A Slice of Life

I have to wear many hats at work. I am part of the leadership team, hold many trainings, create and run assessments, in charge of district assessments on campus, gather materials and pull groups for tutorials and Saturday school, and coach teachers. But my main job is to be an interventionist and work with about 50 students a day. I was reminded of this today not by my school principal or district supervisor but by one of my kindergarten students.

When my students first start coming to me I let them know that I will come and get them at the same time every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This week in particular I was helping a new teacher on campus complete some district testing so I was unable to pick up my kinder group. I pass by A as he is with his class taking a restroom break...

"Ms.. Derrick are you coming to get us today?" -A

"No sorry A, I have to help Mrs. W test her students."

"But Ms. Derrick you said you were going to come get us every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday."

"I know A. I'm sorry buddy, I'll come get y 'all again as soon as I can. I have to finish helping them test."

"But Ms. Derrick it's Monday. You said you will get us every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday."

"I know A, hopefully I can come get you again tomorrow."

"But Ms. Derrick you said you will get us every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and it's Monday so you need to get us."

My kinder student was holding me accountable. He not only made me feel good about him wanting to come work with me but also reminded me about why I was really there. It may take a little longer but I could find time to test those students that doesn't conflict with my groups. A was very excited when I found time later today to pick him and his group up. Of course then I got...

"Ms. Derrick you didn't get us after lunch, you're suppose to get us right after lunch."

I don't think I'll be missing A's group time anymore... 

Secondary Literacy

When I was in eighth grade I moved to a new school and school district. I was already an extremely shy child so moving to a new school only made it that much worse. I remember hating my eighth grade ELAR teacher. I know hate is a strong word but it definitely comes to mind when I think of her. I felt from the moment I walked in the room that she was out to get me. I have no clue why this would be, I had no family members that went to that school for her to judge me off of, I was a well behaved student who didn't speak in class unless she asked us to and I had all my work turned in on time. She did not attempt to get to know her students at all (we definitely were not a community) and she hated my writing. I remember having an assignment posted on the wall where anyone who wanted to could look at it. On the back she wrote " you had no heart when writing this". It was an opinion piece, she did not conference with me about the piece, and didn't even talk to me about it after it was finished. My opinion was not hers and she scored me low because of it. Another essay she basically wrote that I would not do well in college because of how I wrote, that's funny because so in college I have received an A on every paper I've submitted. Another assignment we had to pick a topic out of a hat. I pulled out same topic that my "heartless" piece was on, she started laughing and told me to pick again so I could get something I would do better on (yes she did this in front of the entire class). 

Jump ahead to my junior and senior year of high school. This teacher was all about preparing us for our next steps in life. We had assignments to write college entrance essays, resumes, and applications. When receiving grades she would give us a wide variety of ways to achieve a decent grade. We had our normal quizzes and tests but we also had projects and presentations where we were able to show our creativity and demonstrate what the text meant to us. I remember one assignment in particular. I completed it and I was not 100% happy with what I saw. So before turning it in, I redid the entire project and was happy to do so because I enjoyed doing it and wanted to present my best to this teacher. She ended up asking to keep my project to show to classes in the future because she was proud of the work I had done. 

I don't remember what year each book was assigned but I remember reading Great Expectations, Ender's Game, Fahrenheit 451 and Nineteen Eighty- Four. What's funny is all of these books where on the summer reading list. I barely remember the books that were read in class but I remember these. I had a hard time picking up the books and actually reading. Great Expectations was especially hard to get into but I know I actually ended up enjoying every one of these books. 

I am glad to have had both of these teachers. It allows me to see the importance of a great role model and how much a classroom community can mean to a student. I wanted to please my high school teacher and took pride in my work while in eighth grade I started to question why I should put in any effort at all if it wasn't going to change anything and I would receive a poor grade anyways. I know my students will live up to my expectations so I keep the bar high. I let them know what is expected and do not lower that standard however, my students know they can come to me if they ever need anything.  I also try to give students many opportunities to show me what they are capable of. I have seen many different talents shine by allowing them to express themselves on avenues other than paper and pencil. 

