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Connect with educators around the world!

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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EKC

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Kylene Beers and Bob Probst

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"Disrupting Thinking is one of the best books I've read about the power of books to disrupt complacency and promote change and the role teachers play in that disruption. Skillfully, these authors address the continuum of education K-12, making this book ideal for colleagues to read and share horizontally and vertically across grade levels."
-- Sarah Mulhern Gross, English teacher at High Technology High School, contributor to The NY Times Learning Network

"We're living in a world of social media and fake news have the potential to shape who we are and what we believe. Through the strategies presented in Disrupting Thinking, teachers see clearly how to help students become active participants in constructing meaning, as they respond, question, and challenge, so that in the end they become more responsible citizens in our world."

-- Mindy Hoffar, All Write Consortium Director

"Beers and Probst tackle one of teachers' greatest challenges: student apathy. They show us not only how to "teach struggling readers but how to teach readers to struggle." And then they go the next step and show us how to turn the apathetic reader into a lifetime reader. And for both, we are grateful."
-- Danny Brassel, Ph.D., consultant and author. Author of The Lazy Readers' Book Club

"We need students who can do more than answer questions. Tomorrow's leaders need to be able to ASK questions. This is an excellent book for all teachers whether they teach reading, language arts, or science or history. Whether they teach elementary, middle, high school or college, or at home - EVERYONE who is around children needs to read this book. It is short but powerful. I have spent over 30 years in education, and I have taught every level from pre-school through university, and this book brought me back to the WHY and HOW of teaching. It is short and easy to understand for non-teachers. As an educator it reminded me of the good things we do in teaching, but stated in their research that all of this has bee set aside to focus on numbers and passing tests - the bane of a real educator's life. Children start out loving books and reading, but by middle school that hate reading because educators are just having them study vocabulary, answer questions, and nothing more. Most schools have taken away quiet or silent sustained reading, when research shows that it works and is needed. At the same time, many schools still do round-robin reading when research shows that it does NOT work. What works: students must be given choice in what to read, we must increase the amount they read, they must be encouraged to read aloud to a partner or parent, we must teach questioning strategies and model that process, and we MUST let go of the silent classroom and encourage students to talk about their reading with other students. Many teachers believe a quiet classroom is one that is in control, but our students need to talk to each other about their reading and their work. Letting go is a critical skill for educators in this fluid and rapidly changing world. Reading builds the following: knowledge, improves overall achievement, increases overall motivation, increases vocabulary, improves writing, build background knowledge, improves understanding of text structures, develops empathy, and develops personal identity.

Please get this little book, read it, then apply the ideas to the children in your life or classroom. Please." --Texas Rose

Provided via Amazon Vine

"If you haven't read anything by the dynamic duo Bob Probst and Kylene Beers and you are a teacher, you must! Their collaborative writing is highly readable, self-deprecating, witty, and on point. But don't be sidetracked by the entertaining repartee: their ideas about teaching are powerful, disruptive, and do-able. Don't think the double entendre of the book's title isn't intentional. While they propose and illustrate tangible ways in which we can disrupt the thinking of our students while reading (or prompt students out of what we thought were nonthinking stupors--Beers and Probst are passionately clear that we're wrong on that count), the duo is intentionally disrupting modern groupthink about teaching. If you only read 3 professional books this summer, make them: 1) Disrupting Thinking, 2) Notice and Note, and 3) Reading Nonfiction (in that order). Yes, like Star Wars, the third book in the series is really where it all begins. Disrupting Thinking outlines the philosophical underpinnings of their Notice and Note strategies. Without an understanding and willingness to embrace the philosophy behind Notice and Note, the signposts will be little more than another set of isolated reading strategies. Trust me, I taught the Nonfiction Notice and Note strategies as isolated reading strategies the first time (I know, I know, the book is clear on not doing that, but my role was to teach demonstration lessons rather than a daily core class). Like any isolated strategy, it doesn't work; kids won't and/or can't transfer their learning. I thought my flaw was a lack of text complexity. I taught the strategies but then students never needed to use them because they understood the texts without them. After reading "Disrupting Thinking," I understood that the attitude toward reading has to be in place for the Notice and Note signposts to be useful. In other words, students have to CARE enough about the text to use the strategies to figure it out. Disrupting Thinking only has one real strategy, and it is deceptively simple and powerful to the core. They call it: BHH (Book * Head * Heart). It can be taught at any level as a mindset for reading: What does the book say? What am I thinking as I read? What's in my heart while I read? (my paraphase, not theirs) The revolutionary idea is that we have to approach reading as something that changes us. When we teach our students to anticipate that what they read will change them one page at a time, then everything about how they read and how we teach reading changes, too. Simple, right? But how many teachers are out there teaching reading as anticipating change? Yet how many teachers out there read to be changed themselves? TONS. So our job is to come at reading with our students the way we do and make it matter. Somehow this simple yet powerful idea resonated with me in a way that all the book love authors have not. It's more tangible and more realistic than sharing your love of reading. They've pinpointed WHY we love reading: because it changes us. Now just because you've read my sad little synopsis, don't assume you can pass up this book. To circle back, Beers and Probst are incredible authors; their book comes with video links that I haven't even delved into yet, and you need to hear it from the two of them for yourself. You'll learn much more along the way, such as their take on recent education and reading debates, authors they look to, sample conversations to help imagine using the strategy in class, lovely sample anchor charts, etc. Is this book going to give you 24 lesson plans like Notice and Note? No. Is this book going to make those 24 lesson plans work? Yes. Get it, read it, and give it to a colleague to read, too." --Julie

