Sticky Notes, Highlighters, and Pens. Oh my!

If you're like me, you sometimes will read an entire page (or chapter) and then realize that you have absolutely no idea what you just read. So then you have to go back and read the whole thing over again which wastes even more time. Generally, when students are reading for school, they are trying to get it done as quickly as possible so that they can move on to TV or video games. For me, I'm usually trying to finish so that I can go to sleep. (College life.) So, this extra time spent going back to reread a section of a book seems like a complete waste. Often, students will not even take the time to reread the section because of that waste of time. So how do we combat this? Use their time to get the most out of their reading so that they can move on to more fun things?

Cris Tovani, author of Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, suggests a few different tools that teachers can use to help students hold onto their thinking so that they can use it later in class or on assignments. Some of the tools she lists include using highlighters and sticky notes. (Side note: I am probably in the minority, but there's nothing that I love more than new school supplies in all different colors. So the thought of new sticky notes and highlighters that color coordinate with topics? Sign me up.) Along with those tools, Tovani also mentions different worksheets that she gives her students called "Comprehension Constructors" and includes a blank template in the back of the book for other teachers' use.

As I was reading this chapter, I found myself agreeing with a lot of what Tovani was saying about holding students' thinking while reading, but still having some questions. For example, I know that I've said in the past how I love math and plan on teaching it soon. How can I take the tools that Tovani is providing me with and apply them to a math class? She gave one example in this chapter, but I'd like to sit down with her and pick her brain on this idea.

I also really loved that Tovani gave some very practical tools for teachers to use. As I learn more and more about teaching, grading comes more to the forefront of my mind when planning assessments. Tovani spent a lengthy amount of time talking about helping her students learn to use sticky notes in books when reading to ask questions, make comments, and communicate with the text which is all great! But then how do teachers know that students have done that assignment? It's incredibly difficult to take home all of the books to grade, but Tovani gave an example of how to help out with that problem. She has her students write the page number of the book that the students put the sticky note on the note, and then the students put all of their sticky notes onto a sheet of paper. Voila! Suddenly a teacher goes from carrying home 150 books, to a folder full of papers to grade. Not to mention the lack of page turning to search for the notes.

I appreciate how Tovani writes. She is engaging and shares her struggles and pitfalls. It is encouraging to see how she works with students and little by little helps them to become more proficient readers.

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

{Sassy}

What's the Point?

Each time I read a section from the book* that our class is using as a "textbook", I learn more about what it looks like to be a good reader. Many things that good readers do, they don't even notice. For example: Good readers ask themselves questions while they are reading to make sure that they understand the content. If they don't, they go back and reread the section. I don't know about you, but I did not even realize I did that. If someone had asked me last year what I did to be a "good reader", I probably would not be able to tell them. Now, I have begun recognizing some of the strategies I use that make me a good reader.

Something that Tovani discussed was the fact that good readers are able to recognize a purpose for every text that they read. Sometimes the purpose is pleasure or to let our minds escape to another world. Most of the time reading in a classroom does not have either of those purposes though. Usually the purpose sounds more like "to learn about this topic" or "to gain understanding of a subject". Those sound incredibly, mind-numbingly boring. I don't even want to read things that have that as a purpose and I'm a growing teacher! So let's change the purpose of the readings that we give to our students. We need to help our students find value in reading the texts that we give them. They need to see a reason to read the texts.

Tovani also introduced these things called a "conversation voice" and a "reciting voice". Our reciting voice is the voice in our head that reads the words, but that is all. The words go in one ear and out the other. It's what causes us to have to go back and read the whole chapter over again. Our "conversation voice" is the voice that helps us to have a conversation with the text. It asks questions and looks for understanding. Helping students to be able to recognize the different between these voices will help them to comprehend what they are reading and stay focused. I've done this my whole life and never had the correct words to describe it, but now I do! Thanks Tovani!

In addition to this, I have had something else that has been heavy on my heart this week. Recently, a bill entitled "SB 167" has been passed in the Senate. It is basically a bill that will keep Georgia from using any nation-wide curriculum such as Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. It will also prevent students from being able to take any testing not created in Georgia including AP tests as well as the SAT and ACT. This bill is very scary to me both as a student and future teacher. I encourage you, if you're reading this, to contact your local representative about this bill as it is going to the House for a vote soon. I contacted the two representatives in my city and actually got an email response from one of them. Who knows what we can do when we all join together and share our concerns?

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

{Sassy}

*Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? by Cris Tovani

Reading Ratios

So I've been talking about Content Literacy for the past month or so and trying to wrap my head around what it means specifically in the setting of a math class. Then, in the book* that we are using as a textbook in my content literacy class, I was introduced to the idea of "text sets". Tovani defines a text set as "a container organized by units of study". She got the idea from elementary school libraries and classrooms around the country where books are organized by topics and authors and genres. Now how do we take that idea and transfer it to a middle or high school classroom? And more specifically, a math classroom?

