Why I Never Choose A Theme For My Classroom

Why I Never Choose A Theme For My Classroom

Each year as I began decorating my classroom, preparing for a new group of children, I've held a special tradition. I never chose the theme-I let them. I believe this created a greater classroom community and sense of pride and ownership among myself and my students. Those four walls were by no means only mine. I shared them with 20+ people for 180 days. 
So how do you have your students choose a theme? Here's how I've done it.
1. In my welcome back letter, I asked each child to think of an animal that would make a great classroom name for our class. Thinking of the qualities of that animal and bringing any research in on the first day is encouraged.
2. Within the first few days, during classroom meetings I listed every animal child's suggestion. We took it VERY seriously. No one was allowed to shut down anyone else's suggestion.
3. We voted! This took several rounds of semi-finalists and finalists. The excitement and anticipation builds and a final decision was made!
4. Once the animal is decided, that became our entity for the whole year. They proudly wore that name, and no future class could use it again until they graduated from high school!
(Some of the names we've had were: koalas, tigers, pandas, gorillas, chinchillas, penguins, flying squirrels ) I kept a small poster with all the semi-retired animal names.
5. Once we had a animal theme established we found books, articles, and pictures to hang or display in the classroom library. Every notice I sent home had the animal image on it. The class newsletter and website had that image and a special name. I found small rewards or make printable ones with that animal on it. (I'm NOT a huge extrinsic reward giver, but a few small things like a teacher-made coupon, bookmark, or pencil is fine with me from time to time.)
My classes have LOVED this tradition and I hope yours will too! I would love to hear your feedback!
-Emily :))
TRT/OG



Seven Back To School Read Alouds For The Classroom

Greetings Reading Friends!
I'm staying at home with my children this year! I'll miss being in my classroom, but I feel like I am able to give back in a new way by sharing with a larger audience.
Many teachers have come to me over the years asking for book suggestions to read aloud to their classes in the first few days of school.
Sooo, here's my list of favorites!
1. The Important Book by: Margaret Wise Brown
I've always incorporated a get to know you writing activity with this fav. The finished piece makes a nice presentation for Open House night.
2. First Day Jitters by: Julie Danneberg
I love the perspective of the teacher in this book feeling nervous about the first day, which we don't find out until the end. Seeing the looks on my students faces at the end of the story was priceless.
3. Prairie School by: Avi
Noah thinks reading isn't important on the prairie, but his Aunt changes all that. Noah learns the power of reading and lifelong learning. There's great discussions to have about the importance of reading with this book.
4. Donovan's Word Jar by: Monalisa DeGross
Donovan collects words! After reading this short chapter book, I always started a class word jar with my class and we became word gatherers just like Donovan all year long! The ideas are endless.
5. My Teacher's Secret Life by: Stephen Krensky
The student narrator humorously explains what teachers do after hours at school. He's shocked to see his teacher outside of school doing things other people do!
6. Enemy Pie by: Derek Munson
This book has a powerful message of friendship. There's a fun Enemy Pie website to check after you read the book too!
7. And my most favorite? (drum roll, please) The North Star by: Peter Reynolds
 The message is simple, but powerful: Follow your own journey. See how the little boy in this story finds out. This book has incredible character-building life lessons. There's a North Star website as well with mini posters to print out and use during morning meetings. There's even a North Star classroom curriculum!
Feel free to comment on any of these books. I'd love to hear if you have a favorite not mentioned in my list. Happy New School Year!

Responding to Text

Greetings all! First of all, thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you're new to my blog or FB page here's some background about me. I blog about a number of things, but mainly best practices in literacy. I love having the opportunity to share what I've done successfully with my students for many years with a larger audience. After teaching 13+ years, I'm home in my role as a SAHM (and loving it!), but I also work with a variety of children, mainly elementary 1:1 with reading, writing (sometimes Math too) or Orton Gillingham instruction.  My OG certification training was extensive. It was a year long course with a 100 hour supervised practicum. It was rigorous and challenging, but well worth every minute! My Master's degree was in Curriculum, Instruction with a Specialization in Literacy. My years of teaching along with my training in OG have equipped me to help my students in a unique way, particularly my struggling readers and writers. I love watching the spark lit in a child when they finally see themselves making progress.

