Mock Caldecott Update and Book Giveaway

The Mock Caldecott that I organized with my fellow second grade colleagues and their classes is up and running.  We are scheduled to finish the book ratings at the end of this week, so that I can tally the points and announce a winner on the morning of January 28th, right before the announcement of the official Caldecott.  Here's some problems that I have encountered;

• Some teachers got behind with their reading.  This was inevitable because I organized the books into boxes of 3-4, and only gave each class 3 days to read and rate.  Next time I will make sure they have a week to rate each box of books.  That means I have to start earlier!
• Rating the books has been a challenge because the whole class needs to come to some consensus about the rating.  This is impossible!  I've tried using a estimated average on the spot, but now am using majority rules after discussing the problem with another teacher.
• I really was hoping that I could get at least one of my colleagues to post on my class blog as a guest with a set of videos from their class.  So far, no one has taken me up on that offer - and I don't want to be too pushy.  Me, pushy?  Never.

In honor of our Mock Caldecott Medal I am giving away a copy of Each Kindness written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis.

Mock Caldecott 2013 - Part 1

I love picture books.  I read at least 2 to my class of second graders on most days.  I use them to model all sorts of reading strategies and writing craft.  They are wonderful for teaching valuable lessons and to help solve many a problem that occur with a group of 7 year olds.  And sometimes I read them just because they make me laugh or cry, or they have touched me in some way.  And I think, I can't wait to read this book to my class!

This year I decided to hold a Mock Caldecott Award.  I first got the idea while reading Mr. Schu's blog,  Watch. Connect. Read.  He and Colby Sharp had joined forces to hold a Mock Caldecott together.  They both are full of information, energy and book love.  Travis Jonker, author of 100 Scope Notes was also kind enough to share documents he used to create his Mock Caldecott project.  I was able to change them a bit to meet my needs easily.

Choosing the books was extremely difficult for many reasons.  First, I needed to create a manageable number of titles so I decided that about 20 titles would be a good number.  (I ended up with 18.)  When deciding which titles to include I made sure that I liked them a lot and that other readers in my PLN also agreed with me.  I also tried to include a variety of different types of illustrations and stories.  There is a wordless book, an alphabet book and even a book that uses photographs.  Then I also had to either own a copy or be able to check one out at the library.  This is where I had some difficulty.  Some of the books were not available at the library for check out this month - someone else had checked them out.

Of course I know there are books I left out simply because I have not read them yet.  I wish I had a book store that was very close and I could visit weekly to purchase newly published books, but I don't.  It is so nice to look inside them before purchasing.  My public library will always order books I request but they can take months to arrive. (Note to self: buy more books.)

All 5 second grade classes at my school are participating so that will be lots of fun.  I arranged the books in groups of 3 or 4 and these groups will rotate through the classrooms until everyone has rated the books.  Each class will rate the book on a scale of 1-5 for the story and for the illustrations.  The illustration ratings will count for double I decided.

My class began rating several of the books last week.  The conversations were very passionate and students had strong opinions about each book.  Although I explained over and over that the award was for the best illustrations, students often had a hard time separating the two, which isn't surprising because they are so connected.  We have talked a lot about the style of illustrations that each artist used and I was delighted and impressed when students noticed the choices made regarding the use of color.  One student was so passionate about the illustrations in One Cool Friend I thought she would start to cry when she couldn't get the rest of the class to agree that the artist was clever to use color so sparingly.  I thought it was interesting that many of my students said they didn't like the story, Each Kindness that much because it was sad.  But they gave the illustrations high marks because they said they looked so real.

On Friday my class was so excited about the Mock Caldecott Award that I decided to let them videotape their opinions for our class blog.  They were done very quickly, and I provided only general guidelines.  As with everything in teaching, they are very informative about what my students understand!   (But they are cute.)

What books do you think I left out that should have been included?

What book do you think will win the Caldecott Medal?