Provided via Amazon Vine

"This honestly reminds me of things like why children hate reading and schools killing the love of reading, both the subject and titles of articles and discussions in education. As an English teacher who hates to write, but loves to read, this helps me feel better about the process. I love diving into a new book and sharing it with my students. I honestly got started writing book reviews because my students would see me reading something and immediately ask to read it next. It got to the point where I couldn't remember who was next and what that particular book was about because I had moved on to something new. Writing little book reviews on my classroom webpage and having a wait list made it easier for me to keep track. Knowing that we read for pleasure far more often than we read for any particular literary device or testing strategy is far more important for building lifelong literacy. I love that Beers addresses this and focuses on talking about the relationship of book and reader to engage in comprehension. Trying to figure out motivations and connections to the literature helps me connect and I have always wanted to share that with my students. I love that there are books out there that make me feel validated and can easily be shown to other parents or teachers to stress this importance." --Jennifer Miller

Provided via Amazon Vine

"I only wish that this book would be as popular in schools as Beers previous book was. Unfortunately, the education industry does not put priority on personal meaning in learning, so I think that this is a book that will have to be pushed out by individual teachers and leaders in schools, as well as involved parents. Within the first couple of chapters, Beers sets out why reading even matters- beyond the basic ability to find answers in text. After all, the best readers are usually ones that were read to as children, who saw their own parents or other family members reading for pleasure, and who read for pleasure themselves. And why do they read for pleasure? Because reading has meaning beyond their test scores. Going further, Beers also reminds us that contemporary careers and careers of the future do not want employees that can just repeat back information; they want employees that can make meaning out of what they read, make connections, and create their own ideas from what they have read.

This is an enjoyable read for teachers, school leaders, and parents alike. I especially like it as motivational summer reading for teachers that are getting ready to return to school." --Mom to 2 Boys

Provided via Amazon Vine

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Kylene Beers is an award-winning educator and is the author of When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do, Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading, Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice, and Elements of Literature, the literature textbook read by the majority of middle school and high school students across the US. She began her teaching career in 1979 in the Alief School District, outside of Houston. Texas. Since then, she has become an internationally-known and respected authority in literacy education. Beers works tirelessly to help parents, teachers, and national policy makers understand how to best help struggling readers. In 2008-2009, she served as President of the National Council of Teachers of English and in 2011 she received an NCTE Leadership Award. She has served as a consultant to the National Governor's Association Education Committee, was the editor of the national literacy journal Voices from the Middle, taught in the College of Education at the University of Houston, held a reading research position in the Comer School Development Program at Yale University School of Medicine, and has most recently served as the Senior Reading Advisor to the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Robert Probst, Ed.D., is an author and consultant to schools nationally and internationally. He speaks to administrators and teachers on literacy improvement, particularly issues surrounding struggling readers and meeting standards. Bob is Professor Emeritus of English Education at Georgia State University and has served as a research fellow for Florida International University. He has served as a member on the Conference on English Board of Directors, an NCTE journal columnist, and a member of the NCTE Commission on Reading. In 2004 he was awarded the NCTE Exemplary Leadership Award presented by the Conference on English Leadership.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

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disrupting thinking: why how we read matters

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teaching methods & materials - language arts

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teaching methods & materials - reading & phonics

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education / teaching methods & materials / language arts

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education / teaching methods & materials / reading & phonics

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teaching methods & materials - language arts

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teaching methods & materials - reading & phonics

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teacher resource; professional development; create engagement; encourage thought

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education / teaching methods & materials / language arts

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education / teaching methods & materials / reading & phonics

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Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters

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Buy Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters: Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

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Setting up for Success: Environment and Routines

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Setting up for Success: Environment and Routines

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EKC

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Architecture of a Reading Assessment Conference

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Architecture of a Reading Assessment Conference

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EKC

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Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning

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Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning

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Peter H. Johnston

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In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.

