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My first biggest takeaway from the first reading and writing videos was that we have to engage our students and empower them to believe that this is going to be their best reading and writing year of their life. We want them to fall in love with reading and writing and make it the center of their lives and to do so, we must speak with power and conviction.  To do this, we have to study the mini-lesson beforehand and practice it so that we can deliver it in a meaningful, interesting, engaging way, as demonstrated in the mini-lesson video. My 2nd takeaway was there are 3 bends: Bend 1 focuses on structures and stamina, Bend 2 focuses on literal comprehension, and Bend 3 focuses on foundational skills with more complicated texts. My 3rd takeaway was both reading and writing units are designed to be taught in about 5 weeks, so we should use the If then.... books to bring in additional units of unit. My first aha I had from the  Pathways orientation video was to congratulate students for keeping accurate reading logs...especially when they are honest about not reading. Also, different researchers name skills differently, but we will look at literal comprehension, interpretative comprehension, and analytic comprehension. Takeaway 3 was the performance assessments are done at the beginning of a unit so that students know the skill they are working on during the unit. If the teacher can't grade the assessment with the rubric by day 3, then students need to look at their answers and rubric so they know their goals throughout the unit. -Heather Pettke-Boals

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Bringing it back to the classroom-Heather Pettke-Boals

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Bringing it back to the classroom-Heather Pettke-Boals

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Just like I want them to scoop up words, I need to scoop them up and get them to come along with me on this journey. I must invite students to role play into the readers and writers I hope they become in order to get them to love books. I will study my lessons ahead of time so that I can plan for student engagement and speak with power and conviction. When using reading logs, I will encourage students to record their actual minutes, even if it's not exact consistent. I will also set goals with students when conferring so by congratulating them on things they are doing well, increasing the level of the skill, and giving them feedback on the goals to improve. I will strive to keep the mini-lesson short so that students get the majority of the time to read and write and apply the strategies they are learning. I will keep it meaningful to students by letting them choose their books and their topics of writing.

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Since we have being using Lucy Calkins, the essentials are not surprising to me, however, it is very powerful to understand that students need explicit time in the writer's workshop. We can not count writing across other curriculum areas alone as their writing instruction and practice time. Writing in all subjects must take place but this is not the same as providing planned, coherent curriculum in writing.  Also, learners need a balanced approach to literacy, which includes teachers that read aloud to them. Reading aloud can not be the part of readers workshop that gets skipped for other curriculum.

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Although the the kits are highly structured, Lucy Calkins expects them to be used flexibly.  I appreciated that she gave suggestions for the sequence (and interruptions) based on the needs of students.  Especially in this first year of school wide implementation, students entering one grade level might be best supported with pieces from a previous grade level book.  My second takeaway from the video was the idea of spacing reading throughout the whole day - in addition to the workshop time.  It would be challenging to implement the ideal schedule Lucy recommends, but a shift in mindset will help me to be more impactful with teaching strategies and supporting students across content areas in regards to reading.
My third takeaway was the suggestion that prior to teaching the lessons, teams jigsaw the front matter, and get a sense of how the pieces fit together in the "larger storyline." Lucy emphasized the importance of highlighting concepts for young readers in order for the teaching to stick.

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Bringing to my Classroom - Jenny Singleton - Boals

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Bringing to my Classroom - Jenny Singleton - Boals

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I plan to implement Lucy’s suggestion for seating students together with a shared box of books at the beginning of the year, based on similar reading levels.  She said this was the most efficient way to notice reading behaviors and establish BOY running records.  After this stage, when reading assessments have been completed, then students are ready for their own book box of self selected texts. I will also be sure to conduct the reading assessment of my students that are below benchmark first, so they begin getting appropriate books as soon as possible.  Lucy stressed this as these are the students who need to make accelerated progress.

Finally, this next year I will implement a structure for students to track their daily reading (time and pages) and goal setting. This will help them in the process of building (& celebrating) increased stamina, and provide data for conferences.

