Pernille Ripp's Blog, page 31
April 28, 2018
How to Assess Student Reading Skills Without Knowing the Book They Are Reading
A question I am asked often is how do I know what my readers know when they are all reading their own self-chosen books? How do I keep them accountable for their reading? How do I know what they can do without knowing the book they are reading?
And I get it. How do we adequately assess the readers we have for their growth in comprehension when we don’t have them DO stuff all of the time? Because that’s the thing, one of the biggest reasons that kids report for hating reading is actually the stuff we have them do after they read, not the actual reading itself. It seems as if we have forgotten a few simple lessons that academics such as Louise Rosenblatt have been trying to remind us of for years. Kids need relevant reading experiences that not only teach them how to be better readers but also help them grow or protect their love of reading. I think I just summarized the goal of my book Passionate Readers here.
Yet, when we constantly attach something to the very act of reading, we diminish the act itself. So how do we assess without harming?
A few things first, our students get ten minutes of protected self-chosen reading every day. It is the very first thing we do. If I had more time to teach (darn you 45 minutes), it would be a longer period of time. During those ten minutes, the only thing our students are working on is reading a great book. There are no post-its, no jots, no turn-and-talk. They are working on their reading relationship, nothing else, because that task is big enough in itself. While they read I check in with them, not to have them do stuff or talk about their book, but to talk about themselves as readers. To help them establish or continue a connection to the act of reading itself.
Then we move into our mini-lesson, whatever that may be. If the day is focused on reading then after we read the students then apply the skills as they read their own books if they can, a central tenet to our teaching always being; be able to use the skill when needed but you don’t have to use it all of the time.
We use read aloud, picture books, or short stories to model and discuss what readers need. If students are asked to do a long-term project with their own books such as focusing on character development, symbolism, or analysis in some capacity, then I model what that may look like within a read aloud. I can sort out from their own writing whether they grasped the depth of the skill or if they merely skimmed the surface. I don’t need to know the plot of their book to do this. If I have questions I ask or look at the book they used.
If I need to narrow my scope then I will model a skill using a short story or a picture book (aren’t they almost the same?!) and then have either another short story or a stack of picture books to hand to them as they try out the skill for themselves. Because I know all of the picture books and short stories I can quickly assess whether they understood it or not and use their work to further my own instruction. Simple and yet it works every time. Students get to balance reading their own self-selected text with the work of the classroom and we have created a balance between teaching skills and establishing the love.
And there you have it, how I assess my students’ skills without needing to have them do a reading journal – one of the number one things my students attribute to causing a hatred of reading – and without needing to know every single book they are reading. Sometimes it is the simple things that make the biggest difference.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. 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.
April 26, 2018
Dear Administrators – A Few Ideas to Motivate Teachers
I was asked about how to motivate your teachers just the other day. How do you help them stay invested? How do you stave off burn out? An earnest question and also one that deserves a thorough answer. Yet, before I was able to answer in full, another administrator at the table, threw out a quick idea, “Jeans Friday…”
“Tell them if they work hard, they can earn the right to wear jeans that week. It works every time…”
And while this may be true, I still carried the comment with me, not quite sure how to process it. After all, allowing a teacher to wear jeans as a reward seems like the lowest type of compliment there is; you finally get to dress like other adults, congratulations! Perhaps it is because I work in a district that expects us to dress professionally and allow us to wear jeans whenever we want. Because they trust us to dress for success. Because they trust us to dress well. Perhaps it was because of the unbridled enthusiasm shown for the idea as if our burn out would magically appear when such a token was placed on the table. Perhaps I just was tired and could not come up with something good to say, so I sat in silence and quietly buried my thoughts.
So today, I am here to say what I wanted to say in how to motivate your teachers and trust me, it goes beyond allowing them to wear jeans on the last day of the week. Because the thing is, it may seem complicated, but it comes down to just a few things that can be implemented easily. Just a few key ideas that can make all of the difference or at the very least offer us all a place to start.
Trust us to be professional. That includes how we dress. That includes the lessons we create. That includes the everyday decisions we have to make. Tell us you trust us, so often it is assumed as a known fact but I can tell you, many teachers assume they are not trusted because of the lack of curricular decisions or even smaller things they are allowed to make. And yes, when it happens that we make a mistake, because we all do, then help us fix it. Have our back because you trusted us in the first place.
Trust us to try new things. So many administrators say that they want their teachers to take risks but then don’t give permission for the things they want to try. So many look to innovators and wish that they were in their district. What if they are and you just don’t know it yet? What if the most innovative teacher is already working in your building but because of technology restrictions, scripted curriculum, or teaching to fidelity, they haven’t been able to do what they wish to do. Which limitations are being placed on staff that aren’t actually needed? And how can those be lifted?
Trust us to invest ourselves. From staff meetings to professional days, the educational field has such few choices when it comes to how we, educators, spend our time learning. Yet so many of us actually burn to learn about specific things, isn’t that the mark of a passionate learner, so give us the time to do so. Let us choose our path and plan your staff development as if everyone will take the opportunity to pursue meaningful learning rather than the opposite. For the few who are not motivated, and you may know who they are, help them find a direction that matches them. No more one-size PD for all at all times where few walk away inspired. No more staff meetings that could have been handled via email. No more one thing, no choice, please.
Help us leave it at work. Teaching is a never-ending job. There are always more lessons to plan, more ideas to think of, something more we can do to try to reach every single child. To make this year matter. And yet, we have to leave it at work sometimes. We have to have full lives outside of school so we can truly be the best that we can be in school. So make it a policy that staff is not expected to answer emails after 5 PM, that it is not about getting it all done, but getting enough done. Protect our prep time and our collaboration times. Don’t steal away minutes here and there for quick announcements or that extra little thing. Help us achieve a better balance by protecting the precious time we have in building so that we can fully utilize it.
