Laura's Voice

Join Me on Corkboard Connections!

2011-11-26T17:14:00.001-05:00

Last month I started a brand new blog called Corkboard Connections, and I wanted to tell you a little about it. I've been blogging sporadically on Laura's Voice for several years but I wanted something a little different - a fun blog where I could quickly dash off a post without worrying about every word. Because I'm such a perfectionist, every blog post on Laura's Voice took me hours to compose, almost as if I were writing an article for a magazine. First there was a written draft, then a typed draft, then the revision process .... it was way too much work and not nearly enough fun!

So I started Corkboard Connections and immediately loved being able to spontaneously write about a teaching tip, a book review, a lesson idea, an addition to my free online File Cabinet, or whatever was on my mind. I've really enjoyed sharing my teaching strategies there and hearing from other educators. In fact, I'm enjoying it so much that I probably won't be posting a lot of messages to Laura's Voice anymore so I thought it was time to let you know.

Please take a look at my new Corkboard Connections blog and if you like what you see, join me there! You can follow the blog by RSS feed or better yet, by email. I follow several blogs myself by email and I enjoy having the content delivered right to my inbox. See you there!

http://www.lauracandler.com

Out with SSR - In with Reading Workshop!

2011-10-17T20:30:00.000-04:00

Remember when SSR was popular? Sustained Silent Reading was implemented in schools across the country, and it was based on the belief that the best way to improve reading skills was to provide uninterrupted time for reading. So for 30 minutes a day, all school activities were suspended as teachers, administrators, students, and even custodians stopped to read. Students were supposed to be inspired to love reading through book choice, time to read, and observing adult reading models. It made perfect sense .... but what appeared to be a wonderful idea in theory didn't always lead to strong reading gains in practice.

Even though I love reading, I wasn't completely surprised when researchers began to question the effectiveness of traditional SSR practices. I strongly believe in giving kids more choice as well as plenty of independent reading time in class, but I believe the old SSR model was weak because of the following assumptions:

If we give students time to read and choice in what they are reading, they will spend the given time reading their chosen book.
It's more important for teachers to model a love of reading than to work directly with students during independent reading time.

Let's take a closer look at what was REALLY going on during that uninterrupted block of reading time. If you used SSR in your classroom, you may remember looking up from your own book only to notice your students’ eyes wandering and sleepy heads drooped over half-closed books. Big surprise! Many kids weren't reading at all! Sure, good readers loved SSR and enjoyed having more time to read in class and SSR may have been effective for them. But struggling readers were not improving because they weren't actually reading. Clearly, having time to read and seeing a teacher model reading were not enough to inspire struggling readers to become passionate readers.

So where did we go wrong? I believe the olde SSR model was doomed from the start due to the teacher’s assigned role. Requiring teachers to read silently during SSR was a mistake. Because we were supposed to be reading ourselves, we couldn't confer with students to find out why they weren't reading or to help them find appropriate reading material. We couldn't hold them accountable for their reading or work with them on reading skills. All we could do was read, and that's what we did.

Thankfully, the old sustained silent reading model has all but disappeared. Many educators who recognize the importance of student choice and time to read now embrace a method called reading workshop and use the acronym SSR to mean Self-Selected Reading. On the surface it may look like old SSR model, but the critical difference is the teacher's role. Reading workshop sessions start with a short mini lesson that often includes a favorite read aloud. Then students choose their own books and read silently for at least 30 minutes a day. However, during reading workshop, the teacher uses the self-selected independent reading time to quietly confer with individual students or to conduct small guided reading groups. Literacy centers and basal reading texts are noticeably absent; the power of this program can be attributed to students actively engaged in reading appropriate books for long periods of time. A quick glance around the room reveals that kids ARE actually reading and not just flipping pages or daydreaming. A caring teacher has taken time to help them find appropriate reading material and confers with them on a regular basis, and that makes all the difference. Teachers still model a love of reading, but they are active ambassadors for reading rather than passive consumers of print. They read aloud with enthusiasm, and they take an interest in what their students are reading. In short, they infuse their classrooms with a love of reading, and they create an environment where time to read is treasured.

Why am I so passionate about reading workshop? Perhaps I'm fired up because I saw the power of reading workshop when I was teaching, and I hope to inspire others to embrace this method as well. Not only did my students become better readers, but they learned to find joy in the simple pleasures of reading. Teaching my students to love reading was a gift that I gave them, a gift that would continue to impact their futures long after they left my classroom. What could be more rewarding?

If you would like more information on reading workshop, you can begin your journey by visiting the Reading Workshop page on my Teaching Resources website. You'll find a list of recommended books, a free webinar recording, helpful printables, and links to online resources. If you love reading and are frustrated with your current reading program, jump in and give reading workshop a try! I can promise that you'll never regret it!

The Power of Print

2011-07-09T11:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for me! The Fed Ex truck pulled up while I was eating breakfast and delivered 3 heavy boxes. My newly published book, Laura Candler's PowerReading Workshop: A Step-by-Step Guide had arrived! This book was published last year in ebook form as Empowering Readers: A Quick Start Guide to Reading Workshop, but it was revised and updated in 2011 and given a new name. Seeing it in print for the first time was a special moment for me.

What is it about a print version of a book that makes it seem so much more real than an ebook? Is it the fact that I grew up as a voracious reader and constantly had a book in my hands? Perhaps the sensation of holding a physical book is similar to the "comfort food" feeling of eating forbidden homemade treats I once enjoyed. Print books recall those happy childhood years I spent discovering the joys of reading.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of ebooks - I love the fact that they don't take up space on my shelf and I don't lose them. I've been writing ebooks for the last 3 years and I've been purchasing them longer than that, so I obviously see the value in them. In fact, Power Reading Workshop is available in digital form because ebooks are so darned convenient! But there's still something about a print book that grabs me. I wonder if children born today will have the same affinity for print books? Somehow I think not. Their "comfort book" feeling will be related to holding an eReader of some sort!

As I hold my first print first copy of Power Reading Workshop, I'm filled with gratitude for the many inspiring books that convinced me to try reading workshop, books like Steven Layne's Igniting a Passion for Reading and Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer. I'm also grateful for the teachers who field-tested the strategies in Power Reading Workshop with their students and helped me fine-tune the program.

As an avid reader myself, it saddens me that many of today's kids haven't discovered the joys of reading. So when I discovered the power of this approach a few years ago, I knew I had to share with others, especially upper elementary teachers like myself, teachers who would appreciate step-by-step directions for implementing reading workshop. I set up a discussion group called Empowering Readers to help me tweak the process, and I'm indebted to those teachers for the terrific ideas they shared and the solid advice they gave me. Now that many of them have wrapped up a year of reading workshop, it's been extremely gratifying to read the success stories that have been sent to the group - stories of kids who love to read AND who have made tremendous growth on state reading tests.

Reading Workshop really does work! The method works when kids are reading print books, and it will work just fine when print books no longer exist. But in the meantime, I'll treasure my very first print copy of Power Reading Workshop!

Note: If you would like to learn more about this approach, I invite you to join me in a webinar on reading workshop to be held July 21st. Visit my webinar page on Teaching Resources for more information and to register.

Reading the Educational River

2011-07-05T21:41:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my husband Marco and I ventured out before the heat of the day to kayak a quiet stretch of the Lumber River. It’s a beautiful, shady river that winds its way through rural North Carolina, and the current is swift enough to offer a challenge without being dangerous.

One thing I love about kayaking is that within moments of sliding my kayak into the water, my stress levels drop to zero and my creative energies begin to flow. There’s something about the quiet stillness of the morning and the water swirling around my paddle that frees my thoughts to wander.

Yesterday I reflected on how each kayaking trip is a new adventure. After heavy rains, the water is high and flows over every sandbar, stump, or fallen log. Kayaking in high water takes energy, but it’s not difficult to make progress, even padding upstream.

However, when the water is low, navigating the river takes skill and finesse rather than muscle power. You have to work hard, but it’s a different kind of work. You’ve got to read the river and anticipate obstacles lurking beneath the surface. It’s trickier, but successfully navigating the river when it’s low is far more interesting and rewarding than when the water is high.

As I paddled along yesterday, my thoughts began meandering like the lazy river. Always seeking connections, I reflected on how kayaking is like teaching. When the educational funding flows freely and our students are motivated, we have to work hard but it’s not difficult to make progress. If we put in the time and energy, we’ll see results.

Not so in a down economy or when we have difficult students. When the money isn't flowing or we lack support and resources, the challenges are much greater. Working harder won't necessarily yield results - we have to "read the river" to figure out what our students need and how to make sure their needs are met. Creative thinking trumps time and energy when times are tough. Making progress is more difficult, but it's also more rewarding.

As I pondered the mysteries of teaching and kayaking, my thoughts drifted to my own teaching career. Last September, after 29 years of teaching, I retired from the classroom with plans to return full time this August. I love working with kids and wasn't ready to retire for good, but I was overwhelmed in my roles as teacher, author, and webmaster of Teaching Resources.

Unfortunately, due to the current economic situation, it looks like I won't be returning to the classroom this fall as planned. I have mixed feelings about this turn of events because I really miss working directly with students. However, I've "read my own river" and the signs are pretty clear for the 2011 - 2012 school year.

I believe that one day I'll be back in the classroom, but for now I'll focus on making a difference in other ways. I have to admit that I'll have more time to create new teaching resources, and I'll have time to collaborate with educators through webinars and workshops. I'll be able to finish my current book project and start a new one. I'm an avid reader, so I'll definitely devote more time to my neglected Kindle library. Best of all, Marco and I will have a little more time for kayaking! Life is good!

Testing's Over - Now What?

