Meeting Ruth #SOLC18

Life is like an orange...
it has so many slices!
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Michelle sent me a text a few months back, "Ruth is coming to Judson University!"

You better believe I wasted no time as I requested a personal day and registered to learn from a guru of helping kids and teachers write.

Ruth co-founded Two Writing Teachers with Stacey.  They also wrote a book together, and Ruth has written a few books on her own, including Enticing Hard-to-Reach Writers.

Why was this a special day?  I'm glad you asked!

I met some new people from other schools and other grade levels. 

Michelle and I got to hang out and be learners instead of teachers at different schools.

My brain was working and thinking and caring about how I was going to get more writing time for my students, and how I could be a better teacher for kids who need the most.

I spent the day tweeting out Ruth's message and gems of knowledge (look on Twitter for #ADAJ18).

(Today my oldest daughter sent me a text, "Mom - your Twitter was LIT yesterday!)

By far my favorite moments of the day were speaking with Ruth and Michelle during breaks and at the end of the seminar.  I am sort of a fangirl when it comes to meeting authors.  I know they are humans, but they've done something amazing.... write a book!  

Thanks to Ruth for sharing her thinking with the crowd, and for letting me know she appreciates my "playful spirit."  (Even if I do think that's code for I was a bit silly at times) :) 

Fangirl selfie

Thanks for your patience, Ruth!

Music-minded #SOLC17

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Write every day in March.
Crank up the music and write!
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Michelle Haseltine's post, "What is your theme song?" took me down a wonderful path of music this week, and I'm so thankful for it!

I'm a huge music fan.  I will listen to nearly any type of music, but mostly pop, rock, hip hop, Disney soundtracks and Broadway musicals.  My daughters will sometimes tease me about my crushes on boy band music (there, I said it) but I don't care.  Even though I don't have a decent singing voice (my husband does!), I will sing along loudly to songs when the spirit moves me.

This week I've enjoyed entering some new genres into Pandora (like country) and blasting music through the house.  It's been fun to dance around and sing as I wash dishes, cook, and work on paperwork.

All this music fun makes me realize... I need to figure out a way to mesh music into my reading instruction.  I think some of my developing readers are driven by music as well:

• A good number of my younger students will randomly break into song (especially if they attend their music special before my class), and many of them like to dance.
• My fourth grade group figured out they could imbed YouTube music videos into a Google document.  They like told me they like to listen to music during centers.
• Sometimes my classroom is too quiet and needs some background music to fill the silence.

Perhaps song lyrics will be our poetry for April?  I'm excited to try something new in my classroom.

And by the way, Michelle, my theme song is "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield.

Drench yourself in words unspoken, live your life with arms wide open 

Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten

(Lyrics from Google play music)

Just getting started

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My coworker looked at me today.  "You're not smiling.  What's wrong?"
I wasn't crabby (tired, but not crabby), I was just deep in thought.

"You can do it, you can make it 11 more days!" she laughed.

"It's not that we have 11 days of school left, it's that I feel like I'm just getting started!" I replied.

This has been a school year of learning,
starts and stops,
rushing into groups,
finding my backbone,
stating my intentions
and remaining transparent.

I'm here to boost my students
and to help them develop as
readers,
writers,
thinkers
and cooperative, respectful citizens.

It's May and my students are just realizing their potential and finding success.
Their teachers are tired, drained and anxious about
packing up,
escalating silliness,
assessments and
data collection.

I'm just getting started in helping my students and fellow teachers
find their passion and their strengths
as they find ways to minimize their weaknesses.

Focus, learn, do well #SOL16 20/31

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I told my dad that I am taking more grad school classes this spring.  I plan to get my ESL (for sure) and special ed (maybe) endorsements in addition to reading and elementary teaching licenses.

"I wondered if you were going to start a doctorate program," said my dad.

It's not that I mind taking classes to improve my teaching.  I don't.  I just don't think a doctorate is what I need.  I'm come to the realization that teaching reading in elementary school is right where I want to be.  To better serve my students, an ESL endorsement is key (many districts agree).  Special education courses will help to become more responsive to students' needs.

