blogging, i, student blogging, students

Ideas for Integrating a Student Blog into Your Curriculum

Pernille Ripp
One thing I have loved about blogging and what it does for my students is how easily it has been to integrate it into our curriculum.  I knew when we started that I didn’t want an extra layer of “stuff to do” because we already have too much “stuff to do.”  So if I were to have my students blog, it had to be as authentic and as meaningful as possible, without it becoming another homework burden.  With that in mind, here are some beginning ideas for integrating blogging into your classroom.

  • Those daily journal responses we have to do as part of writers and readers workshop, those go on our blog instead for those who choose it.  Some students prefer to type, others relish the pencil and paper, I love that they have a choice.
  • Writing about our reading.  I love when students write about the books that they read or give recommendations.  When we blog about that it opens up a dialogue, rather than a static finished product.  Here students can become experts on their books and connect with others that loved it (or hated it) just as much as they did.
  • Science detectives.  I love adding video cameras and digital cameras to our lessons.  They offer students a different way to document their learning and they always provide me with a much deeper insight of what students now versus a worksheet.  So why not post it on our blog for others to see and learn with us.  This is a great a way for parents to see what is happening, as well as for the kids to be questioned by other classes or scientists.  This adds a whole other dimension to our experiments.
  • Editorials or just plain old opinions.  I love when students use their blogs to form, discuss or expand on their ideas.  Our blogs are used to comment on the happenings in the classroom.  I ask the students to become reflective learners and process their role as a student.  It never ceases to amaze me what I learn from students when they open up on their blog.
  • Deepening social studies.  I believe in project based learning and social studies lends itself incredibly well to this.  So I encourage students to expand their thinking about their project through their blogs, as well as to post finished products if “postable.”   
  • Group writing.  I love it when students write blog posts together, whether it be for a story or to share a common experience.  Blogging as a team or group shows off their ability to conform to a common voice while adding individual flair.
  • Reporting on events.  When we go anywhere or take a virtual field trip I ask students to share their experiences, show of their expertise, and give me their honest opinion.  Field trips don’t end after you get back, they should be digested and discussed and blogging is a great medium for that.
  • Furthering their mathematical thinking.  I used to have students do exit slips on which they explained something we learned in their own words and while I still use them once in a while, I love using our blog instead.  I have students create a problem that fits into what we discussed and then solve it for, or explain their thinking behind the problem.  We can then invite others into our math class and students get to share their knowledge.
  • Let me know how I am doing.  While not part of our curriculum, this is a huge factor in the success of our classroom.  Students have to have a mouthpiece in education and by voicing their opinions on our blogs we are able to engage other educators and students in the debate.  Change starts with us, so we should be providing students with an outlet for their opinions.
These ideas are beginnings, there are so many things you can do with student blogs, you just have to jump in and look for the natural fits in your curriculum.  Students don’t need more work, they need more authenticity in their educational experience.  Blogs can help us do that.
Uncategorized

They Are Just Numbers

Pernille Ripp
It finally happened, that moment I have been dreading; my students turned into numbers.  Never mind their names, never mind even their initials, instead a four digit number stared back at me from the wall.  The occasion?  Our first assessment meeting where we already throw around numbers like we actually know what they mean.

So now I have a list of who the number belongs to and I have a chart of what the letters by the numbers mean.  And all I can think of is how did it ever get to this?  How can we stand by while our kids are boiled down to three scores, three snapshots, that supposedly tell us everything we would ever need to know about their struggles, their strengths, their futures?  But we do and now they don’t even have a name anymore, for confidentiality purposes I am told.  I can’t help but feel that it shows how far away from the child we truly are.

collaboration, community, global, global read aloud

10 Tips On How to Create a Global Collaborative Project

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

While the third annual Global Read Aloud is in full swing and more than 28,000 kids participating, I cannot help but be in awe.  After all, as I have said many times, this idea seemed so simple, so minor when first discussed, and now here we are; 6 continents involved in reading the same two books and global connections being formed around the clock.  So how do you get to this point, what is the secret? Well, I’m not sure, but here are some ideas:

