Student Engagement – Page 7

I have the honor of teaching an incredible bunch of very energetic kids this year. Their kinesthetic energy level is high throughout the day, couple that with some also voicing loudly how bored they are in school and I have the best kind of challenge ahead. This will be a year to remember.

So I have been googling, I have been asking, and I have been spending a lot of time trying to think of ways to channel their energy into something great. Not to get them to quiet down necessarily but to get to a place where their energy is a tool rather than a hindrance. I have a lot to learn still, but a few things I have tried I thought I would share with others who may have the same awesome challenge we do.

Yoga balls. I have invested in 18 yoga balls and while the bouncing drives me a little bit nutty at times, I cannot help but marvel at the sight. After all, if this is what the kids need even right away in the morning then I cannot imagine putting them in regular chairs. Sure we have popped a few in the 6 months I have had them but when I am at a super store I pick up a few more just in case. Note; I have not switched all of my chairs for yoga balls because for some kids they are a nuisance or a distraction. Besides paying attention to their preferred seating arrangement is also giving me clues to their personality. We also have other alternate seating such as bean bags, exercise bands around the chair legs, office chairs and regular old chairs, but the yoga balls have made the biggest difference.

Switching up seating arrangement. I am a huge proponent of “choose your own seat” but this year in a few of my classes I have been doing a little bit of seat arranging to spread the energy. You see, when I have one really high energy cluster they may get really sidetracked but when I disperse the kids throughout the classroom their energy transfer to the new group. This does not always work and I am still tweaking it to get it right, but I like what I am seeing so far.

Picture book read alouds as calming tools. I end my days with a group of amazing boys. They are bouncing off of the walls by the time they get to me so sometimes trying to teach them is like a game of who can interrupt the most. Not because they are rude but because they are wired and excited. Today I had them sit on the floor with me, away from anything they could fiddle with and then read them Where the Wild Things Are in honor of Banned Books Week. I read it in the most soothing of voices, even when the Wild Things roar, and it was incredible. Immediately their demeanor changed, their voices hushed and for a few moments we got to work at a level of concentration and focus that I had not seen for a while. There is something incredible about the power of a great read aloud. There is something incredible about story time on the floor.

The turn and talk. When I teach my kids, i know I cannot be the only voice in the room so very little of our discussion is done in whole group, instead we utilize the turn and talk almost constantly. My students want to share, they want to discuss, they want to participate and so I need to make sure they all have the chance. Not just those that have enough courage to raise their hands in the air.

Incorporate brain games. I work with really smart people and one of them suggested I use some of the same brain games that another colleague had used. Genius. So in some of my classes, when we have worked for 15 to 20 minutes, the students will get 3 to 5 minutes of brain game time. All of our brain games are cooperative not competitive. All of them have very few props and are easy for kids to participate in. We play tri-bond, we build card houses, stack cups, hit a ball through the air as many times as we can without it falling to the ground and we do riddles. I am searching for more brain game activities to do with the kids as I see the benefit of them using their brains in a different way after working hard for awhile.

Writing before speaking. My students all process at different speeds and some times the very first thoughts that come to mind are not always the deepest. So we have started a write before we speak routine whenever they are doing formal discussion. It is simple; each child has access to a whiteboard (or they write right on the tables covered in whiteboard contact paper) and before they discuss something they take a few moments to write down their thoughts. Having these few minutes to gather their wits, channel their energy and also come up with something interesting to say means that all of the students have a better chance of being a part of the learning.

The right to move. Students in our classroom have the right to move as they learn. They are not asked to sit down; they can stand, nor are they are asked to sit still. As long as their movements do not distract others, they are perfectly fine. This is important because for some of our kids they listen better when they are in movement. They learn better when they have control over their bodies.

I know I need more ideas than this. I know I am only scratching the surface as far as incorporating more movement into our days but at least this is a start. This is a way for me to think more consciously about the need for movement and to embrace needs of all of the children that enter our classroom rather than just the quiet, compliant ones. So if you have more ideas please let me know, I would love to be inspired by your great ideas.

