner raised his innocent hand and gave me that puzzled look. "Mrs. Timmons, if you and George Washington were born on the same day and he is dead, how come you're not dead?"Out of the mouth of babes!

Lobsters and Sea Stars and Crabs - Oh My!

Our standard-based bulletin board this month is from our last Science unit. The board (beginning on the left) has the standards and then an explanation of the six-day task which includes an engage, several explores and explains, a two-day extend and an evaluation. The board zooms in on a single explore and explain that investigated the survival needs of sea creatures.

The board includes three pieces of student work which are samples of the posters that each small groups made after actually seeing and holding each one of the sea creatures, watching the sea creature in action video, and reading books about their needs. The small groups made a poster of the things that each animal needed to survive and then commentary is included about the lesson with the group, making sure to identify the thinking of individual children.
The board finally includes a picture of the SmartBoard activity where the children moved pictures of pets, wild animals and sea creatures into columns identifying their need for air, water, food, space, and shelter with commentary about how the activity synthesized the several days of lessons.

The board also includes many photographs of the action during the lesson so it is obvious to the reader how engaged the students were throughout this unit of study. What a sea-sational board!

Barnyard Book Bingo

This year the Principal planned a series of treats for children that meet their Readers-to-Leaders goals each nine weeks. The first grade Readers-to-Leaders goal for the first nine weeks was to read 25 books; the second nine weeks to add another 30 books; the third nine weeks to add another 30 books and then even another 30 books for the fourth nine weeks. The final goal is to read a million wrods this year. The goal is cumulative so for this second nine weeks the children had to have read 55 books to meet their goal.

First grade teachers at our school have decided to interpret this goal in different ways. Some teachers have the children record one book every day that they read at school during the Readers' Workshop. In our class we have decided to require the children to read the books to meet the goal at home. While we have time every single day for the children to read independently, it is also important to us that they develop the habit of reading at home every night. It is a part of their nightly homework and is a habit that will be required of them for their entire career at Chets Creek.

Meeting their goal is a big job for a first grader. First of all they have to remember to change out their book every morning, selecting a "just right" book from their book bin to take home. Then they have to remember to remind mom or dad that they have to read. We consider this the child's responsibility. It's not enough to just read. Then they have to pull out their login sheet and write the date, the name of the book (once the child starts chapter books, about 15 minutes of reading a night counts as "a book" which is usually several short chapters) and the level of the book. On Fridays they have to remember to turn in their log and get a new sheet for the new week. However, we have learned that first graders CAN complete this task and if their parents offer a little support, the children have no trouble at all! Last nine week we were so disappointed when only 11 of our children met their goal. We realized that many of them did not understand our expectation and neither did their families. It was a new routine for our families. We have worked hard this nine weeks and today 18 of our 29 children met their goal and enjoyed the Principal's Barnyard Book Bingo! We expect even more children to make their goal this next nine weeks as they realize the pay-off... and even more the last nine weeks! We think we are teaching children a lifetime habit.

Today was fun with a Dining Room full of first graders excited that they had made their nine weeks' reading goal. Our Principal called the barnyard animals as the children marked their Bingo cards. Every child had the opportunity to yell "Bingo!" and to get a prize along with a special pencil. Most of all, the children just had lots and lots of fun! They can't wait until the next nine weeks when the Principal promises to KISS A PIG!

And how about the children that didn't get to participate? They were in the room.... reading, but more than that, several of them have asked to take home two and three books a night so they can catch up! Our goal is that every child in our class understands that they will become better readers if they read! Will let you know how it goes...

Oral Retellings

Before a child can write "just like Kevin Henkes" in  Writers' Workshop, he has to be able to orally retell a story. He must be able to hold an entire story in his head before we can ever expect him to transfer the craft that he hears into his own writing.  Retelling also deepens comprehension.  It helps students understand beginning, middle and end and to sequence the events of the story.

To practice retelling we spend a week on orally retelling  Kevin Henkes' stories. On the first day we show the children a written retelling of Owen with a beginning, a middle with three events, and an ending. Then the students cut out puppets of the main characters of Owen that we put on Popsicle sticks and we encourage the students to retell the story to a partner. We, of course, model how we would retell the story before the students try it on their own. After they have practiced, we have several students come to the front and use their puppets to retell the story. The children then take the puppets home so they can continue to practice the retellings with their family.

We do virtually the same thing on the next day with the story Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. We first show the children a written retelling with a beginning, a middle that includes three events, and an ending. Then we give the children five pictures from the story that represent each of the five parts, one picture for each part. We begin by modeling our own retelling of the story with a partner. I tell a part of the story and then my co-teacher tells a part and then I tell a part... until all five parts have been told. Then the students practice with a partner. Finally we bring a partner pair to the front to "fishbowl" retelling the story for the class. Once again, the students take their pictures home and are encouraged to retell the story to their family.

And still another day we pass out a piece of construction paper to each student. Each table (groups of 5-6) decides on one of Kevin Henkes' books and chooses one of the five parts to illustrate and then to retell. After the children at the table have illustrated their part of the story, they hold up their picture and in order, retell their part of the story.

All of this oral work provides the background for understanding story elements. Until a child can retell a story orally by holding the entire story in his head, he is not able to summarize and it is summary that we will finally reach as we end this unit. The ability to summarize leads to synthesis and it is the synthesis across an author's entire body of work that will be the goal for our most advanced students. Stay tuned to watch the children's growth across this unit...