So Jealous!

This is but a wee one to let you all know how GREEN with envy I am at the moment. I could plaster this on each of your blogs but your numbers are far too great and I would never finish...

...but you know who you are. You energised and excited interior designers that are filling the blogrolls far and wide with Befores and Afters and Works in Progress. Posting pictures about how you are laying out your reading corner and your clutter-free desk, you really don't know what bittersweet torture this is for me, do you?

Yes, even MY OWN BLOGROLL is against me as it taunts me daily with updates, eager ambitions, and glorious creative projects that would have made my life so much easier if you had only posted them back in January.

Oh, the inhumanity of it all!

Don't you worry though. Seasons change and in a few months, you will be in the thick of it and I will be bombarding you all with updates of my classroom as it was, as it will be, and every painstaking step of the way. You will cry out "I wish I was setting up my classroom!" just as I am now. And in that moment, you will know but a fraction of my suffering. For I am only one, and you far, far, FAR outnumber me!

But I guess what I am saying is "be kind". Have some decency about all this inspiration you are throwing around. Be considerate about how carelessly you fling around those countless moments of brilliance... because you're making it hard to concentrate!

...but if you are one of those people or are looking for some of these ideas that I am ranting on and on and ON about, please check out my blogroll and visit these brilliant people. Tell them I sent you. Then tell them I was talking about them! Cheers!

Literacy Passport, pt 2: Independent Reading

The next few entries in this series will expand on my approach to the Daily 5. Today's component is:

1. Independent Reading - This is a gorgeous, relaxing getaway for two - you and a book! Just as it sounds, students get the opportunity to cozy up with a book and read quietly to themselves.

Independent Reading is not a complicated task and students are not responsible for much in the time provided. Students self-select a text that the "PICK", they record the date and the title, they read, and finally (and the most challenging) they think about what they have read. That's it! C'est ca!

I intentionally ask for very little from my students in this time so they can read as much as possible. In a 30 minute window, a lot of reading can be enjoyed. Once you ask student to record answers on worksheets about their writing, time that could have been spent on reading skills is lost. I think it is just as effective to have a casual conversation with the student.

I guess what it comes down to is a very simple, yet potentially heated debate.

What's more meaningful: a daily dose of one to two written sentences that respond to a predetermined set of questions, or an verbal conversation where questions can respond to the preceding answers? 28 minutes of reading and a 2 minute conversation, or 20 minutes of reading and a 10 minute response exercise?

Literacy Passport, pt 1: Adapting The Daily 5

As promised, here's an update to how I am integrating the Daily 5 into my teaching practice.

I have chosen to refer to my literacy approach as the Literacy Passport (I can hear the collective 'ooooh, tell me more' of teachers everywhere). I like the analogy of literacy learning as a journey with stops along the way. An eager traveller is always seeking new sights and adventures and a lifelong learner should approach reading in the same way. Excited to broaden their experiences, globetrotters enjoy where they are but are always looking ahead to where they can go to next. Developing readers and writers look forward to what they can do next to improve their skills.

 The Literacy Passport draws upon this metaphor. A passport is ongoing record of where travellers have been. Similarly, students monitor what they have done each week (or pronounced "where they have been"). It is not good enough to simply stay at one activity; a diverse range of experiences provide a broader understanding of the world. You won't really know what it is like in Spain unless you go there. That's why a range of activities build a fluency that is unobtainable by simply doing one activity over and over. As a teacher, I'm kinda like their travel agent. "Oh, this would be a great place to check out this time of year." I can show them fun places to go, but in the end, it's their decision.

So where can they go? For that, we will need a few brochures. (if you think this next little bit looks vaguely familiar, I modified it from this earlier post. Shhhh.)

1. Independent Reading - This is a gorgeous, relaxing getaway for two - you and a book! Just as it sounds, students get the opportunity to cozy up with a book and read quietly to themselves.

2. Reader's Theatre - This is a real fun adventure that you can enjoy with friends! Students get to choose a script, become a character, and read through it using voice and expression.

3. Just Write -This is the trip that you control! There are no boundaries when you are writing from your head and limits are endless! Fight dragons, save a dying unicorn, or recount your weekend, students write whatever you like...just write.

4. Writing Right - This is the place for real personal challenge! Students work on editing a text's  vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and more. 

 So there you have it. These are the activities that students are expected invited to visit each week. The order is up to them, as long as they get through each stop. Get your passports ready. This is the final call for Literacy Express. ALL ABOARD!

