Recently, Stacey Dziedzic asked her students what they liked about conferring. (She wanted to make sure that her students valued them as much as she did.) Their thoughts are priceless! Here are a few things they wrote on their index cards:
"You can share your thinking, why you chose the book, what touched your heart and everthing."
"It makes me feel like my voice is heard."
When I am conferring its a time for me to share my struggles and if inferring is going good or not.
"I like conferring because I can tell you my challenges."
"When I am conferring I like it because I can set my self goals. When I am conferring I feal like I am important."
"It feelsl like we have a 2nd share square. Since we all like share square, we all LOVE conferring!"
"When I confer it helps me to correct my thinking and get more thinking."
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Conferring with Readers
Katie Wood Ray and Lucy Caulkins, in my opinon are the "godesses of writing" and Ellin Keene is the "Queen of Reading Comprehension," but when it comes to conferring Patrick Allen is the man! I had the good fortune of actually observing in his classroom 5 years ago in Denver, CO and was amazed by what I saw. He has recently published a book entitled, Conferring: The Keystone of the Reader's Workshop, which I would highly reccomend, but he also has a blog (that is way better than mine), where he reccomends texts and discuss various topics in literacy. http://all-en-a-days-work.blogspot.com/ So, next time you are looking for that just right text or you're just bored (OK, I know that never happens), I would encourage you to check it out!
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Mini Lesson
Recently, I had the pleasure of watching Karen Bebelaar's mini-lesson. While, I was in there, I was so wishing I had that new flip cam, Mr. Martin just bought, because I wanted to capture the brilliance of her mini-lesson. In 15 short minutes her mini-lesson was the perfect example of gradual release. I can not possibly do her lesson justice, but I did manage to capture in writing, the many things I saw her do so that I can share with you. She began by setting her purpose by saying, "Today we will learn how questions help us understand. What do you think that means?" Then she gave the students time to have dialogue and then moved into the relevance of the lesson by stating, "Questions can give us clues... get you to think about... " From there she moved to her teaching point: "Questions are when we are wondering... When you ask questions you get clues...." Next, she moved into teacher modeling, "Today I am going to read the picture and I want you to watch what I do.(She then models quetioning and inferring to make meaning.) After she has modeled, she then turns it over to the kids and asks them to engage in some guided practice by asking them to tell a friend a question that they have. Finally, she asks the students to try it themselves with a new picture: independent practice. She ends her mini-lesson by giving the students their task for reading that day: Today, when you read, I want you to find a picture that you can ask questions..." Then the students were off to read and read for 30 minutes!!!
The 15 minute mini-lesson is a very short time, but can have a powerful punch when we focus our instruction around some key elements.
The 15 minute mini-lesson is a very short time, but can have a powerful punch when we focus our instruction around some key elements.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The "Right" Thing to do with Struggling Readers
Let me first begin by saying that I think we have made a TON of progress this year when it comes to intervention and helping our most struggling readers. We have plans, flexible schedules, resources, the DRA2, AIMS web, meetings and more meetings!!!! Yet, most of us are still wondering, are we doing the right thing? What is the "right" thing to do in intervention?
Richard Allington (the "King of Intervention"), suggests that one of the "right" things is to devote 2/3 of your intervention time for students to actually read (practice the game). He also suggests that "students need an adequate supply of texts that they find interesting and that they can read accurately, fluently and with good understanding. Lots of books is not enough, but it is the beginnning step - an absolutely necessary beginnning." In fact, the National Reading Panel did a similar study on the impact of comprehension achievement when students read books that are at their independent reading level. They found a "huge effect size (ES = 1.64) on reading comprehension for ease of access students had to interesting texts. Just to understand the enormity of that, it may be useful to know that it is four times as large as the effect that the NRP found for systematic phonics instruction on word reading, and roughly ten times the size of the effect phonics lessons had on reading comprehension."
Ensuring that students have interesting books that they can read accurately, fluently and with good understanding is essential! Luckily, we have Dana and Madeline who are excellent and finding that "just right book" to help. So, if you are wondering if you are doing the "right" thing, and your students are spending the bulk of their intervention time actually reading with texts that they can read accurately, fluently and with good understading, than know you are headed in the right direction!
Richard Allington (the "King of Intervention"), suggests that one of the "right" things is to devote 2/3 of your intervention time for students to actually read (practice the game). He also suggests that "students need an adequate supply of texts that they find interesting and that they can read accurately, fluently and with good understanding. Lots of books is not enough, but it is the beginnning step - an absolutely necessary beginnning." In fact, the National Reading Panel did a similar study on the impact of comprehension achievement when students read books that are at their independent reading level. They found a "huge effect size (ES = 1.64) on reading comprehension for ease of access students had to interesting texts. Just to understand the enormity of that, it may be useful to know that it is four times as large as the effect that the NRP found for systematic phonics instruction on word reading, and roughly ten times the size of the effect phonics lessons had on reading comprehension."
