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43 Things We Need to Stop Doing In Schools...

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43 Things We Need to Stop Doing In Schools...

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For real! Take a look at these! How many do you agree with?

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This month I turned 43... that's right I have officially moved into my mid-40s and am a prime candidate for a mid-life crisis (I have been an educator for 20 years and I have learned more in the last few months when I embarked on a new professional journey as an Ass't Sup - the learning literally happens minute by minute - it is pretty awesome! In the past I have written posts to coincide with my birthday milestones (2) Giving HW (3) Giving grades... what is the point? Grades seem to bring the learning journey to an end, which goes against what most schools communicate when stating in their vision that they want to nurture life long learners! Life long learners need feedback, direction and space to fail as they evolve. My friend 6) Taking away recess as a punishment when kids do something wrong (7) Using public behavior charts (9) Mistaking technology for innovation; my friend 11) Keeping all the awesome things happening in our schools to ourselves - the four walls should not be barriers; instead, they should be transformed into glass and we should proudly share all the awesome things happening in our schools! My friend 17) Confusing PROJECTS with Project Based Learning! Projects are about a product (20) Just involving our families in school during special events (21) Making professional development for teachers an afterthought - our teachers need to have the opportunity to learn throughout the school year! And the PD does not have to be a workshop or conference; the PD can be led by the principal, by teachers and even by kids! And, our teachers should have the choice to log PD hours by doing things like reading (22) Making professional development for building leaders (23) Ignoring the fact that school leaders have the greatest singular influence on the culture of a school. 32) Putting pressure on kids to perform on high stakes testing (33) Focusing on the "cool" or "trendy" stuff (34) Going towards a total self-directed PD model for teachers. While I do believe choice for teachers in what they learn about and how (35) Trying to force educators to get on Twitter (38) While I love trends like Genius Hour, Makerspaces and PBL (40) Making all teachers write in plan books (42) Having meetings just for the sake of having meetings! Come on people... if it can be put in an email or newsletter, then put it there and use the meeting for some professional or personal development! My friends does wearing funky socks & drinking Mountain Dew on the regular count?). Although getting older comes with some drawbacks ( starting to sound like your parents, lamenting for the days of yore and feeling aches & pains on a daily basis when getting out of bed), the last few years have also been pretty awesome for me on a personal and professional level. Being in my 40s has been quite empowering and has given me the confidence to be true to who I am, be proud of what I believe in and make decisions based on my experiences ( here and here) and I have decided that although I missed last year ( not sure why), I felt strongly about sharing 43 things we need to stop doing in schools today. not just strong opinions). I have learned a lot about happiness ( it comes from within), a lot about priorities ( both personal & professional), a lot about balance in life ( still not great at it but better than ever before) and a lot about the world of education, especially the current landscape of education, which continues to be an interesting one, especially as it intersects with the political landscape.

Is this list perfect? No. Will everyone agree with it? Probably not. Do I have research to back everything on the list? No. Am I right? I don't know but it is based on my experiences in the classroom, as a building leader, and now as a district leader so here is my list of 43 that we need to stop doing in education right now... at least in elementary school and possibly in middle school). There is NO research that I have seen that speaks to a positive correlation between HW and academic achievement;
Starr has enlightened me on this one!
We need to stop...
1) Making schools more about adults than kids - we can't primarily make decisions about what is easiest or more comfortable for the adults because we need to make decisions that are best for kids;

unless they do something serious at recess) because our kids ( like us) need a break to run around, have fun and socialize! red light, yellow light, green light, etc.) because all they do is humiliate kids and they generally don't change the behaviors of the kids who are struggling. My friend Pernille has really pushed my thinking on this point!
4) Blaming teachers for all that is wrong in our schools - the issues are much more systemic and pervasive and are rooted in a history that is plagued by racism, inefficiencies and misguided mandates;
5) Making classroom management about compliance and obedience. Instead we should make it about engagement and choice; George has taught me that innovation is rooted in strong relationships that allow for creative ways ( that may fail) to solve our current problems!

Amy (and her awesome teachers) did an amazing job at telling the school story!
8) Confusing innovative or progressive environments with ones that have a lot of technology!

10) Blaming parents/families for our children who might struggle in school; it is partnership - not a blame game!

