Take your class to read outdoors

     Did anyone else have such a beautiful Friday as we did in Pennsylvania? By March standards, it was the perfect day: windswept blue skies, bright sun, and warm temperatures.
     After lunch, a student said, "Maybe we can go read outside after we finish our spelling test." I glanced at the clock and made a doubtful face. I hadn't planned reading outside, mostly because it had been five months since our last session and I didn't think we'd have time to run down the expectations again.
     Still, we finished our assessment quickly and the students looked at me with such hope in their eyes that I gave in. "We'll try some outdoor reading," I said. It was Friday, and I didn't really expect much reading to happen. However, with colder weather on the way, I thought giving kids more time outside was the nice thing to do.
     To my surprise, students remembered every detail of our September reading sessions. They pulled Popsicle sticks to assign the cushions, found my bag of blankets, and grabbed their books. When we got outside they chose spots without delay. Five minutes after making the decision to go outside, suddenly everyone was reading in the March sunshine. They had remembered everything!

Getting ready to read outdoors

     I admit that I have an exceptional location for outdoor reading. I mean, this view is amazing, right? (Don't be too jealous; we don't have air conditioning and I'm a good half hour from the nearest Target, so there are trade-offs.)
     I'm sad to admit that for the first ten years of teaching here, I didn't really think of reading as an outdoor activity. I took students outside for science walks, and perhaps we read once or twice a season as a special activity, but it wasn't part of my consistent instruction.
     Then I moved to the end of the hall. I had an entrance twenty feet from my door. Could we read outside more often? I started to dismiss the idea. Students wouldn't want to sit on the hard ground, they wouldn't stay focused, there would be too many complications. But the pull of the outdoors was strong enough to overcome these issues. So I did some prep work to get everything ready. Here's what to do!

Collect blankets and sheets: I pulled together a collection of old blankets and sheets from my house. You know, the character twin sheets that the kids don't want to use anymore, the blankets that just feel weird, the beach towels that are frayed on the edges. I was able to pretty quickly get about 12 together, enough for my entire class. Alternatively, you could ask students to bring in beach towels or see if any parents have some to donate.
Get some old patio cushions: I didn't plan for these, but someone was upgrading their patio furniture and offered me the old and faded cushions. They are perfect for outdoor reading!
Check school procedures: When I take students outside, I always email the school secretary first and take the walkie talkie from my hallway. Be sure to find out what your school's procedures are.
Check schedules and locations: The last thing you want is to have a PE class walking through your reading session. Think about the school sessions and find a location where you won't be disturbed. You'll also want to think about how big of an area you want to control. Spreading out the students can be great, but can also make it harder to see what students are doing.
Consider the sun: Depending on the time of day, bright sunlight can make reading uncomfortable. It helps to find a location that is part sun/part shade so that students can choose what is best for them.
Grass will be wet in the morning: If you want to read first thing in the morning, the grass will be wet and will soak through your blankets and sheets. Trust me. We know. You will want some flannel-backed vinyl tablecloths instead of blankets if you are reading first thing, OR you will want to be sure to read on blacktop. As you can tell from the pictures, my reading locations vary slightly depending on the time of day and outdoor conditions.

Setting up expectations

     I like to create a looks like/sounds like chart with students before our first outdoor reading session. We talk about how reading outdoors can be a fun and relaxing activity for us. But what would a class of engaged readers look like? What would it sound like? We talked about how there would be things outdoors that we may want to look at--an overhead vulture, for example--and how we could switch our attention back and forth between what interests us and our books.
     For the first few sessions, I had my co-teacher watch the class for a few minutes while I slipped outside to arrange the blankets. I set them a good distance apart so that students can spread out. After I do this a few times, students pick up on the expectations and can arrange everything on their own. (Funny story: When we went outside on Friday for the first time in months, students fished their favorite blankets and sheets out of my bag as if they were long lost friends!) The cushions are given out by picking Popsicle sticks.
     I also made sure to take some high-interest picture books outside for the first few sessions. In August and September, students are still settling into the reading routine, and one or two will inevitably finish their books during an outdoor reading session. Having some books on hand makes it easy to get those kids right back into a book.