I am currently working on a new literacy book. While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher. The book, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge. So until then 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.

being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement, student voice, Student-centered

How to Create Empowered Readers – A Beginning

September 4, 2016September 4, 2016 Pernille Ripp

The sniffles started almost immediately. Small choking noises came soon. Then full out wails, tears, and gasps. Theadora, our oldest daughter, was a mess as we drove home from Chicago today. What had caused this sudden crying? The end of Harry Potter Book seven. The end of our 9 month journey accompanied by the ever amazing Jim Dale and the audio books of Harry Potter. I was wistful myself to tell you the truth. As I tried to console our distraught daughter, I couldn’t help but feel slightly pleased, after all, isn’t this exactly the type of relationship that we hope our children, our students, have with books? One that makes you want to cry, or laugh, or scream in frustration? One that allows you to feel so intimately attached to something not created by yourself? To feel the gratitude of brilliant writing and a long journey along with an author’s imagination? To feel the loss of characters and of story as a book series finishes?

Yet, how many of our students have never experienced this type of sadness? How many of our students have not experienced what is means to complete a series that one has become so invested in that it feels like the loss of a family member once the last page has been read? How many years has it been for some, if at all, since they truly loved a book? While we cannot change the past, we do have control over the now, over what happens in our classrooms. Over what happens from the moment they enter to the moment they leave. And with that power comes an immense responsibility to empower our students, to offer them a chance at an incredible relationship with reading once again or for the very first time. While it may start with having them choose their own books, this is not the only place students need more control to be empowered and passionate readers.

IMG_1281 (1).JPG

Book choice. This fundamental right to choose what you read is one that is so often taken away from our students because we want to help them develop as readers. Yet when a child is not a allowed to choose the very text they are asked to engage with, we give them little room for an emotional attachment. How many of us adults will willingly invest in something we have been told to read? So while we can expose and recommend, we must create classrooms where student choice is the norm, not the exception. Where we help students find that next great book in order for them to become independent book selectors so that they can leave our classrooms knowing that they do not need us. Not in the same way as they did in the beginning. Where wild book abandonment is the norm and not something you need permission for. Where indifference rules when a book is given up because we know that a new book awaits. If we truly want students to feel in control of their reading identities then giving them the choice over which book to read is the very least we must do.

Book truths. If we do not know what we are up against, then we can never change their minds. This has been a mantra of mine since I started asking my students all sorts of things about their education. So every year, and throughout the year, we continuously discuss how we feel about reading (and writing). I never dismiss their truths, nor try to correct them. It is not my job to tell them how they should feel, but it is my job to hopefully create a better experience for them. I cannot do that well if students do not trust me, trust the community, and trust themselves and also trust the fact that perhaps how they feel about reading right now, if it is negative in any way, is something that can be changed. (Yes, growth mindset at work here). So ask them how they really feel and then truly listen, because it is when we listen, we can actually do something about it.

IMG_1290 (1) — Student post-it’s cover our whiteboard, our very first discussion of why we like reading or not from Friday.

Book Tasks. Just Friday I was asked how many book summaries we would do this year. I must have looked perplexed, because another student quickly added, “You know, write a summary every time we finish a book?” I assured them that while we would work on summarizing, it would not be on every book, nor even books mostly. Instead we discussed what we want to do when we finish a book; discuss with others, pass it on, perhaps forget all about it. We must give our students control over what they do with a book once it has been finished. We must allow them to explore ways to communicate their emotions with a book and certainly still develop as thinkers. I keep thinking how I want our students to have choices every few weeks as we advance our reading; review, conversations, written ponderings, perhaps a summary, perhaps a video. The point is, I am not sure at this point what we shall do once we finish a book because it depends on what the students would like to do. I do not ever want to implement a task that makes a child slow down their reading or stop it altogether just because the task attached to it is horrific in their eyes. So when we plan our reading tasks make sure that the long-term effects are not unwanted. Make sure that it actually plays into our bigger picture; students who actually like to read, and does not harm this.

Book Selection. While choice is of utmost importance, so is the way books are selected. Too often we schedule in book shopping time for when it is convenient to us, forgetting that all students need books at different times. Selecting a book is a also something that must be taught, even in middle school, because many students still have a hard time finding a book. We therefore discuss how to bookshop, which yes, includes, judging a book by its cover, and then we take the time it takes. If we really want students to wander among great books then we must give them time for that wandering and we must embrace the social aspect that comes along with it. After all it is this book loving community that should sustain student reading after they have left our classrooms.