12) Giving tests with fill in the blank or multiple choice answers; these might be easier to grade but they don't build our children's ability to think critically!
13) Killing the love of reading by making it about reading logs, assignments or jotting every 2 seconds;
14) Keeping technology out of the classroom because we, as the adults, are uncomfortable with it... that ship has sailed!
15) Confusing technology with engagement; yes, screens do engage our children immediately but that is "level 1 engagement" - we want to push them to be engaged at a higher level where they are collaborating, communicating, creating and thinking critically. I think engagement is about thinking not just sitting quietly and working!
16) Using mindless worksheets - you know the ones with word banks at the top or dozens of multiple choice questions. We don't want our kids to be masters of worksheets because that is not how they are going to change the world!
that often looks the same for every learner) while PBL is about inquiry and process... often driven by the student after being framed by the teacher. My friends Ross and Erin have taught me a lot about this!
18) While we are on the topic of PROJECTS, we must stop sending projects home for families to complete. Our parents don't need to be doing book reports or tri-fold boards that look professionally done! If the project is that important, do it in school to level the playing field and make the learning collaborative.
19) Demanding that our kids work quietly throughout the school day; messy, noisy and collaborative classrooms are often more successful than the quiet ones.
like the bake sale) and instead we should engage them in the learning.
or writing) blog posts, participating in Twitter chats and watching webinars.
this one goes to you superintendents) almost nonexistent because we don't want them leaving the building - that is not ok! We need to support our leaders in their learning - they should be encouraged to go to conferences, EdCamps, take courses, watch webinars, etc. because if they stay current, the chances increase that our schools will continue to iterate and get better!
Todd Whitaker taught me that if the principal sneezes, the whole school catches a cold and after 10 years as a principal, I can wholeheartedly say that is TRUE!
24) Removing "soft data" from our data walls, data meetings or whatever you call them in your school! We cannot just look at test scores as THE data point; instead we should consider observations, conference notes and relationships because they all influence how our kids perform!
25) Hiding our smile from kids till December - that is just silly! We need to smile for kids from DAY ONE! Smiling teachers and kids lead to happy teachers and kids and that leads to positive relationships and those are the key to active learning!
26) Ignoring the fact that relationships influence everything that happens in a school. Our schools need to be built on positive and healthy relationships rooted in trust and respect!
27) Ignoring the reality that culture is about a lot more than spirit days and parties; culture is about trust, respect and a common vision!
28) Forgetting how important our school secretaries are in the sustainability of culture; these people are the faces of our schools so they need to be AWESOME and they should be recognized for their awesomeness!
29) Forgetting how important our school custodians are in the daily running of our buildings; these hard workers make sure our schools are healthy and safe for our kids and teachers!
30) Ignoring the reality that, in general, our schools haven't evolved much since the one room schoolhouse yet we, as humans and thinkers, have evolved tremendously. It is time for our schools to start moving forward!
31) Focusing, solely, on "forward thinking" or "progressive methods" because then we are working towards something that doesn't exist - something abstract. Instead, let's focus on building the capacity of our educators so that the current instructional methods being used are sound, robust and best for kids!

36) Making school more about teaching - school should be about learning first! Learning for kids, families and educators should always be at the core of our work!
or any testing for that matter). If we support our kids and differentiate instruction ( and assessment) to meet their needs, they will perform and show us what they know! 37) Punishing educators through ridiculous federal or state mandates that have nothing to do with kids; instead, these mandates reduce educators to a number and that is not what will improve education in this country! iPads, Chromebooks, etc.) in isolation; instead we must focus on the people... the stuff is only as good as the people using it!
passion projects, PLCs, etc.) is incredibly important, there also need to be some district-wide goals and focal points that we are all working on. That is how we move an entire community forward as opposed to just perpetuating pockets of awesome within our schools.
39) Using sarcasm in the classroom - especially with our elementary and middle school kids; even if it is funny most of the times, the one time it is embarrassing to a child is enough of a reason to stop! or some other SM platform) because the truth is, it does not work for everyone. That being said, we do need to expose people to the power of collaboration ( possibly through communities of practice or PLCs) so educators can break out of their silos!

41) Ignoring the reality that common planning time is critical to the success and sustainability of a school community - our teachers and leaders need time together to share ideas, resources and materials!

we did a lot of this awesome learning at Cantiague) those go much deeper than just blocking out time in a schedule to make them happen. If we want things like Genius Hour or PBL to be sustainable, we must change the way we teach - these can't just be special events that happen once a week ( that is a fine starting point though); instead, they should help us change our daily approaches so learning is filled with more student centered and student driven inquiry opportunities! 43) Finally, we need to stop making decisions that feel good or are easier for the adults within the learning community and instead make all decisions in the best interest of children. While this approach may not always be easy, it will always be right.

you know, the ones with all those little boxes). We need to let our teachers plan however it makes sense for them and their kids! Jennifer, Peter and Mark taught about re-imagining meetings.

