Author: Pernille Ripp

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

being a teacher, classroom management, classroom setup, MIEExpert15, our classroom, Reading, writing

12 Tips for An Organized Book Loving Classroom

May 17, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Anyone who enters our classroom immediately notices all of the books we have. It’s hard not to, they seem to be everywhere. While I have always believed in having as many books as possible in the classroom, I was not always sure on how to best organize it for optimal student access and interest. Now, seven years into having a library, there are a few things that have made my life easier.

No check out system

I have tried so many different check out systems, from a catalog system, to student librarians, to an electronic version, and all of them turned out the same; a ton of work for me and I still lost a lot of books. So a few years ago I abandoned the check out system. Now students know they can grab any book as long as they promise to return it. It is amazing to see the look on a students’ face when they hear that. Yet, I am not sure this is still the best way, I do lose a lot of books but for now replacing books is easier than spending all of that time checking them out.

“Return Your Books Here” Bin

I used to have students shelve the returned books but I always ended up having to remind them and then re-teach them how to get them in the right bin even though everything was marked. I now have a plastic tub with a “Return your books here” sign taped to it right by all of our bookshelves. Once a day I take the time myself to shelve all of the returned books because it gives me a way to see what is popular, look for books other students are wanting, and check on the conditions of some of our most beloved books. It takes me less than five minutes and all the books are in the right bin.

Bins for every genre and then some

I have loved having book bins for many years. While they cost money and give you less shelf space, it has proven to be the easiest way for us to categorize books. Bins are grouped by genre and some by popular authors. Students suggest bins as well as they see a certain collection grow. Two such examples are our newly formed Cassandra Clare bins and military history bins when students pointed out that we had a collection now.

This Book Belongs to Mrs. Ripp Stamp

This inexpensive stamp purchased from Amazon several years ago has saved me so much time. All new books get stamped with “This book belongs to Mrs. Ripp. Please return when finished” on the inside cover and then the genre abbreviation (or author if they are in an author bin) is handwritten below it in black sharpie. I cannot tell you how many books are left behind in other classrooms around our school and this little inexpensive stamp means they all come back to me.

The Hardcover Post-It

The only exception I have to my no book check out system is that if a student is borrowing a hardcover book, I ask them to give me the book jacket and put their name on it with a post-it. I then save them all in a bin and ask students for them periodically. This has saved many hardcover books from disappearing as students see their name and then remember that they probably left in that one place. It also gives me a way to track a book down if someone else is looking for it.

The Gutter Picture Book Organizer

Someone long ago hung gutters all around my room under the white boards and I could not be more happy. Gutters make a perfect display rail for any amazing picture books we may have and ensure that all of the new ones get read right away as well. A very inexpensive way to get more display space indeed.

Printed and Laminated Bookmarks

We use Kylene Beers’ book Notice and Note throughout the year to give us a shared reading language, so it was natural for me to make some printed bookmarks reminding students of the strategies as they read. Bookmarks are i the same place next to post-its, which some kids prefer to use. They don’t have to ask for one, they take them as needed, and return them when they don’t if they feel like it.

“Our Favorite Books” Spinning Wire Rack

For a long time I had a wire rack where I placed all of my favorite books on for students to browse. Yet, it was not being used very much even though it was in a prime location. After inspiration by Nancie Atwell, I hung a sign above it declaring it a rack for the students to share their favorite books and then took all of my books off. I told the students its new purpose and have since watched it fill up with their favorite reads. This spinning rack has now become the first stop whenever they need a new book.

A Separate Book Case (Or Two) For Picture Books

While we have many of our favorite picture books out on display in the classroom (it’s amazing how many time students gravitate toward them in a day when they have a few minutes), I also have an entire book case just designated to picture books. I used to organize them and group them together and then realized it didn’t make the slightest difference to the students. They looked through a lot of books anyway whether they were organized or not. Since I don’t have these in bins, I gave up on organizing them and haven’t looked back since.

The Readers’ Notebook That Doesn’t Leave

I used to ask students to carry their readers’ notebook back and forth for some reason, which meant many days they left it in their locker, or at home, or didn’t know where it was. I also had to ask them to specifically leave them behind whenever I needed to assess them which meant the pressure was on to get them assessed so I could hand them back. Now I ask the students to leave all of their readers notebooks in the classroom. I have a bin for each class, I don’t care what name order they are in and at the start of each class all I have to do is grab the right bin off of my shelf and put it out for the students to grab. This is also how I do attendance these days, by seeing whose notebook has not been picked up.

Pre-printed Standard Comments Sheets

I assess my students readers notebooks every two weeks and while I often take the time to write in specific comments to them, I have also learned to pre-print address labels stickers with certain broad comments such as “Remember to use text evidence to support your thinking” or “Why do you think the author did this?.” Not only has it saved me a lot of time when I need to assess 120 readers notebooks, but it also allows me to focus on the comments they really need while covering all bases. The students do not mind (I have asked them) since they know it allows me to support them more often with my thoughts.