2011-05-10T10:50:00.002-04:00

Keeping kids motivated and on task at the end of the year is challenging at best, especially after state tests are over. In fact, the more we prep kids for tests, the harder it is to keep kids on task after testing ends. Yet keeping kids motivated at this time of year is actually much easier than you might think. Since kids are more chatty and restless right now, it’s just a matter of funneling that energy into something constructive. Here are 12 effective strategies to turn students' end-of-the-year energy into instructional success.

Each of the suggestions below is meant to spark your creativity rather than to provide detailed instructions. If you’re not already familiar with the strategy, you may need to do a little more research before you begin. To save you time, I’ve included links to helpful online resources from my Teaching Resources website and around the web.

Learning Centers
One of the easiest ways to keep kids on task is to create some simple learning centers and allow students to rotate through the activities with a partner. If you haven't used learning centers before, you might be surprised at how easy they are to implement. You’ll find ideas and strategies on my learning center page.

Literature Circles If your students are bored by reading a basal text or doing test prep worksheets, they will definitely enjoy Literature Circles. The easiest way to get started is with Classroom Book Clubs, a relaxed and fun method that’s perfect for the end of the year. You can find loads of Literature Circles strategies on my website.

Class Scrapbooks
Creating a class scrapbook is a terrific way to wrap up the school year. Let each student design his or her own special page. The front of the page can include their name, a photo, illustrations, and other personal touches. Have each student write you a letter about the school year and glue it onto the back of his or her page. Add a student-created cover, laminate all pages, and bind the finished product with plastic comb binding.

Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning activities are naturally motivating to students. Being able to discuss ideas and interact with other students is a sure-fire strategy for keeping kids involved. The key is to establish clear guidelines for classroom management so the fun doesn’t become chaotic.

Read Aloud Marathons
There never seems to be enough time to read aloud during the school year, so it’s wonderful to have more freedom to do so after the pressures of testing are over. Instead of reading just 10 minutes a day, I enjoy spending 30 minutes or more sharing great books with my kids. I recently asked teachers on Facebook to share their favorite read-alouds for the last month of school, and over 50 people responded. Read the complete list and add your own suggestions.

Class Newsletters
Involve the whole class in this meaningful writing activity, and everyone will end up with a treasured record of your school year. Start by brainstorming all the special events that have occurred throughout the year, and then ask each student to write about one of the events. Select a few students to serve as editors who compile all of the stories into one newspaper. Add digital photos, scanned artwork, quotes about the school year, awards and accomplishments – the list is endless! To conserve paper, produce the newsletter in digital form and email it to parents. Be sure to print one or two copies for students to share in the classroom.

Fun Friday
A weekly incentive can work wonders to keep kids on task at the end of the year. Try to involve at least three teachers on your grade level in this weekly activity. Set aside a 30-minute block of time on Friday for “Fun Friday.” Each teacher signs up to host a different activity: Inside Games, Outside Play, or Study Hall. In order to participate in Fun Friday, students must complete all homework and other assignments for the week. Those who don’t do their work spend the time in Study Hall, while the others can choose between Outside Play and Inside Games. You can find a Fun Friday sign-up sheet to use with this activity on my Odds N Ends page.

Scrabble Tournaments
What could be more fun than a board game tournament that’s educational as well as exciting? Many families have Scrabble boards in their closets that they can lend to your class, and setting up a tournament is easy. You can find complete Scrabble Tournament directions and printables for the event on my Odds N Ends page.

Outside Learning
When the weather turns warm and sunny, everyone longs to be outside. Many activities like reading, writing poetry, doing science experiments, or playing math games can be taken outside. Ask students to bring beach blankets or towels for these special times. Even a few minutes spent outside for a read-aloud session can offer a quick cure for the end-of-the-year blues.

Team Challenges
From Egg Drop Challenges to Tower Building, team challenges motivate students to think creatively and work together in order to solve a task. You can find many such activities that integrate math and science at the AIMS Education Foundation website. One of my favorites is to have kids create Puff Mobiles from straws, large wooden beads, and paper. Go to their website at http://www.aimsedu.org and search for the Puff Mobiles activity. You can also find these types of activities at the NC Science Olympiad website.

Ed Tech & Online Learning Games
I’m amazed at the number of free and inexpensive online learning games available. If you have a computer in your classroom, you have access to all sorts of online games such as the skill races at Arcademic Skill Builders or the stories read aloud on StoryLine Online. I’ve also begun to research iPad and iPod apps for kids, and I’m excited at what’s already available. Take a look at the 11-page alphabetical list of educational apps compiled by a group of teachers in North Carolina. You can also check out 20 Amazing iPad Apps for Educators or Online Learning Games Kids Love.

Multimedia Projects
Challenge your students to work alone or in teams to create multi-media presentations. Possible topics include anything from a recap of the school year to their dreams for the future. If you think "multi-media" means PowerPoint, think again. Check out Prezi, Animoto, and Slideshare for some exciting alternatives.

With these strategies, learning is still the name of the game, but the learning goes far beyond tested skills. Your students will discover hidden talents and have fun doing so. Furthermore, the end of the year will become a time to celebrate, a time to share great memories of special times together. So what’s your favorite activity to keep students motivated at the end of the year?

Spreading the Word about Reading Workshop

2011-04-15T21:12:00.000-04:00

Over a year ago I began writing my book, Empowering Readers: A Quick Start Guide to Reading Workshop, and I have some exciting news to share. It's now available in digital form, but it will soon be available in print as well! I love the reading workshop approach, and I wrote the book to spread the word and to provide an easy, step-by-step guide to this method.

I had dreamed of having Empowering Readers published in print to reach a larger audience, and now it looks like that dream is going to come true! I just signed a deal with Raphel Marketing to publish the book in soft cover form, and I know the project is in excellent hands. The publisher wants to reformat the book, update its image, and give it a new cover. The plan includes me adding about 50 pages of brand new content to the existing manuscript. It’s actually going to be like two books in one because the new material is the Literacy Concepts Organizers ebook that I’m writing now.

The revised print version of Empowering Readers will be organized into two parts. Part I will focus on how to implement the Reading Workshop approach, and Part II will consist of over a dozen graphic organizers and foldables to be used in reading mini-lessons. If you already own Empowering Readers, don’t worry. The Literacy Concept Organizers will be available as a separate ebook and the entire print version of Empowering Readers will be available for half price to those who have already purchased the digital version.

If you’ve followed my blogs and read my newsletters over the last few years, you’ll know that I love to collaborate with other educators as I create new materials. For the next few weeks, I’ll be working with the members of the Empowering Readers Learning Community as I write Literacy Concept Organizers. They will have full access to the new material and the final digital version. I’ll be asking for feedback from this group every step of the way. In fact, within a few days I should have a whole packet of graphic organizers to upload to the member website. If you would like to be a part of this project, take a moment to read about Empowering Readers Learning Community and how you can get involved. (http://www.lauracandler.com/erlc.php)

I’ll keep you informed about any news related to this project. The target date for the release of the book is July 1, just in time for my Summer Workshop Extravaganza! I'm excited to think that my book will now be available in many places online and in book stores, places where it can found by teachers who want to inspire their students with a love for reading.

Writing Poetry From the Inside Out

2011-04-03T22:25:00.000-04:00

What month could be more perfect than April for celebrating poetry? There’s something about the warmer weather, emerging new life, and rain-washed world that invites one to wander outside and find a quiet place to write. I can’t remember how or when I first learned to write poetry, but from that moment on, I found it to be a perfect way to express my feelings. I love the way a poem can capture emotions on paper, becoming powerful word-snapshots of everyday life. Poetry helped me as a teen to deal with my struggles and disappointments, as well as to celebrate my successes and accomplishments. From the trauma of moving to another state in ninth grade to the excitement of my first prom, poetry helped me capture it all on paper. Later, poetry enabled me to appreciate the beauty and majesty of the Earth, helping to put both my problems and my accomplishments into perspective.

As a teacher, I quickly discovered how easy it was to teach children and teens to write powerful poetry. Some of my best student poets have been those who previously hated writing! In fact, students with learning disabilities often outshine their peers in this area. They love the freedom to write anything and break all the rules, and after I get them started with a few examples, their words just seem to flow. What they write is almost magical.

Teaching poetry comes easily to me because I’ve been writing poetry since childhood. But I also realize that others may not be as comfortable with this subject. Last week, in honor of Poetry Month, I decided to write out my strategies for teaching poetry to students. As I worked through the lessons, I created graphic organizers and examples to make the whole process really easy to implement. The result was a 26-page mini pack called Writing Powerful Poetry: Using Imagery to Unlock Creativity. You can find this resource and others on the Poetry Page of my Teaching Resources website. On this page you’ll find links to poetry websites, two multimedia poetry project ideas, and information about great books for teaching poetry.

If you’ve never taught your students to write free-verse poetry, you’re in for a treat. You’ll be amazed at how powerful their writing can be. Just a few days ago, Merideth Fisher wrote to me that she’s been using similar strategies with her students. In her own words, “By encouraging my students to write from “the inside out" rather from the "outside in," the kids' writing has been AMAZING!!! I'll never go back to teaching formulated poetry again. I've literally been reduced to tears when hearing some of the children's heart-felt writing.” I agree, Merideth. I couldn’t have said it better myself!

12 Ways to Motivate Reluctant Readers

2011-03-04T09:25:00.001-05:00

I think I must have been born with a book in my hand! My parents told me that from the moment I learned to read, I would read everything in sight, from cereal boxes to billboards. When I began reading books, there was no stopping me! I even begged them to name my baby brother after a book character. (Yes, Tim, that story is really true!)

So when I became a teacher, I was amazed to discover that most kids don’t enjoy reading. To me, books are full of excitement and adventure, like a movie that you can take with you. I spent my first 25 years as a teacher in a quest for the perfect way to teach reading. You know what I discovered? There isn’t one. There’s no one way to teach reading that will meet the needs of every kid in your class. Children are too different, and their needs are too diverse to be met with one single reading program. But the good news is that even if there’s not one “right” way to teach reading, there are at least a dozen ways to motivate reluctant readers. You just have to figure out what works for your students.