This free picture slideshow made with Smilebox

Counting Collections Reflections

It's about this time of year that I start getting nervous and wonder if I am doing the right thing by spending so much time developing number sense and place value with my students. Why, you ask? Well, my fellow second grade teachers, who I admire and respect very much, are far ahead of me in the math textbook. While we count objects and practice strategies for using mental math in my classroom, my colleagues are teaching their students how to add and subtract with regrouping!  Yikes!  I feel so behind!

And here's another little secret about me. I don't always use the math textbook and often don't follow the lessons or chapters in order. I skip around. And I don't do all the pages in the book!  I know! I am such a rebel. But, as I said before, I always get a bit worried or nervous or guilty around January or February because I am not keeping up with my colleagues.

But here's what I tell myself during these times of doubt.

Place value can be such a difficult concept to understand and I believe one way to build that understanding is to provide lots of opportunities counting objects.

Observing students as they group and count objects helps me identify their understanding and misunderstandings about place value and number sense.  I think many of our math textbooks and worksheets mislead us into thinking our students understand place value because they can identify the tens and hundreds place, tell you what a digit is worth or even build a number with place value blocks.  But ask these same students to organize and count large numbers of objects and you quickly see that they can't count transfer their knowledge of place value blocks to objects that aren't already grouped for them.

When I give my students time to organize and count larger quantities I see first hand how they begin to internalize our place value system and see the patterns. I can tell them there are 10 ones in a ten or 10 tens in a hundred until the cows come home, but when they notice it themselves and share it with a peer or their teacher it sticks! Watching a student who preferred to count her objects by ones begin to group objects by tens, and then to move on to grouping those tens into hundreds shows me how that student is  building a strong understanding of place value.

On the days we count collections it's a bit loud and messy. Groups of students are laying or sitting on the floor, cups and bowls for organizing are out and there's always lots of excitement. My job is to facilitate. I move around the room observing and asking questions like, "How are you counting." "What are you noticing when you count?" In the beginning I sometimes have to help students communicate with each other. Working cooperatively is very new to most of them.  I also stop and share with the class when I notice a group using an efficient counting strategy or when a group has what I call their "Ah Ha!" moment. Since our collections are large with more than 200 objects to count it forces students to become more efficient with their counting methods. When one group becomes overwhelmed while counting by ones I can ask, "Is there another way to count so you don't get confused." Or I can share what another group is doing. "Look at what Katie's group is doing? They are organizing in groups of ten. Do you think that might be helpful?"

I love the math conversations I hear while we are counting collections.  All students are engaged and motivated.  Everyone, whether they struggle with math or excel are challenged and successful during this time.

I will continue to doubt myself and my methods periodically but that is probably good because it forces me to reflect on my practice and fine tune my lessons and activities.

You can visit my class blog to see counting collections in action.

Do you use Counting Collections in your classroom?
What are your thoughts regarding how students develop place value?

The Evolution of My Math Workshop

I love the workshop style of teaching.  I love that it provides choice for students and instantly helps me differentiate my lessons to meet the needs of individual students.  I have used reading and writing workshop for many years now, and have been trying to use the same ideas during math instruction.  Here's how my math instruction has evolved over time:

When I first began teaching, I taught whole group lessons each day.  After the lesson students would work independently on the textbook assignment.  I would run around trying to make sure students were "doing it right", answering questions, checking work, and the most annoying part - reteaching the lesson over and over.  As I scanned the classroom, all I saw were hands up in the air.

Fortunately, my teacher preparation courses included an introduction to Marilyn Burns.  Her book,  About Teaching Mathematics, was  required reading.  I used her ideas for cooperative problem solving and began using them in my 4th grade class.  Soon, I began to dread the "textbook lesson" days and began looking for more ways to include hands-on lessons and problem solving.  There was so many parts of the math textbook that I didn't like - so I gave myself permission to use it as a resource.  As long as I was using my state's teaching and learning standards to guide my instruction I would be okay.  I started including lots of games in my math instruction.  Some of them were to practice skills and some of them included critical thinking.  While some days were "game days" I found myself using these Math Menus for those early finishers or for when I wanted to work with a group of struggling math students, the rest of the class played math games.  I could meet with those struggling students over and over and they still would be struggling!  I knew my struggling students would benefit from these math games and activities so I began searching for ways to create a math workshop.