Ensuring that students have interesting books that they can read accurately, fluently and with good understanding is essential! Luckily, we have Dana and Madeline who are excellent and finding that "just right book" to help. So, if you are wondering if you are doing the "right" thing, and your students are spending the bulk of their intervention time actually reading with texts that they can read accurately, fluently and with good understading, than know you are headed in the right direction!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
30 minutes of Intervention: Are you playing the game or practicing the skills?
When Jacob played soccer this fall, the coach practiced a few of the skills for the first 10 minutes and then they spent the next 30 minutes actually playing the game. The first game they played, needless to say, didn't go so well. Three year olds were all over the field, some running and some playing in the dirt, but they actually did play the game. As the season progressed, they gained a few more skills, but each game got better and better. If the coach had waited until all the kids had the skills to play the game, he would still be waiting! A game would have never been played, because at 3 years old, Jacob has very minimal skills when it comes to soccer. (Guess, Scott and I won't count on a scholarship for college:))
Reading instruction is very similar to the analogy of a soccer game. Kids need to practice the skills, but they need more time actually playing the game. Simply praciticing skills, gets dull and boring, and leads to disinterested readers! So, I would encourage you to make sure that your struggling readers are practicing their skills, but are spending more time playing the game and actually reading.
30 minutes can go very quickly when working with a struggling reader, so it is very important to make every minute count.
In order to make every minute count, Allington has reccomended that daily 30-minute, expert, very small group intervention should look like this:
Good luck in the game!
- Liz
Reading instruction is very similar to the analogy of a soccer game. Kids need to practice the skills, but they need more time actually playing the game. Simply praciticing skills, gets dull and boring, and leads to disinterested readers! So, I would encourage you to make sure that your struggling readers are practicing their skills, but are spending more time playing the game and actually reading.
30 minutes can go very quickly when working with a struggling reader, so it is very important to make every minute count.
In order to make every minute count, Allington has reccomended that daily 30-minute, expert, very small group intervention should look like this:
- 20 minutes of reading appropriate new texts and rereading previously read texts
- 5 minutes of word work or phonological skills work
- 5 minutes of work on comprehension skills and strategies
Good luck in the game!
- Liz
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Year's Resolution
I always love the start to a new year! I love setting new goals for myself and thinking about my successes and highlights of the year past. Spending the entire 2010 year at Camden was definately a highlight, as well as seeing the success we had as a school. In 2010 our test scores increased dramatically, we have had several different groups of people come and observe (including the PEBC), made it through the SACS visit, looped for the first time ever and had a lot of laughs through it all! I am thankful to be a part of such a great place!
Although 2010 was a great year, there are definately some things that I want to work on in 2011 and one of those is BLOGGING! I think I am probably the worst blogger ever, in the history of blogging, but my New Year's resolution is to do better!!! I think a blog can be very valuable for sharing information, but most importantly so that you can get a bird's eye view of all of the great instruction that I see on a daily basis! I don't want the blog to become one more thing you have to check, but hopefully it is a tool that you can go to when you need to get information. I will also be starting a parent blog (another New Year's resolution), but I will post more about that later. I hope everyone had a restful break. Would love to hear the highlights of your 2010 or your goals for 2011 if you care to share.
- Liz
Although 2010 was a great year, there are definately some things that I want to work on in 2011 and one of those is BLOGGING! I think I am probably the worst blogger ever, in the history of blogging, but my New Year's resolution is to do better!!! I think a blog can be very valuable for sharing information, but most importantly so that you can get a bird's eye view of all of the great instruction that I see on a daily basis! I don't want the blog to become one more thing you have to check, but hopefully it is a tool that you can go to when you need to get information. I will also be starting a parent blog (another New Year's resolution), but I will post more about that later. I hope everyone had a restful break. Would love to hear the highlights of your 2010 or your goals for 2011 if you care to share.
- Liz
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Literacy Links Moves to a Blog
I am very excited that Camden Station's Literacy Links is now up and running again and this year it is new and improved! The purpose of the Literacy Links Blog is to capture all of the great literacy instruction permeating throughout Camden Station. It is also a place to share resources, literacy ideas and have discussions. I invite you to be a part of Camden's very first teacher blog (or at least the only one I know of.)
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