Pernille Ripp

The words from my friend Jess deserve to be read by every single person out there. While I cannot guarantee that, I can use this blog as a way to hold up her voice, because if we let hatred rule our government, if we let hatred rule our decisions, then we will not be the America we set out to be; a land with freedom for all.

Crawling Out of the Classroom

Two weeks ago, my wife and I drove with our three-year-old daughter from our home near Chicago to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

For most of the drive, one of my my biggest worries was the said three-year-old daughter and the likeliness that at any moment it was possible for her to turn into something resembling a monster should the conditions warrant such a transformation.

For most of the drive, one of my biggest worries was where we could stop for a bathroom break since my daughter’s idea of giving us advanced warning of her need for a bathroom involves approximately thirty-five seconds before it is too late.

For most of the drive, one of my biggest worries was what podcast we could listen to in order to stay entertained ourselves without exposing our daughter to anything too intense.

For most of the drive my worries included: How much battery was…

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being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity

Reading Conferences With Students Within the 45 Minute English Class; Yes, It’s Possible

April 8, 2016April 19, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Confession time; I am terrible at conferring with my students. This once proud foundation of my elementary classroom is now a crumbling pillar in my 7th grade English class. Call it a victim of the 45 minute I have to teach everything in. A victim of the so much to do. A victim of not quite knowing how to make it productive. Whatever it is, the conferring that I know I should be doing has simply not been getting done.

Yet a few weeks ago, I realized that the one thing I needed the most (besides more time, more books, more knowledge) was the simple conference. The one to one interaction with every single one of my students if even for just a few minutes. Because conferring is the one way I can really reach all students. Is the one way we can connect the best. Is the one way that I can really see what each child needs. Conferring is the best way for me to be a better teacher to all of the needs must of us are faced with. So even within the 45 minute English class, with almost 120 students spread over 5 classes, there had to be a way. There had to be tweaks that could be made to make it work so an experiment began.

So what has worked and what have I discovered?

Reading conferring happens within the first 10 minutes of class. Every day we start with 10 minutes of independent reading. While nothing new, I now am much more purposeful with how I spend the time. So that 10 minutes is a perfect time for me to confer with students., therefore when the bell rings and the timer starts, so does my mission.

That my individual reading conferences focus on reader identity rather than on typical mini-lessons. There is no way for me at the moment to do one-on-one lessons and still make it to all of my students within about 2 weeks. So I instead focus on their reading identity and gather clues for what types of mini-lessons I need to create for small groups. That being said there are exceptions to the rule if I uncover a particular dire situation where a child is then given the full 10 minutes of time. This purpose for the conferences allows me to do quick check-ins and get to more kids.

That within those 10 minutes of independent reading I can shoot for meeting with 3 students. I come to the students, equipped with my binder and pen, ready to ask them questions. By me moving we save time and they can get as much reading time as possible until we meet.

That I need just one question to start every conference. I used to prepare for all of my conferences by coming up with several questions aimed at a specific child. Now every conference starts with, “What are you working on as a reader?” The direction of the conference then is directed by their answer.

That I need a simple system to keep track of notes. I used to take a lot of notes during my conferring but now find the need really just for three different things; my observations, their answers, and next steps. Every student therefore has a sheet with three different conferring boxes on it, each class has its own 1-inch binder for me to keep track and I write down only what I need to better teach the child. That means I am working on writing down only the essentials, in the moment, and still try to think of what to help them with.

So how has it been? Pretty amazing actually. The concentrated 10 minute effort means that I am fully attentive to what the students are saying ant thinking of other things. The short note-taking sheet means that I am ore focused in what I write down as well as what we need to work on next. The students seem to like it because they are getting more attention and still getting reading time. And the things I have uncovered? They are things I would not have uncovered no matter how many reflections I had students do, no matter how many small group lessons I would have conducted.

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So while the 45 minutes of English class will never be ideal, it will never be enough, it will never feel like I can provide each child with the type of learning experience they deserve, it cannot hold us back. It cannot hold me back. And I cannot be the only one that is trying to do this. What has worked for you?