When I began teaching second grade I tried creating Math Centers and even designed a rotation schedule.  This did not last long!  I found myself continually designing new centers and activities that often were just busy work.  Students were often off task and needed constant redirection.  (Probably because the activities were just busy work or designed poorly.)

My New and Improved Math Workshop

My new Math Workshop that I am trying out this year is inspired by the 2 Sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, creators of The Daily 5 and Math Daily 5 and also the book, Math Exchanges by Kassia Omohundro Wedekind.  I can't say enough about this book.  It was exactly what I was looking for and I gobbled up the book in one day!  (And of course have reread sections over and over.)  Kassia's idea of a small group math lesson, or Math Exchange, is very different than what I have done in the past.  Most of Kassia's small group lessons are problem based and the groups are not necessarily formed by ability.  She chooses who will be the group carefully.  Perhaps one student is using a strategy that she would like other students to see and learn.  The word "exchange" is used to describe them because she wants students to share their thinking with each other.  I have always done this in whole group, and hoped that other students would catch on to new ideas.  Wow!  Doing this in a small group sounded amazing.  With 5-6 students I could really facilitate some great math thinking.  But what would the rest of the class be doing? Yikes!  The same problem as before.  So after a weekend of thinking and reading about how other teachers create a Math Workshop this is what I have come up with.

Math by Yourself - Usually this is where students will complete a math assignment from their textbook.  I also have those Enrichment Worksheets available if necessary.

Math with a Partner - Students select a partner and play a math game.  I have a list of games they can choose from that pertain to the concept or skills we are working on.

Computer Math - They use the Netbooks that I am currently borrowing from a local teacher center.  We have a class website that lists math games they can play.

Math with the Teacher - Students work in a group with me!

I manage Math Workshop very much like the Daily 5.  Each round is about 20 minutes.  We may have 2 or 3 rounds depending on the schedule.  I usually start out with a short lesson or whole group activity.  Then I ask students to sign up for each round.  I announce the names of the students who will be doing Math With the Teacher, and which round, so they can plan accordingly.  We don't do Math Workshop every day because sometimes I need the whole math time for other lessons or activities.

How's it going so far?
Students love having choice and are more responsible and motivated to succeed.  They also love doing Math with the Teacher.  I introduced Math Workshop to my class at the end of November, so we have had about a month of experience.  My small group work, or math exchanges, are going well.  There are many bumps in the road, but that is to be expected.  For instance, trying to get the focus on their conversation and ideas instead of just my talking.  Reminding myself to talk less!  It's the quality of my talk, not the quantity.  When a student has great thinking that I want others to hear, I make a big deal about it.  "Wow!  Karen has something really interesting here.  Let's all listen."  I am also really getting to know my students math abilities in a more deeper level, which allows me to guide my instruction and learning better.  Most of all, my struggling mathematicians are moving along and not stuck anymore.

How do you use Math Workshop or Daily 5 Math?
Have you read Math Exchanges?

Gratitude: Mostly Rosy Style

Well, here it is the day after Christmas and I can't believe that I haven't written a post since October!  (Actually...I can - it has been a wild and crazy and a bit of a stressful fall.)  But, since my blog is titled "A Mostly Rosy Outlook", I will try to focus on the "rosy" part of my life and teaching!

