Time for Another School Year

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Today I have the shakes. I'm not sure that I'm ready for another year of coaching. Its demanding work, for sure, and I'll have my hands full at NHS.

There are some great things going on around me. The English teachers and the ninth grade academy are embracing sustained silent reading. Our students will get an hour each week of reading for pleasure. Now if I could just make everyone see the correlation between more reading and higher test scores. I feel like its written on the wall in bright red spray paint. But it must be in invisible ink because few people can make the leap.

High school students don't read for pleasure much anymore. There are other things to be done. I want to change the climate. I want to bring back books for fun. I believe that reading for fun will make testing a conquerable beast.

I'm glad that the English teachers are embracing SSR. Sharon Draper is coming to the school in November and each student will be getting a copy of one of her books. This will be a big visit for NHS. It has the potential to bring reading to the forefront of the minds of our most stubborn students.

But today I have the shakes. I'm going to sit quietly and read for pleasure and hope that I am ready when tomorrow dawns. I guess I have to be. Its coming whether I'm ready or not, isn't it?

A Case for Frontloading

Let me preface this by saying that I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a fan of DOL (daily oral language). I know teachers who have the DOL transparency up at the beginning of class, ready for students who are eager to find the mistakes in three arbitrary sentences. This works for them. It never worked for me. I would lose the transparency, or write on it during first block so that it was unusable the rest of the day, or not be able to find every mistake myself.

Another reason that DOL never worked for me is that I think bellwork (that which entertains the children while we get our own acts together) needs to be related to the lesson at hand. Bellwork can get their minds warmed up in the direction of the content.

Think of all that can happen in the 5 minute class change at any average high school. Students make up and break up; make plans and break plans; sometimes they'll even sneak in a comment about schoolwork. More than likely, its who is kissing whom, who was at the party last weekend, and what time does the game start. Anything but school.

So when they finally get to your classroom, they aren't ready to jump into thinking about literature or history or biology. They are still thinking about the last 5 minutes. This is where frontloading the lesson comes in.

Frontloading is simply a beginning to the lesson. Effective frontloading will get students thinking about what's going to come next. According to Jeffrey Wilhelm, frontloading is a form of assessment, motivation, preparation, and support. Frontloading gets the student ready for the lesson by either activating prior knowledge or scaffolding on new knowledge in preparation for deep textual work.

Frontloading can be as complex as an anticipation guide or a K-W-L chart. But frontloading can also be as simple as introducing the material with a personal anecdote. Or inspiring a quickwrite. Frontloading goes beyond the busy work we often give students so that we will have time to take roll and check homework. However, effective use of frontloading can rev the engines in the minds of high schoolers and prepare them for deeper thinking on the topic at hand.

If I'm not a good reader, does that make me a bad reader?

I'm intrigued by the research on what "good readers" do. The term "good reader" implicates that there must be a "bad reader." Shame on you, bad readers.

I polled my seniors last year to determine what it is that good readers do. I simply wanted to know, who did they think was a good reader and what made them good. They overwhelmingly replied that I was, in fact, the best reader they know.

Well, of course!

However, their reasoning varied. Many of them thought I was a good reader because the words sounded nice when they left my mouth during read-alouds. The power and beauty of the written word lured them under my spell.

Others thought that I was a good reader because I read all the time. If I read all the time, then I must be good at it, right?

Still others thought that I was a good reader because I was able to talk about what I was reading in depth and with breath. They enjoyed discussing favorite books with me because I was always willing to talk and share and recommend new titles.

So who is right? Am I indeed a good reader? I know that I am confident in my reading, but am I constantly making connections and predicting and asking questions? These are, after all, what "good readers" do. All the research says so. Am I a bad reader because these things are not in my consciousness?

When we are teaching our students "what good readers do", are we indeed implying that they must not be good readers? Does one have to constantly connect and predict in order to be a good reader? Teachers who want to promote reading need to promote authentic reading. If you don't do it in real life, then why ask your students to do it?