Step

 "Research, Reflect, Renew and  Push" are some of the words I have tried to live by and focus on in the past few years. When thinking about what word I would choose not only for this assignment but for my life this year,  I actually struggled. 

How can I have time to pick a word with everything else going on in my life right now? I'm enrolled in two graduate level classes, it's now STAAR season, I have more responsibility at work, I need to lose weight and get healthy, I'm getting married in 5 months,  and my fiancé and I just decided to start the process of buying a home. Saying I'm busy or stressed at the moment is an understatement. 

I found myself wasting more and more time complaining and stressing over what I needed to do and what needed to be done, instead of actually doing anything at all. I finally told myself just to take it one STEP at a time. Even if my steps are small, it is still one step closer to the finish line. 

Our students juggle a lot more in life than we give them credit for. One of our major roles as an educator is to give them the skills and resources so they need to become successful adults. One thing overlooked is the ability to prioritize and organize things going on in their lives. Multiple classes, a part time job, relationships, and trouble at home can affect how they perform in your classroom. If we can teach our students to take things step by step and celebrate successes along the way, they can become more productive adults. 

There are steps in the writing process, steps needed to create blogs, steps to doing projects. Even when Randy Boomer talked about small groups, and partnerships students need to be tasked with what they need to get accomplished that day (or what steps they need to take). If we only look at the big picture, what needs to be done can get pretty overwhelming. But by taking the first step and doing what you can in that moment soon you will see the finish line and the start line will be barley visible. ~Randi

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand (Psalm 37: 23-24).

Learning New Strategies

Today in class we had 3 strategy presentations and they happened to be the 3 ELA people we had in our class. Going into a presentation is always nerve racking to me because I do not like speaking in front of people (yes I know I am a teacher). It became even more stressful when a classmate comes in and informs me she is presenting on the same strategy. This ended up being a good thing and my classmate and I were able to have a good discussion about it.

We both presented a strategy on using character quotes to cover character traits, create connections and brainstorm background knowledge on a story. I geared mine for 8th grade ELA while she made hers relevant for 2nd grade Reading. I loved seeing the similarities and differences between the two. I presented my strategy in a way where I pretended to have already covered what character traits were so all I needed to do was refresh their memory. I then gave them the task and they figured out the connections within their group. The other presenter of this strategy presented as if we had touched on character traits but needed more practice. She modeled and walked us through the entire activity. I think she did a very good job applying the strategy to a second grade classroom. She scaffold our learning by providing us information about character traits and actions that we may not have known before and applied the strategy to a book that we had already read and discussed. We both thought our presentations were successful but fit the audience in which we intended to reach. I will be showing her PowerPoint to my 2nd grade teachers so they can see a new and interesting way to teach character traits. 

The third presentation of the day used Nearpod and it has got my wheels turning. I loved this interactive lesson which allowed us to break down each stanza of a poem. We were able to find the vocabulary that was unfamiliar, highlight important words, and write the stanzas in our own words. I cannot wait to take this back to my school this year where our students struggle with comprehending texts. If we can have our students break down different genres of text like we did today (on Nearpod or on paper) our students will have a much better chance of understanding what they are reading. I think this is a clear and concise way for the teachers to understand and in turn teach it to their own students. 

I had a very hard time understanding the poem presented today and if it wasn't for someone in my group who had a better grasp on it, I would have been lost. Breaking it down like she showed us was inspiring. I went from confused about what I was reading to making connections and inferences once I applied the strategies she taught us. I am excited to see if this will work for our students like it has worked for me.

Classroom Libraries

When I first started teaching I did not have any books for a classroom library but I was lucky enough to have a mentor who let me borrow a few crates of her books to start off. At that point I was on a mission to start building a library. My mom and I hit up garage sales, thrift stores, and scholastic.com to buy anything and everything we could. I was definitely looking for quantity over quality and I achieved that goal. 

It was important for me to have a variety of texts for my students to look at. I have learned since that time that having too many books slightly overwhelmed my students but they loved to explore and look at all of the different types of books, pictures, and contents available to them. 