Today I want to share with you a teaching tool I've used with my students that assists with crafting thoughtful reader's response. Many of you may have used reader's response journals over the years for students to reflect on what they've read during independent reading. It provides a nice window into a child's thinking and can be a valuable authentic assessment tool.

My students were required to submit a letter to me once a week about a book they were reading. During my early years of teaching I realized I was not providing enough modeling or practice to see any growth in their responses. Furthermore, the students that struggled with writing REALLY struggled with reader's response. They would dread the whole process and need an adult to sit by them to complete it. Changes had to be made.
I'm one of those teachers that even though I may teach the same lesson every year, I'm NEVER satisfied. I need to make changes (even little ones) every year in hopes of making it better. So here's what I came up with: the reader's response scaffold! It's a writing frame for students to use in their notebooks for however long YOU think they need to get the hang of crafting a deeper reflection. So here's the mantra I followed:

*I DO IT.

*WE DO IT.

*YOU DO IT.

That good ole gradual release of responsibility is critical if you want new learning ownership. And really, think about what a scaffold is in real life on a construction site...SUPPORT! Without it, what happens? Things come crashing down...at first. As you build more, less scaffolding is needed until none at all.

When I began for the first time I modeled it, CAREFULLY, with a book we all knew and read. This went on for a few days, sometimes longer. Then, we did one together. I think this step is even more important than they first, because they are no longer just watching you. They have to do it too! Plus, you need to watch for any misconceptions or misunderstandings. Clear those confusions up swiftly and allow kids the time to ask questions.

Finally, the big shift-THEY DO IT.  It's kind of like letting go of the bicycle after holding on to the back of the seat for awhile, but they can do it. I guess that's why I love how differentiated writing scaffolds can be. Some need them for a short time, while others longer. It all depends on the student. The feeling of ownership when they finally grasp how to craft reader's response it empowering. I encourage you to try scaffolded reader's response and let me know how it goes!
Here's the link to my TPT store to purchase my reader's response writing scaffolds.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Response-Scaffolds-for-Fiction-and-Non-Fiction-751423

10 Fresh and Creative Ideas for Hooking Reluctant Readers

Background

It's the child that skims, or bounces from book to book but never finishes. It's the child that just can't seem to settle down or protests when it's time to read.  It's the child that just won't take any recommendations from parents or teachers when it comes to choosing books. The case of the reluctant reader can be a tough one to crack. I've worked with hundreds of children over 13 years, and I've seen these poor reading habits many times. Parents have come to me in conferences stating their child just doesn't want to read or can't settle into a book. One parent even offered a chance to receive a large gift if they finished a certain chapter book. Sadly, that reward wasn't attainable for the child. 

A Few Differences

I want to be clear and say you may work with a struggling reader, a reluctant reader, or both a struggling AND reluctant reader. A struggling reader may need support in fluency, phonics and decoding, comprehension or all of the above. I've worked with some children that despite their needs, they plug along and enjoy reading. The reluctant reader may not have any notable areas of weakness, but at times like a struggling reader, not enjoy the act of reading. A struggling and reluctant reader has the mountain to climb in becoming a successful reader who enjoys sitting with a good book. It is our job to learn about the children we are working with in a variety of ways. I'll share some ways I've done that in this post, as well as ideas for reaching struggling and reluctant readers which I have personally put into practice.

Where To Begin?

Climate is everything.

It's the strategic placement of books (even the covers facing out when on display, if possible) EVERYwhere. It's the organizational system for categorizing books, by genre, author, and topic. It's the cozy and inviting book nook, and the quiet reading spaces, that shows a child one thing: Reading is front and center in this classroom or home. But more importantly, it's not just the physical space. It's the attitude that exudes from a teacher or parent about reading that draws a child. Enthusiasm is an absolute MUST. Children learn by example as we all know, so naturally seeing excitement over books is contagious!