  1. Be simple!  No collaborative idea ever took off if it required hours of explanation.  The Global Read Aloud’s strength lies in its simplicity; read a book aloud and connect with others to discuss it. No convoluted rules, no disclaimers.  And the core premise has not changed.
  2. Make sure the idea is easily translatable.  Both in explanation but also in doing.  If it centers around a book make sure others can get it and that it wont cost them too much.  Whatever you are collaborating around has to be easily accesible for educators all over and for varying skill levels.
  3. Don’t make too many rules.  If there are too many rules the project may get stifled.  Relax and let the project develop, guidelines can be developed together and changed as needed.
  4. Invite others to contribute ideas.  Another reason I love the Global Read Aloud is all of the ideas being shared by people who are much smarter and much more creative than me.  This is what has made the project so special to so many people; they are invested in it because they helped create it.
  5. Don’t get stuck in a rut.  After the first year of the Global Read Aloud I pondered whether we should use the same book year after year and then realized that it would be too easy that way.  I love discovering new texts and must admit that I had not read “The One and Only Ivan” before its selection this year, now I count it as one of my favorite books.
  6. Use the tools.  We have an incredible array of technological tools available to us as educators and everybody feels comfortable with different things, so use them all or let people choose.  Schools, in particular, often block certain things but it varies from school to school, so if you let people use many different tools to connect chances are one of those use will be accesible.
  7. Create a community.  We established our Edmodo community in June so people had time to get to know each other and create connections before the October 1st kick off.  This has been valuable to many participating and the readiness level was more prominent this year than in prior years.  So find a venue to create a community outside of the project; Twitter or Edmodo are great places to start.
  8. Be accessible.  I love connecting with people and I love helping out so make sure people can get a hold of you.  I answer emails quickly, as well as tweets, and do my best to leave comments and showcase cool things people are doing.  I am as much of a participant as everyone else.
  9. Trust other people.  Again, another strength of the Global Read Aloud is all of the people involved and everything they bring to the project   So while it may have started as my idea, there are so many others now involved that it has evolved into true collaboration.  Everybody adds ideas and it benefits everyone.  Don’t be the only one making decisions, create a group to help plan and they will also spread the word.
  10. Make it fun!  Even if you are tackling serious subjects have an element of fun.  We tend to get excited over things we can see our students get excited over.  So whether it is the topic, the process, or how you will connect, do something that will bring out the smiles and cheers. 

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students, testing

Just Put Them In A Small Room; Why State Test Accommodations Don’t Solve the Problem

Pernille Ripp
It is fall here in beautiful state of Wisconsin and for teachers that means one thing; WKCE is here or the state’s accountability test. This lovely little test will take hours and days from some grades out of our learning to once and for all prove what students know or do not know.  So as I pondered this year’s test last night (that’s what happens when one is up at 3 AM), I also thought of the test accommodations that we are allowed to provide and just how ridiculous they are.  Read on to see what I mean:

Accommodation:  Small group setting.
Premise:  Big rooms and more students provide more anxiety and thus taking the student and placing them either in one-on-one setting or a small group will relieve that anxiety.
Debunked:  Most often the anxiety the student is experiencing does not come from the setting.  In fact, I would argue that most of the time the classroom is the preferred setting if it is for anxiety purposes,  after all, this is the room that should be a safe-haven for students in a community they know.  Not so in the case of a random conference room or even small closet.  Some then argue the small group setting is for the quiet so the student in question can think better, except that doesn’t hold up either since students are absolutely not allowed to make any noise during the test.  In a “perfect” test environment the only thing you should hear is the rustling of pencils writing, that’s it.

Accommodation:  Read the instructions aloud.
Premise:  Student who struggle with reading will know what to do.
Debunked:  Students who struggle with reading are not going to get much help from someone reading the instructions when they cannot proceed to fully read and comprehend the actual problems.  While math problems are also allowed to be read aloud in some cases, it still boils down to comprehension.  Chances are if that student has this accommodation they have had other accommodations in the classroom to be successful learners, none of which are allowed during the test.  But read it aloud, that we will do so you have more time to sit and ponder what you do not know or do not understand.