Right now I want to focus on what I can do to make a difference for my students.  One grad school class at a time hopefully won't take away from my family and fun time.  I do wish a class would require little less time on the computer (oh, my neck!), but I have to be smart about stretching!

I have lots of room to grow as a learner, teacher and colleague.  I have lots of skills and strategies I can share.  Right now, that's what I'll focus on.

Toast #SOL16 10/31

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I'm thankful it's Thursday.

At 12:00 a.m. took a call from the oldest (she's feeling overwhelmed)

At 5:00 a.m. the birds were happily chirping.  Woke up.  Draggggggged out of bed.

Arrived at school, taught, ran around, read, wrote, updated Google docs

DRANK 3 CUPS OF COFFEE!

Hosted afterschool club - couldn't find snack, one crying child, nine excited newbies

Dinner, groceries, Twitter chat, laundry.

Time to SLICE!

I will catch up on comments tomorrow... I promise!

(Thanks for letting me vent.)

Hello Kids.com

I'm TOAST!

Connections. Passion. It's all good.

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happenings this week at
Ruth Ayers Writes

Connections.

After six days of new teacher orientation, staff meetings, unpacking boxes and learning names, I was READY to welcome students to school this week.  I joined the Car Line Crew in the mornings, and I have the opportunity to greet students as they arrive at school.  I joked that I felt like I was a footman at a gala event with a red carpet!  I grab a door handle and out pops a celebrity student who has been delivered for a day full of learning.  

My new school services preK four-year-olds through fourth graders, so the kids are adorable and excited to be at school.  They are lined up very early each morning.  The students and staff have such connections to each other - it's really a big family.   At the end of this week I received two hugs from kids passing by me as I sat in the hallway assessing other students.  They had just met me!

(Side note - I have been smiling so much that my face hurts!  I feel like Dug from "Up")

Passion.

All of the staff - returning, veteran, new and seasoned - have a passion for teaching, a driving force to help our students succeed, and a helpful attitude.  Everyone has been patient and good listeners as I tell them my goals and my background.  Even though they may not be excited about some assessment or instructional directives, they are keeping the students in mind.  It shows!

It's all good.

To take a quote from Pete the Cat, it's all good.  Students are wondering who I am, but they are quick to return a smile.  I've walked the wrong way to my classroom and passed one room twice trying to find a teacher.  I am trying to be respectful when making suggestions, realizing that the way I've done assessment, grouping and data mining may not be the only way.  I'm working extra hard to keep my former students and colleagues in my heart and off my mind, but I feel their encouragement.  I can do this.

Digital Learning Chs. 1 & 2 #cyberpd

Text available from NCTE

Happy collaboration time!  Thank you to Cathy, Laura and Michelle for hosting this summer's edition of #cyberpd.  A place to read a professional book with other like-minded people and have a great conversation!  Grab a copy of Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8 by Bill Bass and Franki Sibberson and join the discussion!

*****

Chapter 1 & 2 

This year I taught a classroom of first graders.  Everyone had a tablet.  The kids loved them.
I was not as excited.

I really thought I needed to hold back the reins on the tablets or my six- and seven-year-old charges would become completely dependent on their devices, needing to use them 24/7.  Yes, I am the same person who encouraged blogging and online reading just a year ago, but this felt different.  Would I be able to model the "right" kind of digital citizenship and using tablets as a tool?  I wasn't feeling confident, so I reluctantly let my students have access to these shiny, speedy digital tools.  I tried my best to provide guidance and anchor charts, yet I worried that my students would end up shunning our extensive library of books.

While reading the first two chapters of Digital Reading, I kept writing down the same word over and over on my sticky notes...

intentional

We (I, I, I) need to be intentional when making decisions about our instruction, our beliefs and our students.  First, we must decide what is digital reading. I love to read blogs and read lots of them.  They are snapshots of real people dealing with real situations, and I enjoy the insight into their thinking and feelings.  I have encouraged my students to write blogs, but I've never intentionally
showed them other blogs (written by kids and adults) that they can read and use as mentor texts.