Reading Interests

Take time to find our your child or student's interests. I cannot stress this enough. Give an interest inventory. Share those interests so your budding readers find commonalities among their classmates. Have them bring in a favorite book (old or new) to share at morning meeting the first week or two of school. Interview and assess each child carefully. I've even sent a parent questionnaire home to find out a parent's impression of their child's reading interests.  When you put the pieces of the puzzle together that make up any reader, you'll be better equipped to plan your year with them. Reaching what we teachers and parents want: positive, uphill progress and lifelong learners is the goal.
Now consider taking your reading interests a step further! Gather a bag filled with all your favorite reading material and share what you like about them with your students. Invite parents, and the principal to do the same! When children see the adults around them as readers you make a greater impact. The conversation fills with excitement in the room! Years ago, my classroom paraprofessional shared hers with my class. She shared childhood favorites and what she likes to read as an adult. The real treasure was the reading log she had kept of EVERY book she had read for about 10 years with the dates and rating of each book. Every child wanted to know what she was reading when they were born. :) It was a perfect share and I was so grateful for the difference she made in the lives of our students that year.

Now that the groundwork is set, here are 10 ways to establish a love of reading with your reluctant readers all year.

1.Set up a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly Mystery Reader to read to your class. Have a sign up sheet at Open House night for parents. Invite grandparents, the principal, your spouse or your own parents. All you need to do is send a quick reminder via email when it's their turn. It's very low maintenance but has long-lasting rewards. My students COUNTED on the Friday mystery reader. I read clues about them all week to build excitement and anticipation. Guest readers read a variety of things. Sometimes they'd read the first two chapters of a book just to whet their appetites. I loved that! That book would fly off the shelves after.

2. Take a trip to a local library. Sometimes having the librarian give the book talks is just enough to build more interest. Our town librarian showed a brand new section of graphic novels. Her book talk was a hit. The books were instantly checked out.

3. Read aloud. OK, I know this doesn't sound like anything novel, but I have to stress one point. By third grade I've conferenced with parents over the years that figured since they're child could read, they no longer needed to read to them! Children, especially reluctant or struggling readers, NEED to be read to continuously. It's hearing an expert reader in their ear that builds their listening comprehension, vocabulary, and so much more. Read those classics that are rich in vocabulary that they couldn't read themselves. If you're feeling like you don't have the best read-aloud voice as a parent,  try audio books and listen together in the car.

4. Try technology. I still need the physical book in my hand, but reading on my Ipad has its benefits too. There are tons of free audio book websites and inexpensive apps for children, and they get better all the time.  There are websites that show book trailer videos and they are fabulous! They'll even show you how to make your own.

5. Book choice is key. Letting children choose the books they read may lead to more investment than assigning books, as we know. The reluctant reader has a hard time with book choice. That's when guidelines with choice should be set. Here's an example:
First, I gave my reluctant reader a book bag during their conference. (perhaps a cool bookmark too :))Then, I would have plenty of books with me that I know may grab their attention, or I pop over to the classroom library with them. They needed to choose 6 books with me: 3 easy, 2 just-right, and 1 challenging and put them in their bags. They read those during independent reading time until they finished all 6 books. Checking in frequently was crucial.
The point here is you're embedding choice, but supporting their progress. Reading more easy and just-right books rather than challenging books ensures their progress. It also gives them a sense of purpose, organization, control and ultimately success when then complete all six books. These kids need to feel successful as readers.

6. Dust off the listening center! Kids LOVE listening centers.  Adults however, don't always see it as "real reading" because the story is being read to them. Audio books have numerous benefits and offer a valuable reading experience for any reader, but particularly for the reluctant or struggling reader.  You can even set up a listening center for two at a classroom computer by plugging in a splitter cord for two headphones to plug in and listen. I even like to play the audio version of a story for the whole class when reading a selection from a reading program or textbook.

