One good reason to love Mondays is that I work with my animal loving, fourth grade friend. She is the only student that I am currently working with that I pull out of the classroom, which means she is the only student for whom I actually get to choose what to teach/what activities to do.
In December we worked on the story A New Coat for Anna and last week we read Koala Lou.
Since report cards are going home next week, my friend's teacher asked if I would do a running record on her so we could evaluate her progress and how she is doing in reading. My school subscribes to the Reading A to Z site, so I was able to pull off a story at her level with an accompanying running record sheet and comprehension questions sheet. The convenience of Reading A to Z is great, but I dislike the lack of authenticity of most of the stories. They are okay, but they lack the spirit of real children's books, so I only like to use them for assessments. The rest of the time, we read real literature.
My little friend read the story at level K, which is definitely below the 4th grade level where she should be. I want to say that according to the website. level K is more appropriate for a 1st or 2nd grader. She read the first few pages out loud to me while I furiously recorded her correct words with checkmarks and documented her errors on the appropriate column. This particular running record has a column to record errors and another column to record self corrections. Then there are two more columns where you are supposed to write MSV and circle what type of error was made or what skill was used to correct the error (meaning, syntax, or visual).
My friend made 19 errors. For every 8 words she read correctly, she made approximately 1 error. Not bad. Her accuracy was 88%. Again, not bad. She had a little trouble with the names of the characters and kept referring to the dog "Duffy" as "Buffy," but in the land of running records, only the first error on a proper name counts and the rest do not.
What fascinated me the most, or I should say, what made me the most proud was that despite the errors (most of which were visual meaning substituting a word like "there" for "where" or "break" for "bark"), my little friend got every single comprehension question correct.
She rocked it out.
After reading the first few pages out loud to me, she read the rest of the story silently. When she was finished, I asked her the questions on the comprehension sheet (which are accompanied by acceptable answers in case the teacher cannot determine whether or not the answer is sufficient...as if teachers do not know what they are doing...). Anywho, there are three different types of questions: text-based, inferences, and critical thinking. Not only was she was able to remember simple pieces of information from the story, but she was able to critically think about a question and provide a response with an extended answer based on her own background knowledge.
Yes, this student is not at grade level.
Yes, she makes errors when she reads and her fluency is not quite there.
Yes, she requires extra practice and assistance when it comes to reading.
and Yes, despite her disability (dyslexia), she gets meaning from text, which is fantastic.
Isn't constructing meaning the most important, overall goal of reading??
Although it is satisfying and excellent when students are at benchmark in their fluency and decoding, being champions in these areas does not necessarily indicate excellent comprehension. Have you ever come across a student that was a super speed demon that could read an incredibly large number of correct words per minute, yet couldn't remember a single detail about the passage and didn't have a clue what was just read?
I ask you, which is better?
Flawless reading without understanding...or...a rocky road marked by comprehension?
I know that typically errors lead to a decrease in comprehension because they interfere with the flow which interferes with the student's ability to make sense of the text and put it all togehter to get the whole picture. I get that. In the case of my little friend, because of her disability, and how her brain is functioning when she reads (her brain is using different areas and working harder than the typical person's brain has to work when reading), the fact that she can read a text and have high comprehension is a great, great thing.
We need to work on some strategies such a re-reading, using context clues to figure out unknown words, stopping at unknown words and asking for clarification or using a dictionary to discover the meaning so that her comprehension remains at a high level even when she moves onto harder, perhaps grade level texts. She still needs to practice and improve her fluency and decrease her errors when reading, but honestly, reading aloud is not the be-all-end-all of life.
Working with this friend brings me back to the past three years when I taught my first grade friends how to read. I cherish the moments when I can be part of that learning process for my new friend because there is nothing better than helping someone acquire the skills to be an indepdent reader, no matter what their age!
Sometimes I miss it...
I have posted before about my surprise and satisfaction at how great it has been working with middle school students. While I antipated eyerolls, annoyance, sarcasm and hormones, I was pleasantly surprised by polite, appreciative, accepting, very nice kids. Although I am really enjoying my work with students in this age group, I have to say that sometimes I really miss my litte ones.
I taught first grade for three years and pre-school the year before that. One of the huge differences between these older students and the younger ones of my past is the fact that little kids just need more help. Simply put. They need their teachers more. Whether it is for academics, shoe tying, problem solving, or container opening the frequent beckoning of, "teacher! teacher!" definitely always made me feel needed.
Not to mention, not a day went by when I didn't get a hug. Most likely several.
