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B is for Baby

 My daughter and I watched author Atinuke read the picture book B IS FOR BABY. I enjoyed hearing the author pronounce the Nigerian words and read with enthusiastic expression!

http://youtu.be/O8M1JRlA9cw Then, we hunted for “B” words in junk mail & magazines. She added sketches to illustrate a few words.

Winter Break Plans?

 What do you do with your mail? Don’t just toss it out! Beautiful words are everywhere!

Reuse

Repurpose

Redesign

Rethink

Reread

Reframe

Regift

A word hunt is an awesome screen-free family literacy activity. Make a creative winter break plan by cutting words out of junk mail, magazines, or newspapers.

The Reading "Log" Going Viral!

I am thankful that Scary Mommy reached out to me for an update about the reading “log” I created years ago. I blogged about the creation of it here  and here when I first freely published it for use in 2014. It is shocking how the "log" has supported families globally and generationally since originally sharing it with The Curriculum Corner.  

Christine Organ, the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager of Scary Mommy, tracked me down through Facebook Messenger and asked if I would answer a few questions about the reading "log" I developed. She masterfully condensed my response and wrote an amazing piece.  Her Facebook post has received an outpouring of positive feedback from educators and families!  

This Educator’s Unique ‘Reading Log’ Is Something Teachers, Parents, And Kids Can Get On Board With

I have included my full response to her Q & A below.

(1)               Please tell us a bit about your background.

I graduated from the University of Central Missouri on December 15, 2001. The month prior to graduation, I was hired on the spot at a conference table that said, “Come and Teach in Las Vegas.” It is nearly impossible to find a teaching position in Missouri midyear, so my husband and I decided to move across the country.  I started teaching 5^th grade the week after graduation to a classroom of 33 students.  I taught 5^th and 2^nd grade before completing my Master’s degree in Literacy.  Upon completion of my degree, I became a Learning Strategist, Literacy Specialist, and Performance Zone Instructional Coach.  I am a published author with the International Literacy Association and have presented internationally.  Currently, I enjoy writing and presenting family engagement workshops for our district’s Family and Community Engagement Services (FACES). This rewarding position allows me the opportunity to share with parents, districtwide, some of the strategies I shared with teachers and use at home with my own growing children.   

(2)               How did you develop the alternate reading log?

Years ago, while working as a Performance Zone Instructional Coach, I was assigned to a school with a progressive principal that was adamant about implementing a new “no homework” policy school-wide. Reading homework is the best assignment to increase the academic achievement of elementary students, according to research. She asked me to develop a homework reading “log” that could be used in all grade levels (K-5^th grade). The “log” needed to give open-ended and family-friendly reading ideas to encourage wide reading based on student choice. Additionally, the log could not ask students to record minutes (why put a limit on fun?) and could not include any pointless or mundane writing of book titles.

It was an attachment to the traditional weekly newsletter and served as a consistent accountability tool for teachers, students, and parents. We expected our elementary students to read each week and wanted to support families.  Our mission was simply to use the form as a clear, concise, and consistent communication vehicle of ideas and strategies that are not stuck in rituals.

It is an inventory, but it does not count number of minutes read, number of books read, or ask students to list the author or titles like a traditional reading "log." Additionally, the teachers were specifically trained not to offer rewards for completion or collecting the most tallies. The removal of these traditional practices was based on a phenomenal piece written by Donalyn Miller entitled - The 40 Book Challenge Revisited; and, the insightful piece directed to parents entitled - How to Trick Your Kids Into Reading All Summer Long. We want to use the 'inventory" to build the foundation and routines of life-long readers.

(3)               Have you found other teachers and parents to be supportive of it?

Unbelievable response!  Two years ago, Kindergarten teacher, Christina Hardeman, was the first person to give me feedback about using the log as a parent and classroom teacher. She told me that her kinder parents typically filled out the log and voluntarily wrote positive notes or comments in the available space each week.  She had parents, with multiple school-age children, thank her for not making her homework assignment a cumbersome process.  Other parents acknowledged that the flexibility of the "menu" of options helped when juggling a hectic schedule.  

