Pernille Ripp

My students started blogging yesterday, all trying to use it as a platform to start conversations with others. I was blown away by many of their posts and thought I would share at least one. Philip’s below was one of my favorites. If you would like to see more, and they are pretty amazing, please go here.

Yes, hello. My name is Philip. However, now that we are communicating through online sources, you are to call me Pom, as that is what my friends have called me over the years online. I spend most of my time on the computer, and I enjoy playing video games. Now, you’re not safe at the moment. Allow me to explain what’s going on:

You have just fallen into a abyss, when you were exploring a mountain. This hole, led to the dimension known as “The Internet.” The Internet is a land that can only be monitored from a computer screen. It’s quite the mysterious place. Now, it is VERY important that you follow my lead. I have a bit to tell you .

Okay, so, The Internet has three main lands: Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome. It doesn’t really matter which main land you’re in, there’s just different kinds of cities in each main land. In Mozilla Firefox, lay the cities of Facebook, Pinterest, and the Property of the Dropbox Factory. In Internet Explorer, lay the cities of 4Chan, Reddit, and the lost city of MySpace. At last, we reach Google Chrome. Here, you will find the cities of Tumblr, Vine, and Instagram.

I have one final thing to tell you, and that is about each city.

Facebook: A typical suburb, with suburban mother, lots of school soccer teams, and more.

Pinterest: A cute town full of many sweet people, and artisans. All are welcome!

Drop Box Factory: A manufacturing business similar to Amazon, eBay, etc.

4Chan: A corrupt city. There are good parts, and VERY BAD PARTS. People say, that what is seen here, can not be unseen.

Reddit: The smartypants city that likes to vent and complain, but it’s a very fun city nonetheless. Check it out if you’re up for some debates.

MySpace: A destroyed city from ages ago, when people invaded. All the citizens left after Facebook had been opened. Now, shady people like to hang out there.

Tumblr: Very corrupt, very addicting, very nosy. The city is split into groups called “Fandoms,” where they are interested in other things. They often argue. Pinterest is a kind version is Tumblr.

Vine/Instagram: Two cities which I personally can’t stand, but fit in the same category. Lot’s of children, lot’s of people who don’t know what they are talking about for most of the time. However, Instagram is a good place for business, as that is where YouTube Inc. is located.

Now that you know what’s around here, you have to learn the lifestyle, but we will save that for another day….

being a teacher, being me, books

The Professional Books that Changed Me as a Teacher

February 2, 2016February 2, 2016 Pernille Ripp

When I first started teaching, I devoured parts of books like a starved teacher. And by parts of books, I mean parts of books. I would start to read, grab some ideas and then get too busy to read on. After a few years, I stopped. Not that I did not need to keep growing, I just had changed my focus to reading blogs instead of books.

Lately, though, I have been turning back to books. For finding the time to read an entire piece of work as I try to grow and become better. I have highlighted the things that make me think, discussed ideas with others (Voxer is great for a small book discussion) and reflected until my brain hurt.

And I am changed. I have these ideas that seem to want to burst out of me, that I cannot wait for students to digest along with me, so that we can become better together. So what have made a difference to me?

Alfie Kohn’s The Homework Myth

A quote:

“But as I mastered the material, homework ceased to be necessary. A no homework policy is a challenge to me,” he adds. “I am forced to create lessons that are so good no further drilling is required when the lessons are completed.”

Why it matters:

The research and the reasons compiled in here made me quit homeowrk. I would say that that has been one of the biggest and best decisions I have ever made as a teacher.

Unshakeable by Angela Watson

A quote:

“All the planning and scheduling is meant to control the other demands on your time—email, grading, paperwork, etc.—so that you are better able to focus on your students in class.”
Why it matters:

Angela Watson never ceases to amaze with her ideas for how to make our teaching lives better. This book has the best of her wisdom on how we can fall even more in love with teaching.

Awakened also by Angela Watson

A quote:

“Being awakened is the initial realization of truth, the moment when the light illuminates a situation and you can see it clearly for the first time. Growth begins there, but a true awakening is a process. It’s a daily decision to choose thoughts that lead to the right attitude. It’s an ongoing choice to act in ways that align with wisdom and not with one’s current perception or mood.”