Clearly the list could go on and on but in the end, I think these 43 points are critical to the success of any learning organization and are in the best interest of children. Do you agree? Which one stands out most? Why? What do you think should be the next thing on this list?
Please leave a comment below!

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43 Things We Need To Stop Doing In Schools

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This month I turned 43... that's right I have officially moved into my mid-40s and am a prime candidate for a mid-life crisis (I have been an educator for 20 years and I have learned more in the last few months when I embarked on a new professional journey as an Ass't Sup - the learning literally happens minute by minute - it is pretty awesome!

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What are your thoughts on flexible seating? My students have always taken a liking to it and I have found it to be more effective in student centered learning.

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Our classroom, room 235D, is an open door classroom. Anyone is allowed in to see us learn together at any time. Our classroom is nothing fancy. We have tables covered in whiteboard paper, that has seen better days. We have chairs. We have yoga balls. We have ratty old beanbags that are definitely on their last leg. A few pillows of varying sizes. And we have books, many, many books.

That's what you might see, but if you stayed awhile, you may notice something else; freedom. Shared control. Freedom to sit where we would like. Freedom to choose who we work with. Freedom to move the furniture around. A sense of shared control over our shared space so that we all can feel comfortable together. It is nothing much but is ours and you would think that the students would realize just how unfancy it is. And yet, every year when I ask my students how I could change our classroom, the answers are similar, "It's fine, Mrs. Ripp. Perhaps a few more pillows. We like it the way it is..."

While I have a milelong wish list of furniture I wish we could get, I find comfort in their answer. The room is working for us, as well as it can. The control that they have over what the room looks like is working for them. The flexible seating that has been a part of our learning for years, works for us.

And I see it spread across the globe; the push for more innovative seating. For yoga balls and wiggle chairs, pillows, and getting rid of desks. On Pinterest I drool over classrooms I will never be able to recreate, and yet, I wonder; how often does the furniture actually match the teaching? How often does the furniture match the educational philosophy that needs to be in place for this to truly be flexible?

Because the reality is that while many districts are gladly spending money on new furniture in order to promote innovation, the educational philosophy in many of those same districts is not changing. The students are still sitting through a scripted curriculum, where teachers have limited choice in how to teach and the students are expected to learn through the same process.

This is the problem in education; we so gladly throw money at new educational initiatives that look great, but then do little to think about our thinking. And yet, our educational philosophy is what really determines the experience that everyone has within our schools, not the fancy new chairs. Buying new furniture is easy, changing the way we educate is not, and then we wonder why the furniture ends up being used in the exact same way as the furniture was before.
So I wonder; what good is flexible seating if we don't also have flexible thinking?
One of the central questions of our year together is for my students to explore how they learn best. This includes the room manipulation and where in the classroom they need to be to access the learning. They cannot do this if I am constantly telling them where to sit, how to sit, and also with whom to sit by. There has to be room for experimentation, bad decisions, and reflection on what works best for them.

So before we invest more of our already limited funds into newfangled furniture, let's look at what flexible seating should really encompass, here are a few questions to help.
Can the kids move the furniture?
Flexible seating should be flexible both in function but also in where it is used. If students need to explore how they learn best then deciding where to sit is just as important, if not more so, than what to sit on. Do they need to move tables into a corner so they can think or will being in the middle of the classroom work better for them? Will they learn best sitting on the floor in the front or pacing in the back? Where in the classroom can they access the learning best?
Do they always need permission?
When permission is tied into flexible seating, we often tend to say "no" to the same kids; the kids who may have made poor decisions in the past. And while there certainly can be different guidelines at times for some kids, they need to, at some point, go back to having the same blanket permission as everyone else. Schools are meant to be safe places for kids to experiment with learning, to try new things, to learn about who they are and what they need. If we constantly limit that for some kids, think of what will happen to their self-advocacy and also their sense of belonging.
Is it choice for all or just for some?
Are kids earning their way into the flexible seating or is it an automatic yes to all? While there are times I have doubt about some of the choices my students are making, I will tell them to prove it to me. If they do, then great, if they don't, then we discuss further. We have to be careful that flexible seating choices do not become one more way to segregate the kids. After all, it is often some of my most challenging learners that benefit the most from having a different way to work in the classroom, but we won't know that if they don't get a chance to choose.
Does it encourage new ways of working?
I have seen beautiful classrooms with lots of flexible seating where students work through traditional lessons; teacher-centered, and one process for all. Where is the innovation in that? One of the things I love the most is how my students move around the classroom and try new configurations when needed. Not at all times by any means, but when they need to. They know they have the tools at hand to move their group onto the floor or a table in the team area. They know they can make the furniture support their learning rather than work around its limitation. They know to use each other as writing peers, reading partners, or project collaborators because they know that with their choices in seating also comes the choice in who to work with most of the time. They think about how to work, rather than always look to me to make all of the decisions, thus growing their independence and once again their knowledge of how they learn best.
Is there choice throughout?
Flexible seating should truly just be the outward indicator of the choice-driven learning that should be happening. We operate under the five tenets of choice at all times, meaning that I try to give my students as much control and power over how they learn, what they learn, who they learn it with, and how they are assessed. This is what matters most to me. Not the yoga balls, not the pillows, not how they can move things around, but that the students feel like they have a shared power and responsibility for what happens in our classroom. It is a work in progress every single year, yet, at the end of the year, I am always amazed at how far we have come.