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Powerful Essentials - Jenny Singleton - Boals

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Powerful Essentials - Jenny Singleton - Boals

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“Learners need enormous amounts of time for actual reading,” is and Essential that I value highly, and promote in my classroom.  At the same time, I was struck by the evidence from Allington and Johnson 2002, stating, “Exemplary teachers of reading have their students actually reading and writing for as much as half the school day.”  Lucy concludes from the research than an hour and a half daily is the minimum amount of time students need to be reading independently.  I read aloud to students daily, we read social studies and science nonfiction together, and they read during the reading workshop, but they could be reading more. “Success in reading is directly related to the amount of time a person spends reading.”  Especially for young (&/or struggling) students, sufficient time dedicated to practicing reading is non-negotiable.

Another Essential I found to be compelling was the need for, “support reading nonfiction books and building a knowledge base and academic vocabulary through informational reading.”  Upon reflecting on the titles I chose to read aloud last year, I realize there were hardly any non-fiction texts.  What better place to show enjoyment and excitement for this genre than with the platform of a read aloud?  According to a study by Goodwin and Miller (2012/2013), “ … the average child in the United States spends just four minutes a day reading nonfiction.”  At the same time, another study found that, “...first grade children who were read information texts three times a week for four weeks demonstrated an increased ability to comprehend nonfiction texts in comparison to their peers,” (Kraemer 2012). The evidence is clear, this Essential is a crucial component of students' reading education.

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Video Take away 1
The first thing that really stuck out to me, was that Lucy noticed that the Mini Lessons can be wordy, and take longer than 5-10 min. they are to be studied before and made into your own take away for your classroom. she wants you to hit the main points you see fit for your classroom.
Video Take away 2
Lucy wants you to start on day one of school. She understands that kinder teachers are hesitant to do so because we feel that the kinder babies need to learn the procedures and rules but in the bends there are classroom management lessons intertwined throughout the units.. of how the writing and reading process work.
Video Take away 3
Last, we have to engage our readers and writers. We have to show our students how fun reading and writing can be. In kinder we as teachers need to remember it isn't about the product (at the B.O.Y) it is about the process of how we help them to get things down on paper.. independently as possible! we have to make it interactive for them. we have them bring things in items for  science interactive word walls.. we can also have them bring in items to write about to make it more personal and engaging to them. they are able to hold and manipulate to be able to get to writing.

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Takeaway 1
I love that the lessons are child-centered, This promotes the shift from the teacher to the students to develop independent thinkers.
Takeaway 2
Jigsaw-She explained how to share the responsibility among the team for dividing reading so all reading doesn't fall on individual teacher.
Takeaway 3
She discussed that kinder teachers don't want to start writer's workshop on the first day of school because of teaching procedures and rules.  She discussed that they have included these things in the lessons.

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my tean

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How i will bring this back to my

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to

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How i w

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning wit m

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my team so i am

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my tea

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I plan on

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my team so i am able to poi

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my team so i am able to

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my team so i am able to point out the  most important points for the students to know so that we are able to keep the lessons "Mini"
I will take lucy's advice with introducing writing and reading with the students on day one. I will understand that this is a learning process for both my students and I, we  will  do  our best together!
Lucy said to make sure our students are engaged in writing and reading by making it meaningful for them( having choices) I will have choices for my students for both reading and writing, let them choose books for them by them.. let them choose what paper they would like to use, the topic they want to write about, I will do my best this year to keep my students engaged by letting them have choices!

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning wit

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How i will bring this back to my classroom

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is,

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lesson

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The

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How i will bring this back to my classroom is, i will read the lessons prior to planning with my team

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When meeting with my team this summer, we will divide the reading of Bend 1 for each subject so we are prepared to meet and plan for introducing the workshops on the first day of school.

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Misty Morrison-Boals    Chapter 3 Essentials Question-A powerful essential that hit me was that I need to provide more opportunities for students to talk in response to reading and writing. Students need to collaborate, problem-pose, and problem solve with each other through discussions. 