Why it matters:

Several years ago, when I was at my lowest point as a teacher, this book arrived and changed my thinking. I still use the principles that Angela discussed in the book of replacing your negative thinking.

Donalyn Miller Reading in the Wild

A quote:

“If we really want our students to become wild readers, independent of our support and oversight, sometimes the best thing we can do is get out of the way.”

Why it matters:

This book taught me that creating students who can read outside of our classrooms is a vital task for teachers. It has propelled me to change the reading instruction I do and also led to many deep conversations about reading identity.

Donalyn Miller The Book Whisperer

A quote:

“I am a reader, a flashlight-under-the-covers, carries-a-book-everywhere-I-go, don’t-look-at-my-Amazon-bill. I choose purses based on whether I can cram a paperback into them, and my books are the first items I pack into a suitcase. I am the person who family and friends call when they need a book recommendation or cannot remember who wrote Heidi. My identity as a person is so entwined with my love of reading and books that I cannot separate the two.”

Why it matters:

This book made me trust myself as a teacher of reading. It gave me permission to fight back, to protect the love of reading, and to do something about those who did not love reading. This should be required reading for all teachers, whether you teach reading or not.

Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts Falling In Love With Close Reading

A quote:

“We see the ritual of close reading not just as a method of doing the academic work of looking closely at text-evidence, word choice, and structure, but as an opportunity to bring those practices together to empower our students to see the subtle messages in texts and in their lives.”

Why it matters:

This book stopped my fear of repetition and digging deeper into text. Enough said.

Penny Kittle Book Love

A quote:

“I believe each of my students must craft an individual reading life of challenge, whim, curiosity, and hunger, and I’ve discovered that it is not too late in high school to lead a non-reader to reading. It’s never too late.”

Why it matters:

What the Book Whisperer did for me while teaching 4th grade, Book Love is doing for me while I teach 7th. Penny Kittle’s wisdom, research, as well as practical ideas is making this book my most recommended book of 2016 so far.

Kelly Gallagher Readicide

A quote:

“…Shouldn’t schools be the place where students interact with interesting books? Shouldn’t the faculty have an ongoing laser-like commitment to put good books in our students’ hands? Shouldn’t this be a front-burner issue at all times?”

Why it matters:

If you are looking for urgency in your teaching, this is the book that will bring it to you. Readicide was one of the first books that made me want to do something now to change the way we teach reading.

Kylene Beers and Bob Probst Notice and Note

A quote:

“The most rigorous reading is to find what those words on that page mean in our own lives.”

Why it matters:

This book transformed (and transform) how I approach reading instruction with my students, giving them a key to unlock the secrets of the text. This is one of the biggest gifts I can give them as they read more complex materials.

Then there are the books that I have in my to read pile

Meeno Rami Thrive

A quote:

“To be fully engaged in our work, we need to bring our authentic voice.”

Why it matters:

I have read parts of this book before, however, I need to sit down and read it all in order. Meeno is an incredibly smart woman and so I know that her thoughts will make me a better teacher.

Kylene Beers and Bob Probst Reading Nonfiction – Notice and Note

A quote:

“When students recognize that nonfiction ought to challenge us, ought to slow us down and make us think, then they’re more likely to become close readers.”

Why it matters:

The reading of nonfiction is something I have struggled with and this books provides me with the starting points for deeper conversations.

Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke Amplify

A Quote:

“Using technology doesn’t mean that we throw out those strategies that we’ve found to be successful with students. It’s not the tools—it’s what we do with them that counts.”

Why it matters:

I have integrated technology for the past 6 years in our classroom, and yet I know that these ladies have some incredible ideas that I have not thought of. Although it is targeted to K-6 I know there are ideas for 7th in there as well.

Teri S. Lesene’s Reading Ladders

A Quote:

Many of us are searching continually for that just-right book for each and every one of our students. It is my hope to help you find those books. More importantly, I hope to help you guide students to the next great book and the one after that. That is the purpose of Reading Ladders. Because it is not sufficient to find just one book for each reader.

Why it matters:

Teri Lesene is not only a fierce protector of the love of reading but brliiant, intimidatingly so. This book is a must for anyone trying to develop reading identities in their classrooms.

