tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36803730156866024222024-02-06T22:06:04.194-06:00Ruminate and InvigorateMusings on Literacy, Life and LearningLaura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-58859052618046312912017-06-25T10:05:00.002-05:002017-06-25T10:15:07.507-05:00What's Your Mission? Reflections from the Scholastic Reading Summit (and more)About halfway between my house and my sister's stands a church. A marquee lights up the otherwise dark corner where it stands, and on that marquee are often words of wisdom that stick with me for days. The latest is no exception.<br />
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I passed by the sign on my way home from visiting my nieces after the Scholastic Reading Summit this week. Maybe it was everything that was swirling through my head that I had learned, or maybe it was just meant to speak to me... but I can't stop pondering it.<br />
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So much of what I heard and discussed at the Summit parallels and supports what I've been reading on Twitter and in <a href="https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/books/disrupting-thinking-9781338132908.html">Disrupting Thinking</a>. In the upcoming year, what will be my mission? Right now, I'm all-in for pushing my kids to disrupt their thinking and taking on the hard work of tackling tough topics. </div>
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Finally hearing <a href="https://twitter.com/Jess5th">Jess Lifshitz</a> speak in real life was such a treat at the Scholastic Reading Summit. Jess has impacted my thinking in so many ways through <a href="https://crawlingoutoftheclassroom.wordpress.com/">her blog</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Jess5th">her tweets</a>, so being in the same room with her was one of the highlights of the conference for me. Her session was all about empowering readers through choice, student-created reading goals, and work that matters. I know I'm not alone when I say that each of those three parts could've been a session in and of itself. </div>
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One immediate change I know I'll implement is the first question I ask my readers as we confer. Instead of the usual, "How's it going?" I'll be stealing Jess's question. "What have you noticed as you've been reading?" This will open the doors to help them set their own reading goals, deepen our conversations, and assist me in disrupting their thinking. Jess also gave a step-by-step process for her reading conferences that will help move me forward with my conferences as well. While reading conferences may be the least efficient way to meet the needs of readers, they are absolutely the most effective.</div>
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Although I've followed along with the work Jess has been doing with her 5th graders through her blog, listening to her talk about it made me realize just how important it is. I love her idea of starting the year with guided inquiry into story. Sadly, my district learned a lesson this year that even though we think we are teaching kids to honor each other's backgrounds and stories, we just aren't doing enough. Yet. Equality and acceptance have always been near and dear to my heart, but the world we live in is adding fuel to my fire to help kids think openly and deeply. Our continued #classroombookaday mission will help us tremendously with this endeavor! I also plan to have my kids follow Jess's lead as we take a critical look at our classroom library for evidence of how it does (or doesn't) represent a wide variety of people.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/donalynbooks">Donalyn Miller</a> shared an idea at the Scholastic Reading Summit that has been bouncing around in my brain quite a bit. To help head off miscommunication with parents, she suggests creating a t-chart at "parent night" that highlights practices of then and now. I think this will especially be helpful this year as my district has embraced a balanced literacy approach and is beginning a 3-year implementation. This year, our focus is on word study and using the Words Their Way program as a tool. The second year will focus on Reader's Workshop, followed in the third year by Writer's Workshop. While these practices have been a part of my classroom for years, I'm thrilled that my district has officially embraced it. And it goes without saying that I still have a LOT to learn about all three components! Creating the chart Donalyn shared will be helpful in explaining to parents how our instruction has changed (or is changing) to support our learners.</div>
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Another idea that stuck with me from the Summit was the importance of book talks. So many of the presenters (and authors) reiterated the powerful impact book talks have on readers. I know how much I'm influenced by people talking about books, so I have to believe it's also true for my students. Part of my mission this year will be more consistency with book talks and offering more opportunities for students to give book talks. </div>
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While the learning was nearly mind-blowing, I have to also throw this in. Seeing Twitter friends at the Scholastic Reading Summit was also one of my very favorite parts of the day. Not only did I get to hug some of my favorite Twitter friends and continue conversations with them, but I was also so, so happy to get to say hello in real life to a few I've never met before. I can't say enough about how much I rely on my Nerdy Twitter peeps for daily inspiration!!</div>
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It was important for me to begin by reflecting on the learning and sharing that took place at the Scholastic Reading Summit, but I'm confident my summer learning will continue to define and clarify my mission. Conversations with my Twitter PLN, more professional reading, and a trip to Nerd Camp are all upcoming opportunities to fine-tune my mission for this year, too. </div>
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How about you? What's YOUR mission?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-29074518613118123322017-01-29T18:16:00.002-06:002017-01-29T18:16:31.527-06:00Sharing Our StoriesI've held back for so long. I've tried to figure out the best way for my voice to be heard. And then the Immigration Ban came along. I can be silent no longer. <div>
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My family immigrated here from Poland, many of them refugees from a tumultuous time in Poland. Unrest was widespread as Russia controlled part of the area, and borders continued to change between Russia, Poland, Germany, Austria, and more. From the research we've done, it appears as though many of them came here in the early 1900s, from about 1903-1913 for the most part.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Great-Grandparents, immigrants from Poland</td></tr>
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My family came here seeking asylum, seeking what they hoped would be a better life. They were forced to leave loved ones behind in order to do so. And this all came before both World War I and World War II, where things would become even more volatile. </div>
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Loved ones who were left behind in Poland were lost. We know that my great-grandfather's sister and her husband were killed by Nazis, simply because they were Polish. </div>
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In later years, we know my great-grandmother refused to speak of her family back in the Warsaw, Poland area. When one of her daughters won a trip to Poland, she begged her not to visit or look up family (for fear of putting them in danger.) To this day, we know very little of the family connections we have in Poland.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Great-Grandfather</td></tr>
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My great-grandfather immigrated here in the early 1900s. He worked as a carpenter and miner in North Dakota, Michigan, and Wisconsin before settling down in Chicago. </div>
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What if there had been a ban on immigrants back then? What if we disallowed certain nationalities or countries from sending us their refugees? What if, for all intents and purposes, one man declared war on one particular religion? Oh, wait...</div>
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Yes. We must take action and make our country safe, but to what end? Sadly, many of our terrorists are "homegrown" or come from countries not outlined on the recent Executive Action banning immigrants. And to specifically ban refugees from one particular country blows my mind. Do we need to take further steps to increase the safety of our country and our people? Yes. But I believe doing it in such a "blanket" way will only bring more problems to our doorstep.</div>
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We need to know these stories. <a href="https://twitter.com/AlabedBana">Bana Alabed</a> should be a household name. She's a 7 year-old peace preacher who has managed to escape the horrors she lived through in Aleppo. How can we say she's not welcome here?</div>
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We must also resist the urge and fight against the danger of a single story. We all have stories to tell. Pay attention. Listen. Resist.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-9955503107146009992017-01-11T16:05:00.000-06:002017-01-11T16:09:02.510-06:00Messy Learning!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier in the school year, I remember reading <b><a href="http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2016/08/still-learning-to-read-reading.html">this blog post</a></b> by the always-thought-provoking Franki Sibberson about how she approaches introducing new topics to students. In this particular post, she explained how she let kids "have a go" at something before she provided any explicit instruction or modeling; doing so can send the message that she already thinks they don't know how to do it. Not only does this provide time for productive struggle, but I believe it also serves as a formative assessment tool to determine what students already know about a given skill or strategy. Franki's words have played over and over in my mind as the year has progressed. I've tried to find a way to build in that natural inquiry process of letting them start to figure it out on their own. </div>
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This week, we threw caution to the wind as we started wrapping our minds around the idea of nonfiction "text structures." Rather than simply introducing each possible text structure and expecting kids to somehow magically absorb that knowledge, my teaching buddy <a href="https://twitter.com/MVallejoTeacher">Maria</a> and I decided we'd give kids time to dig in and try to figure it out. We gathered stacks of informational texts and provided butcher paper. As we explained the task at hand to our classes, we simply told them it was their job to figure out how authors organize their thinking in the books they write. Once they figured that out, they had to provide proof (text evidence, if you will.) </div>
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About 15 minutes into the task as we were bouncing from group to group, nudging and pushing them to keep trying, I looked at Maria. "You hate me right now, don't you?" This was definitely messy, messy learning. We both laughed and agreed that this is <i>exactly</i> the kind of deep learning our kids need to be doing.</div>
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Shortly after that happened, we noticed a few groups starting to talk in terms of "fact and opinion" and "ABC order," while asking questions like, "Isn't that a main idea?" Slowly but surely, they were making sense of it. We quickly pulled the groups together and asked just a few to share out what they were currently thinking. You could see lightbulbs popping up around the room as kids shared. We sent them back to continue working on the task, armed with this new knowledge. Pretty soon, we were hearing about lists, comparing and contrasting, chronological order, and more. </div>
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On day two, we only gave kids about 15 minutes to review the previous day's thinking before we gathered together for each group to share one book and its structure. Truth be told, our 4th grade learners came up with some possibilities I hadn't even considered! We created our anchor charts together so these ideas will be visible in our rooms. After seeing the list they generated, I am confident this was way more effective that the traditional "sit and git" instruction!</div>
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Where do we go from here? We invited our learners to use these structures as they are working during Readers' and Writers' Workshop time. It also opened the conversation about the possibilities of presentations for our next student-led EdCamp (more on that to follow!) </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-71306192179146747482017-01-05T15:00:00.000-06:002017-01-05T15:00:14.873-06:00Digital Reading OptionsIn the four years that I've been teaching in a school with 1-1 devices, I've continued to investigate options for sites and apps that will allow my kids to read books digitally. My school uses Destiny e-reader, but kids didn't seem to be using it very often. This year, we've discovered two new options that have become wildly popular with my 4th graders!<br />
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<b><i><u>Epic</u></i></b><br />
The first option is the free site <a href="https://www.getepic.com/">Epic Reads</a>. There is an option to pay for access to the site, but I signed up as a teacher and was able to add all of my kids to my account. I love that it features REAL books and gives kids the option to read it themselves or read with their ears. It has a good mix of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as mixed formats (picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, audio books.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Binky the Space Cat is even offered on Epic Reads!</td></tr>
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<u>From My 4th Graders...</u><br />
I like the options of books on Epic! On Epic, you can see the books you've read and you can read them again if you want. There's long books and short books. - Sienna<br />
I like Epic better and the variety of books. I don't like, on MyOn, how you have to take a quiz and remember every last detail about the book. - Max<br />
I don't really like either one, but if I had to pick, I'd pick Epic. It has shorter books and longer books! - Ella<br />
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<b><i><u>MyOn</u></i></b><br />