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Misty Morrison-Boals    Chapter 3 Essentials Question-A powerful essential that hit me was that I need to provide more opportunities for students to talk in response to reading and writing. Students need to collaborate, problem-pose, and problem solve with each other through discussions. 

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1. If we jigsaw the units/bends, we can tackle the content better and be able to better understand and unpack Lucy. That way we know exactly how to teach it, answer any Q's, have copies/books/ACs ready
2. You will learn it as you teach!!!! KEY POINT! Lucy is overwhelming and collaborating with teammates, ICs, Lucy FB Groups, etc. can help you answer questions, understand content more clearly and understand it more as you go. You learn it as you teach, collaborate, and reflect.
3. We need to stay uniform as a grade level-this way students don't have to worry about what to do, what they'll be reading, how the workshop will run, etc. By being consistent, we can also help them grow as readers and writers more efficiently.

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1. Getting resources, copies, reading material before, jigsaw planning with our team and teaching what was read.
All of us getting to know what needs to be taught and the How to be taught. I love that there is an overview of each unit and bend.Keeping instruction brief one skill or strategy at a time. Using anchor charts and teaching from the day before to review, a lot of everyday writing and reading with student choice, not teacher. Give students opportunities for feedback.

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1.  Jigsaw planning with our teams breaks up the responsibility among the team.  I like this because it will help spread the workload out more evenly and keeps everyone on the same page.
2.  I like that Lucy recognizes that her lessons are wordy and emphasizes the importance of studying the lessons beforehand in order to adjust the lessons according to your classroom needs.
3.  It's essential to give kids opportunities to work in collaboration with other learners so they teach and scaffold each other.

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I want to make sure our mini lessons are no longer than 10 minutes. THe bulk of the writing and reading should be authentic. The most important part of any work shop is the time when students are immersed in their own important work, as teacher is making teaher points or giving tips to students as walking around the classroo

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I want to make sure that I give students the opportunity to work collaboratively with each other by responding to their writing and reading via student lead discussions.

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I want to make sure I keep my distracted or overwhelmed readers and writers on track by following the workshop model to a T; I want to make sure mini lesson stays short so they know it won't be long before they're trying it themselves. I also want to take time for a mid-point teach so students that are off task can get back on track. Lastly, I want to make sure students have time to share/collaborate so they can develop those skills/strategies even further

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For writing, I really liked how she says, "If you keep your gaze fixed on the page and wait for the child to act, an extraordinary number of children will actually write." Instead of telling them what to write and planning it out for/with them, we ask them what they're interested in or want to write about. Then we should say with confidence, "That is so cool, you should write about that!" as you stare at the page. When they realize your gaze is not moving and you will not write for them, most students will start to at least try. This way we can see what they can do. We can't know if there is a problem with a writer until we see their work. This helps get them started and trying.
For reading, I felt very surprised as I read the essential that children that are below reading level need to read books they can read at ease 90% of the time. This shocked me because I often think students that are below level are and need to be "pushed". It makes sense that they will build confidence if they are reading texts they feel more comfortable with and can read with ease.

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Students need to spend 90% of their time reading books that they can read with ease.
I really liked how she says, "If you keep your gaze fixed on the page and wait for the child to act, an extraordinary number of children will actually write."  This stuck out with me as I have encountered many writers who will look at me waiting for me to tell them what to write.  I like the idea of keeping my gaze on the page to avoid leading them to believe that if they stare at me long enough I'll tell them what to write.

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One thing that surprised me from this chapter is students who are below level need to spend 90% of their reading books they can read with ease, below level students need an assessment-based program. Each student who are struggling may need something different from one another than most readers. I liked that instead of telling a reluctant writer what to write you ask a variety of questions, stop and gaze at his Every child deserves to start where he or she begins the school year, to be challenged to go farther.