Help us forge connections. Teaching can be incredibly lonely, especially if you are seen as an outlier in some way, so build in opportunities to get to know one another beyond the in-service days at the beginning of the year. Run book clubs and health clubs, yoga and garden clubs. Create events that go beyond the school walls, that go beyond the work. Give us time to praise each other at every meeting. Give us time to see the good that happens in our classrooms so that we can stop with our assumptions and instead see what the experience is like in other classrooms.
Help us see the good. Not just in each other but in ourselves. Check in with your staff to make sure they are okay. That they feel supported. That they know the good they are doing. While admin can be quick about sharing concerns and even complaints with staff, what if a pointed effort is also made to share the good, those small comments from parents, from kids, from the community? Write a card of thanks, find out their favorite candy and leave it for them, do something to share the appreciation so that we, in turn, can share ours.
While warding off teacher burn out starts with the decisions we, educators, make ourselves, there are also so many small things that can be done to help within the school, within the district. Teaching is a hard job but we were never told it would be easy, we were told it would be worth it, sometimes we just need a little bit of a reminder from those that make the decisions. What have you done to help your teachers stay motivated?
PS: Many ask how I get to do what I do; teach, travel, write, speak, be a mom, have a life etc. There are two main reasons I can do what I do – an incredible husband and an incredible district. Both support me in ways I could never have dreamed of when all of this started. I hope you all may find support like what I have.
April 24, 2018
Five + One Ideas for Redefining the Whole Class Novel Experience for All
I knew I had to teach reading when I was first hired as a 4th-grade teacher. After all, every teacher teaches reading. Yet, I didn’t know how to really teach reading. I knew components of effective literacy practice, and yet, what those actually looked like within my own classroom was a bit of a mystery. How did actual teachers of reading teach reading to kids who already knew mostly how to read?
My very first answer? Whole class novel, of course.
Thinking back to my own days of learning how to read, I knew to not go the basal approach, and yet I remembered that shared experience of reading the same novel as everyone else. Of discussing. Of trying to find meaning within its pages as we drove each other to deeper levels of understanding. Of even finding a few books I never knew I could love (For Whom the Bell Tolls, anyone?!) to remembering the year together (9th grade honors English with Mrs. Vincent at Lenox Memorial High School, Massachusetts)because of the very books we shared.
Since I knew my students were not quite ready for Hemingway, I picked what I hoped would be a great anchor text for us – Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, the beloved classic rite-of-passage read by Judy Blume.
I now had the book.
All I needed was the work to go with it.
So I found it on the internet, an entire packet just for the book, with questions, activities, and word searches galore. The students could even color in the pages if they so chose. Prep work done, I was ready. And so we began our fourth-grade year together within the pages of a very short book, 144 pages to be exact and we split it up evenly within the 7-ish weeks I had set aside for the task. 4 pages a night could certainly not be too much to ask. Let the reading begin.
And it did. So did the packet work. The lackluster discussions. The rigid instruction, and perhaps even some scolding when students dared to read ahead.
Rarely do I remember us marveling at the audacity of Fudge. Rarely do I remember gathering the kids around the pages of the book to look at something together. Rarely do I remember coming to class excited to discuss, to share, to connect around the book.
But the work pages. The long-drawn-out reading. The lack of excitement. That I remember.
And so for a long time, I swore off whole class novels. Even jumped in the camp of telling everyone else how awful they were. How they are killing the love of reading in kids. But what good does that type of rigid thinking do when my very own memories betray me of my own whole class novel experiences. And so it turned out that I, once again, was proven wrong.
Because it wasn’t really about the whole class novel. It was about me and my own adherence to terrible decisions that surrounded the experience.
So now, let’s look at this concept of the whole class novel and how we can actually make it work within our reading environments without killing the love of reading. It turns out what we need are just a few tweaks and perhaps a dose of common sense.
Step 1 – Redefine the purpose. Rather than using whole class novel to produce a lot of work, how about we redefine the expectation to producing a whole lot of talk.
Idea – Cut out the written work altogether or boil it down to one main product. Does it have to be written or can it be filmed? Does it have to be an analysis or can it be a discussion of relevance? By connecting the book read with other issues in our current society? Does it have to be produced alone or can it be produced with others? Can we assess the discussions as they happen and not worry so much about the end result? And can we please roll back on the annotations. There is very little reason to annotate an entire book, other than to prove you have read it. Is that really what we want kids to work on?
Step 2 – Redefine the access. One of the major problems within a whole-class novel is that for many students the book is not a great match for their current reading capabilities. While it is good to stretch students with challenge texts, you don’t want to put it so far our of their reach that they simply feel defeated and it becomes yet another nail in their “I hate reading coffin.” For others students, the book is way too easy and they would rather read other books after they have read this one.
Idea – Offer choice in accessibility. Do all students have to read it with their eyes or can it be listened to? Can it be shared as a small group read aloud? Can kids partner-read? Can kids read it quickly and show up ready to discuss when needed? Provide multiple access points so that all kids can focus on the purpose; engaging discussions.
Step 3 – Redefine what we read. Why is it that our literary canon are still the same books that I read more than 20 years ago in high school? Yes, there is merit at some point in your life to picking up some of the classics, but you will get infinitesimally more out of them when you are invested. To Kill a Mockingbird was incredibly boring when I read it in 9th grade, but when I re-read it as a 23-year-old, I had a better experience. So how about rather than using this format as a way to expose students to classical texts that they otherwise may not pick up on their own, instead use it to garner deep discussion that can mirror the societal discussion surrounding us? Besides, what about how problematic some of these texts are? we cannot keep hiding behind the cloak of “that’s how they spoke in that time” to make it okay to read them. See this great article here discussing some of the major issues with our current literary canon.