The second option is <a href="https://www.myon.com/login/">MyOn</a>. My district paid for this one, so it is available on all student devices (Chromebooks.) Just like Epic, it offers a good variety of genres, formats, and possibilities. Again, this site provides access to REAL books. Actually, we've added books to our classroom library based on what they've read on MyOn. Three of the most popular finds have been the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_2_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=spine+shivers&sprefix=spine+shivers%2Caps%2C151&crid=3F83VJI3AU6A6">Spine Shivers series</a> (great for Goosebumps fans!), <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_22?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mighty+mighty+monsters+books&sprefix=mighty+mighty+monsters%2Cstripbooks%2C148&crid=AL5PRUWOL6JM&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Amighty+mighty+monsters+books">Mighty Mighty Monsters</a> graphic novels, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_38?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sports+illustrated+kids+graphic+novels&sprefix=Sports+Illustrated+Kids+Graphic+novels%2Cstripbooks%2C283&crid=3L9FFJIJRUQ2H&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Asports+illustrated+kids+graphic+novels">Sports Illustrated Kids</a> graphic novels.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtvvuTsayqV9ZhGf5uQnlKD5R4frspwejU9HpdPSiA4xjuozzNVjW02rQGDZspBL_D5YUI_V7yCSnV3i_71iW7oeqmyw2eoMf-W8WAq867bhxMik-9S6VuGzNPKTOCP7F6uncfuDl0aL0/s1600/Screenshot+2016-12-18+at+11.06.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtvvuTsayqV9ZhGf5uQnlKD5R4frspwejU9HpdPSiA4xjuozzNVjW02rQGDZspBL_D5YUI_V7yCSnV3i_71iW7oeqmyw2eoMf-W8WAq867bhxMik-9S6VuGzNPKTOCP7F6uncfuDl0aL0/s320/Screenshot+2016-12-18+at+11.06.47+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 4th graders love the Sports Illustrated Kids graphic novels!<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<u>From my 4th Graders...</u><br />
It is easy to search for books. It keeps track of how many minutes and hours you've read each week. -Gianna<br />
There's a lot of choices! I like to listen to the books. There's better books than on Epic! - Eric<br />
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One word of caution. There is an option for kids to take a quiz on the books they've read. This does not fit with my philosophy of free choice reading and discussions as a means of determining comprehension. Right from the beginning, we figured out how to ignore the request to take a quiz. However, some of my kids find this "fun" and choose to take the quizzes occasionally.<br />
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I'm excited that we've found a couple of digital reading options that are engaging and appeal to middle grade readers! What's even better, in my opinion, is that the sites feature real titles from real books, rather than books that are made specifically to be placed onto a site. Which sites are your favorites?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-63531998626985086932016-12-14T13:00:00.000-06:002016-12-14T15:57:30.102-06:00JOY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rGAtA0lSJqxlS0sQ_Qd33Oaox_MgWBtWAkD5k3CRdH5uDvJ9YJmHDNFPwdhmYsbV7eXLTEdxgUKMO1YuG07XGc5sjV8pg-pX22TQMKG2DhxRnb0fS1Mt43z0glea_ekpLGltMDlKlGpv/s1600/PhotoGrid_1481737790501.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rGAtA0lSJqxlS0sQ_Qd33Oaox_MgWBtWAkD5k3CRdH5uDvJ9YJmHDNFPwdhmYsbV7eXLTEdxgUKMO1YuG07XGc5sjV8pg-pX22TQMKG2DhxRnb0fS1Mt43z0glea_ekpLGltMDlKlGpv/s320/PhotoGrid_1481737790501.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've firmly planted JOY in the center of my classroom world this year. Making learning joyful has always been important to me, but amid the crazy stressful education world we live in today, it seems more necessary than ever.<br />
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Lucky for me, I have a partner in crime in this endeavor. <a href="https://twitter.com/MVallejoTeacher">Maria Vallejo</a> teaches across the hall from me and has become one of my greatest sources of inspiration. She has fully embraced the idea of infusing joy into everything we do. Our conversations leave me richer, happier, smarter.<br />
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Together, we are going back to basics, if you will. We are making sure each and every day offers plenty of time for choice reading and writing. We are focusing on depth not breadth with our lesson plans. We are drinking from the waterfall that is Twitter and coming to school ready to try something new on a whim. We are pushing kids to dig deeper and think more.<br />
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Reading <a href="https://movingwriters.org/2016/10/03/the-power-of-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/">this article from the Moving Writers </a>blog has reminded me that I enjoy being a risk-taker, a trailblazer. I also thought it was a telling sign when I grabbed a Dove chocolate from my cabinet and was given the message, "Why not?" Why not, indeed.<br />
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Of course, there are moments when I falter. There are days when I have my doubts. But then Maria comes along with another mind-blowing suggestion, and I'm back. My Twitter people are also such a great source of inspiration for keeping me grounded and nudging me to do more. <a href="https://twitter.com/sfillner">Scott Fillner</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/alizateach">Aliza Werner,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JessLif">Jess Lifshitz </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/literacybigkids">Stacey Reidmiller</a> move me daily. I can't (or maybe won't?) tell you how many times they've posted a lesson, idea, or chart on Twitter... and I've promptly stolen it for an upcoming lesson.<br />
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Going back to my summer professional reading is something that's also kept me moving forward. <a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E05359.aspx">UpStanders by Sarah Ahmed and Smokey Daniels </a>has catapulted me into doing more with how we treat each other and infusing social issues into our learning. <a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E07816.aspx">DIY Literacy by Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts</a> brought back my dedication to anchor charts.<br />
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My 4th graders remind me to make the most of every moment and to embrace the fun in every situation. They've given me so much to ponder as we've redesigned our learning space to include more flexible seating options. This year especially, they've shown me what happens when I step out of their way and let them soar.<br />
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In this season of giving and a time when we see "joy" written everywhere, I have to give thanks to the people and ideas by which I am inspired. And a special thanks goes out to <a href="https://twitter.com/PKup10">Peter Kupfer</a> for asking me yesterday why I wasn't writing on my blog any more - it was just the nudge I needed to finally publish this post!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-49784654957514843532016-08-10T07:14:00.003-05:002016-08-10T07:14:43.664-05:00#pb10for10 2016Hooray!! It's one of my favorite, favorite days of the year. Unfortunately, like many others have said, it tends to be an expensive day as well. Thanks to Cathy Mere and Mandy Robek for hosting the yearly event!<br />
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After last year's #nerdcampmi, my fourth grade readers and I embraced the idea of a classroom picture book a day challenge. We were inspired by Donalyn Miller's original #bookaday idea which then inspired Jillian Heise to create the #classroombookaday challenge. (I know that isn't the focus of today's event, but it is definitely related and definitely a worthwhile endeavor!)<br />
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At the end of the school year, I asked my fourth graders to do some reflecting on which picture books were their favorites. We also took a vote for which books were the ones we remembered the most. So this year's #pb10for10 list is actually their list! Without further adieu...</div>
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Number 10...</div>
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Number 9...</div>
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Number 8...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbpMMMmCb1iVnCM3sflxA9fpbdc9a6tZuxx85LqT-sa62SWB-1YnHqCwty7TBNTiSxWMBmRnGK1lHsRR_sgMeRqd0ZKewSrBnG5PQOq32MGE1zgnPolW8MsAsqWvfefngp81kAclbkewQ/s1600/whenamonsterisborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbpMMMmCb1iVnCM3sflxA9fpbdc9a6tZuxx85LqT-sa62SWB-1YnHqCwty7TBNTiSxWMBmRnGK1lHsRR_sgMeRqd0ZKewSrBnG5PQOq32MGE1zgnPolW8MsAsqWvfefngp81kAclbkewQ/s320/whenamonsterisborn.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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Number 7...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZET-FntANmpjvzNIESSYOS7wW2OLqC5rRdZh1jMOOL-tsYwm8GeNnBczZS3RZDZ7wwXKIPdg0XdsViTrgeqZIG8Dxsa4aTdS5vPIAzHOq9ZAJXtn-KOv_QuzSUR4UD2jgKcbMaLZa9q1F/s1600/ireallylikeslop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZET-FntANmpjvzNIESSYOS7wW2OLqC5rRdZh1jMOOL-tsYwm8GeNnBczZS3RZDZ7wwXKIPdg0XdsViTrgeqZIG8Dxsa4aTdS5vPIAzHOq9ZAJXtn-KOv_QuzSUR4UD2jgKcbMaLZa9q1F/s320/ireallylikeslop.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
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Number 6...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCrMGicnWjsCQBPQPaO8NcEYFeF73JmHln5ls0C3JdX9edUZzWjkgnOjsTlGKrd-VzUGmY3FUGeUNzEGKslufhd9ACquD2qNBaLm0E51_9P1BRH4wogroEbFxZWbTDEwCC8KFYwVN3GB1/s1600/iyamadonkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCrMGicnWjsCQBPQPaO8NcEYFeF73JmHln5ls0C3JdX9edUZzWjkgnOjsTlGKrd-VzUGmY3FUGeUNzEGKslufhd9ACquD2qNBaLm0E51_9P1BRH4wogroEbFxZWbTDEwCC8KFYwVN3GB1/s1600/iyamadonkey.jpg" /></a></div>
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Number 5...</div>
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Number 4...</div>
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Number 3...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoVaJ5kyE-YNnlVP9ilK71vQdtkDkPdgjQBzhttwqBFpet3g6rifWH2f3S3fgpDbqABatvPkuSyXsIYGsoGQF3DpEI0gItHBN7pizjE5m62seWAExGjdhA_lU62P3HeRteW5RB3UFqnE2/s1600/banana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoVaJ5kyE-YNnlVP9ilK71vQdtkDkPdgjQBzhttwqBFpet3g6rifWH2f3S3fgpDbqABatvPkuSyXsIYGsoGQF3DpEI0gItHBN7pizjE5m62seWAExGjdhA_lU62P3HeRteW5RB3UFqnE2/s320/banana.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
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Number 2...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxoS3dVkDo09wQkjpR_e7t_adXLtOLEmo5AmawCTAR3Mmam9g1RwOYJTZ2ryc2LdaP1dbei_Lp8BrbpcjHzydnrxo8CJH5L4W4wUUh1ubZ0KSXnggOC4HK76KWgHODuuS4zXMrLP6XgE2/s1600/mustachebabymeets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxoS3dVkDo09wQkjpR_e7t_adXLtOLEmo5AmawCTAR3Mmam9g1RwOYJTZ2ryc2LdaP1dbei_Lp8BrbpcjHzydnrxo8CJH5L4W4wUUh1ubZ0KSXnggOC4HK76KWgHODuuS4zXMrLP6XgE2/s1600/mustachebabymeets.jpg" /></a></div>
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Number 1...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80SisTyPx0iTw49AxW6FtzAxZEOsK2tD7TEKQzG-YiM1moWkEzLTYf0XErXx1y7cAJ4dGCtIxSTu_TI6IletGdSKiBC0HteyEtQiIxHqOVjod16xEJOqqRXGsmXTOadHQQjIJHA8ETGxE/s1600/jumanji.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80SisTyPx0iTw49AxW6FtzAxZEOsK2tD7TEKQzG-YiM1moWkEzLTYf0XErXx1y7cAJ4dGCtIxSTu_TI6IletGdSKiBC0HteyEtQiIxHqOVjod16xEJOqqRXGsmXTOadHQQjIJHA8ETGxE/s320/jumanji.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And their top pick...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyceV_zNWyzNAPKjSBNmXU_d16DrTQ3H16FHNFWp5dt44XpyX3om-TLMGzArvWiBrk9w2wfuCkB0MtVNkxIPRajAXQhM3k70d3Q2V8JO3S1BP9OZydhfh6oNJ22VJCNhuVny0U8WYFo93f/s1600/mustachebaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyceV_zNWyzNAPKjSBNmXU_d16DrTQ3H16FHNFWp5dt44XpyX3om-TLMGzArvWiBrk9w2wfuCkB0MtVNkxIPRajAXQhM3k70d3Q2V8JO3S1BP9OZydhfh6oNJ22VJCNhuVny0U8WYFo93f/s1600/mustachebaby.jpg" /></a></div>
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As I look at their list, I know we read a wide variety of picture books that included informational texts, poetry, historical fiction, and more. However, judging by their list, they were clearly drawn to the humor in picture books! And, yes, I do know I actually snuck in 11 books. (Oops!)</div>
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And now the best part... I get to go read other people's lists and attempt to not break the bank! Thanks again to Cathy and Mandy for providing this spectacular opportunity!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-27207438566776321722016-07-15T08:46:00.001-05:002016-07-15T08:47:22.995-05:00#cyberPD 2016 - DIY Literacy Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AFFQt27dl0HOmOzN9RrEcJdK3y9BGq1H3fdXqYmTJzO5EnpRhcoGbJWB81T4aD5_LgHfFYcdRmoTTvr54wpdPkGdKQvFtqMnhZwXAlmUOmt_M9JaHxHiig1WV5hzJucVMpVJRe8ZXQY0/s1600/%2523cyberPD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AFFQt27dl0HOmOzN9RrEcJdK3y9BGq1H3fdXqYmTJzO5EnpRhcoGbJWB81T4aD5_LgHfFYcdRmoTTvr54wpdPkGdKQvFtqMnhZwXAlmUOmt_M9JaHxHiig1WV5hzJucVMpVJRe8ZXQY0/s1600/%2523cyberPD.jpg" /></a></div>
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As I begin writing this, I cannot help but thank our incredible community for nurturing this event and helping it grow into ways we never thought possible! Cathy, Michelle and I are so impressed with how everyone is jumping in, trying new ideas, and supporting the work of each person. Our weekly conversations and comments on <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/3f579d26-f0e9-4cc3-879b-ad3f763b3a5d?utm_source=chrome_ntp_icon&utm_medium=chrome_app&utm_campaign=chrome">our Google community</a> have certainly brought us to new understandings as well. </div>
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<b><i><u>My Thoughts on Chapters 3 and 4...</u></i></b></div>
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<b><i>Creating an educational climate that elevates the level of thinking, discussion, </i></b></div>
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<b><i>and performance is ideal when raising the next generation. (p. 54)</i></b></div>
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As I began reading chapters 3 and 4, I started thinking about how repertoire charts are the teaching tools I am probably most comfortable with. Most comfortable... and yet, I still haven't utilized them consistently with my 4th graders. While reading more, I continued to think about how those charts around the room really do support the work of my readers and writers. I'm excited to also try out the other tools as other means of scaffolding, supporting, and stretching our learning. </div>
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On page 42, Kate and Maggie list a few ideas for keeping a chart "alive" for students. While fairly common sense, these really stuck with me. I also really appreciated their advice for narrowing the focus and assessing whether the tools worked. The bookmarks will be an incredibly powerful tool for students as far as agency, independence and "stickiness" are concerned. They tie in well with goal-setting and keeping kids accountable for their own progress, too.</div>
