Finding a love of reading

Hello, colleagues! I recently digitally subscribed to the New York Times (they were running a promotion for $1 a week). I've been reading the news quite a bit in the last four or so years, so it only made sense to pay for a digital subscription for not only news, but opinion articles, recipes, and even a mini daily crossword.

I was reading last week when I came across an opinion article called "Why Are We Still Teaching Reading the Wrong Way?" As a teacher, I knew I had to read it. The article talks about how teaching phonics is the best way to teach students how to read, and because it's so intensive, most teachers ignore the best approach. Of course, there was a response article today in which readers wrote about how they learned to read with some responses supporting the original opinion article, and other responses refuting it.

Reading the original and response articles made me think about my own love of reading. I enjoy reading as much as almost anything. I don't remember learning to read, but my mother says that I picked up reading before I went to school. I know that she was a stay-at-home mom that read with me. I know we didn't have cable until first or second grade, so I the tv I watched was mostly PBS educational kid shows (Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Reading Rainbow). Other than watching tv and playing outside, I remember reading... a lot! I grew up in a small town of 600 people with not a lot to do. My godmother (really my grandmother) was the librarian of our small town library that was two blocks from my house. I spent all of my free time there reading. I was reading well above my age since I eventually ran out of books to read that were "appropriate" for my age (e.g. reading John Grisham at age 12).  I fell in love with books at an early age, so I still love reading.

That is not, however, the case for most of our students. Why is that the case? I believe that part of it is due to students not knowing how to read, some of it is students not being able to read what they want, partly due to students being busy all of the time, and of course due to students being distracted by other things in their lives (e.g. social media, their cell phone, etc.).

So how can we get kids to enjoy reading again?

• Create a bedtime routine where you read every night. This is one of the biggest changes I made in my life within the last few years. I made the conscious decision to go to bed an hour before I wanted to fall asleep so that I could devote 30-45 minutes of time to reading. By reading this much each night, I read approximately one book a week. That is why, on my Goodreads reading challenge, I've challenged myself to read 52 books in a year. I've already read 48 books this year. 
• Let kids read what they want to read. I read what I want. I enjoy reading trashy beach novels and suspenseful thrillers. I don't always enjoy reading about history... I need a break from what I teach! My husband doesn't enjoy reading very much, but when his monthly Wired magazine arrives, he reads it cover to cover... sometimes more than once. I feel that should be the same for students. They should be able to read magazines, or story books, or a John Grisham novel that is well beyond their age. 
• Be a good example and read yourself in front of them. Part of the reason why I read so much as a child is because my parents read quite a bit when I was young. My dad would often sit in "his chair" and read at night. My mom would lay on the couch and read during the day. When my parents read, the TV was off. There was nothing else for me to do but read alongside them. 
• Limit technology. It was different when I was a child than what it is like for my students today, but as I said in the previous paragraph, the TV was off when my parents were reading. Now, if I read, I will turn off the TV and will silence my cell phone. Before bedtime, I will read and then post on Instagram right before falling asleep. It's become a habit over the past year. 
• Swap music for an audiobook. Install Audible on your child's phone so they can "read" while on the bus, or, if you drive them to school, turn on an audiobook instead of the radio. I'm not the biggest fan of audiobooks because I get distracted, but my husband loves podcasts and audiobooks much more than reading.
• Help bring books to life. I've always tried to read the book before watching the movie because a) I love spoilers and knowing what happens and b) I want to see how it comes alive. My sister and I recently saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. I hadn't read the screenplay yet, so I read it on the plane. I was so disappointed when I read it and was worried that seeing the play live wouldn't live up to my expectations. Boy was I WRONG. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Now I want to reread the screenplay AND go see the show again! 
• Stash books all over. Growing up, we had a huge bookshelf in the hallway that had a lot of books on it. Now, on my Kindle, I try to find free books to download (currently have 21 classics and 33 random books). It's all about having options and variety. That keeps me interested in my current novel because I want to finish it and start a new one!
• Conquer the log. This probably looks a little different for students, but I love logging my books on Goodreads. Because Goodreads is "Facebook for readers," I can see what my friends are reading. This has helped me find so many interesting books that I never would have found otherwise. Goodreads also recommends books based on what I've read, so the more I read, the better the recommendations!

I hope, through this list, that your students (or you, or your kids) will start to enjoy reading more. I want everyone to have the same love for reading that I do! 

Thanks for READING. I'll see you next week :) 

- Rachel

@historicalipad
My Teacherspayteachers website

Grading Policies Evolved

Hello, colleagues! Are you guys tired? I know I am - it's the end of the year, and I just spent eight hours at our last track meet of the season yesterday. I'm also frustrated... we had students that couldn't compete in the competition because they were ineligible. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a teacher more than I'm a coach, so I've seen it all through my own classes. Students do fail assignments which cause them to fail classes. I've also had students fail my class and be ineligible. However, one thing I noticed this year is students failing a class due to strange grading practices.

Instead of blogging about what I think my colleagues are doing "wrong," I'm going to post about grading practices that I've changed over the years due to reflection and research.

1. No zeroes. A zero in the grade book implies that a student has LITERALLY DONE NOTHING. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Is that ever the case? Sometimes, sure. I've given kids zeroes on flipped learning because they never started it. Other than flipped learning, I did not give students a zero. If you look at a standard grading scale, an F is between a 0 - 59%. That is an enormous gap. If a student does not turn in an assignment, they still did work in class. Did they do 59% of the work? Usually, they did more, but just didn't turn in the assignment! A student should not fail a class because of one task. Give students a chance to be successful even if they didn't complete one project.

