A Must Read: The Joy of Planning by Franki Sibberson

Planning has been something I've loved but also something I need more time for and practice with as I map out a unit of study or think about planning over longer chunks of the year.  I embrace it because I feel like it is my time to be creative, think about what my kids need and merge that with the curriculum. After reading Franki's newest book: The Joy of Planning, I have been smiling about her fresh look on what she mentions in her intro as "Falling Back in Love with Lesson Planning."  Franki's perspective on planning minilessons while balancing common core and students needs has breathed energy into my own planning.  She is a reflective and thoughtful planner. The questions she uses to plan her study have helped me better explain to my student teacher the importance of these four pieces she uses to organize her studies: reflect on goals for students, gather texts needed, differentiate so kids can enter the study where they are as learners and consider if the assessment matches the goals.

 She begins the book with ten solid beliefs about planning minilessons and how these beliefs have evolved for her.  As I read these, I couldn't help but nod as she mentioned big ideas like interactive, independent, community conversations and planning for the reader.  She says, "The teacher is the person who spends time with the students in her care, and it best suited to create lessons that will meet her students where they are. Because lessons are designed to help build understanding, it is important teachers develop the lessons they teach so they can revise and replan as needed, based on student response."

While Franki wrote this book with 3-6 audience in mind, her thinking is still crucial to K-2 teachers.  First, because we all plan minilessons.  No matter what "grade" we teach, each of the beliefs Franki mentions in her intro help us consider students regardless of grade level. Second, the book is filled with ideas and mentors that accessible to many readers, including primary. With common core, we all will be scaffolding our teaching to address characters, theme, and non-fiction texts.  Third, I love how Franki embraces the use of picture books for many of these lessons. She embraces many texts that students in 3-6 may have encountered in their primary classrooms.

 Last, I love how she loads the book with questions. These questions give us something to consider when trying to plan our own minilessons as well as set the pace for students to drive the thinking. These questions at the end of each of her lessons really are the heart of her thinking.  These questions are also differentiated enough that primary teachers could grab one or modify for their own classroom. In her lesson titled: Talking and Thinking about Characters she uses Today I Will Fly by Mo Willems. She ties the lesson to common core work with "drawing on specific details from text" as she asks her 4th graders to think deeper about how they know the characters Elephant and Piggie. In first grade, we set goals for our students to "describe characters" at the beginning of the year and later to "describe characters using key details in text.  Franki poses a couple questions for her fourth graders: How are Piggie and Elephant the same? How do you know? As primary teachers we might use her questioning strategy to pose:  Who are the characters? How do you know? and later in the year, What do we know about Piggie and Elephant? How do you know?

If you are looking to reflect back about planning in your reader's workshop, this book will certainly be a great text for developing thoughtful minilessons.  It clarifies Franki's planning process and has authentic ideas as well as real questions that have helped me refine my own practice in planning.

New Room, New Spaces

This year I am in a new room. It is a large room, with wonderful space that I was a little intimidated by as I moved my belongings into it this summer. As I unpacked and shopped for new pieces (thanks to IKEA...love that store) I began to love my new room. I thought I would share some pictures and talk through some of the pieces I bought as well as a few changes I have made in my new larger space.

This piece to the left my husband made for me out of rain gutters inspired by the rain gutter shelves I drooled over in Pinterest. The shelf to the right is my favorite buy from IKEA. It has allowed my to showcase books in baskets and stack books on the shelf next to these baskets. I used pictures of authors or characters on the shelves to help organize these books so that kids would know where to return them.

I decided to label my math bins with typed names on each bin. It feels neater and cleaner to me. I also decided to feature the math books in baskets in this area. I also have the plastic drawers ready for the math games I am starting to introduce. I like being able to pull out the drawer and place it on the table so kids can get to the supplies for that game and then slide it back when time to clean up.

I have moved my computers around the room to allow kids to access them throughout the day and to send the message that technology fits into everything we do as learners. I used an old white IKEA table covered with an old map I had to host one computer work area that I am hoping kids will use to research the birds we begin to notice outside the window on PebbleGo.

My wonder bulletin board features many plants and animals we will encounter in our many visits to the Metro Park across the street. I want to use this board to begin conversation about what we will see, notice and wonder about as we frequent the park.

The small stools you see have been the biggest hit this year. The kids love to hang out on these during writing workshop and math time, playing games and writing.