This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.
eBook Available Through Major Retailers
We offer ebook editions for most of our print titles so you can access on your computer, tablet, or e-reader from several major retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, OverDrive, and ebooks.com. View the full list of retailers here. For eBook purchases of 10+ please email us for a quote. Purchases of 20+ qualify for a bulk discount.

If you previously purchased an ebook from Stenhouse.com, they will remain available in your digital library.

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In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool:

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EKC

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EKC

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

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Zaretta Hammond

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From math, literacy, equity, multilingual learners, and SEL, to assessment, school counseling, and education leadership, our books are research-based and authored by experts on topics most relevant to what educators are facing today.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

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In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction.

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Text Complexity Cards (Primarily Narrative)

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Text Complexity Cards (Primarily Narrative)

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EKC

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Debbie Miller

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Introduction: We Can Do This

Asking Beautiful Questions

Paying Attention to What Doesn't Feel Right

Asking, "What If?": Creating Space for Possibility

Chapter One: What If Each Day's Teaching Focused on Children's Agency?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Disengaged Child

What's the Best That Could Happen? Agency Fosters Engagement

Imagining New Possibilities for a Child

Conferring to Support Access and Choice

Paying Attention During Independent Work Time

Conferring to Inquire and to Offer Community

Postscript

Chapter Two: What If We Made What Children Make and Do Our Priority?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Workshop Planning

What's the Best That Could Happen? Meaningful Work

Planning for What Children Will Do First

Planning for What Teachers Will Do During Work Time

Figuring Out What to Teach

Playing with the Sequence

Taking Ownership

Chapter Three: What If Our Classroom Environment and Routines Offered Choice?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Frustration over Supplies

What's the Best That Could Happen? Managing Their Own Work

Being Intentional in Our Language

Cocreating Routines

Designing Agentive Environments

Chapter Four: What If We Owned the Units We Are Asked to Teach?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Units We're Given

Are These the Right Goals?

Which Texts Work Best?

How Will We Know When We're Done?

How Can This Happen Within Daily Workshop?

What's the Best That Could Happen? Perfection in Imperfection

Chapter Five: What If Read-Aloud Sustained Children's Independent Thinking?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Wisdom in Children's Thinking

Expecting Brilliance

Finding Time for Read-Aloud

Reading Aloud for Joy

Teachers and Children Thinking Aloud

What's the Best That Could Happen? Being Inspired to Act

Conclusion: In Pursuit of Beautiful Questions

We all have difficult moments in our teaching, and without a question to drive us forward, we can get stuck. But that difficult moment might be the question we need to ask ourselves. Questions can bring a positive attention, creating a presence in the moment. When I ask children, "Are you the kind of kid who...?", I'm inviting them to imagine a new possibility for themselves, one in which they have more power than they did before. I want those new possibilities for teachers, too. Are you the kind of teacher who is ready to try something new, something that will make your students stronger, more joyful readers and bring you greater joy in your work? I think you are.

Asking questions leads to opportunities-it's about growth, openness, and a willingness to change, which top-down models don't allow. It's a way for us to focus our thinking and be present in the lives we've chosen to live. Asking the question is the essential behavior of teaching. It's not a perfect call-and response but a messy business of wondering, stumbling, and figuring things out. It requires bravery and commitment, but that's what teaching is. It's a joyful, creative, purposeful profession. If you feel you've lost even some of your passion for teaching, I would love to help give it back to you. So, in this book, we'll talk about creating beautiful questions about the teaching of reading. To help you take on the process of asking beautiful questions, I'll share how I got to some beautiful questions about teaching reading and what I did with them as I worked with teachers in classrooms across the country.

This book is about owning our teaching and making decisions based on who we are and what's best for the children in our classroom today. That all sounds ambitious and brave... and the work is-teaching is-but it happens in so many small and simple ways. My wish is for you to think about what you do and ask your own beautiful questions, so that you and your children can thrive and view yourselves and each other as valuable, idea-filled, creative, and contributing humans who own your teaching and learning. Be open and receptive to possibilities! Think: "What if we did it this way?"

"A one-of-a-kind book, full of wisdom and heart. Debbie Miller inspires educators to step back and question everything-challenging us to rethink and reinvent the ways we teach. What's the best that could happen? Read this book and it will help you find your own answer to that beautiful question."

-Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question and The Book of Beautiful Questions
"Debbie Miller is a magician with children, and in What's the Best That Could Happen? she hands us her magic wand. With honesty, humility, and optimism, she shares her thoughts and actions about teaching and learning. Run-don't walk-to conjure up this essential book!"
-Stephanie Harvey, coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit series, From Striving to Thriving, and Strategies That Work
"Debbie Miller is suggesting something revolutionary. She is suggesting the way to ensure all students learn is to intentionally and persistently expect not just capability but brilliance from them."
-Gretchen Morgan, author of Innovative Educators: An Action Plan for Teachers

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"One of the great joys of teaching is anticipating children's brilliance." In What's the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller confronts a challenge all

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TCRWP

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Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham

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Children come to school to become better readers, writers, and thinkers, but they also walk into classrooms hoping to be happy. Katie Cunningham argues that happiness must be as much of a priority in teaching as proficiency or achievement. When teachers intentionally design curriculum with joy at it…

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Jennifer Serravallo

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Your Research-based Guide to Developing Skilled Readers. 300+ strategies with learning progressions support 13 reading goals, with each strategy cross-linked to skills, teacher tips, prompts, research, and reading levels—everything from fluency to literary analysis.

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Jennifer Serravallo

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Introduction
A Very Brief Introduction to Principles, Research, and Theory, and How to Use This Book
The idea for a book of writing strategies exists many times over. This one is possible only because of the great books that have come before it. There are books suggesting writing strategies meant for professional writers and college students, such as those by Noah Lukeman, Roy Peter Clark, and Janet Burroway, among others. There are countless examples of excellent compilations of writing strategies in books written for teachers of writing, such as Fletcher and Portalupi's Craft Lessons Series, Barry Lane's After "The End" (1993), Carl Anderson's Strategic Writing Conferences series (2008-2009), Donald Graves' many books, Katie Wood Ray's Wondrous Words (1999) and other titles, Katherine Bomer's books, Georgia Heard's books, Nancie Atwell's In the Middle (2014) and other resources, Lucy Calkins' Units of Study series, and many more. My aim in this book is to offer my favorite, most useful collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. I want to offer you a little bit of everything. I streamlined the language and examples, and I present the strategies in a format that is organized so that the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment. Of course, you'll elaborate on the streamlined language and make it your own.

But wait-before you dive in, I'm so glad you're taking the time to spend a few moments with this "Getting Started" introduction. In this introduction, you'll gain a helpful overview of the thinking that undergirds this book's ideas as well as an overview of its organization. You'll learn about strategies and all the aspects that I chose to include to elaborate on them-mentor texts, prompts, lesson language, teaching tips, and more. You'll learn how to navigate the pages of the book so you can find what you're looking for quickly and easily, for this is not a read-every-single-page kind of book (unless you want it to be). You'll get a quick crash course on some important terminology and concepts that will help you use this book to its fullest- thoughts about writing as a process, and modes and genres of writing, for example. And finally, you'll learn how to adapt what's in the book to fit your students' writing time in the classroom, no matter what form that time takes.
Click here to download more of the introduction of this book.
Goal 1: Composing with Pictures

Strategy Go back to your picture(s). Point to the part or picture that teaches something important about your topic. Touch or turn to the next part. Tell what new fact about your topic this part of the picture or this page teaches.

Lesson Language If I wrote or drew to teach, then when I read my writing back I'm going to make it sound like a teaching book. I'm going to tell my reader the facts I wrote about. Let me show you. I drew a picture of a big T. rex. I know a lot about them so I added a lot of details in my picture. I'm going to touch one part and teach what that part says. "The T. rex had very large jaws with big sharp teeth." Now I'm going to touch a new part and teach what that part says. "The T. rex had very short arms. It would only run using its hind legs."

Goal 2: Engagement - Independence, Increasing Volume, and Developing a Writing Identity

Strategy First, identify the problem you're having. Then, check the spot in the room, a resource, or a friend that might help you solve the problem. Try a solution. If it doesn't work, try something else.

Teaching Tip This strategy, like "Use the Room" that appears earlier in this chapter, assumes that there are things in the room that can be helpful, and that you've taught children how to use them. For example, in a primary classroom a word wall may help a writer to spell high-frequency words. If you've introduced and used mentor texts, then having these available for children to reference on their own could help them. Sometimes the problem might be that they need to work in a new spot in the room because of the amount of distractions at their current spot. Brainstorm possible problems with your students, and come up with a list of resources and solutions. Or, this strategy can be like a culmination of past teaching from this and other chapters.

Goal 3: Generating and Collecting Ideas

Strategy Decide on a new place to visit. Go there with no more than a notebook and a set of listening ears and observing eyes. Let yourself pick up on conversation and details of the person. Jot down what you observe, and also what you imagine, about the people you see.

Teaching Tip This strategy will take you outside of the classroom, so it would work well as a whole-class lesson followed by a field trip, or as a suggestion to a student, group, or class for independent writing outside of the school day.

Goal 4: Focus/Meaning

Strategy Think about a memory and all the events that are part of that memory. Think about what's important about that memory, or the big idea the memory leaves you with. Identify the one part of the memory that feels the most important. Write some ideas about what's important about it, and why it's important. Try to write just that one smaller part of the larger moment. Tell it bit by bit.