When I joined the FACES department, I shared the inventory and multiple positive responses from classroom teachers and their families. Immediately, the FACES Director asked me to write a University of Family Learning workshop around the ideas of the inventory and have the ideas translated into Spanish.  “100 Waysto Raise a Reader” is the title of the workshop, and it has been presented to more than 120 schools in our district.  It is our most requested workshop!

During the one hour workshop, we present families with the research about the importance of reading. We also share a bank of ideas to demonstrate how to overcome the common excuses children give for not wanting to read.  The workshop slides are filled with pictures and testimonials of everyday families using the ideas. One size does not fit all. At the conclusion of the workshop, we ask families to choose just one idea that they can implement immediately that day and write it on an exit slip.  The responses vary and it’s exciting to see what a parent chooses as a goal.   Please visit our website (here) to view photos and download the ideas. Additionally, search the social media hashtag (#CCSDReads) to see testimonials and photos from families and schools in our district.

Parents literally rush up to us, at the conclusion of the workshop, with mile-wide smiles and hugs.  I had a father who shared that his kindergarten daughter recently wanted to try gymnastics and he has enrolled her in lessons.  He is excited to search for books about gymnastics and successful gymnasts to provide relevant materials she may enjoy! Parents that are overwhelmed with the technological distractions, are pleased to hear that audio books are acceptable, and usually available at no cost from their child’s school. Countless parents shared that they felt compelled to read with their children more, read consistently, and start providing choice in materials (even graphic novels). 

(4)               What do kids think of it?

Children love the ideas and active involvement of their parents.  I have had several children pick ideas like reading in the bathtub, reading with a flashlight, and reading with a family pet.  The responses that stick out to me the most are the children that are thankful for the opportunity to read with their parent.  As educators, we assume too often that this is occurring in our students’ homes.

(5)               How do you think this reading log promotes reading without turning an enjoyable activity into a chore, like so many reading logs do?

I believe that the simplicity of its’ function and design promotes reading.  We are simply listing habits of life-long readers and providing a choice. Life-long readers do not read for prizes, count pages, or write titles of books.  Rather, readers who read for pleasure enjoy reading on the go, select a variety of materials, enjoy sharing or comparing thoughts with others, and are always on the hunt for the next thrill.

(6)         What impact have you seen in students using this alternate reading log?

Based on feedback following our workshops, parents have shared that their children are more eager to read without prompting. I have seen students feel liberated to read.  Students who are eager to share their week of reading with their classmates and swap stories from their journey. From the Facebook testimonials of parents, I have seen reluctant students read with their parents for the first time. 

As a facilitator of a Family Engagement Center, I heard parents proudly speak about steps they have taken that will affect generations.  In our workshop, we encourage families to read aloud to their children in the language that they feel most comfortable.  This is astounding to many who have been silenced in the past due to fear of negatively impacting their child’s academic growth.  One Spanish-speaking mother left our workshop, grabbed a handful of books written in Spanish, and shared them with her husband.  She emailed a photo of her husband reading with their 3^rd and 4^th grade boys for the first time.  He had never read to them before and now felt safe to share a love of literacy.

I have noticed that my own children are reading more for their own pleasure.  For example, my son (who is not an avid reader) shocked me by choosing to read in the car and then continued reading at the doctor's office. Without my usual prompting, he chose to read something he enjoyed and sustained his reading much longer than the typical "required" minutes. It's moments like these that help me, teachers, and other parents know we are developing life-long readers.  This honest reading counts.

(7)         Is there anything else you'd like our readers to know?

How do we know if this inventory is accomplishing our long-term goal of developing students that independently choose to read?  Ask parents if they are noticing their children are reading more without being told or asked to "read for 20 minutes."  Ask them to give you examples, if possible.  Their response may give you goosebumps!

6 Area Design Challenges

I was energized to create a family workshop simply by seeing examples from a 3rd grade classroom on Twitter.  My recent CCSD FACES Family Enrichment Day workshop was inspired by a tweet I saw from Carrie King.  I was immediately drawn to the open-ended nature of the task card and wanted to build an interactive parent-child workshop based on her photograph.