Learning to Let Go

This has been my biggest take away in having a classroom filled with books and readers. Sometimes you don’t have to have a perfect system for it to feel perfectly fine. The students make our book loving classroom their own so they change the organization of books, the shelving of them, and even how we read them. I don’t mind, I just have to let go sometimes and trust the students.

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. The second edition of my first book “Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students” is available for pre-order now. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

being a teacher, being me, middle school

To the Girl Who Cries At Night

May 15, 2015 Pernille Ripp

To the girl who cries at night,

You may not want to hear my words. You may not want me to care. You may think that we adults, we teachers, have no idea what you are going through. You may think that the world is coming apart, that all of those people you thought you could trust, who cared about you, turned out to be frauds. You write your poetry, telling your teachers that it is not personal, you speak to us of friends that are having a hard time. You reach out, but you shield yourself in every possible way. Just so we don’t catch on to the fact that it is not your friends that are hurting, it is you.

And I get it. Right now, life seems like it is too much and there is no way to dig yourself out. Like having a concerned teacher will only cause more problems, add to the burden, and so you stay silent, struggling through as best as you can. You keep putting on the mask, every single day, putting on your brave face so that no one will spy the cracks in your armor. But at night, when it gets dark and you are alone, that’s when you cry, and you wonder why you keep coming to school, why you keep caring, because no one seems to care about you.

I am here to tell you, we do. I am here to tell you that we see the cracks, that we see how much you try every single day. That we see the hurts being thrown your way and we try to shield you in all of our lessons, all of our words. We try to teach empathy, kindness, and love in the picture books we read. We speak to you about friendship, tolerance, and acceptance. We show our human side so that you know we are more than just teachers. We greet you every day so that you know that someone sees you. We leave our doors open so that any time you need us, you can come in. We have arms that will give hugs and shoulders that will carry the burden with you. We may not have the answers, but we do have the time to listen.

So to the girl who cries at night, you are not alone. Even when it feels like there is no one left to care about you, that there is no one left to notice whether you are here or not, we do. Every single day, we look for you, every single day we try to reach out. We try to convince you that it gets better. That when you think that life will always be like this, it won’t. Yes, middle school may seem like a cruel place at times, but there are so many people who care. Who want to create the best experience for you, and not just the academic one, but the emotional one.

So to you, the one with the brave face, who fights her way through her year, just so you can say you did it; I see you. I am here for you. And I am going to tell you, I know how you feel sometimes, because I was the girl who cried at night. Who thought that life would never get better. Who got up every single morning eager for the day to be over, just so one more day would have been lived. Who thought at times it was too much and that no one cared whether I existed or not. I was wrong, and you are too. You may not know how many people care right now, but they do, and we do. So keep coming to school, keep letting us in. Open up and let us help. You don’t have to be alone.

Love,

Mrs. Ripp

aha moment, being a teacher, being me, Passion

What We Teachers Know

May 12, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I keep seeing the articles and posts stemming from the “What I Wish My Teacher Knew” movement, the latest one being an article where someone asked adults what they wished their teachers had known and how that possibly could have changed their lives. I am filled up by it. I get it, there are so many things that we wish others knew about us that may make our lives easier but here’s what seems to be missing from the stories; we teachers know a lot. And we carry that knowledge with us every single day. We carry the hearts and the dreams for all of our students, and sometimes that load gets really heavy, and yet we soldier on because that is our job. That is what we signed up for.

What we teachers know is that we can only control what happens within our walls. That as much as we wish we could adopt a child, feed a family, find a job, or even teach every single child every single thing they need, that the moment a child leaves our schools we lose much of our power. That the time we have is measured in school days not life times. Yet that doesn’t stop us from trying. I know teachers whose homes have become refuges for students misplaced by their lives, I know teachers who have a cabinet full of food in their classroom, so that no child will go hungry. I know teachers that stay up every night trying to figure out how to reach every single kid, how to create a positive learning and life experience for every student, ignoring the sleep they need until they feel they at least have an idea. A new thing that may just be the one thing that makes all of the difference.

Because what we teachers know is that every single second of our day matters. That every time a child speaks we should give them our full attention. We know that our students deserve nothing but the very best every single day, no matter what is happening in our own lives. We know that every child has their own unique struggles and we wish we could help fix every single one of them. And so we try, and we give everything we have, and we try to lighten the burden for the students, and even though we get so tired, so overwhelmed at time by the injustice of some children’s lives, we go back to school every single day so that at least they can see we care.

So before more people assume that teachers don’t know a lot, think of the good teachers you know. Think of everything that goes into their day, how they speak of their students, how they care for each child they teach. Think of that teacher that made a difference for you because they did know. Don’t forget that a teacher is only one person; human and with only so much power. We are the ones that beat ourselves up when we haven’t reached a child, helped them the way they needed, or somehow failed them. We try, we know, and we wish we could do more. Trust me.

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, being me, believe, middle school, Passion, students

What I Have Learned Being a Middle School Teacher

May 11, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I thought I would be a great 7th grade teacher until I became one. Smothered in my own nervousness and excitement about so much change, I never quite fully realized what I was getting into. Luckily so because I am not sure, I would have said yes, if I had known just what this would hold. Yet through all of the ups and downs, the moments of sadness, the moments of frustration, the moments where I felt sure that I must be insane for going to school that day, there they were. Those crazy 7th graders with all of their emotions, all of their thoughts, all of their stuff that seemed to shroud them in mystery. Always there, always watching. Always poking away at the sense of security I had felt in my teaching skills. And I am so grateful that they did.