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Reading logs- introducing this at the BOY and sticking to it. It is a great way for students to take charge of their reading and to feel accomplished with all the books they have read throughout the year. Making it a positive thing to their excitement about filling it out and finding joy in it

Collaboration- bringing this to planning and diving deep into it with the team. By doing this, I will be able to be a better reading teacher to my students. Coming with questions or ideas to the team will make us a stronger team and it will make us more confident teachers with our students. I am a learner just like my students are. This is a real world example that I can show them.

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Jigsaw- work as a team when introducing a UOS, figure out how it ties into the “bigger picture” of the lessons. Taking time to grasp the “bigger picture”, teaching to stick the larger storyline of the unit is SO IMPORTANT. Collaboration with team is VITAL, especially if “new” to teaching or using the kits. Going over the “front matter” together is important. Bring to planning, have questions ready, talk about how your lesson would look like using the kits.

Teaching students to be goal driven- track their reading, intro reading log for every day, in control of their reading stamina, celebrate growth with stamina throughout the whole year,

Thinking as you read- at the BOY have them focused on thinking as they read. Showing them how to think aloud of what they have just read. From some of the video examples of the teachers, they used hand signals and had anchor charts up to remind students what they should be doing while reading.

Make them feel like they are BIG kids. Talk about what they covered in 1st grade, but now that their in 2nd grade they get to be more in charge and more independent with their reading. Taking ownership for their reading. How do you want to read this book? What kind of tone are you going to read it with? What pace?

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Readers need teachers to read aloud to them: “you read aloud to open the day using stories and poems to convene the community and celebrate what it means to be awake and alive together. (p.26)”

Learners need opportunities to talk in response to texts: “because teaching reading is teaching thinking” and “talking and writing both provide concrete, visible ways for learners to do the thinking work that later becomes internalized..(p.23)”

Some children write all-about books and stories: “Remember that every child deserves to start where he or she is as a writer and to be challenged to go further. (p25)” Make sure to create goals that are student centered and led. Frequent feedback on student progression and goals.

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3 biggest take aways:
The 4th grade kit is set for students who may have or may not have had Reader's workshop before.  Other grade levels may have to adjust quite a bit but 4th grade will not have to have a-lot of adaptations, at least for the reading kit.
You need to collaborate with your team and with vertical teams.
Do running records and learning progressions.  Have students use reading logs and see what they are reading and help them choose books that they use sticky notes to keep track of their thinking. For Writing: Do the units in 4-5 weeks, not over 2 months. Students will get bored.

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Have students record their reading.  This is data and the students are taking responsibility.  They pull out their reading log and record what page they being on and where they end.  Students reading logs must be paid attention to.  If students aren't reading much, have them read to you and make sure the book they are reading is a book they should be reading.  The records access the kids but also my teaching.  Am I giving them enough time to read? Mini lessons need to be mini- 10-11 minutes. Study and watch the videos to help you know how to deliver the message.

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Teachers must bring their own love of reading into the classroom. We must bring our own experiences into the classroom and let kids know that learning to read is a lifelong process. Shovel out the busy work and give tons of time for reading per school day. For writing, rehearse what you write. Students need explicit instruction in both reading and writing. They need lot of practice. Students need to do flash drafts. Allow them to write a long time in one day instead of over several days. The story will be more cohesive. Students need opportunities to read and hear texts read, so they can study what other authors have done that they can try.

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Three takeaways from the video were: running records, reading logs, and performance assessments. I like the idea of running records because it keeps students accountable of their reading. This is a great way to study their reading pattern and for them getting to know themselves as a reader. The last takeaway from the video was performance assessments and learning progression. I learned that learners benefit from crystal clear goals and what concrete goals I will have.

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Bringing this back to the classroom... for me I will make sure I have planned a few weeks in advance and read up on the lessons. I will focus on making sure that my lessons are truly mini. I know with the pacing that i will have time to go back and review concepts again.

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Something powerful I read was when she said pg. 22 "The challenge is to be sure that students are interested and invested in their reading that they are willing to work with some persistence when they encounter difficulty." We need to encourage students to work even when it gets hard. It is a must to find books that interest them. This is why choice is so important for them.

