These two books were interestingly juxtaposed in my sustained reading period today. They are very different books. Almost complete contrasts in size, reading level, effect, characterization, and plot. The readers are both ten-year-old girls. They are unique personalities, but not particularly different people. I don’t think I would have predicted their book choices, and I have been watching them read for eight months now. A survey around the room confirms the diversity of literature. This is why we argue for sustained periods of unrestricted reading. I have a tolerance for whispering during this time so they can share a little of what they are enjoying.
I guess this is on my mind today because yesterday I settled on a common book for my twenty-four fourth graders to read this month. The choice compromises reading level (weighted low) and interest. It won’t work for everyone, but I think they get something worth while from the shared experience. I am hoping I can get them each to bring something unique to the unit.
These three middle school students were enjoying a moment together at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Center in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was one stop on their two-days of activity at the School Safety Patrol Jamboree. I have no involvement with my school’s program, but I was free to chaperone the event for two nights. Kathy Cassidy tweeted about 7:30 PM yesterday that she knew the conference was worth it, because she was willing to spend hours preparing for it. Mid-week I was wondering if preparing to be out of my classroom for a day and a half was worth it. This Saturday morning I know it was.
Scanning the pictures I took of the groups activities I wondered how much my school recognises public service around the school. I think we generally do a good job. They get a private pizza party at the end of the year, and a few members go to the annual jamboree. I wonder how effective this recognition is with the student body. Young students volunteer for the patrol, but by grade eight them have almost all lost interest. I would not want to over do the recognition; however, schools should nurture a strong culture of public service.
There is still evidence of respect for public servants in Canada. I remind myself of that. Our governments, and the people who elect them, do not seem to share that feeling. Perhaps they are simply conflicted about our role. We hear the appreciation, but we also get the clear message that public service is a poor substitute for private enterprise. Beyond that, our mission is often seen as harmful. People need less regulation and better choice. I go to work with these prevailing attitudes in the back of my mind every day.
This year we have spent a great deal of time on addition and subtraction, and a great deal of time becoming proficient in multiplication facts to ten. They are not all there yet. These basic operations are critical. I want them to all be completely confident, but I realized I had to move on. Often in our determination to get a skill mastered, or a concept attained, we slight other learning. Fractions and decimals, and geometry are two areas that seem to be neglected. We moved on to fractions today.
I pretested the group to see where were were. It turns out they have alot to learn. Because of that, I think we are going to have a good few weeks. Almost everyone dug right in too. It was a new topic, and they probably needed a break from multiplication flash cards and counting songs. Basic operations might comprise the bulk of numeracy in fourth grade, but it remains a fraction of the whole.
The clock ticked silently above my head this Friday afternoon, time slipping away from me as I juggled windows on my classroom desktop, scooted about looking for resources, and printed items for Monday’s classes. I plotted next week as best I can, always conscious that the pace of learning throughout the week rests on my students too. There are blocks for art in my week. All too often I use this time for projects related to the themes we study; represent learning. It works doesn’t it? But they do so love to explore their own ideas, follow their own impulses. We need to give them a little time for that too.
Family visiting for the Spring break and the Apple tsunami washes over me once more. I’m tapping out this meditation on my five-month old 7-inch Android tablet, and I’m feeling the persistant sensation of falling behind. Or perhaps it might be better to say I feel deskilled by Apple’s steam roller. Last Monday during our staff meeting, we discussed acquiring an iPad lab for our primary grades. My colleagues were enthusiastic. Beyond a murmur of prejudice toward closed systems like Apple’s, my principal reaction was the discomfort of unfamiliarity. I don’t know the iPad. I have not had much opportunity.
Most of the time I think my personal technology has stayed a step ahead of the schools I worked for. The last time the reverse was true was when I was working on an Apple //e and our school acquired both a Macintosh and three PC486. I had to learn on the school’s equipment for a few years until I could catch up. It seems the next few years might be the same.
Fourth graders in Saskatchewan are supposed to read for twenty-minutes. They should be able to achieve a rate of 135 – 185 words per minute. This is an outcome that supports their learning in all subjects. We put time aside each day because these days I guess we cannot be sure the time is set aside at home. I do unrestricted reading during this time. The girl is reading a chapter book. To the boy’s right, another boy is reading a nonfiction book. The boy in black is reading a graphic novel. He will sustain his twenty-minutes of concentration, but his attention will shift between the colorful images and the terse text. He won’t sustain 135 words per minute with this book. But all three children are reading authentically. They all want the information in these particular books. The books speak to them. (The bell just rang and the boy in black stayed absorbed in his graphic novel for an extra two minutes. He obviously needed to read to a transition in his story.)
I suspect the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (or are we a department again?) wants each fourth grader to read less authentic textbooks as well as personal interests. Nine-year-olds are less motivated to do so. Five or ten minutes immersed in a science textbook is probably a win for me.
I really have not found the right trigger to stimulate even sustained authentic reading. I could not even tell you why a switch was thrown in my mind at about the age of thirteen. I just suddenly seemed to discover the fiction collection at my school, moved my attention to the public library, and then worked my way through my dad’s science fiction collection. As a young man I travelled through the Canadian Rockies – spectacular scenes – buried in a book. While my colleagues explored Africa, I settled down to read books in my Nigerian home. I should have climbed Mount Kilimonjaro with them, I know. Still, there were those books….
If there is a trigger, it lies in access, opportunity, and exchange. I can offer that here in my room.
I’m increasingly impressed with the possibilities of my tablet.
The class was learning about sound waves yesterday at the end of the day. Starting the group work at 3:00 PM might not have been the best timing.
One thing I love about teaching is that creative spirit will always come out. Her friend made this poster in her free time and then shared it with Sydnie. I’m not certain if Macey intended the half face to be matched with Sydnie’s, or whether Sydnie discovered the application on her own. Either way, I find I am refreshed by these incidental moments in the classroom. Never anticipated, they are woven into the experience each one of us has with education. I guess the critical thing is to leave space for this creativity and invite the moments. It is so easy to grind the impulse to share right out of our young people with some compulsion to micro manage, keep everyone on task, and discourage distractions.
I stepped into an Elluminate room session on differentiated instruction as four of my fourth grade students worked after school to finish the display boards for their Canadian Heritage Fair projects. They share their learning tomorrow in the school gym. I listened to one assertion that differentiating was hard work. It keeps the teacher on the run right up until the end of the day.
It can be that way. It is a challenge to group students, to give them what they need. Because of this, I don’t differentiate nearly as often as I should. But differentiation is just part of the equation. Inquiry based learning, autonomy, and some measure of authenticity are important. Students need to be relatively independent learners. That needs to be developed systematically. Their learning choices should be authentic – connect with their lived experiences and interests – so independence is not simply habituated compliance. When people have an intrinsic investment in the subject of learning their focus, creativity, passion engage. Teachers move with the flow of learning, not against. The days are not a challenge that drains us.
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