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The focus on what rigor really means was incredibly helpful. Not only does it link to difficulty, but it also has a lot to do with motivation and kids' desire to work harder. I love the quote I listed earlier for this reason. Isn't that our ultimate goal? It ties in so well with another fabulous professional read I'm loving, which is <a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E05359.aspx">Upstanders by Sara Ahmed and Harvey Daniels.</a> We want our kids to want to learn and make a difference in this world. </div>
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<b><i><u>The Conversation Continues...</u></i></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Credit to Rachel Harder for creating this!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-23640076046828211102016-07-06T22:00:00.003-05:002016-07-06T22:01:44.960-05:00#cyberPD 2016 - DIY Literacy Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtJC48zlTCiQAtzS6OB2u59gEgwd0S4EzBdKupTiuJpObjefNzRUgY8DhybO_FaUeVAEnDKMNZheu3xM_pI1LbMLT0iXS7YKi3FkYnzAFTILCigcl-2S30oT2ophznSW-oH1vm8pmgsLT/s1600/%2523cyberPD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtJC48zlTCiQAtzS6OB2u59gEgwd0S4EzBdKupTiuJpObjefNzRUgY8DhybO_FaUeVAEnDKMNZheu3xM_pI1LbMLT0iXS7YKi3FkYnzAFTILCigcl-2S30oT2ophznSW-oH1vm8pmgsLT/s1600/%2523cyberPD.jpg" /></a></div>
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Let's get this party started! <a href="https://twitter.com/CathyMere">Cathy Mere</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/litlearningzone">Michelle Nero</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraKomos">I</a> are delighted to be celebrating the 6th annual #cyberPD event with all of you. As you probably already know, we'll be focusing on just a few chapters each week and culminating our event by the end of the month. While you are certainly welcome to comment on people's individual blog posts, we would also highly encourage you to hop over to join in the conversation on our <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/3f579d26-f0e9-4cc3-879b-ad3f763b3a5d?utm_source=chrome_ntp_icon&utm_medium=chrome_app&utm_campaign=chrome">Google Community</a> and on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23cyberPD&src=savs">Twitter</a>. <br />
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If you are new to the event, <a href="http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-basics-of-cyberpd.html?m=1">Cathy has written a super helpful post </a>about the basics of #cyberPD. We encourage imagination, too! If there is a way you're thinking about participating, feel free to give it a whirl!<br />
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<b><i><u>My Thoughts on Chapters 1, 2, and Bonus...</u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TalRg0amX8wQTdB71GDuRMQN77sMKiKVceYrEqTKqOr-ehC_8xuaIk7meBU_ub0JltCycVvwlXAiNj6_AnzjnYPexM2hVIdHs24DR4fAlI3rPE1SvlB50UAzAWhShBla8_6M8Yjm_i7b/s1600/PhotoGrid_1467481428975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TalRg0amX8wQTdB71GDuRMQN77sMKiKVceYrEqTKqOr-ehC_8xuaIk7meBU_ub0JltCycVvwlXAiNj6_AnzjnYPexM2hVIdHs24DR4fAlI3rPE1SvlB50UAzAWhShBla8_6M8Yjm_i7b/s320/PhotoGrid_1467481428975.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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DIY Literacy was a wonderful companion for a cabin in the woods and by the shores of Stockade Lake (both in Custer State Park in South Dakota.) Both places gave me plenty of time to really dig in deep and wrap my head around what Katie and Maggie were teaching us through their new book.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"We crave these results as we teach, and yet often we get trapped in the hamster wheel of breadth - of being sure we have gotten to everything - rather than centering our work on depth." (p. 3)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will admit that I've fallen victim to the hamster wheel. Especially as I've been learning the ins and outs of 4th grade, I've felt myself spinning in circles as I try to "cover" everything that is expected of me. I took a step back last summer during </span><a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/670aef23-75af-4426-a488-a4eca04edcfe?utm_source=chrome_ntp_icon&utm_medium=chrome_app&utm_campaign=chrome" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our #cyberPD event around Digital Reading</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (and again when I read this quote) to think about how I can address this and not feel the pull of that hamster wheel. Focus on what Maggie and Kate suggest throughout the book (memory. rigor, and differentiation,) Add these to </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Reading-Essential-Principles-Practice/dp/0814111572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467653301&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+reading+book+bass+and+sibberson" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Franki Sibberson and Bill Bass's authenticity, intentionality, and connectedness.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.. WOW! That packs quite a punch. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another trap I've fallen into lately is creating very few anchor charts for (or with) my students, opting for pre-made or digital versions instead. As soon as I saw page 4, I knew that would have to change. Kate and Maggie explain the four different types of teaching tools (repertoire or process charts, demonstration notebooks, micro-progressions of skills, bookmarks), and I could immediately see how these will fit into our classroom. They go on to describe how these tools both influence learning and make it stick. Makes perfect sense! I also appreciated the step-by-step descriptions in chapter 2 - I'm totally the kind of learner who is grateful for those! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being that I am in a 1:1 Chromebook school district, my students have information at their fingertips at all times (including at home, too.) While I do want more of our co-created anchor charts visible around the classroom, I think I'd also like to continue to provide them digitally as well. We use Haiku LMS, so it would be logical to take pictures of our charts and include them online. I'm also a huge, huge fan of Padlet, which could also work beautifully for this purpose.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What really struck me in the bonus chapter is how intuitive Kate and Maggie were to their readers' needs. As I was reading chapter 2, I did start to think, "Wait - do I have enough information to come up with these charts on my own?!" I finished the chapter, and then BOOM! Our authors were right there to set my mind at ease, offer more helpful hints, and provide resources for us. I love that the book is written like a conversation between the reader and Kate & Maggie. It's the perfect blend of new knowledge, affirming what we already do, and an enjoyable conversation!!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Rachel Harder for creating this for us!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We've all learned that the real power of our yearly event lies in the conversations and connections we make surrounding the book we're reading. Heading over to </span><a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/3f579d26-f0e9-4cc3-879b-ad3f763b3a5d?utm_source=chrome_ntp_icon&utm_medium=chrome_app&utm_campaign=chrome" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our Google Community</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will help you add your voice to the dialogue! I'm looking forward to hearing what you all have to say!</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-70517016515138268792016-05-05T06:33:00.003-05:002016-05-05T06:33:59.293-05:00Share Your Summer Professional Reading Stack!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While it is a crazy hectic, exhausting time of the year, I love how my brain begins spinning with new possibilities. What has gone well this year? What do I need to rethink? What new learning needs to take place before the kids come back in August? What are my colleagues talking about, both in my school and in my Twitter PLN? As is tradition, my summer professional reading stack is already growing by leaps and bounds.<br />
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In just a few short weeks, <a href="https://twitter.com/CathyMere">Cathy Mere</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/litlearningzone">Michelle Nero</a>, and I plan to unveil the title for our 6th annual #cyberPD event. But we need your help! What is on <b>your</b> summer professional reading stack? We always hope to choose a book that emerges on lots of stacks! Our plan is to announce this year's #cyberPD title right at the beginning of June to give people time to purchase a copy of the book and begin reading before our event officially kicks off in July (exact dates to be announced in June.)<br />
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Sometime during the month of May, please tweet your stack (using the hashtag) and/or <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/670aef23-75af-4426-a488-a4eca04edcfe">post to our CyberPD Google community.</a> Inquiring minds want to know what you plan to read!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-15429261646924701302016-04-20T16:56:00.000-05:002016-04-20T16:56:45.208-05:00Amplifying our discussions!!!So I'm not going to lie... I'm totally geeking out over here about an idea I gleaned from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amplify-Digital-Teaching-Learning-Classroom/dp/0325074739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461170440&sr=8-1&keywords=amplify+ziemke">Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom by Kristin Ziemke and Katie Muhtaris</a>!! We spent some time reading a <a href="http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/is-the-grass-always-greener-on-the-other-side">Wonderopolis article</a> this morning about the metaphor "The grass is always greener on the other side." My fourth graders watched the Wonderopolis video and read the article twice before we started our discussion phase. We've used the Socratic Seminar method several times this year and have done a lot of close reading practice along with our discussions, so it was time to make a leap to an online discussion.<br />
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Now, we tried this once before but my kids were overwhelmed with all 26 of us trying to read, respond, and react in the discussion online. BAM! The idea hits me from Katie and Kristin's book to start out having online discussions with smaller groups of students before attempting it with the whole class. So that's exactly what we did!<br />
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Each randomly selected group of 5-6 students was given a separate <a href="https://todaysmeet.com/">Today's Meet room</a>. Before beginning the discussion, we reviewed proper discussion etiquette as well as how we should be using more academic language than texting language in our online discussion. I jumped on to all five rooms to get the discussion going and let them take it from there. You can find the transcripts to all five discussions below. I was quite impressed with most of what occurred in each discussion, but I also realize we're in fourth grade and are learning to communicate in this way.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-qE6NsYp9svc3c0OGI0V1NjSlE/view?usp=sharing">Todays Meet Transcripts</a></div>
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During our debriefing following the chats, kids reported that it was much easier to follow along and respond with the smaller group. Several learners also mentioned how they enjoyed talking online so their voice was heard; it gave everyone an equal opportunity to share their thoughts. </div>
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(This is a quick view of our room while the chat was taking place. </div>
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More students were seated at a table and comfy chairs behind me.)</div>
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We will definitely be amplifying our discussions in this way again!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-30495571098270174172016-04-12T15:28:00.003-05:002016-04-12T15:28:54.472-05:00Fourth Grade Novel Read AloudsMore than ever before, I've made it a priority to involve my fourth graders more in the decision making process of which book will be our next novel read aloud. I've asked for input in the past two years, but this year, I've (almost always) given them the final say in the matter.<br />
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*Kids fill out a Google form to suggest titles<br />
*Find book trailers or blog posts about the top 3-4 books that were suggested<br />
*Watch said book trailers and provide time for book talks<br />
*Vote via online poll (on our LMS, Haiku)<br />
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I have usually given some parameters to their suggestions, to help nudge them along in their reading lives. For example, I noticed that most of them have primarily been reading realistic fiction this year. That isn't a bad thing, but expanding their reading into other genres is certainly a good thing! At one point, we also realized all of the novels we'd shared so far had had female protagonists. Again, not a bad thing... but reading from a male's perspective should be another common experience for us. Ultimately, though, my fourth graders have the final say. Our first three novels this year were...<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Tree-Lynda-Mullaly-Hunt/dp/0399162593/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460334961&sr=1-1&keywords=fish+in+a+tree+by+lynda+mullaly+hunt">Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Divided-Jennifer-Nielsen/dp/0545682428/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460335129&sr=1-1&keywords=a+night+divided+by+jennifer+a.+nielsen">A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Out-My-Mind-Sharon-Draper/dp/1416971718/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460335000&sr=1-1&keywords=Out+of+My+Mind">Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Among-Hidden-Shadow-Children-1/dp/0689824750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460490521&sr=8-1&keywords=among+the+hidden">Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix</a><br />
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All three of those books led to rich discussions, heartfelt questions, and children begging to read "just one more chapter." If you ask them, my fourth grade readers will probably tell you <u>A Night Divided</u> was their favorite. It opened their minds to concepts they'd never questioned before and left them hanging on the edge of their seats often.<br />
