Supporting Readers by Disrupting their Thinking

Last year, Stephanie, the reading specialist, and I started a pilot program in which I met with some of her students, once a week, to talk about what they were reading. Here's the post. We were very encouraged by the results and comments that we received from both students and parents. So we decided to "take it up a notch" this year.

We had two major goals:

1. Encourage students to connect to their books through BHH moments (see this post)

2. Have students actually FINISH books. So many of her students start a book and quit, start another book and quit, etc.

Step 1: At the beginning of the year, we talked with students about how to find a book that they will enjoy. We had them make lists of things they were interested in reading about, books they had read in the past that they enjoyed or books that they had heard someone else talk about. We encouraged them to read the first page and make sure they were comfortable reading the book.

Step 2: After they chose their first book for the year, we had them set a goal. How many books do you think you can finish before Winter Break? Remember: this isn't a goal to impress anyone, it's just a realistic target for you to try to achieve.

Step 3: Stephanie set up the schedule. Every Friday, I meet with half of the group and Stephanie meets with the other half. The following week we flip groups so that I see the other students. We have a little book club. Kids tell us how it's going with their current book. If they have finished a book, we celebrate in a way chosen by the students. Students talk about their "Head and Heart" moments and ask each other questions. Before they leave, they set a page number goal for the following week. 

And we are loving what we are seeing. Students who didn't finish a book all last year have finished more than one this year already! And they are actually getting title recommendations from each other for what to read next. And they can really talk about their books ... what they like about the characters or the events. And most of the kids, with a month still to go, are about to reach the goals that they set at the beginning of the year. We are definitely on the right track!

I played my Wild Card today!

I was trying to find a more engaging way for students to start learning the different sections of the library, so I came up with the scavenger hunt activity that you see in the pictures above. It was a great success with my first group of third graders. But what really made it awesome is what happened in the next class.

The day the next class of third graders was coming to the library to do this activity, I was going to be out of the building at a meeting. I wasn't sure who my substitute was going to be and whether or not he/she would feel comfortable with the technology. 

So, I asked my 5th-grade digital leaders to step in and help and boy did they ever! The day before I was going to be gone, I brought them into the library and showed them the activity. We talked about some potential troubleshooting they might have to do based on how the other class did. 

In a word, they were fabulous! (I wish I would have asked someone to take pictures.) Talk about an authentic experience for them. They told me later that it was so fun to be helping younger students. They reported that a few tech problems came up, but they were able to troubleshoot effectively ... and "Can we do it again soon?" Stay tuned!

Speaking of Disrupting our Thinking ...

I mentioned in my last post that our 5th grade teachers are reading aloud Ban this Book by Alan Gratz. And that the students are really finding moments that they are connecting to the book with their head and heart. And if you feel deeply enough with your heart, the next step is taking action, right? 

Well, yesterday, one of the teachers noticed the kids buzzing around a locker, so she peaked inside and got this wonderful surprise. One student has connected so much that she did, indeed, take action. (Sssh! The kids don't know we know!)  How can you not love it?

Is there a way we can get every student to connect this deeply with a book this year? The challenge is on!

Disruption in the hallway!

It has begun and it is awesome. My 4th and 5th grade colleagues and I read Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst this summer and are determined to disrupt the thinking of our students this year! So, the first time I went into the classroom to do book talks, I announced that "I am here to disrupt your thinking!" Puzzled looks ... tilted heads ... crickets.

So I proceeded to tell them that a good book should disrupt your thinking ... it should make you stop and ask "What?" or "Did I really just read that?" or "This character is just so awesome!" As I finished each book talk, I asked the students what part of the book talk "disrupted their thinking" and why? Students began talking about this and even using the word "disrupt" while they were talking. We were feeling pretty excited. In addition, teachers have been reading Ban this Book by Alan Gratz and they are continually asking students to disrupt their thinking about the events of the book. The kids are totally into it.

But the real excitement came the next day when we heard a student say, in the hallway and totally unsolicited by a teacher, that the poem they read "really disrupted my thinking." And she was right on the money because it was a poem that had you believing one thing and by the end of the poem, it twisted to a different idea. Score!