It may be hard to see but I added magnetic letters and pictures above my larger baskets: in this case the characters that we love baskets. The bigger baskets have been tough for kids to move so I pulled out the top shelf so that they could get their arms into the space above these allowing books to get in and out easily.

Last, this is my word work and work play area filled with many hands on letter and word game-type materials. I placed the basket of books for word learning above this shelf and I am loving this space. These are just peeks into these new spaces inside this new room that has brought lots of smiles already to 20 first graders (and me)!

Opening Minds #2 #cyberPD

After reading Chapter 4, "Good Job!" Fedback, Praise and Other Responses,  I found myself wanting to cringe at the number of times I say those praiseful words: good job, super or nice job during the course of the day. I feel like I have used these phrases as a way to manage kids by finishing a conversation with "praise" instead of telling a student I need to talk with another student or that is is important to keep thinking and persuing their thoughts about the writing or reading they may be doing.

This chapter also reminded me of another book I have read called Nuture Shock in which authors Bronson and Merryman also note the research of Dr. Dweck who summarizes "when we praise children for their intelligence; we tell them this is the name of the game, look smart, don't risk making mistakes."

My big take aways from this chapter:  Praise is about us.  I stopped to think about how I could focus on process oriented feedback.  To do this I had to think about what person oriented feedback I am in the habit of and then set next to it some options for process oriented feedback that I want to work toward.
 Language Habits I want to Change                           Language that will work better


Wow, great job                                                            Look at how you
                                                                                    You could teach others
                                                                                     What can you do know
                                                                                     How did you do that?

Nice job noticing                                                         Thank you for sharing...
                                                                                     You tried hard...


In Chapter 5,  I found myself loving the conversation between Manny and Sergio.  I liked thinking about the importance of making meaning in a conversation and the importance of modeling this for our students.  I think so many times adults and kids are too focused on taking responsibility for the temporary meaning they have made. The conversation becomes about the power (expert vs. novice) rather that making meaning of the topic. I also thought about how I could help encourage these symmetrical conversations in my classroom and in my life. After reading the examples in Cheryl's classroom. I began to think about how the language I need to use needs to be inclusive.  I wote down a few phrases that will guide this work:
What do the rest of you think?
So we have two different ideas...
We have listened to one another and have so much to learn from each other...


Lastly, in Chapter 6,  Johnston states...
"We have to help them learn to imagine what goes on inside heads and not just the cognitive strategies begin used to solve problems, but the complex social-emotional logic that lies behind behavior."

This chapter had me thinking about the importance of social imagination and how to incorporate it into the classroom. I thought about  how explicit I can be with social cues (When I picked up this book I made a face, what was I thinking?), modeling how to listen effectively and how to solve problems.  These behaviors all seem to fit so nicely into workshop routines where kids learn to go and think with a partner or group. I know using fish bowls to involve students in explicit modeling of social behaviors will be key.

I have to say I feel like this book has had the most impact and push to change my behaviors as a teacher this summer.  I am loving it.

Opening Minds : #cyberPD

Thank you Cathy for hosting this PD online around the book: Opening Minds by Peter Johnston. I remember devouring Choice Words and really beginning to think deeply about how my language can impact, first, my own children.  They are always the guinea pigs for me and the practice before the classroom.
After reading chapters 1-3, I found myself nodding my head in agreement with Johnston.  His research and beliefs about the impact of language in almost spiritual for me (especially the pages on praise when reminded that praise is about us vs. the children). There were a few places in these first few chapters where I tagged the pages with little post-it flags (that I drew a heart upon) signaling my love for the explanation of his thinking.

1) My first flag appeared on page 14 when Johnston begins to dig deeper into explaining the fixed and dynamic learning frames. On this page, I began to synthesize what he was saying into my own understanding:  We have to teach children the value in learning and perseverance; not in feeling smart and achieving the highest test score. While I believe this, executing it with supporting language will be the challenge for me.  I began to look forward to learning more.

2) On page 18, I also flagged the line describing how dynamic learners work toward improving the group relationship:
"When people are trying to learn something together and they disagree, dynamic-learning theorists focus on the conflict in ideas and try to integrate their different perspectives. In the process, each develops a more positive view of his or her partner's ability."
This section hit home because I began to think about the importance of modeling. What kind of language will allow me to do this?  What do I say now and how will that change this year?