Here are a dozen strategies to motivate reluctant readers, and none of them involve stickers, certificates, or pizza. External rewards may work in the short term, but if you really want students to love reading you have to look for other options. Since this is just a quick overview, you’ll notice that some strategies contain links to additional sources that you can explore later. On to the strategies!

You can motivate reluctant readers when you ….

Read aloud to them. Choose books that you love, and read aloud with passion and expression. Get silly and change your voice to mimic the characters. (If you’re not comfortable doing this, offer to babysit for a friend and practice reading to a child. It’s fun!) When you’re reading aloud, stop at the good parts and say, “Looks like we’re out of time today….” Leave ‘em wanting more!
Let them choose their own books. The biggest turnoff to reading is being required to read boring books. Provide a wide variety of books from different authors and across different genres, and let students choose the books they want to read. You can use reading interest surveys to help them find books on topics that interest them.
Provide time for reading. This one’s a no-brainer, but sometimes it’s difficult to do if you have to teach from a basal reader. Kids need class time to read, and lots of it. The room needs to be quiet, and everyone needs to be reading, not playing games or doing centers. Just reading. If you’re not sure how to implement this effectively, you can find helpful information on my Teaching Resources website about the Reading Workshop approach.
Let them create a cozy reading nook. Who wants to sit at a desk for six hours a day? Collect an assortment of folding chairs, pillows, beanbags and other items that your kids can move to another spot in the room to read. Let reading be a time when they can get away from their desks and get comfortable.
Confer with them. An important part of the Reading Workshop approach is conferring with students individually about what they are reading. You’ll learn about your students as readers and as individuals, and you’ll be able to connect with them personally. You’ll also find out if the books they’re choosing are on the right level. If not, you can help them find better choices, books that are just right.
Read what they’re reading. I get a secret thrill when the Scholastic Book Clubs flyer arrives! I know it’s silly, but I love seeing the new books that are available and trying to decide how to spend my bonus points. I discovered that it’s fun to let students help me pick out books for the class, and I’m always sure to order an extra copy for myself. If you’re not in the habit of doing this, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can become engrossed in a book like The City of Ember. You might even discover that the inner quirky kid in you loves The Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Captain Underpants!
Introduce them to audio books. Think audio books are for little kids? Maybe you haven’t listened to Madeleine L’Engle read A Wrinkle in Time! Audio books are some of the best reading motivators you’ll ever find, and they help students become better readers as well. One reason is that when students follow along in the book as they listen, they see the words in print as they hear them. Powerful stuff. Not to mention the benefits of hearing amazing stories read by fluent and proficient authors!
Make it social. Do you have a social bunch of students this year? If so, get your kids talking about books by forming classroom book clubs. Book clubs are groups of students who read the same books and get together to talk about them, sort of like Literature Circles without roles. Check out this YouTube video posted by Texas teacher Chase Young that shows Literature Circle in action. You can also use kid-safe social networking sites like Edmodo.com and Kidblog.org to get online discussions going about books. If you want to know more about how to get started with Literature Circles, check out the Literature Circles resources on my website.
Let them read other stuff. If books don’t interest your students, let them read magazines, graphic novels, informative websites, or instruction manuals for their favorite game systems. Be sure to check for appropriateness, but you can often turn kids on to reading by letting them read nontraditional forms of literature.
Get them hooked on a series. I must have read every single Nancy Drew book in the library when I was a kid! And I fell hook, line, and sinker for Harry Potter long before the series was turned into a movie. When kids get to know the characters in a series, they feel connected and want to know more about them. So find a great series, read the first book aloud, and make sure you have plenty of copies of the sequels on hand!
Let kids give book talks. Why not start each day with a short student-led book talk? Ask students to sign up in advance to do a 2-minute informal book share. Letting them tell about their favorite book will motivate other kids to want to read that book or others by the author.
Use technology. Books in print might not be a thing of the past, but ebooks seem to be edging them out. However, you don’t have to have a Kindle or an iPad in your classroom to introduce your students to ebooks. Younger kids will enjoy StorylineOnline.net or Tumblebooks.com. Older students will enjoy reading ebooks on free Kindle software that you can download from Amazon.com and display on your computer.

Even though there’s no single perfect reading program that will meet the needs of every child, one program does come pretty close. Most of the strategies above can easily be incorporated into Reading Workshop. For more information on this approach, including a live webinar, visit the Reading Workshop page on Teaching Resources at http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/readingworkshop.php.

Thanks to my colleagues on Facebook who collaborated with me to create this list of ways motivate reluctant readers! What are some of your favorite ways to get kids reading? Do you have a favorite read aloud or a series that you love? Please share!

Reading Workshop Made Easy

2011-02-05T15:32:00.001-05:00

As an avid reader, I’ve been interested in the Reading Workshop approach for years. How could I not be enthralled with the concept? I loved the thought of my students all choosing their own books, curling up in cozy spots, and reading to their hearts content.

But for some reason, I procrastinated. I guess the whole thing seemed too good to be true! Wasn't this just like SSR, and didn't studies show that SSR was not effective? How could students become better readers when everyone was reading something different? Truthfully, I was also confused about the day-to-day details of implementation. Honestly, I just wanted someone to tell me what to do to get started.

I ‘d been reading a variety of inspirational books on reading workshop, but sometimes I just felt overwhelmed with by the concept. The devil is in the details, as they say, and I wanted some details! Then I read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller and Igniting a Passion for Reading by Steven Layne, and I vowed to give it a try! I realized that there was much more to reading workshop than sustained silent reading, but I figured I’d work out the details along the way. I used some of the ideas that I had read, but I also adapted some of the strategies to fit my own needs. After a few weeks, things just seemed to fall into place.

What happened next was amazing! Almost magically, my students began to love reading, and I could tell they were becoming better readers. I loved conferring with my kids individually about what they were reading, and I enjoyed our mini-lessons. They were making terrific progress on our quarterly assessments, and I realized that the reading workshop approach really could deliver on its promise.

I’ve always enjoyed sharing ideas that work for me, and my specialty is making powerful teaching strategies seem easy. Despite all the inspiring books on reading workshop, there didn’t seem to be a simple step-by-step guide for people like me who wanted help getting started. So I went back through my notes to remember what I had done, and I began to write the book that became Empowering Readers: A Quick Start Guide to Reading Workshop. I wrote an exact plan for each of the first 10 days as well as a chapter on how to take reading workshop to the next level with a series of instructional “power tools.” Then I enlisted the help of dozens of teachers who began using the strategies in their classrooms. They offered feedback about what was working and what needed fixing. I was inspired on a daily basis by the ideas shared by the Empowering Readers Learning Community!

Now, after more than a year of writing and rewriting, I’m excited to announce that Empowering Readers is finally complete! I recently asked the teachers who’ve been using these strategies to share some of their successes with me, and I was moved by the stories I received from them. I knew that the reading workshop approach worked for my students, but it was tremendously gratifying to read how empowering the program was to other students. Kids who didn’t like to read before now talk about books at home? ELL students actually cheer when they are given extra reading time? Something special is happening, and that something special is a new crop of kids discovering the joy of reading.

If you need convincing about the effectiveness of the reading workshop approach, I invite you to read these Success Stories for yourself. Do you use the reading workshop approach in your classroom? If so, please share your own success story with me!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T00:18:00.000-05:00

Note: Would you like to hear a podcast of this blog post? If so, click here for the podcast version or read my message below.

Happy New Year! The past year has been wonderful for me, and I’m excited to see what 2011 has in store! Each year is more phenomenal than the one before, so this one is bound to be terrific! Last January I was in the classroom and had no idea that I would be taking a year off to explore new horizons, so who knows what this year will bring?

When I started my blog, I decided to call it “Laura’s Voice” because I hoped it would be a way to share my thoughts and views. Ironically, up until now, most teachers who knew me through the internet had never even heard my voice!

So it seems fitting to start 2011 by sharing my message using my real voice in my very first podcast. I imagine that this will prove to be just a baby step for me because I’m already making plans to add video clips, live online training, screencasts, and more to the Teaching Resources site.

Thinking back on 2010, one of the most important lessons I learned was about the power of gratitude. I discovered that gratitude is an amazing thing – it not only has the power to change our own lives, but it can have a tremendous impact on others. When we choose to look for things that please us and we express appreciation for those things, we magically find our lives filled with even more things to appreciate! When we share our appreciation with others, we have the power to lift their spirits and help them see their own potential. This is true in the classroom as well as in our personal lives. Gratitude truly does have the power to transform.

So what am I thankful for this first day of 2011? The entire list would fill dozens of pages, so in the interest of time and space, I’ll mention just a few.

First of all, I appreciate the educators who are a part of my online community. You share your ideas and insights with me through email, in discussion groups, and on Facebook. You continue to inspire me with your creativity, dedication, and generosity. It’s through you that I’ve learned about the web 2.0 tools that will allow me to connect and collaborate with people in ways I never dreamed possible. As an avid reader, I’m also grateful for the books you’ve shared with me, books that have renewed my passion for teaching, learning, and living.

So what’s my new year’s resolution? It’s simply to spend more time appreciating all that’s good in my life and to take time to express my gratitude to others. With all that I have to be thankful for, I’m thinking that this will be one of the few resolutions that I actually keep!

What do you most appreciate about your life in 2010? What most excites you about the coming year? As always, I look forward to your responses!

The Power of the Self-fulfilling Prophecy

2010-08-17T22:47:00.000-04:00

Teachers sometimes joke, "I had a great class last year, so I guess this is my year to have the class from you know where." Everyone laughs, but how might those subconscious beliefs affect a teacher's actions . . . and maybe their entire school year?

