October 2015 – Pernille Ripp

aha moment, being a teacher, books, Literacy, Passion, student voice

Then It Just Doesn’t Matter

October 31, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I have some staunch book haters this year. Some kids who really hate reading. Some of them hate writing as well. And not just in a “7th grade trying to be cool” kind of way, but in a deep-seated notion that rules their decisions, their actions, and their days. They hate reading. And they are telling me loudly.

They are pushing me to think about what I do in our classroom. How I try to wrap them up in the excitement, how my own relentless quest to find that perfect book along with them is one that deserves the time it gets. That the very act of loving reading (or writing or math or science) is something that we must find the time to cultivate in our schools. Even when I feel the pressure of the year and the deadlines looming over me. Because when they hate reading (or insert whatever school related subject here) then it just doesn’t matter what strategies I try to teach them.

When they hate reading then it just doesn’t matter that I am trying to teach them how to think deeper about text.

It just doesn’t matter that I am trying to teach them to find the signposts.

It just doesn’t matter that I am trying to teach them how to write about their thoughts. How to access harder texts. How to understand text features or write a summary. How to analyze rather than paraphrase.

When they hate reading then that is all they can think about. They refuse to access the skills that they need to practice because everything we do is attached to something to something they hate.

And I get it, why would you want to do more with something you despise?

So when they hate reading we must attack that first. Not the strategies, not the skills, but the emotion that is attached to everything we are trying to do. We must dig and dig and dig to find out why. And we must ask, and we must talk, and we must give them a chance to change their mind, if even just in the slightest way, as we create classrooms that are run on a culture of love for our subject, rather than a need to cover curriculum.

We can assume that they hate it because it is hard. We can assume that they hate it because they find it boring. That they hate it because they have to sit still, because they cannot focus, because they would rather be doing so many other things. But we won’t know until we ask. We wont know until we acknowledge the hatred or whatever emotion they carry so that we can do something about it.

Too often we barrel on, hoping that within our teaching something magical will happen. Yet within our race to teach to the standards, to explore the strategies, to cover, cover, cover, we cannot forget to develop the love, develop the relationship that students need to have with what we teach so that can become invested, even if just a little bit.

So when they hate reading, or whatever other thing they loudly proclaim to hate, don’t just teach. Listen. Ask. And then do something about it. And not just by yourself, but with them.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my 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.

books, Literacy, picture books

Great Picture Books to Use for Again & Again – Notice & Note

October 30, 2015August 21, 2016 Pernille Ripp

One of the main texts we use to guide our reading instruction is the amazing Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst. This book provides us with the foundation for having deeper reading conversations and a common language as we develop our thoughts. While the book has excellent text ideas to use as mentor texts, I thought it would be nice for my students to use picture books on the very first day of a new strategy before we delve into the longer text excerpts. I have therefore looked for picture books I could use with the different strategies and will publish posts as I have them for the 6 different strategies since I cannot be the only one looking for ideas.

The first post was on Contrast & Contradictions, then followed Aha Moments, Tough Questions, Words of the Wiser, and now comes a tougher one to find picture books for Again and Again.

NEW Additions:

Brick by Brick by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Floyd Cooper tells the little known story of how slaves were part of the construction of The White House. Powerful read and powerful Again and Again moments.

Back of the Bus written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Floyd Cooper tells the story of Rosa Park’s act of courage from the perspective of a little boy on the bus. Powerful again and again when students notice the symbolism of the marble.

Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride written by Pam Munoz Ryan and illustrated by Brian Selznick has a few subtle Again and Again’s and may therefore be better suited for when students have had some exposure to the strategy.

I admit that The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds was the first one that came to mind for this strategy of noticing when something is repeated again and again. Why? Because the cat becomes a symbol for so many things in this book and is something that my students often notice.

With the simple line “Winter is coming” this picture book aptly titled Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Jim LaMarche is great for just starting out with the strategy since the line is easy to spot and will lead to good discussions about how the book changes even though the line stays the same.

The Big Box by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison illustrated by Giselle Potter has a lot of repetition making it an ideal candidate for again and again. Because the words do not seem to mean much until you really start to think about their meaning. What is the symbolic meaning of the big box?