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I strayed from the usual routine at the beginning of March. I chose a book that I absolutely love and would help kids understand the heart of a sled dog (as well as a musher.) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Dogs-Terry-Lynn-Johnson/dp/054466387X?ie=UTF8&keywords=ice%20dogs%20by%20terry%20lynn%20johnson&qid=1460334793&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1">Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson</a> contains elements of realistic fiction, adventure, and friendship. While it might not stretch the genre or protagonist gap, it would still push their thinking. I explained this and asked my readers to give me the first 50-ish pages of the book. Once we read that far, we'd discuss our options.<br />
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As we approached the 50 page mark, we voted to decide if we should continue or abandon the book. It was a really close vote (14 in favor of continuing, 11 in favor of abandoning.) Ultimately, the majority wanted to continue but judging by their nonverbal cues during the book, I made the call to abandon. It just wasn't capturing the attention of this particular group, and as much as it pained me (because I really do absolutely adore this book!) I knew we had to move on.<br />
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We've since gone back to our normal process of watching book trailers and voting, and we are now fifteen chapters into another Jennifer Nielsen gem, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Thief-1/dp/0545561558/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460490638&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+of+the+thief">Mark of the Thief.</a><br />
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Even when we think <b>we</b> know best, this was my reminder to honor the voices and choices of my students... because sometimes, I just need them to guide me and show me the way.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-60420986065938108682016-04-10T10:42:00.001-05:002016-04-12T11:30:36.163-05:00Time to Amplify!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX03W7N57hrMn9Xx3jU53APgHzo5aHRT-EHe1AdEwZjvt9zt3Wu65Ij9nhYZ-l60-Q382Dw7E1Q0v0N4OMdg0xQKUwJgRLouRlc_YXBznafU1c5v0hw8_fkUtuDxGGzgPfgUxRwEeVB0bm/s1600/amplify.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX03W7N57hrMn9Xx3jU53APgHzo5aHRT-EHe1AdEwZjvt9zt3Wu65Ij9nhYZ-l60-Q382Dw7E1Q0v0N4OMdg0xQKUwJgRLouRlc_YXBznafU1c5v0hw8_fkUtuDxGGzgPfgUxRwEeVB0bm/s320/amplify.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incredibly delicious read, <br />
as evidenced by all of my sticky flags!</td></tr>
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I finished reading <u><a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E07473.aspx">Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom</a></u> several days ago, and I still can't stop gushing about it to anyone who will listen. The authors, <a href="https://twitter.com/KatieMuhtaris">Katie Muhtaris</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/KristinZiemke">Kristin Ziemke</a>, have astounded me with their thinking.<br />
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What struck me first (and stayed with me throughout the book) was the way they were able to seamlessly incorporate vignettes, tips, and ideas from a primary perspective as well as an upper elementary one. It makes sense, of course, since Kristin taught first and Katie taught fifth, but I loved how the foundation remained the same throughout the multi-grade perspective. Quite often, I have felt myself seesawing on my personal pedagogy in the past two and a half years as I've refined and redefined myself during my transition to becoming an upper elementary teacher. It is quite evident that Katie and Kristin's work is steeped in solid pedagogy and current best practice.<br />
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As I was reading, I was thinking about how Chromebooks have been our new 1:1 tool this year. It has opened the door to many possibilities (since they work really well, unlike the Kuno tablets we had for the past couple of years,) but I've had to rethink how we can use pictures or video to document our thinking/learning. My "DUH" moment there came when Katie and Kristin wrote about using audio recording. Truth be told, I hadn't actually explored options for video or audio recording on the Chromebooks. My kids and I are fixing that as we speak!<br />
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A few more of my favorite "can't wait to try it" ideas Kristin and Katie shared in the book...<br />
*Model reading digital text ideas p. 46-47<br />
*Ideas for digital reading minilessons p. 48<br />
*Practice watching videos with a "wide awake mind" p. 51<br />
*Introduce/practice online discussions with small groups of students p. 53<br />
*Hierarchy chart for determining content, creation, polishing, presenting p. 75<br />
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<u>Amplify</u> has raised my sights toward finishing this year strong and starting next year with a solid framework that is redesigned and refreshed. I have notes throughout the book, tons of sticky notes, and a document started where I've been jotting down ideas so I don't forget! And it has also reminded me of just how much I learn from my Twitter colleagues and how I need to make it a priority to be more active on Twitter.<br />
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Through our Twitter and face-to-face connections, I have learned so much from both Kristin and Katie (and have shared many laughs with both of them, too!) I've stolen many ideas from them over the past few years, but I am now fully prepared to snag a bunch more! I'm excited to jump in to the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%23amplifyed&src=typd">#AmplifyEd</a> conversation to see what others have taken away and have started after reading this gem of a professional read.<br />
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What books have shaped your thinking lately?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-55993818887119751662015-08-10T06:30:00.000-05:002015-08-10T06:30:01.590-05:00Celebrating #pb10for10 in 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Each year when I start thinking of Cathy and Mandy's spectacular summer event, I try to come up with a list of picture books that I just can't live without. And then I start plotting ways to include more than only 10 books in my post. Add to my confusion a simply wonderful trip to Nerd Camp. This year was no different. I went through the same process and then went to Nerd Camp. And then went on a picture book book-buying frenzy. As I begin writing this post, we are barely scratching the surface of the month of August. Sigh. I'm in trouble.<br />
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After much deliberation, I've decided I just have to go back to picture books that are new to me that I just can't wait to share with my fourth graders. My decision is attributed largely to sessions I attended at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nErDcampMI?src=hash">#nErDcampMI </a>with the inspiring <a href="https://twitter.com/heisereads">Jillian Heise</a>. She is a 7th and 8th grade Language Arts teacher from Wisconsin who committed to reading a picture book to her students each and every day of the 2014-2015 school year. Not only did she focus on sharing the joy of picture books with her students, but she also was very intentional and purposeful in why she was doing it. Her presentation (<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/mrsheise/nerdcampmi-2015-a-year-of-bookaday-picture-book-read-alouds-in-middle-school">shared here)</a> moved me and revitalized my love of picture books. I especially loved slide #7 and all of the feedback from her kids. I'm thrilled to be joining the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23classroombookaday&src=typd">#classroombookaday</a> challenge with my learners this year!<br />
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Part of Jillian's presentation(s) included passing around picture books for us to read. While doing so, I found so many of the titles I'm about to share with you! A handful of them also came from my summer travels and the independent book shops I visited.<br />
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<b><u><i>Inspired by my time and my friends at #nErDcampmi...</i></u></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bernice-Gets-Carried-Hannah-Harrison/dp/0803739168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439042910&sr=8-1&keywords=bernice+gets+carried+away">Bernice Gets Carried Away by Hannah E. Harrison</a></div>
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I giggled out loud as I began reading this book! What a character! Bernice reminded me of a pouty, self-centered little toddler who is having one heck of a bad day. She definitely redeems herself and reminds readers of how our attitude can change everything.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pardon-Me-Daniel-Miyares/dp/1442489979/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439042867&sr=8-1&keywords=pardon+me+miyares">Pardon Me! by Daniel Miyares</a></div>
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Another giggle-out-loud read that makes us realize how much the way we talk to others and our attitude influences what happens to us. Don't want to drop too many spoilers here, but I'll just say that I can definitely see readers debating this one much in the same way we debate what happens in another favorite picture book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Want-My-Hat-Back/dp/0763655988/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439048379&sr=8-1&keywords=i+want+my+hat+back+by+jon+klassen">I Want My Hat Back</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXuN6DVxF_FOL8R52o7m1pcqUrrPYCamq3aNOYgLO_wZZNbeiNLk6IRCjvqFc6jgpKnVX5A8nzTitL9SolnNGhEJD5169haKYKSpGFCbTfQ7CgbL9qlAr2ARa9PCz2I_Jb_rz6y2aWPhw/s1600/nightanimals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXuN6DVxF_FOL8R52o7m1pcqUrrPYCamq3aNOYgLO_wZZNbeiNLk6IRCjvqFc6jgpKnVX5A8nzTitL9SolnNGhEJD5169haKYKSpGFCbTfQ7CgbL9qlAr2ARa9PCz2I_Jb_rz6y2aWPhw/s200/nightanimals.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Animals-Gianna-Marino/dp/0451469542/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439042978&sr=8-1&keywords=night+animals+by+gianna+marino">Night Animals by Gianna Marino</a></div>
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Hilarity ensues when these nocturnal creatures realize they are afraid of night animals! I also adored the illustrations in this one.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrnHfn9UsxlET94MnnDGmGUL76338vmvky3ns9cZxGTD6F-Tpp7LKcDGVdbalLW35UhFoYjzLyI3gtjDYWnRCcgpdBMJ-m0xK61cwByfFwpR2UcwRWbgCZWB_naG1aCup7JsaUjNGa61y/s1600/yamadonkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrnHfn9UsxlET94MnnDGmGUL76338vmvky3ns9cZxGTD6F-Tpp7LKcDGVdbalLW35UhFoYjzLyI3gtjDYWnRCcgpdBMJ-m0xK61cwByfFwpR2UcwRWbgCZWB_naG1aCup7JsaUjNGa61y/s200/yamadonkey.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Yam-Donkey-Cece-Bell/dp/0544087208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439043134&sr=8-1&keywords=i+yam+a+donkey">I Yam a Donkey! by CeCe Bell</a></div>
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Younger students will appreciate this silly story while older students will tune in more to the grammar humor in this funny book.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveTs88t3NP74SMENOiqj0XfM45pPa1WdFZmuSSiMnhyphenhyphenS6SQPe_qwQBcEBssBlOrTUzKn0KMHdrFqZH9LQ7b3Gi-L63N16N6QyLFlAySW5BA7JzToQk6ElYhjjxpp8fwkJCu_abf9ebxnb/s1600/tothesea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveTs88t3NP74SMENOiqj0XfM45pPa1WdFZmuSSiMnhyphenhyphenS6SQPe_qwQBcEBssBlOrTUzKn0KMHdrFqZH9LQ7b3Gi-L63N16N6QyLFlAySW5BA7JzToQk6ElYhjjxpp8fwkJCu_abf9ebxnb/s200/tothesea.jpg" width="155" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/To-Sea-Cale-Atkinson/dp/148470813X/ref=pd_sim_sbs_14_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1CMZXJKA9YFC3N6SJX2Z">To The Sea by Cale Atkins</a></div>
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What a sweet story! This will definitely be one of the first books I read to my fourth graders this year. It will bring about conversations about how we take care of each other and make sure everyone feels included in our learning community.</div>
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<b><i><u>Inspired by my summer travels and trips to some wonderful indie book shops...</u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAH7Wxj5GUvCa_yPFhiiZmzcijxG8T5NZs0IfK6spyQbdqD7vO0WtF9mvuARSpdu4lua8sQU3iiyGdv0bFiN79v9w98L4XZ34ziz_MMdeo1qFEd9wQvZ2Olk-dKrMk9m3bArZK29Dl0DN/s1600/beanstalkjack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAH7Wxj5GUvCa_yPFhiiZmzcijxG8T5NZs0IfK6spyQbdqD7vO0WtF9mvuARSpdu4lua8sQU3iiyGdv0bFiN79v9w98L4XZ34ziz_MMdeo1qFEd9wQvZ2Olk-dKrMk9m3bArZK29Dl0DN/s200/beanstalkjack.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bean-Stalk-Boy-Named-Jack/dp/1442473495/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439047726&sr=1-1&keywords=a+bean+a+stalk+and+a+boy+named+jack">A Bean, A Stalk, and A Boy Named Jack by William Joyce and Kenny Callicutt</a></div>
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As soon as I spotted this one, I knew it belonged in our classroom library. My fourth graders have been obsessed with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Liesl-Shurtliff/e/B00E7K589C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1439044089&sr=1-2-ent">Liesl Shurtliff's Rump and Jack</a> in the past two years, and this amusing rendition of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale will fit in perfectly.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjCzv8lRaAv4MfXh2kFbepmIAzjox29BHUxgtTjSIGp4mmTUl0HBg05eu-v7By2iD0CBWznNn9a-a3wvVQ54528YzVQOVvDJ8TrRAANUhUq2ls1JuQdiCtgCiTuWI4PJdxKTx9-5ftj9U/s1600/daylightstarlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjCzv8lRaAv4MfXh2kFbepmIAzjox29BHUxgtTjSIGp4mmTUl0HBg05eu-v7By2iD0CBWznNn9a-a3wvVQ54528YzVQOVvDJ8TrRAANUhUq2ls1JuQdiCtgCiTuWI4PJdxKTx9-5ftj9U/s200/daylightstarlight.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Daylight-Starlight-Wildlife-Wendell-Minor/dp/0399246622/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439044392&sr=1-1&keywords=daylight+starlight+wildlife">Daylight Starlight Wildlife by Wendell Minor</a></div>
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I'm a huge fan of Wendell Minor's work and his focus on nature, so this was a must-have for me. Beautiful language accompanied by gorgeous illustrations depicting a scene both during the day and at night. I'll enjoy sharing this one alongside another find, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Northwest-Animal-Babies-Andrea-Helman/dp/1570614628/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439045025&sr=1-1&keywords=northwest+animal+babies">Northwest Animal Babies</a>, which will make a great mentor text for writing informational texts.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Trip-that-Changed-America/dp/0803737106/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439047650&sr=1-1&keywords=camping+trip+that+changed+america">The Camping Trip That Changed America by Barb Rosenstock and Mordicai Gerstein</a></div>
