Pumpkin Facts + Sticky Notes = Application?

A lot of thought lately has been put into this "application" piece that Susan posted about last week.  We've had numerous discussions about how vital it is to incorporate writing with reading as often as possible.  But I've been hung up on this: when we mention how intertwined reading and writing is to some teachers, they throw their hands up in frustration and say, "I don't have time for that!"  

I believe that Susan and I have now went on a personal mission to explain to teachers that they should actually be saying, "I don't have time NOT to write!"  We've been working on ways to tie the two together in the easiest way possible.  To tell the truth, most teachers are doing way more writing than they give themselves credit for.  Is this the case in your classroom?  Do a little reflecting on your lessons this week and count how many times the students are writing.  Are they using journals?  Open-ended questions on tests?  What about writing sentences using vocabulary words?

We've tried something new to incorporate writing.  In all of our Reading groups (from Kindergarten to 4th grades), we've added a Reading Journal.  The students write the name of the strategy on the top of the page and will take "notes" on the strategy as it is taught.  The "notes" are personal to the students and will act as a reference page as we spiral back to that strategy throughout the year. They also draw and fill in graphic organizers in these notebooks as the strategy is taught. 

This seems pretty simple, but it does take a little extra time.  So Susan and I have been trying to think of even easier ways to tie in writing.  Last week, I read a book with my 2nd graders about pumpkins.  We had not done much writing throughout the week, and I knew they would not understand the facts without actually writing them down themselves.  As I was thinking about something we learned at a recent conference (the presenter said she uses sticky notes a lot for writing because it helps the information stick in their brains- clever, I know!), I decided the students would write facts on sticky notes. Well, as I was searching for sticky notes, I stumbled across orange ones.  Then, as I was finding my way out of my mess of sticky notes, I found green construction paper.  That is how the following was born!

I have a few students in this class who are working on word families.  Under each pumpkin, they wrote 3 words to apply what we've been discussing together.

It can be as simple as this.  The students are writing, their brains are thinking, and I believe they are 100 times more likely to actually remember what they've read!  

Keep reading and writing!

Jessica

 

Presenting for the VDOE in Staunton, VA

Thanks VDOE for the opportunity to present at the English SOL Institutes!  What a great opportunity to share and learn alongside fellow teachers across Virginia.  Audiences in Abingdon, VA and Staunton, VA were so receptive and it was a pleasure to present strategies that we are passionate about.  Thanks for all the emails, nice comments, and invitations to present at other schools across Virginia.  Reading is our love, and helping struggling readers is what we are so passionate about!

Pictures getting ready to present in Staunton, VA

Why Is Application So Important?

Do we ever wonder why our students are not doing well on their assessments?  After teaching, teaching and teaching some more, do we feel puzzled and wonder what we need to do differently?  Does it seem like you have pulled every trick you know out of your hat, and they still do not seem to understand what you are teaching?  Maybe APPLICATION is the piece that we are missing!

Yes, you are right; we are teaching, teaching and teaching some more, and we are using all the tricks we have in our teaching hats, BUT are we giving out students time to apply what they are learning?  Just like the cake decorator has to practice over and over and over making those roses, and just like to truck driver has to be a trainer and practice driving the 18 wheeler, we have to give our students time to practice!  Hearing it, and seeing it is not enough - they have to practice to learn how to do it.  We have all heard the old saying - Practice Makes Perfect, but yet we say we are out of time.  We do not have time NOT to let them practice!  The world's best sports figures and the world best musicians got there by hours upon hours of practice, and yet we think we can let them hear it, and see it and then take the test.  Practice and Application IS the missing link in the puzzle, and as teachers we need to continue explicit teaching of strategies and skills, BUT it is just as necessary to step back and let our students practice, make mistakes, work together to correct their mistakes, learn from their mistakes, and apply what they are learning.  Then, we will start to see test scores improve, and critical thinking skills soar!

Application = Better Thinkers & Improved Test Scores  


If you have comments regarding application, please share your thoughts on ways to fix this missing link.  
Thanks,Susan

Exciting Developments -" Why Don't They Comprehend & How Can We Help Them?"

This past spring we presented a proposal to the Virginia Department of Education to present at the DOE Literacy Institutes.  We were elated to find out in May that we had been chosen to present at two of the Virginia's Literacy Institutes.  On October 2nd we presented in Abingdon, Virginia, and we will be presenting again on October 30th in Staunton, Virginia.  Over the past two years, Jessica and I have realized the need for explicit comprehension instruction is crucial to the success of our students, and have worked to develop some ways to address this through our presentations, "Why Don't They Comprehend & How Can We Fix It?".  In our presentations, we strive to address the comprehension strategies that are affecting students that struggle with comprehension.  We are passionate about the strategies included in this presentation and are very excited to have been contacted by several schools and invited to share our presentation with their staff!

Where the Passion Began...

It all started when our elementary school decided to implement leveled reading groups and placed the two of us together, teaching the struggling readers in 3rd grade.  Shortly thereafter, we were presented with a very difficult challenge- how in the world were WE going to get these students reading, much less comprehending, on grade level?  We did the very best we could that year, with the knowledge we had obtained from our undergraduate studies, but we still felt we were lacking in our ability to reach these students effectively.  The following year in Fall of 2010, we were blessed to be given the opportunity to join a Master's cohort through Radford University in Literacy Education.  Susan had always had a passion for reading, both teaching it and enjoying it, however, Jessica was a bit more hesitant not only about joining the cohort, but teaching reading in general.  The first class was all it took for our passion for Reading to be ignited!  Immediately, we began using every strategy our professors shared with us, tweaking and adjusting them to meet the needs of our students.  As we worked together and bounced ideas off of each other, we realized we shared a common passion and our goals for reading were the same.  Thus began our journey to develop more and more strategies to help struggling readers.  Over the past four years, we have created many new strategies, as well as borrowed a few, which we have begun to share with others through different state reading conferences, hoping to also ignite their Reading flame, too!  Our goal in this blog is to share our reading successes, failures, as well as to keep you updated on all the new ideas we're "bouncing off each other."  

Happy Reading!  Please share your thoughts with us.  We love to learn new strategies!

Susan & Jessica