7. Explore different genres and formats.
-Bring in graphic novels (this genre is exploding with popularity), or magazines like Ranger Rick, Zoobooks, or National Geographic for Kids.
-Find a series they'll enjoy, It's the comfort of knowing the characters and their usual problems that keeps a reader coming back for the next book in a series.  Amazon will even give you that little "you might also like" list of books when you search online for a book to buy. I love that! So if you're child has read Diary of A Wimpy Kid for the tenth time, and you want them to branch out, type it in and you 'll find books of similar interest. 

8. Use Outside Resources. The Junior Library Guild collects the most engaging and highest quality literature for subscriptions to schools. You can apply for a grant to have J.L.G. books come to your school on a monthly basis. They are all beautifully hard cover bound, and organized well by reading proficiencies and genres. I love that teachers get to choose their class preferences.
Another option is to either have authors come to your school or find a high quality bookstore that hosts author visits. The Blue Bunny in Dedham, MA is a treasured bookstore of mine. It hosts many children's authors and always has unique children's literature that appeals to a wide range of readers. Putting a face to a name after you've read a book is powerful!

9. Share! Reading a book is largely a solitary activity as an adult. But for children, we need to make it social! Reading with partners, to younger students or siblings is one way to bring budding readers together. Sharing in poetry readings, reader's theater, book talks, literature circles where they get to choose the book (with guidance of course), can offer a reluctant reader a chance to branch out safely.

10. Provide follow up activities, extensions and enrichment. As a third grade teacher in Massachusetts, I had my students read and research famous people from the state. Then I had them present as that famous person. Parents were encouraged to take their child to the historic site their famous person lived or worked. One of my struggling and reluctant readers chose Henry David Thoreau. His parents took him to Walden Pond.  This brought his research alive! He was the best Thoreau I had ever seen present as a result of his new appreciation. Another teacher I worked with always dissected owl pellets after reading Poppy by Avi! I m not suggesting that each book be accompanied by a book report or diorama. Hooking these readers with a hands-on, authentic experience before, during, or after a book will make a deeper, more-lasting impression. We as teachers and parents owe that to our children.

If you are interested in where some of my ideas that I used in my own classroom came from here are some references. I appreciate and welcome your comments.

Thank you for reading!
Emily Gibbons www.facebook.com/TheReadingTutorOG

References

1. Beyond Leveled Books by: Karen Szymusiak and Franki Sibberson (Stenhouse Publishers, 2001)
2. Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need To Teach Reading Well by: Regie Routman (Heineman Publishers,  2003)
3. The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (Jossey-Bass, 2010)

Websites:
www.scholastic.com/teaching-ideas/beth-newingham

www.juniorlibraryguild.com

www.booktrailersforreaders.com

Five (less squirmy) Places To Read To Your Baby and Toddler

Before I had children, I daydreamed about seating them on my lap each night and reading them bedtime stories. Of course being a teacher, it was only natural that whatever age my someday children would be, they'd be ready to snuggle up on my lap for a good ol' read aloud.
Then...my twin sons were born.
Understand my husband and I are both teachers so the read aloud expectation? Very high.  Trying to wrestle them both onto my lap for a book isn't easy. I know, I know, they aren't even a year old, but...C'mon guys! Mom and Dad have great books! We do ALL the voices.My romantic daydream wasn't so romantic. I had two fussy, squirmy little boys not caring about what happened to Max when he became king of all Wild Things! 
Something needed to be fixed.
I was determined to find ways to turn them onto books, besides just letting them chew them.