• Thank you to my Twitter PLN for keeping me entertained, informed and connected.  Even though I have mostly lurked this fall you continue to amaze, impress and motivate!
• Thank you to old colleagues for keeping in touch and maintaining our friendships even though you were moved to a different school due to budget cuts.
• Thank you to my new grade level colleagues for making me laugh and helping to create a supportive grade level team.
• Thank you to my husband and family for always listening and supporting me while I complain, cry and rejoice about my teaching life.
• Thank you to my students for helping me to stay focused on the joyful moments. 

Find joy in each day.  Keep'n it "Mostly Rosy".  Enjoy this video.

Work on Writing with Blogging

Mrs. Rosenquist's Classroom Blog

Last year I jumped into blogging with my class and they LOVED it!  It was so meaningful and authentic.  Each student was motivated to write more and write well.  At first I started with Kidblog and each student had their own blog.  As the year progressed I decided to also use Edublog to create a classroom blog.  I purchased a year's subscription.  I decided to do this because I like all the added features Edublog had, including uploading media and use of widgets.  So, let me tell you how I began.

I have 3 desktop computers, with 1 connected to the Smartboard.  There is no computer lab at our school or laptops on carts either.  I know of teachers out there in my PLN that have more and some that have less - so I will not complain (at this time).  I had heard that a local teacher center had Netbooks that you could check out - so I visited the center and checked out 11 Netbooks.  I got to use them for the whole year because nobody else asked for them!  But, now the problem.  There was no wireless available near my classroom - it was only available in the library.  So, because I don't give up I contacted my superintendent and told him of my dilemma.  Hurray! A wireless port was installed near my room!

Introducing blogging
First I introduced my class to blogging.  I explained what a blog was, we looked at the different parts of a blog, and talked about the purpose of blogging at school and outside of school.  Throughout the year I also discussed being safe on the Internet.  This is a great way to discuss the concept of strangers.


How to write a quality comment?
This was the first thing I taught my students how to do.  My plan, once we got started was to write a post on Kidblog, and then have then make a comment.  Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog and Mrs. Kathleen Morris and her second grade blog were the biggest help and inspiration for me.  It was important that I find quality blogs with quality comments for my students to use as models for their own comments!  In addition Mrs. Yollis' class has the best video to teach students what to include in a quality comment!  As my class watched the video, I asked my students to remember at least 3 things they learned about writing a quality comment.  Eventually, we wrote our own tips for writing a comment in our classroom.

Problems Encountered with Typing on the Computer
The first problem we encountered was how L-O-N-G it took my students to type and how difficult it was for them to compose anything of quality as they typed.  So, I now have my students plan and write their comments in a notebook first.  That way they can compose their comment over several days if necessary and proofread their writing more easily.  I can also look it over as well.  As for the typing speed, I would have to live with that.  We just don't have the time or technology for keyboarding skills.  I often let students write comments with a partner too and this was very successful.  The other problem, related to typing speed was that once they were on the computer typing they had to finish typing during our work session or their comment would not get posted.  You can't save a comment as a draft like you can a post.  One way to get around this is if you are moderating your comments - have the student post the unfinished comment, and as the moderator you can open up the comment for them to revise at a later date.  Just don't approve the comment until they are finished.  This got a bit confusing last year because I couldn't keep track of who had finished!  This year I plan on keeping a sign up list to keep track.  Now, eventually your students will want to comment on other class blogs and then they must finish their comment during that work session.

Daily 5 - Work on Writing - Launching Blogging this year
This year on Day 5 of school I began doing the pre-teaching necessary before launching our Work on Writing daily.  Here's what that included:

• What is a blog?  What are the parts of a blog?
• What is the difference between a blog and a post?
• Watching Mrs. Yollis' video about writing quality comments.
• Reading comments on other blogs to notice how many of the qualities they included.
• Shared writing of comments on other blogs and Wonderopolis.
• Shared writing of a post for our blog.
• Constant discussions of Internet Safety interspersed throughout.

On Friday I partnered my students and asked them to write a comment to a post I had written on our blog about Wonderopolis.  They were so excited and eager.  I was so eager and excited that I nearly forgot to discuss our Work on Writing "rules" that would become the basis for our Anchor chart I plan on doing this upcoming week.  They stayed on task for about 10 minutes!  Volume control will probably be the biggest challenge.