This year, and its not over yet, has taught me so much. When I tell people that 7th grade has been my biggest challenge yet, I am not joking, nor exaggerating. With their moods, and their doubt, and their sense of fairness, they have held my feet to the fire every single day, exhausting every teaching cell in my body. Yet, along with that exhaustion comes a few hard-earned lessons, for which I am forever grateful.

I have learned that when they say they don’t care is actually when they care the most. They wait for your reaction to see how to categorize you. They wait to see how their lackadaisical attitude will sit with you; will you be rattled or can you handle it?

I have learned that on the toughest days they will put on the bravest face, and only people who pay really close attention will be able to notice the subtlest of differences in their demeanor.

I have learned that when you think they are not paying attention, they actually are. That when you think they don’t care that you are there, they do. That when you think you have hit your lowest point as a teacher there is always a better moment coming your way, usually courtesy of something they just said or did.

I have learned that when I thought there was no way I would ever make a difference in their lives, they surprise me with their knowledge, with their passion, and with what they remember.

I have learned that relationships are above anything else, that it does not matter how engaging a lesson is, how fun a project may be, how much time you spent making sure everything was to their liking; if you don’t care about them, they do not care about you, or your lesson, or your project.

I have learned that it is ok to not be sure of yourself, to still put yourself out there, to get excited over picture books, to dance to ABBA in the middle of class, and to always, always, always have a smile on your face no matter how much you don’t want to. That’s what my incredible 7th graders have taught me; that I was not a good teacher until I taught them, and I still have a long way to go, but they believe in me, so it is time I start believing in myself.

aha moment, student blogging, student choice, student voice, writing

In Which We Change the Way We Write

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 Pernille Ripp

For a while, I have been struggling with how to teach writing well. Sure, we write every single day almost, sure we blog, we write by hand, and we type. We have authentic purposes and authentic audiences. The kids write, we discuss, we create. And yet, something has been missing and for the longest time I couldn’t put a finger on what it was.

Then I watched this video from Brad Wilson – please stop and watch it right now, it is 6 minutes, and it is so powerful.

Brad is right, “…the containers have hijacked the concept.” I have compartmentalized everything we do in writing rather than just teach the craft of writing. I have created barriers for my students so they think that writing is a completely different thing depending on the purpose. The ideas of writing, the craft has been lost, and students are going through the motion of writing as drones, even if we are blogging, even if we are doing something “fun” with our writing.

We need to get back to the core of story-telling. We need to focus on the journey we are on as writers and celebrate how we develop our stories. We need to see that in all of the writing we do, we are working on becoming better writers, not better bloggers, not better editors, not better persuaders, but writers and that being a great writer is an essential skill to all. Not just those that gravitate toward it. The conversation within English has to change. The language I use has to change. Enough with the self-invented purposes and barriers, back to the core of writing we go.

Awards, being me, global read aloud

ISTE to Recognize the Global Read Aloud

May 7, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Cross-posted on the Global Read Aloud website

The story of the Global Read Aloud is a very simple one indeed. What started as a summer night’s conversation and a “What if…” moment spoken aloud, has turned into a global event that somehow grows, changes, adapts, yet perseveres year after year. As new people join our family, as new incredible books are selected, as new technology is incorporated, the mission does not change; one book to connect the world. One book to read aloud. When I look back at the rise of the GRA, I don’t quite know how it happened, only that I am so grateful that it has.

Yet, this project is not just mine, it belongs to all of the educator, children, parents, and administrators that have seen value in it. That have believed in it and made it their own. It belongs to the world, as any global project should do, and yet, it is still my baby. Something that takes up so much time but is so rewarding.

I am therefore incredibly humbled, yet so very excited, to announce that I have been selected for the first annual ISTE Innovation in Global Collaboration award for the creation of the Global Read Aloud. I have wanted to share the news for a while officially on this blog but it feels terribly odd to tout your own accomplishments. But I am proud, it is hard work, and yet, this isn’t really about me. This recognition is about all of us. All of the people that make the Global Read Aloud what it is. It is about all of the kids that believe they can make the world better by taking action and reaching out. It is about all of the teachers that take the leap of faith every year and sign up, not quite knowing what to expect, and still making it their own. It is about all of the authors that write such incredible stories that have to be shared with others. It is about all of you, I just get to represent us all , and for that I am so very grateful.

So if you happen to be at ISTE this summer, and you happen to be around Monday morning, there is some form of breakfast, a recognition of some sort. And while I haven’t gotten many details, I would like to invite all of you to come celebrate this award with me somehow. If you can meet up with me, please come tell me your story. Find me and please celebrate with me.

This award may have my name on it, but that is only because there isn’t enough room for all of yours. Thank you so much for spending your time with the Global Read Aloud. Thank you so much for believing in me.