Teaching Tip The amount a writer will be able to reflect on the overall significance of a small moment will depend on her maturity level and experience with writing. For younger children, you may want to suggest choosing a small moment that will make a good story, rather than one imbued with a deep or heavy significance, or simply encourage them to narrow down the window of time

Goal 5: Organization and Structure

Strategy Before beginning to draft, visualize the shape of what you're going to make. Create some sort of quick visual, in pictures or in words, to represent the overarching structure. As you write, check back to see where you are in your plan.

Teaching Tip This is going to be most helpful after students have learned a variety of ways to structure their pieces and have been introduced to a variety of graphic organizers that would help them to organize, or shape, the information into a structure.

Goal 6: Elaboration

Strategy Think about the subtopics for which you'll want to collect information. Write each of your subtopics as a heading on a notebook or booklet page. As you find new information for your topic, think, "What page in my notebook should this go on? Which subtopic does it provide details for?"

Lesson Language I just found this interesting fact: Ballerinas really wear out their shoes. Many go through as many as 2-3 pairs per week! I'm going to look across the pages of my booklet to see where this would best fit. Would it belong in the section called "Types of Ballet Positions?" No, that's not about the positions. Would it go in the section called "Famous Ballets?" No. "What Ballerinas Wear?" Well, I do talk about pointe shoes in this section, so it might be cool to add this fact about how many pairs of pointe shoes the average ballerina needs. I'll keep the fact here.

Goal 7: Word Choice

Strategy Find all the action verbs in your piece. Focus on any that you think aren't as clear, precise, or exact as they could be. List several options for what might replace that word (use a thesaurus if you need it!). Choose the word that best matches your meaning.

Teaching Tip For this strategy to work, children will need to understand what an action verb is, so identification of verbs is a first step in this strategy. Many teachers weave in some instruction during other balanced literacy components such as word study, read-aloud, and/or shared reading. You could also plan to teach direct minilessons to the class or small groups for those who do not understand parts of speech.

Goal 8: Conventions - Spelling and Letter Formation

Strategy When trying to spell a word, try to visualize where you've seen it written and how you've seen it written before. It may help to close your eyes. Then, in a margin or on a piece of scrap paper, write how you think it's spelled. Try it a second or maybe even third way. Look back at what you've written and ask yourself, "Which of these tries looks right to me?"

Prompts

Check off the parts that look right to you.

Write the word as you think you've seen it before.

Which parts look right? Which part looks off?

Do you think there are some letters missing?

What part of that word is tricky for you?

The part you're trying to spell is also in the word _______. Does that help?

Goal 9: Conventions - Grammar and Punctuation

Strategy Find two sentences that talk about the same topic. Think about the relationship between those sentences. Choose a connector word and try combining the sentences into one. Reread and decide if you like the combined way or original way better.

Lesson Language Here's one spot in my draft where I have two sentences that I
think go well together. I wrote: "A dog is something that can keep you company. A dog
can cheer you up." What's the relationship between those two sentences? They both have
to do with something that is positive about owning a dog, so I think they are related. I'm
adding more information on. I'll try using and to combine those sentences: "A dog can
keep you company and cheer you up." Here's another spot: "I would love to have a dog.
My mom won't let me have a dog." What's the relationship between those two sentences?
The second sentence gives more information that feels in contrast to the first. I'll combine
them with however: "I would like to have a dog, however my mom won't let me." The
new sentence I made seems clearer and more to the point.

Goal 10: Collaborating with Writing Partners and Clubs

Strategy Talk with your partner about your goals (for the writing period, for the week, and/or for writing work to take place at home, and so on). Discuss together how you might get that work done. Write the goal, and make the promise...then check in with your partner soon.

Teaching Tip Reflect on your own life and goals you've set out to accomplish. Now think about how successful you've been and whether or not you made your goals public ahead of time. I know that when I share my goals with my partner, my friends, my colleagues, my editor, I am more likely to get things done. The built-in accountability, the opportunity to celebrate together, the lifeline of support in case something does not go according to plan-these are invaluable.

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Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo.

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Collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. Organized so the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment.

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I wonder how we can be more explicit in sharing what the students are learning so they are aware of what they need to work on?

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I wonder how our students are making their goals and what they are working on next visible?

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I wonder how workshop time should look during exhibition time. What should kids be doing? It appears to be more teacher directed than student agency.

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I am motivated to make a chart to show the narrative needs while we are in this current unit. This could help us as a team with conferring.

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Got: new ideas about how to conference and how to use this to identify students next steps or even whole class needs.
Wants: Map out planning big picture to see what is we want G5 students to learn in units and across the whole year.