I know I am forgetting some but wanted to share in case anyone was looking for a great new read to change their teaching. Which books have you read that have transformed you? Which books did I miss?

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.

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, books, change, Literacy, Reading, student choice, Student Engagement

So You Teach a Whole Class Novel – A Small Idea to Help

January 31, 2016 Pernille Ripp

I spend too many hours thinking of my students love (or lack of love) of reading. Of how the things that we do together hopefully is enough to sustain that love for words. That this year is another part of their journey as readers, as humans who know that reading can unlock the powers of the universe. And so I think of what is ahead. Of whether they are truly “Wild readers” to quote Donalyn Miller. Whether they have the stamina they need to be successful in college to quote Penny Kittle. And whether the type of literacy instruction they will receive in the years to come will allow them to continue to love books. To still read something that they choose. To still see themselves as children who read for fun, not by force.

Today, as I sat next to a friend who teaches high school English, we discussed the concept of the whole class novel. Something I have opened up for discussion here. There are districts that mandate that the whole class novel is used for all students, no matter their comprehension ability, which is another blog post in itself, and yet, it reminds me that not everyone works in an environment that trusts its teachers to teach all students, no matter their ability.

So if you teach the whole class novel, whether by choice or force, there is a very little tweak that may make it accessible to all students. Because if we want the whole class novel to be a vessel for deeper literature conversation and yet we have students who cannot access the text, then we must find a way for them to be successful. The idea is simple, really. Create different pathways to access the text by allowing students to select which method they will use. Those pathways can be:

I choose to read it on my own, ready to come to discussion. This is the most common pathway of doing a whole class novel but it cannot be the only one. Think of how many students where this act would be impossible. Where they would rather defiantly not read then even try.
I choose to read the book with a partner and we discuss as we read. Sometimes when we struggle all we need is a trusted adviser to bring us through the hard parts. We see this happen in our classrooms all of the time; students reaching out for help, and then going to back to their task renewed. Why not let them do that formally?
I choose to have it read aloud with the teacher in a small group. Sometimes we need an adult voice to carry students through, other times you just need a community of readers to help you process the text, let alone the finer nuances behind the words. Having a teacher at the helm and making it a read aloud means that it has no longer become an exercise of decoding, but rather one of comprehension.
I choose to listen to the text. I know some frown upon the use of audio books in our literacy classrooms, but they can be the game changer for some of our most disillusioned non-reading students. If our goal is to use a whole class novel for students to think deeply about a text, then why not remove the barrier of the text itself? If a child cannot read a text then the instruction of how to read it should happen with a text that they can access, not something that is far beyond their current skill level.

That’s it really. Offering student choice in how they access the learning we must do, allows them to find success even within the most mandated curriculum. We must remember our task at hand; to have rich discussion, so let’s make sure that all of our students can be a part of that, not just the ones that have mastered the act of reading at a certain level.

Be the change, being a teacher, being me

29,015 Reasons Why My Ego May Get Too Big

January 30, 2016January 30, 2016 Pernille Ripp

29,015

My Twitter follower number as of this morning at 5 AM.

29,015 people around the world who are not all people I know. Who are not all my mother. I have not paid for those followers. I have not asked people to follow me. I have not used a service nor any strategies to get that many. I have, however, been tweeting for 6 years.

29,015 people read what I tweet. That is a good sized town.

29,015 people care about me and my words. Or so it seems from the number.

29,015 people and I know why it is easy to get a big head. My students tell me I am famous. I laugh and tell them I am “Googleable” and that there is a big difference. And yet, in their eyes I carry power. In some other people’s eyes, my words seem to matter more because look at how many people follow me. Surely they cannot be wrong.

Yet, that number does not tell the whole truth. That number easily inflates an ego, makes you think somehow that your words or ideas are more important than someone who does not have as big of a reach. That you cannot make mistakes. That the world is indeed a stage and all of those others are an audience waiting for your wisdom.