IMG_1283 (1) — How many students would say the exact same thing?

Book Access. While I cannot continue to purchase books at the rate I have been due to a change in our household, I know that one of the biggest reasons many of our students end up identifying as readers is because of the sheer volume of books they have access to both in our classroom library and in our school library. Kids need books at their finger tips at all times. Much like they must have time to book shop when they need it, they also need to be able to book shop right in our classrooms. When a child is obviously lost, we or other classmates can jump in. When a child is only pretending to bookshop we can offer guidance. We cannot control how many books our students go home to, but we can make sure that whenever they are in our classrooms; the books are plentiful.

Book Time. Providing students time to read in our classes is one of the biggest ways we can signal to students that reading really matters. After all, it is what we give our time to that must be the most important. So whether it is only 10 minutes, like I provide every day, our a longer amount of time; time for reading in class is essential. Otherwise, how will we ever know that they are truly reading because anyone can forge a reading log. The time for reading should be just that, not time for tasks or post-its. Not time for partner discussions or writing. Reading, in all its glorious quiet. In all its glorious discovery.

While the above areas may seem so commonsense, perhaps it is their commonsense-ness that makes us forget to implement them all. It seems so obvious and yet… how many of us have told a child what to read (I have!). How many of us have asked students to create task upon task after they finished a book (I have!). How many of us have asked students to bookshop at a certain time and for a certain amount of time and wondered why they came up empty-handed (I have!). The point is really that we have the choice to empower our students. That we have the choice to show our students that their reading identity and developing it is a major part of our curriculum even if the standard does not cover it. Even if the test does not measure it. Because we know that at the end of the day we are not just teaching students that should be college and career ready, but instead are teaching human beings that should grow as human beings in our classrooms. I may not be able to change every child’s mind when it comes to books and reading, but I will go in there every day trying, because my hope will always that they too will someday cry when they realize that a series has ended.

behavior, being a teacher, student choice, Student Engagement, Student-centered

I’ve Had Enough – No More Public Behavior Management Systems

June 28, 2016 Pernille Ripp

When I was a 5th grade teacher, my classroom was the very last one before the buses. Every day, all of the school’s students would pass by and inevitably some of those students and I would strike up a conversation. Day after day, a little kindergartener would tell me about his day, his shoes, his new fish, or whatever else popped into his mind. One day, he saw me and beamed,”Guess what, Mrs. Ripp!” “What?” I asked. “Peter was on yellow today!” He told this news as if it was the biggest gift, excitement spilling from his little body. Momentarily confused, because wasn’t this child’s name distinctly not Peter, it finally dawned on me; he was talking about another student. “Oh yeah?” I said. “Yes, Mrs. Ripp, it’s exciting, he hasn’t been on yellow all year…” It was November. My heart dropped.

Here was a kindergarten student who every single day so far of the year had been on red. Who every day had their behavior dissected in front of the rest of the class. Whose classroom identity was being distinctly shaped by poor decisions and whose biggest identifier was his behavior. I can only imagine what my kindergarten friend would tell his parent every day about Peter.

And that is the thing. As a parent, as another teacher, as someone who is outside of your classroom community, I should not be able to see which child is having a bad day. I should not be able to walk into your room and see the aftermath of something that did not happen in front of me. That is a personal matter between the child, the teacher, and that child’s parents. Why do we seem to forget that every time we hang a behavior chart, display our cups, or even use Class Dojo publicly?

Why do we make our classrooms that are supposed to function on trust and support and turn them into halls of public shame for some kids? Where is the outrage? Or do parents not even know?

I get that there are kids that need behavior system, I have some of those kids too, but those behavior systems should center on privacy. Should center on knowing the child. Should center on the fact that we are dealing with another human being, that yes, may make poor decisions upon poor decisions, but they are still somebody’s child. If we are looking for long-term change then that will never start with public shame, but it certainly ends there.