Managing behavior

     I never have any behavior issues outdoors! It always goes perfectly!
     Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Working with sixth graders is never dull, that's for sure. Some issues are bound to occur! For this reason, I don't generally get a chance to read myself when we are outside. Instead, I circulate to check in on what students are doing.

Kids talking instead of reading: This is by far the most common issue. Sometimes the talking is related to the novelty of being outside. I've found that talking peaks around our third outdoor reading session. After I strategically separate certain groups for a session or two, students get the message that this is important reading time.
Bug freak-outs: Some students are more concerned about this than others. We talk about how to handle bugs and have a few volunteers who will handle spider removal if necessary. If there's a student who really really doesn't want to sit on the ground, talk with them to brainstorm a solution. One year I had a student who would carry a stool out with him. It worked!
Daydreaming: I'm not sure of how big of an issue this is. Sometimes students will be outside and will just look into the mountains or sky instead of reading. I keep an eye on this and alternate indoor with outdoor reading to make sure that some reading gets done. But then...with a view like ours, who can begrudge some moments to enjoy? 

Delighting in the teachable moment

     Spending time outside always brings unexpected delights, like the bald eagle flying overhead or the robber fly stopping by. In October, when the insects are sluggish and easy to catch, we usually bring a collection container with us when we read outside to catch our six-legged friends.
     I usually take two minutes before we go inside to share what's new and interesting that day.  If students don't know what's there, they won't miss it when it's gone. On Friday, the killdeers had returned, so we spent a few moments listening for them.


   Outdoor reading time is a way to combine two wonderful activities for students. It's surprisingly easy to manage, and students find it enjoyable. Give it a try!

Teaching Grammar: A Content-Rich Approach

   

The teaching of grammar has always been fraught with peril. Since I started teaching in 1997, the general consensus seems to have been this: "Whatever you're doing, you're doing it wrong." Using worksheets? That's inauthentic and useless. Teaching parts of speech? That's not going to help student writing. Skipping grammar to add more writing? That's not going to get you good standardized test scores!
    There are some valid concerns with traditional grammar instruction. When students see isolated sentences with trivial content, their awareness slides right over what we are trying to teach. What students can get correct on a worksheet does not always transfer into their writing. And grammar instruction can seem painful and boring to both teachers and students.
    However, an awareness of grammar is vital! In order to make stylistic choices in their writing, students need to be able to recognize what words they're using and why. In order to identify aspects of writer's craft, students need to know how words are used.
    But what are the best ways to teach grammar? Wouldn't it be great if we could just conference with every child about key concepts that they need to use in their writing? However, with a class of 25-30 and a finite lifespan, I've learned that I can't address everything through a writing conference. There are definitely times when a whole-group lesson is the most efficient and helpful approach. And there are times when worksheets (the right ones!) work. To this end, I've developed an approach to grammar that I can live with and enjoy: a content-rich approach.

What Is A Content-Rich Approach?

    Kids need to know things. They need to know some of the language of formal grammar, but they also need to know about our world as a whole. What if I could make grammar instruction that combines both? Enter my content-rich approach to grammar. No more isolated sentences. Instead, grammar examples carry meaning and build up to a deeper understanding of the world around us.

    For example, recently I was teaching about appositives. (I love appositives! They are one of the best grammar concepts to teach!) As I prepared my examples, I used photographs and sentences about reptiles and amphibians. Not only do these examples grab students' attention, but they also show how the grammar concept can be applied in real writing situations.
     In worksheets, too, we can create examples that carry meaning. After students learned about appositives, they practiced identifying and punctuating appositives with sentences about sea turtles. These sentences led to further research and questions from students, who extended the grammar lesson into their own inquiry. 

Preparing Examples

     What content to choose for grammar examples? I like to explore topics that fit in with the typical curriculum, but go a step beyond. For example, when my husband asked me for some third-grade level adjective work, I used the cloud forest as a theme. His students had read a story about the quetzal in their literature anthologies, and grammar activities had the potential to extend their understanding. (Plus, it was fun for me to research and write about.)
     Sometimes there are topics that fit in well with a particular grammar concept. When I was working with possessives, I knew that birds would make the perfect topic. Not only could there be sentences about bird's beaks, but I could also use the irregular plural noun geese to show a particular case of the plural possessive!
     Content and grammar are of course tied together, and seeing multiple examples related to the same topic helps to create a solid foundation on which to build grammatical learning. The same students who don't remember the words plural possessive perk up when I say, "Remember? What we did when we were reading about the Appalachian Trail?"