Middle schoolers need help, but not in the same way. It's just not as satisfying to point out that there is another multiplcation strategy they might want to put to use than it is to zip a jacket or punch the straw in the Capri Sun. I guess I really enjoyed the care taking part of teaching. Helping these little people get through the day, being a surrogate mom of sorts who not only teaches them, but helps them with other needs as well.
Not to mention, middle schoolers don't hug. Well, they probably hug each other, but not so much their teachers. I miss those hugs. I miss those excited faces that came to school with discombobulated stories of events that happened at home either the previous night or that morning.
Dare I say, I miss the wiggles?
My job now is different. I don't get to be with the same little group day in and day out. If you are a teacher, you know that your class becomes a team, a family of sorts, and that is a nice feeling. If you are absent, you are greatly missed! You feel like the class just might fall apart in your absence which is why you create lesson plans so detailed that you practically tell the substiute everything he/she should do including when and where to breathe. Having your own class truly is a treasure and a wonderful experience despite all those moments when you absolutely want to rip your hair out. It is in those moments when a quick hug from a student who takes you by surprise by wrapping their little arms around your bottom half, or a little drawing showing you and your little friend in crayon representations make every moment of teaching worthwhile.
I miss those things.
I miss my little ones.
I taught first grade for three years and pre-school the year before that. One of the huge differences between these older students and the younger ones of my past is the fact that little kids just need more help. Simply put. They need their teachers more. Whether it is for academics, shoe tying, problem solving, or container opening the frequent beckoning of, "teacher! teacher!" definitely always made me feel needed.
Not to mention, not a day went by when I didn't get a hug. Most likely several.
Middle schoolers need help, but not in the same way. It's just not as satisfying to point out that there is another multiplcation strategy they might want to put to use than it is to zip a jacket or punch the straw in the Capri Sun. I guess I really enjoyed the care taking part of teaching. Helping these little people get through the day, being a surrogate mom of sorts who not only teaches them, but helps them with other needs as well.
Not to mention, middle schoolers don't hug. Well, they probably hug each other, but not so much their teachers. I miss those hugs. I miss those excited faces that came to school with discombobulated stories of events that happened at home either the previous night or that morning.
Dare I say, I miss the wiggles?
My job now is different. I don't get to be with the same little group day in and day out. If you are a teacher, you know that your class becomes a team, a family of sorts, and that is a nice feeling. If you are absent, you are greatly missed! You feel like the class just might fall apart in your absence which is why you create lesson plans so detailed that you practically tell the substiute everything he/she should do including when and where to breathe. Having your own class truly is a treasure and a wonderful experience despite all those moments when you absolutely want to rip your hair out. It is in those moments when a quick hug from a student who takes you by surprise by wrapping their little arms around your bottom half, or a little drawing showing you and your little friend in crayon representations make every moment of teaching worthwhile.
I miss those things.
I miss my little ones.
motivation, tests, and memorization
Remember how I failed my German driving test? Well on Tuesday, I have to give it another try. We have 60 different practice tests sitting on the table just waiting to be completed and studied. I absolutely, under no circumstances want to have to take this test a third time, which means on Tuesday I need to pass.
Now, given the fact that I don't drive much at all here in Germany because my daily life encompasses a school, grocery store, and gym that are all within a very short distance from our apartment, I know that passing this test is just a matter of getting it done. For all intensive purposes I just need to memorize the answers to the questions and regurgitate them during the exam. Growing up, this was exactly how I learned. I am really good at memorizing and was always able to perform well on test day. The problem was...if you asked me about the information a few weeks..no, even a few days later, I would probably not remember. I went through most of my schooling with this process of learning and realized too late in life that getting good grades was not equivalent with actually learning. Recently, I was at home and I came across some work I had done in high school and some papers I had written. I had absolutely no recollection of ever completing them or the information they pertained to! Jeez! I was pretty impressed with my writing skills--even back then, yet I had no connection to what I had learned at the time.
That is not good.
You would think that I would be pumped about the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge that does not require me to analyze, rethink, apply, synthesize, and masticate knowledge in order to formulate my own ideas and perspectives, like all the assignments I have been working on for my doctoral courses, but in recent years, I have completely changed my attitude regarding what it means to truly learn.
I hate that I missed out on so much authentic learning because I was complacent with just memorizing information in order to spit it back to the teacher and get the A's I so badly coveted. Now, I am not saying I don't still enjoy getting A's, quite the contrary, it is what I expect from myself, but the A's I earn now are worth a lot more to me because they are accompanied by a deeper understanding of what I am learning about. I care about the themes, topics, and discoveries that I make. I seek out additional information, and I am constantly driven to learn more. I know that everything I learn will have an impact on the person that I am and the super teacher that I am still working on becoming.