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Made me think about how I can improve my data collection during reading conferencing. Also, how I can update it to make it more useful. Bill

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Made me think about how I can improve my data collection during reading conferencing. Also, how I can update it to make it more useful. Bill

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Gots: an idea on how to better record my notes for conferring with students
Wants: I am just looking to continue to learn; I don't have the strongest experience in this, so am just building capacity.

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I liked seeing all the examples of different conferring notes that were shown.  I particularly like the idea of establishing cheat sheets as these would be very helpful for me to guide the conference.  I would like to now establish more effective ways of documenting this evidence for the students and empowering them to take ownership of summarizing our conferences.  I would love to see some examples of ways that students can document and record evidence of their conferences, and ways that they can make their goals visual and accessible.

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I wonder if we could get together as a group to come up with list that would be helpful for trends that we might look for with our students.

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I think it would be helpful to get together and come up with what the anchor charts/ main learning points are for each unit at the start. By doing that, we might be able to keep focused.

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I think that this was timely for reminding me about the importance of conferring regularly and to get back on track with that.
I would love to work at a team to come up with more predictable writing trend sheets for making small groups.

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I wonder what are some effective ways for students to summarize their conferences and reflect on what was discussed, in terms of feed up, feedback and feedforward.  How do we make this visible and empower students to take ownership of this.

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IB PYP

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TKS GES G5: Projecting Predictable Needs

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I wonder how to ensure I have an authentic compliment when I'm working with my readers and writers who really struggle. Sometimes it seems that there are so many next steps for these students and that's more what comes to the top.

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Could we make a bank of mini-lessons to pull from when our group or small groups are ready?
Ideas:
1. Writing LOI
2. Focusing on ATL's
3. Choosing an issue/opportunity
4. Writing good questions
5. How to take notes.
6. What do do with our notes

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Things like:
-Professional emails
-Thanks you letter
-Interview Question prep
Others?
(Bill)

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Planning as whole team for some baseline lessons for all students: shared experience in ATL lessons,  what makes a good question etc.
Are there IT skills they need to learn? Video editing etc??

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Adjust our planning groups to ensure that all PYPX time is as a whole group. We can identify possible next steps, share challenges and successes, and ensure that we allocate people to create those mini lessons. I've added this to our agenda for tomorrow's team meeting. - Andrea

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What has been really helpful in the past that we can share? (examples: Cornell Notes, research organizers, team planning documents - run sheets-, reflection processes)

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-Explore the handbook and use it to guide the process.
-Set clear expectations sooner rather than later with students.

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1. Use the handbook to guide us on expectations and procedures

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-Have students spend some time developing research skills and referencing/ quoting correctly.

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How can we incorporate poetry into our program?

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How can we incorporate poetry into our program?

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Got: A better feeling for unit planning and how we can start it in a purposeful and organized way as a team, starting with identifying the main teaching points we think we'll have.
Want: A clear vision of what the bends and anchor lessons could like like for an entire writing/reading unit. How could it look all together?

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I got some ideas to trial for empowering the students to take ownership of summarizing their conferences, which I am excited to try in the classroom.

I want some advice on how to conference with writers who are writing well beyond grade level expectations. How do I give them teaching points/feed forward when they are already writing to such a high level?

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Got: A better understanding of how to involve students in documenting their next steps.
Want:

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Got:
Possible planning flow for Exhibition unit. Planning with "bends" etc, idea of how units can flow.

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Got: Some ideas on how to plan writing with more intentional bends.

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EKC

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EKC

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EKC

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2021214 - KAUST - G5 - Reading Strategy Group

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Do you recommend us using a school-wide writing progression, or each grade using their own progressions?

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I wonder how we can make time to meet with the grade level above us to help us understand the standards they live and breath. This could help us know a next step for our higher writers.

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What do you suggest to help students who have ideas but struggle to get them down? It is the case across text types/genres where they seem to be reluctant/ resistant- as if there is a wall up?

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We seem to do A LOT of unit design. What are the Pros and Cons of following a program that has been researched and published? Sometimes I feel like I am a curriculum planner instead of a teacher. 

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We seem to do A LOT of unit design. What are the Pros and Cons of following a program that has been researched and published? Sometimes I feel like I am a curriculum planner instead of a teacher. 

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I wonder what moves I should make if students don't quite understand a question or don't really go as deep as I would hope when responding to texts.

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Where did you get all those setting questions from?

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Did the questions for setting come from a book like the Seravello one? Is there a resource for these types of guided mini-lessons out there?

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Are there text complexity cards for non-fiction texts,? (Just like the ones you provided for fiction texts, which we love and are used a lot!)

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Wants - Nonfiction text complexity band questions.
Got - I like the idea of conferring with students that you will not be meeting with that week in a small group. Brilliant!