Source: Carrie King 

I had to to think of what skills would be needed in order to access this project.  What would the parent and child have to already know in order to be successful?  I planned a series of quick and endlessly repeatable routines to build up to the final project!

Roll a Rectangle

I started the workshop, as I do all math workshops, by briefly explaining C.R.A. (Concrete, Representational, and Abstract).  I stressed that manipulatives are not just for elementary children. All students move through a developmental sequence from concrete to abstract, and many need the physical representations for a longer period than is often provided in schools. Therefore, we need help from parents to help provide additional support at home.  To demonstrate the developmental sequence, we started with modeling multiplication with square tiles - Roll a Rectangle.

Roll 2 dice. One dice represents the rows and the other represents the columns

The families were not allowed to take the square tiles home, but I showed them additional images of Wheat Thins and Cheez Its being used in a similar fashion. 
 

Roll a Rectangle with Cheese Its in Mrs. Jackson's 3rd grade class

Area Dice Game

After manipulating concrete objects I introduced the families to the Area Dice Game. The participants rolled the two dice and represented the area on white grid paper.   

(We offered support for our younger guests that are not quite ready for multiplication.)

I supplied the families with multiple pieces of extra grid paper to take home, but also showed them that these representations could be done outside with sidewalk chalk like Jaclyn Jackson's 3rd grade class completed one sunny afternoon!

Jacyln Jackson's 3rd grade class

Multiplication Table

 I modeled  how to use a handy Multiplication Table (drawn to scale).  I chose this table because it clearly shows what the abstract number represents in an array.  Many of the educators and attendees had never seen or used a reference guide like this illustrated example.

Multiplication Table (Color, with Numbers)

Choose a Challenge

Build a Robot

Design a City

Design a Community Playground

Plan a Dream Bedroom

Design a Petting Zoo

Design a Dream House

Explaining the directions to build a robot and using Carrie King's photos as examples. 

I quickly moved through several examples to explain the six tasks I imitated and innovated from the work of Carrie King. This is a natural progression from the concrete to the abstract.  Each of the tasks give a total square units and the learner has to create the object or design.  For example, the head of the robot is a total of 36 square units which means a child could construct a 12x3, 18x2, 9x4, 1x36 rectangle.  The dimensions allow for multiple responses!

Download the 6 tasks!  (FREE)

I also incorporated related books that are relevant to each of the six tasks, and encouraged families to link reading with the mathematics.  I mentioned that families could read I Wanna New Room and also incorporate writing with the "Dream Bedroom" project.  Parents could ask their children to write descriptively about the bedroom choices and layout.  For a visual example,  I showed the bedroom maps and opinion writing that I had students complete during a series of 3rd grade model lessons. 

Unfortunately, I had to present the workshop in a 35 minute session and did not get to see the projects and games fully completed. Completion was not my intention.  It was just a time to get their feet wet.

Regardless of the compact time frame, I believe I reached my goals with the assistance of the translators and volunteers.  A majority of the attendees are non-English speakers with varying levels of education.  The feedback was tremendous and positive. The parents appreciated the novelty of this approach and style of mathematics instruction. The children and parents were excited to take the extra materials home.

Ultimately, I wanted to give the parents and children just a quick taste of multiple ways to master multiplication facts at home.  I wanted to give them unique ideas and tangible resources (beyond flashcards and worksheets) that they could immediately take home and implement.  I wanted to provide experiences that were engaging and promote positive attitudes about math. I wanted them to feel safe to explore, question, and collaborate. I wanted to let them attempt the activities for just long enough to feel confident to use it at again at home.   

I am so thankful for teachers that freely share ideas on social media and keep me energized! 

I look forward to presenting this again in the future.  Stay tuned... 

Counting & Money in PreK - Kindergarten

Mondays are tough for family engagement workshops.  We have tried scheduling different topics to boost attendance.  After looking at the past attendance reports we are concluding that one workshop is more successful than most - Math Games and Projects (K-5th grade).  Today was no exception and the attendance exceeded expectations.  

I presented more than a dozen ways that preschool through kindergarten age children could begin investigating money through counting and other readiness skills.  I planned this topic because the most consistent guests have children in this age range, money is an important life skill, and counting to 100 is expected by the end of kindergarten. Participants took home the items created and manipulated throughout the interactive workshop to use with their children immediately.