PS: As far as writing conferring, I use the entire class-time when we write meeting one-on-one with students. This has proven to be more effective for the students than doing a mini-lesson for the whole class since their needs are so diverse.

If you are wondering why there seems to be a common thread to so many of my posts as of late, it is because I am 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. Those books will be published in 2017 hopefully, 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, being me, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice

Let My Students Read

April 3, 2016April 3, 2016 Pernille Ripp

My friend John Spencer had shared this on Facebook tonight

As I got ready to share the quote myself, the comment below it caught my eye…

“It’s also the job of the school to push children to read books that challenge them and take them out of their comfort zone.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, and Captain Underpants are fine for kids to read and enjoy at home, but teachers should not permit them in the classroom. They provide no educational benefit.”

And I knew I couldn’t stay silent. I knew I had to respond even though I try to not get into it with anyone on Facebook. Even though I didn’t know the commentator and that I might be opening myself up to an argument I don’t feel like having as I wind down on a Sunday night. But when something like that is said, I have to say something back. After all, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, and yes even Captain Underpants all reside in my 7th grade library. Their covers are torn and tattered, they are often replaced. They are loved by many, myself included, and not because they are easy to read, but because they make students fall in love with reading.

So I took a deep breath, pushed my snark aside and wrote this reply…

Not true at all, for some students a book like Diary of A Wimpy Kid is the first time they have felt like they were a reader at school. Our job is not to be gatekeepers of which books students read but instead provide them with successful reading experiences in whichever books they choose so that they will continue to read. Then we can help them stretch into more challenging texts.

But what I really meant to say is that we must not censor.

That we must not think we know better when it comes to what a child needs to read any day.

That instead of judging we should support.

That we must create environments where students choice in books will be celebrated and discussed rather than dismissed and banned.

That it is not our job to be the gatekeepers for our students as Teri Lesene has said so many times.

That if a child is choosing to read books like those mentioned then they have a reason for it, even if that reason is that they do not know what else to read. Our job as teachers is to help them discover why they love the books so much and then expose them to more, just like we would with any book that a child chooses to read.

I speak for the child that this year has read Diary of a Wimpy Kid every chance he got, always turning the page, rereading and laughing every time with joy when he came to beloved sections. He tells me how long he spends reading, how it is his favorite thing to do, how every time he revisits that same old book, he discovers something new.

I speak for the child that never felt like a reader until Dav Pilkey created Captain Underpants and they finally had a character they could relate to.

I speak for the child that has always reverted back to these books until 2 weeks ago when he asked if he could read All American Boys because he had heard it was so good and now is 40 pages in and tells me it is the best book ever. Even if he not quite sure what is going on. Even if we had to go back a few pages and get a few things straight. Diary of a Wimpy Kid may not have been as demanding as All American Boys but those books made him feel safe. Like he could be a reader in our classroom. Like he could be a success story, just like everyone else.

It takes a great book to make a child believe that they too can be a reader and for many of our students that great book has been Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Why anyone would want to take that away from students beats me.

So do not tell me those books do not belong in our classrooms. Do not tell me that my students should not be allowed to read them in school. Do not tell me which books do or do not provide an educational benefit.

If my job as a teacher is to get students to read, then by golly those books, and any other books I can think of, will help me do just that.

I did not become a reader when I could read Huckleberry Finn, I became a reader when I chose to read.

So let our students choose to read. Whatever that may look like. As good teachers we know what to do. We know how to challenge them. How to make them reflect on their journey as readers. How to help them stretch into harder books and protect them when they get too far out of their comfort zone. Let our students fall in love with books so that we can help them discover more books. So that they will leave our classrooms and choose to read, even when they are busy. Even when life gets hard. Even when school is over. Let our students fall in love with reading so that they will choose to be challenged, and not because a teacher forced them to, but because they felt they were ready.

I owe so much to Jeff Kinney, Dav Pilkey and Lincoln Peirce. I think many of us do.

being a student, being a teacher, inspiration, Student dreams

What Drives Your Instruction?