Try It Out

   Here are some of the grammar units that I've been working on this year.

 

How to craft a text-dependent analysis prompt

   

 Text-dependent analysis essays! From the moment that I first saw these forms of writing on our state tests I have both dreaded and admired them. On the positive side, text-dependent analysis essays inspire students to analyze texts and think more deeply. On the negative side, sometimes I feel like these essays have eaten all other forms of writing in Pennsylvania. 

    However I'm feeling today, these are tough forms of writing for students to undertake. This year, I've tried to focus more on creating a classroom that builds the deep thinking needed to analyze texts. This means that I need to create plenty of text-dependent analysis questions based on the texts that we are reading.

    Some may try to mystify the process to make it look like creating your own questions is beyond the capability of an ordinary classroom teacher. But don't believe it! With a little bit of thinking and the right kind of knowledge, you can create your own text-dependent analysis questions.

One text or several?

     This is the first question to answer for yourself. Do you want students to analyze elements within one text, or analyze connections between texts? 
     It may seem as if working with one text is easier. From a writing standpoint, using a single text will make transitions easier. However, from an analysis standpoint, sometimes it's easier for students to work with two very different texts. It's been my experience that readers will generate ideas more readily and have stronger conversations when working with multiple texts.

Choose strong texts

     Whether you are working with one text or two, be sure to use strong texts with lots to analyze. (This is one of my issues with the endless weekly assessments in the Wonders program: they are all focused on staff-written short texts that meet a certain word count and Lexile criteria, and don't offer much variety or depth.)

Two elements

     This is the key to writing a strong analysis prompt! PSSA text-dependent analysis guides state that the tested questions will always have two textual elements for students to link together. Sometimes these textual elements will be stated; sometimes they will be unstated. (Oh, joy!)
     Here are some guidelines for starting your own questions. Not every question works for every text, of course. It's best to read the text you want to use and think, "What would be fun to talk about?" This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list, of course, but a set of ideas to get you thinking.

Narrative element starters

• Analyze how the events of the plot reveal the theme.
• Analyze how the character's actions convey the character's traits.
• Explain how the use of figurative language enhances the reader's understanding of the imagery.
• Analyze how the use of stage directions impact the reader's understanding of the events.
• Analyze how the character's actions impact the unfolding of the plot.
• Explain how the author's choice of setting affects the events of the plot.
• Analyze how the narration of the story would be different if the story were told from a different point of view.
• Explain how the word choice creates a mood within the reader.

Expository element starters

• Analyze how the text structure conveys the main ideas of the selection.
• Explain how the author's word choice shows the author's point of view toward the topic.
• Analyze how the text features help readers to understand the main ideas.
• Analyze how the inclusion of firsthand accounts affects the reader's understanding of the main ideas of the text.

Talk time

     After I create a few analysis prompts for my students, I copy them and have students meet in small groups to discuss them. "You don't have to write an analysis essay," I tell them. "Instead, I want you to take great notes: write down text evidence, make connections, show your thinking!"
     Over the course of the year, I've seen an improvement in students' willingness to grapple with these conversations. It's hard! As I listen in, I've noticed that some groups focus on just one of the elements and forget to make the connection to the other one. I ask a few questions of these groups to get them thinking and help them to see how to make connections. 
     Taking the time to write these questions and elicit these conversations is well worth the effort! What prompts have you found helpful in your classroom?

For some text-dependent analysis prompts, try this resource:

Introducing a Poetry Unit

This week I started teaching my poetry unit, which is both exciting and scary! It's exciting because I love poetry, and I love the chance to immerse my students in poems. It's scary because each year is so different from the last and I never know how students will react.

Prepare or find a poetry collection

To immerse students in poems, it's good to have a collection of poetry that they can refer back to, again and again. I have one put together in Figurative Language PowerPoint and Activities. This year, I added two sonnets (available here) to my existing collection.