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This book has been on my radar for quite some time, and I took it as a sign that I should finally buy it when I saw it while traveling to some of our nation's beautiful national parks this summer. Like many nature lovers, I am thankful to both of these men for working to preserve areas in our gorgeous country.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Luna-Me-Story-Lived-Forest/dp/080509976X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439045106&sr=1-1&keywords=luna+and+me">Luna & Me by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw</a></div>
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After visiting the majestic Redwoods this summer, this is a book I can't wait to share with my 4th grade readers. It's based on the true story of Julia Hill and the two years she spent living in one of the ancient Redwood trees to help save it from destruction. </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sequoia-Tony-Johnston/dp/1596437278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439047257&sr=1-1&keywords=sequoia+by+tony+johnston">Sequoia by Tony Johnston & Wendell Minor</a></div>
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While I didn't get to visit the Sequoias, this gorgeous book (illustrated by Wendell Minor!) helped me understand the difference between California's two kinds of giant trees (Redwoods and Sequoias.) </div>
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<b><i><u>Recap and Final Thoughts...</u></i></b></div>
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There are just so many more I could've added (and I admit, I snuck in a few extras...) I'm thrilled to have connected with others who will be embarking on a <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=%23classroombookaday">#classroombookaday</a> journey through Twitter, as I'm sure that will bring many more magnificent picture books into my life! Speaking of which... now I'm looking forward to reading which books appear on everyone else's <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pb10for10&src=typd">#pb10for10</a> lists! Happy reading!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-37347578781334817412015-07-21T09:45:00.000-05:002015-07-21T09:45:08.363-05:00#cyberPD - Digital Reading Part 3My, how these three weeks have flown! Thanks to the smart, smart #cyberPD community, my thinking has grown, stretched, and has been challenged. Remember, next week will be our final (live) wrap-up Twitter chat.<br />
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<u>Reflecting...</u><br />
As I read chapter six, the voices of <a href="https://twitter.com/ClareandTammy">Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan</a> (authors of <a href="http://www.stenhouse.com/html/assessment-in-perspective.htm">Assessment in Perspective</a> and #cyberPD participants) were also whispering in my ear. I learn so much from their work, not the least of which is the idea that if we're going to assess kids, we need to make it useful in our day-to-day work. In my district, we have a required weekly reading test connected to our basal reading series (Reading Street.) I don't have a choice in whether or not I give the assessment, but I do have a choice as to what I do with the information collected. If I use it as a formative assessment to help drive the lesson planning decisions I make, it makes me feel slightly better about having to subject them to the test each week.<br />
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Reading chapter six made me think more about this and what other kinds of assessment I'm using. I thought long and hard about the list on page 90. I'm sad to admit that in the past two years that I've taught fourth grade, my conferring with students has taken a back seat to small group instruction. A lot of that has to do with expectations from my district, but a small part of it also has to do with getting to know what fourth grade is all about. I've come to the conclusion that it is still absolutely critical for me to meet with my students one-on-one to meet their individual learning needs. I appreciated all of the resources and ideas Franki and Bill shared in chapter six that will help me accomplish this.<br />
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It's funny how so much of this book has tied directly to goals I have for myself and for my students! Chapter 7 was no exception. As fortunate as we are to have 1:1 devices, we are still faced with educating parents so they can become a member of our digital community. I plan to begin this process at our Curriculum Night (held a few weeks into the school year.) Part of my presentation will include introducing our Haiku page (the learning management system my district uses) and our class Twitter account. I set out with the best intentions after our "Who Owns the Learning" #cyberPD conversation to have my kids gradually take over the responsibility of sharing our learning with parents and the community at large, but it didn't quite happen. I have a renewed sense of motivation and purpose for this after reading chapter 7 as well as my earlier read of the absolutely fabulous book by <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulSolarz">Paul Solarz</a> titled <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Like-PIRATE-Students-Collaborate/dp/098821766X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437450213&sr=8-1&keywords=learn+like+a+pirate">Learn Like a Pirate.</a></u><br />
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Lastly, I simply loved the last paragraph of chapter 7 (page 108.) I believe these sentiments to be true not only for communicating with parents but also for our work with children. There is no magic list or a "one-size fits all" approach to making learning authentic, intentional and connected. We can pick a few tools and plan to stick with them, while keeping flexibility and student needs in mind. And of course, new possibilities will always be opened up though our PLNs... and those new ideas deserve our time and careful consideration as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reflection Perfection up here in the woods of northern Wisconsin!</td></tr>
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As I write this, I am spending time in the woods and on the lakes up in northern Wisconsin. I'm thoroughly enjoying the fishing and snuggles with my nieces, but I also find myself thinking a lot about the #cyberPD conversation and the upcoming school year. But it sure is a beautiful place to take a deep breath of fresh, pine-scented air and cast a line as my mind wanders...<div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-5933768073395448182015-07-18T22:12:00.000-05:002015-07-18T22:13:16.656-05:00Buddy<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently, my mom and I embarked on an epic road trip, covering 14 states in 13 days and traveling close to 5,500 miles. I plan to write more about that in an upcoming post, but one moment on our trip has been weighing heavily on my mind.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was astounding to see so many homeless people as we made our way across the Pacific Northwest. Living near Chicago and visiting the city at times, I've had my fair share of sightings of people surviving on the streets. But this... this was nothing like I've ever seen. Perhaps because the weather is milder on a year-round basis, perhaps because life seems to cost more out there. I'm not sure. But what I do know is that we saw these people everywhere.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, I'll admit; I very rarely hand over any cash to the homeless people I've encountered in Chicago. On occasion, I have. But more often than not, I don't. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One morning during our trip, my mom and I pulled in to get gas. As we turned into the parking lot, we noticed a man leaning up against a STOP sign, holding a sign. "Homeless. Will Work for Food," it read. He looked as though he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while, hadn't showered, and was sporting more than a five o'clock shadow. And then we saw his dog. Being the animal lovers that we are, we both looked at each other and knew this might be one person we would not be able to pass up. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We filled up our tank and headed back to that very spot. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"What do you think?" my mom asked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Without hesitating, I replied, "Give him some cash."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She rolled down the window and handed the man a folded up bill. He unfolded the twenty dollars and promptly turned to his canine companion, "C'mon, Buddy! We can get you some food now!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cue the tears. My mom and I looked at each other, sobbing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He did call out a heartfelt thank you as we were pulling away, but the comment to his dog was enough of a thanks for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we continued on our road trip, I thought of this man and his dog often. In fact, I'm still thinking about them. How do we know their story? Could they just be down on their luck? For all of those people who never get a second glance from some of us who are more fortunate, what do we know about how they ended up living on the streets? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This man and his dog also led me to think about my fourth graders who come from (mostly) upper middle class families. Do they know how lucky they are? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It made me pause and think about one little boy who was in my class during my first year of teaching... and how he was homeless before finding a home in our community.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But mostly, it reminded me of just how blessed I am. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kskJw5uylXCDfAReeS499MrEaP0_EfmQqFVspmO6TuWH1AKgPORoyZ1Q8AdxCJ3C77VcjJ_SwajrmWRCeluSwl7nTCZk9WC7Y31424EJJh8Cvc27gijMiBjf7i8ExLnF3dKF0vlTzfOI/s1600/oregonbeachgrass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kskJw5uylXCDfAReeS499MrEaP0_EfmQqFVspmO6TuWH1AKgPORoyZ1Q8AdxCJ3C77VcjJ_SwajrmWRCeluSwl7nTCZk9WC7Y31424EJJh8Cvc27gijMiBjf7i8ExLnF3dKF0vlTzfOI/s320/oregonbeachgrass.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Pacific Ocean Beach on the Oregon Coast</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13652775885614986773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-6936287574703692192015-07-16T08:40:00.001-05:002015-07-16T08:40:28.401-05:00#cyberPD - Digital Reading Part 2<div>
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I've already learned so much more by reading and commenting on all of the incredible thinking people shared last week from the first two chapters! If you haven't already visited <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922">our Google Community</a>, you will definitely want to head over there and take some time to drink it all in!</div>
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And don't miss out on...</div>
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Week of 7/20 - Reflecting on chapters 6 & 7</div>
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Week of 7/27 - Wrap-up Twitter chat</div>
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<u>Reflecting...</u></div>
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<i>"Authenticity is evident when I look around the room and see kids using various tools that meet their needs at the moment." (p. 26)</i></div>
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I appreciated Franki's story about creating a book trailer and how it is so very easy for us to become wrapped up in the tools. So often, we hear, "It's not about the technology." While I wholeheartedly agree, I also wholeheartedly disagree. It's not about the technology, but it <b>is</b> about the technology. It's not about using technology in a lesson just for the sake of using it, but it is about using the technology in authentic, purposeful ways. So much of what I read in chapter three supports this idea; we are charged with introducing kids to new tools and how those tools might support/enhance their learning, thinking, and understanding. The questions on page 30 are ones I've pondered heavily. This concept of authenticity married with choice is absolutely crucial for learners today.</div>
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During a very eye-opening, honest conversation with my 4th graders back in May, they were sharing with me the apps and tools they use to interact with friends outside of school. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fudeaD5pgU9hSaOqMVyPSU1wqIQOVeA-gchGngyHkpB1YVdj8uzJYdcAtlpzvZtzU-XloIJIJw1eU-jGIm7y1uVDH76Ti30E9k33argGZLhOhynXcR5oerA8simjXKbk1HCh22PqYhWf/s1600/social_media_-_what_kids_are_using_spring_2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fudeaD5pgU9hSaOqMVyPSU1wqIQOVeA-gchGngyHkpB1YVdj8uzJYdcAtlpzvZtzU-XloIJIJw1eU-jGIm7y1uVDH76Ti30E9k33argGZLhOhynXcR5oerA8simjXKbk1HCh22PqYhWf/s400/social_media_-_what_kids_are_using_spring_2015.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 4th graders are definitely connecting digitally!</td></tr>
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During our discussion, students reported Facetime, Oovoo, and Snapchat as favorite ways to connect with friends. Instagram also appeared to be pretty popular and used by many. Going back to Angela Maiers' post mentioned in the book, how am I supporting kids who are tech comfy but not necessarily tech savvy?<br />
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Reading about intentionality in chapter four gave me so much to ponder. It also made me go back to the wise words of my friend Kristin Ziemke who advocates for learning a couple of really good tech tools and and using them well. This also helps to put the emphasis back on the learning rather than the novelty of the tools we're using. When introducing new concepts, tools, or ways of learning digitally, I have to remain vigilant about the WHY.<br />
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The descriptions of intentionality on page 48 really stood out to me. Isn't it so important for us, as teachers, to open the doors to the possible for kids and then step out of the doorway so they can make choices and figure things out for themselves?<br />
