students – Page 10 – Pernille Ripp

I Hope I am Not Your Favorite Teacher

June 6, 2014June 11, 2014 Pernille Ripp

“Mrs. Ripp, you will always be my most favorite teacher…”

“…I will always remember you as one of my favorites…”

“You are the best teacher I have ever had…”

The comments from the kids, who I get to call my kids for another 4 school days, envelop me every day. Words like love, best, favorite, most awesome wrap around our classroom as I get ready to release them from the cocoon of fifth grade. I smile, thank them, and think, “But I’m not.” I am not the best teacher ever. I hope I am not your favorite. I hope I am not the teacher that you loved most, because if I am then that makes me sad. I am only a fifth grade teacher, which means you have years of “best” teachers ahead of you, or so I hope.

I hope that the title of best teacher ever will be filled with stiff competition.

I hope that the title of best teacher ever will be awarded to new teachers every year.

I hope that the title of best teacher ever will be one that you gladly bestow on every lucky person that gets to teach you from now on.

I hope those teachers know what they have when they see you.

I hope those teachers get you.

I hope those teachers get a chance to love you as much as I have this year.

So I hope I am not your favorite teacher ever, I hope I am just one of many by the time it is all said and done.

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Reading, students

Ten Picture Books My Students Say You Need – 2014

June 4, 2014July 31, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Anyone who has been in our classroom know that picture books are a big deal. A hush falls over the room whenever one is read and we hold our picture books as sacred text that not only let us relive our younger years, but also spark deep conversation. We realized we wanted to share our ten favorite reads from the year and I can say, it was hard to pick! The students shouted out beloved titles and then each voted for their own top ten. So without further ado, these are the ten picture books we think every classroom should read and own!

A few runner ups: These lost out by one vote to make it in the Top Ten but are still worthy of a read any day…

Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner

Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

And now on to the Top Ten.

Number 10:

We love Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This sweet story of a spoon trying to fit in and finding his place in the world was one that made us laugh and think about our own place in the world.

Number 9:

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, the story of a boy who feels invisible in his classroom was one that silenced the students. The reflections that followed from them were some that I had to blog about right away. have you had the conversation about the invisible children in your classroom?

Number 8:

Pete & Pickles by Berkeley Breathed is the story of an unlikely rescue mission and friendship , which was one that my students loved and gravitated toward many times. This is one of my all-time favorite picture books and my students agree, this is a must read over and over.

Number 7:

I love when my students laugh out loud when I read aloud and Warning: Do Not Open This Book by Adam Lehrhaupt definitely did that to us. Great illustrations as well as a fun story kept my students hooked.

Number 6:

What can I say about The Dot that countless others have not said already? The simple message of making your mark on the world and being good enough is one that left its mark on us.

Number 5:

Even though this book carries no words, my students could not get past the depth of the story. The gasp of breath in “that” scene was audible as was the hush that followed when the book was done. I love wordless picture books for the incredible imagination they possess, but this one downright shakes you awake to make you think about the world. Bluebird by Bob Staake is a must add to any classroom.

Number 4:

Another masterpiece by Peter H. Reynolds; Ish which is why he is the author study for Global Read Aloud 2014. This book led to a deep discussion of what people’s words do to our dreams and how we can support others’ dreams.

Number 3:

Journey by Aaron Becker was used as the culmination of our first reading unit, which happened to be a lesson I was observed during. I asked the students why I picked this book to share with them as our celebration book and their reasons blew me away. “We are on a journey in reading like the girl.” “we also can create what we want 5th grade to be like she does with her world” were among some of the things said. Again a wordless picture book brought some of our deepest conversations.

Number 2:

Picture books do not always have to discuss heavy topics to leave a deep impression. Weasels by Elys Dolan was one my students loved because it was sheer fun watching the weasels try to overtake the world. I love how picture books allows my otherwise cool 5th graders to just let go and laugh.

And finally, number 1 out of so many picture books read….

I pulled this book out after a recess incident that had really rattled my team. Whenever I send my students out to play and be with their friends, I never think that they may not be friends outside, that they may say mean things about each other, that they may exclude, and yet that day they proved me wrong. I knew we had to discuss what had happened but instead of another lecture from me about the power of our community, the sanctity of what we have built, and how we should all fit in, I let this picture book, Zero by Kathryn Otoshi do the talking for me. The fact that this is the most favored read in my room tells me they may have been listening.

From our class to yours, we hope you add some of these to your collection.

being a teacher, punishment, reflection, rewards, students

Please Don’t Tell Me to Pick

June 3, 2014 Pernille Ripp

“…Please pick one or two students…” my heart freezes as I read the email.

Don’t make me pick, please. Don’t make me single out one or two students, even if it is for recognition. Why? Because I don’t just have one or two students who deserve to be recognized. I don’t have just have one or two students that have been representing our classroom well. I don’t just have one or two students that are above the rest. I have 27 students that all through the year have proved people wrong. I have 27 students who all through the year have given me their best, even when they had no energy, even when they were lost, even when life threw one obstacle after another at them. I have 27 who deserve special recognition, maybe not for the same things, but they all deserve the praise. they all deserve the acknowledgment that their journey through 5th grade has mattered and has made a difference.

So please don’t ask me to pick just one or two students. My mind cannot do it. And neither can my heart. These kids all deserve to be recognized, all for many things. So please don’t tell me I have to pick, I won’t do it.

Reading, students

Why My Students Are Connected

May 22, 2014May 21, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I have written a lot about being connected myself, even about connecting my students. I have written of the conversations that happen, the connections that happen, and even how it brings this amazing world of strangers in to our rooms. And yet, some people still don’t get the importance of being a connected educator, not just for yourself, but also for your students.