2. No late grades. Students have all sorts of reasons for turning in work late, stemming from them not wanting to do the task, to having a sibling get sick, or due to a family celebration. Should a student be penalized an arbitrary 10% because they turned an assignment in one day late? I don't think so! If students can prove that they know the information, and they meet the criteria of the rubric, then they deserve a better grade, even if it's overdue.

3. More formative assessments. Does this mean I should get rid of summative assessments? Absolutely not; they have a time and a place. Should a kid's grade suffer because of one test for an entire quarter? That's a tough one, but I would argue that it's also crucial that a teacher checks for understanding throughout the unit. Those checks should also be considered assessments, even if they are formative assessments. I would always know if a student would fail ahead of time because of all of the checkpoints that were done along the way. Also, if a student demonstrates quality understanding on a past formative assessment, then the grade should be changed. The student may have achieved proficiency at a later date, but they still exhibited mastery of the content.

4. No more "fluffy" grades. Students do not receive participation points. All students have to participate in my class whether it's by raising their hand or collaborating with a colleague. I also stopped grading assignments based on how they looked. My rubrics would have one category for "basic requirements" (like a specific minimum time or that it had the 10 pieces of criteria), but all of the other categories were based on research and content presented. Do I want a pretty project turned in? Sure, but I also want the students to show me and tell me what they know and what they learned.

5. Behavior does not equal achievement. Every day is a new day. Students act out for various reasons. There is no reason to "punish" a student by giving them a low grade. Grades should be reflective of student achievement, not student behavior. Yes, we want our students to be able to communicate, collaborate, be creative, and think critically. Human beings learn through practice, so if you want your students to learn to communicate, give them time to talk. Students don't need a grade to know if they can talk to other people.

The problem with sharing this information is that I definitely sound like an insufferable know-it-all. Do I have all of the answers? NO! I've evolved as an educator over the last twelve years (and will continue to grow as I teach). I just feel like these changes made a difference in my classroom. I want all students to have the capacity for success to have a promising future.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

"In these trying times..."

Good morning colleagues! I am sitting on my parents' couch, back in Iowa, drinking a cup of coffee on a terribly foggy morning. I am in town for my nephew's graduation from high school... my nephew who was born when I was a little freshman in high school. I'm just getting all the feels!



My nephew attended a local public high school (of course, rival to my high school - Go J-Hawks!) that went through some notable public turmoil over the last two years. As a teacher, I was blown away by what happened. As a former resident, I didn't know the principal or the entire situation, but I knew enough to know that his forced resignation was devastating to the students. He was someone that built relationships with EVERY SINGLE STUDENT in the building of 1600 kids.. The class of 2017 made a decision about their graduation celebration - they did not want to hear a speech from the superintendent, but instead wanted to hear from the people they loved and admired. The students led the graduation, had the interim principal and counselors speak, and they voted on a keynote speaker. The class of 2017 chose Stacey Walker, Washington alum, and the current Linn County District 2 Supervisor.

This is Stacey Walker. Unfortunately, I had to steal this image from Twitter because there is NOT a creative commons sourced image of him! This is not at all surprising as he is from Iowa. *begin sarcasm font* Nobody famous is from Idawahio, right? *end sarcasm font* As I am sitting in the LONGEST graduation I have ever sat through to support my nephew (and I'm silently making fun of the teachers sitting next to the graduates), this man gets up to speak. My niece and I look at his speech and immediately roll our eyes. It is two pages long, single spaced, with what looks like 10 point font.

But when he opened his mouth, my niece said, "He sounds like Barack Obama!" And that he did. I was instantly engaged, impressed, and inspired! What blew me away, even more, was that he graduated from high school in 2006 FOUR YEARS after me.

Even though I have one day left of just teacher check-out, I wanted to inspire the rest of you through your remaining school year. I want this speech to remind you WHY you teach and HOW you influence and motivate your students every day.

This opportunity has caused me to revisit my formative years. Not just those glorious four years I spent in high school, but the time leading up to it as well. I was born to a single mother who raised me and my younger sister on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids... These were the places others referred to as the ghetto. We relied on food stamps and food drives, and other welfare programs just to get by... When (my mother) left that day, I would never see her again... After learning of her death, my sister and I went to live with our grandmother... I stand here today because she lived. 

It is important that I share my story with you this afternoon - the stories of the people whom I hold dear - because I hope you'll do it too one day. I hope that you will pay homage to those in your life - parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, and friends - who helped to get you to this point. No one can do it alone. We all had a little help getting here, and we all will need a whole lot more going forward. 

When you go from place to place, you will be encouraged by friends and caring adults to pursue noble careers... However, I implore you: seek the path that sets your soul on fire. Pursue your truth and your passions, and do good by others in the process, and surely, your life will be one of purpose and satisfaction... (w)e should recommend career paths that align with our values and our passions...

How do we make this happen... The answer is you. All 278 graduating seniors are here today and your peers across the country will soon have the opportunity to put your smarts and your energy to good use and make an impact on your community... Your partisan affiliation will never matter as much as the content of your character. What matters most is what's in your heart.

In these trying times, you are the greatest hope for a better future... We will rely on your curiosity and idealism which will lead to great discovery... This work is difficult. But no one here is asking for a break. That's not what Warriors do. We don't pray for easier lives. We pray to be made stronger women and men. We don't seek easy answers or cliched wisdom. Instead, we seek the challenge of the impossible...  

There is more work to be done in this imperfect world, and we're all relying on you. Let your thoughts - the chief glory of man - and your heart - the vital organ of morality - light your path, forever. 

Go forth, dream big, work hard, and change this world for the better.

"Be the change." I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website