Idea – Critically evaluate the classics and give choice. Perhaps some kids do want to read the same books as their parents did, but others don’t. Take a critical lens to what you are offering up. Who are these choices for? Why are these choices offered year after year? When were these books selected? Simply saying its because they are classics is not enough when we have brilliant books that have been published within even the last 50 years. (Even this year!) There should be a balance.
Step 4 – Redefine the time. One of my major mistakes was to stretch our whole class novel out over way too long of a time period. I have seen some schools use an entire book for a quarter of the year. I don’t care how great the book is, few people can sustain their interest for 12 weeks or more.
Idea – Shorten the length. Three weeks max. That way you have to move through it at a good speed and you can focus on the most central or interesting parts. Within a three-week period, there is also a sense of urgency that otherwise can get lost. Students have to keep up with the text to keep up with the discussion rather than assume that they can simply read it later when it really starts to count.
Step 5 – Redefine your role. One critical aspect I lost within our whole class novel was that it was all centered on me. I generated the questions (or purchased them in my case). I led the discussions. I assessed the work. That is easy for kids to get through and exhausting for the teacher. There is also very little buy-in as far as responsibility and it is easy for kids to coast through, especially those kids who have pretty great reading skills. That is not the intent behind the work.
Idea – Share the responsibility. Start as a role model for how to lead discussions but then share the responsibility with students. Delegate who will come up with questions and who will steer the conversation? Getting students invested beyond the quick answer can lead to more engagement and definitely more understanding of what it means to engage others.
Step 6 – Use it sparingly. I have heard of school districts that mandate that every single reading experience is through a whole class novel for an entire year. In fact, my own amazing niece is currently a victim of that. I don’t use that term lightly, but you know what it has done for her love of reading after several years of this? Yup, totally quashed it. When I ask her what she reads for fun, she says nothing. That’s what doing the same thing over and over can do for you. It may have been great at first but going through the same routine over and over is sure to lead to routine fatigue.
Idea – Everything in moderation. Reserve the whole class novel for those one or two incredible books that you just know will light your class on fire. Reserve it for the fall as you establish your community and perhaps once more in the spring when you know each other so much better. Use it as a tool to challenge their thinking, their analysis, their communication. Put your all into it and then do something else; free choice, book clubs, anything but another whole class novel. Make it special and treat it as such.
While it has been a while since my students actively dove into a whole class novel with me, I am always on the lookout for that amazing text that I feel we all need to digest together. Once I find it, I cannot wait to dive in with my students. Until then, if you need more ideas and inspiration, please read Kate Roberts new book, A Novel Approach.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. 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.
April 21, 2018
What Matters to You? An Exploration into #BeingtheChange
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“I brought this because my mother bought it for me before she picked me up…”
“I brought this because my brother sent it to me…”
“I brought this because it represents who I am…”
My student holds up a small stuffed toy, the rest of the class sits in a circle in silence, and then a few ask questions.
The next child shares their object, and the experience replicates itself. Silent listening, thoughtful questions, and a newfound knowledge of who we are and what we are.
For the past few weeks, we have been working our way through experiences inspired by Sara K. Ahmed’s new book, Being the Change. A book that I knew the minute I read it would be a game changer for me. And I was right. The book inspired me to throw out my entire 4th quarter plans and revamp them with a focus on self-exploration, discovery, and social comprehension.
The book inspired me to add more student discussion, more time for reflection, more quiet, more time, deeper experiences.
We started with an exploration of the identity webs we created at the beginning of the year. What can we add now? Have we changed this year? We discussed what identity means, how it shapes our experiences.
The focus naturally shifted then to our names. I asked students to discover the story of their name or of someone else’s name. I let those at home know to share the stories. I shared my own name story, opened up and shared what it meant to only be named by my mother because my father didn’t really have a stake in my name, nor me as he decided that he couldn’t be at my birth because of a meeting.
The questions followed and I answered as best as I could, modeling my own trust in the community we have created, the vulnerability it sometimes takes to open up to others when you are not quite sure what they will do with the information.
We spent a lot of time talking, asking questions, and writing in our identity journal. A low-key journal where students are asked to share their thoughts on what they are learning about themselves and others. Quick lessons turned into several days, savoring the pace with which it unfolded in front of us. Giving the proper time it deserves.
We moved into picture books, diving into amazing stories of others who decided to make an impact on the world. Students read, inferred and wondered what led someone to take a risk and try to change the world. I asked the students if they could connect with the person they wrote about. And they did, not so much in the large feat the book was focused on, but on the everyday resilience, on the goals, on the motivation, the decision to be courageous.
And then I asked them where they were from. Not just location, but what shapes them as a person. What smells remind them of whatever home may be. Which words, objects, moments frozen in time. I shared my own life once more, opening up for questions and then stepped out of the way, having the students slowly unpack what the question even meant. They reflected, shared, and opened up.
And then I asked them to bring in an object that represented them somehow. Something that mattered to them. A 7th-grade show-and-tell but with meaning. Some forgot, but those that remembered showed parts of themselves that perhaps others hadn’t seen. It was meant to be a reminder of how to listen actively, a reminder of how to ask thoughtful questions, and yet it became so much more.
An unveiling of small parts that perhaps others hadn’t seen.
A deep sense of appreciation for taking the chance and sharing.
A stillness in our classroom as some kids chose to share deeply personal items, while their peers took it all in.
As a visitor observed yesterday, I can’t believe what they shared, and I agreed. These kids with their hearts. These kids with their stories. These kids with their sometimes bravado laid it out there for all to see. I am so grateful. I am so proud.
As we move forward in this exploration of the issues that surround us in our world, I am so thankful for the inspiration for the book. For the ideas to push us toward a closer understanding to who we are and how we see the world. For how our very identity shapes the worldview we carry with us. Sometimes all we need is a little inspiration.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. 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.
April 18, 2018
When I Realized I Would Be OK…
I ask her if she has anything else she wants to share.
