Michigan’s Reading Conference by Brianna Jones https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA Made with love en-us 2019-03-09 14:15:50 UTC 2025-04-20 14:51:59 UTC hello@padlet.com Sat. Morning Speaker bjones91 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339561858 “How can you protect the HOPE of being a good reader?”

What do REAL readers do? Are we convincing our kids that “real” readers write summaries? Real readers only ask and answer questions that someone else gives them? “Real Readers”  make their parents create shoeboxes of the favorite scene in the book?

Why do so many of our decisions that center around kids never involve kids? -5th grade student body, can we ask them about new reading curriculum? 


]]> 2019-03-09 14:23:33 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339561858 Sat. Morning Speaker https://pernillesripp.com/ Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339564203 The number one response from kids when asked how to make reading in class better: Let us choose our books!

Carla Shalaby - Troublemakers

We have to be careful not to dismiss a Readers Identity. Those books that we may think of as “dessert books” are books that mean something to them. They may not be working on standard based methods but they sure are working on falling in love with reading. That’s a huge skill 

Which obstacles have we implements through our reading practices?

“Teaching to fidelity doesn’t mean fidelity to the program! It means teaching fidelity to our students.”






]]> 2019-03-09 14:49:00 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339564203 Mind Your Teaching: How to Engage every time you Teach - Melanie Matthews Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339569498 Anticipation Guides- true vs. false facts before you teach a subject 

Three reasons to use brain-based learning strategies:
Promote long-term retention
Increase student motivation
Increase academic success

The fight for brain breaks. They have no need to be 5-10min long. It’s just a moment to step outside the curriculum to reenergize the brain. Idea: roll a die brain break poster (check it out on Pinterest)

Fun Brainbreak idea: called exhale. 
“Primacy recencey” you remember the most of something at the beginning and last.  She showed this by reading a list of about 30 words. Then had use write all the words we remembered. In her list she repeated a word 3 times randomly and then included a wacky word that had nothing to do with the list. 

“What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.”

Top 8 Brain-Based Teaching strategies

1.  Movement - it strengthens learning, improves memory, enhances learners confidence, increases bloodflow  and oxygen to the brain.
Ex: clapping out spelling words and include the size of the letters. Basement letters you clap low, tall letters clap high. 

2. Stimulating environment- Color: calming colors like earth tones have a strong impact on emotions. Music: helps to remember content. Use it to set time limits! Lighting: Natural is best. Turns those lights off and open the window. Scent: Scientifically the most influential on memory. Peppermint is known to energize the brain, best used after lunch to bring it back together.

3. Humor- it reduces stress, boosts immune system, enhances alertness and memory, promotes creative understanding. Telling funny stories and jokes builds relationship but also engraves content.

4. Drawing - increases comprehension, improves focus, aids in memory recall (hello photographic memories)
Ex: design book covers, illustrate passages, also peardeck.com informal and formal resource 

5. Meumonic devices - learning is increased two-fold, increased retention and recall, memory performance, chunks information. You should: make these up together! Have the class do this to retain information. 

6. Storytelling - make connections to new learning through stories. You’re also working on listening skills! Makes it easy to acquire real information, concrete images activate emotion in the learner. However, make sure stories are relevant. 

7. Visuals - the brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Visuals grow the main, promotes meaningful judgement, helps communicate messages, leaves lasting impression. The students need to see you create and put up visual walls. Are you too scared to have empty walls day one? 

8. Writing- helps the brain organize materials, makes personal meaning. Do this with a variety of mediums. ]]> 2019-03-09 15:39:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339569498 Cool Tech thing! Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339569562 POLLev.com - a way to survey via text]]> 2019-03-09 15:39:33 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339569562 Leslie Helakoski, author https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339575332 “Word Choice” Make Writing Fun!
-Encourage students to throw out first words and find those words that are not usually used when describing 
-Brevity Poem: cut out every other word or sentences to make a short worded poem
-“Doggone Feet” picture book to demonstrate inference, have students make predictions about who the feet belong to
-Have students describe something (frog) using 1-syllable words only; or describe something (snake) using multi syllabic words to make a sense of longness
-“Hoot and Honk” use for compare/contrast 
-“Chicken Run” have students revise sentences finding other verbs to describe how the chickens move

Story Structure using Oh+Uh-oh+Oh No!+Ohhh 

More Book Ideas: helakoskibooks.com

]]> 2019-03-09 16:30:13 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339575332 Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339577974 “The real voyage of discovery is not seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” - pouette ]]> 2019-03-09 16:54:56 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339577974 Books for a Better World - Donalyn Miller Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339590396 Slideshare.net/donalynn 

Early Reader/ Chapter Books
"The best book for a kid is one they will read”

Author: Elaine K. Arnold Book: Bat -they don’t say it in the first book (there’s three) but the main character is autistic, parents are divorced, coparenting.

