Writing - Get to the why

One of the most important questions and answers we can give students when it comes to writing is WHY.
Why do we write?

As adults, we write on a daily basis.  We make lists, plans, emails, texts.  Some of us write stories, poems, journal entries.  We write proposals, lesson plans, briefs.  The list of what we write is endless.  And we always have a purpose for what we write.  That's why we don't sit down with a heavy heart thinking about the list we have to make for the grocery store, or the email we need to send a coworker.  We have a purpose, so we sit and write.
It's imperative that we give our children the same purpose.

So what could this look like?

Katie Wood Ray and a variety of other writing gurus hit on this idea that students need to know why they are writing and teachers everywhere are figuring out engaging ways of exploring this idea.  In the classroom, providing purpose could be done through an exploration of what  is being read.  As you read books, talk about why the author chose to write that book.
Teachers can also hold an inquiry discussion at the beginning of a writing unit and have the kids get to the why.  Let them share their ideas about why they will be writing in a certain genre or a certain piece.

At home, parents can do the same!
Being transparent about our writing purpose and naming it for kids is easy.  When you sit down to make a list or write an email, just say it.
"It's time to make a list for the grocery store! We don't want to forget anything, so we better write it down."
Or
"I need to share these ideas with _________.  I'm going to write an email to them so they will know what ideas I have."
And if you are a writer, even better! You can share your writing time with your child and let them be a part of that process.  Letting them know you just had a great idea for a story that you know will make people laugh and then sitting down to write in front of them would be so powerful. 

In the end, writing is like anything else.  If we want to get better, we have to work at it.  We have to practice.  We have to try new techniques.  We have to keep learning about the craft.  Don't be scared!

Goldilocks and the just right books

As Goldilocks chooses the bed that fits her just right, she realizes that she needs a good book to settle down with.  She chooses one book, nice and thick, lots of words, and begins to read.  
"This is too hard!" 
She chooses another book, a sturdy book, with big pictures, a few words on each page, and big print.  As she begins to read this, she says, 'This is too easy!"
Finally, Goldilocks chooses a book with some chapters, a few challenging words, interesting characters, and even some pictures sprinkled in here and there.  
"Ahhhhh, this is just right for me!" She settles in with her book in her lap and smile on her face. 


In a high functioning literacy classroom, you will hear talk of reading levels, book levels, and matching readers to just right books.  For many parents and even some school people, this sounds foreign and scary.

I want to start by emphasizing that this blog will focus on matching readers to books.  Children can't be boxed in by a letter or number.  If we want to kill a love of reading like the Terminix man stomps out pests, then let's just start referring to kids as a "Level P".  Books are levels, kids are not.

However, there is certainly a place for making sure kids are reading books that are accessible to them.   Think back to a time when you have been faced with a text that had numerous words that were difficult to read and understand.  How did it make you feel? Frustrated? Annoyed? Did you quit? Chances are, yes.  Or you pushed through because you had to, but you really didn't take much from what you read.  That's how our children feel when they are given a text (a book, magazine article, etc) that is too difficult (ie. on a higher level than they can access).
The flip side of that is a book that is too easy.  Students who are learning to read need a chance to practice the skills and strategies they are being taught.  And they need to do it in books that will present the challenges they need to actually use such skills.

There are several different leveling systems for books, but a very prevalent one that has been around for a long time was developed by Fountas and Pinnell.  This system assigns books a letter based on several factors.  In looking at books of different levels, one would notice these factors are everything from text size, white space on a page, text/picture dependency, plot complexity, character development, and more.  This leveling system begins with A, the easiest type of book, and goes all the way to Z+.  In levels A through about J/K, each level is fairly distinct.  The text decreases in size, the white space decreases, word count and complexity increases.  After J/K, text levels are more easily grouped together and the complexity of the text is found in the characters, plot lines, and underlying messages and themes.

Teachers take time to sit and listen to students read, noting their strengths and areas of needed growth.  Based on this, they are able to determine an independent level and an instructional level for each child.  If a child can read fluently and accurately and comprehend most of the story, this would be their independent level.  The instructional level is just outside of their independent reach.  This is the level where teachers can push students, teaching them the skills and strategies for accessing a more challenging text.

What does this mean for parents?
At home, when reading alone, students need to be able to read and understand a book easily.  If you are reading together, choose a more challenging book.
My dad read me the Hobbit when I was in elementary school.  While I think he was a little off on his level, because he was reading it to me, I had the opportunity to talk to him about it and ask questions.  Not only did this help my reading ability and grow my love for reading, but it also gave us some quality time doing something we both loved.
Also, be sure to check with your child's teacher for suggestions for great books at each level.  It can be overwhelming to walk into the library or bookstore and set children free.  So going in with some ideas for what books at the right level would look like can be so helpful! And again, children are not a level.  So I am not saying only choose books at certain levels for your child.  But knowing their reading zone is a good tool.

