Category: student choice

being me, education, Passion, Personalized Learning, Reading, student choice

The One Thing That All Readers Need the Most

Pernille Ripp

I used to think that teaching students to become great readers meant that I showed them as many reading strategies as I could and then we would practice each one until they could do it practically in their sleep.  Connections – check. Predictions – check.  Inferring, visualizing, character changes – check, check, check.  We had our strategies under control.

I used to think that providing my students with as much time as possible to discuss reading would make them stronger readers.  After all, through the talking they would be able to dig deeper into their own process and mimic others.

I used to think that my students constantly had to stop and jot so they could record and prove their thinking on little post-its.  That the more post-its they had in a book, the better of a reader they were becoming.  I used them for proof that they were growing.  I used them for proof that they understood the steps.

I used to think that reading was all about talking.  I used to think reading was all about taking it apart.  I used to think reading was all about proof.

Now I know that reading should be about reading.  That in all of that talking there was very little reading.  In all of that jotting there was no room for flow or getting in the zone.  That in trying to give the teacher proof that they were reading, they were losing valuable reading time.  We stopped all of the time.  We lost independent reading minutes because we had to make sure we had something written down.

For students to become better readers, they need time to read.  We know that, I know that.  Yes, they need strategies, yes, they need to speak about reading, yes they need to think and grow, but  what they need most of all is time to read.  Every day, any chance, and it needs to be uninterrupted.  So now as I plan my days, my sacred 45 minutes I get with every class, 10 of that is dedicated to no-talking, uninterrupted, choice based reading.  10 minutes of quiet in the zone reading where no one tells them what to do.  I wish it was more, the students wish it was more, but it is a start.  It is their chance to read, everything else comes after.  Everything else is less important.

What do you do in your room to preserve independent reading time?

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, being me, books, MIEExpert15, Passion, Personalized Learning, Reading, student choice, student voice

Why Book Clubs Suck And We Need to Talk About It

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

I had meticulously made my lists.  I had thoughts of habits, tastes, personalities, reading preferences, pace and yes, even their assessment data.  I had scoured the book room, gone book shopping spending my own money and used most of my Scholastic points.  More than 50 choices awaited my students, I couldn’t wait to start book clubs.

So when I announced that today was the day they would know their book club groups, I had not planned for the groan of disapproval that met me.  The disgusted stares and the change in body language; slumped shoulders, heads down.  Clearly, they were not as excited as I was.  And so I did what I always do; I asked why.  Or more specifically, I mimicked what a student said, which was that book clubs suck, and I asked “Tell me all of the reason why book clubs suck…”

And boy did they ever.

“We hate being forced to read certain books.  Sometimes we have read them before, sometimes they are boring, sometimes we cannot relate to them no matter how hard we try.  We want choice, we want things that we want to read, we can decide by ourselves.

We hate being told when to read, how many pages, and what we should discuss.  Sometimes we want to read only a few pages because we know we are busy, other times we want to read a lot.  We want to come up with our own questions and we don’t want a teacher to facilitate.  Let us try to navigate it ourselves.  Let us try to lead the conversations.  Help us when we need it but don’t assume we need it all of the time.

We hate having a book take weeks and weeks to finish.  Sometimes we just want to read because it is so good, and what is wrong with that.  When it drags on we lose interest.  When it drags on we forget what is happening.

We hate being stuck with a book even if we chose it.  We hate being placed in groups with students we have nothing in common with.  We hate having to keep logs, write reports, and do group work when all we want to do is read and discuss.  Don’t you see, we hate book clubs.”

So I listened, and I answered their questions whether they wanted me to or not.  Carefully explained my vision for the next few weeks and why.  Would there be writing – no, just the thoughts they felt they needed to jot down to facilitate a discussion.  Would there be choice – of course, the books were waiting patiently for them and if they found none here then we have a library to go to.  They kept asking and I kept explaining, and as we went on their faces changed and the shoulders came back up.