So as a new year begins, it is time for us to really reflect on the educational innovation we are pursuing. If we are looking at adding more flexible seating to our schools, are we also having the educational discussions that need to go with it? Are we asking ourselves how this will change the way we teach? The way our students learn? Are we asking ourselves how this will be better? Or is it just an outward show of supposed innovation that does not really change the educational experience our students have?

The choice is ours; it is not enough to have great new furniture if we don't also have new ideas.

PS: If you are wondering what the research says, here are a few great articles to get you started. One that discusses the need for our classrooms to match the type of learning experiences we would like to have, so once more focusing on intentionality within our environment. And another that is a conglomeration of research that discusses the need for students to feel empowered within our classrooms. And here is another that while lengthy discusses how the way we have students sit can help them learn deeper depending on the activity they are engaged in.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers - The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

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Our classroom, room 235D, is an open door classroom. Anyone is allowed in to see us learn together at any time. Our classroom is nothing fancy. We have tables covered in whiteboard paper, that has seen better days. We have chairs. We have yoga balls. We have ratty old beanbags that are definitely on their...

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Lindsay Barna writes about the difference between skills and strategies. It is often complicated to remember the difference. Take a look at how she explains and define them.

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Throughout my teaching career, there was something that I always had trouble wrapping my head around: the difference between a skill and strategy . Like many educational terms, the definition depends on who you ask, so it was always a bit murky to me.

During my time working on various curriculum writing committees, I started running with my own definition of the terms...

To me,

a skill is "content" necessary for reading understanding

narrative elements

character traits

main idea and supporting details

text structures

text features

Nonfiction (index, heading, caption, etc)

Fiction (stanza, line, stage direction, cast of characters, etc)

Etc.

A reader would have to know that all of these exist and they would have to be able to name them out in any given text.

a strategy is, well, a reading strategy. Based off the work of Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann in their groundbreaking Mosaic of Thought, as well as Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis' Strategies that Work.

monitor comprehension

make connections

visualize

determine importance

Etc.

And so, I, Lindsay Pish, classroom teacher also threw my definition out there- adding to the myriad of voices.

However, in my work as a literacy coach I've come across some other definitions that have gotten me thinking about how my working definition might fit into the mix. Here are three others that I recently came across:

1. When I took this position as a literacy coach, I gained the responsibility of working with middle school teachers. Middle school literacy was a new territory for me so I did a lot of professional reading on the subject, including Teaching Reading in Middle School by Laura Robb.

Robb describes strategies as the internal reading processes used to make sense out of print, while skills are isolated and out of context drills. "Strategic reading means that when the learner practices a strategy, he has a conscious, in-the-head plan for comprehending, whereas skills are used without conscious planning." For example, students are told to practice a skill on a worksheet, but decide to use a strategy during their independent reading. Skills are basic practice and can only be elevated to the level of strategy by linking practice to the student's personal reading life. "As students use strategies, they become more and more aware of their reasoning process as they make sense out of print, skills seldom involve this kind of self-awareness."

This could somewhat fit with my definition of each. The skills are the isolated parts of reading content, identifying narrative elements or text features, that are used to complete the more complicated strategies, inferring or synthesizing. So you would have to have knowledge of the skill to consciously use a strategy.

2. While doing research for a new strategy-based resource curriculum that I am writing, a fantastic teacher let me borrow the book, Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities by Robert Reid, Torri Ortiz Lienemann, and Jessica L. Hagaman.

In their book, the authors define a strategy as being facilitative, essential, willful, and effortful. Meaning that strategies facilitate performance or help do a task better-easier, more quickly. They liken a strategy to a tool. Tools help us do a task "to a higher standard with much less effort" and strategies do the same. Strategies are essential in that they are are necessary for success. The highest achieving students use strategies. In turn, these students make a conscious effort to use a strategy and commit to its use.