I won't read and you can't make me!

How many times have you wanted to share a great book with a student simply to be met with pure obstinance? The fate of the entire world may hinge on the consumption of the text, but it isn't enough to convince our most reluctant readers to pick it up.

Many of our students become more and more reluctant to read as they move through school. Studies have timed their reluctance with the 4th grade--just after the beginning of their career in standardized testing. The tests are here to stay, it seems, but do we have to let them give up on reading?

Teachers can lure students back into the world of the written word. It isn't easy, but it isn't impossible either. Teenagers, in particular, simply need to be enticed or seduced, if you will.

One of the most important factors in creating a literacy-rich secondary classroom is teacher modeling. Students need to see what a literate adult looks like. So very often, they go home to an empty house with siblings that need to be kept and fed and homework that needs to be completed. There is a shortage of adults in their lives that read for the pleasure of reading. Teachers can pick up this slack in the lives of their students. Teachers can show students what book-loving adults look like. And honestly, its a great time to catch up on the reading that you don't have time to do!

A second factor in enticing students to read is student choice of reading materials. We need to surround our students with young adult books that are relevant to their lives. The novel that turned you into a reader may not help your 16-year-old students. But there are books out there that will fascinate them. When dealing with a self-confessed reluctant reader this year, I brought in the 50 cent autobiography. He was hooked in 5 minutes. And he learned to trust my taste. From there, I was able to give him authors that I adore--Walter Dean Myers, Sharon Draper, etc. Surrounding your reluctant readers with high-interest young adult novels is key to building a trusting relationship.

The last key to building your reading program is non-assessment. If you truly want to bring students back to the love of reading, then you have to give them time to read without holding them accountable for what they are reading. There is no need to test their comprehension--they won't stick with the same book if they don't get it. You know who is reading and who is not, so trust yourself. If you want to turn students back onto the love of reading, then you have to give them time to enjoy it.

Bringing teenagers back around to the joy of the written word might be a daunting task, but it isn't an impossible one. Many times, a reluctant reader just needs the right book to make that difference in their life. Offer those oh-so-seductive young adult books and then offer the time to read them. Add in a dose of teacher-modeling and you'll love the end product!

Finding Success in a Book Pass

A book pass is an easy way to allow students to preview several titles in a short amount of time. You can make this as structured or as lenient as you like. The only ingredient that you can't work without, is, of course, the books.

The first time I tried a book pass was with a group of high school seniors. The pass was a way to allow them to select their book club choices. The titles were interesting and each book had a hook within the first few pages. As we passed the books around, the students completed the book pass worksheet and rated each title on a four-star rating basis. We were very organized and timely with our passing. Everyone found a title they enjoyed and I was able to promote reading in my senior English classroom.

This year, I was not so organized in my book pass, yet I found success in much the same way. I introduced content area young adult literature into our human growth & development curriculum. I threw the 7 titles into the small cooperative learning groups and let them have at it. I initiated a few passes, but pretty soon everyone was engrossed in their own novel. If they weren't hooked immediately, they switched it up themselves. By the end of the 20 minutes, each student was engaged in SSR with his/her new title.

I have found that most teachers are reluctant to try book passes in their classrooms. The fear of the unknown convinces them that their big, bad seniors aren't going to tolerate this alternative means to picking out new books. Recently, a self-contained special education teacher took the plunge to try to book pass with his students. Not only did they not run out in revolt, they actually found titles that they enjoyed! He realized that he didn't have enough copies of some of the more popular books for the students that wanted them. That's a good problem to have in the high school level.

This young teacher went to the edge and realized that he can fly. He found success with the book pass--all he needed were the books and the will to implement a change in literacy attitudes in his classroom.

Get caught reading!

When I started our program, "Get caught reading!", I really had no idea the life it would take on. The SSR program is going well for the teachers who are following the three guidelines (student choice, teacher modeling, and non-assessment). I am seeing great successes with my advisory students.