We are doing our final book clubs right now and a group of girls had picked Anne Ursu’s The Real Boy as their choice, something that made me quite happy because for some reason students had not yet gravitated toward this amazing read. When it was time for me to check in with the girls, they immediately told me just how well their book club was going, how deep their conversations were, and all of the things they were speculating about. It was clear that this book had made some new fans. As they walked away, I mentioned that the author, Anne Ursu, is on Twitter and would they like to tweet her?

One minute passed and the girls told me what to tweet (we do have a class account but no one was logged into it at the time). Here is what they said

I pressed send and the girls went back to their group.

3 minutes passed, I looked up from what I was doing and this caught my eye

3 minutes! And the author of their new favorite book had taken the time to reply to them. The girls lit up and immediately started to discuss Mrs. Ursu’s reply and what that must mean. This quickly spiraled into another questions and then another and what ensued was a deep literary discussion fueled by Anne’s answers and my students questions. For 30 minutes, Anne Ursu took the time to answer them, ask them questions herself, and even having her own thinking pushed. 30 minutes!

As I stood back and let it unfold, I kept thinking how this is exactly why we are connected. Not to just show off our learning as if the world is our audience but to interact with people that matter discussing things that matter. That same morning I had written about engaging our strongest readers, and here my girls were pursuing ideas and theories grounded in a text much like I had discussed. In the end, my girls asked this, officially blowing my mind…

Do I need any further assessment that these kids get what it means to think beyond the text, to make connections, to infer, to look for commonality between texts? Thanks to Anne Ursu and her willingness to connect, my students just applied everything we have discussed within our own four walls.

So when people ask whether being connected is needed, I have a hard time not saying yes. Sure, we can teach just fine without, in fact, we can be great teachers without being connected, but our students will miss out on amazing opportunities to connect with others. They will miss out on great discussions waiting to happen, on opportunities to expands other people’s minds in the process. These girls, my 5th graders, they made someone else think today, and that is invaluable.

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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 Starting Today” can be purchased now from Powerful Learning Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Reading, students

How to Engage Your Strongest Readers

May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 Pernille Ripp

This summer, I was lucky enough to be inn the presence of Mary Ehrenworth at Teachers College as she gave us strategies for how to support our strongest readers. Inspired by her words and knowing that I would have readers that were well beyond their years, I decided to put her words into action. But what did it look like in the classroom?

I met with them frequently. All kids had one to one with me at least every other week depending on what we were doing. This meant I knew what every kid was reading and working on. I also met with them in small groups or in partner ships. They pushed each other’s thinking just as much as they pushed mine.

We revisited ideas. Too often their initial ideas were good, but not deep thinking. In the past I would have been happy with that but I wanted more from these kids. If they wrote something down, I would ask them to think deeper about it, add more thoughts, and clarify what they meant. They learned to push themselves further than their initial thoughts.

We brought writing into reading more. Students would jot more thoughts down as they read since I was not worried about the quantity of books they were consuming, so if they decided to sit and think while reading that was celebrated rather than frowned upon.

Their reading goals were catered to their thinking. My strongest readers don’t need to just work on vocabulary, connections,or the standard comprehension strategies but really need to have their thinking pushed. Things we discussed in our books were:

How would the characters react if placed in a different book such as putting Katniss in the Divergent series?
Gender roles in their books for example: why are strong female characters in science fiction still obsessed with love?
How would a character change if they were of the opposite sex?
How would characters react to each other if they met outside of a book?
What social issues were in the book?
How did characters develop throughout an entire series?
What was the author trying to tell us with the decisions the characters make?
Similarities and differences in genres as a whole, but not just within the genre but also with the time frame that it was written. So how is science fiction written now different from science fiction written in the 1980’s?
How trends in literature show up in other media such television, movies, comics etc.
And finally, what the role models are now that we are creating for younger children?

If you had told me at the beginning of the year that I would have these deep conversations with 5th graders, 5th graders!, I would have thought you were joking. But these kids, with their insatiable thirst for books, even if they read slowly, they were ready for these conversations and thoughts. They brought things to the table that I had not thought of. They pushed me in my thinking, even if I had never read the book they were discussing.

Mary Ehrenworth was right; our strongest readers need us just as much as our developing readers. They need to be pushed and challenged, they need to be handed books that will inspire them. They need to discuss and think with each other and continue to push themselves. I am so glad I listened, I am so glad I pushed myself.

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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 Starting Today” can be purchased now from Powerful Learning Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

being me, students

They Are Someone’s Child

May 2, 2014December 29, 2014 Pernille Ripp

He walked away, tears in his eyes, shoulders down. I called out his name but he kept on walking, mumbling, “Ill do it…”

I went home, knew what I had to do the next day, and yet, that walk away from me really made me remember.

Before I tell a student what they need to do right now, remember they are someone’s child.

Before I tell a child that their best could be better, remember that they are someone’s child.

Before I raise my voice, before I yell for attention, before I call out a student for not doing what they are supposed to be doing, remember; they are someone’s child.

Before I tell a student that life outside of school may be tough but they still need to focus, remember; they are someone’s child. And that someone may be trying their hardest to keep an illusion of normalcy going, but that child knows better.

Before I lecture, remember.

Before I punish, remember.

Before I pull aside.

Before I make an example.

Before I don’t listen to the whole story.

They are someone’s child and they deserve to be treated that way.

And that boy with the tears, I apologized the next day. Not for the expectations but for the way they had been said. I am not perfect, I forget too, that before I am a teacher I am a mother, and that child in front of me could be mine. So treat them as such.

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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 Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” can be pre-bought now from Powerful Learning Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.