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Gots-Ideas for making tools and resources that can be used over and over with groups but push thinking.
Wants- clarity for myself when planning guided vs. strategy (I have confusion around my planning and want to ensure my time is best spent with students). I feel like I am merging guided and strategy together. How can I be clear what it is I am trying to achieve each session/ meeting? Tips please

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Thank you for showing us two examples of planning for possible bends in the river.
I want to take the plunge and try more strategy lessons for reading, but feel that I have established book clubs with the class, which they love.  I feel that we have the best discussions related to text complexity, and I worry that we won't have that same depth of discussion with books that we haven't all read, or I have no idea about.

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A treasure trove of ideas!

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from Clare Landrigan

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from Clare Landrigan

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Please add, but don't edit the work of others. 

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Please add, but don't edit the work of others. 

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International educators are growing ideas together! Please add and share yours, but please do not change the ideas shared by others. Instead, you can duplicate a slide, and then tweak it. :)

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Information Writing Digital Toolkit 2022

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3 things I learned
2 things I want to try
1 wondering I still have

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Lanny Ball

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Kelly Boswell

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Sometimes the hardest part about teaching writing is getting students to write at all. Kelly Boswell reminds us that every writer is reluctant to write

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M. Colleen Cruz

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Real Strategies for the Real Classroom

Veteran teacher and author Colleen Cruz has seen it all and done it all in the writing classroom-and she's got something to admit: this is hard work. Real hard. In The Unstoppable Writing Teacher she takes on the common concerns, struggles, and roadblocks that we all face in writing instruction and helps us engage in the process of problem solving each one.

From dealing with writing workshop skeptics to working with students both gifted and challenged, and of course combating that eternal barrier-lack of time-Colleen offers tried-and-true strategies to address and overcome obstacles.

For
...
Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

Veteran teacher and author Colleen Cruz has seen it all and done it all in the writing classroom-and she's got something to admit: this is hard work. Real hard. In The Unstoppable Writing Teacher she takes on the common concerns, struggles, and roadblocks that we all face in writing instruction and helps us engage in the process of problem solving each one.

From dealing with writing workshop skeptics to working with students both gifted and challenged, and of course combating that eternal barrier-lack of time-Colleen offers tried-and-true strategies to address and overcome obstacles.

For the struggles unique to you, she includes a " Name Your Monster " section that helps you identify your own individual roadblocks and even offers sustainable support through her blog, colleencruz.com. "We can't solve all the problems we're faced with in writing instruction," Colleen promises, "but we can choose how to respond to them. And our responses will make all the difference."

What makes you unstoppable, or what's stopping you? Connect with Colleen on her blog at www.colleencruz.com/blog.htm or on Twitter, #unstoppablewritingteacher.

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

1. A Teaching Mindset

2. "I don't know what to teach this student. He's a much better writer than I am."

3. "I can't seem to get my students to stay writing unless I'm sitting beside them."

4. "I'm not sure how to work with students who are new to English."

5. "I'm finding some student writing repetitive and boring."

6. "I don't feel prepared to work with a student with such great challenges."

7. "I never have enough time."

8. "I need more resources."

9. "I teach grammar but my kids don't learn it."

10. "I feel alone in my work. No one else I know teaches using the writing workshop model."

11. "I have trouble getting families to understand writing workshop."

12. "I want students to write about what they care about, but so much of what they care about seems brainless and artificial to me."

13. Name Your Monster

14. Five Shockingly Easy Ways to Constantly Outgrow Yourself as a Teacher of Writing

Companion Resources

Reviews

"Writing is struggle. If we want our students to become strong writers, then they have to become brave ones. We have to model that bravery in how we teach writing by naming the monsters that challenge us and facing them. Once you finish this book, you'll be well-prepared. You'll know more about the teaching of writing. You'll be braver. You'll be unstoppable. &ldquo from the Foreword by Lucy Calkins

"Hold the phone! Colleen Cruz has given us much more than a writing book here. The Unstoppable Writing Teacher descends into the proverbial trenches and shines a realistic light on the daily life of teachers everywhere. Each chapter addresses universal questions that teachers ponder every day. In the end, teaching writing is rocket science. Read this book and you will learn a great deal about teaching writing, and even more about kids, teachers and life in general." Stephanie Harvey

"The beauty of Colleen Cruz's The Unstoppable Writing Teacher is that it anticipates and addresses the many barriers that writing teachers face and, in doing so, offers smart and practical steps to building strong, independent writers. I love Cruz's notion that good writing teachers are both scientists and artists. It is her mix of science and art that makes this an important book for anyone who teaches writing. I highly recommend it. Kelly Gallagher

Would you benefit from having a literacy coach on-call to help you solve pressing writing workshop-related problems? Colleen Cruz tackles teachers' most predictable workshop-related issues in The Unstoppable Writing Teacher. It's a must-read this summer so that you'll be the unstoppable writing teacher you want to be when school starts this fall. Stacey Shubitz for Two Writing Teachers

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Veteran teacher and author Colleen Cruz has seen it all and done it all in the writing classroom-and she's got something to admit: this is hard work. Real hard. In The Unstoppable Writing Teacher she takes on the common concerns, struggles, and roadblocks that we all face in writing instruction and helps us engage in the process of problem solving each one.