One of the most beloved picture books in our 7th grade classroom is I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen which due to the hat and the repeated phrases of the bear and the rabbit are great for inferring based on the again and again moments.

Another favorite is Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman illustrated by Zachariah OHora when Dot the Rabbit keeps repeating that Wolfie will eat them all up. This leads to some great discussion of why she would keep saying that and how we do the same as people when we judge.

The again and again moment may be a little harder to find in the classic Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak but kids always recognize it when they reach the final page and the supper is still hot. Why does this matter and how does it link in to earlier events?

A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson is a beautiful picture book and the again and again lies in the use of the color red as well as the phrase “Sweet smell of roses…” throughout the book.

this beautiful new picture book, My Two Blankets by Irena Kobold and Freya Blackwood keeps eluding to a blanket. I love the metaphor that the blanket (s) represent.

Blue on Blue by Dianne White and Beth Krommes has a fantastic again and again in the way the color words are used. While not as obvious as an again and again moment, I am looking forward to seeing if students can discover the pattern.

We are about to start our nonfiction focus for the year so I am so glad I found some great again and again moments in The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Helligman with pictures by LeUyen Pham. The way the numbers are colored throughout the pages will definitely catch the eye of students.

As always, I turned to the awesome Notice and Note community on Facebook and asked them to share their favorites as well. Here they are.

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson.

Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray and Jim Field.

Little Elliot Big City by Mike Curato

By Frog and Mouse by Deborah Freedman

Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Shortcut by Donald Crews

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

The Hat by Jan Brett

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater

As always, please add your favorites for Again and Again in the comments. Also, did you see the new Notice and Note for Nonfiction? I am so excited to read it.

Be the change, Passion, Personalized Learning, student driven, student voice

Some Ideas for Personalizing Learning in the Younger Grades

October 28, 2015 Pernille Ripp

“Mom, you have to see this…?”

Thea hands me her science project, her very first in in 1st grade, and she is so excited she has a hard time standing still.

“I have to do this thing and I get to choose and I know I want to do coyotes and a video so we need to learn stuff…”

I grab the paper from her hand and once again marvel at the ingenuity of her teacher and the district we both are in.

Personalizing learning in the younger grades has always been something I felt slightly clueless about. After all, most of the kids I have taught have been older than 9. Yet, by watching what Thea is experiencing in her 1st grade classroom, I have a few ideas for how learning can become more personalized in the younger grades in order to create more passionate learners.

Give scaffolded topic choice. While this seems like a no-brainer, I think giving choice looks a lot different in a 1st grade classroom versus a 4th grade. I know that 6 year olds often have many ideas, which can either lead to brilliance or indecisiveness, so I have seen how a limited amount of choice in specific areas can really help them get engaged. In Thea’s science project she was told to study a Wisconsin animal and was then given a suggested list to select from. She knew right away when we read the words “Coyotes” that they would be her choice, however, her teacher also left it wide open for any animals not on the list as long as they were found natively in our state. Having choice, but with limitations helped Thea get straight to work, and helped her get excited about her topic.

Have many ways to access information. Her teacher did not place a limit on how she should access the information but gave us ideas instead. We therefore watched real coyote videos on YouTube, checked out books, found a PBS kids show, and also found pictures online. Not being limited to one method of finding information meant that we could adapt it to what we had access to, as well as what would work for Thea in the moment.

Have various ways to show learning. While all the students had to do a fill-in-the-blank written report they also had to come up with a way to present their knowledge to the class. A few choices were given; diorama, poster, or a video, but again you could also come up with your own idea. Thea immediately wanted to do a video because she thought it would be fun. As we discussed it more in detail, she decided to act like a teacher because she wants to be one when she grows up. Again, having this choice in how she would present her information made the assignment even more meaningful to her because she got to express her knowledge in a way that made sense to her.

Have selective goal setting. The students all have several goals in each subject area, but the teacher lets them choose which one they want to pay special attention to. That goal gets a star next to it. When they have centers, one of their stations is for working on their selected goal, a clever way of tapping into what they think they need themselves.