Author: Book Series: Yasmin

Fiction Picture Books
Christian Robinson - another (this is a wordless book.)
James Bransome - The Bell Rang - slavery book about a little girl who’s brother ran away and she fears the bell ringing because that means they caught him
Katherine Vernette -The Girl and the Wolf  (alternative to original)
Linda Marshall - Good Night (main character is the wind and how tired he is)
Wendy Medoor - Lubna and Pebble (survivors)
Corinna Lutyens - my heart (good gift book about love, author known for writing about child depression)
Patricia McKiscux - What is given from the Heart (little boy embarrassed about lacking money, frustration)
Last stop on Market Street

Graphic Novels
Anne Frank’s Diary (more about her humor and sarcasm)
Shaun Tan - Cicada :17 years at his dead end job until....
Kiss number Eight -a girls relationship with her father and how she realized she wants to be in a relationship with a girl in her class
New Kid - Jerry Craft -all the drama of middle school and how he is the only black student in school
Speak-Laurie Malse Anderson (rerelease to update the book for new times and graphic novel, also includes an expert from a man to the boys who read Speak and what they should get from it)
Surviving the City -Tasha spilet  -plot is about a native girl in Canada and how she is managing life including running away from home and how her best friend runs away to find her (high school)

Middle Grade fiction (4-6)
Padma V-The Bridge Home : violent home life for two girls, you eventually learn that big sis has cognitive problems. Lil sis is protective, they run away from violent dad and live under bridge with two other boys that have run away.
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe-Carlos Hernandez This book is a Rick Ridigan Presentation. He searches out new talent that can write mythology and folk tales in a modern way.
Sayantani Dasgupta- Game of Stars & Ther Serpents Secret (fast read lots of mythology females Main Character)
Alicia D Williams - Genesis Begins Again (black female Main Character, alcoholic father, found a not that said “10 things we hate about Genesis” and she spends her middle school like adding to the list.)
The last last Day of Summer-Lamar Giles
Anne Ursu - the Lost Girl -twin girls who are best friends with one who is more sociable. The parents and principal split them up to two different classes. Has a Fantasy corner
Love Sugar Magic series The main character is a Mexican American who’s family owns a bakery in a small town. She eventually learns that her family are Mexican witches. Very silly, but makes you pick up Spanish as it’s thrown in a bit
The Mighty Heart of Sunny St James - Ashley Blake - main character thinks a lot about identity after a heart transplant. Good for any girl going through a journey.
The Moon Within -Aida Salazar - about a culture that hugely celebrates when a girl get a period. Topic is handled in a way that’s sensitive enough for 9 and 10 year old girls

YOung Adult Fiction
Dealing in Dreams - Lilliam Rivera - about a world that is run by Women , about women who are figuring out how to stick together in a world so violent
Interment-Samira Ahmed 




]]> 2019-03-09 18:51:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339590396 Kevin Hammond - Engaging students through puppetry, song and poetry Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339600637 Holy Awesome! I didn’t take many note because he was so interactive! His website has a pdf file to print to promote out of the box thinking. One amazing song was “I lost my hat in Mississippi “ it was a way to cover story elements. You take three random words from the class and come up with a setting, problem, and solution. You can always use the lesson : Never Give Up. 

Another great message was sing his puppet called critter, who is non-verbal, to display social emotional skills. Students can practice asking and answering questions. I loved the way he build in interviews with every puppet he used to help build ask and answer question skills. ]]> 2019-03-09 20:48:23 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339600637 Stephanie Harvey -from striving to thriving (Saturday Night Keynote Speaker) Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339603080 Www.stephanieharvey.com

Those who read for 20min. A day showed scores in the 90th percentile on standardized testing.

Five principals of reading achievement and learning: access, volume, response (interaction with that book), explicit instruction, purpose 

Striving readers need to see that reading is a meaningful act.  

Readicide by Kelly Gallagher - it’s the systematic killing of the love of reading ....often by the mundane activities of reading during school. 