I have since moved out of the classroom and have given away most of my "filler" books to new teachers but I have kept all of the books my students always loved the most including the ones we have created together. 

Classroom libraries are very important. Students need resources available at their fingertips. Having a library in your classroom provides this opportunity while giving you control over the content and levels of the books. With this control, you can provide texts that are reliable, high quality and appropriate for the students in your classroom. There are also students who will never step foot in the school or community library but might be tempted to grab one off the shelf if its right there for them.  Students can also use the classroom library to deepen their understanding of a topic they are studying or research new topics. 

As a literacy interventionist I try to keep my bookshelves filled with books from all content areas. I use these for modeling, and training purposes but I also allow the students I pull for interventions to explore. As I am pushing into more classrooms and more content areas I definitely want to expand my library to more grade levels and continue with all content areas so I can provide my teachers with these resources whenever they might need it. My role is considered the reading expert on campus so it is my job to show all teachers (no matter the content) the importance, feasibility, and benefit of a library in the classroom. 

Reading for Pleasure

As a literacy interventionist I know the importance of getting our students to enjoy reading and to read on their own time but I personally have a hard time with this. Growing up I had a hard time getting into books but once I did I loved everything I read. My main problem was knowing what to read. I didn't have a teacher to suggest to me different authors or genres so I only read what was assigned.

I still have the same problem today, I have to be in the right "mood" in order to read. If not I am easily distracted and lose interest. If I can get in the right mindset I can sit and read the entire day. I will stay up late, postpone dinner, and read in the car just to finish the next chapter but this only seems to happen every few months. 

A few years ago, when I first started dating my fiance I read a lot. This was because he constantly played video games so my choice was to read or to watch him play. I enjoyed it, I would read and then we would discuss what I read. He would ask questions and be generally interested. I don't read as much anymore because while he plays video games I can now go into the other room and watch my own television show.  

This reflection has made me realize how much I actually miss reading for pleasure. I enjoyed the books, and I enjoyed the discussion with my fiance. The time we spent talking brought us closer together and made us talk about topics we otherwise wouldn't have. 

Since I have started working on my masters I am constantly reading my text books but I am going to set out time each weekend to read a book of my choosing. I have a box of books waiting to be read and a book out next to the couch calling my name.  

Content Area Reading

On the road to my masters degree I enrolled in a course called Content Area Reading. Using my schema and prior knowledge I figured that this course would be about teaching reading. I was looking forward to this class. Even though I am in a specialist position, I have my alternative certification and never formally took any courses on teaching reading. Everything I have learned I have picked up in the field or during professional development. 

It was quite a surprise when I began reading the assigned text book and attended class the first day. It never occurred to me that this course was about bringing reading into other content areas. Honestly, my first reaction was that I was enrolled in the wrong class. I'm becoming a reading specialist why do I need to learn about other content areas?

Today is only day 3 and my attitude has already changed. This class has already made me reflect on my past, think about what I am doing currently and excite me about what is to come in the future. I have come to realize that this class is going to strengthen me as a specialist even more. 

Everyone at the campus I work at knows of me and I know the names of everyone on campus. Through reflection I realize that the only teachers that I truly know are all ELA teachers.  I have often times made the comment " I don't really deal with so in so much because they teach math". What kind of "community" is that? In simple terms, it's not. They all know I am willing to help out if they need me to but I didn't go out of my way to offer support. 

This class has now given me a new mission. My mission is to get to know all of the teachers at my campus. I can still use reading to do this. I have had my "aha" moment. CONTENT AREA READING!! I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before. THIS is the missing puzzle piece our school needed. Not only will it cause all of our teachers to work together building and strengthening relationships, it will also strengthen each of our content areas and ultimately increase our scores. 

When I return to school in August I am going to start offering ideas, strategies and support to all of our teachers for bringing reading into their content. Modeling strategies such as close reading, think-alouds, GTA, and QARs we can get our students to start asking and answering deeper level thinking questions. I am now able to show these teachers and give them examples of how to adapt these things to fit their class makeup and content. 

Content Area Reading- turns out I'm as excited now as when I first enrolled!