Let them pick partners. Even if you think it is a bad idea. We assume more often than not that students will make a bad choice rather than a good one. Yet, Thea tells me proudly how often she selects a new partner for math because she wants to try working with them. This experience not only offers her a way to learn alongside someone else, she also gets to explore more kids who might be a great friend for her. What an awesome skill to work on.

Have them self-asses with smiley faces. Thea is just learning how to read and write, so having them self reflect through writing would take a very long time. A quick and easy way to self reflect is by using smiley/frowney faces as you go through their learning. Again, this allows students to take control of what they felt successful in and set goals for upcoming learning. Another idea is to have students do a video or voxer message where they self-reflect. This can then also be shared with parents to see how a child thinks.

Discourage parent over-involvement. When I first saw the science project, my heart sank a little because I thought of how much work this might be for Brandon and I. Yet, in the rubric itself, it said that to get a “4” or a “3” the work should not be parent produced but rather originate from the child with only minimal parent support. So that is exactly what we did. While we discussed with Thea what she wanted to do, we really wanted the ideas to come from her and then helped her as she needed. The end result; a kind of messy but pretty funny video (who knows if there is a king coyote anywhere?) that clearly shows her enthusiasm for the topic, as well as her knowledge.

I am amazed at the trust Thea’s teacher puts in her little learners and am also reminded in how often we underestimate kids. Personalizing learning is not something we should start when we think kids are old enough, they are never old enough. It is something we should start right away because that is what will create classrooms filled with curious students. That is what will create passionate learners.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) just came out!

authentic learning, global, projects, students

Want to Be Our Audience?

October 27, 2015 Pernille Ripp

My fantastic 7th graders are working on short choral poetry performances and would love a real-live audience. Well not live, but actual kids to watch their short videos and then give them feedback on their performance. We are looking for 4th grade and lower to assess us, videos will be shared via Google Drive and feedback will be given via a short Google Form. This is open to anywhere in the world. Videos will be posted next week and then we would love feedback by the following Monday, November 9th.

If you are interested, please fill in the form below and you will receive a link with the videos when they are available, you can do as many as you would like.

aha moment, Be the change, ideas, Reading, students

On Slow Readers and What It Means for Student Reading Identity

October 25, 2015October 25, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I am ready to hang a banner in our classroom to loudly display the following words, “Being a slow reader does not make you a bad reader!” and then point to it every time a child tells me with a downward glance that they are slow readers. The shame of the designation oozing from them.

Since when did taking your time as you read become something to be ashamed of?

And yet, they continue to tell me they are slow as they share their true reading lives. They tell me that being a slow reader means they hate reading, that they cannot find any books, that there is no way they will ever read enough books in 7th grade and that there is nothing to be done about it. They have given up because of speed. They have given up because of everything they have attached to the word “slow.”

And with our emphasis on getting things done, including books, in our schools I cannot blame them.

So I tell them instead that they are not “slow,” they are simply taking their time. That yes, increasing reading speed can become a goal for them but that it should not be the only goal. That I understand that when you read at a slower pace (notice the difference in word choice) that you sometimes lose meaning so we need to find a pace that works for them. Because you see, being a fast reader does not make you a great reader. In fact, I struggle publicly with my own fast reading and have as one of my goals that I need to slow down.

Yet, they do not believe me. Not yet anyway. And how can they? When the standardized tests they take to measure their worth as readers are timed? When the countdown clock appears urging them to hurry up and answer or else it will count against them? When I give them all a book challenge of reading 25 books or more and they automatically feel that is a mountain they cannot conquer? When they see their friends whizzing through books and cannot help but compare themselves?

We create environments where fast = good and slow = bad.

So as Thomas Newkirk says, “There is no ideal speed in reading.” Instead it depends on the purpose, the time, the book they are reading. And that is what we should be teaching toward. That students need to find a reading pace that works for them and then make sure that the reading environment we create supports that. We have to remove the stigma of the word “slow.” We have to help our students find success as readers, to redefine their own reading identity so that that very identity does not become a stranglehold or the reason they give up before they even begin.