The student-led conference is almost over. Ups and downs have been highlighted. She has discussed how she has grown, the choices she has made, how she is ready for the challenge of the next year. I couldn’t be prouder, she is right, she is ready.
She clears her throat, says, “Yes, I want to share my highlight of the year…” pulls up the page to show her mom and then begins.
“My highlight of the year is when I realized I would be ok…
When I realized that all of the work I had put in would pay off, when I realized that I was smart, that this would be a good year. That the way others saw me was for me to decide. That last year which wasn’t so great, was not this year but that this year would be good.”
She continues on, and as I listen I get teary-eyed, I cannot help but think that perhaps we all need to have this realization.
That we will be okay.
That the past is truly in the past. That we decide how the present will be. That we screw up, that we make mistakes, but that we can fix it, that we can be better.
That sometimes others view us in a way we don’t want.
That sometimes we surround ourselves with negativity.
That sometimes we are the negativity.
That sometimes we make these decisions that affect us for a long time, but that there always, always is a way out.
And that sometimes, we are the reason a kid started to see themselves this way.
That we, as educators, hold so much power over how these kids feel within our classrooms, that if we do not feel okay, it will be hard for our students to. That if we only see our student through one lens, whatever we may be, we miss the whole kid. That we all need to help kids that they will be ok.
So may we all have the realization that we will be ok.
That we are enough.
That we are smart.
That we are kind.
That what we have done is worth it. Is worth us.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. 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.
April 14, 2018
I Hate Your Class
She tells me that she hates my class. She hates coming. She hates what we are doing. Waits for my reaction, after all, aren’t those fighting words? I take a breath, quell my shame, and ask, “How can I help? What can I do?”
Nothing, she says, and she looks away. This conversation is over.
I carry the words with me wherever I go. I am the teacher that a child hates to have. I am a teacher whose class a child hates.
It happens to all of us and yet we feel like, surely, we must be the only ones who have ever been told just how awful we are. Just how miserable we make coming to school, just how we make this child feel. In the past, a long time ago, I would have gotten mad. Angry at the words. How dare you and do you know what I do to make this class great? Don’t you know just how much I care? Don’t you see all of the kids smiling, having fun, investing in our class? Don’t you hear their declaration of love?
Surely it cannot be me but you that is the problem…
Now I know that the words are not meant to hurt, but instead, inform. To help us realize that what we are doing at the moment is not what this child needs. That their lens of our classroom needs to change, that somehow, somewhere our connection has been dulled or frazzled and that it is in our power to now do something about it.
Because that’s what those words are; an invitation to repair. To have a deeper conversation. To say, what can I do instead of what have you done? To reflect on our actions, on our interactions, and question how we are part of the problem before we get to the solution. It starts with us, and it starts with asking, after all, not every child will have the courage to say it straight to your face.
So on Monday, take a moment to ask your students or even your teachers, do you like our classroom, do you like our school, do you think I like you? Ask them to trust you with their truths and put their names on the answer.
Take a deep breath before you read the answers.
Don’t get angry, get quiet instead, think for a moment and then approach the kids, or the adults, and thank them for their honesty. For their truth. Then ask, how can we make it better? How can we change this?
Because we cannot change what we don’t know.
I am the teacher that a child hates to have. I am a teacher whose class a child hates. But it is not all I am. It is not all I have to be. If only I have the courage to ask. I can change that, we all can.
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.
April 11, 2018
A Way Out
The poster hung above our sink, one of the most prominent spots in our classroom. Every time my 4th graders washed their hands, they would see exactly what was expected of them, what the consequences were if they messed up. Screw up and you get your name on the board. Screw up again and you place a checkmark next to your name. Screw up again? Phone call home in the middle of class. Clear, consistent and fair consequences, or so I thought.
I wish I could tell you that I saw the errors of my ways quickly. That some sense was talked into me before I implemented it. I can’t. That poster and that system hung on that wall for more than a year, bearing witness to all of the kids who marched right up to the front of their room, dictated by my call of “Write your name on the board!”
I wish I would have known better. I wish the students would have protested. I wish the parents would have questioned. I wish and yet, how often do our decision, whether poor or not, truly get questioned by those they affect? How often do the very people we are supposed to serve actually dare to question our authority?
It is easy to cringe at a public display of discipline like that. Of how I used public shame as a tool for compliance. Of how I wielded my discipline system as a way to control and not to teach. It is easy to look at others’ mistakes and forget the mistakes we have made ourselves, without questioning the practices we may have put in place now that perhaps aren’t quite as public, aren’t quite as harsh., but still serve as a visible reminder to kids of what will happen when they do screw up, because, let’s face it, all kids will at some point.
How often do we make a final decision because we think it is in the best interest of the child without actually thinking of the child?
How often do we set up rules so that all kids can be treated the same, somehow forgetting that all kids are, indeed, different?
How often do we stand so firm in our beliefs that we forget that part of growing up is screwing up and that is how we grow?
How often do we create rigid rules because we believe that it is in the best interest of the children when in reality they were really in the best interest of the adults?
A colleague reminded me today that there’s always gotta be a way out. A way for all kids to actually succeed, to have some room, to still be a part. To feel like even if they didn’t quite get there, there was still success in the steps they did make. To feel like while they may not have fully succeeded, there was still progress nonetheless.
There’s gotta be a path forward even when we are exasperated. Even when we feel we have tried everything. Even when we think that there is nothing else that can possibly get done.
And while, sure, all kids need deadlines and consequences, at what times do we set them so hard into stone that they become unattainable for the most vulnerable students, for those who consistently find limited success within our schools? Do we in our eagerness to be fair and balanced forget what that really looks like in the shape of each child?
Don’t forget about the way out. About taking a step back and re-evaluating. About keeping kids in mind. About being a helper. Being a believer. Being someone who was willing to reevaluate just to make sure that we tried everything. Because I would rather go home feeling I tried than knowing I stood firm at all costs, because at what cost do we really move forward?