I no longer want to learn disconnected facts.
I am no longer happy to know a piece of information without having a solid understanding of the how and why.
I feel like memorizing robs me of true awareness and conern for what goes on in the world.
Because of this, I am absolutely, 100% unmotivated to study for this stinkin' driving test.When I leave the test, I will forget the answers and it will in no way make me a better or safer driver. This exercise does not have any meaning to me, therefore I am simply uninterested!
So, rather than just complaining, which makes for a Debbie Downer blog post, I am going to take this as a learning experience that helps me to connect with students and become a better teacher. I went through 13 years of schooling, succeeding and doing exceptionally well. I got mostly A's and I was number 7 in my graduating class of about 150 students. In spite of that, sometimes I feel like in the grand scheme of things I am not that smart.
I was just good at school.
I don't want my students to only be good at school. I want them to be good at learning and good at life. I want them to be invested and invigorated by learning and all the prospects life has to offer. Some students that are not "good at school" have a lot of perspective, knowledge, and experience that makes them smarter than I will ever be, so I hope to foster that rather than letting them feel like failures for not acing every test or being at "grade level" or beyond.
Getting all the correct answers on a multiple choice test does not make you smart.
I will keep this in mind as I continue in my career as a teacher, crafting assignments and learning tasks that reflect thinking and learning rather than memorizing. If students repeat back exactly what I have said, I will consider myself a failure because I want to encourage them to do their own thinking and formulate their own convictions.
Maybe this is all just a huge pep talk for myself so that if I do fail again, I won't feel as defeated, but for me, learning has gone so far beyond memorizing that I feel like I won't beat myself up. Real life is not multiple choice and I think that is really important to keep in mind when this kind of testing is becoming more and more prevalent in the lives of students.
Now, given the fact that I don't drive much at all here in Germany because my daily life encompasses a school, grocery store, and gym that are all within a very short distance from our apartment, I know that passing this test is just a matter of getting it done. For all intensive purposes I just need to memorize the answers to the questions and regurgitate them during the exam. Growing up, this was exactly how I learned. I am really good at memorizing and was always able to perform well on test day. The problem was...if you asked me about the information a few weeks..no, even a few days later, I would probably not remember. I went through most of my schooling with this process of learning and realized too late in life that getting good grades was not equivalent with actually learning. Recently, I was at home and I came across some work I had done in high school and some papers I had written. I had absolutely no recollection of ever completing them or the information they pertained to! Jeez! I was pretty impressed with my writing skills--even back then, yet I had no connection to what I had learned at the time.
That is not good.
You would think that I would be pumped about the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge that does not require me to analyze, rethink, apply, synthesize, and masticate knowledge in order to formulate my own ideas and perspectives, like all the assignments I have been working on for my doctoral courses, but in recent years, I have completely changed my attitude regarding what it means to truly learn.
I hate that I missed out on so much authentic learning because I was complacent with just memorizing information in order to spit it back to the teacher and get the A's I so badly coveted. Now, I am not saying I don't still enjoy getting A's, quite the contrary, it is what I expect from myself, but the A's I earn now are worth a lot more to me because they are accompanied by a deeper understanding of what I am learning about. I care about the themes, topics, and discoveries that I make. I seek out additional information, and I am constantly driven to learn more. I know that everything I learn will have an impact on the person that I am and the super teacher that I am still working on becoming.
I no longer want to learn disconnected facts.
I am no longer happy to know a piece of information without having a solid understanding of the how and why.
I feel like memorizing robs me of true awareness and conern for what goes on in the world.
Because of this, I am absolutely, 100% unmotivated to study for this stinkin' driving test.When I leave the test, I will forget the answers and it will in no way make me a better or safer driver. This exercise does not have any meaning to me, therefore I am simply uninterested!
So, rather than just complaining, which makes for a Debbie Downer blog post, I am going to take this as a learning experience that helps me to connect with students and become a better teacher. I went through 13 years of schooling, succeeding and doing exceptionally well. I got mostly A's and I was number 7 in my graduating class of about 150 students. In spite of that, sometimes I feel like in the grand scheme of things I am not that smart.
I was just good at school.
I don't want my students to only be good at school. I want them to be good at learning and good at life. I want them to be invested and invigorated by learning and all the prospects life has to offer. Some students that are not "good at school" have a lot of perspective, knowledge, and experience that makes them smarter than I will ever be, so I hope to foster that rather than letting them feel like failures for not acing every test or being at "grade level" or beyond.