So we hand them books they can conquer successfully to build up the confidence they lack. And I don’t mean books designated by levels, but books that they want to read based on interest. We hand them graphic novels. We hand them page turners where they will want to read on. And then we hand them time. We remove the “get it done” pace that seems to surround us as we teach. And every time they say they are slow readers and mean it as a bad thing, we tell them they are mistaken. We change the very language we use so that they can find a new way to identify themselves. So that they can feel proud of the time they take when they read, rather than see it as yet another deficit.

We decide what being a slow reader means. That change comes from us. Our job is to make sure students know it.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) just came out!

books, Literacy, Passion, picture books, students

Great Picture Books to Spark Imagination

October 23, 2015September 25, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Whether it is to become less lonely, to find a friend, or to simply create – imagination is a huge theme of many amazing picture books at the moment. Behold some of my new, and not so new, favorites for inspiring students to use their imagination. Beware; these tend to spark great conversations.

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What to Do With a Box by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban is excellent in its simplicity. Think of all of the things we can do with just a cardboard box.

Frida and Bear Play the Shape Game by Hanne Bartholin is sure to inspire doodlers and anyone else who just wants to draw. I loved how my own daughter right away wanted to do exactly what the characters in the book did.

An Artist’s Alphabet by Norman Messenger is stunning. I would love to see what types of letters kids would create after reading this book.

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I don’t know how I could have left off Peter Reynolds’ Creatrilogy from this list. The godfathers of all creativity books these are must haves in your classroom library.

Box by Min Flyte and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw is a fun read with its fold out and flaps. Yet the message is powerful, again, think of all of the things we can do with just a few items and out imagination.

Poppy Pickle: A Little Girl with a Big Imagination by Emma Yartlett is such a fun ride. I love poring over the pictures to see all of the mischief that happens. What a great way to talk about what we can imagine.

It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton is another great mentor text. I wonder what students would have come in the mail if they could and what the consequences would be.

Ideas Are All Around by Philip C. Stead is a beautiful example of what happens when we are trying to write a story but seem so very stuck. What a great book to share when we discuss writing process, how to find inspiration, and how to look for stories.

Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers packs quite the punch on the theme of friendship, loneliness, and also what the power of finding a friend can be. I love how it also shows what can happen with determination and once we feel we find our place in the world. I love how it is not just the “real” people that can use their imagination to fit in.

A common theme of many of these picture books is how visually stunning they are. Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler speaks of a boy and what happens when he explores beyond the pond. I love the vastness of the book and the journey he goes on.

I almost wrote a picture book post on powerful books about loneliness because I wanted to share the beauty of this book Lenny and Lucy written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead somehow. While that post will be written at some point, I also think this picture book fits quite nicely here. Lenny and Lucy is about using your imagination to conquer your problems, and that is a powerful message indeed. On a side note; Erin E. Stead is a contender for the Global Read Aloud 2016 picture book study!

Again the power of an imaginary friend and how having someone no one else can see cam become a problem. I love the book We Forgot Brock by Carter Goodrich because of the friendship it portrays.

the illustrations in Imagine A World by Rob Gonsalves are astounding. I loved reading this with my own children as well as with my 7th graders because of their reactions. This definitely sparks ideas in students!

I love Mr. Cornell’s Dream Boxes by Jeanette Winter for how it can inspire children to use their imagination when it comes to making and creating. By taking seemingly simple things and turning them into works of art, Mr. Cornell changed the world of art.

Draw! by Raul Colon is a masterpiece when it comes to explaining how an artist mind works. I love seeing the reaction when students get to the final page and discover what the meaning behind the book is.

Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Boris Kulikov is a book I turn to for many things; theme, perseverance, conflict, and also imagination, because it si only with imagination that the father of the book solves his problem.

How can your imagination save the most boring story? I love the message of Battle Bunny written by Jon Sciezka and Mac Barnett, illustrated by Matthew Myers. And I also love the students’ reaction when they first start to read it, someone always comes to report that the book has been defaced.

Only their imagination can save the kids in Chalk by Bill Thomson. Another great wordless picture book to add to your collection.

Both Journey and Quest by Aaron Becker speak to the power of a girl’s imagination and the adventure that can unfold. I also love how these books challenge my students’ imagination as they try to decipher what is really going on.

There are a few of our favorite books to spark imagination. Please add those I missed in the comments.

To see the lists of other favorite books and picture books, please see the collection here.