WE NEED AN INTERVENTION ON INTERVENTIONS IN SCHOOL.
The best intervention is volumes of books that kids can and want to read. This is : Volume based Intervention



]]> 2019-03-09 21:22:50 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339603080 Sunday Morning KeyNote Speakers Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339668538 Kelly Gallagher & Penny Kittle -co-authors of 180 Days

Are we shifting from “teaching kids” to just “teaching stuff”?
We need to be responsive to the kids that are in front of us. We need to use who they are to create meaningful critical conversations in learning.
Responsive Curriculum is recreating what you teach to match the kids in front of you and the things that are happening in the world around them.

How Book Clubs Help
They created a book club with three different class rooms. They gave them eight book options and one month to read them. All eight books had a similar message (this example was equity). Every Thursday, the students who were reading the same book met and had discussions.they used “FlipGrid” a video sharing site to hold conversations.
The educator would provide focus questions and scaffold critical conversations. They used “they say/I say” sentence starters.
Students will enjoy three books in the month and the final assessment is making connections between them.
They write EVERYDAY. Mostly with poetry. They use poems and then are asked to write along the side and pick it apart, ask questions, find sign posts. Writing isn’t always words, sometime an artistic reflection hold just as many words.

Idea: Read a passage as the author intended. Record themselves oral reading with expression and feeling.
Idea: Capture messages and meaningful language from your book and capture it in a way that will make you remember it. (Bullet journal style) OR capture your thinking for the whole week on a two page spread. No more!

We HAVE to give kids opportunities to have civil conversations. It’s a real-world necessary skill.

This yea besides a book club across country, they are doing a writing club. They are having conversations about their writing with other kids. It is NOT, peer editing. But peer response and reactions to another’s writing piece.

Idea: Have students record themselves asking others for a response on one of their writing pieces. Not just “what did you think?” But something more specific. This is a way for the writer to think critically about their own writing pieces, then other students respond to that with critical and meaningful conversations.

Idea: Humans of New York but local version. They shared hard copy drafts with the other students. First they write things they noticed then wrote things they wonder. 
 Complienent reading and writing vs. engaged reading and writing


What can we do to challenge, stimulate and engage students?


]]> 2019-03-10 12:52:31 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339668538 Www.booklovefoundaion.org Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339674413 2019-03-10 13:46:40 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339674413 “From I can’t to I can’t yet” Anne Tass & Rebecca Chiadao Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339684066 Why worry about growth-mindset? We have a new reality entering our classrooms that have little to no social emotional skills to manage themselves. 

Step 1: set the stage. Pull together as a community, get the language started. 

Tips: growth mindset lessons available on TPT
Beautiful Opps-Barney saltcong?

Lesson 1: elastic brain
-your brain can stretch with new info!

Lesson 2: fixed vs growth (changing your words)
-use the book called “What do you do with a problem?” 

Lesson 3: mistakes, failures and challenges
-learning how mistakes can be magical and positive

Lesson 4: effort & perseverance
-read “almost” by Richard Torrey. This is when the power of yet happens!

Lesson 5: having growth mindset everyday 
-“the okay book”

Showcase work with a “wonderwall”. 

Tips Yoga in room! “I Am Peace” “I am Yoga” “I am Human”. Have books, pull sticks and timers out. Let them take a personal break when they need it. But use the timer! 

Giraffes can’t dance -for the teacher. As teachers we need a growth mindset as well!]]> 2019-03-10 15:01:44 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339684066 Tanya Wright -Literacy Essentails Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339713708 Www.Literacyessentials.org -all the documents, including the 11 essentials page. This website includes free online modules (that lets you earn SChE’s) about the learning essentials, aswell  as videos of sample practices of each essential.

STOP IT with the “learn to read, read to learn” bologna.
We can read to learn at all ages. How, interactive read alouds.

Read alouds bring in new ways to interact with others. We always communicate with them, but read alouds offer more diverse interactions.

It’s not just reading aloud, it requires enhanced explicit teaching.

Wright &Newman “8.36 & 1.36min” in kindergarten over 650 hours of observation.

Planning process for read aloud: which text, how and when it will be read, what the teacher explains and models, questions to be asked, words to be discussed.

Should not be:
-performance by the teacher
-grab any book off shelf
-optional or something to skip because we ran out of time
-the kitchen sink (aka, too many goals)
-too long (for the age level)

Read alouds of age appropriate books and other materials, print or digital, should be used daily in classrooms. (Essential 2)

  • Text Sets : provides natural reputation of vocabulary and ideas across texts. Depend the knowledge of a text. 
  • Child Friendly read aloud with meaningful instructional purposes should be used in everyday lessons. 
  • Vocabulary focus that is rich and age appropriate 
Ex: Sylvester and the magic Pebble 


]]> 2019-03-10 18:14:08 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339713708 Growing Young Readers in the Sciences Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339715164 The goal is to give you REALIsTIC ideas on how to integrate science. 