Putting together a poetry collection can be as simple as gathering poems that you want to teach! By adding poems with similar themes, you can invite natural comparisons. Some of my favorites that are in the public domain include:
-The Wind, Robert Louis Stevenson
-Who Has Seen the Wind? Christina Rossetti
-The Moon's the North Wind's Cookie, Vachel Lindsay
-Perhaps You'd Like to Buy a Flower? Emily Dickinson
-Where Go the Boats? Robert Louis Stevenson
-Paper Boats, Rabindranath Tagore

In addition to the poetry collection (mostly made up of public domain poems), I also have shelves full of diverse poetry, picture books that I've picked up from prowling used book sales and the reduced price sections at discount bookstores. These poems give students windows into worlds beyond.

Find out what students already know

It's important to get an idea of what experiences students are bringing with them to the poetry experience. This year, I learned about their prior experiences with a carousel activity. I made six small posters with topics:
-Famous Poets
-Figurative Language
-How I Feel About Poetry
-Poems I Know
-Speaker in Poetry
-Poetic Structure

Then, students moved from poster to poster in small groups. Let me tell you, I learned so much from watching students and listening to their conversations! From the "Figurative Language" poster I observed that students can generate names of some kinds of figurative language, but that there is some confusion between figurative language and other literary devices. From the "Poets We Know" poster I saw that students couldn't really generate a list of poets, but that my name was on there. :)

Use visuals

Animated and illustrated versions of poems are so engaging! On the first day, we looked at "Ozymandias" and watched this amazing version.



Then we talked about what the poem might mean. First conversations with big poems need to be open and nonthreatening, focused less on getting right answers and more on talking about what big ideas might be lurking beneath the words. Don't worry if you don't know what meanings are lurking beneath the words! It can be a joint voyage of discovery.

On a less dramatic note, I also shared this poem that I read aloud. We talked about how the poem makes us feel calm and peaceful...a great entry into deeper discussions of tone and mood.

Give students the words to discuss

Great conversations need lots of words! This Poetry Help Sheet (available in Comparing Texts 2) is a quick and easy tool for students to use to have discussions. As an end to our second day of poetry,
students read the help sheet and used words from the page to talk about one of the poems in their collection. What is so important is that students are in control of choosing the poems and deciding how to talk about them.

Of course students had questions about these words and topics, which led to even more interesting conversations...for example, what does whimsical mean, anyway?

First experiences with poetry can make all the difference in whether students enjoy poems or look at poetry as a chore. By making your first lessons open-ended and engaging, you can help students love poetry!

Paper Airplanes and STEM: Getting Started

   

 Looking for a fun lesson set that incorporates STEM, writing, reading, and data collection? Try a paper airplane challenge! I'm on my third iteration of this project, and each time it just gets better and better. It's a perfect way to get rid of the winter blues and do something fun and filled with learning.

The challenge

     This year, I set up the challenge like this: Aeronautics216 is looking for a paper gliders that can travel 15 meters indoors AND outdoors. Teams are asked to submit three airplanes for testing.
     ...that's it. I don't even set up a huge competition or offer a prize, because the actual activity is so engaging and awesome that it doesn't need anything else to prop it up.

Groups and Budget

     I used a Google form to get input from students as I set up the groups, assigning students to be lead engineer, graphic designer, writer, accountant, and materials manager. Groups of 4 and 5 work best, especially at a time of year when absences are frequent. If two people are missing from a group of 5 the remaining stude
nts can get on with the work. Two missing from a group of 3 leaves a pretty lonely student!
    In my first two attempts at this project, I wanted groups to have plenty of money. This time, their margins are pretty slim. I also used actual bills this time instead of just paper accounts by printing out $100 and $500 bills from Classroom Economy.
     Students may use as much recycled paper as they want for prototypes, but they must purchase the paper for submission planes at the price of $500/sheet. They also have to pay for extra testing sessions, marker rental, storage, and so forth. You can find the complete budget here.
     Most students don't realize at first just how far 15 meters is. They read it as "15 feet" and it only slowly dawns on them that the task is a lot harder than they thought.

Flight Rules

     An important rule that keeps this from devolving into chaos: Planes can't be tested at school until the official testing day.
     I had to fine groups $200 for breaking this rule on the first day, and it was remarkably effective. Since that initial problem, I've had no issues.
     Kids ask, "Can we take them home and test them there?" What they're really asking, of course, is "Can I do extra homework?" But I don't tell them this, and I say reluctantly that sure, if their parents are okay with it, they can make and test planes at home.