(Source Disclaimer: I am by no means trying to take credit for this program. As I post this series, I will continue to use the Daily 5 label but will be using the Literacy Passport title. The Daily 5 structure was a springboard off of which I have re-launched previous literacy activities I had been running. This should appease the copyright folks and also make these posts easier to follow for teachers who are investigating the implementation of an adapted Daily 5 program, beit mine or any other form. If you or someone you know are considering a Daily 5 approach, consult the book for more information. If you curious about other things I've said about the Daily 5, click here. Of you like what you found here, share it, follow it, or comment below...Better yet, do all THREE! Phew!)

Matt Damon speaks for teachers.

In case you haven't seen or heard this, I thought I would share it along. It doesn't really require a whole lot of explaining. Feel free to comment on it below.

The Daily 5, pt 3: Independence Day

Continuing from before, the biggest change to my classroom operations is the addition of choice and with that comes independence.

Those are SCARY words! Even The Sisters, who wrote The Daily 5, accept that cutting the cord of control can be a frightening decision to make. Funny creatures, we teachers are. We like students who show independence but we like to control it. We want students to manage themselves but we obsess over managing our classroom. We strive to get students engaged in the task that we prescribe for them. Then we wonder why little So-and-so won`t do as he is asked.

Independence day (in the classroom sense) is about coming to terms with the fact that students can make the right decisions if they are given the opportunity. Having taught the skills and expectations that are required to be successful, we need to let them think about how they are going to learn on each day. Let them manage themselves and help them if they struggle. Let them make a choice and guide them if they make poor ones. To really make the point, consider this:

If you instruct a child to read, they know that they have two choices: 'do' or 'do not'. Instruct a child to choose between a list of activities and 'do not' is seldom considered.

So the day approaches.

It is only a matter of days until I explain to my classes how and why they will be trusted as independent and responsible learners. Cross your fingers and stay tuned.

The Daily 5, pt 2: Choice

This is just a short one to a) let you all know I haven't completely vanished, and b) update anyone who is interested in how I am adapting the Daily 5 program into my teaching. Due to the scheduling at my school, I get my English classes in 50 minute blocks each day. Add to that the time it takes my class to arrive at my door and settle and we are down to about 45 minutes. That's not a lot of time so my Daily 5 is weekly.

Each week, my students check in with me and have the following options:

1. Independent Reading - Just as it sounds, students read quietly to themselves.


2. Reader`s Theatre - Students choose a script, assume a character, and read through it using voice and expression.


3. Free Writing - The kids I teach like Free Running. I liken it to that but with a pencil. Write whatever you like...just write. (...hmm... that might be a better name for this activity...)


4. Writing Skills - Students work on editing a text, vocabulary, punctuation, or whatever I identify as the focus for the week. 

One of my concerns that I expressed in an earlier post, was that I was nervous about starting up something new without really knowing what I am getting into. As I started to draft up what this program would look like in my classroom, I was thrilled to realize that I already do most of these things! Reader`s Theatre will be a new addition to the classroom and Writing Skills will look different but the biggest change to my English classes will be the increase in choice and independence. Pretty sweet, eh!

You Tube to Mp3? Yes, Please!

I took today as a sick day as I was battling a horrible virus that has mostly seemed to pass. After sleeping away most of the day, I got on to being quasi-productive with planning and then slipped into surfing blogs to find some answers. In doing so, I came across Tales of a Teacherista who had posted about building a library of songs for her classroom. Its such a fun, cheap, and easy way to liven up the classroom. In that post, she explained how to use Real Player to download You Tube videos as Mp3 audio files.

That's exactly how I used to do it, too, but similar to the comments on Mrs. Pollard's post suggest, you need to download Real Player to use it and my experience is that you can't move the file once you save it onto your computer. If it isn't working for you if can be Headache City. Here's a nice and easy alternative that was shared with me!

http://www.youtube-mp3.org/

Step 1: Find the video you want from You Tube

Step 2: Copy the URL from the address bar (CTRL C)

Step 3: Go to www.youtube-mp3.org

Step 4: Replace the URL that is in the textbox with yours (CTRL V) and click "convert video"

Step 5: Wait a few minutes. Perhaps pour yourself a coffee. If it is a short video, you might not have time though. Sorry.

Step 6: When it is all finished, click on "download", then "save". Choose where you want it saved and what you want to call it. Click "Save"

Step 7: Go to www.twistofliam.blogspot.com and tell everyone how much easier this has made your life!

Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!
Now if you didn't get to pour that coffee, now is your chance.