And then, on Friday, I was doing some work with a small group. This is a group that gets reading support from our Reading Specialist. She and I are working together this year to ensure that these students find books that they can read and enjoy and, most importantly, finish and be able to talk about beyond the obligatory summary. Once we had gotten books in the students' hands, they sat down to read for the final 10 minutes of our group. Suddenly, I heard "Wait! Where's Mom?" from a student. Then with a look of total surprise on his face he said, "Wow! I just disrupted my thinking. I was wondering how come Mom wasn't in the car with Brock and his dad." Man, I wish I had that on film.

Will you be the Wild Card?

And off we go! Another year has started and I am determined to be the Wild Card! Last spring, Megan Halverson (my instructional coach) and I did a book study on this incredible book by Hope and Wade King. And all summer, I've been thinking about how to change things up in the library. And now the time is finally here! And I'm not going to lie ... I'm scared. I'm out of my comfort zone. That joker in the back of my head is saying "Just do things the way you've always done them. It won't be as risky. It won't be hard because you already know the routine."

First up: each 1st and 2nd grade library class is going to establish a team identity, because team members respect each other, listen to each other and help each other (the rules of the library.) Once they have determined their identity, that's going to help with our theme for the year. We're also working on getting better at listening to each other "with care." So, we are practicing our "Call and Response"

Edgar LibraryFrog is our library mascot, so the Call and Response cues are all about him. So, when one of our classmates is talking, the call is "Rachel is on the Lilypad!" and all eyes should be on Rachel. Students respond with "Yes." When the class needs to come back together, the call is "Catch a Fly!" Their response "Got it!"

So far, these are working well. Next up: Team identity. All the classes are voting this week. Stay tuned.

A love of reading ... one student at a time

Early in the year, I had a discussion with our Reading Specialist, Stephanie Peterson, about some of her students. It seemed several of her students were having trouble finding books in the library that they wanted to read. She wanted to know if I could work with them one on one to help them with their selection. It seemed like a very small idea, but what it grew into was really pretty cool.

Stephanie gave me a list of names and we set up times with their homeroom teachers when I could pull them from class for a 7 - 10 minute conversation. The idea was to get them to pick out a book that they could read for self selected time and stick with it. Our weekly meetings started out first as being conversations about how's it going? Do you like the book? Do you feel it's a good fit for you?

Immediately, the students wanted to throw a summary of the book at me and I wanted to duck! Some of the summaries were genuine attempts while others were, shall we say, inventive. I noticed almost right away that the kids hadn't made any kind of emotional connection to the book. It was all facts ... this happened, that happened. They said nothing about how they felt about the characters, the action, or the book in general.

This was around the same time I had started reading Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers (see prior post)

It made sense that I should be having students identify something from their reading that they connected to (made them laugh, made them cry, made them excited, etc.) I told them I didn't care how many pages they read, but the next time we met, they needed to be able to tell me about one moment from their reading that they connected to and why. I gave them a sticky note so they could write on it and mark the page. 

The next time we met, the conversations were so much better. There were smiles as the student described something funny that a character said or did. It was like a mini book club. If they couldn't find something to connect to, we had a conversation as to whether the book they were reading was really one they wanted to read.

When Stephanie and I met at the end of the year to review how things went, we were very encouraged by the results and we plan to continue and expand this concept next fall. Two things that were very clear from the experience:

• If we can inspire kids to connect to what they are reading, they are far more likely to continue reading. 
• The students love one on one time with an adult ... even if it's only for 10 minutes. And if we use that connection to talk about reading, students are more likely to continue reading.

Seems simple, doesn't it? How powerful would it be if every student had someone who would sit down with them everyday and share the joy of connecting to a book? I know this isn't anything new and I'm preaching to the choir here, but how do we give this opportunity to all our students? When does that conversation become a priority? Especially for those students who don't get that conversation at home.

Reflections on an author visit

In my last post, I talked about the benefits of using a student author committee to help plan the author visits we have. Now it's time for the students' reflection of the event. On the day after the visit, I asked the crew three questions:

1. How do you feel you did as a member of the author committee? What were your positive contributions?
2. What was the best thing(s) about being on the author committee?
3. What would you change for next time?