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Allison Marchetti & Rebekah O’Dell

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Matt Glover

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Students can learn about an author's craft by studying a stack of texts. An author's process can feel hidden since it isn't spelled out on the page. On this site I've collected links to video clips of authors talking about their process. These clips can be used as a part of any writing workshop unit of study, but they will be particularly helpful in supporting certain process studies. You'll find clips here related to five units: Finding Ideas, Using a Writer's Notebook, Planning, Peer Conferring and Revision. You'll notice that some of the clips can be used in more than one unit. For example, in the clip of Will Hillenbrand in the Peer Conferring section, he mentions how he finds ideas and uses his notebook as well as who he talks to about his writing.

I'll be adding links periodically- some already available online, and some from interviews I'm conducting, so check back often. Find me on Twitter @mattglover123 for updates. I've started with these units but hope to expand to include links related to additional units.

You can help add to the collection as well. If you know of a link/clip that could be added to this site, click on the link on the right under Want To Help. Also, if you are having an author or illustrator visit your school and would be willing to interview them and share the video (with their permission of course), click on the link on the right for possible interview questions. You might even have students interview the author (see the Nicola Davies clips.)

This site was sparked by my interest in the role of choice in increasing student engagement. My hope is that these clips help your students strengthen their identities as authors.

Matt
This website was created by Matt Glover with the support of Erik Wallace. You can see the services Erik provides

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Students can learn about an author's craft by studying a stack of texts. An author's process can feel hidden since it isn't spelled out on the page. On this site I've collected links to video clips of authors talking about their process. These clips can be used as a part of any writing workshop unit [...]

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Excerpt from The Unstoppable Writing Teacher by M. Colleen Cruz

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Information/Nonfiction Complexity Cards for Upper Bands

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Information/Nonfiction Complexity Cards for Upper Bands

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TCRWP

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TCRWP

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EKC

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Being Intentional with Choice - Might you provide at least three choices out of the six?

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Being Intentional with Choice - Might you provide at least three choices out of the six?

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EKC

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5W & 1H Framework - Intentional Choice Options

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3 things I learned; how to facilitate/ set up writing partners to ensure success, lots of modelling/ think aloud tools/strategies, and about the importance of anchor charts and how these can provide agency in guided/strategy groups.
2- things I want to try; video successful partner readers/ writers for others to watch and identify what is working well, another thing I want to try is the text complexity bookmarks for book club discussions and follow-up response tasks.
1-wondering I still have is- how to help readers and writers truly understand where they are at. For example; not to take on books that are too hard/ unaccessible without damaging their self-esteem.

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3 Things I learned
* Ideas on how kids can take ownership: Recording feedback,
* How to manage my time when meeting with small groups. Not all groups need to go in a week. I feel more at ease with the idea of conferring with kids that are not in a club that week.
2 Things I Want To Try
* I want to try planning in bends.
* I need to make learning more visible. More charts, getting kids to make the charts for the wall and for their own journals.
1 Wondering

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I learned...
- about building agency within the class community by focusing on the process. E.g. giving students 'if-then cards' for writing partners.
- supporting reluctant/resistant readers and writers. E.g how can ELs write something they haven't uttered?
- providing students with a focus on the audience. E.g. Who might benefit from reading your writing?

I would like to try...
- allowing students to sign up for small group workshops so that they have agency and can make a self-assessment.
- implementing free writing time so writers have choice.

I am wondering how can I create a workable process for the students to sign up to workshops.

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3-
Modelling strategies and where to go for some more info on these
How to better structure the conferring in classes
Some ideas around reluctant writers and how I might engage them more.
2-
Text complexity bookmarks
The two bookmarks for where they are and where they agree to get to - a bit more visual for them.
1-
Still working on the timing of all of it and how I can be more efficient and better at it.

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I learned how to engage reluctant writers in the writing process
I learned how to structure 1:1 and small group conferences and feel much more confident in running these with students
I learned ways in which to give students voice, choice and agency in their writing and reading

I want to try making tools that will be useful for students to interact with to develop their reading and writing strategies.
I also want to unpack the non-fiction text complexity cards and use these more when reading and discussing non-fiction texts with my students.  I will create a 'Grow Our Thinking' sentence starters to encourage the students to think more deeply in our reading  groups.

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3- The importance of giving compliments to students, non fiction bands, lots of great resources
2- improved my questioning when students are reading and analyzing texts, changed my note taking for student conferencing
1- How I can be more efficient in my planning