I've been exploring this idea over the past week and coming up with new ideas. After all, what does text even look like in a math class? Part of the point of these text sets are to help students at all different levels to gain the same understanding of the same content in a different way. It can be with readings of different levels of difficulty or, in my case, problems that range from easy (to some students) to extremely difficult. Here is an example that I have compiled of a text set to help students understand ratios.

The Math Dude - The Golden Ratio:
I mentioned The Math Dude in a recent blog post and here he is again! This is a video and blog post on this thing called The Golden Ratio and how many photographers use it to take more interesting pictures. This text and video could be used to help students find some interest and usefulness in ratios. Text sets don't have to contain only boring reading materials. This is an example of that.

Dan Meyer - My Ultimate Nerd Math Crush - Genius lesson plans:
I cannot tell y'all how much I love this man and think he is wonderful. I had the amazing opportunity to hear him speak last semester and the way that he went about teaching a group of math teachers with a simple but very real world problem blew my mind. If I had had him as a math teacher, who knows where I'd be know? Probably conquering the world... I digress. This link provides a few of his videos, worksheets, and full lesson plans on how to work with students on ratios. This is another way that kids can get practice doing word problems and making sense of ratios.

Sometimes Funny Things Help Students Understand Better:
This video is horribly cheesy, but I found myself chuckling, so maybe awkward middle school students will too? It tells the story of a girl going on multiple dates and each guy speaks a different number of words. One guy talks too much compared to her. Another doesn't speak much at all. Finally she finds a guy who talks the exact same amount as she does and boom! It's love. (Don't we all wish it was that easy.) It also talks about equivalent ratios and equivalent fractions which, I believe, can help students in their understanding of this topic.

Extra Practice:
This is a link to worksheets and extra problems that students can use to practice their understanding of ratios. There are different levels of difficulty that can be used to help students. Maybe after watching some of these videos or learning different ways to go about solving the same problem, they can practice what they've learned.

Notes - Different Ways To Think About the Same Problem:
Teachers have to understand how to do a problem in 12 different ways so that they can teach 12 different students to understand how to do it in their own way. In the text set, I've included some notes that I've taken of different ways to look at the same problem. Sometimes there is not enough time to teach 12 different ways during class, so this is an opportunity to help students take learning into their own hands and still succeed.

This concept is still a little bit foreign to me so join me as I grow in my understanding of text sets. If you have ideas, please let me know! After all, the whole point of this blog is to learn and grow from other teachers ahead of me. And I hope that this helps you too. If it does, let me know about that too. A little encouragement never hurts :)

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

{Sassy}

*Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? by Cris Tovani

A Struggle With Reading... Or Lack Thereof

As I continue to work through Cris Tovani's book Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, I'm exploring my own reading abilities and what has influenced them. I love reading! I always have. And that might be due to the fact that I've always been pretty good at it. Or the fact that I usually find books whose topics I enjoy. Or a multitude of other things. I'm even enjoying Tovani's book right now, surprisingly enough. How often do we get assigned a book to read for a class and enjoy it?! And how sad is that question? I hope that through this class and exploring how to make reading more enjoyable for students, my students will not have to ask questions like that. Reading in class should make students curious so that they are encouraged to do their own research on those topics.

This week I read her chapter on accessible texts and how to find accessible texts for your classroom when your students' reading levels are all over the place. There is this new concept of "Text Sets". Depending on the subject, teachers can create boxes full of reading material at all different reading levels, all "organized into different units of study". Tovani does a great job of giving examples of how to create these sets for all different subject areas, and I love the idea of this! I'm not sure how much I love the idea of actually carrying it out though. 

For example: How much is it going to cost to collect all of these materials? I know that some of the materials could be printed articles, but books are going to make up most of the set. How long is this going to take to create the sets? This is NOT a cop-out and me wanting to take the easy way out. I'm earnestly wondering if this would need to be an entire-summer-long project. 

Here are some major "ups" of this idea of text sets: It offers students with all different reading levels opportunities to learn the material in a class. It reduces the frustration of students not being able to understand material. Students can gain the same information that they would receive in a textbook but in a more interesting way. There will be may options for readings texts with different lengths and structures. The information obtained should be relevant and allow students to make connections to other classes and their lives.

So what is the consensus? I love the idea of text sets, but they intimidate me. Especially in the area of mathematics. Maybe intimidation is good though. It will require me to work through something difficult just like I will ask my students to. Maybe I'll challenge myself and start coming up with a list of articles to use in a math classroom. I can keep a folder on my computer for different units and file the articles in there. I don't think on a college student's budget I'll be purchasing many books yet. :)

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

{Sassy}

Snow and a Learned Helplessness

As I'm writing this post I'm enjoying a view of white roofs and snow/grass men. (In the South we often do not get enough snow to make a man purely made of snow. He usually is covered in bits of grass as well.) But, I am cuddled up warm inside due to my "Learned Helplessness" of being a Southerner. I don't have the clothing appropriate for snow, nor do I know how to drive my car on the snowy roads.