Think about the yearly "roster ritual" - that defining moment when an administrator hands us our new rosters and we quickly scan them to see who's in our class. We see names that we recognize, and we frantically try to remember what we've heard about these students. "Oh no . . . Johnny's the one who was always clowning around in Mr. C's class" or "Tameka is that nice quiet girl who helps Mrs. D after school." We've already begun to make judgments about students we haven't even met!

What if statements like these are no more than self-fulfilling prophecies? It that's true, then perhaps we have far more impact on the type of class we get than we ever imagined!

Every year I say the same thing on the first day, "Class, I have to tell you that I had a really awesome group last year, and I'll miss them. But the amazing thing is that every year, my new class is even better than the one before! I don't know how it's possible, but it's true. I can't even begin to imagine how amazing this class is going to be! I know we are going to have a great year together!" I say this with absolute sincerity because it's true! Maybe I just keep getting more effective as a teacher, or maybe this statement makes them want to be the best class ever, but it works!

My friend and colleague Pat Calfee used to say something similar to her students every year. Her statement was something to the effect that she's not sure how it happens, but every year the principal seems to put the smartest and best students in her class. Of course they sit a little taller when they hear this . . . and they act like the smartest and best kids in the school!

What do you think about your new students when you see their names on your roster? What do you tell your class on the first day of school? What subtle messages do you convey about their worth and their future success in your classroom?

When you scan your roster, be encouraged by the thought that another teacher's "problem child" may turn out to be one whom you cherish the most! That quirky sense of humor or that restless, inquisitive spirit is finally appreciated and the student just blossoms under your attention.

If the self-fulfilling prophecy is really at work in the universe, let's make sure it's working in our favor! Tell your students that you know they are going to be the most amazing class ever, and that's exactly what they'll become!

How to Earn 6,000 Scholastic Bonus Points

2010-08-16T12:22:00.000-04:00

What would you do with 6,000 Scholastic Bonus points? Buy a class set of your favorite novel? Order sets of books for Literature Circles? Increase your classroom nonfiction collection? Order needed materials and supplies? Only a teacher would understand how we much we love those points! To us, the idea of earning 6,000 points with a single order sounds like hitting the jackpot in Vegas or winning the lottery! But believe it or not, with a little persistence and a plan, you can earn 6,000 points for your classroom this year!

How can you cash in on this bonanza? Just compile one $200 order from a single September 2010 book club catalog. As impossible as it seems, putting together a large order is really quite easy if you have a plan. Last year I posted a step-by-step method for earning over 4,000 points, but amazingly, this year's deal is even better! A $200 order will now earn you over 6,000 points to spend any way you wish. Whether you teach at a high poverty school or an affluent one, you might be surprised at how easy this is to accomplish. When you let your students and parents know about your goal and why you want their support, you'll be astonished at the results!

To download the step-by-step plan for earning 6,000 Bonus Points, go to my Back to School page on the Teaching Resources website (www.lauracandler.com). You'll find a set of directions as well as a customizable parent letter and other helpful printables. All of these materials are free and ready to download right away.

Skeptical? During the month of September last year, many teachers emailed me about their amazing success with this plan, and some of those teachers had never even put together a $20 order. Some of them were veteran teachers while others were brand-new to the classroom, but all were excited to start the year with thousands of bonus points to spend!

And no, I'm not affiliated with Scholastic. I just love their books and materials, and I enjoy sharing strategies that help others make the most of Scholastic's back-to-school offer. I invite you to share your own strategies and experiences as well. Just leave a comment below or visit the Teaching Resources page on Facebook. Let me know about your success and all the goodies you buy with your bonus points! :-)

Do You Ever Sleep?

2010-07-26T15:54:00.000-04:00

I hear this question frequently, often followed by, “teacher, author, consultant, webmaster . . . how do you do it all?” My response has always been that I love every bit of it and none of it seems like work.

However, last spring I finally realized that I can’t do everything and do it well… even if I do love my work! Over the last year, I’ve been struggling with how to be a great classroom teacher while continuing to develop high-quality materials to share on my Teaching Resources site. I had a terrific class, and we had a great year together. But my time away from the classroom was stressful as I tried to juggle everything else in my life.

So after 29 years of teaching, it’s with mixed-feelings that I’ve decide to take a year off from the classroom to devote quality time to other projects. Fortunately, I’m eligible for retirement on September 1^st so I don’t have to take an unpaid leave of absence. I'm not even thinking of this as a retirement, though, because I’ll be returning to the classroom for the 2011-2012 school year.

I know that I’ve made the right decision. but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one. In my heart and soul, I’m a teacher and I’ll always be a teacher. I love writing books and developing lessons, but what I enjoy most is taking those materials into the classroom and using them with kids. But this year I’ll have to rely on other teachers to keep me in touch with the classroom.

Someone asked me the other day, “So what will you do with all your free time after you retire?” I just laughed because I know that I’ll be busier than ever! I might be officially “retired” from the classroom, but I’m certainly not retiring as an educator! Maybe I’ll get a little more sleep, but not much more! In fact, please don’t congratulate me on my retirement because I’m viewing this as a leave of absence. I’ll definitely be back in the classroom!

Empower Your Readers

2010-02-21T11:52:00.009-05:00

Remember my earlier blog post in which I said I was abandoning AR? Many teachers have written to me to ask me how I'm teaching reading without AR and whether I'm happy with my decision.

My response has been that my students and I both love the way our reading classroom works, and it's proven to be very effective (based on comparisons with my grade level, school, and district quarterly reading scores). I'm using a modified Reading Workshop approach that I call the Power Reading Workshop. It combines the relaxed atmosphere of a Reading Workshop with individual accountability and goal-setting. My students love to read and actually complain when it's time for reading to end each day. "Noooo.... I'm just getting to the good part!" "Just 5 more minutes...please!" When was the last time your students begged you for more reading time?

In fact, I'm so happy with how things are working that I'm working on a book to make these strategies available to other teachers. There are many wonderful books about how on the Reading Workshop concept, such as The Book Whisperer and Igniting a Passion for Reading. However, my book will be a little different because it's a step-by-step approach to implementing a Power Reading Workshop. After much deliberation and input from other teachers, I've decided to call the book Empowering Readers: A Quick Start Guide to Reading Workshop.

Unfortunately, the book probably won't be ready until summer. I thought I could write it up in a month or two, but I'm still tweaking the strategies. I put together an email discussion group to give me feedback and test the ideas, and we've all found this project to be an exciting endeavor.

Last week I had an "ah-ha" moment about how to make this information available right now. Instead of making people wait until summer to buy the book, why not allow them to buy it now and participate in the discussion group as the book is written? It's like getting the book in advance, along with the support of an outstanding group of teachers during the implementation process. Each time I update the book with additional material, I post it to the discussion group files and make it available to all members. Our group is called the Empowering Readers Learning Community. When the book is complete, all members will have access to the final ebook.

If you are interested in discovering more about the Empowering Readers Learning Community, visit www.lauracandler.com/erlc.php. You'll be able to download a preview version of the first 10 pages of the book and find out more details about how to sign up for the Learning Community.

As you consider starting a Reading Workshop in your class, it might help to read one member's comment to the group. Rita wrote, "I started using Reading Workshop the third week of January. I used your 10 day start up lessons. Laura, I have been teaching 41 years and this is the first time that I have ever felt that a reading program really got students excited about reading. I love the fact that the Reading Workshop approach allows students to select their own good fit books and they actually spend time reading. The atmosphere in my room is wonderful during reading period."

Interested? Don't wait any longer to learn how you can inspire your students to love reading!

www.lauracandler.com/erlc.php

Tips for Teaching Goal Setting

2009-11-08T11:47:00.015-05:00

Goal setting is a powerful process for bringing about change. Identifying what you want and mapping out a plan of action helps you achieve your dreams, both personally and professionally. The same is true for students. Since the goal-setting process can be unfamiliar and challenging, I'd like to offer a few tips for teaching these skills to students. You can find even more tips in a series of articles I wrote for Education World called "Goal Setting 101 " and in my ebook, Classroom Goal Setting.

Classroom Snapshot
Last week marked the end of one grading period and the beginning of another. It was a perfect time for my students to reflect on the goals they had set for the first nine weeks and to set goals for the new grading period. As they reviewed their grades and quarterly test results, they identified which goals they had met and placed a sticker on those goal statements. Next, they wrote goals and action plans for the upcoming grading period.

Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as simple as it sounds! The process may seem easy, but it's a concept that takes time to develop. Classroom Goal Setting explains the process in great detail, but I've learned a few tips and tricks to help make things even easier.

Goal Setting Tips

Record-keeping - I just created a new super-easy goal setting form to help students through the process. You can download and print this form for free by visiting the Odds N Ends page on Teaching Resources.
School vs. Personal Goals - Along with goals for grades and attendance, students can set goals for things they want to achieve or accomplish at home. Allow students to set at least one personal goal for themselves in addition to their three academic goals.
Brainstorming - Conduct class brainstorming sessions to help students think of appropriate goals and action plans.
Baby Steps - Don't expect students to complete the entire form at one time. The form has a place for 4 goals, so break the lesson up into 4 small chunks. Have them write one goal and a set of action plans each day. Or write all 4 goals one day and all 4 action plans the next.
Frequent Checks - After students write up one goal and action plan, collect their papers to review. Many students will need additional guidance and it's best to identify those students early in the process.
Conferencing - Allow time for individual conferencing with students who are struggling to write goals and action plans.
Grading - It's not necessary to grade this activity, but there's nothing wrong with considering this to be a writing lesson and grading their work accordingly. I don't grade what they choose as goals, but I do grade them on how well they followed directions and the amount of detail in their action plans. They seem to put more thought and effort into the activity if I make my expectations clear and if I treat this as a regular assignment.