Getting all the correct answers on a multiple choice test does not make you smart.
I will keep this in mind as I continue in my career as a teacher, crafting assignments and learning tasks that reflect thinking and learning rather than memorizing. If students repeat back exactly what I have said, I will consider myself a failure because I want to encourage them to do their own thinking and formulate their own convictions.
Maybe this is all just a huge pep talk for myself so that if I do fail again, I won't feel as defeated, but for me, learning has gone so far beyond memorizing that I feel like I won't beat myself up. Real life is not multiple choice and I think that is really important to keep in mind when this kind of testing is becoming more and more prevalent in the lives of students.
Something to talk about...
"We cant' teach what we don't know,
and
we can't lead where we wont go"
-Malcolm X
Desperate Housewives Anyone?
Does anyone else watch Desperate Housewives? I love it, but the last episode was far from awesome. I actually thought it was quite weird/bad. All the daydreams about what might have been...I just wasn't really feeling it.
Anyway, for those of you who watch, the scene with Lynette and her son with disabilities completely irked me. It was somewhat uncomfortable for me to watch. Yet, when she pushed her son to make his own sandwich rather than relying on her to do everything for him, the smile that ensued on his face absolutely melted my heart. Then, when it skipped to his high school graduation, and he was the valedictorian...I completely lost it. I was hit with such a wave of emotion that I was literally shielding my face from my husband because I didn't want him to see my crying so hard.
I kept thinking in my head...yes...YES...this is what I do...this is why I go to work everyday...I want to make a difference in the lives of kids who have disabilities, that sometimes get written off becaue they are different, that sometimes don't have the same high expectations placed on them because of those differences. I was so moved by the idea of a child with challenges overcoming them to shine in the spotlight. In that moment, with tears on my face, my heart was swelling with pride for all the students that I have taught that have struggled, who have achieved goals, made progress, and experienced success. Tammy and Kelly whose faces lit up when they realized they won the gold medal in the bocce competition, Henry who no longer needs a completely different curriculum because he gets algebra now, Miss Maria who learned to be part of the class instead of wandering to the back table to engage her own class of invisible pupils in a Maria led mini-lesson, Sean who rocked out his sight words, and many more. Whether it's improving fine motor skills enough to tie a shoe or improving their reading level, any victory is special. These victories, big or small, touch my heart at the deepest possible level.
So, for as bad as I thought the episode was, it absolutely reinvigerated my love for special education and my passion for teaching students with disabilities.
Anyway, for those of you who watch, the scene with Lynette and her son with disabilities completely irked me. It was somewhat uncomfortable for me to watch. Yet, when she pushed her son to make his own sandwich rather than relying on her to do everything for him, the smile that ensued on his face absolutely melted my heart. Then, when it skipped to his high school graduation, and he was the valedictorian...I completely lost it. I was hit with such a wave of emotion that I was literally shielding my face from my husband because I didn't want him to see my crying so hard.
I kept thinking in my head...yes...YES...this is what I do...this is why I go to work everyday...I want to make a difference in the lives of kids who have disabilities, that sometimes get written off becaue they are different, that sometimes don't have the same high expectations placed on them because of those differences. I was so moved by the idea of a child with challenges overcoming them to shine in the spotlight. In that moment, with tears on my face, my heart was swelling with pride for all the students that I have taught that have struggled, who have achieved goals, made progress, and experienced success. Tammy and Kelly whose faces lit up when they realized they won the gold medal in the bocce competition, Henry who no longer needs a completely different curriculum because he gets algebra now, Miss Maria who learned to be part of the class instead of wandering to the back table to engage her own class of invisible pupils in a Maria led mini-lesson, Sean who rocked out his sight words, and many more. Whether it's improving fine motor skills enough to tie a shoe or improving their reading level, any victory is special. These victories, big or small, touch my heart at the deepest possible level.
So, for as bad as I thought the episode was, it absolutely reinvigerated my love for special education and my passion for teaching students with disabilities.
My first quilt!
My grandmother makes beautiful quilts. She made me one when I was in high school and then she made another one for my husband and me when we got married. She enters her quilts in competitions and her work is beautiful.
I regret never asking her to teach me when she lived close to me. I was so young then, it never occurred to me. She moved to Florida when I was in second grade, so although I got to appreciate the things she made for me, I never got to chance to learn from her.
Now, I see the meaning in her work and I want to learn.
Luckily, I have Lucinda.