Question #1 responses always surprise me. It's always interesting to read what students feel their strengths are ... and what they overlook. It makes for a good conversation with them later. 

Most of the comments under #3 were about missing recess. The only time I can meet with this group is at lunch, so one day a week they are asked to give up that lunch recess. Considering this is a big dilemma for third and fourth graders, I was proud of those who stayed with us the whole time. There were a lot of students dedicated to this committee. My favorite comment here was: "The only thing I would change is if it's warm and nice out, then we should schedule the meeting for a different day when it is not that nice out." Hmmm ... that could get tricky, but it's worth a try. 😁


My favorite answers came from the second question. Here are some of their thoughts:

• "I loved that I got to work with people that I normally don't. I also loved doing something different than recess and having something to get excited about."

• "It felt good and I loved being a part of something, even if it takes up my recess."

• "When I was in author committee, I felt sort of important and I got to work hard, which I like doing."

• "The best thing about being on the author committee was I got to do some of my favorite things (like reading and acting) to help promote the author visit."

• "I feel the best thing was getting to take a picture with Sarah Weeks and getting to decorate and make it look nice for her."

• "The best thing is getting to be in a group and having lots of fun."

These comments are exactly why I continue to let the students be a part of the planning for our author visits. The next time we have an author, these kids will be 5th and 6th graders with a great prior experience to build on. I can't wait to see what they come up with next time. 

Sarah with the 3rd Grade Author Committee

Sarah with the 4th Grade Author Committee

Author Visits with a Student-Centered Twist

Mac Barnett with our Student Author Committee 3/26/2014

Author visits can be a little nerve wracking for me. I want everything to go well. I want the students to be engaged. I want the author to enjoy the day. I want to stop holding my breath! Since I've been in my current district, we have hosted 12 authors, including Mac Barnett, Mary Amato, Jeff Stone, Alan Katz, David Biedrzycki and more. This year we hosted Sarah Weeks. I feel so fortunate that our PTAs and district support these amazing visits.

Early in my career, I tried my best to plan these events in a way that would get the students excited about the impending visit. It was exhausting and, I felt, a little unsatisfying. Students just didn't seem as excited as I was, no matter what I tried. 

Then, about ten years ago, I experimented with a student author committee. While the teachers and I did the prep work with regards to reading the author's books with students and helping them develop deep questions to ask the author, everything else was pretty much up to the student committee with regards to promotion. Maybe it didn't look as professional ... maybe the ideas were a little random, but the difference in student enthusiasm and engagement was undeniable. 

And really, what is the purpose of the author committee?  We want the author to feel welcomed, of course, but really it's about the skills that our students are learning while working on the author committee. They have to communicate effectively, think creatively, problem solve, collaborate, ask questions and find answers, dabble in (or sometimes dive into) visual design. These skills mesh perfectly with the WHY of the Bridgeview library: to empower students to think, create, collaborate and communicate. And when that happens, it makes the author visit a huge success in my book.

Up next: The Student Author Committee reflects on the Sarah Weeks visit 

Returning the Favor: Vertical Collaborations

In a previous post I talked about our 5th grade digital leadership team teaching FlipGrid to our 4th graders. Today, the 4th graders got to return the favor. Our 4th grade Book Creator experts sat with our 5th grade digital leadership team and taught them how to use the app to complete their projects. 

This collaborative piece was suggested by my 5th grade teaching colleagues, Tara and Becky. Becoming a more student-centered library definitely takes teamwork. I was wondering how the 5th graders would take to being taught by younger students, but both sides did really well. 

I just love the fact that we're building our vertical collaboration and cooperation using our student digital leadership teams. Soon, some of these same 4th graders will be receiving training from the 5th graders again so that they can become a "Jr. Digital Leadership Team." So easy for me, so powerful for them. 

Is this your JOY or your JOB?

One thing I've noticed about blogging is that I have a lot of ideas that I want to share, but getting something written can be a challenge. I've been wanting to write about this one for quite some time, but somehow another post always seemed more necessary. So, today's the day. 