The authors go on to say that a strategy is a "cognitive process that occurs inside our head" and often one strategy is used in combination with another. The point of strategy use in the classroom, according to this text, is to help structure the effort put into a task and to act as reminder for what the next step in the process is. The conclusive definition of a strategy in this book then becomes, "a series of ordered steps that help a student perform a task."

While I agree that strategies are facilitative, essential, willful, and effortful-a process that happens entirely in our head,I am not sure that I agree with strategies acting only as a series of ordered steps, likened to the the use of a mnemonic device to remember the steps in a math computation ("Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally"- parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction). I would feel uneasy boiling down something as complicated as synthesizing two texts, into such a simplified process because I want to make sure that deeper understanding is present.

3. Finally, as a blogger I make sure that I keep up with other literacy-based blogs. Recently blogger Annemarie, on Teacher2TeacherHelp did a series of posts on teaching strategically.

Annemarie would agree with the definition put forth by the authors of Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities. She describes strategies as a mean to proficiently perform a skill. Using Jennifer Serravello's definition (from Teaching Reading Skills in Small Groups: Differentiated Instruction for Building Strategic, Independent Readers) that "strategies are the step-by-step how-tos for internalizing skills," Annemarie explains that strategies are scaffolds put in place to help with the development of skills, and left in place only long enough for the student to become independent with the skill.

When a student has trouble with a skill, Annemarie describes how she asks herself, "How can I break this down?" and then works to find ways the skill can be broken down into manageable steps. She reminds teachers to focus on their process for doing things, by listing across their fingers, "First, I...Then...Next, I..." to make internal processes more apparent.

Again, it boils down to the use of a step-by-step process. However, I feel a bit more comfortable with Annemarie's explanation, since I can see how it would work with say, determining the main idea. The student has trouble with this skill and I can break that task down into steps:

1. First, ask yourself what this passage is all about.

2. Then, decide what the author is trying to tell you about that topic.

3. Next, ask yourself if this is something that the entire passage focuses on, or just a small part.

4. Finally, ask yourself what details you can find to support that idea.

The thinking behind the skill is being broken down, rather than the rote use of something like a mnemonic device. And through my work with Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, I know that this definition would be their philosophy as well. Their teaching points follow the form of, "Today I am going to teach you how to (a skill) by using ( a strategy)." And that makes sense to me.

I also understand that skills can be leveled into a heirarchy, like Bloom's Taxonomy or Webb's Depth of Knowledge. Identifying text features is a low level skill, where as using text features to determine the main idea is a higher leveled skill.

So, where do I go from here? Now that I've completely muddled my own thinking...

I think I need to adjust my idea of what a skill is. What I previously thought of as a skill, may be more of a topic or umbrella term, rather than an actual skill that students must aquire. For example, one can not "narrative element", but one can identify narrative elements or summarize using narrative elements. Those are skills that could be supplemented with strategies in order for students to be successful at them.

This idea does not exactly tie in the comprehension strategies set forth in Mosaic of Thought or Strategies that Work, but maybe that's okay. I can accept the two different "types" and move forward. Maybe like so many of our students, these terms do not have to fit into perfectly labeled categories.

What have you thought about on this topic? I would love to hear your ideas or musings.

Let's keep the conversation going-

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Throughout my teaching career, there was something that I always had trouble wrapping my head around: the difference between a skill and strategy. Like many educational terms, the definition depends on who you ask, so it was always a bit murky to me. During my time working on various curriculum writing committees, I started running with my...

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This is an interesting article that talks about the difference between our students being alliterate vs. illiterate. What are your thoughts?

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A main focus of this blog will be the importance of engaging students in reading (and writing for that matter). Blame the "self-proclaimed literacy geek" title, but I think fostering a culture of readers is an extremely important component of a literacy program.

In my classroom days, I promised parents at Back-to-School Night that I would make each and every one of their children a reader. I'll admit- I was given many skeptical looks. But I did not waiver. Literacy is just too important.

Classroom teachers in upper elementary and middle school are facing a difficult challenge- a world where reading a book might not seem like the most interesting thing to do for a student who is bombarded with tweets, text messages, Instagram posts, Facebook updates, and online gaming challenges. The decline in time spent reading can be seen in data from the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report (2015).

Percentage of Children (Ages 6-17) Who Read Books for Fun 5-7 Days a Week

Percentage of Children (Ages 6-17) Who Do Activities 5-7 Days A Week

These technological distractions do not even factor in the vast amount of sports and after-school activities students are involved in. Couple student disinterest with the pressure classroom teachers feel to "cover" material before the administration of high-stakes tests, and it's easy to see why creating a culture that builds life-long readers has fallen to the wayside or been put on the back burner.