Goal setting is a powerful process. What greater gift can we give our students than to share this process with them?

To learn more about how to teach students to set goals and create action plans, download Classroom Goal Setting and read the articles at Education World. If you have any additional resources to share, feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

Mastering Math Facts

2009-09-13T10:33:00.016-04:00

Do your students know their times tables yet? Every year, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teachers face the fact that their incoming students haven't mastered their basic math facts.

If you're like me, you struggle with what to do about the Times Table Dilemma: Do we waste valuable class time teaching something they should already know? Or do we recognize that if they don't know their times tables, they are mathematically "stuck." It's not our job to teach them this stuff, right? But if we don't, we know they are going to struggle later.

As a 5th grade teacher with 28 years of experience, I've wrestled with this dilemma many times. And I always come to the unavoidable conclusion that time spent mastering math facts now will save many hours of frustration later. Because of this, I developed an easy system for teaching math facts in a fun way.

I love to tell my class my own story about how I learned the importance of mastering math facts. I myself was one of those kids who refused to learn her times tables in 4th grade. My parents found out during a Parent-Teacher conference, and they asked me why I wouldn't learn them. I'm pretty sure I said something to the effect that learning times tables was dumb and boring. I certainly remember feeling that way! My parents told me that it didn't matter how I felt about it - I would be drilling on times tables every night until I knew them! When I figured out they were serious, I buckled down and learned them in a short time. You know what happened? Amazingly, I realized that math really was much easier when you knew your math facts! I probably didn't admit it to my teachers and parents at the time, but they, in their infinite wisdom, were actually right!

Times have changed in some ways, but not in others. Kids still need to know their times tables, but learning them doesn't have to be boring. There are all kinds of games, computer software packages, and Internet websites to help. Check out the Multiplication page on my site for some free materials and great websites.

Over the years I've developed a motivational system that has proven very effective in helping kids master their times tables. I call it the Mastering Math Facts System, and since I've been using it, 100% of my class masters their times tables each year. And when they do, I see a big jump in their overall math proficiency. A few years ago, one of my 4th graders saw his score on the state math test and announced to the class, "Mrs. Candler is a genius! She said that if I would learn my times tables I would do well in math, and she was right!" As a teacher, I live for those priceless moments!

So last spring I compiled all the strategies, games, and activities into one big ebook: Mastering Math Facts: Multiplication and Division. I had a number of teachers field test the activities, and their students achieved the same level of success that I had observed. Best of all, their students enjoyed learning their times tables!

Then teachers began emailing me to see if I had some resources for addition and subtraction, so I created the Addition and Subtraction Add-on book for them. It's not as complete as Mastering Math Facts, so it's designed as an "add-on" rather than a complete book.

Why share this information now? Because I've found that it's best to start the Mastering Math Facts system within the first few weeks of the year. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes a day and the activities are fun. The benefit of starting now is that your students will be proficient in the basics when you teach your multiplication, division, and fraction units later in the year.

Because I think that now is the right time to start, I'm offering a special on Mastering Math Facts. If you buy Mastering Math Facts book for $21.95, you can get the Addition and Subtraction Add-on book (normally $6) for free.

But there's only one way to get both books for the price of one:

Order the Mastering Math Facts Combo which is $25.95.
Enter "mmfcombo" into the discount code box and update the cart.
The discount will take off $4.00 which makes the Combo price $21.95, the regular price of Mastering Math Facts.
This special is for a limited time only, so you'll need take advantage of it now if you want both books for the price of one.

If you have use the Mastering Math Facts system, I invite you to post your comments and experiences below. Feel free to share other resources for teaching times tables, as well. Good luck!

T.G.I. Facebook

2009-09-12T11:22:00.013-04:00

When I set up a page for Teaching Resources on Facebook last month, I had no idea what a blessing it would turn out to be for me personally. I figured it would be a great way for me to send out quick updates about new materials I added to the Teaching Resources site. But I what I didn't anticipate was how Facebook would allow me to interact with others and ask for advice myself!

Every year in the classroom is different, and every year I face new challenges, just like other classroom teachers. Last week I posted two messages about areas where I needed help, and both times I received dozens of responses in a matter of hours! The truly wonderful thing about this was that not only was I getting help, everyone who visited the page could benefit from the responses. One question was about needing some great math tutorial sites and the other was about how to teach kids about 9/11. Both questions resulted in some really useful information and websites.

I've also noticed that other teachers are posting questions about their own classrooms, and teachers who have experience with these issues are responding. It's so uplifting to me to see these exchanges, and I'm very grateful to the teachers who have signed up as "fans" of the site. Where can I sign up to be a fan of all the fans? :-)

For several years I've been setting aside a part of my Power Pack eBook earnings to support teachers and classrooms. I've donated some of the money to Donors Choose projects, and now I'm also going to start sharing it with Facebook fans of the Teaching Resources site. Every Friday I will give away a free Power Pack to one Facebook fan, and I'll also give a free Power Pack to the person who referred them to my site! On the last Friday of each month, I'll also give away two $25 Amazon.com gift cards. To learn more about the T.G.I. Facebook Freebie giveaway, go to http://www.lauracandler.com/facebook.php. You can sign up as a Facebook fan by going to http://www.facebook.com/TeachingResources.

Thanks to those of you who have been participating in the exchange of ideas and information on Facebook. You have blessed my life, and I'm happy to share some of my good fortune with you!

Abandoning AR

2009-08-24T22:09:00.008-04:00

Like many elementary educators, I’ve lived with the Accelerated Reader (AR) program for the last decade. I’ve gone from using AR to define my reading program to using it flexibly as just one tool in my instructional toolbox. But this year I won’t be using it at all.

Because of recent changes in the way AR operates, my school has decided not to support the program. We can continue to use it until a problem arises, but there won’t be any tech support. I’ve decided to abandon it altogether and just go cold turkey into a new year without AR. Why do I feel like I’m jumping off a cliff into unknown waters, not just changing my reading program?

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I wonder what my students will think when I announce that we will not be using AR this year? I can just imagine their shocked faces. No AR???? Some will stand up and cheer, but others will feel lost without the program. I have similar mixed feelings. On the one hand, I know that the AR program does not produce joyous readers. On the other hand, I’ve found it to be a useful tool for tracking reading progress. It does get results, but at what cost? Face it - how many adults would enjoy reading if we knew we had to pass a test after finishing each book?

Luckily, I just finished reading a wonderful book called The Book Whisperer that will help me make sense of my decision to abandon AR completely. The author, Donalyn Miller, would probably be horrified that I found any value whatsoever in AR! She uses a “reading workshop” approach to deliver instruction, and passionately advocates for student choice in reading. She believes that to become better readers, students need to read more during the school day and become engaged with their texts in meaningful ways.

I guess in my heart of hearts I’ve known for a long time that AR was nothing more than a security blanket. It was an easy system for tracking progress, but it didn’t do much to foster a lifelong passion for reading. Promoting the joy of reading is a worthy goal; however, in today’s climate of accountability, it’s also important for students to perform well on standardized tests.

This year I’m on a mission to do both - promote the joy of reading AND increase reading achievement. I hope to inspire my students to grow as readers, challenging them to tackle increasingly difficult texts and a variety of genres. We’ll establish a climate where independent reading time is treasured and student choice is respected. I’ll create mini-lessons to teach skills, but mostly I’ll encourage my students to read, read, read!

AR won’t have a place in my classroom this year. It’s past time for me and my students to grow up and leave that security blanket behind!

How to Earn 4,000 Scholastic Bonus Points

2009-08-22T16:20:00.018-04:00

Every year I cross my fingers in August, hoping that Scholastic will repeat its back-to-school deal. This deal is so terrific that I love to share it with other teachers!

Did you know that with a little bit of know-how and persistence, you can get 4,000 Bonus Points in just a week or two? I've been able to do this every year for at least 5 years, whether I worked at a Title I school or a more affluent one. I've created a system that works every time! Read on to learn how you can do this, too!

How to Earn 4,000 Bonus Points

The Deal:

Put together a $200 or larger order from one catalog and you'll get 20 times the Bonus Points! With a $200 order you'll get 4,000 points.
The larger the order, the more points you'll get up to 10,000. Don't panic about how you'll get a $200 order when you usually can't get a $10 order! Just read on. Follow my system and you can do it! It works!

If you don't want to do this on your own, you can work with another teacher or your grade level. After you get the 4,000 points you can call Scholastic and have the points distributed to each person's account according to the amount their class contributed to the total.

Secrets of Success:

Make sure you have a Scholastic account. If you don't, go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs to set one up. Then hunt around your school for a September catalog or wait for one to be mailed to you.

Look through the Scholastic September catalogs for the ones that offer 20X bonus points for getting a $200 order. Choose one and only one catalog. You have to get together a $200 order from one catalog to qualify, and if you send home 3 catalogs you'll never make it. Just pick the one that has the most books that would appeal to your students. Choose Lucky, Arrow, Tab, or whatever, but make sure it has the 20X bonus point offer.

Compose a letter to send home to parents with the order form. See the sample Scholastic Arrow Book Letter on the Teaching Resources Back to School page.

If you haven't set up online ordering, do that at this time. I've found that parents order more books when they are using a credit card online. Go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs to set this up. Do not activate the option that gives parents 500 more book choices at this time or parents may place orders in that catalog. You want all the orders to come from the catalog you chose earlier. Write down your Class User Name and Password for reference.

When you give the order form out, devote some class time to discussing the books. Have the kids highlight the ones they like and allow students to tell the class about books they love. Tell them that if the class can get a $200 order, you'll be able to buy over 100 books for the classroom!