She is one of the women I met in the International Women's Group here in Germany and she is also an extremely talented quilter. Each of the beds in her apartment is covered with a unique quilt and her creations decorate her walls as well. I am in awe! I was thrilled when she told me that she gives lessons--even to super beginners who know nothing about quilting (or sewing for that matter!)
Before I went home to the US, Lucinda taught me a little bit about selecting quilting fabric and showed me some different designs/patterns. The fabric in Germany is quite expensive, so she recommended buying it while I was in the states.
My mom and I went to JoAnn fabrics, but for an amateur, it was really overwhelming because there is so much stuff. I looked at a lot of fabrics, but did not find anything that really jumped out. I am going to make a baby quilt, but I don't actually have a baby, or even a baby on the way, so I didn't really have any particular inspiration or theme in mind. I was on the lookout for a print with zoo or farm animals because I figured that was gender neutral enough while still being really cute.
JoAnn's turned out to be a flop.
I recalled the recommendation of a family friend, who said that smaller quilt shops are far superior. My mom and I looked up the ones she recommended and set out to find the perfect fabric. Since it takes a long time to make a quilt, Lucinda said it is very important to be in love with your chosen fabric because you end up looking at it a lot!
We found a little quilt shop tucked away in Bethel, CT and the owner was really helpful. Aren't small businesses great? The fabric was a little more expensive than at JoAnn's, but I knew the quality and selection would be better.
With Lucinda's coaching in mind, I searched through rows and rows, bolt after bolt to find my fabric.
I am so happy with what I found and I think that despite my newbie status as a quilter, that I did a pretty good job selecting coordinating prints. Lucinda said to pick one "main" fabric that I really love and then choose 4 or 5 other fabrics that coordinate. The other fabrics should have very small prints.
I am really excited to get started and I wonder how long it will take to finish?! I think the most exciting part about making this is that I feel like I am doing it for my grandma and I can't wait to show her my handiwork!
I regret never asking her to teach me when she lived close to me. I was so young then, it never occurred to me. She moved to Florida when I was in second grade, so although I got to appreciate the things she made for me, I never got to chance to learn from her.
Now, I see the meaning in her work and I want to learn.
Luckily, I have Lucinda.
She is one of the women I met in the International Women's Group here in Germany and she is also an extremely talented quilter. Each of the beds in her apartment is covered with a unique quilt and her creations decorate her walls as well. I am in awe! I was thrilled when she told me that she gives lessons--even to super beginners who know nothing about quilting (or sewing for that matter!)
Before I went home to the US, Lucinda taught me a little bit about selecting quilting fabric and showed me some different designs/patterns. The fabric in Germany is quite expensive, so she recommended buying it while I was in the states.
My mom and I went to JoAnn fabrics, but for an amateur, it was really overwhelming because there is so much stuff. I looked at a lot of fabrics, but did not find anything that really jumped out. I am going to make a baby quilt, but I don't actually have a baby, or even a baby on the way, so I didn't really have any particular inspiration or theme in mind. I was on the lookout for a print with zoo or farm animals because I figured that was gender neutral enough while still being really cute.
JoAnn's turned out to be a flop.
I recalled the recommendation of a family friend, who said that smaller quilt shops are far superior. My mom and I looked up the ones she recommended and set out to find the perfect fabric. Since it takes a long time to make a quilt, Lucinda said it is very important to be in love with your chosen fabric because you end up looking at it a lot!
We found a little quilt shop tucked away in Bethel, CT and the owner was really helpful. Aren't small businesses great? The fabric was a little more expensive than at JoAnn's, but I knew the quality and selection would be better.
With Lucinda's coaching in mind, I searched through rows and rows, bolt after bolt to find my fabric.
I am so happy with what I found and I think that despite my newbie status as a quilter, that I did a pretty good job selecting coordinating prints. Lucinda said to pick one "main" fabric that I really love and then choose 4 or 5 other fabrics that coordinate. The other fabrics should have very small prints.
This is what I came up with.
Even though this color scheme is not super girly, per se, I think the a Noah's Arc theme is really cute for either a girl or a boy. I love this one as the main fabric.
The coordinating prints:
smaller "coordinating" version of the main print. I love that it goes, but that it is smaller which follows the rules :0)
doesn't this one look like waves? Perfect match for the Noah's Arc theme...this one will be for the back of the quilt.
close up of some of the cute animals
**those came out pretty dark, but the flash was making big bright spots so no flash was the better option**
I am really excited to get started and I wonder how long it will take to finish?! I think the most exciting part about making this is that I feel like I am doing it for my grandma and I can't wait to show her my handiwork!
Are you crafty?
Do you sew?
What is your favorite crafty project or something that you are dying to learn how to do?
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