So, where we used to contend only with illiteracy for a select population of students, now teachers must contend with in a vast majority of students. The National Endowment of the Arts even warned us of a world where the amount of aliterate individuals would surpass the amount of illiterate individuals in the report To Read or Not to Read, which was published in 2007.

To understand the term, aliteracy, I would like to use Steven L. Layne's explanation of a complete reader from his book Igniting a Passion for Reading (©2009 Scholastic), where he explains his idea using a circle visual.

The left side of the circle is comprised of the skills necessary to be literate. The inclusion of the right side allows affective or will-driven components to be factored into one's literacy as well.

In Layne's description, a complete reader is one who has the skill and the will. One who can and wants to read.

So, in accordance with this:

An illiterate student would be one who does not have the skill to read.

An aliterate student has the skill to read, but does not have the will/want to read.

Classroom teachers are confident in the imparting of skills to students in order to promote literacy. We've been doing this all along. The left side of Layne's circle is an important aspect of the literacy process; as without skills, one physically cannot read.

But when do we address the will??? How do we bolster students' intrinsic motivation to read and create life-long readers out of all who pass through our doors? These are the questions we need to continue to attend to- questions that I will try to provide some answers to as we take this journey together...

Let's keep the conversation going-

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A main focus of this blog will be the importance of engaging students in reading (and writing for that matter). Blame the "self-proclaimed literacy geek" title, but I think fostering a culture of readers is an extremely important component of a literacy program.

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Allowing your students to be connected to their reading keeps them more engaged! No more FAKE reading!

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The second time I spotted a cell phone tucked inside a copy of the class novel within one week, I knew I was not exactly witnessing a rare unicorn. Fake reading, even blatant Instagram swiping instead of Dickens analyzing, was no singular oddity. It was more like an invasive species. Working with middle and high school English teachers across the country and hearing so many bemoan this crisis, then seeing it over and over again myself, I pictured fake reading like rapidly spreading bacteria, damaging the health of students everywhere.

What can be done to stop the crisis of fake reading? And how do we honor the needs and desires of both teachers and students in the process?

The class novel is not working, and yet it doesn't make sense to throw it out the window, either. English teachers want their students to know and understand classic literature. They aren't comfortable abandoning their margin-filled, dog-eared copies of the class novel, even if many students aren't reading them. Students deserve access to these books. English class is one of the last chances to expose them to rich literature. I understand it when teachers say knowing the classics is cultural capital, and that their students have a right to that knowledge.

But students aren't gravitating toward or enjoying the class novels. They want to read books they're interested in, with characters and problems they care about. They want books they can feel good at reading, too, not texts that confuse or intimidate them. Dickens, Hawthorne, and Chaucer are unlikely to lure in the non-reader. Not to mention, college will demand that students can read at high volumes. One book a marking period, even if students were reading them, isn't enough to build the reading stamina they'll need to succeed.

The answer is taking the best of class novels and choice reading.

Keep the rich literature. Just don't expect students to read it cover to cover, which they weren't doing anyway. Use excerpts to model the work of strong readers, thereby exposing students to the books teachers love and exposing how to navigate complex texts.

Then bring in choice reading. Let students try those same moves of skilled readers in books they want to read. Choice reading has the amazing ability to turn non-readers into readers. From schools where most students read well below grade level, to competitive schools of high-achievers, choice reading produces authentic readers.

I read much more because I am able to pick books I understand and connect to. Being able to choose has made me look forward to reading whereas before I dreaded it. Jolie Sheerin, high school student

When I do enjoy the book, I can finish it in a matter of days. And sometimes I'll read it over and over again, just to be able to relive my favorite moments in the book. Adideb Nag, high school student

I discovered that I'm actually an avid reader. I just need to have a novel that I like to read. Suchita Kanala, high school student

I read more now that I choose an independent book. Now, I am more interested in the story. Before I would never be excited to pick up the class book because I wasn't intrigued. Miranda Maley, high school student

The final and most important benefit of blending the class novel with choice reading is that students transfer reading skills to books they chose. After seeing the teacher model a reading skill in the class novel, such as determining theme or analyzing author's craft, students apply that same skill to their own book. This transfer of skills-according to Hattie, Fisher, and Frey-is one of the highest levels of learning. Teachers don't need a pop quiz or turnitin.com to figure out whether students are really reading or whether students can do the work of complex readers. The proof is right there, when students transfer skills and show the work in books they want to read.

We can all agree on this: we want students to put down the phone, to stop SparkNoting, and to start to read. We want them to appreciate literature and be able to do the work of skilled readers. But most of all, we want them to be readers. So keep that copy of Great Expectations, Things Fall Apart, The Outsiders, Their Eyes Were Watching God, or Night. Open up the door to choice reading. And hopefully, put an end to the invasive species of fake reading.