This fall, I attended the Iowa Technology and Education Conference (ITEC). There were so many wonderful sessions. But the one that really grabbed my heart was the keynote delivered by Buddy Berry: How to Set your School on F.I.R.E. (@BuddyBerry and @EminenceSchools) 

I listened in fascination as this Superintendent discussed the core beliefs of his district which included the elements of Surprise and Delight, Yes .... And! thinking and Blue Lobster Ideas. I could write several blogs just on his keynote (and I probably will later), but the idea that really took hold for me was the idea of Surprise and Delight. Teachers in Mr. Berry's district intentionally plan moments of surprise and delight into daily lessons. Why? "You motivate people through fun: Engage, enrich, surprise and delight."

My first attempt at Surprise and Delight was when I taught a whole group lesson in 2nd grade about a note-taking strategy called Trash and Treasure. For those who haven't heard of that, it's the strategy of only writing down the key detail needed to answer the question and not the whole sentence. This helps them to put things in their own words when they create a project from their notes. You'll notice my picture to the left and can probably guess what my surprise was. At the end of the first session of note-taking, I asked the class how many of them found at least one piece of treasure to write down? For every hand that went up, that student got to pick a piece of treasure out of my cauldron. I even saw some kids immediately look for something to write down. It was fairly simple, but I was amazed just how excited most of the kids were to pull that gem out of the cauldron. Because the gems have an adhesive on the back, many students stuck them down to their desks. I'm hoping that every time they see that gem sparkle, they are reminded of that special feeling.  And you know what? It wasn't just the kids that were excited. I couldn't wait to see how they would react. Their excitement was my joy.

Then I started thinking about how I should let my staff in on the fun. So, with the help of my wonderful instructional coach, Megan, I "surprised" my staff during a meeting. Believe me, I'm the last person to speak up at a faculty meeting, so I'm fairly certain they were surprised. (Here's part of the video: What makes you happy?  If you want to know what I had on my signs, click here.) After asking them to post the things on the white board that gave them joy and made them happy, my final message was: What are you going to do tomorrow to surprise your students?  Is this your JOY or your JOB? 

Megan and I were inspired to do more after the fun I had at the last staff meeting (I know, right? Fun at a staff meeting?) So before the next meeting, Megan and I organized a Flash Mob to Jingle Bell Rock (I promised I wouldn't post the video for this one.) Everyone who was interested was in on the planning and participation, except our principal. We had so much fun as a group brainstorming this that I'm fairly certain it will happen again some time. We had found our JOY!

So why was it the right time to post this? Because when I walked into school on Friday morning, I saw that two of my colleagues had planned a surprise event for their students of juice and donuts (see photos below). And it reminded me that we always need to be on the look out for ways to celebrate with our students. To bring the element of joy into the classroom. Surprise and delight takes practice, but the important thing is that we've started the journey. Thank you, Buddy Berry!

Student Centered Library at it's best: 6th Grade Graphic Novel Project

Two earlier posts this school year outlined the Graphic Novel Project that I was going to do with some 6th graders who wanted to see more Graphic Novels in the library. At the time of the last post, we had compiled our list of books and determined how much money we would need to complete the project.   

The only thing that was left was getting on the PTA agenda. The next meeting was scheduled for February 6th. Due to conflicting schedules, most of the students weren't going to be able to attend the meeting. They were disappointed, to say the least. So they decided to put together a video to be shown at the meeting. With only a couple of days to get the video completed, the team came together quickly, writing and recording the script and choosing the images. The link to the video presentation is here. 

I am happy to report that the PTA has agreed to fund their project and that the order has been placed. The students were very excited to hear the news and I am so grateful to the PTA for helping these kids make a contribution to our library collection. I'll be creating bookplates that says "This book has been added to the collection thanks to the 6th Grade Graphic Novel Committee and the Bridgeview PTA." I will also the list of names of the committee members. In this way, I'm hoping that we might get another group interested in pursuing a similar project next year.

The next step for them? Reading the books and creating book talks to promote their purchases to the school population. Stay tuned!

