Engaging All Kids in Learning

“Poor students come to school with no literacy.” This was a comment from a psychology student in my reading intervention class in reference to why only 38% of students in the United States are reading at grade level according to the NAPE. In this moment, my blood pressure skyrocketed. Maybe this is because teachers aren’t delivering quality instruction. I digress…

All students come to school with funds of knowledge. The difference is that low-income students’ funds of knowledge are not always aligned to the prominent discourse in education. We cannot continue to play the blame game around race and class. Instead, educators must rise to the challenge to provide all students, rich and poor, with an excellent education.

I had the pleasure of attending Colleen Cruz's Learning From Teachers in High Needs Schools Calendar Day last week. According to Colleen, engagement is the number one factor in learning. She says engagement is crucial for students in high needs schools, but I believe it is crucial in order for all students to have meaningful learning experiences. If you spent two hours on a beautiful lesson plan but students are not engaged, you should have watched a Modern Family marathon instead. The first way to engage students is through materials. According to Richard Ellington, all texts are equal to your brain. That means reading To Kill a Mockingbird is not necessarily going to make you a better reader than The Watsons Go to Birmingham. The most important thing is that kids are reading and they are going to read more if texts that interest them are available. The most popular books are pop culture biographies, which Colleen calls gateway drugs because they link to other books. For example, a student could start with a biography on Beyoncé, and then he or she could read biographies on other singers or information books about Houston or becoming a singer. No wonder second graders reading at level F are bored; most level F books lack the engagement factor. Other materials that engage students are writing supplies such as post-it buffets, felt tip pens, revision toolkits, and paper choice, as well as technology. Materials such as these are engaging for all students, not just students in high needs schools.

Another way to engage students is through the curriculum. Colleen argues that teachers need to include meaningful topics and make connections to student interests. TCRWP units of study address the standards and provide helpful curriculum frameworks. However, teachers need to realize they have the autonomy to change out texts and topics to make them meaningful for students. For example, a fifth grade student who has experienced death and loss will probably find it more meaningful to write an argumentative essay about gun control rather than uniforms. Choosing significant topics and making relevant connections will catalyze students to engage deeper with content. Dare I say the percentage of students reading at grade level might increase if adapt the curriculum to meet their needs? 

My biggest takeaway from Colleen’s session is that learning is hard. Imagine immigrating to the United States in third grade and learning to read in a foreign language or learning to multiply two digit numbers for the first time. There is a disequilibrium that occurs when we learn something new that, as teachers, we often do no acknowledge in our classrooms. Colleen suggests that teachers learn something new annually to experience this disequilibrium so that we can better understand our students throughout the learning process. Your topic can be something fun such wine, opera, or art. The important thing is that teachers are also engaging in the learning process so that they can better understand students’ frustrations, difficulties, and excitement when learning something new. Teacher awareness and intentional action lead to higher student outcomes.

Revising for Kinder

Ms. M has her kinder students revise with large colorful shapes. Not only does it make revising fun for all, but it allows the teacher to see how students' writing evolved over time.

Information Writing Toolkit

You might remember this colorful booklet from my earlier post about student writing portfolios. I use the same booklet for my conferring toolkits. Some people prefer binders or sketchbooks, but the booklet has pockets that makes it beneficial for storing mentor texts. Toolkits can be very useful resources during reading and writing conferences with students. The information toolkit I created for second grade writing conferences has eight sections--student writing, teacher writing, mentor texts, resources, checklists, spelling, teacher tools, and student tools.

Student writing and teacher writing is marked with post-its to highlight specific writing moves.

Mentor texts are also marked with post-its to highlight specific writing moves.

Multiple copies of information writing checklists are included to give students. This way, they can evaluate their own writing. Spelling resources include strategies to spell words, an alphabet chart, and a blend/digraph chart.

The information rubric and tips for conferring are included in teacher tools. Student tools will include post-its, revising strips, and drafting paper.

How do you get kids to hear those short vowels?! This has been a challenge, especially for the English Language Learners in my class. 

Here are a couple tips from Ms. E: 

1. Try saying each short vowel sound to yourself.  Notice how little difference there is between short e and short I, for example, especially in how little your mouth/throat/tongue change.  It will seem challenging at first, but keep practicing and give it time.  