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author: Delores Lindsey and Jaqueline Thousand

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Choice Reading and the Class Novel: The Cure for Fake Reading - Corwin Connect

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The second time I spotted a cell phone tucked inside a copy of the class novel within one week, I knew I was not exactly witnessing a rare unicorn. Fake reading, even blatant Instagram swiping instead of Dickens analyzing, was no singular oddity. It was ...

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Written by our very own Patty McGee

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In a recent trip to western Maine, my family sat mesmerized by the glorious visits of a group of hummingbirds to our home in the woods. Visit after visit, each little jewel-colored shimmering bird, eating from the jar of nectar or hovering to look us in the face, captivated our minds. These tiny, miraculous creatures. Brian Doyle describes them: "...each the most amazing thing you have never seen, each thunderous wild heart the size of an infant's fingernail." The visits never lost their magic, but drew us all back to the deck from sunrise to sunset in hopes of again encountering these tiny winged gems. We found myriad ways to soak up their presence: simply stared at them, took slow motion videos, sketched hummingbird portraits, named them (Lucy and Bethel-the town we were in), kept track of the longest drinks of nectar, recapped stories of their quick visits, researched and discovered their resilience and power (they can fly for 500 miles without rest). And, for me, as I inevitably do in these powerful life moments, tried to learn from them in a way that would strengthen me as an educator.

I came to realize that these tiny creatures held the answer to a burning question many of us ask when giving feedback in writing: How do I give customized feedback for writers when I have so many students to nourish and so little time?

Teach like a hummingbird

A few ways:

1. Fly like a hummingbird: Because of their wings, hummingbirds are able to manage multidirectional flight-they have the unusual ability to hover in one spot, fly backwards, side to side, straight up and down, and even upside-down (Audubon.org). Somehow, though, when you watch them closely, they are not rushing, simply visiting. Their visits differ in length and purpose. We as teachers can do this as well. Feedback for writers can be brief. We may visit with one writer for a five minute conference, walk the room to briefly visit others, share pointers, and then settle with another student for five minutes or so. Visit, explore, visit, explore-a lovely and generous dance of presence, thoughtfulness, and instruction.

2. Think visit by visit: Perhaps five minutes sounds like a very brief amount of time (and it is!). Yet, having quicker, more frequent conversations with writers is the key to ongoing, writer-centered feedback. So, essentially, as writing coaches we may need to switch from a mindset of "in this conference I am going to teach all this writer needs to know" to "in this conference I am going to teach this writer one strategy that s/he is most ready for." Trust that, visit by visit, conversation by conversation, you will teach the writer. In Bird by Bird, author Anne Lammott's father captures this best. If you have not had the pleasure of reading this collection of essays, I quote this part directly:

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report written on birds that he'd had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books about birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."

We, too, can think of feedback in this way: bird by bird, visit by visit, five minutes by five minutes. Imagine that feedback is strung together like pearls, adding each bead one at a time, letting feedback settle and sink into the writer's repertoire of strategies, and then later to return to add another bead. Think coaching writers toward success in a string of visits.

Hummingbirds are pollinators: Their favorite food is the sweet nectar from flowers and they bring the pollen from one flower to the next, on their wings and body and needle-like beak. We know that from pollination there are seeds and those seeds become the next flower. For us hummingbird educators, we can think of our conversations and feedback in this same process. I will often hold conferences that take this shape:

Model one strategy that the writer can try

Coach the writer to try it

Ask the writer to teach it to another writer (the seed is formed)

Support the writers in giving feedback to each other using this strategy in upcoming writing sessions (and the flower blooms)

We remember, as Joy Kirr shares in Shift This, that there is not one writing teacher in the room (the grown-up), all of us are writers who can give feedback that pollinates.

As we consider the hummingbird approach to feedback, here is one last fact to inspire you. When the first European explorers saw a hummingbird, they called them Joyas voladoras, flying jewels. A jewel is certainly what you are to your students and the world of education.

References:

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Brian Doyle, Joyas Voladoras
Audubon.org

Joy Kirr, Shift This

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author: Delores Lindsey and Jaqueline Thousand

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Teach Like a Hummingbird - Corwin Connect

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In a recent trip to western Maine, my family sat mesmerized by the glorious visits of a group of hummingbirds to our home in the woods. Visit after visit, each little jewel-colored shimmering bird, eating from the jar of nectar or hovering to look us ...

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This is a great article that explains the difference between independent and silent reading in our classrooms.