3) In chapter 3 I began to write ideas for language prompts that will support my students in the classroom.  I love to draw on expert teachers and learn from them. Pegeen and Susie certainly know how to honor children and their ideas.  On top of each page I found myself collecting phrases that support the dynamic learning frame and rereading them to solidify them in my brain. Here are a few I collected:

You have learned so much!
He just made a bad choice, don't you think. Not a bad guy, just made a decision with out considering others.
Look how you figured that out! you made a plan, you listened to one another...
How did you do that?
How did you know that?
Thanks for teaching us that.
Are you ready to get started?Do you have a plan?You don't need to tell me your plan. I might be able to figure out your plan from your behavior.


This book is reminding me again that so much of our work in the classroom has to be selfless.  The work that goes into begin selfless can be hard and takes practice. Kids come first.

999 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura

I love frog stories in first grade because like frogs, first graders are thrown into a world of many.  They need help understanding how community works as they begin living with lots of other students for a full day.  Fine As We Are by Algy Craig Hall (an old favorite)  and this new book I picked up at Barnes and Noble, 999 Tadpoles (don't you love the title... just reading and thinking about 999 is going to be a conversation in itself), both embrace the importance of living and working together.

In 999 Tadpoles, Mother and Father frog take their young frogs on a journey to toward safety in hopes of finding a new home.  In their adventures they learn about the dangers of the world as well as the importance of sticking together. Ken Kimura weaves in humor with his delightful story and the pictures by Yasunari Murakami are simple yet captivating.  I am excited to be adding it to my classroom library for next year.

The Monster Returns by Peter McCarty

I just spotted The Monster Returns by Peter McCarty at the bookstore and was excited to see this second in the picture book series which began with Jeremy Draws a Monster.  Jeremy is a character that makes us think here in first grade. His second book helped us think more about predicting as the kids shared their thoughts about what Jeremy  might do when the Monster sends a note declaring he is back after being drawn away on a bus in the first book .  Jeremy delights us with a imaginative plan that pleases everyone.  This book is as good as the first!

McCarty has also written Henry in Love and I just pre-ordered his newest book titled Chloe which is out May 15.  I am a fan!

What is Not Covered by Common Core

In May I often walk into the classroom feeling overwhelmed by the number of activities, assessments and programs that we have scheduled. With 18 days left, I am living the adage...so much to do, so little time.  My friend Lauren and I have been reminding each other (and our students) to slow down. I think we have to slow down and take time for finishing projects or units of instruction in the midst of assessment. We have to slow down and show our kids how important it is to keep listening to each other even if we would just rather be done.

Beginning to explore common core has also presented some of the same overwhelming feelings at times. Not in the sense that the standards will be "hard" to teach or that some standards will be new, but overwhelming because there is quite a bit to read and absorb when slowing down to begin to understand the purpose and philosophy of the common core.  When visiting corestandards.org, you can read about college and career anchor standards, explore your grade level standards, read about the factors that make up text complexity and it's importance within cc, the process in which the standards were created, how to read the standards and more.  After really just skimming many of these pieces, I found my favorite part of common core.  It is titled "What is not covered by the standards" and found underneath the key considerations tab which is under the introduction.  There are a number of key points underneath this heading help us remember that while standards are important, we as teachers are able to make creative, caring and developmental decisions about the students we teach. Common core does tells us :

1. PLAY is important for all students.
"The Standards define what all students are expected to know and be able to do, not how teachers should teach. For instance, the use of play with young children is not specified by the Standards, but it is welcome as a valuable activity in its own right and as a way to help students meet the expectations in this document." 




2.  Be creative!!
"The aim of the Standards is to articulate the fundamentals, not to set out an exhaustive list or a set of restrictions that limits what can be taught beyond what is specified herein."


3. Think about the unique needs of students

• "No set of grade-specific standards can fully reflect the great variety in abilities, needs, learning rates, and achievement levels of students in any given classroom. However, the Standards do provide clear signposts along the way to the goal of college and career readiness for all students." 
• and
• "Each grade will include students who are still acquiring English. For those students, it is possible to meet the standards in reading, writing, speaking, and listening without displaying native-like control of conventions and vocabulary."

4.  Think about the whole child 

"Students require a wide-ranging, rigorous academic preparation and, particularly in the early grades, attention to such matters as social, emotional, and physical development and approaches to learning. "

 Even though there is and will likely be exhaustive sources and ideas for use with common core, I feel less overwhelmed by the fact that the writers of this initiative have asked us to consider what it doesn't cover.  Here we find some license to keep differentiating, listening, observing and making decisions about what is best for our students.