CLUES chart: a lot like KWL but next gen way

Newton and Me - mentor text with science subject. Presentor  read this aloud with focus on essential #2
Bri note: this session has a lot to do with the essential literacy session I just left! Whoohoo

Flip the system. With NextGen they should experience first, the engage with a text readaloud after this. 

Mentor Text: Flight School by Lita Judge (about a penguins that can’t figure out how to fly)
Elmore by Holly Hobbie (hedgehog that can’t make sense) 

NSTA Tradebook List for science related books

Http://bit.ly/MRAsci2019





]]> 2019-03-10 18:22:57 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339715164 Capturing Student Voices and Learning through Podcasting -Mary Jo Staal & Tricia Kiepert Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339736379 Tinyurl.com/mrs19podcasting

Research says that expanding audience of our learning successes is instrumental to selfworth .

Bonus to podcasts is there is not visual aspect so privacy is much easier. Still only use first names. 

Idea: podcast with the teacher, she picks one super student to interview. The student brings in a few friends and they just chat. She also usually has them podcast their writing pieces. Many times celebrations are recorded.

Idea: Book Reviews - keep them authentic!

Why podcast? It builds confidence and gives students a voice. Students work on conversation skills, especially when interviewing. Making eye contact is something that gets scaffolded. Also, students learn to stay on topic and summarize. 

Confessions of a presenter: students give the first 5-10min of recess to do this. The kids don’t mind!

Resources: Bossjock Studio App, Shure MV5 Digital Condenser, Anchor FM (website), Blue Snowball USB(microphone a little pricy)

Tip: use a microphone! It picks up the quiet shy voices but it also sets up a “mood” or scene to make the kids feel it is important. 

Tip: if you can’t afford a microphone, see how many kids can bring in their “gamer headphones “ that come equips with mics. 

How do we prepare students?
It can be as simple as they fill out a sticky note when they are chosen, or as intense as a podcast request form. (Tip:stick to recent things)

Www.mrskiepertsclass.weebly.com/podcasts.html  -The Titanic podcast is a cute example

Ideas: end of unit reviews, persuasive reports, school news/announcement, teacher newsletter, honoring special students, homework helper, class projects, student book clubs, before&after podcasts of learning.
 
Sharing: send links to parents once done. Or remind to refresh the site view when more is added. 



]]> 2019-03-10 20:44:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339736379 Engaging Children-Ellin Oliver Keene (Monday Morning KeyNote) Bwalls2022 https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339923301 Author of “Not this, But That”
Also, “Engaging Children-igniting a deeper passion for learning”

Engagement is not: compliance, participation (in contrast with collaboration), motivation.
Compliance is only important when a school kid is physically or mentally unsafe.
Participation and collaboration look the same, they aren’t. Participation can be very shallow, collaboration in definition is energetic.

Motivation: it isn’t engagement (that something kids choose themselves). Motivation is almost always inspired by someone else.

No more Reading For Junk-external motivation (parties for points) is a short term joy but WILL have a long term negative effect.

Want to see engagement? Tell a story of a time where you were engaged in a learning moment (school or not) and talk about how invested it was! Then, ask your students to share with a partner about a time they were engaged in learning. Watch the amazing communication and engagement is that discussion. You will see a very pure form of engagement.

True engagement is when we pass the baton and we are no longer in charge of being the motivation but they find it on their own.

To research: 900 square mile school inTalabaga Alabama. Students bussed in on Monday and bussed out on Friday. If parents can’t pick up in between, they sleep there on cots in the gym.

Engagement is born of intellectual urgency. “I have to know more!”
Engagement is born of emotional response to ideas. -imprinted in hearts and in the mind.
Engagement is deepened by perspective bending. “Disagreement is dear to me, too because it is most vital to a decent society.”(bend,not break)
Engagement is enhanced by tapping into our sense of the aesthetic. (What’s beautiful?-they have different aesthetic experiences than us!)






]]> 2019-03-11 13:00:55 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/339923301 You can use sentence starters to help your students have productive conversation about their texts. https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/340590819 2019-03-12 19:00:08 UTC https://padlet.com/bjones91/MRA/wish/340590819