Disrupting Thinking and Habits of Mind ... a perfect combination

In a previous post, I talked about using the Habits of Mind in the library, focusing first on listening with empathy and understanding. Before I introduced this goal with my second grade students, I ran into a book called Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. I first read about this book on Twitter in regards to their BHH Framework:

What's in the Book?
What's in your Head?
What's in your Heart?

So I started reading the book and found this inspiring definition:

 "Disrupting Thinking is, at its heart, an exploration of how we help students become the reader who does so much more than decode, recall, or choose the correct answer from a multiple-choice list. This reader is responsive, aware of her feelings and thoughts as the text brings them forth. She is responsible, reflecting honestly about what the writer has offered and how she has reacted, willing either to hold fast or to change, as reason and evidence dictate. And she is compassionate, willing to imagine, possibly to feel, always think about what others - author, characters, and other readers - are experiencing and saying so that she may better understand." - Debeers & Probst  (I added the blue highlights)

This is exactly how I want my students to read on their own and, also, how to respond when we are reading aloud in library. So, I combined the BHH framework with the active listening piece when I introduced it to my second graders.

Here's how it works:

First I explained active listening to the students. The purpose is to ensure that all students are participating in the discussion. I told them that we had too many students "coasting through library" rather than actively participating. I told them that no students would raise their hands for this version of active listening. Instead, I would call on students randomly and they would need to be ready to share.

That's when I shared with them the BHH Reading Framework. I have the poster displayed in the story time area with the prompts for thinking. I told them to focus on either their "Head" or their "Heart" when they responded to the book we were reading aloud. Then, I would call on a second student. That student would need to comment on Student A's response first, then add their own thoughts. Simple, right?

The first book we read aloud to practice this new system was The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt. This turned out to be the perfect book for two reasons:

1. Most students had already read the book, so they already knew what to expect for the plot.
2. There is basically something to react to on every page. Each crayon has a sad story to tell that can elicit any number of emotions or connections.

I was thrilled with the first experience the kids had with active listening and the BHH framework. Students who have never contributed to a conversation before made thoughtful and interesting comments. Even the students in the back row were engaged, waiting to be called upon to talk. And it cut down dramatically on the sidebar discussions. Is there room to improve? Of course, but it was an exhilarating first step on the journey!

I was thinking that if I start this with my second graders, by the time they get to 5th and 6th grade, these students should be well versed in responding honestly and compassionately to what the author is trying to say and how they feel about it.

As I continued my reflection, I ended up back at my mantra: What decisions am I making for my students that they could make themselves? And that helped me to see what my end goal can be. By the end of the year, I hope that I will be calling on the first person to reflect, but then that student calls on the next student and so on. This gives the students a little more ownership of the conversation and it's simulating a community of readers discussing how they think and feel about books. 

Digital Leadership Teams - Update

Our 5th grade digital leadership teams met to reflect on the first half of the year and then to begin to plan an upcoming project.

First, they took 5 minutes to discuss whether or not they had achieved their first goal (which was to ensure that classroom technology is properly handled and stored.) Both groups felt like they had done a fine job of remembering their schedule and being responsible with this. After a quick tweak to their schedules, we moved onto new business.

They were to discuss a possible project to work on for the next few months. The purpose of this project was twofold:

1. To Promote Digital Literacy and/or citizenship
2. Make a positive impact on the school community

Within about thirty minutes, we had four projects in the planning stages:

1. Group A wants to meet with a group of fourth graders to begin a Digital Leadership Jr. training course
2. Group B wants to teach the appropriate use of FlipGrid to other grade levels
3. Group C wants to write a letter about Good Digital Citizenship to share
4. Group D wants to teach primary students (k - 1) about taking care of technology

Almost immediately, Group B was called upon to set their goal in motion. I had just met with the 4th grade teachers in order to plan our initial FlipGrid topic (more on that in a different post!)

Once the fourth graders wrote their initial script for their FlipGrid and had it approved by myself or the classroom teacher, our Group B Digital Leaders sprung into action. They took groups of 2 or 3 kids and showed them how to make a FlipGrid video, including some of the technical aspects of success, like volume and background issues. They did a great job and really  helped us get through all our students in a short period of time.

