Sunday, September 28, 2008

A Little YA Worthy of Attention



I'm constantly looking for good books for some of my Hispanic students--girls, especially. So I was excited to see Haters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriquez.

Rodriquez is the author of Dirty Girls Social Club, a piece of chick-lit about 6 Latina women who have remained friends despite different complications and triumphs throughout their 20s. I enjoyed DGSC for the relatively easy read that it was and I looked forward to Haters. It didn't disappoint--I think I enjoyed it more!


Haters has several stories--father-daughter drama, new kid in school, the quest for popularity, and boy meets girl. The main character and narrator, Paski, is uprooted from her home in Taos, New Mexico when her father, a cartoon artist, moves to LA for work. She ain't in Kansas anymore, that's for sure. She likes the diversity in her new school, but soon learns that the popluar girls all have intense cruelty in common. If it can happen, it seems to happen to Paski. There were several places where I wondered what, if any, storyline would be left out. Regardless, it is a good read and pretty PG rated. I did find myself rooting for Paski and pretty engrossed in her new life in LA. She is a strong role model, too--she is strong and independent and not afraid to embrace her individuality.


Haters is a good girly read for any student, but the Hispanic main character helps with some of our students that often don't have many choices.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

A Classroom of My Own

Adapted from Sandra Cisnero's "A House of My Own"

Not a model lesson. Not a team-teaching experience. Not a guest appearance. A classroom all my own. With my own reading corner and piles of pillows, my peace lily. My books and my read-alouds. My posters hanging on the wall. Nobody to invite me in. Nobody to judge my performance.

Only a classroom, a tabula rosa, a space for magic, a place for knowledge.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

We're reading this book because it's a great story.

In Kelly Gallagher's Deeper Reading, he notes that many of our students don't understand what it is like to lose yourself in a book. They are missing the moments that many of us remember as readers. That wait-a-minute-what-time-is-it moment. Our students don't understand what it is like to have the moments of a book linger in your mind long after the book itself is over.

There are moments from books that stay with me now, and Gallagher brought these back to mind for me. I remember the exact second that the horses hooves landed on Tom Booker's skull in The Horse Whisperer. I still feel vindicated when I think of Susan Hayes and the urine she substituted for her unfaithful husband's cologne in Sullivan's Island. My heart still hearts when I think of the great earthquake that snatched Elizabeth from the earth in On Leaving Charleston.

There are more moments from literature that make me happy, sad, vengeful, or vindicated. I know what it is like to lose myself in a book. I know what it is like to lose track of time, look up at the clock and realize half the night is gone, and still not be able to sleep for fear of losing that deep connection. I want my students to feel that love for reading. I know that telling them to read just because I said so isn't enough. They have to have that first experience in order to be willing to come back. I had it. It was when Rhett turned to Scarlett and said, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." My heart broke for her because over the course of the novel I had become her.

That was my moment and it led to so many others. What was yours?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Role of Text Features in a Student's Success

I did a "mini" lesson (read one hour here--a little longer than expected) this week on the text features in a physical science book. I've done a mini-lesson on text features before, but felt like it fell flat and was not well-received. So I spent a great deal of time preparing for this one, trying to figure out how to make sure it wasn't just busy work; trying to figure out how to make analyzing text features interesting to tenth grade students.

I learned something interesting in the midst of poring over the physical science textbook. (We use Glenceo, FYI.) I found 13 different types of text within on chapter. Thirteen! I couldn't believe all the different types of text that students are expected to read, and are practically bombarded with as they move through the book. I'm not convinced that the average high school quite knows how to decipher all that he/she sees on the pages.

That, of course, was the purpose of my little lesson. We jigsawed the different parts of the chapter--sidebars/pull boxes; pictures/graphics; typography/color; organization/navigation; and how to prepare for a test. Students were engaged and willing to share what they learned. We called attention to parts of the text that they probably had not paid any attention to before. Hopefully, as their teacher moves them through the text, she can remind them of what they learned when they jigsawed the chapter and students will become more independent with their books.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Courtesy in the Halls

Does anyone else have this problem? The bell has rung to change classes. You try to role-play salmon spawning as you work your way up the hall. The biggest problem, though, is the groups of students that just stand. Right in the middle of the walkway. And then are angry with you for coming too close to them.

I read the Words of Wisdom every morning at our school and I looked hard today for one that said, Move out of my way! But, alas, that was not part of the wisdom portfolio. There were plenty concerning respect, though, and that is close. But how do we train our students to be respectful in the hallways? How do we teach them to get out of the way? To move expeditiously? I'm interested in hearing anyone else's solutions for this one. This is just my rant of the day!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Using Mentor Texts to Guide Writing

Katie Wood Ray says its all about "texts, texts, and more texts." If we want students to be good writers, then they have to be exposed to a wide variety of texts. The more reading experience they have, the better the writer that they will be.

So. Humph. I worked with a SAT-prep class today on essays. They were writing about power and corruption. There were some good, real-world examples in the essays. But the format of the essay...now that's another story. Our students often pigeonhole themselves into a five-paragraph format, or something close to it. The first thing that they do is repeat the question in the form of an answer. Then they very systematically give examples. The essays are almost perfunctory. There's no zest.

So I'm intrigued by the idea of influence from a mentor text. These students should be reading contemporary essays. (Of course, they should just be reading, period.) My hopes are that, through the use of mentor texts, they will see what authentic writing looks like and then will begin to experience such writing. Let's break out of the school-writing mode. Let's show students what real writers do and what they look like. Once they have those authentic writing experiences, then they are sure to improve.

And if you can write well, you can scale back and write to a formula. There's no problem.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Finding the Disconnect

How many times have we, as teachers, stayed up late at night to develop engaging lessons? We're so sure that they're the best lessons ever, but when we get the tests back, the grades range for so-so to oh-no. If you're anything like me, this has happened more than once.

Teacher reflection is the key to finding where the breakdown in learning begins. I sat down with a teacher recently to look at her tests. There were a variety of questions--matching, multiple choice, document-based, and essay. And the grades ranged from As to Fs. After pouring so much time into making the lessons engaging and hands-on, it was more than a little frustrating to see such an obvious breakdown in comprehension. So what caused it?

We sat down together to do an item-analysis of the tests and found where the biggest weakness was (besides student aversion to studying once in a while). Basically students were struggling with the bar graphs. This didn't show up in the lessons, but was glaringly obvious on the tests. All it took was a little time and even less effort and we were able to see one of the biggest barriers to student success.

Teacher reflection is key. We often blame the students for everything and sometimes we assume they know things that they, in fact, do not. I'm headed into that teacher's classroom today to do a little mini-lesson of graph reading. And the students will have a chance to look at their tests again.

Our next challenge--content area vocabulary.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

An Unexpected Hiatus

I'm back. Finally. After unexpectedly taking nearly two months off. From blogging, that is. Nothing else has stopped over the last two months; I have just been swamped with work. I am working on some things, though, that I think will make for some interesting blogs--student-led book clubs, student motivation, test prep, and of course adult study groups. So stay tuned for some authentic musings from me. I promise to fully return this week. I've missed blogging.