Creating Culture of Thinking Through Teacher Language

The words we use with our students have a subtle but powerful impact on their learning and thinking. If we want our classrooms to be places where all students are powerful thinkers, we can use our words to create narratives of thinking for them to follow. We can also help them to see themselves as writers, readers, and mathematicians. If you'd like to learn more, check out the link below.
Creating Cultures of Thinking Through Teacher Language

Education's Nosy Neighbor Syndrome

How many times have you heard something like this?

• We don't have snack in our classroom during the last marking period because we are getting students ready for next year when they won't have snack.
• I'm teaching students this because they'll need to know it next year.
• We give spelling tests at the end of the year to get them ready for next year.

Why are we always getting our students ready for the next year? Why can't next year's teacher do next year's work?

With standards in place at all of the grade levels, teachers have a clear idea of what students should know and be able to do by the end of the grade level. This is where our focus must be. (Even better, we could meet our students where they are in their learning and move them forward, but that is a topic for another day.)

The time for the end of the nosy neighbor syndrome has come. We no longer need to look over the fence to see what's happening in the next grade because if our students have met the this year's standards, they will be ready for the next grade.

This is Why I Teach - A Response to Nancie Atwell

Thank you Dan Brown for responding to Nancie Atwell’s recent advice for students considering going into teaching to look to the private sector instead. 

http://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2015/03/26/global_teacher_prize_winner_is_dead_wrong_1178.html

The reasons that I went into teaching almost thirty years ago haven’t changed. When I wrote my educational philosophy as an undergraduate, I explained that I love learning and that I hope I can instill the love of learning in my students. This is why I teach. If I have helped one student love learning and see the possibilities in themselves then I have been successful, and over my career, I have been able to touch many children.

Curriculums have changed. Instructional methods have changed. Standardized tests have changed. Families have changed. Kids have changed, and I have changed. But my love of learning has not changed. That is what energizes me every day. I can make the difference in the life of a child.

For students considering teaching as a career, I give this advice. If you think teaching is easy or that you’ll have a 9 to 5 job with summers off, it may not be the best job opportunity for you. The pay is okay. The stress level is high, and the job comes home with you every night. But if you are sincere in your desire to be the change in a child’s life on a daily basis, I can’t think of a better job.

Kindergarteners and Close Reading - A Success Story

I've read a lot of posts lately about the Common Core Language Arts Standards being too difficult for kindergarteners. That they're developmentally inappropriate, and that kindergartners should be playing more. This is far from the truth in my classroom of 25 five and six year olds. I share my story because I know my students can think deeply about a text, and after some practice, my students know that they can do it, too.

Setting

I teach in a large, high-poverty, urban school district. Many of my students speak a language other than English at home.

Story

Yesterday, my principal visited our classroom to say good morning while I was discussing the day's schedule with my class. When I mentioned that we would be reading the book, I Felt the Wind, again and focusing on the question,"How is wind made?", the class cheered, and one little girl enthusiastically stated that she loves reading workshop. (Proud teaching moment!)

I have been following lessons from the Read Aloud Project (http://achievethecore.org/page/944/join-the-read-aloud-project-rap-on-edmodo-detail-pg). At first I was skeptical because the books are quite difficult, and even though I read them aloud to the students, the vocabulary and text structure are challenging. The questions require higher level thinking and require students to really listen and understand the text.

As a teacher, I have to step back and give students time to think for themselves. They share their thinking with partners before we discuss the difficult questions. They support their answers using evidence from the text and the illustrations.

Conclusion

My students have risen to the challenge. They see themselves as smart thinkers, and they are not afraid to dig deeper into the text. And just as important, they are excited by reading and writing.