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Reading chapter five, I was contemplating how I've connected my kids in the past. How was I breaking down our classroom walls? Both in first and fourth grade, I created opportunities (mostly through my Twitter connections) for kids to interact on a more global level. We've blogged, interacted through our class Twitter account, have participated in Mystery Skypes, used a backchannel chat on Todays Meet to discuss a book, and made video calls to authors. But the more I pondered, the more I realized it's always been very "episodic" (as Franki and Bill called it!) Part of my goal this year is going to be to continue to find ways to weave these experiences more authentically into our learning and into our daily school lives. Again, I think if I keep my own connected life in mind, it will help me be even better at making sure I'm providing the same opportunities for my kids. I'm positive my Twitter friends will be an enormous help and inspiration for this goal!<br />
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Authenticity, intentionality, and connectedness will definitely be at the forefront of my mind as I continue to plan and ponder learning opportunities for my fourth graders!<br />
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<i>"We believe strongly that if we create classrooms where reading is authentic, where students are connected to one another and to the world, and where students make intentional decisions as readers, we have created environments in which readers in the digital age can thrive." (p.86)</i></div>
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Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-86986688931198974832015-07-09T11:59:00.000-05:002015-07-09T11:59:11.173-05:00#cyberPD - Digital Reading Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our #cyberPD event has become an integral part of summer professional development for so many outstanding educators! I am delighted to be co-hosting again this year, alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/CathyMere">Cathy Mere</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/litlearningzone">Michelle Nero</a>. This year, we're reading <a href="https://secure.ncte.org/store/digital-reading">Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/billbass">Bill Bass</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/frankisibberson">Franki Sibberson</a>. Our schedule is as follows:<br />
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Week of 7/6 - Chapters 1-2<br />
Week of 7/13 - Chapters 3-5<br />
Week of 7/20 - Chapters 6-7<br />
Week of 7/27 - Wrap-up (live) Twitter Chat<br />
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We've moved our #cyberPD home to a Google Community this year! We still extend the invitation for people to visit individual blogs and comment there, but the Google Community will allow for yet another place to keep the conversation rolling. <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/670aef23-75af-4426-a488-a4eca04edcfe">You can visit it by clicking here</a>.<br />
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<u>Reflecting...</u><br />
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My thoughts this week are also influenced by the time I spent at <a href="http://nerdcampmi.weebly.com/">NerdCamp</a> in Franki's session on Digital Reading. She shared her slides publicly via Twitter, so I'm hoping it's okay that I provide the <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/secret/FYzna0bTqBawXJ">link HERE</a>! You can peruse the slides to see more about the key points she made. My favorite quote from her session was from slide 17...<br />
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"Choice invites intentionality and purpose."</div>
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Can't stop thinking about this! I'm a huge fan of choice in the classroom, and I know we have to make sure we are providing supports as students navigate their learning journeys. These supports will allow them to be intentional, purposeful users of technology in their reading and writing lives.</div>
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In chapter 1, I kept going back to the idea of how and when I've been using digital texts/resources in our classroom and in my own learning. I teach in a school where every child has a device; for the past two years, that device was an Android tablet (Kuno.) In the fall, we'll be switching to Chromebooks. We have been fortunate to have connections at our fingertips, but the more I think, the more I realize I may not have been as intentional as I could've been about the choices I made regarding digital literacy.<br />
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Moving forward, the three anchors that Franki and Bill focus on will be absolutely essential! <b>Authenticity</b>,<b> intentionality</b>, and <b>connectedness</b> will definitely help me plan for future lessons and experiences for my fourth graders.<br />
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To that end, I also attended a session led by <a href="https://twitter.com/pernilleripp">Pernille Ripp</a> at NerdCamp and one thing in particular has really stuck with me. She said,<br />
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"We're not teaching digital natives. We're teaching kids who use technology."</div>
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That quote really supports what Bill and Franki were saying in the first chapter. Just because students are online doesn't necessarily mean they truly understand how to navigate successfully, how to make intentional choices, and how to truly "learn" digitally.</div>
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In chapter 2, I forced myself to think about the decisions I've made in my classroom in the past two years that I've been teaching fourth grade. Was I staying true to what I believe about reading and writing instruction, grounded in the workshop approach? Sadly, I feel like I lost sight of some of my beliefs as I've made the transition from first grade to fourth grade. This chapter in particular has really helped me be honest with myself! The questions Franki and Bill pose will be essential for me as I bring myself back to my roots. </div>
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I especially love on page 22 how they included the structural components of reading workshop and how those don't change just because we may be doing things digitally. The questions posed on page 23 will also help me as I meet with my readers next year!</div>
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I'm excited to now go over to <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107711243109928665922/stream/670aef23-75af-4426-a488-a4eca04edcfe">our Google Community</a> and read what others took away from the first two chapters!</div>
Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-21509414620246897642014-11-05T20:58:00.000-06:002014-11-05T20:58:30.030-06:00Book Buzz!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Library Day is always highly anticipated! Even going back to when I was in school, I can remember wandering the rows, pondering the possibilities of what book I might find. And once I had that book, I couldn't wait to read it and show everyone around me what I'd found. It's the same for my 4th graders.</div>
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Last year, we'd come back from the library with the expectation that kids would put their library books away so we could move on. Yes, I made the mistake of thinking my fourth graders didn't have that same excitement I'd experienced as a kid. The buzz in the classroom was contagious, and we quickly adapted the routine. We'd return from our designated library time and take about 5 minutes to huddle up with a friend or two to share what we'd checked out.</div>
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A few weeks later, we were on our way back from the library, heading back to our classroom to share what we'd all found. One of my boys was walking next to me and asked if we'd have time for "Book Buzz." And so you have it. Book Buzz was born.</div>
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Book Buzz has become a tradition in our classroom that has carried over to my new 4th graders this year. As we return from the library, we all wander around the room, chatting about which books we checked out, what new titles we discovered, and who found the next book in a series they've been reading. We finish up by stealing a few extra minutes of reading time before we put our books away.</div>
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Something as simple as Book Buzz has succeeded in stirring up so much excitement about books and reading. It's definitely a routine that we'll keep! </div>
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<br />Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-40439482591277085292014-08-10T10:27:00.002-05:002014-08-10T10:27:30.214-05:00Hooray for #PB10for10 in 2014!!Thanks to Cathy Mere and Mandy Robek for hosting this wonderful event!! It doesn't get much better than being able to share our favorite picture books (until you start reading other people's posts... and shopping for new picture books!) Be sure to visit <a href="http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2014/08/picture-book-10-for-10-being-brave.html">Cathy's blog</a> and <a href="http://enjoy-embracelearning.blogspot.com/2014/08/happy-picture-book-10-for-10-day.html">Mandy's blog</a> to see their lists and to find links to other people's posts.<br />
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<a href="http://ruminateandinvigorate.blogspot.com/2013/08/pb10for10-2013.html">My 2013 #pb10for10 post</a></div>
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There are just so many picture books that I love and that my 4th graders love! I was having trouble picking just ten, so once again, I've decided to go the route of "New to Me" picture books for my post this year. I cannot wait to share these with my 4th graders this year!</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Picture-Books-Timothy-Young/dp/0764343874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407681691&sr=8-1&keywords=i+hate+picture+books">I Hate Picture Books by Timothy Young</a></div>
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I'm excited to share this book with my 4th graders at the beginning of the year! I think it will help them see that picture books hold lots of memories for us and that picture books aren't just for young readers. I love, love, love that so many well-known books are featured in the illustrations and referred to in the story.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Beekle-Unimaginary-Friend/dp/0316199982/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407681869&sr=8-1&keywords=the+adventures+of+beekle+the+unimaginary+friend">The Adventures of Beekle The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat</a></div>
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While it was Dan Santat's illustrations that first caught my eye, I loved Beekle's journey to find a friend!</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flight-School-Lita-Judge/dp/1442481773/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407682129&sr=8-1&keywords=flight+school+by+lita+judge">Flight School by Lita Judge</a></div>
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I'm a big fan of Lita Judge's nearly wordless books <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Hat-Lita-Judge/dp/1442442328/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1QT5RXSZ2E0TPDNYXPME">Red Hat</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sled-Lita-Judge/dp/1442420073/ref=pd_sim_b_56?ie=UTF8&refRID=0VA46T56M0FWGTMNSWZ7">Red Sled</a>, so I was thrilled to see this new title! Little Penguin really, really wants to soar like an eagle but has to persevere and use his creative side to make it happen. Adorable! This is a great one to use when teaching about a growth mindset. </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Troublemaker-Lauren-Castillo/dp/054772991X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407682426&sr=1-1&keywords=the+troublemaker+lauren+castillo"> The Troublemaker by Lauren Castillo</a></div>
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Thanks to <a href="http://ruminateandinvigorate.blogspot.com/2014/07/nerd-camp-2014.html">NerdCamp</a>, I found this gem! So many times, kids accuse other kids of stealing things before they have all of the facts. The story of a brother, sister, and a trouble-making raccoon will help teach a valuable lesson!</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Teacher-Monster-No-Not/dp/0316070297/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407682698&sr=1-1&keywords=my+teacher+is+a+monster">My Teacher Is a Monster! (No. I Am Not.) by Peter Brown</a></div>
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I'm a huge Peter Brown fan, and he does not disappoint in his newest book! Hilarious fun! This will be a great community-building read at the beginning of the school year.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Revere-Engineer-Andrea-Beaty/dp/1419708457/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407682795&sr=1-1&keywords=rosie+revere+engineer">Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty</a></div>
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With so much talk about the importance of STEM these days, I think this will become a very important title! I love that it focuses on a little girl, Rosie, who designs and builds all sorts of things. There is also great potential for talking about a growth mindset with this one!</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Most-Magnificent-Thing-Ashley-Spires/dp/1554537045/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407683007&sr=1-1&keywords=the+most+magnificent+thing+ashley+spires">The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires</a></div>
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How many times have we had an idea that is just going to be the MOST MAGNIFICENT THING, only to have it fail miserably? This little girl shows us how to rethink and rework our ideas. Again, a great title to help us teach about a growth mindset.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Day-Byron-Preiss-Book/dp/0689852193/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407683150&sr=1-1&keywords=imagine+a+day">Imagine A Day by Sarah L. Thomson and Rob Gonsalves</a></div>
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This one caught my eye at <a href="http://www.owlandturtle.com/">The Owl and Turtle, a wonderful book shop in Camden, Maine</a>. I loved imagining the possibilities that this book suggests and was truly in awe of the beautiful illustrations! I can't wait to hear my 4th graders "oooh" and "aaahhh" over this one.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRA-Z95zNCMvdhyHbHm4QRB0rLKJvJalgVc8q1ZYeFmGaSJYeucmxDzXYDoYtMtERqCbGsnuiHNWoqz3Trx6mydNZMHcDRCuE9z71aMsdC6sjmO2v_vLu9xlv7vG_VoV9KYWfKWuxAC3U/s1600/ninja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRA-Z95zNCMvdhyHbHm4QRB0rLKJvJalgVc8q1ZYeFmGaSJYeucmxDzXYDoYtMtERqCbGsnuiHNWoqz3Trx6mydNZMHcDRCuE9z71aMsdC6sjmO2v_vLu9xlv7vG_VoV9KYWfKWuxAC3U/s1600/ninja.jpg" height="200" width="155" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-Arree-Chung/dp/0805099115/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407683504&sr=1-1&keywords=ninja+by+arree+chung">Ninja! by Arree Chung</a></div>