Every class I taught that day went through the same process.  I didn’t expect to have those conversation 5 times in a row but that is exactly what happened.  Every time I mentioned book clubs, the groan came at me like a wave.  And yet, as we discussed I once again learned more about my students and their reading habits.  I learned how they want to be independent readers and thinkers, how they want to be able to have choice in everything so that they can invest themselves fully.  How it is okay that I put them into groups as long as I explain why those groups were made and that it wasn’t just based on one thing.

I could have ignored their groans, a few years ago I would have, I would have told them to “Suck it up, deal with it and make the best of it.”  Yet, I know from experience that if we want book clubs or anything that has to do with reading to work then we have to have these hard conversations.  We have to discuss, tear apart, and work through the demons that students carry, those preconceived notions of what is going to happen in the next few weeks, before we ever get an authentic buy-in; a reading experience that matters.

The day after the conversation, I had them book shop.  Every group went from choice to choice and debated the merits of the books laid out before them.  Every group weighed their options, and only one group  out of about 30 needed my guidance in book choice.  Yesterday, as I revealed the books they were going to read, most groups cheered.  Some kids asked if they could start right away?  Please, because the book looks really good and we are so excited.

Had I not stopped and listened to my students.  Had I not stopped the plan of what I was going to do.  Had I forged ahead, gone on with our day, there would have been few cheers and instead the next few weeks would have been filled with the passive resignation that middle schoolers do so well.  Yeah book clubs suck, but they don’t have to.  We have to find a way to talk about it and change the way they are done. And the first place we start is by asking out students why they suck or any other word that may describe their feelings toward them.

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.

grades, Personalized Learning, student choice, student voice

What Does An “A” Mean – Thoughts From My Students

Pernille Ripp

We have been deep in grade discussion today as throughout the day I have asked students to define the letter grades that I have to give this semester.  I wasn’t surprised at the in-depth discussions this prompted, but more at the harshness with which the students defined certain grades.  Each class got a letter to define and then the other classes added their input.  Tomorrow, students will select their grade and then provide reasoning on a sheet for why they belong in that category.  I will then meet with each student to debate the grade with them and we will set goals for the future.

So how did the students define their letter grades?  Behavior seemed to play a large role which lead to many interesting conversations, since we grade behavior separate from part of understanding. These are their thoughts….

To get an “A” in English, a student is:

  • Participating on topic (large group, small group) even if not called upon
  • An active listener (engaged, awake, doing what they are supposed to be doing)
  • Consistently trying to go above and beyond and shows interest in topics
  • Getting consistent 3’s or 4’s (even with re-takes)
  • Turning work in on time and completed (95%)
  • Consistently puts in effort
  • (Works well with others/respects others/teacher/classroom/materials – nice attitude)
  • Reads at least 6 out of 7 days 20 minutes or more outside of English
  • Furthers the understanding in the classroom through written or spoken work
  • Showing a deep level of understanding of content covered

To get a “B” in English, a student is:

  • Getting scores that are consistently 3’s with a few 2.5’s mixed in
  • Reading 5 out of the 7 nights outside of English class
  • Interested most days, as well as engaged in class
  • Putting in best effort
  • Doing required work but not always going for 4
  • Most of the time working well with others/showing respect and helping the class move forward in learning
  • Participating
  • Completing almost all work, as well as handing it in on time
  • Showing a thorough understanding of content covered

To get a “C” in English, a student is:

  • Getting mostly 2’s or 2.5’s
  • Reading 3-4 days a week outside of English class
  • Mostly turning in work on time and work is mostly completed
  • Mostly engaged but only some participation (large/small group)
  • Homework is almost always complete and mostly turned in on time (2 or more lates)
  • Group effort may depend on students in group
  • Effort depends on topic/subject
  • Mostly prepared for class but does forget items at times (book, pencil, notebook etc) leading to inability to complete tasks
  • Not always spending time in a in productive manner

To get a “D” in English, a student is:

  • Getting mostly 2’s
  • Reading 2-3 times a week outside of English class
  • Not always on topic and often distracts others
  • Not always prepared for class
  • Shows little engagement/time not spent productively
  • Has little participation even in small group
  • More than 3 missing assignments
  • Students shows little effort
  • Does few re-takes
  • Shows little understanding and does little to improve it
  • Choices made can harm the learning environment of others

To get a “F” in English, a student is:

  • Missing more than 5 assignments (summative and formative)
  • Getting 1.5’s or IE’s
  • Only reading one night or none outside of English class
  • Putting in little to no effort in class
  • Distracting students and teacher resulting in wasted learning time for self and others
  • Often not on topic
  • Has little to no participation
  • Does not do any re-takes
  • Is never prepared
  • Has selective listening that results in many misunderstandings

Have you asked your students to define their grades before they are given?  If yes, how did it go?  If no, why not?

being a teacher, MIEExpert15, student choice, student driven

Feb. 5th Show the World What the Life of A Student Looks Like – #Studentlife

Pernille Ripp

As connected educators, we do a lot of sharing what our days look like and in extension the day of our students, yet how much of what we share truly gives an entire picture of what it means to be a student these days?  After reading Grant Wiggins’ blog that detailed what an ed-coach found after she followed two high school students around, I cannot help but wonder if we really know what it feels like for our students?  If we really understand what a full day looks like for them?  And more importantly what we possibly can change to make their days better.  So inspired by the hashtag #principalsday that occurred on Twitter, I think it is time we do the same for the students.

Details

On February 5th, I invite students across the world to share pictures from their regular day using the hashtag #studentlife.  Students (or teachers if students are too young) can use Twitter, Instagram, or whatever social network site they choose to share these slices of their life.  What I hope for is a wide variety of images with or without commentary that will allow us educators to see what happens in our students’ days, not just what we think happens.  If you feel like it, you can also have students do this before February 5th and compile their answers into something that can be shared.  This is what I will do using our blogs.

How can you participate?

Share this challenge with your students and invite them to join, remind them to use the hashtag #studentlife.

Add your information in the form below  or in a comment so that I can share your students’ slices with the rest of the world.

Tune in on February 5th through Twitter or Instagram to hopefully see what our students’ days look like.

Help me spread the word on this please, I think it could be really powerful for all of us to see what students really go through in a day in our schools.

being a teacher, MIEExpert15, Passion, projects, student choice

Our Epic Nonfiction Project

Pernille Ripp

I don’t share specific lessons on here often but this time I have to because this one has just made the last 6 weeks, yes 6 weeks, fly by.  Not just for me either, most of my students that reported on their survey that they hate writing but love this project.  So without further ado, let me tell you all about our rather epic nonfiction picture book project.

The goal of the project is rather simple; create a 30 to 50 page nonfiction picture book meant for a K or 1st grade audience on anything you wish.  Throughout this project we have been able to successfully marry tech tools with writing, as well as using Skype, Twitter and other interactive tools.

Why this project?  Because within it we have been able to work on:

  • How to take organized notes in a way that works for them.
  • How to write a paragraph and all of the myriads of lessons that are attached to that.
  • Grammar!  Spelling!  Punctuation!
  • How to find legal images.
  • How to cite sources, including images, books, and websites.
  • How to uncover reliable sources (yes, there is a place for Wikipedia in our research).
  • How to search the internet better.
  • How to conduct market research using Skype to ask K or 1st grade classrooms what they want to read and how they want to read it.
  • How to rewrite information in our words.
  • How to do design and layout on a page to make it inviting.
  • How to create good questions.
  • Exploring our own interests.
  • How to write assessment rubrics.

I had a hunch that it would be a success, but I didn’t know how much.  Yet the conversations that have happened within our room have been incredible.  The hush that falls over the room when 26 students are all intently researching, writing, and quietly conferring with me or friends have been amazing to witness.  They get it.  They know what their purpose is.  They are writing an authentic piece for an authentic audience who not only is guiding them forward but will also be providing feedback once it is complete.

So a few details about the project:

  • This is a 6 week long project, anchored by a 10 or so minute mini-lessons every day and then work time the rest of class.
  • Mini-lessons have centered around how to take notes ( I showed them 3 different ways), how to research well, how to write paragraphs, how to rewrite information, and anything else we have had to address.
  • Students were able to ask questions to K and 1st grade classrooms via Skype to do market research, they are also asked to do a live interview with a child ages 5, 6, or 7 and incorporate that feedback into their project.
  • I reached out through Twitter and Edmodo to find classrooms that will assess the final product, they are asked to fill out this Google form with their feedback.
  • Students created their books in Google Presentations for easy access for all (we checked out Chromebooks), as well as easy design and layout.
  • To see all of my handouts and resources, go to my classroom’s English Resource Page where all the nuts and bolts can be found.