Objectives of the workshop:

• Know number names and the count sequence
• Count to tell the number of objects
• Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category

Here is a quick highlight reel of the session:

Rubbings

Enhance fine motor skills and attention to details

(The participant chose to add extra labels)

Sorting Mats

 I gave each participant card stock and coin stickers to design a coin sorting mat for their child.  
(Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category)

Coin Stacking

Roll a die and stack that amount of coins 

Repeatedly roll the dice until the stack falls

Vocabulary & Shopping

Use markers to add prices to the vocabulary cards made from newspaper ad clipping

(Each participant received two bags of 15 vocabulary cards I made in advance)

Bag 2: 11-20 cent items

(Bag 1:  1-10 cent items) (Bag 2: 11-20 cent items)

 Ask your child to “purchase” the item by

 counting the correct number of pennies. 

Bag 1: 1-10 cent items

Hundreds Chart & Counting

Extension: Skip Counting dimes 

I printed one of Donna Boucher's free 120 charts

Counting pennies

Counting Boats

How many coins can you put in the foil boat before it overflows or sinks?

We counted to 130 before the best boat spilled over!

Sources of inspiration for many of these fabulous ideas and dozens more:

Exploring Money in Pre-K

25 Funny Money Activities for Kids

I can't wait to hear personal stories from the attendees or present this workshop again in the future!  Stay tuned...  

Seasonal Realia - Upcycling

I am a big advocate of using all sorts of realia in the classroom and in our family engagement center. I am still new in the facilitator role and I keep having epiphanies on how I can incorporate more and more tangible and thematic materials to support the Title I community. Currently, I am exploring how small additions of seasonal objects (splashed throughout the learning environment) temporarily add to the December cultural ambiance, enrich vocabulary instruction for the ESL population, and promote inclusive relevance for all guests.  I have decorated the family engagement center with tangible and authentic objects I have had for over 10 years, otherwise known as upcycling. Although the design was completed with money that I spent more than a decade ago, I find that the timeless realia is still applicable to elementary student families today!

Two weeks before Thanksgiving break, I searched and searched for a "turkey" read aloud for the early childhood parent/child class I teach on Fridays.  I could not find it in the boxes of materials I saved.  I looked through my children's bookcases and in the garage full of Rubbermaid tubs.  I knew I had several "turkey" books somewhere, but I was forced to choose another Thanksgiving book because I simply could not find it.  I decided I needed to get organized.

By simply thematically organizing my garage of teaching items/books (based on the months of the year) and upcycling ornaments I was able to bring some eye candy to the center.

The silver garland, old holiday cards (from former students), the Scholastic News poster, and books from my 2nd grade classroom library, now have a new purpose.  They are living and breathing again for families in the center.  This display is designed to show parents seasonal books for December read alouds.  They can read the books in the center and check them out in the school library!  My assistant and I also incorporate the books in our workshops and daily instruction.  

I trimmed the top of the front dry erase board with more silver garland and the ornaments from my home.  The nutcrackers are an excellent conversation piece and realia for informational text.   All of the objects are safely out of reach of our youngest guests (ages 0-5).

I brought my family's ornaments to the center and tied string to have them suspended from the ledge of the window.  I found multi-colored garland in my "December file" of teaching supplies.

I heard students gasp and make pleasant comments as they walked past the center!  I am so happy that they could enjoy it too. It's eye-catching from across the room and most parents immediately notice the subtle change.  

I added a couple strings of lights around our most prominent bulletin board to shine a light
on our University of Family Learning opportunities.  

I also added a bit of silver garland and old holiday cards around the door.  One final reminder
that children can write and send cards for the winter holidays (as presented in one of the parent workshops).

I am certainly not an interior designer, but I am an educator that likes to add purposeful sparkle to each day. I enjoy the creative aspect and the resulting social interactions.  It's the small things that can brighten a parent's day and in tandem expand their vocabulary acquisition and family dynamic.  I hope that families will feel a bit more connected and welcome in our center as a result of upcycling the seasonal realia.

I welcome your feedback and how you upcycle realia!