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A couple weeks ago, <a href="http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-few-books-to-read-aloud-just-because.html">Franki Sibberson wrote a post about sharing read aloud books "just because."</a> This one fits into that category for me! I'm sure there are lessons I could attach to it, but it is just plain fun. It would pair well with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nighttime-Ninja-Barbara-DaCosta/dp/031620384X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407684191&sr=1-1&keywords=nighttime+ninja+by+barbara+dacosta">Nighttime Ninja</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Friend-Elephant-Piggie-Book/dp/1423179587/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407684254&sr=1-1&keywords=my+new+friend+is+so+fun+by+mo+willems">My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems</a></div>
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Oh, how I love Elephant and Piggie! And my fourth graders loved them, too. It made my heart happy to see them grab the entire basket of Elephant and Piggie books in our classroom and read their way through each and every one of them. Kids will be able to relate to how Gerald is feeling when Piggie makes a new friend!</div>
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I wonder which books others have chosen on their #PB10for10 lists. I'm off to find out (and probably add more books to my cart!)</div>
Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-70988408838360454422014-07-23T05:00:00.000-05:002014-07-23T05:00:01.931-05:00Reading in the Wild - #cyberPD Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow! This event has simply flown by! It's hard to believe that today is our final day for posting reflections. Be sure to head over to <a href="http://literacyzone.blogspot.com/">Michelle Nero's blog Literacy Learning Zone</a> to link up your post! And we hope you'll join us next week as Donalyn joins in the conversation for a live Twitter chat at 7 p.m. CST. We'll use the #cyberPD hashtag for the chat.<br />
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<b><u>My Thoughts</u></b><br />
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<i>"Sometimes, you read a book so special that you want to carry it around for months after you've finished just to stay near it." ~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief</i></div>
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<u><i>Wild Readers Show Preferences</i></u><br />
My reading tastes are constantly changing. Yes - I do have my favorite genres and authors. But I've found that as my life changes, so do my reading preferences. There was a time when I wasn't able to travel much, so I lived my adventures through travel narratives. Lots of them. I was in a reading funk for a while... and then I discovered paranormal romances. Quality literature? Some of it. Did it pull me in as a reader? Absolutely. I read just about every vampire, werewolf, werecat, and draki book I could get my hands on! Nowadays, I find myself reading as many middle grade novels as I can so that I am a better member of my 4th graders' reading community.<br />
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On page 166, Donalyn reveals the preferences that students in her classroom identified. My 4th graders definitely echoed those preferences as well! By far, the most popular genre for my readers this year was fantasy. I found myself searching (and buying) more new fantasy books more than anything else, except possibly graphic novels. Pages 171-175 were particularly of interest to me! Graphic novels are often discounted as "fluff reading," but they are oftentimes more difficult to truly understand and grasp. Readers must really pay attention to every detail included in the pictures, as well as understand the importance of dialogue. I've found myself turning to graphic novels (both with first graders and now fourth graders) when I'm trying to hook a reader. Because kids see the comic-type format, graphic novels appear to be less intimidating. This past year, my kids devoured the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=amulet&sprefix=amule%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aamulet">Amulet series</a>!<br />
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Another target area for me this year will be nonfiction. I am positive that many of my readers would echo Ashley's feelings about nonfiction being all about dead presidents and whales! Looking back, I can count only a small handful of times I book-talked a nonfiction book or expressed my excitement over an informational text I'd read. I'm consciously aware that I need to fix this! The same goes for poetry.<br />
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I wrote a little about <a href="http://ruminateandinvigorate.blogspot.com/2013/07/reading-challenge.html">the 40 Book Challenge in a post last summer</a>, but I've really been rethinking a lot about the freedom I gave my kids this year. I didn't have any genre requirements for them, but I did give some suggestions. After rereading Donalyn's thoughts about the 40 book challenge in this chapter, I'm almost positive I need to stick with the 40 books but give some genre requirements. I keep going back to this sentence, "The main reason Susie and I expect students to try a little bit of everything is so that they can find what they like to read." Makes so much sense!!<br />
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<i><u>Appendices</u></i><br />
So, I started making a list of all of the forms I loved from the appendices... and then I realized I was pretty much writing every form down. I think the genre graph, reading list, and reading itineraries will be especially helpful in teaching readers about their reading habits and preferences. I'm very curious to see how my new readers would answer the Wild Reader survey!! And then I started reading Appendix E and forced myself to stop when I realized I had already added more than 10 books to my online shopping cart. Spectacular lists of books!!<br />
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<i><u>One more thing...</u></i><br />
When I first got my copy of the book back in November, I expressed my excitement on Twitter. Donalyn quickly replied and told me I might want to look at page 255. I was absolutely stunned and honored to see my name listed. Donalyn has impacted my teaching in so many ways! I consider myself very blessed to be able to spend time with her a few times a year in real life, as well as connecting on Twitter. Our conversations always inspire me and are filled with laughter!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblndUSI98143gttdJhSGXJI-UeBqKeXhp3wWfhQ7rJC3EP759oJahKcff18ZZOg5-92ZTb7kVs60n-DcR-g1915nf6VD4-e-ddGtDCRHckP7IJKrPiGpH7nTi_QNpY07LRXehp0bGogdV/s1600/2014-03-15+20.36.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblndUSI98143gttdJhSGXJI-UeBqKeXhp3wWfhQ7rJC3EP759oJahKcff18ZZOg5-92ZTb7kVs60n-DcR-g1915nf6VD4-e-ddGtDCRHckP7IJKrPiGpH7nTi_QNpY07LRXehp0bGogdV/s1600/2014-03-15+20.36.46.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nerdy Book Club fun at MRA, 2014</td></tr>
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<b><u>The Conversation Continues...</u></b><br />
Today - Be sure to add your own link on <a href="http://literacyzone.blogspot.com/">Michelle's Literacy Learning Zone blog</a>!<br />
July 30 - 7 p.m. Live Twitter chat with Donalyn (co-hosted my Cathy, Michelle, and me!)Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-52707887554589359452014-07-16T05:00:00.000-05:002014-07-17T12:01:33.325-05:00Reading in the Wild - #cyberPD Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome back to week two of this year's #cyberPD event! My mind is still on fire from the amazing insights and reflections everyone <a href="http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2014/07/cyberpd-reading-in-wild-week-1-of-3.html">linked last week on Cathy Mere's blog</a>. <b>If you are participating this week, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post and insert your post using the InLinkz link. You'll be adding your own link instead of leaving it in the comments section. </b>Comments really help to affirm ideas and push thinking in new directions, so please be sure to leave feedback on at least 3 posts from this week.<br />
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<b><u>My Thoughts</u></b><br />
<i><u>Wild Readers Share Books and Reading with Other Readers</u></i><br />
Sharing our books and our reading is one of the best parts of being wild readers, right? Even if our reading tribe doesn't share our exact book tastes, it's still so much fun to share titles and push each other to read titles we might otherwise skip.<br />
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As I was reading the beginning of the chapter, I realized that I still have work to do when it comes to fostering a home-school reading community with the families in my classroom. Yes, my parents know I love books, and their children certainly share tidbits with them. But as I continued rereading, I think I need to provide more information to parents about the kinds of reading we do in our classroom and how all reading is valued. Providing more insight to parents will help them understand and support the idea of "reading in the edges" as well.<br />
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We have a huge responsibility as the lead readers in our classrooms! In a recent conversation with Donalyn, she was saying that we'd never send our children to piano lessons from a teacher who didn't play piano. We wouldn't trust our children to learn from a coach who didn't practice and play the sport being taught. So how is it possible for non-readers to teach reading well? I feel the responsibility for knowing the books my kids are reading. I realize it might be impossible to read each and every book that becomes a part of my classroom library, but I make it my mission to read as many as I can. This helps me with conferring, building relationships, and becoming a member of the reading community in my classroom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiW2mbUCCWBs5xZjekJmKpoRGorid8wjAQZa2b2bzxLnkNXQNrbmWjAuNZiYil_I58gFPmptsvuwzkvdjpURbIAcuIqx-nzfRRNraWMK8nNf9sq7tNtvlWAdSAg1g20Bs9eA3rjco6lZY/s1600/2013-11-21+17.16.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiW2mbUCCWBs5xZjekJmKpoRGorid8wjAQZa2b2bzxLnkNXQNrbmWjAuNZiYil_I58gFPmptsvuwzkvdjpURbIAcuIqx-nzfRRNraWMK8nNf9sq7tNtvlWAdSAg1g20Bs9eA3rjco6lZY/s1600/2013-11-21+17.16.36.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a>On page 107, Donalyn speaks about preserving the dust jackets from hardcover books. As silly as it may seem, I was concerned about this as I began curating my 4th grade library last year. I ended up with a great many hardcover books whose actual covers didn't provide a blurb about the book, so I wanted to make sure to keep those dust jackets. I took Donalyn's suggestion (actually, <a href="https://twitter.com/katsok">Katherine Sokolowski</a> first brought it to me after she heard it from Donalyn) to have kids remove the jacket and store it in a basket while they had the book. Very simple, yet it worked beautifully!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xsI6M6B7oH1ze-FT4_xBQps4dl3q6NbJjfpdNTPoBbr2rsSfzVYrpathuOdtcoewFPu75FlS-Ee9MtOB_mw81dLBstiERZsz_GZDV244kjBb5pCDAf6-UInoe5KHbeSL1Llj5FXQ8c85/s1600/2014-07-14+22.33.01.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xsI6M6B7oH1ze-FT4_xBQps4dl3q6NbJjfpdNTPoBbr2rsSfzVYrpathuOdtcoewFPu75FlS-Ee9MtOB_mw81dLBstiERZsz_GZDV244kjBb5pCDAf6-UInoe5KHbeSL1Llj5FXQ8c85/s1600/2014-07-14+22.33.01.png" height="320" width="179" /></a><br />
After Donalyn tweeted about her "Reading Life" door last summer, I ran with it and used the idea on my classroom door. My plan is to share my summer reading again to kick off the school year. I'm looking forward to extending this idea and turning the door over to my kids, like Donalyn talks about on pages 116-119. I can't wait to see what they come up with!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"The anticipation of another great reading experience drives our continued enthusiasm and interest in reading." (p.136)</i></span><br />
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<i><u>Wild Readers Have Reading Plans</u></i><br />
After rereading <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780470372272">The Book Whisperer</a> last summer, I knew I wanted the 40 Book Challenge to become a central part of my 4th grade classroom. I structured it in a very open-ended way this year, but I was still able to use the challenge to have conversations with kids about their reading plans. Donalyn gives some outstanding suggestions in this chapter for ways to nudge students to read more widely! I plan to come back to these ideas as I'm meeting with my readers next year.<br />
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I first started really thinking about the power of series books when I read <a href="http://www.stenhouse.com/html/beyond-leveled-books.htm">Beyond Leveled Books by Franki Sibberson, Karen Szymusiak, and Lisa Koch.</a> At that time, I was teaching first grade but found that even my young readers loved reading books in a series. They felt a sense of accomplishment when they finished all of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cork%20and%20fuzz&sprefix=cork+an%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acork%20and%20fuzz">Cork & Fuzz books</a> or felt a sense of urgency when waiting for the next <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=heidi+heckelbeck+series&sprefix=Heidi+Heck%2Caps%2C204&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aheidi+heckelbeck+series">Heidi Heckelbeck</a> book to be released. I found the same to be true with my 4th graders this year! Series books and favorite authors often have the power of hooking our reluctant readers. I shared many of the same experiences with series books that Donalyn mentions on page 151 - Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, V.C. Andrews. On page 152, I love how Donalyn suggests that kids who read an entire series of books then become epicenter readers for that series. Brilliant - and so true!<br />
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I'm still pondering the part of chapter 4 that deals with building our own personal reading canon. I have so many books that influenced (and changed) me. I hesitate to make a list for fear of leaving out an important one! One that I know without a doubt will be on my list is Harry Potter. Never in a million years did I think that would be true, but after reading the whole series for the first time this year, I know it belongs on my list. <br />
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<b><u>The Conversation Continues</u></b><br />
July 23 - chapter 5 & appendices at Michelle's Literacy Learning Zone<br />
July 30 - 7 p.m. CST live Twitter chat with author Donalyn Miller<br />
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<b>Instead of leaving it in the comments, please be sure to add your link using the blue button below so we can read your thoughts from this week's reading!