I'll finish by sounding like a broken record.  Reading together at home is the single most important thing you can do for your child as a student.  If you find time for nothing else, please make time to read together and/or for your child to read independently.  There is direct correlation between the time spent reading and a child's academic success.  Y'all, it doesn't get any easier than that.  Just read.

What's better than, "So what was it about?"

     Reading -- by now we all know how important it is.  Even without being told, we (parents, teachers, human beings) know that reading is critical to the success of our children.  Exposing kids to different genres, types of print, ways to access books -- all key components in literacy growth.  As parents though, sometimes knowing for sure if our kids are reading can be really tough.  I'll be honest, sometimes, as a teacher, it can be tough! We can't read every book out there.  So what do we do about this? How can we make sure our kids are reading, but in a way that doesn't kill the joy.  I certainly don't want to write a book report when I finish my books.  In school, the reality is that there are things kids will do around reading that won't always be fun.  That's life.  But at home, it can be a different story.
     I have a three year old, and while she is very chatty and forthcoming about things that don't necessarily need to be shared with the world, when it comes to talking about what she does at preschool, I get the "I don't know" or the "Nothing" that make me want to throttle something.  Listen, kid, I know you did stuff at school!!
     So, I have to think carefully, employing all my best teacher tools to get at what they really might have done in her three year old class.  And you may find yourself doing the same thing with your 4, 5, 6, ... 15 year old.  I am a literacy coach, I cannot have that kid that won't talk books with me.  That would totally ruin my reputation, not to mention my kids future success as a genius. :) I joke, but truly, I have had to really employ some strategies that I want to share with you in hopes that you can open up some book talks in your home in a way that fosters a love of reading instead of making it feel like a chore right up there with getting your kid to eat her vegetables.

In pre-k through about 1st grade, stories are simplistic.  Language, pictures, and storylines in these books are very surface. There are few characters and they don't change much.  The setting is static.  Problems are simple and solved fairly quickly.
Asking questions like:

• Who is in your story? What are their names? 
• Where is all that happening? Is it in a house? A neighborhood? A city? How do you know? What do you see in the pictures?
• Does this person, place remind you of anything? 
• Here, because this level of books are short and sweet - it's easy to model for your child.  Saying, "Oh goodness! All that snow on the cover, that reminds me of the snow we got last year! Did _______ (character's name) do the same things we did in the snow?"
• What was your favorite part of the book? Favorite picture? 

As the books get longer, it gets harder to engage in conversations around the book because they are very one-sided.  If you haven't read it, you can't participate much.  But you can ask some questions that could spur some talking, like:

• Who are the main people in the book? What is their relationship to each other? How do they feel about each other? 
• When is the story happening? Is it current, past, future? How do you know?
• Who else would like this book? Why?
• Did this book remind you of anyone/anything/another book? Why?
• Has anything surprised you? Made you sad? Made you mad? 
• Asking how the book is making your child feel can really get at the heart of how well they understand the book.  If they aren't feeling anything, are they getting it? Most authors write to elicit certain emotions.
• Has ______________(character) changed at all? 

Finally, as we all know, conversations are much more productive when all parties are involved.  As you engage your child in talking about their book, you have to participate.  Really listen to what they are saying and respond in real ways.  Share your thoughts about a book you are reading or have read.  Make connections to what they are saying.  

Hey, you could even read the same book and have a book club with your child.  

Your children are talking about books in their classroom, with their teachers and friends.  Fostering more talk about books at home will only benefit them more! 

Get reading and get talking!! And I'll do my best to find out what my child is actually doing in her class :) 

Why reading in the home is so important

  Most kids find something they love -- basketball, dance, golf -- and when they find that something, they also find someone,  someone in that sport or activity they admire.  Usually that person is high profile and really good at what they do.  Our children watch these people, study them, imitate them. Because they love the sport, they love the person playing it.  And then by watching that person, they love the sport even more.
     The same can be said for reading.  While we will never see a reading marathon on television (can you imagine the tailgate for that?!) it is just as important for our children to see how much we love reading.  I am well aware there are some non-readers out there and they make amazing parents.  But what I know about these people is that they fake it well too.  They understand how important reading is and pretend they love it for the sake of their kids.  But what if... what if we all really truly loved reading? What would that look like in our homes? What would that mean for our kids?
     I grew up in a home of readers.  Both my parents love to read.  I am in a book club with my mom even now.  Because my parents loved to read, I saw them reading all the time.  They read the newspaper daily.  They read books, lots of books.  In turn, they read to me and with me.  For years, we read together.  Sometimes that together was the same book.  Sometimes it just meant we were in the same room together reading our own books.  On trips out of town, we took stacks of books.  Trips to the book store and library were frequent.
     I could quote numerous statistics to you, all you have to do is Google literacy and reading in the home and you'll see all the research that has been done.  But I can also speak to you from my own experiences and my teaching experiences.  Students who have parents who are readers read more.  It's not a hard and fast rule (but what is?) but it has almost always been true with my students.  Reading in the home isn't just for preschool and primary level children.  If we want our kids to continue to be readers, we have to be their reading idols, the object of their admiration.  We have to give them someone to study and imitate.
     No one said parenting would be fun.  I can attest to that firsthand!! But if we want our children to be successful, the statistics are out there and they are undeniable.  We have to raise readers.