2. It also makes a huge difference to give a gesture and even a sample word for each one.

A – apple and pretend to bite an apple

E – Think of edge of table or desk. Ms. E loves this one because you can just point to it, rub your finger along the edge and not have to say a word when coaching.

I – itchy

O- Have students pretend like they are singing opera! Exaggerate it and show your mouth side open. 

U – up while pointing to sky

Inference Sentence Stems

Thanks, Ms. R! You're the chart master.

Independence Through Post-It Notes

I value student independence. Sometimes, though, it is a struggle for students to independently hold themselves to higher-level thinking. This Rate Your Post It chart from Ms. R's clasroom provides a way for students to independently evaluate their own work. She even provided examples of each score so that students have a benchmark to reference. When students are proud of their responses, they can post them on the Jot Lot.

Imagine how much more meaningful book clubs would be if all students came with level 3 and 4 Post It notes to discussions.  Conversations would be less superficial and more based on evidence and inferences.

How do you allow your students to hold themselves accountable to higher-level thinking?

Adobe Voice

Writing causes some students anxiety. Disabilities that make writing difficult for some students. As is true for many adults, technology is preferred over pencil and paper for some students. Despite differences, everybody has a story to tell.

Adobe Voice allows some students to share their voice that is many times silenced. If you haven't used this app in your class, download it now. Students talk to tell their stories, communicate visually, revise, and watch their stories come alive. Who says our voices have to be confined to pencil and composition notebooks?

Using Literacy to Decorate

Ms. R's classroom decor is beautiful, isn't it? Students wrote the titles of books they love and books that made them readers on watercolor book spines that line the perimeter of her classroom. Self-portraits with personal facts give students ownership of the classroom.

Show, Not Tell

Show, not tell. How many lessons have we given on show, not tell, yet students still aren't doing this in their writing? Ms. C gave students a feeling word. In groups, they had to show readers how they felt. First, students acted out the feeling. Acting was a beneficial strategy for ELL students to learn new vocabulary words and to express themselves in a multimodal way. This activity really showed students what it means to show, not tell, and they have now painted pictures of how characters feel throughout their personal narratives. Also, they are better able to infer how characters feel in their books.

Second Grade Personal Narrative Mentor Texts

This fall, I would like to improve my writing conferences with students. One way I will improve is by using mentor texts as examples to demonstrate specific teaching points. For the remainder of the personal narrative unit I will use Those Shoes and Big Red Lollipop as my mentor text.

Teaching Point	Mentor Text Example
Authors start their story in heart of the action to capture the reader’s attention.	I’m so excited I run all the way home from school. (Big Red Lollipop)
Authors include their inner thoughts by showing what’s happening inside so that the reader can get to know the main character better.	We shoot baskets—a loose piece of tape on Antonio’s shoe smacks the concrete every time he jumps. I think, I’m not going to do it. We leap off the swings. I’m not going to do it. (Those Shoes)
Authors write action and dialogue together to make the reader feel like he is in the story.	My heart is pounding hard as I take off my shoes and hitch up my baggy socks. “How exciting!” Grandma says. “What size are they?” I shove my foot into the first shoe, curling by toes to get my heel in. “I don’t know, but I think they fit.” (Those Shoes)
Authors use punctuation to make their writing clear for the reader.	In the morning, I get up early to have it. Sana’s already up. When she sees me, she runs away. I open the fridge door. All that’s left of my lollipop is a triangle stuck to a stick. “SANA!” (Big Red Lollipop)
Authors show, not tell, how the character is feeling to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.	At home, Grandma says, “How kind of Mr. Alfrey.” I nod and turn my back. I’m not going to cry about any dumb shoes. But when I’m writing my spelling words later, every word looks like the word shoes and my grip is so tight on my pencil I think it might bust. (Those Shoes)

African American Children's Literature

While it is valuable for children to be exposed to other cultures, it is also important that see themselves in what they are reading across genres. This list from March 2014's edition of young children provides a list of African American children's books across genres. I have found that kids especially like Nikki and Deja. How do you make sure that kids see themselves in the books they read, and that they are also exposed to other cultures while reading?