A way out for all, a way in for all, so that we all can find success, somehow.
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.
April 10, 2018
You Asked For…
Perhaps it is because we woke up to yet more snow on Monday.
Perhaps it is because summer still seems so far away.
Perhaps it is because of too many late nights.
Too little sleep.
State testing.
Friendship drama.
Or simply because 8th grade looms and some kids are not quite sure what that means.
Whatever the reason, this week has been a long one and it is only Tuesday.
From students who are in a state of distress due to things outside of their circumstances.
To friendships cracking, breakups and misunderstandings.
To simply getting to work becoming harder and harder.
To taking more time to settle in.
To more redirections. More jokes needed to get a smile. More energy to get a response.
It is hard. It is draining. It makes me question why I seem to all of a sudden have lost whatever momentum we had and how can I get it back. And do they even know how hard I try? Because, man, I try, every single day to make it an experience worth their time.
Tonight as I pondered how I can help make it better for all of them, it finally dawned on me; they have little to no idea of what I have changed in order to help them. Why should they? I have never shared it. I can hope that they pick up on it, but I wonder if they do, after all, they still have to go to school, they still have to work, and they still have to learn.
So as I pulled up their most recent feedback on our class, I recognized all of the changes made based on their words and then made a few slides. A few visuals for them to see. They simply started with, “You asked for….” and then I filled int heir feedback and then I followed it up with “You got/had…”
You asked for fewer projects, you had only two major projects last quarter.
You asked for less teacher talk, you got lessons that last less than ten minutes.
You asked for more choice in who you work with, you got some degree of choice every single time.
You asked for more choice in projects, you got more than twenty just in the last one.
Two slides filled with many requests all granted; more work time, less homework, less teacher talk, more choice, more freedom, less paper writing and such all filled the slides.
Tomorrow we start the day with a celebration of growth, of freedom, and perhaps even a reminder of just how much they have. Not to elicit guilt but instead build awareness os that we can continue to capitalize on the community we have. On the trust, we have built. On the level of freedom, we may take for granted.
Perhaps we all just need a reminder of just how far we have come.
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.
Great Picture Books to Discuss Identity and Character
For our entire 4th quarter, we are diving into identity and how it fits within our social comprehension guided by the work of the incredible new book from Sara K. Ahmed, Being the Change. As we start to look at how our identity shapes our actions, I thought a safe spot to start with would be within the pages of picture books. After all, some of my students are not yet ready to share parts of their identity and so looking at the lives of others before we turn inward is a more welcoming path.
I was thrilled to be able to pull so many great nonfiction picture books to have the students read, discuss, and reflect on. The questions we will use to spark conversation include:
What can you infer about their character traits based on their actions?
What can you infer about their identity and what they value?
What do you think motivated them to do what they did?
How do these actions fit into the world from a historical standpoint?
Here are some of the books we are using
When young Elwyn White lay in bed as a sickly child, a bold house mouse befriended him. When the time came for kindergarten, an anxious Elwyn longed for the farm, where animal friends awaited him at the end of each day. Propelled by his fascination with the outside world, he began to jot down his reflections in a journal. Writing filled him with joy, and words became his world.
Back in the days of long skirts and afternoon teas, young Joan Procter entertained the most unusual party guests: slithery and scaly ones, who turned over teacups and crawled past the crumpets…. While other girls played with dolls, Joan preferred the company of reptiles. She carried her favorite lizard with her everywhere–she even brought a crocodile to school!
When Joan grew older, she became the Curator of Reptiles at the British Museum. She went on to design the Reptile House at the London Zoo, including a home for the rumored-to-be-vicious komodo dragons. There, just like when she was a little girl, Joan hosted children’s tea parties–with her komodo dragon as the guest of honor.
In Mississippi in the mid-1800s, it was illegal for enslaved people to learn to read and write. Getting caught meant thirty-nine lashes with a whip as punishment. But this did not stop Lilly Ann Granderson, an enslaved woman herself. She believed in the power of education. To share her knowledge with others, she started a midnight school. In a small cabin hidden in a back alley, Lilly Ann held her secret classes. Every noise in the dark was a reminder of the punishment she and her students faced if they were found out. But the chance to learn was worth the risk. Over the years, Lilly Ann taught hundreds of enslaved people to read and write. Many of her students went on to share their knowledge with their families. Some started secret schools of their own. Others forged passes to escape to freedom in the North. Based on a true story, Midnight Teacher is an inspiring testament to a little-known pioneer in education.
Before she raised her lens to take her most iconic photo, Dorothea Lange took photos of the downtrodden from bankers in once-fine suits waiting in breadlines, to former slaves, to the homeless sleeping on sidewalks. A case of polio had left her with a limp and sympathetic to those less fortunate. Traveling across the United States, documenting with her camera and her fieldbook those most affected by the stock market crash, she found the face of the Great Depression
Dangerous Jane by Suzanne Slade (Author), Alice Ratterree (Illustrator)
Jane’s heart ached for the world, but what could she do to stop a war?
This energetic and inspiring picture book biography of activist Jane Addams focuses on the peace work that won her the Nobel Peace Prize. From the time she was a child, Jane’s heart ached for others. At first the focus of her efforts was on poverty, and lead to the creation of Hull House, the settlement house she built in Chicago. For twenty-five years, she’d helped people from different countries live in peace at Hull House. But when war broke out, Jane decided to take on the world and become a dangerous woman for the sake of peace.
A bilingual biography of José Martí, who dedicated his life to the promotion of liberty, the abolishment of slavery, political independence for Cuba, and intellectual freedom. Written in verse with excerpts from Martí’s seminal work, Versos sencillos.