NOTE: It is now the 21st day of school, as I finish writing this post.  I have been out of the classroom 4 days already for training and testing - this of course disrupts teaching and getting routines established.  The wireless port got removed over the summer, so I have hit a little bump in the road.  But "the computer guy" tells me he can install a wireless port if I remove one desktop computer.  I have decided to do that so I can use my little netbooks that I borrowed again this year.  But blogging does continue - we are writing posts together as a shared writing experience.  With 25 students I just haven't found a way to manage them on the desktop computers.

I would love to hear from teachers who blog with their class, teachers who want to or have just begun!  How's it going for you?  Any helpful hints for me?

Launching Read to Self

Meeting area and new bean bag chairs (compliments of my mom).

Book Baskets all organized and ready to go!

So, I got through the first week of school!  Exciting, exhausting, humid and hot!

As I said in a previous post I am dedicated to fully implementing the Daily 5 this year and incorporating CAFE strategies as well.  So, on Tuesday, the first day of school we launched Read to Self and created our first anchor chart!  It felt all official and I was a bit nervous about doing it "right", which is so silly because I have always used independent, self-selected reading as the center of my previous reading workshop.  It's not all that different.  It went pretty well I think.  Most of the students were so excited to get their book boxes and settle into Read to Self.  Only one minor problem occurred during my "reading is so fabulous - I love to read - books are wonderful - aren't we so excited to become better readers" speech! One student kept mumbling his commentary on reading - things like, "I hate to read." or "No! Books aren't cool."  I ignored it for awhile, but I could see his goal was to disrupt the lesson and gain everyones attention.  So, I said it was okay if he didn't like books and reading, but I did.  And his comments were hurting my feelings and making me sad. He stopped with the comments.  More on this student later.  (Hmm...think he might be the barometer student?)

I used Mo Willems' Piggie and Elephant: There Is A Bird On Your Head to model 2 ways to read the first day. (read the pictures and read the words) Then on Day 2 I taught them 2 more ways to read the book.  You heard me might.  Two more ways - retell the story and reread the story.  I teach 4 ways to read a book.  Second graders come to me with the idea that fast is better - and getting done with lots of books fast is even better! I value rereading for so many reasons and I want my students to value it also.  Rereading seems to also help them see what they missed, slow down and think while they are reading.  Coming from first grade they often think reading is just reading the words.  (When I explained I was going to show them 2 ways to read a book I asked, "Does anyone know one way I could read this book?" Insert the sound of crickets here.  Finally, one teacher-pleasing little hand went up and said, "You sound it out?")

My Barometer Student Students

On the first day, my barometer student was a sweet, but easily distracted boy that after 1 minute was more interested in telling other children what to do than focusing on his own reading.  On day 2, I modeled inappropriate behavior myself - doing exactly what he did the previous day.  I asked for a volunteer to model appropriate behavior - and my little friend volunteered.  Awesome!  He did much better the rest of the week, but is definitely a key student to watch.  Now, back to my friend I mentioned above - the interrupter.  He did fine the first 2 days, but by day 3 he had decided he was going to either just sit and suck on his water bottle or build towers with his school supplies and water bottle.  So, another model of appropriate behavior was necessary by the start of Day 4.  I asked for volunteers, and yes, he volunteered.  Awesome!  He got lots of compliments and did fine that day.  I squeezed in another Read to Self practice at the end of the day Friday and he did well then.  It was my little distracted friend that acted as my barometer then.

We reached only 5 minutes of Read to Self.  Gotta work on that stamina!

I will write about how I introduced CAFE strategies on another post.

Next week I will teach them how to select good-fit, or just-right books.  I also hope to introduce Work on Writing too.

How do you I think I did?  Be honest!

How are you doing with the Daily 5?