Accommodation:  Extended time.
Premise:  Students that process more slowly or have anxiety should be allowed unlimited time.
Debunked:  I love this one.  Nothing like giving a frustrated student as much time as they want to take the test that they are frustrated by.  I still think most of my students that have been given this accommodation end up taking the least amount of time.  Not all but most.  If you do not understand the test or the question unlimited time will most often do nothing for you.  That is like being presented with a test in French except you don’t speak the language, but hey, you have unlimited time to figure it out!

Accommodation:  Break the test up.
Premise:  For students who cannot focus for long periods of time you can spread the test out.
Debunked:  Again, why continue to torture a child by prolonging the frustration.  When a child is not successful on the test it seldom has anything to do with how long they can focus but rather the content itself.  When no other help is offered such as breaking the problems apart (that is not allowed) how are we really helping?

So in the end, we sit with accommodations that do nothing to solve the problem; the test itself.  We speak often of tests and how destructive they can be to students, and yet, we band-aid the harm of the test by trying to set up better accommodations.  In the end, they change very little; the test itself flies in the face of how we instruct and how children work through problems.  The test will therefore never be an accurate measure of how much a child actually knows within a learning community but only a measure of who can focus the longest and regurgitate facts.  And is that really worth testing?

assumptions, being me, Decisions, life choices, students

We Should All Be Surprised

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

A teacher contacts me at the beginning of the year at their wits end; they have this one student, you know the one, the one that doesn’t listen, the one with the rap sheet miles long even though they are just in 5th grade.  That student that smiles and laughs and then turns deadly the moment you turn your back.  yeah that one is now in their room and this teacher tries everything.  Throughout the year we share tips and ideas, what if’s and have you tried’s.  Sometimes there are small victories but most often the honeymoon is over before it began.  At the end of the year the teacher is exhausted and the student is about the same except maybe taller, faster, and even more hellbent on saying no and getting their way.

Over the summer I hear once more from the teacher, this time telling me that the student had been in trouble with police.  Something minor but still a gateway to worse, a gateway to things we so diligently try to shield our kids from.  What comes next floors me; “I’m not surprised, just thought it would happen later, that’s all…”  The words form a rope around my neck and I feel myself at a loss for words.  I don’t know how to answer that, not then, but now I do.  You should be surprised!  You should be shocked that any kid decides to go down that path.  We should never lose our surprise when students, kids, make bad decisions.  I don’t care what path they were on in our classrooms.  I don’t care how destructive they may have come off as.  We should be surprised when they make terrible decisions and not just say, “See, I knew it would happen…”

I know this may be idealistic and perhaps I have one foot in utopia, but yet, we have to be surprised when our students fail our expectations.  We have to be surprised when they wander into dangerous territory and make poor decisions.  Be surprised when all of our hard work, all of our efforts, don’t seem to make a difference.  Someone has to keep believing in these kids, even the ones we think are lost.  Even the ones that give us the hardest time, sometimes, because after all, they are the ones that need it the most.  So stay surprised and keep believing.

being a teacher, hidden rules, listen, Student-centered

Sometimes We Have to Break Our Rules

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

It’s 3:40 AM and Ida is inconsolable.  My normally calm, happy baby just will not stop crying; she is clearly miserable.  I have tried everything in the baby books; swaddling, ssshhing, feeding, rocking, singing, pacifier, but nothing, nothing works besides holding her in my arms.  So I do what I had promised myself not to do this time around, fall asleep with her on my chest, and finally we both get some much needed rest.

Why do I share this story?  Because sometimes doing the thing we had promised we would never do is exactly what we need to do in our classrooms to progress.  Sometimes we have to go against what we have read, go against what we have thought we would do, and simply figure out how we can help a child.  Because when that child clearly has needs we are not fulfilling and we stumble across some idea, or we realize that our procedures and policies simply do not work, well then, we have to break those rules.

In the end; helping all children succeed is what we were put into our classrooms for.  Even if that means sometimes doing things we never thought we would do.  And I am ok with that.

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