On the morning of August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle stood in her bathing suit on the beach at Cape Gris-Nez, France, and faced the churning waves of the English Channel. Twenty-one miles across the perilous waterway, the English coastline beckoned. Lyrical text, stunning illustrations and fascinating back matter put the reader right alongside Ederle in her bid to be the first woman to swim the Channel―and contextualizes her record-smashing victory as a defining moment in sports history. Time line, bibliography, source notes.
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone (Author)
In the 1830s, when a brave and curious girl named Elizabeth Blackwell was growing up, women were supposed to be wives and mothers. Some women could be teachers or seamstresses, but career options were few. Certainly no women were doctors.
But Elizabeth refused to accept the common beliefs that women weren’t smart enough to be doctors, or that they were too weak for such hard work. And she would not take no for an answer. Although she faced much opposition, she worked hard and finally―when she graduated from medical school and went on to have a brilliant career―proved her detractors wrong. This inspiring story of the first female doctor shows how one strong-willed woman opened the doors for all the female doctors to come.
Before She was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author), James E. Ransome (Illustrator)
We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken. An evocative poem and opulent watercolors come together to honor a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion make her larger than life.
Chef Roy Choi calls himself a “street cook.”
He wants outsiders, low-riders,
kids, teens, shufflers and skateboarders,
to have food cooked with care, with love,
with sohn maash.
“Sohn maash” is the flavors in our fingertips. It is the love and cooking talent that Korean mothers and grandmothers mix into their handmade foods. For Chef Roy Choi, food means love. It also means culture, not only of Korea where he was born, but the many cultures that make up the streets of Los Angeles, where he was raised. So remixing food from the streets, just like good music—and serving it up from a truck—is true to L.A. food culture. People smiled and talked as they waited in line. Won’t you join him as he makes good food smiles?
While sitting in the bleachers of a Soap Box Derby in the 1950s, Mary Garber overheard two African-American boys in the following exchange: “See that lady down there?” asked one boy. “That’s Mary Garber. She doesn’t care who you are, but if you do something good, she’ll write about you.”
Mary Garber was a pioneering sports journalist in a time where women were rarely a part of the newspaper business. Women weren’t even allowed to sit in the press boxes at sporting events, so Mary was forced to sit with the coaches’ wives. But that didn’t stop her.
In a time when African-American sports were not routinely covered, Mary went to the games and wrote about them. Garber was a sportswriter for fifty-six years and was the first woman to receive the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award, presented for major contributions in sports journalism. And now, every year the Association of Women in Sports Media presents the Mary Garber Pioneer Award in her honor to a role model for women in sports media.
Through artful prose and beautiful illustrations, Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson tell the true story of Wangari Muta Maathai, known as “Mama Miti,” who in 1977 founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization that has empowered many people to mobilize and combat deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental degradation. Today more than 30 million trees have been planted throughout Mama Miti’s native Kenya, and in 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari Muta Maathai has changed Kenya tree by tree—and with each page turned, children will realize their own ability to positively impact the future.
Marie Curie by Demi (Author, Illustrator)
Maria Salomea Sklodowaska was born on November 7, 1867. Her family called her Manya, but the world would remember her by another name: Marie Curie, one of the greatest scientists who ever lived.
In a time when few women attended college, Marie earned degrees in physics and mathematics and went on to discover two elements: radium and polonium. She also invented a new word along the way: radioactive. This book celebrates her momentous achievements while also educating its readers about her scientific accomplishments and their implications.
Brave Jane Austen: Reader, Writer, Author, Rebel by Lisa Pliscou (Author), Jen Corace (Illustrator)
Born in the late 1700s, Jane Austen was a smart, creative girl in a house full of boys, all of whom could aspire to accomplish many things as adults while girls were raised primarily to become good wives. Jane didn’t have much opportunity to go to school but she read everything she could, including all the books in her father’s study. And before long, she began to write her own stories, filled with funny, clever, and inventive characters.
Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renee Watson (Author), Christian Robinson (Illustrator)
Born to parents who were both former slaves, Florence Mills knew at an early age that she loved to sing, and that her sweet, bird-like voice, resonated with those who heard her. Performing catapulted her all the way to the stages of 1920s Broadway where she inspired everyone from songwriters to playwrights. Yet with all her success, she knew firsthand how prejudice shaped her world and the world of those around her. As a result, Florence chose to support and promote works by her fellow black performers while heralding a call for their civil rights. Featuring a moving text and colorful illustrations, Harlem’s Little Blackbird is a timeless story about justice, equality, and the importance of following one’s heart and dreams.
The Legendary Miss Lena Horne by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author), Elizabeth Zunon (Illustrator)
You have to be taught to be second class; you’re not born that way.
Lena Horne was born into the freedom struggle, to a family of teachers and activists. Her mother dreamed of being an actress, so Lena followed in her footsteps as she chased small parts in vaudeville, living out of a suitcase until MGM offered Lena something more—the first ever studio contract for a black actress.
But the roles she was considered for were maids and mammies, stereotypes that Lena refused to play. Still, she never gave up. “Stormy Weather” became her theme song, and when she sang “This Little Light of Mine” at a civil rights rally, she found not only her voice, but her calling.
Before Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took her seat in our nation’s highest court, she was just a little girl in the South Bronx. Justice Sotomayor didn’t have a lot growing up, but she had what she needed — her mother’s love, a will to learn, and her own determination. With bravery she became the person she wanted to be. With hard work she succeeded. With little sunlight and only a modest plot from which to grow, Justice Sotomayor bloomed for the whole world to see.
Who was Grace Hopper? A software tester, workplace jester, cherished mentor, ace inventor, avid reader, naval leader—AND rule breaker, chance taker, and troublemaker. Acclaimed picture book author Laurie Wallmark (Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine) once again tells the riveting story of a trailblazing woman. Grace Hopper coined the term “computer bug” and taught computers to “speak English.” Throughout her life, Hopper succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly was “Amazing Grace” . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys. With a wealth of witty quotes, and richly detailed illustrations, this book brings Hopper’s incredible accomplishments to life.