Assessments -- What's the point?

     Pre-assessments, post- assessments, formative assessments, summative assessments, state mandated assessments, common assessments, the list goes on for the buzz words around assessment in education.  Many wonder if we are over-assessing our children.  So what is the point of all this assessment? Why are there mandated assessments? What purpose does assessment serve the children?  That is ultimately the question that we should always be asking when it comes to questioning educational decisions.
     Assessment in it's best form is the heart of the classroom.  Assessment is how teachers know what students know and how they make decisions about instruction.  When teachers are making decisions about what to teach, they use the state standards as their base, but ultimately their students are the driving force in where instructional time is spent.
     Many units of study begin with a pre-assessment.  This automatically gets a bad rap because of the "a" word attached to it.  But this is a way for teachers to figure out what students know before they begin teaching.  Nobody wants to waste time, least of all teachers, who are constantly trying to make time where there is none.  So a pre-assessment informs teachers of student strengths and what they need more practice in.  It's not anything that induces anxiety or fear.  It's not time-consuming.
     In the elementary world, the units of study then proceed and teachers check in with students daily in many different ways to "assess" their progress towards mastery of the learning targets (what they are aiming to learn).  Sometimes these "check-ins" look like tests.  Other times they are more like a one or two question "exit slip" as students are wrapping up their day.  These all lead teachers to make more decisions about what needs to be taught next.  At the end of each unit there is usually an assessment, which also informs teachers and students of how well they mastered the learning done in that unit.  But the learning doesn't end there!
   In short, assessments are a tool for teachers and students to monitor the learning they are doing.  Taking the state tests out of the equation, most of the assessments our students are taking are being used by teachers to determine if they are ready to move on or if they need more practice in different skills.  Unfortunately, grades often drive the anxiety that comes with assessments.  Grades are a by-product of assessing, not the true purpose... but that's a whole other can of worms, a blog for another day.
   

Today's literacy classroom

     Think back to your school days.  What did it look like when it was time for reading and writing? I'll bet it was quite different from today's literacy instruction.  I hear a lot of talk around instruction, standards, and strategies in reading and writing.  Many people are wondering if we are pushing our children too hard, too fast, too rigorously.  But we have to remember that our world is different and our children are different.
     100 years ago, knowledge was doubling every century.  Now, human knowledge is doubling every year! And IBM projects that soon it will be doubling every day.  In such a fast paced world, we have to teach our kids in a way that will allow them to be successful, productive members of society.  It's less about teaching them the knowledge and more about how to access it, analyze it, and sift through the wealth of knowledge out there.

     So what do our kids do all day?
Research has shown that the one thing kids need in order to become better readers is to read more! That makes perfect sense, though.  If you want to become a better musician, you have to practice.  If you want to get better at a sport, you practice.  If you want to be a better reader, you have to read.  A reading guru and researcher, Richard Allington, has said that students need to spend 50% of their time fully engaged in reading and writing.  But this is not just time when students sit and read.  During reading and writing blocks, teachers are teaching explicit skills and strategies for reading and writing.  They spend 10-15 directly instructing students.  Then, students are charged with practicing these strategies in their own reading. The teacher spends times with individual students and small groups, teaching, monitoring, and strategizing.  For the next 30-45 minutes you would see students reading and writing about their reading and the teacher meeting with students about reading.  If it's the writing block, you would see students writing while the teacher meets with small groups and individuals.  Teachers are constantly researching their students and making adjustments to what they need and how they can better address those needs.

     What does this mean for reading at home?
It means that students need to be spending time reading after school as well.  But the reading they are doing can be a mix of different types! Reading magazines, articles on the Internet (appropriate, of course), informational books, environmental print for our little ones --- all of that is reading.  And what can we do as parents? We can talk about reading! Talk about what we are reading, ask questions about what they are reading.  Help them decide what they will read next.  Read together.  If reading becomes a family activity, it will be more enjoyable for everyone!