Then, to take it a step farther, the 5th grade Digital Leaders volunteered to give the 4th graders feedback on their FlipGrid. Giving up their lunch recess, the girls worked to give quality feedback to the students to help them improve future posts. Well done!

The Graphic Novel Project - 6th Grade

Earlier in the school year, I talked about a 6th grade project regarding getting new Graphic Novels for the library. So far, the project has been in the "gathering data" phase, but we are about ready to reach out for the next step.

Students surveyed 4th, 5th and 6th grade students to get ideas for what titles they would like us to add to the library. They also looked at publisher catalogs and Follett's Titlewave for suggestions. Finally, they assembled a list of titles that would come to roughly $900.

Our next step was to review our list using the following criteria:

• Do we have a good mix of boy characters and girl character?
• Do we have a good mix of interest levels?
• Do we have a good mix of reading levels?
• Should we buy every book in a series? If not, which titles should we buy?
• Are there any copyrights older than 3 years? If so, should we still purchase them?

They went from title to title and labeled them either "Must Have", "Nice to Have", or "Never mind." We now have our list compiled.

Hold the phone! One of the students just came hustling in today with the news that The Wings of Fire series by Tui Sutherland has now become a graphic novel. Is it too late to add it to the list? Frankly, it's the first time I've seen this particular student show actual enthusiasm. (Yeah!)

So, here's their list so far (without adding in Wings of Fire!). We meet tomorrow to plan our next steps, which will include deciding on our final "ask" and developing a presentation to make for the PTA to solicit funds for the project. Stay tuned ...

Habits Of Mind with an Innovator's Mindset

I find book study groups so exhilarating! Recently, a colleague and I read Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum and met three separate times to discuss the ideas that we were reading about. We have two very different jobs: she's the Transition to Kindergarten teacher and I'm the Teacher Librarian in the building and yet we were able to connect through this amazing text. That's the beauty of the Habits of Mind. They can be integrated into any classroom.

And there are plenty of overlaps between the Habits of Mind and George Couros' "Eight Things to Look for in Today's Classroom." 


In fact, some of the Habits of Mind are the very building blocks of innovation: thinking flexibly, taking responsible risks, persisting, thinking about your thinking, applying past knowledge to new situations and questioning and posing problems. If you can teach these habits to students, they are more likely to embrace an innovator's mindset.

Being a librarian, I have the opportunity to see the same students year after year. Why not start focusing on the Habits of Mind during library? Choose a focus (one or two habits) for each grade level and then build on from year to year. For example, Listening with Empathy and Understanding is a habit that a lot of our younger students need to develop. So, I'm going to start working on this with my 2nd grade students. If all goes well, I will introduce it into my first grade library time later this spring. 

Anyone out there have any advice on integrating the Habits of Mind in the library? I'm anxious to hear what others are doing in this area.   

The Passion Projects - 4th Grade

In a previous post, I made the following statement: First up: I'm totally changing what my fourth graders will be doing this year in the library. This led to the introduction of Passion Projects. I meet with this group of students once a week, so I knew it was going to take awhile to unfold.

We started with a list of ideas that the students had brainstormed at the end of last year of what they wanted to be able to do in the library. Then, as a group, we discussed those ideas and added anything else we could think of at the time. Here's our list.

The next step was to set an individual goal. I didn't want kids writing a goal just so they could work with another student. I wanted them to choose something that was important to them. So each student filled out the sheet with what they wanted to accomplish. I must confess, I was a little disappointed that most of the students seem to pick the same thing. I was hoping for a wider variety of interests ... but that might come at a future date.

After I read through all the goals, the students were able to talk to others in their class and discuss whether they wanted to team up with someone else. And together, they filled out what they felt their "Action Steps" would be (see link here)

Every week, when they come into the library they have the choice of working on their project or just checking out and heading back to class. This has made for fewer discipline issues for students who would rather just "mess around" and not work. Students also fill out a project reflection at the end of each 40-minute work session, indicating what they accomplished and any questions or problems they have encountered.

Blogging about the library	Researching Tigers
Creating a Book Trailer for younger students	Creating a Website for their fictional Character