To become the first female Jewish Supreme Court Justice, the unsinkable Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to overcome countless injustices. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s and ’40s, Ginsburg was discouraged from working by her father, who thought a woman’s place was in the home. Regardless, she went to Cornell University, where men outnumbered women four to one. There, she met her husband, Martin Ginsburg, and found her calling as a lawyer. Despite discrimination against Jews, females, and working mothers, Ginsburg went on to become Columbia Law School’s first tenured female professor, a judge for the US Court of Appeals, and finally, a Supreme Court Justice.
To the Stars!: The First American Woman to Walk in Space by Carmella Van Vleet (Author), Dr. Kathy Sullivan (Author), Nicole Wong (Illustrator)
Kathy Sullivan wanted to go everywhere. She loved blueprints and maps. She loved languages and the ocean. She didn’t like the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” She wanted to explore and do exciting things that girls weren’t supposed to be able to do. Only men had the exciting jobs.
Kathy liked fishing and swimming; flying planes and studying science. That’s what she liked and that’s what she decided to do with her life. She followed her heart and eventually became a NASA astronaut and the first woman to walk in space. Kathy wanted to see the whole world and so she did: from space!
Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman, Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many years, and achieved her goals—and now you can see the buildings Hadid has designed all over the world.
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe (Author)
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe’s vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat’s own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn’t always have to be neat or clean–and definitely not inside the lines–to be beautiful.
Danza!: Amalia Hernández and Mexico’s Folkloric Ballet by Duncan Tonatiuh (Author)
Danza! is a celebration of Hernández’s life and of the rich history of dance in Mexico. As a child, Amalia always thought she would grow up to be a teacher, until she saw a performance of dancers in her town square. She was fascinated by the way the dancers twirled and swayed, and she knew that someday she would be a dancer, too. She began to study many different types of dance, including ballet and modern, under some of the best teachers in the world. Hernández traveled throughout Mexico studying and learning regional dances. Soon she founded her own dance company, El Ballet Folklórico de México, where she integrated her knowledge of ballet and modern dance with folkloric dances. The group began to perform all over the country and soon all over the world, becoming an international sensation that still tours today.
Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled.
All the girl ever wanted was an education. But in Rhodesia, education for girls was nearly impossible.
So she taught herself to read and write with her brother’s schoolbooks and to count while watching cattle graze.
When the girl became a young wife and mother, she wrote her goals on a scrap of paper and buried them in a can—an ancient ritual that reminded her that she couldn’t give up on her dreams.
She dreamed of going to America and earning one degree; then a second, even higher; and a third, the highest. And she hoped to bring education to all the girls and boys of her village.
Would her dreams ever come true?
Diego Rivera: His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh (Author)
This charming book introduces one of the most popular artists of the twentieth century, Diego Rivera, to young readers. It tells the story of Diego as a young, mischievous boy who demonstrated a clear passion for art and then went on to become one of the most famous painters in the world.
Duncan Tonatiuh also prompts readers to think about what Diego would paint today. Just as Diego’s murals depicted great historical events in Mexican culture or celebrated native peoples, if Diego were painting today, what would his artwork depict? How would his paintings reflect today’s culture?
Beginning in 1922, when Edith Houghton was only ten years old, she tried out for a women’s professional baseball team, the Philadelphia Bobbies. Though she was the smallest on the field, soon reporters were talking about “The Kid” and her incredible skill, and crowds were packing the stands to see her play. Her story reminds us that baseball has never been about just men and boys. Baseball is also about talented girls willing to work hard to play any way they can.
Many know the story of Robert Peary’s great 1909 expedition to reach the North Pole. Yet few people know that Peary was joined on this grueling, history-making journey by fellow explorer Matthew Henson. Henson was born just after the Civil War, a time when slavery had been abolished, but few opportunities were available for black people. Even as a child, he exhibited a yearning for adventure, and at the age of only thirteen, he embarked on a five-year voyage sailing the seven seas and learning navigation, history, and mathematics. Henson’s greatest adventure began when he accepted an invitation from Robert Peary to join his expedition to the North Pole. The team endured storms, shifting ice, wind, injuries, accidents, and unimaginable cold. Finally on April 1, Peary, Henson, and four Inuit men began the final 133-mile push to the Pole.
This poetic book is a resounding tribute to Tubman’s strength, humility, and devotion. With proper reverence, Weatherford and Nelson do justice to the woman who, long ago, earned over and over the name Moses.
Ernie Barnes was an NFL football player who longed to make art. Finally his dream came true.
When Ernie Barnes was growing up in North Carolina in the 1940s, he loved to draw. Even when he played as a boy with his friends he drew with a stick in the mud. And he never left home without a sketchbook. He would draw families walking home from church, or the old man on the sofa. He drew what he saw.
But in the segregated south, Ernie didn’t know how to make a living as an artist. Ernie grew tall and athletic and became a football star. Soon enough the colleges came calling. Still, in his heart Ernie longed to paint. Would that day ever come?
Ernie Barnes was one of the most important artists of his time known for his style of elongation and movement. His work has influenced a generation of painters and illustrators and can be found in museums and collections, such as the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the California African American Museum.
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull (Author), Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)
Cesar Chavez is known as one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders. When he led a 340-mile peaceful protest march through California, he ignited a cause and improved the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers. But Cesar wasn’t always a leader. As a boy, he was shy and teased at school. His family slaved in the fields for barely enough money to survive.
Cesar knew things had to change, and he thought that–maybe–he could help change them. So he took charge. He spoke up. And an entire country listened.
Nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks intended to go places and do things like anybody else.
So when she heard grown-ups talk about wiping out Birmingham’s segregation laws, she spoke up. As she listened to the preacher’s words, smooth as glass, she sat up tall. And when she heard the plan—picket those white stores! March to protest those unfair laws! Fill the jails!—she stepped right up and said, I’ll do it! She was going to j-a-a-il!