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The main thing that I will bring back to the classroom is to keep the Mini lesson “mini”. This will allow students to stay focused on the concept and allow them to try it out on their own sooner. While students are beginning I can also observe each of them and choose students to conference with based on what they might need that day.

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1. At the BOY, reminding students and reinforcing their good reading habits that they learned in Kinder. Encouraging them and building their confidence as they get back into the routine of reader’s workshop as well as writer’s workshop.

2. I like the Jigsaw activities for teachers to share the responsibility of the sessions/chapters. This ensures that the work is not all on one teacher but more importantly teams can collaborate with each other.

3. The If...Then… Curriculum book I believe will be a helpful resource to guide me where to go next with my students who have mastered concepts or might need more work on a concept.

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1.Throughout the video, she discusses the importance of collaboration. Not only did she talk about collaboration between students but with teachers as well. It is critical that students and teachers collaborate so that they are able to learn from each other and come up with new ideas.

2. It is important to have a designated time for students to read independently/small group/partner reading. Students need a consistent time to be able to practice their reading skills. Teachers can make sure that students have a time each day to practice their reading skills in many different ways.

3. One thing that stood out to me is that she encouraged positive feedback. If she needed to test a student or talk to a student about their reading or writing skills, she would give a compliment about something they were doing well. It’s amazing what positive reinforcement/ compliments can do to motivate students. Not only with the compliments motivate students but get them excited about reading and writing.

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I believe that collaboration is extremely important for students and teachers. I will make sure to communicate with my team about lesson planning and how to meet the needs of my students. I will dig deep into lesson planning and run through my lesson plans before I teach them. I also want to make sure that I stay on task and make sure that I am pacing the lessons.

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Video Takeaways - Merissa Stenger - Boals 

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Video Takeaways - Merissa Stenger - Boals 

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My biggest takeaway was the focus on students composing their reading lives in a way that works for them. If we cannot convey the true power and amazing opportunities that reading can provide for students they will not make it their own and become engaged lifelong readers. Leading by example and providing support and encouragement along the way is the quintessential role of every teacher. We keep records and give assessments as part of the journey, but walking the reading path with students is truly where the difference can and will be made for young readers. Bringing students in to what is being said and making it applicable to their lives is so important for readers. Not only does it give them a frame of reference, but a reason to try. If students lack motivation or interest we must be the ones as educators to lights that spark and allow the proper time for that spark to grow into a flame of passion for reading. I can tell every student that reading is important and can be entertaining as well, but if I cannot demonstrate how then my words will inevitably fall on deaf ears. Bringing that unexpected element of intrigue into the lives of our readers while teaching is the key. Making sure to track their progress and allowing for thoughtful reflection on reading habits is how students will learn to draw on a bank of strategies while reading along with specific, thoughtful feedback from teachers and peers alike.

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Bringing it to the classroom - Merissa Stenger - Boals

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Bringing it to the classroom - Merissa Stenger - Boals

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I will be bringing this back to my classroom after thoughtful reflection with my team of the materials provided. I agree that making these lesson plans our own is how we will successfully integrate them into our classroom. I really like the idea of honest reading logs and holding students accountable for their work. Having my own reading log can also help students see that it is ok to skip a day and read a varying amount of time as long as genuine reading is occurring on a regular basis. I also plan on encouraging the sharing of ideas and opinions of books from the class via a chart or digital platform to hopefully feed the interest of all readers.

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1. I love the emphasis on collaboration.  Teachers and students benefit from authentic collaboration.

2. I love how the lesson are very student centered. allowing students to learn on their level. Independent practice will enhance skills, confidence and  growth.

3. POSITIVE FEEDBACK! WE ALL NEED IT :)

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Collaboration is extremely important. It is important that we have an idea of the lesson prior to planning so that we can get the most out of planning.