Why have we loved it so much?

  • Using Skype in a meaningful way to interview the audience we are writing for got the students on-board and excited right away.
  • Audience became an ongoing conversation and what we kept in the back of our mind throughout the process.
  • It allowed me to really dig in with each student through mini-conferences.
  • I was able to cover basic grammar over and over without the students finding it repetitive.
  • Students were in charge of their project starting with the choice of their topic to what they would write about.
  • It is an authentic project, not just being written for me.
  • Plagiarism is easily circumvented because students have to simplify the language of their research.
  • We were able to meaningfully collaborate between English and their Tech Tools class.
  • Students have been able to finish the project within English class if they spent their time wisely.
  • We were able to delve into nonfiction in an exciting way, students sometimes hate nonfiction because they find it boring, they forget how much of our life is surrounded by nonfiction and how much fun it can be.
  • And yes, it covers 4 of the 10 standards I have to cover which should never be the only reason we do something but is still a reality of my day-to-day.

Tomorrow they hand in their projects.  They will present by having them run on Chromebooks and students doing a gallery walk, that way we can show off all of them within our 45 minutes.  Then students will self-reflect as always and I will spend a lot of winter break poring over their hard work and assessing them.  I can’t wait.

Thank you Corinne for allowing me to share your finished project

 

 

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 from Powerful Learning Press.   Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press.  Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

aha moment, being a teacher, student choice

Why I Don’t Want My Students to Fail All of the Time

Pernille Ripp

I-want-students-who-will

“I want students to fail in my room all the time.  I want them to be unafraid of failure.”  This was me, all the time.  In conversation with other teachers, on Twitter, in blog posts.  Always discussing how students should fail.  How our rooms should be filled with opportunities to fail.  How we should model failing any chance we got.

I assumed this is what students needed; fearlessness in the face of failure, chances to fail every single day.  So much failure that they would never be afraid to conquer it or be stymied by it, but instead saw it as a dragon to slay.  And then, one day,  I said it out loud to my students.  And they looked at me in horror.  And then they laughed.

“Why do you want us to fail so much, Mrs Ripp?”

“Isn’t that against the rule?”

“Won’t you be a bad teacher if we fail all the time?”

I shrugged it off that day; clearly they had missed the point.  Failure wasn’t about me being a bad teacher, if my students failed then it would mean I was doing great things, teaching them great resilience, getting them ready for “real life.”

Yet, the thought kept nagging me late at night when teachers tend to get nagged by thoughts like these.  Did I really want my students to fail?  Did I really want them to be surrounded by failure so they could develop more grit?

We forget that as adults we would never stick with something if we were constantly failing.  That we have to have small successes along the way to keep us going.  That some days we need it to be easy so that we can get ready for the next big challenge.  We need to be aware of our own fears and we have to work through them.  We are not fearless, so why do we expect our students to be?

I realized then that constant failure is not what I want.  Nor is fearless students that barge ahead, with little thought, because they have to conquer their fear.  I don’t want my students to be surrounded by failure.  I do not want them to be fearless in every decision, nor do I want them to constantly have be resilient.  That is not “real life.”  That is not what we are as adults.

Instead, I want students who will face their own fears and still do it. Students that see their fear of failure and still try.  I want students who acknowledge that they are moving into territory that makes them uncomfortable and still stick with it.  And I want kids who know where their boundaries are.  Who understand their own limits, their own comfort zones.  Not so we can burst through the barricades, but instead so we can inch out of it, day by day, expanding ourselves, growing and feeling comfortable with the way we grow.

Failure will always be a constant companion in our classrooms, but they shouldn’t be the driving force.  Opportunities should be, challenges should be, with the possibility of failure.  We shouldn’t be striving for students who are unafraid to fail, but rather students who are willing to try.  Willing to think.  Willing to still do something even though they are afraid.  That’s “real life.”  That’s what we should be modeling.