Working in groups

     In the first two sessions, students work pretty intensively on creating group names, logos, and airplane prototypes. Everyone knows how to build the standard airplane, but those are unlikely to fly 15 meters. So students use the sets of directions that I have available to try to build other versions.
     I make the video directions more costly than the printed directions because I want students to feel that struggle of reading procedural text. Airplane directions are a great equalizer, because some students who are great readers have trouble with the folding, while other students who may struggle with reading find the layout and structure of airplane directions to be a piece of cake.
     You can find plenty of paper airplane directions online, although the best source that we've found is the Klutz Paper Airplane Book.
     When there are issues in groups, I offer my (paid) services as mediator. I also give ratings sheets so that group members may rate each other on cooperation and responsibility. Once this happens, groups tend to pull together. (I admit that dealing with the inner workings of groups is my least favorite part of this activity, and that I treat it as my own area for personal growth!)

Initial testing

     Before the first testing session, groups need to make their own data collection sheets. Most of my students haven't made tables before, so I showed them this video from GCF LearnFree about creating tables in Google Docs. (Why tables instead of spreadsheets? Students are handwriting information into printed sheets, so I thought the table would give them more options.)
     I had two students who were finished with other tasks set up our testing zone in the hallway by marking out meters with masking tape. Two groups tested at a time, following a strict protocol that meant that the hallway was clear before airplanes flew. Groups had 6 minutes for testing, which seems like a short time but was adequate if they got straight to work and didn't play around.
     I recommended that groups have at least 5 planes for testing, but of course some groups did not. That's part of the process! Most of the planes went only 5-6 meters. The best performing plane went 13 meters.
     Looks like the groups will have to do some rethinking when we return to school next week! I'm hoping that they think to ask the group with the farthest flying airplane which model they used (the Hammer) and build more prototypes along those lines.

Looking forward

     In the week to come, I'll collect the data from initial testing so that we can practice finding landmarks of data like mean, median, range, and mode. This will help students to contextualize their results. Students will be busy building for their second round of testing!

What to do with a classroom bird feeder

Choosing Feeders

    For the widest variety of birds, think about your levels. Some birds like to eat from the ground, others from hanging feeders, others from suet, and still others from elevated trays. Of course, your classroom location will determine which birds visit your feeder. When I was on the playground side of my school I was visited by very different birds than we see on the forest side.
    I decided to start small with the free feeder from BirdSleuth (offered occasionally). Over the past five years, I've added more and more! It's important to choose something that is easy to clean, inexpensive, and sturdy.

     Trays: A plastic tray is a great starting point because it's easy to clean and easy to replace. Because I have a heating unit right outside my window, I have the perfect spot to place a tray of sunflower seeds. (I buy the 40 lb. bags at Tractor Supply, which last about 2 months for $20)
     My students love the juncos, cardinals, chickadees, and finches that come to the tray. We sometimes put out unsalted peanuts, which attracts my class's favorite: the blue jay.
     Tube feeders: These are cheap and attract a nice variety of finches. Last year, though, we had record rainfall, and I did find that mold sometimes grew in the nyjer seed.
     Suet feeders: Suet is inexpensive and attracts woodpeckers and nuthatches, which are fun to watch. If you are not near a forest, you may find that starlings come to get your suet, which is also interesting.
     Peanut butter: In the years that I don't have any students with allergies, I purchase peanut butter to put outside as well. You can see the feeder in the photo above, but honestly it's easy enough to just smear peanut butter on some branches or put it on some wired pine cones. The Carolina wrens love it! Plus, it's way cheaper than many other kinds of seed.
     Feeder cam: No place for a feeder? No problem! The Ontario FeederWatch and the Cornell Birds Feeder are great to display for students.
    Feeder cleaning: Whatever kind of feeder you use, be sure to clean it frequently so that you are not inadvertently spreading disease.