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1. If then books. This book has tips and suggestions for all writers at all levels. You will find suggestions and tips to help the students become better writers. Also the if then book for reading helps direct your teaching to meet the needs of your class.
2. I liked the suggestions for collaboration and how to spilt up the work to plan each lesson. There is a lot of information in each section and to be successful and time efficient we will need fixing collaborate as a team. I especially liked the idea of a jigsaw orientation.
3. There is a lot of built in structures and strategies to encourage stamina. Also stamina may not be just independent reading but partnerships and other different classroom structures as well.

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I plan dig in to all the various resources so that we are rising them all. There are a lot of things available to help our students and I want to really get to know them.

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Reading:
Students need teacher to read aloud to them. This is my favorite time in my classroom and a time where I see my students fall in love with reading.

Readers need long stretches of time to read and then time to talk about what they are reading.

Writing:
For some children writing and drawing are motor activities but do not have a meaning to their drawings.

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1. Keep the mini lesson mini! It is easy to get carried away and take away from the time students need to practice on their own.
2. Partnerships are essential to student learning. Not only do they get to practice but they scaffold each others learning.
3. Take time to read everything. I appreciate that Lucy acknowledged the extra time and work teachers need to put in to be fully prepared but I am excited to see the results it will bring.

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I will work to follow the lesson plans and timelines to consistently. I will also put a greater emphasis on helping my kids see the world as readers and use compliment conferences regularly.

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I was surprised that children who read below grade level need to spend 90% of their time reading books they can read with ease to promote accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. It was powerful to learn how much opportunities to talk in response to texts benefit readers and how that language needs to be explicitly taught.

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My three biggest takeaways from the video were the following:
1.  For reading, we need to instill in the students that this will be their "best year ever".  We instill this belief by providing the students time to read, share with partners, as well as confer with the teachers.  I believe we can also use this same strategy when teaching writing.  It will be their best year ever as a writer and they are going to "live the writer's life".
2.  The use of "If___then guides for extra units and lessons to add to our plans in both reading and writing.
3.  The importance of having the proper workshop structure in both reading and writing.  There needs to be a true mini-lesson.  The heart of the workshop in both reading and writing is time to read and write.  I also liked the vocabulary used in writing for the first part of the writing process;  "rehearsal".

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I will work to keep my mini-lessons mini and focus on my conferring. With the students we will identify areas of strength, as well as areas of growth, and then check back and see how they have grown. If they have not grown, we will take a look and try again.

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There was a lot of information to take in from the orientation videos. One thing I noticed was how she emphasized pacing and the use of time. She was pretty adamant that mini lessons should be 10 minutes and not much more. She also said that units should not be stretched. She believes that working quickly will help the kids stay engaged and focused on what they are learning or creating. I also agree with her that kids learn the most when they are doing, not when you are teaching, so I love that she wants us to make as much time as possible for the kids to actually read and write. I also really loved how she talked about conferring and compared it to conferring with your principle, and to use the things that lifted you up and discard the things that didn't help you, or made you feel worse. I like how she makes it personal. I'm looking forward to trying to lift kids up when conferring about their writing. I did notice that she mentioned a few times, in both videos, that these units are challenging and that it won't be easy. I've noticed this just from dipping my toe in last year. But, you can tell that she truly believes that the kids will improve dramatically if you stick with it. I'm looking forward to seeing the growth in my kids this year.

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I will number one have to work on keeping my mini lessons shorter and my pacing tight, I don't really do fast, so this will be an area for me to work on. I'm also going to assign carpet spots and partners like she suggested. I will work on my conference skills and how to word suggestions.

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Learners need enormous amounts of time for reading. I truly believe this! But I also believe that we do not do a good job of providing that time, due to other demands, nor do we do enough to emphasize this with parents. I don't think parents understand how often their children should be reading. I think we should talk about reading in every assembly and during announcements, and during lunch and basically all the time!