April 2, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Once in awhile I have the honor of having other educators visit our classroom, room 235D. While it is always nerve-wracking to have strangers watch you teach and ask your students questions, it always leaves me feeling so very grateful for the district I teach in, for the colleagues I have, for the students I teach. Yesterday was no different as I heard the students explain why we start with reading, why books matter to them, and what learning in this classroom looks like.

Later in conversation, I was asked what drives our instruction? Having only 45 minutes to teach all of English, what is our ultimate goal? How do we possibly fit it all in and feel like we are not just getting things done? Before I talked about the standards that shape our choices. Before I talked about how our quarters are split up on their focus. Before I talked about the power of choice when it comes to what we teach, before I talked about how we listen to the kids in order to make it about them again, I knew what the answer was.

What drives our instruction? Helping kids fall in love with reading and writing (again).

Not the Common Core. Not the standards. Not covering content or getting-things-done. Not checklists, nor grades. Not comprehension or skills. Not things, nor projects.

Love.

And not just love for reading, for writing, for speaking, but for being immersed in an environment that focuses on learning for human development. Not for test scores, next year, grades, or honor rolls. Not for rankings or best of lists. No. What drives our instruction is much more simple, yet so much bigger.

Being a teacher isn’t just about teaching things, it is about teaching human beings, and those human beings need to know that what we do is bigger than a skill. Bigger than a subject. Bigger than getting through 7th grade.

So what drives your instruction? What would the students say?

being a teacher

Do You Do Global Collaboration with Your Students? Please Take this Survey

March 28, 2016 Pernille Ripp

As part of my next book , which centers on global collaboration through a literacy lens, I am looking to highlight amazing teachers around the world that are doing just this; creating opportunities for their students to collaborate with others in their literacy instruction. I am looking for all grade levels anywhere in the world. The projects can be long or short, cross-curricular or not.

The survey should not take long but would help me showcase just how doing globally collaborative projects with students greatly enhances their learning experience. Please feel to share this post with others who may be interested.

Thank you from the bottom of my writer’s heart.

Pernille

being a teacher

Why I Taught My Students to Email (And Maybe You Should Too)

March 28, 2016 Pernille Ripp

I don’t know why it hadn’t hit me before this year; many of our students do not know how to email. I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, how many one line emails with little capitalization, no greeting or ending, and usually little specificity must one sit through before they get the message. And yet, it took me 8 years to realize that most students use email as a way to text and that teachers everywhere must be shaking their heads just like we have.

So this year, on the day back after spring break, we took 20 minutes to learn how to email better. It was so simple; students logged into their own email accounts and pulled up sent emails to teachers. A few were willing to share and I then shared a few myself that I had received. Some students laughed, others winced, but right away they started to see how their message could be read. How their intent could be misread and how in their endeavor to be efficient had forgotten what it meant to communicate well.

We then discussed how email is not like a text message, that while they may not use email much now except to communicate with their teachers, they really need to know how to write one anyway. That there is no excuse for being rushed or impolite when we speak to others and that email a conversation, albeit an electronic one.

We then spoke of the 6 steps to write an email:

Specific subject matter to alert the purpose
A greeting where the recipients name is correctly spelled.
A nicety to begin the body of the email; how are you can go a long way to start a pleasant conversation.
Specificity in their request. Not just “I need help,” but instead “I need help with…” and also including when they are available and would like to meet.
A wrap up sentence thanking for help or time.
An ending with their own name attached.

Students were then asked to email a teacher following the guidelines either asking for help, checking in on an assignment or simply reaching out. While this is not written anywhere in my standards, I feel that it was time well-spent. We may not have changed the world today, but as one student wrote today (in his email to me).

“Hi how are you doing, this email assessment is in my opinion is pretty cool. I think this will help with how I write my emails. I used to always do text message like emails with one sentence. Now I think with this new email format you showed us it will help me do better at writing emails to teachers or anyone.

Sincerely,…”

Sometimes it is, truly, the little things…