Here's FIVE spots you may not have tried but they've worked well for us. Good luck!
1. The tub: Yup, grab those waterproof books and they will listen. If they squeak or rattle, even better.
2. While nursing or bottle feeding: I've been able to bang out several A.A. Milne poems during one of these sessions. Just need a few books nearby. Don't worry if they can't see the pictures.
3. Doctor's office: Our office gives books to our boys at each appointment. Jackpot!
4. While they are playing. I admit, I'd love to have them stop what they're doing, toddle over, and plop on my lap but that doesn't always happen. This is a great time to read one of those special gift books because they aren't close enough to tear the jacket off!
5. And finally..THE MOST POPULAR, LEAST SQUIRMY PLACE?
While they are in their high chairs! This works because we don't necessarily eat meals with them yet. I keep a basket of books on the table and they are all ears. You'll have a captive audience, which if you're a teacher like me, you'll enjoy. :) We actually have tears when we stop. So passing out a few board books for a good chomp fest seems to help.
I hope this encourages you to read more to your baby or toddler each day, no matter where, no matter when! Please comment on any other places that have worked for you! :))

Spreading The Word!

There has been a whirlwind of activity on my FB www.facebook.com/TheReadingTutorOG page this week!! I can't begin to say how grateful I am to several other like-minded page administrators out there that promoted me on their own pages. The Reading Tutor/OG is reaching a bigger audience as a result and the message is getting out there: Help our kids become successful readers and LOVE reading too.It's a tiny little page on a VERY big mission. I call that a tiny victory!
A HUGE welcome to all my new likers.  Having the opportunity to post, tweet, pin, blog about my passion for teaching is a dream come true. I fully admit I'm a little late to the rodeo in the blogosphere. I jump into things head first, (as many of you that know me will say), so sometimes I have to backtrack a bit. That's when I learn the most though. I love a challenge!
Many of you are winding down the school year (still), especially here in the Northeast. Snow days are nice at the time, but...well you know! For many, the last thing you want to do is think about school when vacation officially begins. This may be you, racing out to the Jersey shore or Cape Cod faster than you can say Common Core.

And believe me, teachers NEED a break. However, think of this summer as a growth time too. I love that each year you get a big do-over if you're a classroom teacher. Consider the following:

1. If you haven't gotten on Pinterest...DO IT! The ideas are endless. I'm happy to give tips to anyone just getting started.

2. Join Twitter: I know many of you out there are thinking Twitter is only for following celebs. It's soo much more. You choose who to follow and there's always wonderful education information being tweeted around the clock. If you're curious, find me on Twitter, see who I follow, and follow them too! I will fully admit I follow lots of moms of multiples, being the fearless Mommy of twins that I am. However, I do follow some pretty interesting people and groups that are related solely to topics in education :)) 

And finally...

I'm working on a numerous projects right now, but there is one that I'm especially excited about. You'll definitely want it for your classroom. More details to follow...

If you like what you're reading here, please comment and even consider following my blog. As always i would love to hear about your tiny victories too. Thank you!!

Unpause!

As many of you are just beginning or about to begin your summer vacations, may I just take a minute to congratulate you on a job well done. Your vacation is well deserved in this profession. And like many of you, I always have a few things added onto my plate during the summer months. Rarely will you meet a teacher that isn't taking courses, or working a second (or third!) job.  I think most of us can agree it's important to recharge, rejuvenate and refresh ourselves even for just two months. And one of the nicest perks of teaching is you get a do-over every September! Not too many jobs afford you that opportunity.

So what has been going on these past few months since I've pressed pause on my blogging?
1. Spring Cleaning: (No, my windows aren't done yet!) I'm busy revamping, revising and adding products to my TPT store. One of my most recent products is really useful for teaching the digraphs sh, ch, th, and wh.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Introducing-Digraphs-Pack-ch-sh-th-wh-725338
Adding resources for Orton Gillingham instruction is one of my goals because the online resources out there are very limited. If you are looking for a particular list for a lesson, let me know.
2. Pinning (No, not the tail on the donkey!) My Pinterest boards are fast becoming oneof my most important education resources. Everything I need this summer as I tutor students is pinned! Love it!
3. Networking: Getting the word out about Tiny Victories and The Reading Tutor has been an exciting process. I'm learning the ins and outs of reaching new audiences. What a journey this is!