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1. Jigsaw planning is imperative so that teachers can see the learning progression, or "the big picture." Having taught the Lucy writing curriculum years ago, I remember the first year being rough, but once I had gotten through it and saw "the big picture" at the end, everything made so much more sense. Once teachers know/understand the big picture/learning progression in the units, it helps kids to synthesize their learning as well.
2. Some students may not have had previous experience with reader's/writer's workshop, so I appreciated her acknowledging the need to be flexible and utilizing the "If, Then" book.
3.  Reader's learn to read by reading. By teaching students to keep clear, honest data on the volume of their reading, we can analyze trends that will give insight into patterns of behavior, reading difficulty, etc Coupled with running records and performance assessments, we can help students to make smart, intentional goals about their reading lives to help foster growth.

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At the beginning of the year, it will be imperative to launch reader's workshop with clear expectations that I will model several times (ex. reading logs)
I will use the Performance Assessments for pre-post assessments at the beginning of each unit to monitor/track growth.

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My three biggest takeaways from the reading video were:
1. The idea is to teach the units in order; however, if you feel as if your students can benefit from some of the lessons from the If...Then curriculum, these lessons can be incorporated between the units or how you see fit to serve the needs of your students. Having taught Lucy in the past, as a team, we never taught it straight through. We would bounce from resource to resource based on how we felt it should be taught to students. I am very interested to see the flow and the connection for students teaching it in order. I love the idea of the If...Then curriculum being used in between the units. The lessons look amazing and seem to be a quick resource to help those students who may need additional help.
2. We need to teach students how to read with intensity. They should be encouraged to not just fly through books, but grow ideas through their reading. Get them pumped up to be champion readers.
3. Swap Book Partnerships...LOVE this idea! I think it would be neat to have partners read books by the same authors and then switch the books. There are a lot of reading skills that can be discussed, such as the tone the author uses and how it may be different or the same amongst books, as well as the characters and their actions, etc.
In the writing video, three of my biggest takeaways were:
1. Narrative writing turns into ancedotes that you would use in essays later in life...this is why it is taught first in the unit. As a team, we need to decide if we want to start with this unit right away. If we don't think our kiddos are ready and may need more practice in fiction writing, we can use the 3rd grade unit or go to the If...Then curriculum book.
2. If we are unsure of a writer's progression, we can go to the If..Then curriculum and it will provide you with on the spot teaching for those skills that you might not see in your students writing.
3.Once students have written a page, have them go back and revise instead of waiting until they're finished with the piece. This was a big aha for me because I've always thought that the piece needed to be completed before moving on to the next step in the process. However, having them revise once they finish a page keeps the momentum going and by the time they're to the end, they can publish and then proceed with a next piece.

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I'm super excited about bringing back some of the things I learned to my classroom right away. One way that I can do this is to be prepared. I'm going to need to make sure that I have read through the lessons and made them my own. They need to be authentic so that my students will believe and receive them. Also, by my reading beforehand, I can make sure that my mini lesson is just that...mini. In regards to reading, when sharing with my students, I'm going to make sure that there is conviction in my voice. Again, it needs to be believable and delivered to the students in such a way that keeps them engaged and encouraged them to do the same when they're off reading on their own. Finally, I am going to try putting books out within table groups. Lucy suggested sitting students according to their levels; however, I don't feel this would be a great practice for my students. So, I will have them move to different tables according to the sets of books I provide and have them select from there. This approach may encourage students to try different book titles that they may not have given a chance.

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The essentials that I found to be the most important in writing for 4th grade is that students invest in themselves when they choose topics that are important to them. I know that a lot of times, we as teachers provide topics for specific reasons. Allowing the students to make the choice will encourage them to write. Another essential that I found powerful was providing frequent feedback. Conferring is very important. It provides you with an opportunity to guide your student in the right direction if they are off track. Your feedback helps them to become confident in their writing.
The 4th grade reading essentials that I found to be the most powerful is that learners need teachers to read aloud. This is very important so that students can hear how reading is suppose to sound. It teaches them how to use punctuation when reading, as well as to read with conviction. Another essential that I found to be powerful is that learners need opportunities to talk and sometimes write in response to their reading. This allows for them to check for understanding and to share their thoughts while reading.