That little number, or likes, or favorites, or shares or whichever tool that can now seemingly measure our influence can really mess with our own sense of self importance. And I see it happen, I see people create a divide of those who have many followers and those who have not. As if a large number of followers somehow makes you a better human being. A better educator. As if your words should carry more power because they have a larger audience. That because you are connected and people respond to you, you are better than the teacher who is not connected, or who is not at your level of reach.

It is so easy to lose sight of what it really means. I see people use their platform to promote themselves rather than keep it about the kids. I see lines of popularity drawn in the sand, conversations not being had because we do not want to bother someone who seems more important. I see hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and completely forgetting why we got on Twitter in the first place; the kids. The chance to make the world better. The chance to become better. As if once you reach a certain follower count, you have somehow figured it all out.

But the truth is, we are not as important as our follower count can make us feel.

We are not better. We are not perfect, nor are we always right. We do not know all of the answers on how to solve education. On how to be the best teachers. We have ideas, yes, we have thoughts, yes, but we also need to remember that our words only matter if they help kids.

29,015 – writing the number makes me cringe. Because it is not about that but others may say it is. That I am important, because all of those followers cannot be wrong. I am humbled by the trust that others put in me and reminded of why I tweet. It is not to get a book deal, a speaking gig, a trending hashtag, or anything else that may be bestowed upon some with large follower counts. I tweet, write, connect because I realized that I could not keep on teaching the way I had and I needed to find others who could hep me. And I found them and I am finding them as I grow.

I wish our counts were private, then perhaps we would all go back to feeling equal. Then perhaps we wouldn’t think that we somehow deserved more attention than others. Perhaps we can pretend and remember that we are all just educators trying to make a difference for the very children we teach. And that is the real reason I connect.

aha moment, Be the change, being a student, being a teacher, being me, student voice

Enough with the Teacher Talk- Ideas for Getting More Student Talk

January 29, 2016 Pernille Ripp

“I wish you would talk less…”

The comment smacks me in the face over and over as I read my 6th hour students’ feedback for the semester.. At first, I think they must be forgetting how little I speak. How much work time I give them. How they clearly must be wrong, because I am the queen of not speaking much.

Yet, that very next day I realize that they are right. As I teach my 6th hour, the one right after lunch, I see how much longer I take to get directions. How much more information I give them. How my brain seems to work a little slower right after lunch and I am talking myself back into the lesson. At the expense of their time. At the expense of their attention span. And their eyes glaze over so I speak more to get them excited It’s a vicious cycle.

And I am not the only one speaking too much. As I do workshops on student engagement, I keep adding m0re and more research on teacher talk versus student talk. The research is startling; according to John Hattie teachers ask between 200 and 300 questions a day, whereas most students ask 2. 2...And those questions are typically clarification questions.

Teachers dominate classroom talk speaking anywhere between 60% to 75% of the time. That means in an average 45 minute English class, the teacher may lead the conversation an average of 27 to 33 minutes, leaving little time for most students to speak. And while I know I do not speak that much in any class, unless we are learning an entirely new concept, I also know that most of us think we speak a lot less than we actually do. And I also know that the more my students seem disengaged, the louder I speak.

So what can be done to limit teacher talk. To create an environment where students have a much bigger chance to discuss and explore? Where every child has a voice and someone to hear it?

Own your talking. Like I said, I thought I was quick to get to the point, apparently not. If we won’t acknowledge that we talk too much we won’t see an impetus for change. And if you are not sure, ask your students.

Set a timer. I generally allow myself 10 minutes to teach a concept leaving 25 minutes for the students to work and me to do one-to-one or small group instruction (25 minutes because we start with 10 minutes of independent reading). I thought I was pretty good at keeping it to 10 minutes but my surveys are telling me otherwise. Time to pull the timer out again.

Have students answer in a group. Too often, we rely on the call out question and answer, which is not the type of talk we should be trying to generate since it only allows one student to speak. I often have students give their answers in their table groups instead and then have them share out. I find that it opens up the classroom for much deeper discussions since many students become invested in the conversation, and it also means that students who may have been confused get a chance to try out some ideas or unscramble their thoughts. Turn and talk also works for this. Circulate instead and pick up on their answers that way.