Audrey Faye Hendricks was confident and bold and brave as can be, and hers is the remarkable and inspiring story of one child’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.
You may be familiar with the iconic Vietnam Veterans Memorial. But do you know about the artist-architect who created this landmark?
As a child, Maya Lin loved to study the spaces around her. She explored the forest in her backyard, observing woodland creatures, and used her house as a model to build tiny towns out of paper and scraps. The daughter of a clay artist and a poet, Maya grew up with art and learned to think with her hands as well as her mind. From her first experiments with light and lines to the height of her success nationwide, this is the story of an inspiring American artist: the visionary artist-architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews (Author), Bryan Collier (Illustrator)
Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Along with esteemed illustrator Bryan Collier, Andrews has created a lively picture book autobiography about how he followed his dream of becoming a musician, despite the odds, until he reached international stardom. Trombone Shorty is a celebration of the rich cultural history of New Orleans and the power of music.
You know the Super Soaker. It’s one of top twenty toys of all time. And it was invented entirely by accident. Trying to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, impressive inventor Lonnie Johnson instead created the mechanics for the iconic toy.
A love for rockets, robots, inventions, and a mind for creativity began early in Lonnie Johnson’s life. Growing up in a house full of brothers and sisters, persistence and a passion for problem-solving became the cornerstone for a career as an engineer and his work with NASA. But it is his invention of the Super Soaker water gun that has made his most memorable splash with kids and adults.
Eugenie Clark fell in love with sharks from the first moment she saw them at the aquarium. She couldn’t imagine anything more exciting than studying these graceful creatures. But Eugenie quickly discovered that many people believed sharks to be ugly and scary―and they didn’t think women should be scientists.
Determined to prove them wrong, Eugenie devoted her life to learning about sharks. After earning several college degrees and making countless discoveries, Eugenie wrote herself into the history of science, earning the nickname “Shark Lady.” Through her accomplishments, she taught the world that sharks were to be admired rather than feared and that women can do anything they set their minds to.
I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel (Author), Jazz Jennings (Author), Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator)
From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl’s brain in a boy’s body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn’t feel like herself in boys’ clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz’s story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.
A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz (Author), Catia Chien (Illustrator)
Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion—their voice—but he stutters uncontrollably.
Except when he talks to animals…
Then he is fluent.
Follow the life of the man Time Magazine calls, “the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation”as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves.
Girl Running by Annette Bay Pimentel (Author), Micha Archer (Illustrator)
Because Bobbi Gibb is a girl, she’s not allowed to run on her school’s track team. But after school, no one can stop her–and she’s free to run endless miles to her heart’s content. She is told no yet again when she tries to enter the Boston Marathon in 1966, because the officials claim that it’s a man’s race and that women are just not capable of running such a long distance. So what does Bobbi do? She bravely sets out to prove the naysayers wrong and show the world just what a girl can do.
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson (Author), David Shannon (Illustrator)
Born of Mohawk and Cayuga descent, musical icon Robbie Robertson learned the story of Hiawatha and his spiritual guide, the Peacemaker, as part of the Iroquois oral tradition. Now he shares the same gift of storytelling with a new generation.
Hiawatha was a strong and articulate Mohawk who was chosen to translate the Peacemaker’s message of unity for the five warring Iroquois nations during the 14th century. This message not only succeeded in uniting the tribes but also forever changed how the Iroquois governed themselves—a blueprint for democracy that would later inspire the authors of the U.S. Constitution.
Malcolm X grew to be one of America’s most influential figures. But first, he was a boy named Malcolm Little. Written by his daughter, this inspiring picture book biography celebrates a vision of freedom and justice.
Bolstered by the love and wisdom of his large, warm family, young Malcolm Little was a natural born leader. But when confronted with intolerance and a series of tragedies, Malcolm’s optimism and faith were threatened. He had to learn how to be strong and how to hold on to his individuality. He had to learn self-reliance.
And there you have it, just a few of the books we will be suing to discuss identity, motivation, and character.
If you want to see more of our favorite books, go here.
April 9, 2018
Hold Your Tongue
He sits with his head slumped down. Again. Nothing in front of him. Again. Eyes are closed. Again. Arms crossed as he lays his head on the table. Again.
To a person walking by he looks like he is asleep.
To me, he looks like he is mad. Actively fighting me and what we are doing. Again….
But I wait…ask him again if he is okay. If he needs anything.
He doesn’t answer.
My patience runs thin, after all I have a class to get to. To teach. Why can’t he just answer? I am trying to help after all. Again.
He can tell probably that my answers are getting shorter. Less calm in my voice. And yet, he continues to refuse. Tells me it’s not worth his time. That he doesn’t want to do it. Looks for the holes in my teacher armor and shoots to kill with every word he can think of.
I take it in, knowing now is not the time to fight, and yet it is so hard until I remember to walk away.
To hold my tongue and give some space. To not guess at what is happening and draw the wrong conclusions, but instead just give time. Not to try to solve. Not to try to fix. Not try to be right there actively problem-solving, trying to get to the bottom of it all. Instead walking away before I forget what every kid needs; a shoulder, an ear, some time, some space.
And even though every ounce of my teacher mind tells me to come back to him, to try to fix it, to try again, I stay away. I just watch, take no action, and wait…
And so five minutes later or perhaps even ten, I see his head is up. He is reading, sort of, he is kind of working. No longer shut down, but at least alert. Is it perfect? Nope. Is it enough? Nope. Is it a breakthrough? Nope, not really, but it is a start, and sometimes that is all we need.
Tomorrow we try again, not stuck in a power struggle, but at least in a place of truce. In a place where we can both exist and hopefully move an inch further forward toward something that looks like learning, like trust.
Once again, I am reminded of how powerful silence and space can be. Especially when they expect us to do neither. Again.
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.