When we use public behavior management systems, we tell those children that school will never be a place where they will succeed. We put them under an unattainable microscope and then wonder why they rebel. We watch for the smallest infraction and then come down hard, making sure that they know who is in control, who holds the power, but did they really ever forget that? And sure, for some kids it will make a change, for some kids it will take one down clip, one stick moved, one lost point and they will never do that behavior again because they have been embarrassed sufficiently. Is that what we want to shape the behavior of our children? But if we already know by the start of a day, which children will probably be on red or yellow, which child will already have a bad day, then why do we need to make it public? Why make that a self-fulfilling prophecy? Instead, we should be wondering how our school seems to not be working, and what do we need to change?

Today I was asked what I would use instead of a classroom behavior system or Class Dojo? My answer; common sense and kindness. Patience, communication, and yes, even private plans. No child deserves to be publicly humiliated day upon day, they deserve better than this. We can do better.

PS: Here is a link to all of my posts talking about what you can do instead.

being a student, being a teacher, Personalized Learning, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement

Who Are We Really Doing This For?

June 27, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Traveling this summer seems to have offered me a lot of time for reflection. There is something about sitting on an airplane, getting nervous about the days ahead and thinking of how did one ever up there? I realize time and time again that there are certain truths that guide everything I do and that if I ever stray from those truths then I hope I have the spine to admit it. Because as I travel, I realize more and more that this is not about me, about Pernille the teacher, but instead about the very kids I teach. About the kids we all teach and yet we seem to so easily forget that as we make decisions in our schools, in our classrooms.

So I realize once again that while I may think I have all of the answers, I won’t ever know unless I ask my students. That my job is not to foresee and problem solve every little thing, but instead to let them explore and to create alongside me.

That when we go out and share what our students are doing, we need to recognize that this is not about us, but about them. That it is their education at stake, not our own, and that is why this mission is so very urgent.

We are losing kids every single day in our classrooms. We are losing them when we remove control over even the slightest things. We treat them in a way we would not want to be treated ourselves, and then expect them to just be ok with it because that is a part of childhood. We dictate bathroom breaks, where they sit, who they work with, and even how they share, sometimes allowing very little autonomy in the process. And then at the end of the day we wonder why they are exhausted and cannot wait to get on with their “real” life?

What if every decision we made was centered on what is best for students? I know we say that that is what drives us, but is it really? When we decide on curriculum do we pick it because it is easy for the adults to implement or because it will inspire the children? When we seek out learning opportunities do we do it for the right reasons or because it is another thing to check off our to do list?

When we control our classrooms so that we can function, do we ever wonder who those we teach will react to the perimeters we set up?

So we can talk about personalizing learning, or whatever other buzz term we are all infatuated with at the moment, or we can talk about good teaching. About creating learning opportunities that center on the student, on the child, and not the adult needs. We can remove the “alizing” and just focus on the person instead.

Change may seem hard, but it gets easier as we go. Think of the small things that already communicate to students that what they need is not as important as what we need. Think of all the little rules we have in our classrooms that do not benefit them nearly as much as they benefit us. And then do something about it.

When I ask my students what they wish every teacher would do it is not to give them less work, to give them less tests, or even to speak less – we teachers, do love to talk – it is to let them choose where they sit. Almost every time. If that doesn’t speak volumes about how powerless students feel in their education, I am not sure what will.

So this summer, or winter depending on where you are, whenever a new decision needs to be made, don’t think of what you need. Think of what kids might need, and if you are not sure; ask them. They are ready to tell us if we only ask.

I am currently working on two separate literacy books. While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher. The first book titled Reimaging Literacy Through Global Collaboration is scheduled for release November, 2016 by Solution Tree. The second, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge. So until then 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.

Be the change, being a student, being a teacher, being me, Personalized Learning, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement, student voice

You Cannot Buy Your Way to Personalized Learning

May 1, 2016 Pernille Ripp

When I decided to change the way I taught, I didn’t have a system. I had a lot of ideas, a lot of thoughts, a lot of failures to push me forward in my quest to be a better teacher. I had kids who hoped that school would be about them again. I had parents that hoped that their kids would like school when their year with me was done. I had dreams of something different, but I didn’t have a clear path, I didn’t have a curriculum to follow. If I would have, I don’t know where I would have ended up.

