Teach Like a Champion!

Hello! Two "Teachers As Readers" (TAR) groups are starting at our humble school. We will be exploring the book du jour, "Teach Like a Champion". My intention is to use this blog to expand the conversation about the techniques espoused in the book. Check back soon for more details and information.

Teeming with Data

Howdy Everyone!

Ahh! I am relieved that we have traveled through the first steps of Data-teaming (gathering and recording assessment data, drafting SMART Goals, reviewing instructional strategies and committing to implementing some targeted strategies.)

This has been more arduous than I anticipated, and I greatly appreciate the efforts of our staff to undertake this process. I fervently believe that data-teaming will empower us teachers to really see the fruits of our labors. When I was blessed to have my own students, I often found myself wondering if what I was doing was what my students really needed and if it was really working. I had plenty of data--data that told me my students weren't comprehending grade-level material, data that told me that they had underdeveloped vocabularies, and data that told me they had yet to learn the elements of great fiction. Overwhelmed and unsure, I didn't know enough about formative assessment to target my efforts and create assessments that would inform my students and myself as to our progress. If I only knew then what I am learning now...

I am enthusiastic to develop my nascent knowledge about effective data-teaming with you, the staff. Feel free to post your data-teaming questions and insights to this blog. Several of our staff members have expertise in this arena. Also, know that my door is open to you...my physical door...not just this one floating in cyberspace.

Thanks again,

Alyson Drain

Frontloading Meaning

I connected with chapter 6, talking about strategies to get kids drawing upon their own experiences to get ready to read. I have used anticipation guides and KWLs in a variety of ways, along with questions to ask before, during and after reading. My question to you all now is this: In levels 2, 3, 4, should I use the same techniques for every book to give deeper strategy understanding, or should I mix it up to avoid boredom? There is such a fine line in my mind. I want to be concrete and predictable on one hand, spicing up life on the other hand. Or, maybe like most things in life, I should have a combination in mind. Thanks.

Author's porpoise!

If only authors had porpoises, that would be cool. Much more entertaining than toiling over why they wrote what they wrote. I've read, I've understood, but I have failed to see the value in it. I do have one book that this skill may have helped me with, The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It was a major challenge trying to follow her writing style. Back and forth from one character's perspective to another, and then being unsure about which character it was, how they were connected, and so on. I did finish it a year later, and it was a good book. By golly it was challenging for me though. Did I grow from it? I don't know.

Chapter 3 response:

'we must convince disabled readers that reading is an active process. One that requires engagement, their active construction of meaning.'

I like this. Encouraging students to grasp the concept that they should not just be going thru the motions. Teaching them to interact with the text is my newfound goal from Reader's Workshop.

"When Kids Can't Read" Book Group, part 2

Hello again! I have just returned from Parkrose High School with Mr. Hardin and an assemblage of advanced readers. We had the great fortune of hearing author M. T. Anderson speak about his vast body of work and his writing process. I must admit, I get a little star-struck at these events. Right now I am reading “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing”. It is just about the most enthralling and simultaneously repelling “children’s” story I have ever read. I am about 80 pages into it, and I can’t stop thinking about it. More about this later….


In regards to our Book Group for “When Kids Can’t Read,” here are some options:

Version 1: (Done with the book by the 6th of January)

• Read one chapter per week and write a reflection or commentary on the blog. (Let’s try to post by Thursday)
• Comment on at least one other person’s post per week
• Meet on the first Wednesday the month to discuss the chapters we have read and the strategies we have employed.


Version 2: (Done by December 2nd)

Read the following chapters per week and write a reflection or commentary on the blog (by Thursday)

• Week of 10/12: Read Chapters 3 & 4
• Week of 10/19: Read Chapters 5/6
• Week of 10/26: Read Chapter 7
• Week of 11/2: Read Chapter 8 (and meet on Wednesday)
• Week of 11/9: Read Chapters 9 & 10
• Week of 11/16: Read Chapters 11 & 12
• Week of 11/23 Read Chapter 13
• Week of 11/30: Read Chapters 14 & 15 (and meet on Wednesday)

Please post a comment about which would work best for you…

"When Kid Can't Read" book group

Hello Lee Literacy Department. This is my first foray into the blogosphere and it is long overdue. Please forgive my awkwardness as I begin this process.
I thoroughly enjoyed our discussion about the first two chapters of Kylene Beers’ “When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do”. I think that her insights into transforming “dependent readers” into “independent readers” pairs well with our team’s goal of developing our students’ critical thinking skills.
Once I have a little more time, I will post a suggested reading schedule and other information.

Thank you much!