Distribute the letter and go over your book picks with the kids. Require them to get the letter signed by a parent even if they don't think they want to order. That way the parents will be aware of your goal and may want to help out, even if they don't usually order books.

Make a deal with students. If the class gets a $200 order, anyone who places an order will get a free book pick worth $3 or less from a future catalog. You can use the Scholastic Coupon on Teaching Resources to do this.

If you have access to a computer, demonstrate how to place an online order. That way your students can help their parents with this process. Make sure they know the Class User Name and Password.

As the orders come in, keep a running total on the board. Do not post individual student names and the amounts of their orders! Just announce the daily total. You can also use the Scholastic Stars $200 Countdown on Teaching Resources. Each section is worth $10, so you can color in the sections as you work to reach your goal of $200.

If you have a parent night or open house, put out some extra order forms and be sure to mention your class goal. If you have a copy of the Scholastic dictionary, display it. Explain why you want the bonus points - to order free books and materials for your class.

If the deadline passes and you are close to $200, send out another message letting parents know how close you are to the goal. If you have parent email addresses, send them a note and include a direct link to Scholastic's ordering page. You can also combine orders with another teacher to reach that goal and share the points later.

Other Strategies - Have you developed any strategies for cashing in on Scholastic's September deal? Please share your experiences!

First Day Dilemma

2009-08-16T21:50:00.005-04:00

Most kids would be surprised to know that teachers are every bit as nervous as they are on the first day of school! Why do we worry so much? Perhaps it’s because we know that the first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the year. We want to get it right on Day One or we may pay the price all year!

But the problem is that we hear conflicting messages about what the first day of school should look like. Veteran teachers used to tell newbies that it’s best not to smile until Christmas – that way the kids know you mean business. I don’t think anyone really believes that advice anymore, but we should we go to the other extreme? Should we seat kids in teams right away, or should they be in straight rows for the first few weeks of school? Should the first day of school be fun, or should it be a time to learn the rules and classroom procedures?

Personally, I think we can do both on the first day of school. In fact, if we want to establish a caring classroom climate, I think we must do both on the first day of school. We need to let kids know that our classroom will be a fun place to learn, but it’s also a classroom with clear rules and procedures.

One of the big considerations for the first day of school is how to seat students. Should they be seated in rows or teams? If they are in teams, should they pick their teammates?

My view is that the best way to teach kids how to work in cooperative learning teams is to start teaching them that way on the first day of school. If you put them in rows on the first day, then later when you put them in teams, your students may think it’s play time.

My kids are placed in teams from the very first day of school. When my students arrive in my classroom, they will find a nametag on an assigned seat for the first day of school. That seat will be a part of a team of four students, and we’ll begin learning appropriate ways to interact in teams. Throughout the day, we’ll do several fun team-building and class-building activities, and each time I’ll share specific procedures for movement and conversation. For the next two or three days, I will mix them up in different teams so they can get to know their classmates. Then on the third or fourth day I’ll create more permanent, mixed-ability teams. At no time do I let them pick their own teams. Sometimes they may choose a partner for an activity, but their teams are always assigned by me.

For more information on how to create mixed-ability teams, visit the Team Formation page on Teaching Resources. You can also find information and diagrams about how to arrange seating to foster cooperative learning activities.

What’s your experience with team formation? Do you like to put kids in teams on the first day of school or wait until you teach other classroom procedures? My way is just one way . . . and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Time for a Test Drive!

2009-07-30T20:46:00.011-04:00

I've been working on this new site for months and months, and it's time to let other folks take a look! It's sort of like when a new store is about to open and they let people in a few days before the grand opening. You have to make sure all systems are working! My site will be taken offline late Friday night so that we can make the switch, but for right now I'm going to reveal its "secret" location. Saturday morning you'll be able to get to it by going to www.lauracandler.com.

Before you click on the new site link, please be aware of the following:

Navigation is very easy, but one confusing aspect right now is getting back to the Home page from within the site. You can use the link at the bottom of the page, and when the site goes live you can click on the post it note at the top. Unfortunately, right now clicking on the post it goes back to the old site.
Some people using Internet Explorer 7 have experienced a problem with the drop down menus. Unfortunately, this problem can't be resolved. When we try to fix it, a problem crops up somewhere else. However, you don't need the drop downs if you just click on the main headings or use the links at the bottom. The problem is solved if you upgrade to IE 8 or use Firefox.
I was planning to switch to a new shopping cart system, but it's proving to be problematic. For right now we are sticking with the shopping cart/PayPal system currently on the site.
The search feature is only returning pages in the old site, but that should change soon.

Want to give it a try? Go to www.lauracandler.com/newsite and poke around a bit. The shopping cart should work just fine. To celebrate this special occasion, I'm offering a special 30% discount on all my Power Packs! Just enter the word "newsite" into the Discount Code box in the shopping cart after you make a selection. This discount will apply to everything in the shopping cart! Be sure to click Update before you check out to make sure the code is applied to everything. If you find any problems, let me know by sending an email to lauracandler@att.net. I want everything to be perfect!

How Do You Feed a Happy Thought Rock?

2009-07-26T09:30:00.012-04:00

Remember the pet rock craze years ago? Recently I discovered a positive- energy twist on this old idea. Marie Bryant, a visitor to my Teaching Resources site, sent me an unusual gift - a box of rocks! However, these were no ordinary rocks. Each rock had been hand-painted with a unique happy expression by her husband, Wayne Dalzell. They were adorable! Included in the box was a small stack of cards labeled Care and Feeding. The back of each card said to feed the rock by telling it a happy thought every day. I was enchanted by the idea!

The timing of the gift couldn’t have been better. The rocks happened to arrive the day before two of my students had to retake the state reading exam. I let them each pick out a rock and told them to keep it in their pockets for good luck. I also gave them each a Care and Feeding card and asked them to follow the directions. They were so proud of those rocks! Watching them with the rocks gave me another idea - what if we wrote our happy thoughts in a journal, kind of like a gratitude journal? What a great way to focus on the little positive things that happen every day! So I created a small journal and shared it with Wayne. He liked it and created his own pages for the journal which were even better than mine.

Through several email conversations with Wayne and his wife, I learned that he is a custodian at a California school. He has been giving away his rocks for years just to spread joy to others, and he has lots of great stories about the positive impact they’ve had. He began giving the rocks as rewards to the students with the cleanest classroom each month, and before long he had painted hundreds of Happy Thought Rocks!

I was so touched by the gift of the rocks and by what Wayne is doing that I wanted to share the information with others. I set up a page on my site with the free printable journal and the information about how to order Happy Thought Rocks for your own students or for family and friends. Wayne’s prices are extremely reasonable - in fact, considering the fact that he paints each rock individually by hand, I’m not sure he can even make a profit at those prices! However, at this point he’s more interested in spreading joy to others than in getting rich.

Can you think of a better way to start the year off than by giving your students an adorable gift and having them journal and share their happy thoughts? Wow! The positive energy you generate from this one small investment could totally transform your school year! I’ll keep you posted about how the happy thought idea goes with my students this year, and I’d love for you to post comments here about your experiences with them. Visit the Happy Thought Rocks pag e on my site for more information and to download the free journal. Make this school year special by pumping up the positive energy in your room from Day 1!

New Site on the Way!

2009-07-18T09:36:00.002-04:00

If you are follower of the Teaching Resources site, you probably know that the site is getting a complete makeover. I'm excited that if all goes according to plan, the new site should be ready on August 1st! In the meantime, I'm giving you a sneak peek at the new design.

I hired Doug Brown Design to come up with the overall concept and do the design work, and now my daughter Wendy and I are uploading content and connecting all the links. We also have a programmer working on the shopping cart and other technical elements. It's lots of work, but it's so exciting! I'm finding files in the File Cabinet that I put there years ago and completely forgot about. It's like doing summer cleaning and reorganizing at home!

What's new and improved about the site?

More attractive, professional design and layout
Reorganization of site contents into 4 major categories with subcategories
Shorter pages with less scrolling
Drop-down menus
Clear, consistent navigation system
Search engine to search the File Cabinet and Strategies section

The most frequent question I get about the new site is whether I'll still have a File Cabinet with free materials. The answer to that is a resounding YES! I'm not changing anything about the content of my site - just its appearance and navigation. All the old content will still be there.

When the time comes to go live with the new site, please help me spread the word! My old site has a lot of great content, but it's outdated and difficult to navigate. My new site will combine the best elements of the old site with a clean, professional look you will love!

End of the Year: To Teach or To Celebrate?

2009-06-06T14:05:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make . . . it's the last week of school and I've stopped teaching. I know I'm supposed to teach until the last day of school, and I really did try. I know the common wisdom is that teachers should continue with instruction until the last day of school in order to keep each day as normal as possible. But I found that the more I tried to teach, the more my students resisted learning anything new. Don't get me wrong - I have a wonderful group of students. It's just that at the end of the year, their brains are fried and so is mine! They couldn't sit still, and they couldn't focus on instruction. I was using every management trick in the book to keep them on task. I finally gave up last Tuesday when I realized that I had spent the whole day fussing at them and we were all miserable.

My ah-ha moment came when I wondered why I had no memory of last year being so miserable for everyone. Then I remembered that last year I spent the last week doing fun activities to celebrate our time together as a class. We made a class scrapbook, created personalized autograph books, wrote reflections, played math games, and had a Scrabble tournament.

So last week I ditched the instruction and planned some activities that we could enjoy together at the end of the year. I'm reading aloud more and we take more time with our class meetings. We are making our class scrapbook, learning math logic games, presenting reader's theater plays, and enjoying class kickball games. The kids voted on class awards that will be presented on Wednesday along with a photo essay of our year together. I'm posting some of my end-of-the year activities on my website (www.lauracandler.com) although I know many people are out for the year.