Why did I bring up snow? And this "learned helplessness" thing? Well, there is a connection, I promise. I was listening to this podcast (#17) earlier and one of the first things discussed was learned helplessness. I think I've heard that phrase before, but for some reason it really caught my attention this time. The teachers on the podcast were discussing their classrooms and how students seem to come in to the classroom and immediately say, "I don't get it!" As teachers, it is our job to help students to "get it", but a lot of the time I feel like we, as teachers, are making our jobs even harder than they already are. Students have a job too. Their job is to learn. When assigned a reading or homework, if they don't immediately "get it" then it is their job to wrestle with it on their own until they can't anymore. Students are not taking ownership of their own learning. We often teach students a "learned helplessness" and make it all too easy to just give up. They know that after being assigned a worksheet we will write all of the answers on the whiteboard the next day. In my student teaching, students were even allowed to re-take tests for FULL credit with the help of their books. What are students learning from this? (I'm asking myself this as much as asking for your help understanding!) I also gained some insight on this topic from this blog post of a teacher relating her struggles of learned helplessness with her students.

The teachers went on to talk about reading which grabbed my attention again as I'm still trying to better define "content literacy". I am a good reader. I just am. My mom jokes that I learned to read in carpool lines. (Oh the joys of older siblings.) But I have always enjoyed reading. I like being read to. I never understood students in class who couldn't read very well. So, knowing this, you will understand how surprised I was to hear the podcast say, "We all thing we're good readers. {I don't think. I know.} But the truth of it is that we're all bad readers. {Maybe you are, but I rock!} It just depends on what reading we're given. {*jaw drops*}" Humbling. That makes sense. This also helped me to get into the mindset of a student who might have difficulty reading certain materials. It also makes me think that maybe different students should be given different readings that can push them but also encourage them and help them succeed. (I'm slowly realizing that teaching is more work than everyone thinks it is.)

So if some type of reading is difficult for everyone, what do we do when we hit that wall? I am too stubborn to give up, so I use a strategy. One strategy that we've been focusing on in my content literacy class has been double entry diaries. (This blog gives a great description of how to use and teach double-entry diaries.) You basically fold a piece of paper in half and write a quote or something from the "text" on the left side. On the right side you are supposed to add your thoughts or ideas on what you have written on the left side of the page. I've seen it used in math classrooms as well as literature classrooms and it seems to be a great strategy for some students. Not for me. I'm very much a highlighter and underliner. Sometimes I write in the margins if I need to. But there is nothing I like more than a good colorfully highlighted reading or book. It means I understand. Knowing this, I still know that many of my students are going to need different strategies. So I need to adapt. I need to learn more strategies. I want to know 15 ways to understand a text so that I can help my 15 different students understand their texts. I've got a long road ahead of me, but I'm up for it. But it will definitely require me learning just as much if not more than I am teaching.

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

Oh, and the connection between snow and learned helplessness that I promised earlier? I realized that I am completely helpless about snow because I live in the wonderful South and have learned NOTHING about snow. It's cold and wet. And beautiful from a distance.

{Sassy}

Slowly But Surely Moving Forward

Week two of classes are now over and we've had more chances to talk about this Content Literacy thing. We read the first two chapters of our class textbook called Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12 and listened to this podcast to help develop our understanding. As we discuss and research this idea, I'm trying to come up with my own working definition. Currently it goes something like this:

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

So... With that in mind, how should that change the way that I will teach in the future and how I prepare to teach my students? I think that, first of all, it propels me to be literate in both of my choice content areas of math and science. I should be able to read a math or science textbook with some level of ease. And if I cannot? Then I will be working from the perspective of my future students. They will encounter difficulties while reading these textbooks and I will encourage them to use strategies to help them to build an understanding of the books and content.

As my teacher said, "You don't read a textbook like you would a fairytale. That is, from cover to cover."I don't think that I've ever thought about reading textbooks differently than reading any other book. Being a "good student" I generally do all readings assigned including any boxes on the sides of pages. I never thought about there being a different way to read it, but I'm excited to explore those possibilities.

In the podcast mentioned above, a teacher spoke about being chosen as a Presidential award winner for her teaching of first and third graders. I found myself being slightly cynical when she was talking about having her first graders type up notes on technology and almost kicked myself. I'm supposed to be a new teacher! I of all people should be optimistic about teaching kids and all of the things that students are capable of! Why wouldn't first grade students be able to use technology in this way? It has shown me a part of myself that may tend toward cynicism which I will have to actively work against as I grow and learn as a teacher. My students are capable of so much! They just need someone to guide them as they learn, and what a blessing to be one of the people who gets to guide them!

{Sassy}