Identification

     Part of the fun of observing birds is learning their names. I like to use a classroom birds slideshow as a fun icebreaker at the start of the school year. Kids like practicing their identification skills with photos I've taken at the window. They're often amazed to find out how many different species we can see just from our classroom.
     The allaboutbirds.org site is excellent for teaching students website navigation skills. I especially appreciate that it doesn't have external ads! With these webpages, you can teach all about digital text features, navigation, and browsing. There are great nonfiction texts there for the reading as well.
     Will your students make some identifications that sound silly at first? Absolutely! It's only through practice that students learn how to find the maps to see if a bird lives in their area, how to sift through the photos of similar birds, and how to connect bird behavior to different types of birds. Be patient and make the identification process a learning experience from start to finish.

Bird Observation Journal

     Once students get to be good at identification, I get out the bird observation journal. This is a place for students to record what they are seeing at the window. Kids may get up and look out the window, one or two at a time, as long as they write down what they see.
    Each year, students decide how they'd like to organize the journal. Sometimes students prefer to go by hour, while at other points students like to just write down what they see in a more casual way.
     There are occasionally discrepancies and problems with our data, which just means...we're doing science! When there are issues (wait, that wasn't a white-crowned sparrow, it was a white-throated sparrow!), we can discuss what these mean for our data and what to do next.

Phenology

     The records in our observation journals then become data for future years! We can track when the juncos will arrive, when the white-throated sparrows will leave, and when the goldfinches will turn yellow. As I tell my students...it's all because we noticed what was there and wrote stuff down.

Closing Thoughts

     I'm not sure when the process of knowing what lives around us and following the patterns of season and sky became unworthy of teaching. When I was in fifth grade, I told my teacher that I wanted to be a naturalist when I grew up. She said, "That's not a job."
     This is the kind of thinking that has brought us here--facing a future with insect populations in collapse, monarch butterflies disappearing, once familiar birds of field and forest now rare and unseen. You can't love what you don't notice. Taking the time to help students appreciate and love what surrounds us is worth the effort.
   

Understanding Narratives: Story Events

    Supporting all learners in a mixed ability classroom can be a daunting challenge. Over the years,
I've found that having the right materials makes a huge difference! When I'm teaching narratives, my go-to tool is a simple set of events from the story.
    These event cards are so useful! Differentiation is quick, easy, and meaningful, as event cards have so much potential for helping students to zoom in on a story and read closely.

Preparing Event Cards

    Event cards are simple to prepare. Just make a single-column table in Word and type the events from the story in order. Use the same number of lines for each cell to keep your final cards the same size. (I find that a 16-point Georgia with three lines per cell work well.) Remember that it's almost impossible to cut a single line cell!
    Depending on your students, you may want to make your events simple, or more detailed. Be sure to include a sentence to establish the setting and the characters.
    When I'm ready to use my cards, I photocopy them on some cardstock and trim the edges at the paper cutter. The kids can do the rest of the cutting! I store cards in envelopes or clear plastic bags in the hopes that I will find them again the next year. (Narrator's voice: She won't.) I never make enough for everyone in the class, because I want students to have to share! Groups of 2-3 are best to make sure that everyone gets to handle the events.

Sequencing

    At the most basic level, the event cards are great for helping students to sequence the events in a story. This week, students read a drama from our literature anthology. Putting events from the drama in order helped students to piece together the action.
    Here's where these cards are great for differentiation! It's fascinating to listen in on the conversations that students have. As they argue about which event comes before that one, they often can't resist going back to the text to prove their points.
    Groups finish this task at different times, of course, and so I always put an extension question on the board. In this case, it was: "Read through the event cards with your partner. How is this reading experience different from reading the story in the drama format?"
   

Understanding Parts of a Plot

     Event cards are also perfect for talking about how a plot unfolds. This is an important standard for sixth grade, and one that requires lots of productive conversation.
     Using event cards is so much friendlier for students than filling out a plot diagram! A mistake in ordering doesn't mean tedious erasing and rewriting--instead, it's just a simple swap of the cards. Watching my students piece together the events of a story helped me to see how their understanding of plot is developing and how they see the different pieces come together.

Character Changes

     If students are having trouble talking about how characters change over the course of a plot, event cards can be helpful tools! Events provide anchors to help students recall the sequence and understand what happens when. Sometimes students who struggle to respond verbally can hold onto an event card and explain how the character changed in response to what occurs. For students with retrieval and executive functioning issues, having manipulatives for reading can be just the scaffold they need for higher order thinking.

Have you tried story event cards? What have you noticed with your learners?