My conclusion? The end of the year is not for academic learning . . . it's for celebrating as a class. It's for recognizing accomplishments and solidifying friendships. It's for creating memories that will last a lifetime!

Save the Rain Forest!

2009-03-08T13:56:00.000-04:00

I'm excited that our school is starting our Adopt-an-Acre campaign which is run by the Earth Foundation. I've worked with this project for almost 10 years, and it's so gratifying to be able to teach my students about the rain forest and offer them a chance to make a difference. The Earth Foundation heads up a huge project involving thousands of schools across the United States. They provide educational materials to teachers such as lesson plans and DVD's that explain why the rain forest is so important.

The Earth Foundation's main focus is raising money to save acres of rain forest through the sale of t-shirts and other items. The t-shirts are high quality and have wonderful designs, so they're very easy to sell. (See the sample design above.) One acre of rain forest is saved for every ten shirts sold. At the end of the year, they take the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are raised and use it to buy a tract of land in an endangered rain forest. This year the Earth Foundation is working with Conservation International to save the rain forests of Madagascar.

One exciting aspect of the project is the fact schools that save 100 acres or more can send one teacher to the rain forest for free! Last year our school met this goal, and one of our teachers was randomly selected to take the trip. It was a 10-day trip to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, and she said it was a fabulous trip! I know we can do as well this year, and I would love to be the one chosen to take the trip. However, there are 6 other teachers on my grade level who are also heavily involved in the project so we will just have to wait and see. :-)

This year I decided to set up a web page of resources on my site to help other teachers who might want to participate. On that page I explain how our school was able to sell 1175 shirts and save 117.5 acres last year. We were third in the nation in sales, and it was our first year participating! You will find all the letters and forms that we are using, along with some tips for success. Click on the link to visit my Rain Forest Resource page.

I hope other educators will decide to get involved with this project. Sales are down this year due to the economy, and the Earth Foundation needs to sell a certain number of shirts in order to purchase land in Madagascar AND get started with the project again next year. They have been involved in this campaign for almost 20 years, so it would be a shame if their good work came to an end this year. If you are interested, just call Kellie at the Earth Foundation (1-800-5MONKEY) and ask her to send you a kit to help you get started. It contains teaching materials, DVD's, and sample t-shirts. Tell her you heard about it from me!

Rethinking Praise

2009-01-04T08:28:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered that learning something new just might be the best way to improve my own teaching. A few days go I experienced a powerful lesson about praise. I was learning a new style of cross-country skiing, and it was quite a challenge for me. I'm very comfortable with the "striding" style of that sport, but I had never tried the more athletic "skating" style. It looked fun, so I decided to take a lesson. Wow! It's been years since I tried anything that physically challenging! I felt completely uncoordinated and off-balance the entire 90 minutes! The instructor was wonderful, but she had the nerve to do something that I do every single day in the classroom . . . she praised me when I was struggling! The problem was that hearing "good job" when I felt like a duck on skis was more insulting than encouraging. I knew that I wasn't doing a good job, and the praise did not ring true. What I would have liked to hear was, "Keep on working - it will get easier in time." Experiencing praise from the standpoint of the learner really opened my eyes and made me rethink the role of praise in learning.

This ah-ha moment may have been partly due to the fact that the role of praise was already on my mind. A few weeks ago I read "The Perils and Promises of Praise," an article by Carol Dweck that appeared in the October 2008 edition of Educational Leadership.This article examined two kinds of praise that teachers often give students and the long-term effects of praising in those ways. It seems that how we are praised may impact how we view our own intelligence. Some students believe that intelligence is a fixed trait - that people are just born with a certain amount of intelligence. Others believe that they can develop their intellectual abilities by working hard and learning more. As it turns out, praising students for being smart causes them to adopt the former attitude, with quite damaging consequences. Students who think their intelligence is fixed become easily frustrated when they face a challenge. Their self-confidence is tied up in "being smart," and they are afraid that if they ask questions, they won't seem smart. On the other hand, when students are praised for working hard and putting forth effort, they don't worry about appearing smart. Instead, they are willing to tackle challenges and try new experiences. This article is a must-read for any teacher or parent.

There's a happy ending to my cross-country ski story. I didn't give up, and after a few days of sticking with it, I was able to navigate my way around the green beginner trails of Tahoe Donner Ski Area. The weather was gorgeous and I had a wonderful time skiing with my family. Maybe I'll be able to tackle those blue trails next year! I must have had teachers and parents who praised me for working hard rather than being smart, because I've never worried about asking questions. In fact, I have discovered that the more you know, the more you realize you DON'T know! My new year's resolution is to use praise more effectively in the classroom, never giving false praise and always praising students for their efforts rather than because they are smart.

Blogging Made Easy

2008-12-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

I love blogging... so why don't I have any more blog entries than I do? My last entry was written on September 20th, which was eons ago. I'm always thinking of blog topics, but never when I have time to write and usually when I'm away from my computer.

Another mental block for me is that, believe it or not, I enjoy writing my blog entries on paper. Expository writing flows easily when I'm typing, but the kind of reflective writing I do in my blog seems more suited to pen and paper. I guess I just haven't arrived in the digital world yet - or have I?

This Christmas my husband gave me a gift that allows me to blog on paper and then transfer my writing to a computer via an SD memory card - without me having to type one word! Right now I’m on a 5-hour flight to California and the seats are so tightly packed that I have no room to open my computer. But I do have room for my new DigiMemo L2 notepad! I write on real paper with a real pen that has real ink - really cool! After I transfer my writing to digital format, I can save it to read later or use the handwriting recognition software to convert it to Rich Text or graphic format. With a few clicks I can create a Word document from something I wrote in pen on paper. After it's in Word format, I can edit it and work with it as I would any other Word document.

It may seem like just another digital toy, but it's proving to be quite useful. I'm currently trying to finish my book, Mastering Math Facts, and I have been able to do quite a bit of writing today on the plane. Now I just need to transfer it to digital format and import it into my book document which will take me far less time than having to type it from written notes. And I can think of so many more uses for my new DigiMemo notepad! When I attend workshops and conferences, I like to take lots of notes. Unfortunately, most of my notes end up in the trash can because I don't have an organized system for storing them and accessing them later. Problem solved! Now I can take notes, transfer them to my computer, and store them in folders just as I do with my word processed documents!

Want to learn more? Check out the link shown on the right. My DigiMemo pad was purchased at Amazon, and it arrived in a few days in perfect condition. I also received the ACECAD portfolio which is essential for keeping all my paraphernalia together (special pen, USB cord, SD card, etc). Put it on your wish list now!

Goal Setting Update

2008-09-20T22:47:00.000-04:00

Just this week I found out that three articles I recently wrote about goal setting were published as a series on Education World. I felt honored that Ed World accepted them because I've recommended their website for years and I think it's a great resource. The series is called Goal Setting 101 and it starts with the article called Understanding the Process.

Now for my own goal setting project . . . it looks like our Smartboard is definitely within reach! We have $920 in actual donations and about $300 in money that has been pledged to us. The Smartboard will be about $1050, so as soon a little more money is in I can arrange for one to be ordered. We still have to raise money for an Elmo and an LCD projector, but in the meantime I'm borrowing equipment from the media center. I'm so excited, and I know my students will be excited when we have enough money in our account to pay for the Smartboard. We've been having fun with an Air Liner slate in the meantime, but it can be unreliable and difficult to use.

What's interesting is that the goal-setting process my class followed was the exact process I described in Goal Setting 101. We set our class goal of getting a Smartboard and came up with an action plan. We decided to call our project Smartboards 4 Smart Kids and put up a webpage where people could donate with credit cards. The kids also made posters and talked to their parents and other family members about the project. We visualized having a Smartboard in our room, and we had faith that the money would be donated. It really works! I love the fact that my students are learning that when you set a goal for yourself and believe in it, your dreams really can come true!

Smart Teaching

2008-09-06T15:44:00.000-04:00

Smartboards and other interactive whiteboards are hot items in schools these days. If you’ve ever seen one demonstrated, it’s hard not to get excited about them! Last year my class was located in a “hut” or portable classroom behind the school. It was an interesting experience, and it wasn’t all bad. However, one difficult aspect was being isolated from technology. I wanted a Smartboard, but I knew that even if I could get a grant or raise money, the school system would not install it in a portable classroom. So my goal was to get into the building this year and figure out some way to get a Smartboard and learn to use it. The first part of my wish was granted over the summer and I moved into my new classroom. Now I’m working on the second part of the goal.

During the first week of school I talked to my new 4th grade class about the idea of trying to get a Smartboard for our classroom. Many of them had been in classes with Smartboards or seen them demonstrated, and they were excited about the idea of having one in our room, too. So we set a class goal of raising money for a Smartboard system (Smartboard, LCD projector, and Elmo) and we drafted an action plan describing how we plan to accomplish that goal. The first part of the plan involved me setting up a website for donations. We are calling our project Smartboards 4 Smart Kids, and I set up a webpage with that URL (http://www.smartboards4smartkids.com/). It looks like it will take about $2,500 to purchase the full system, but we are not discouraged. We have already received almost $500 in donations and we’ve only had the site up for a week. We have other steps in our action plan if needed, but we hope to get enough money just through donations. (Hint, hint!)

Being the positive thinker that I am, I’m already envisioning my brand new Smartboard installed in my room and ready to go! I’ve downloaded the Smartboard Notebook software and have been exploring what it can do. I’m planning to take a 10-hour course on Smartboard use that’s offered in my district, and I’ve been checking out Smartboard websites and tools. (As a side note, I know that there are other interactive whiteboards out there, but my district will only install and support Smartboards so that limits my options.)