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-83204212200143245542014-07-11T17:28:00.000-05:002014-07-11T17:28:44.218-05:00Nerd Camp 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I couldn't think of a better word to describe my experience at Nerd Camp than joy. Pure joy. Ok, awesomesauce would work, too... but I'll stick with joy. I'm already looking forward to next year's event!<br />
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<b><i><u>Memories from Nerd Camp</u></i></b><br />
Imagine a room full of book nerds, collectively letting out an "oooooooh" as a new book cover is revealed.<br />
Shedding a tear when a presenter tells the story of a family outing to get a grandchild's very first library card.<br />
Placing orders from our phones as we chatted about books at dinner.<br />
Receiving a bag full of books at registration.<br />
Book-loving, smart presenters on day one.<br />
EdCamp style on day two with a schedule created and facilitated by attendees.<br />
Deep conversations about the need for purposeful tech use in our classrooms.<br />
Powerful conversations about remaining grounded in solid pedagogy.<br />
Learning from each other.<br />
Meeting Twitter friends in real life.<br />
Reconnecting with "old friends."<br />
Laughter. Lots of laughter.<br />
Meeting our rock stars - the authors we love.<br />
Sharing our stories, being surrounded by like-minded educators, and pushing our thinking.<br />
Balloons!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner with Nerdy Book Club friends is expensive,<br />especially when we can shop for books on our phones!!<br />(Photo credit goes to Franki Sibberson)</td></tr>
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<b><i><u>Takeaways from Nerd Camp</u></i></b><br /><u><i>Day One</i></u><br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JNFGnHUQPREPzgloAXwLKmBLbuBU-OEgPrsgcpubolk/edit#slide=id.g1813db894_127">Franki Sibberson and Gretchen Taylor's session on Small Group Instruction</a> gave me so much to think about! One idea they came back to several times was modern learning spaces. Franki talked about how our spaces should reflect our purpose. For example, she talked about how more informal reading conferences take place around the coffee table in her classroom. This really hit home with me as I've gone back and forth with having a designated "small group" space in my classroom. The trapezoid table I planned to use for small group instruction last year was named the "random table" by my kids and served many different purposes. Franki also spoke about how she plans whole group, small group, and conferences all at the same time and doesn't worry so much about how many times she is meeting with students because she knows their needs are being met throughout the week. I loved how both Gretchen and Franki talked about the flexible grouping that happens in their classrooms; groups are formed for many different reasons and may change often. They urged us to "think about nudges we can give kids." Love this!!<br />
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Tony Keefer pushed my thinking in <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ulPDbdN_Mm89BdC_oPyB1kC9x5v7bSxr1HBVERsxhdk/edit">his session titled "Are We Climbing the Right Mountain? Purposeful Tech Use in Reading Workshop."</a> When it comes to what we're having kids do during reading workshop, he referred to Donalyn Miller's idea of Language Arts and Crafts and asked if we are now moving to Language Arts and Digital Crafts. Powerful thought. Is the tech we're using truly extending what kids are able to do and how they're able to connect... or is it just fluff? My favorite quote from Tony, referring to tech use, was, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?" This needs to hang in my classroom as a constant reminder for me. He urged us to know what we value to make sure our tech use aligns with it. Absolutely! I love how he focuses on leading kids to living a "readerly life." Such a smart guy!<br />
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Donalyn Miller's keynote was filled with insight and laughter. Even if you've read her books, you have to make sure you see her in person! She is so down-to-earth, real, funny, and simply brilliant. No matter how many times I talk to her, I always come away with new ideas and books in my shopping cart! During her presentation, she talked more about "reading in the edges." It's so important to talk to our students about this concept. Real readers steal reading time. We may not have a half-hour block of time to dedicate to reading each day, but we can make time by carrying books with us and finding time. We can read while we're at the doctor's office, while we wait in long lines, and while we travel from place to place. If you haven't read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Wild-Whisperers-Cultivating-Lifelong/dp/047090030X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405095715&sr=8-1&keywords=reading+in+the+wild">her latest book, Reading in the Wild,</a> I highly recommend it!<br />
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<i><u>Day Two</u></i><br />
I attended four spectacular sessions - Genius Hour, Purposeful Tech Use, Choice in Math Workshop, and Math Workshop. This day, I spent time following along on Twitter so I could attend several sessions simultaneously. I also tweeted from the sessions to share what was happening in the sessions I attended. The <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/district158.org/document/d/1tfY2t3E8wnS1eQ8e-ujs3OIsdwSin4l8mk0grH7E_8w/edit">group notes</a> from each session were particularly helpful!<br />
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What really stood out for me on Day 2 was Katie Muhtaris and her use of Padlet. I've used it with my kids a bit, but we always had issues trying to use it on our Kuno tablets. Anyway, Katie used Padlet on her laptop to take notes during sessions and to curate a list of books recommended during a session facilitated by Donalyn Miller and Katherine Sokolowski. You can take a look at one of Katie's Padlet walls <a href="http://padlet.com/klmuhtaris/nErDcampMI">HERE</a>. She really has my mind going on ways to use Padlet with my 4th graders...<br />
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<b><i><u>Final Thoughts</u></i></b><br />
Connecting with Twitter friends in real life has become my favorite part of conferences in recent years. Nerd Camp was no exception! Meeting Twitter friends for the first time and reconnecting with Twitter friends made me so happy. I learned so much through the sessions at Nerd Camp, and my learning was intensified through casual conversations with my Twitter friends. If you aren't convinced yet, do yourself a favor and a) join Twitter to help build your professional learning network and then b) make sure you attend Nerd Camp! :)<br />
<br />Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-729318798970798992014-07-09T08:42:00.000-05:002014-07-09T09:00:13.650-05:00Reading in the Wild - #cyberPD Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><u>And We're Off!!</u></b><br />
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Today marks the beginning of our 4th annual #cyberPD event. Be sure to head over to <a href="http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2014/07/cyberpd-reading-in-wild-week-1-of-3.html">Cathy Mere's post</a> to link your post/reflection today. You can participate in the discussion by...<br />
*sharing your blog post<br />
*tweeting your ideas using #cyberPD<br />
*comment on the weekly host blog<br />
*being creative and finding a new way to share your thoughts<br />
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It will help grow the conversation and our learning if you'll check out other participants' posts and attempt to comment on a minimum of three.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>"We are the lead readers in our classrooms </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>and model a reading life for students."</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i>~Donalyn Miller (page xxvii)</i></b></div>
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<b><u>My Thoughts...</u></b></div>
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<i><u>Wild Readers Dedicate Time to Read</u></i><br />
I promised my fourth graders this year that no matter what, I would give them time to read at school each and every day. I made it my number one priority and kept that promise, even on the last day of school. If we want our students to make time for reading in their lives outside of school, we have to show them we value that time enough to keep it in our schedules regardless of what else is going on. No excuses - we will read every day. At the bottom of page 9, Donalyn talks about why reading time at school really matters. "They practice living like readers." Our kids deserve to know what it feels like to live "a readerly life" (love this phrase/idea from <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyKeefer">Tony Keefer</a>!) <br />
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At the <a href="http://nerdcampmi.blogspot.com/">Nerd Camp</a> keynote on Monday, Donalyn spoke about the idea of reading in the "edges." Readers carve out a few minutes here and there throughout their day, even if they can't set aside a chunk of time. We make time while we wait at the doctor's office, at our sister's soccer game, in the bathroom. In the book, I love how she talks to her students about finding reading these snippets of reading time and avoiding "book emergencies." We need to have these conversations with our kids! If the only time our students read is the time we give them in class, are we really creating wild readers?<br />
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"Reading a book in one sitting is a rare indulgence..." But how exciting to find those books that cause us to do it!! Just last weekend, I decided I'd read a few chapters of Hound Dog True before I got out of bed for my morning coffee. Two and a half hours later, I crawled out of bed after finishing the book! We know we've got wild readers in our classrooms when they find the books they just can't put down.<br />
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Being new to 4th grade, I'm consciously aware of the fact that I have a lot of learning to do. The ideas Donalyn shares about reading itineraries, response letters, and status of the class gave me a lot to ponder. Responding to reading and reflecting on reading are two areas I know I want to work on with my 4th grade readers in the upcoming school year. To add to the ideas I gained from Donalyn, I'm also reading a book Donalyn told me about, <a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E00578.aspx">Janet Angelilli's Writing About Reading</a>. I'm excited to see how it will grow my thinking even further!<br />
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I love, love, love the last paragraph on page 41. Core beliefs. Grounded in best practices. Reflective practice. Especially now with adding more and more technology into our classrooms, I feel we need to know ourselves as educators and ground ourselves in what we believe in. This was a big conversation at this week's Nerd Camp - one that we need to continue to ponder and discuss.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spotted this Wild Reader on a beach in Maine!</td></tr>
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<i><u>Wild Readers Self-Select Reading Material</u></i><br />
Choice is absolutely key. I cannot imagine only being able to read what someone else tells me to read. A couple weeks ago, <a href="https://twitter.com/leah_whit/status/480319797411209216">Leah Whitford tweeted this</a> during a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/satchat?src=hash">#satchat conversation</a>: "If choice weren't so important to us, we wouldn't have menus in restaurants." Donalyn makes some powerful points on the bottom of page 46 that support the importance of self-selected reading material. Yes, our readers need to have strategies and reasons for picking their books, just like we do. Teaching students about "good fit" books will help in their decision making process, but ultimately, I believe that each reader has to be able to make the choice.<br />
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Reading aloud to students has so many benefits that we have to make sure this is not something that we push aside in order to "cover more" during our day. Read alouds are such a great way to bring our reading community closer together! I guarantee that my 4th graders from this past year will continue to talk about the day we read Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant. Even though I read it before I read it to my kids, I got to one point in the story... paused... and the big, nasty, sobbing, can't-catch-your-breath tears started. I tried to pull myself together but ended up handing the book over to a student to finish reading for me. We were a stronger community after that day!<br />
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One of my favorite parts of this chapter is the idea of "Five Authors My Students Should Know" (from page 51.) From my days in first grade, my list would probably include...<br />
Mo Willems<br />
Peter Brown<br />
Jon Klassen<br />
Melanie Watt<br />
Helen Lester<br />
Being relatively new to fourth grade, I am still building my list of authors. One that I know for sure is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rump-The-True-Story-Rumpelstiltskin/dp/030797796X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404877763&sr=8-1&keywords=rump">Liesl Shurtliff (author of Rump.)</a> Have you thought about which authors would make your list?<br />
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Curating a classroom library is a topic that is near and dear to my heart! I spent years curating a library of over 3,000 books for my first graders. Now, I have the exciting job of curating a library for my 4th grade readers! My Nerdy friends have been very generous in donating books to me to help with this process. I'm definitely going back to this section of the book as I continue to seek out new titles. In just one year, our classroom library has over 600 titles. My kids have been really helpful in teaching me about what 4th grade girl and boy readers enjoy!<br />
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<b><u>The Conversation Continues...</u></b><br />
July 16 - chapters 3 & 4 link up here at Ruminate and Invigorate<br />
July 23 - chapter 5 & appendices at Michelle's <a href="http://literacyzone.blogspot.com/">Literacy Learning Zone</a><br />
July 30 - 7 p.m. Live Twitter chat with author Donalyn Miller!<br />
<br />Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-87633554045842234182014-06-08T15:00:00.000-05:002014-06-08T15:05:26.094-05:00Announcing this year's #CyberPD title...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are thrilled to announce <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780470900307">Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller</a> as this year's #cyberPD title! It appeared on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cyberPD?src=hash&mode=photos">many summer professional reading stacks</a> that have been tweeted out in the past week.<br />
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Each week, we'll read and post our reflections. All you'll need to do is share a link on the host blog for the week. It's also really helpful to tweet out your link using the #cyberPD hashtag. We'd also ask that you stop by and comment on at least 3 other reflections each week to help grow the conversation.<br />
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This year's dates are...<br />
July 9th - Chapters 1 & 2, hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/CathyMere">Cathy Mere</a> at <a href="http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/">Reflect and Refine</a><br />
July 16th - Chapters 3 & 4, hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/laurakomos">me</a> right here at <a href="http://ruminateandinvigorate.blogspot.com/">Ruminate and Invigorate</a><br />
July 23rd - Chapter 5 & Appendices, hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/litlearningzone">Michelle Nero</a> at <a href="http://literacyzone.blogspot.com/">Literacy Learning Zone</a><br />
July 30th - Wrap-up Twitter chat, 7 p.m. CST<br />
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Feel free to be as creative as you'd like when sharing your thoughts and reflections on the book! Having your own blog isn't necessary in order for you to participate, so don't let that stop you. Or... use this as your excuse to get your own professional blog up and running! This event is a fabulous way to get traffic flowing on your site.<br />
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Thanks to the <a href="http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-trailer-premiere-reading-in-wild.html">amazing Mr. Schu</a> for premiering this book trailer with the world back in November! It will give you a glimpse as to what we have to look forward to in July.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/d1qbsI4C4W0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I'm super excited to dive back into Donalyn's latest book and to learn from each and every one of you! Happy reading!Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680373015686602422.post-35004962759966919752014-06-04T21:33:00.000-05:002014-06-04T21:33:13.402-05:00Share Your Stack! Prepping for #CyberPD 2014It's that time of year when we all start pulling together the professional books we'd like to read as we reflect upon the year we just finished and begin dreaming about the year to come. <a href="https://twitter.com/CathyMere">Cathy Mere</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/litlearningzone">Michelle Nero</a>, and I would love to see which books have made it into your stack this year!<br />
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We're asking people to post a picture (or link) to Twitter using the #cyberPD hashtag by this Saturday, June 7th. Once we see what people are planning to read, we're hoping to make a decision on which book we'll feature for this year's CyberPD event. We'd love to be able to make an announcement on Sunday, June 8th, to give people plenty of time to purchase their books before we kick off the event in July. More specific details will be shared in the coming weeks!<br />
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So, what's on your stack this summer? What books are you recommending to your colleagues? What do you think we should all read? Here is my already-ridiculous-but-sure-to-grow stack of possibilities...<br />
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We hope you'll join in the conversation! To read more about the CyberPD event and its history, <a href="http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2014/06/summer-cyberpd-call-for-professional.html">please visit THIS POST by Cathy Mere</a>.</div>
Laura Komoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660151898042277596noreply@blogger.com0