Avoid the echo. The best advice I received my first year as a teacher was to stop echoing student answers back to them and yet, I still catch myself doing it every now and again. Our job is not to be the voice of the classroom, it is to give students a way to be the voice. So when a child gives an answer do not repeat it, if the class did not hear it then have them ask for it to be repeated.

Change your questions. No more call and response, instead have open-ended questions that will lead to a discussion. I know this, yet I forget at times, I will therefore be writing some big questions down on a post-it to remind me.

Just ask the question. Too often when we ask a question, it becomes a long rambling sentence filled with anecdotes and extra information. Yet this ends up confusing students more and we then have to repeat the question. So get to the point and then add afterwards for those students who need it.

Stop the unnecessary repetitions. How often do we teach to the students who do not get it rather than assume that most will? So rather than over-explain, state the instructions and then head over and check in with those students who may not have understood. Think of how often we explain more than necessary because we are worried that a few students may not get it while the others have? Stop explaining so much and teach instead to those that do need it.

Stop interrupting. How many read alouds have we interrupted to ask just one more question? How many times have students been in the zone working and we have borken their concentration to do a quick check-in. I think I do it because that looks like teaching to me; a busy teacher asking lots of questions. Find the right time to interrupt, enjoy your read aloud rather than constantly model what you are thinking. Limit it to the very best things so that students can reach a state of flow more often.

Be mentally ready after a break. The hour that told me I spoke the most is the one right after lunch, where my brain has had a nice break and I feel more relaxed. Yet, I often enter the classroom right when my students enter and then launch into class. Get your brain woken up by revisiting (mentally or on paper) your main points of instructions. Take a few minutes to wake yourself up so that you are back in teaching mode, because when we don’t we end up rambling.

Encourage student talk. By emphasizing the importance of students speaking up, asking questions, discussing and dissecting, we can create communities where all students are heard, where all voices are part of the learning. My amazing principal, Shannon Anderson, gave me the idea of giving each child two markers that they use when they want to speak. All students need to have used a marker in the group before they can use their second one. While I have not tried this yet, I want to try it for book club discussions to make sure all students feel they can speak and that not one voice dominates the conversations.

As little as we think we speak, I think it is vital to take the pulse of our classrooms every now and again. We would all like to think that our words are dripping wisdom, but how often do we ramble on when students are ready to work? So check yourself and your talk, ask your students, and then change your ways. I never want to be main voice of the classroom, none of us do, but it takes changing our deep-seated ways to truly change it. We can create classrooms filled with passionate learners but to do it, students have to have a voice.

being a teacher, being me

A Simple Choice Really

January 27, 2016 Pernille Ripp

For the past three nights, our 3 year old twins have been sick. Between runny noses, fevers, coughs and the inevitable lost teddy bears, my nights have been punctuated by short bursts of sleep and morning has been oh so heavy. It is often when we are physically drained that we find we have no reserves for anything else. That we become robots simply trying to get through our days. No wonder sleep deprivation is a known torture method.

For the past three days, it seems school has also been filled with turmoil. With major decisions and discussions. With emotions and low points. With short tempers and misunderstandings, all minor but when looked upon as a whole, the weight can seem unbearable.

And yet, every day has been a good one. Every day has been filled with more good than bad, more positive than otherwise. And it is not by happenstance or blissful ignorance, but by choice. Pure and simple.

Because we are all busy.

Because we are all faced with hardship.

Because we are all tired or sick or just a little bit emotional.

And we all have a choice to make.

Do we choose to spend our time wallowing in our low points or do we look for the good to carry us through?

I could have raged more.

I could have cried more.

I could have had my feelings more hurt, but in the end, I chose to get over it. To not make the bad the focal point but rather just a small point in my day long journey. To not forget, because we know we wont, but to move past it and find other things to spend my limited energy on.

As educators we have more good days than bad, but we also have a choice to make. Do we continue to look for the good? To care about the things we can change? Or do we focus on all the negative, on all the things out of our hands? Because there are plenty of things we could let tear us apart.

So tonight as I write this through my muddled thoughts; it is as a reminder to myself; the road will always be rocky. The day will always be filled with emotions. But the choice to stay positive and look for solutions rather than problems is one I can make. Is one I can take. And that’s what I intend to keep doing, how about you?