You see, when you choose to make learning more personal to the students, it is not about buying a curriculum. It is not about buying a solution. Or even reading a book and following the step-by-step directions to make it more personal. It is not about finding the new tool so that you can adapt and make it fit all of your learners. In fact, it may be just the opposite. It is about getting to know your students, getting to know yourself, and then finding as much inspiration you can to become a better teacher for all of your kids. So when I wrote my book, Passionate Learners, it wasn’t so that others could teach like me, but instead so others could start to question their own teaching as well. I didn’t want to give directions, but just ideas, questions, and things to reflect on. Because making learning about the kids again means that we have to be the ones to figure it out. Because they are our kids, in our schools, and no one can tell us better than what they need than them.

Personalized learning is not about a system. It is not about a box. It is not about a computer where students can self-pace as they work through a set curriculum. It is not about a checklist, nor learning in isolation. Personalizing learning is about what is right for the kid that is in front of you at that very moment. About helping them get to a place where they can figure out what they need and what they would like to accomplish. And yes, sometimes that kid doesn’t know what they need and then it becomes our job to help them figure it out. It is not about what you can do for the students to take control of their learning, it is about what they can do. Personalizing learning is indeed what great teaching is all about; knowing the students and helping them find ways to make all learning worth doing again.

So if someone tries to sell you or your school a personalized learning system, a personalized learning curriculum, or even a technology solution so that all students can work at their own pace, I would stop and think about that for a moment. How can they possibly promise you personalized when it is far from personal? How can someone who does not know your students, your school, your needs, deliver something that will fit all of those things?

Education is a business and we should never forget that. As much as we may think that every person who creates something for the education market is in it for the right reasons, we would be fools if we truly believed that. Much like every other educational buzzword, personalized learning will become the new cash cow until a new buzzword overtakes it. Don’t let companies ruin what kids need. Don’t fall for the sales pitches. Personalizing learning for students means the emphasis is on the personal and for the personal to happen, we have to know our kids and we have to listen to our kids. Not a company. Not a sales pitch. But the voices of the very students we teach. And that is free.

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.

being a student, being a teacher, end of year, student choice, student driven, Student Engagement

It Is Time to Remove the Scaffolds

April 27, 2016 Pernille Ripp

I think we have 25 or so days left of school. I may be wrong, I haven’t been counting. I don’t like to count down, I want to savor every moment, embrace every opportunity, teach until the last minute. I owe it to the kids. Yet with the inevitable end of year in sight, I feel the urge to release my students. To maybe even push them away a little as they need to stand on their own. To let go a little more, to have them try the exploration by themselves first and not rely so much on me. Because in 25 days or so, I won’t be there anymore. I won’t be there when they write, or when they discuss, or when they book shop. I won’t be there to support, to help, to push. So they need to find their own way; after all, fostering independent learners is one of our major goals in education.

Yet it seems we have created a paradox. Within our own eagerness to be the best teacher we can be, to provide everything for every child, I think we forget to let students go a little as well. We create so many scaffolds in our classrooms in an effort to help students learn more and then forget to remove them, wondering why students come to next year’s teachers seemingly ill prepared to be independent. And I am not alone in these thoughts as I am reminded of Bob Probst speaking at NCTE about how we teach kids in early years that NF stands for “Not fake” and then never correct that notion. Or Donalyn Miller, who wrote an incredibly wonderful book about creating wild readers; readers that would read outside of our classrooms, after they left us. It seems in our passion for teaching, we may be creating kids who lose sight of what education really is about and instead rely on our systems to pass from class to class.

So right now, as we slip toward the end, I think of all the ways my students must be released. To make sure that they know that the signposts that we find because of Notice and Note are not the point of reading, but are meant to deepen their experience. That a MEL-Con paragraph is not the task at hand, but instead just a way to remember that if you present any evidence when you write, you must analyze and explain it. That they must look inward to discover who they are as a reader so that they can select books using their own methods that do not revolve around what the teacher book-talked. And the list goes on.

At the beginning of the year, we are so focused on the routines we must set up for our learning communities. On the expectations that we create along with the students. We start programs, curriculum, and set our journey up for the most success. It is therefore only right that toward the end we start to unravel the same routines, the procedures, the scaffolds, so that students can leave us better, bigger, and more independent. So the students can leave us and not look back when they go, knowing they are ready for the next challenge.