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During a past professional development workshop, the consultant informed us at one point to end independent reading in our classrooms. "It doesn't work." (discrete sideway glances at each other) "Really. Have students read with a partner or facilitate choral reading. Students reading by themselves does not increase reading achievement."

I think I know what the consultant was trying to convey: having students select books and then read silently without any guidance from the teacher is not an effective practice. Some students will utilize this time effectively, but in my experience as a classroom teacher and principal, it is the students that need our guidance the least that do well with silent reading. For students who have not developed a reading habit, or lack the skills to effectively engage in reading independently for an extended period of time, this may be a waste of time.

The problem with stating that students should not be reading independently in school is people confuse silent reading with independent reading (IR). I could see some principals globbing onto this misconception as fodder for restricting teachers from using IR and keep them following the canned program religiously. The fact is, these two practices are very different. In their excellent resource No More Independent Reading Without Support (Heinemann, 2013), Debbie Miller and Barbara Moss provide a helpful comparison:
Silent Reading

Lack of a clear focus - kids grab a book and read (pg. 2)

Teachers read silently along with the students (pg. 3)

No accountability regarding what students read (pg. 8)

Independent Reading (pg. 16)

Classroom time to read

Students choose what to read

Explicit instruction about what, why, and how readers read

Reading a large number of books and variety of texts through the year

Access to texts

Teacher monitoring, assessing, and support during IR

Students talk about what they read

You could really make the case that independent reading is not independent at all: it is silent reading with scaffolds, and independence is the goal. The rest of the book goes into all of the research that supports independent reading, along with ideas and examples for implementing it in classrooms. The authors also cite the Common Core Anchor Standard that addresses independent reading:

Maybe this information will be helpful, in case you ever have a principal or consultant question your practice. 🙂

Assessing Independent Reading

The challenge then is: how do I assess independent reading? Many teachers use a paper-based conferring notebook. If that works for them, that's great. My opinion is, this is an opportunity to leverage technology to effectively identify trends and patterns in students' independent reading habits and skills, which can inform future instruction. Next is a list of tools that I have observed teachers using for assessing independent reading.

This is an iPad application that allows the user to draw, type, and add images to a single document. The teacher can use a stylus (I recommend the Apple Pencil) to handwrite their notes. Each student can be assigned their own folder within Notability. In addition, a teacher can record audio and add it to a note, such as a student reading aloud a page from their book. This information can be backed up to Google Drive, Evernote, and other cloud storage options.

In my last school, one of the teachers swore by this tool. "If you don't pay for it," she stated one day, "I'll pay for it out of my own pocket." Enough said! Teachers who use the Daily 5 workshop approach would find CC Pensieve familiar. It uses the same tenets of reading and writing to document student conferences and set literacy goals. Students can also be grouped in the software based on specific strategies and needs.

Teachers can set up a digital form to capture any type of information. The information goes to a spreadsheet. This allows the teacher to sort columns in order to drive instruction regarding students' reading habits and skills. Also, the quantitative results are automatically graphed to look for classroom trends and patterns. We set up a Google Form in one grade level in our school:

I've written a lot about using Evernote as a teaching tool in the past. It is probably the tool I would use to document classroom formative assessment. Each note can house images, text, audio, and links, similar to Notability. These notes can be shared out as a URL with parents via email so they can see how their child is progressing as a reader. Check out this article I wrote for Middleweb on how a speech teacher used Evernote.

The previous digital tools for assessing independent reading are largely teacher-directed. The next three are more student-led. One of my favorite educational technologies is Kidblog. Classrooms can connect with other classrooms to comment on each other's posts. Teachers can have students post book reviews, book trailers, and creative multimedia projects from other applications.

Whereas Kidblog is pretty wide open in how it can be used, Biblionasium is a more focused tool. It can serve as an online book club for students. Students can make to-read lists, write reviews and rate books, and recommend titles to friends. Like Kidblog, Biblionaisum is a smart way to connect reading with writing in an authentic way.

This social media site is for book lovers. Although 13 is the minimum age to join, parents need to provide consent if a child is under 18. Besides rating and reviewing books, Goodreads allows readers to create book groups with discussion boards around specific topics - an option for teachers to promote discussion and digital citizenship. Students can also post their original creative writing on Goodreads by genre. Check out this post I wrote about how to get students started.

What is your current understanding of independent reading? What tools do you find effective in assessing students during this time? Please share in the comments.

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Silent Reading vs. Independent Reading: What's the Difference? (plus digital tools to assess IR)

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During a past professional development workshop, the consultant informed us at one point to end independent reading in our classrooms. "It doesn't work." (discrete sideway glances at each other) "Really. Have students read with a partner or facilitate choral reading. Students reading by themselves does not increase reading achievement."