Here’s where I need some help from other teachers. I want to learn how to create great lessons that use the interactive capabilities of the Smartboard. I’m probably not looking in the right places, but all I’ve seen so far are links to cool interactive websites that you can project on the Smartboard. However, instructional time in the classroom is limited, I am not convinced that those websites offer any advantage over high quality teaching without a Smartboard. Yes, the Smartboard is very motivating and it will captivate any observer’s attention, but I want MORE! I want to use my Smartboard in ways that will improve teaching and learning on a more fundamental level. I want the Smartboard to become an indispensable tool for teaching the way an overhead projector used to be for me - something that allows me to be a better teacher, rather than a cool toy that I use briefly before reverting to my old ways. I want to see some examples of Smartboard lessons, not just websites. I want to know how to use a Smartboard in different subjects like math, reading, social studies, and science. I need some step-by-step examples of ways to use the Smartboard to take students to a higher level as critical thinkers or to engage them in rigorous learning. I want to go from "using" a Smartboard, to "smart teaching".

So if you have any "Smart Teaching" lessons to share, or you know of any resources that would help me learn to use a Smartboard effectively, please share!

Journey to Success

2008-08-21T08:56:00.000-04:00

I’m been back at work for a few days, and it’s been fun setting up my new classroom and planning how I will use technology this year. I’m particularly excited because I have an intern (student teacher) who is very enthusiastic and full of ideas. Her name is Lindsay Jeter, and I’m really looking forward to working with her. It’s been years since I had a student teacher, but the last one I had was wonderful. We worked as a team, and it was as if our students had two teachers instead of one. I expect that Lindsay and I will work just as well together. To me, student teachers who are enthusiastic and open-minded are like a breath of fresh air to a veteran teacher!

Today I am enjoying a leisurely morning before going to school. This evening we have Open House from 4 to 6 p.m. so I can report to work a little late. Part of me wants to rush off and get to school because I do have a lot to do, but the other part of me wants to linger over breakfast and do a little blogging first. I’m on out my deck which overlooks my backyard and the trees beyond, and I love hearing the birds chirping to start the day. Enjoying a leisurely breakfast on the deck will be a thing of the past next week, so I want to enjoy it today!

My thoughts this morning are on meeting my new students tonight. I’m so glad we have Open House a few days before school because I do enjoy meeting my kids before the big day and seeing their excitement. Our students probably don’t realize that teachers can be just as nervous about meeting their new students as they are about meeting us! I try very hard to keep myself in a state of ignorance about my students until I meet them in person. I don’t want to talk to other teachers about them, and I definitely don’t want to look into their cumulative records for more information. I know that teachers are often encouraged to look in those files before the children arrive, but I just can’t make myself do it. My feeling is that if there’s something really serious in that file, I will probably already know about the child or someone (social worker or guidance counselor) will let me know. Other than that, I just want to remain ignorant so I can form my own impressions. I don’t want to know in advance that a certain child has learning disabilities or another child is “gifted.” I just want to see my students as individuals and let them become who they were meant to be, without labels of any kind. Yes, I know that I will eventually have to learn the labels attached to their names, but by that time I will already know them personally and the labels won’t mean much.

I also try to remind myself that if I do end up with a child who has a reputation for being “difficult,” it doesn’t mean that they will be difficult in my classroom. Often those children have a quirky sense of humor or a keen intelligence that’s masked by poor social skills or undesirable behaviors. I’ve learned that if I can find the little spark that makes each child so special, any difficult behaviors disappear or become more manageable. Perhaps I will be the teacher who helps put this “difficult” child on the road to success. In fact, that’s our school theme this year – Journey to Success! I guess we need to be the travel agents who find the right journey to success for each of our students!

Time for Technology?

2008-08-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

I love new technology, but I have to admit that I’m beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the rate at which things are changing! I just don’t feel that I have time to explore all the new resources available to me, but I’m realizing that I need to find time to check things out. Our students are certainly jumping into Web 2.0 technology, and I’m intrigued by the possibilities that these applications open up for me and my students. So this is going to be the “year of technology” for me! One of my goals is to raise money for a Smartboard and learn to integrate it into my teaching. Another is to figure out the whole social networking scene. I’ve created a Facebook page, I’m on Twitter.com, and I’ve started this blog. Now what?! Maybe you can help! How can I find time to explore all the new technology and still teach kids? What's important to learn, and what's just interesting? Please share your thoughts with me by adding a comment to this blog post.

Let the Adventure Begin!

2008-08-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

Last year my husband and I bought two kayaks, and we love paddling the Lumber River here in North Carolina. It’s a peaceful, quiet river, and within moments of starting each trip, it’s as if we have left civilization behind. The section of the river we paddle is narrow and winding, full of twists and turns, and we never know what we might find around the next bend.

One thing I love about kayaking is the way I can think through things as I paddle along quietly. I’m away from my computer and all of the hectic activity that fills my life at home, and my mind just drifts quietly from thought to thought. With school starting in just a few weeks, the end of summer vacation is on my mind. I do love summer with its freedom and time to relax, but I’m also looking forward to a new school year. I can’t imagine being anything else but a teacher!

As a paddled along, I reflected that each school year is like another trip down the Lumber River. It’s the same river, yet it’s always different. Sometimes the water is so high that it rises over its banks, and other days it’s so low that we have to navigate around stumps and trees, frequently getting out to drag our kayaks over obstacles. Teaching is like that for me, and I would go crazy if I had a job where every day was the same. One reason I love teaching is that each day is different, and I can never predict exactly what is going to happen next. In the same way that I can get ready for a river trip, I can plan and prepare for teaching, but I have to meet each obstacle as I encounter it, using my creativity to overcome problems. Sometimes I have to paddle furiously to battle against the current, and other times I can just drift along, enjoying the ride. No matter what, each day in the classroom is an adventure! Let the adventure begin!

Savoring the Struggle

2008-07-27T11:56:00.000-04:00

I’ve recently been reading To Understand: New Horizons in Reading Comprehension, a wonderful book by Ellin Keene, co-author of Mosaic of Thought (see book link at right). I’m taking longer to read this book than I do with most because the ideas are so profound that I need to spend time thinking about each chapter and reflecting on it before I move on. One chapter that resonates with me is “To Savor the Struggle.” Ellin suggests that one of the greatest gifts we can give students is the experience of having to struggle to understand an idea. She offers several examples of great writers and artists who have conquered adversity and who have, in fact, been empowered by those very struggles. She suggests that by encouraging children to tackle intellectual challenges, we show them that they can do more and become more than they ever dreamed possible. Wow!

Reading her words brings to mind an experience I observed in my classroom at the end of the year. I had just returned from attending a Marcy Cook math workshop and was introducing some of the center activities I had picked up during the session. The activities involved using “number tiles” to solve problems in creative ways. Marcy’s activities are like brainteasers because the solutions require some work and aren’t readily apparent. I thought the students would enjoy them, so I was shocked when I heard several children whining (yes, whining!) that the activity was too hard! I realized that over the years I have learned to break every math lesson down into bite-sized pieces and students don’t even have to “chew” to get the lesson!

Using Mastery Learning makes math easy, but now the question is, “Should I be making it that easy?” Is it important for kids to struggle? I have to say that I agree with Ellin Keene and I really do see the value in struggle. Not struggling to the point of frustration and giving up, but the kind of struggle that’s encouraged and supported as a way for students to stretch their boundaries and surpass their limitations. How can students learn to be persistent in the face of difficulties if we never allow them to struggle? I have found that sometimes the brightest children are the ones who cave in at the first sign of difficulty. In the classroom, everything has been easy and nothing has ever been a struggle, so when they do encounter difficulties they want to give up. The key is to support them through those struggles so they emerge with an even greater sense of their own strength. We have to let them know that even though the task is challenging, we know they can handle it if they are willing to think creatively and persist in their efforts.

So where does that leave me as I approach a new school year? Will I give up using Mastery Learning in math? No way! I wouldn’t be doing my job as a teacher if I let students struggle through every math concept without support, and Mastery Learning gives me the tools to differentiate instruction. However, I realize that I also need to provide plenty of opportunities for problem solving, especially problems that are challenging and require creative thinking. I need to let kids know that I believe in their ability to figure things out on their own instead of always jumping in to bail them out when they get stuck.

I think the value of struggle would be a great topic to address in my morning meetings with students. Perhaps if kids get comfortable sharing their own struggles, other students will learn view difficulties in a new way. I will definitely start off the year with lots of brainteasers and fun types of challenges to encourage creative thinking. Any other ideas or thoughts about savoring the struggle? Add your voice to mine!

Finding My Voice

2008-07-26T10:11:00.000-04:00

As I write my first blog entry, I realize that I’m embarking on a new endeavor. I have used blogs for specific purposes and projects, but never just as a place to express myself and my views. When I decided start a blog as a form of personal expression, I immediately began worrying about what I should name my blog. I thought about what I might want to accomplish with this blog and brainstormed a list of possible names, but nothing seemed just right. As an educator, I knew I would be writing about educational topics and I felt that the title should reflect that, but nothing clicked. Then I realized that I don’t really want to accomplish anything at all. I just want a place to explore my thinking on a variety of issues. I’ve always found writing to be a creative process. It’s almost as if I create my own reality as I write! Ideas seem to take on a life of their own as they flow through me and onto the paper (or into cyberspace!) I’m an avid reader, and when I read inspirational books, I like working through those ideas and making them my own. Since I love teaching, I often find ways to connect what I’m reading with what I’m doing in the classroom. Therefore, this blog will probably have a highly educational focus. Yet I want to be free to explore whatever thoughts come to mind, so I’ve settled on the very simple title of “Laura’s Voice.” It’s not meant to be the voice of authority or the voice of an expert, - it’s just me sharing my thoughts. I’m going to fight the urge to be a perfectionist about this and just let the ideas flow freely. I invite others to read my blog and add their voices to mine!