*****

Digital Reading Workshop

During my many years of reading instruction, I've encountered many students who are "passive consumers" of text (p.13).  This book reminds me of the importance of teaching students to reach for deeper understandings of all text they encounter, no matter if it's digital or hardcopy.  I appreciate the authors' commitment to creating a digital reading workshop model focused on:

authenticity - ensuring students see reading as an experience that doesn't just occur in the classroom

intentionality- purposeful instruction; students make meaningful choices about text they use

connectedness - help students connect to peers, other readers, authors and the world using digital tools

****

As much as I'm guilty of seeing technology as an extra "thing" to manage in the classroom, I have a better understanding of myself as digital reader and communicator, and how I must intentionally guide my students in finding success, no matter what text or format they choose.  I look forward to gaining more confidence and knowledge about digital reading from our book study!

Writer's Helper SOLC #12

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In our integrated science unit, our goal and summative task is to have students explain cause and effect of fast and slow earth changes.  The first grader l.o.v.e. talking about fast changes (tornado, hurricane, VOL-CA-NOOOOOO!).  They get a little excited about slow changes, but only when I write the word erosion very slowly on the anchor chart.

Today I had them pick a fast change and a slow change.  Then we put our notebooks away.  This afternoon, we looked at pictures, talked with our buddies and then tried to write how the fast or slow change affected the earth.

Yup.  Tricky.  But not impossible.

As I was circulating and helping, jotting and talking, encouraging writing and discouraging a few arguments, I saw a little bit of magic happening at the table.

M has blossomed into a full-fledged author.  I am not kidding when I tell her that I want the first copy of the first (and second and tenth) book she publishes.  She spends nearly every day writing.  It's really exciting to talk with her about her writing.

S has a great attitude and helpful personality, but S isn't a writer yet.  She has great listening comprehension and understands what we're talking about, but the words (and sometimes letters) don't yet flow from her pencil.

I encouraged the kids to work together, talk together and write together.  S ended up next to M.  I watched M do what I do for S during writing time:

S:  I want to write about volcanos.  They melt the trees with the lava.

M:  (writing on a sticky note).  Okay.  They melt the trees.  Here you go.

S:  Do I write that?

M: Yes.  I wrote it, now you copy it.

S: Thanks!

M:  Ok!

I think my eyes were a little shiny as I made a little gasp.  Both girls looked up.
"Thank you for working together.  My heart is full of excitement about your writing!" I exclaimed.

Ok.  I'm a drama queen.  But words couldn't express how proud I was of the girls working together to find success for all of them.

Little N next to them spoke up, "Can I get some help over here?  This is hard work!"

M and S:  Okay!

Reignited SOLC #9

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In our district it's been a year of BIG changes for everyone.  Everything in the district was adjusted, from the curriculum approach to the schedule.  The biggest change for me was my switch into first grade.  I was a reading intervention teacher for thirteen years until program changes brought me to the door of Room 107.

It's been a year of learning, roller coaster emotions and me wanting to use all the best practices I've learned over the years all the time in my classroom.  Let me tell you from experience, it's not best practice to try everything.

Today I attended a grade-level symposium at my school district.  I realized what I've been missing this year.  Today I had the opportunity to learn and teach and share resources with my teammates, my grade level colleagues and the instructional coaches.

YES!  I love to talk and collaborate and share!

I've tried to be helpful to my teammates, but I've really had to lean on them (they are the best team!) and I feel like I've emotionally drained my resource pals, Michelle and Karen.  I'm not used to getting help.  I prefer to help others find resources and solutions.  I have been very, very needy this year.  It's not a feeling I like.

Today reminded me what I am really passionate about.  Today I was helpful to others.

• I love to match kids and teachers with books.
• I love to teach teachers about Twitter and how to find resources and who to follow.
• I love to share resources (websites, mentor texts, who's who in reading & writing).
• I love to think big and out of the box and far-reaching and short-term (and in a circular fashion!) (my blog does have "chaos in the title!").

Tomorrow I return to my classroom with a lighter heart.  I have so much to share with my students about my learning with other teachers.  I want to know what they discovered about the books I left with the guest teacher.  

I guess I just needed a day to really share and smile and feel confident.

I needed my learning fire

reignited.