The thing of it is this--the students are not just reading, but they are talking about reading. They are sharing books with friends and relating books to their lives and there is just an attitude towards reading that I have never seen before. They are excited about books. They are coming to me for more books. I am dealing books as though they are a narcotic.

So I decided to award the students who were doing well with a free t-shirt. The front says Bulldogs and the back has an awesome graphic of a dog and books with a caption that reads, "I dig books!" These t-shirts are a hit. Sure its a free shirt. But they want their shirt. No one wants to miss out on their new shirt. Its awesome. It just makes me excited and renews my spirit. These kids renew my spirit.

Oh and just so you know--we had over 75 kids read more than 6 books in the first semester! That is sneaking up on 10% of our student body!

Read-Aloud: The House that Crack Built

I recently spent several class periods with our human growth and development classes. They have been studying the effects of illegal drugs, so I took my picture book, The House That Crack Built in for a read-aloud.

This book is so simple, yet so powerful. Its a very structured tale, modeled after The House that Jack Built. This read-aloud is very appropriate as a kickstart for drug discussions.

After the read-aloud, the students participated in written conversations. These are one of the easiest ways to incorporate writing into the content area curriculum. Once the read-aloud was complete, students were asked to write down whatever their thoughts were on a sheet of paper. I gave questions and prompts to help guide their writing--I prompted them to think about the book, its illustrations, the drugs that they had studied, their personal experiences. After a few minutes of silent venting, the students traded papers with a neighbor. The neighbor read their comments and then responded at the bottom of the paper.

This letter-writing, of sorts, can go on for a few minutes. Students simply respond to each other's thoughts in writing. They enjoy writing letters in class anyway. Why not let them write on a topic that you approve?

Book Talk vs. Book Pass

I have done three days worth of book talks with an English teacher's classes this week. Wow am I tired.

Book talks are an easy way to help students find a book that they are interested in. You simply address the class, talk about books that you like, give them as much information on them as you can, maybe even do a read-aloud from some, and try to hook them onto a book. The trick with book talks is that you have to know what you are talking about. You can't fake enthusiasm for a book and you certainly can't sale something you aren't excited bout yourself. Students know when they are hearing the real deal and when you are just trying to pull one over on them.

With the last group of students, I tried something different. I chose to do a book pass instead of book talks and I even varied the typical book pass method. I sat the student at tables of four with stacks of 7 books on them. Each student had a book pass worksheet (a page that has a column for the title, the author, and any student comments). Instead of passing the books like they do in a typical book pass, it was more of a book grab.

I almost think that this method worked better with the students that I don't know. Since I was working with someone else's class, I lacked some of the validity that I would have with my own classes. The book pass exposed each table to a different set of books. Once we finished, I talked about some of the ones that I felt most passionate about, but it wasn't my show alone. The students were able to have more ownership in choosing their books. I think it went well.

Post Secret for Classes

There is a new phenomenon reaching internet bloggers--Post Secret. Basically, an author asked the public to send him post cards with the deepest secrets on them. No names or addresses necessary. Just the post card and the secret.

Of course it spread like wildfire. Everyone has a secret and many of them would like for that secret to be told--without the consequences of telling.

So take this concept into your classes. If you are a social studies teacher, challenge your students to create a realistic secret that a historical figure may have. What kinds of secrets would Robert E. Lee have had? Washington?

And what about the secrets of plants and animals? Push the envelope and create secrets for the content area. Good luck and post your secrets!

Great social studies idea!

I am reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. In it, he assigns his English students excuse notes. He realized that some of the best writing comes from their excuse notes and he turned that writing around on them.

What a great idea for a social studies class! When studying a major historical event, students can write an excuse not to someone. For example, Adam can write an excuse note to God. Hitler could write an excuse note to the Jews. Robert E. Lee could write an excuse note to Lincoln. The list goes on.

Excuse notes. Who would have imagined?