Writer's Notebook

Do you use a writer's notebook?  I'll be honest, I don't.  Yet.   Today, a colleague (Melissa Thiele) and I were lucky enough to attend a workshop entitled The Writer as Collector - Using a Writer's Notebook presented by Alan J Wright in collaboration with the Australian Literacy Educator's Association, and this is about to change.

I've been reading about, and wanting to use, writer's notebooks for quite some time now. Intrigued and inspired by the concept since first hearing of them, I've never taken the plunge because I've also been a bit confused.  How do they fit? I mean, REALLY fit without 'taking away' from all the other cogs in the wheel of our literacy block? 

This morning I found the answer: they don't take away from the other cogs. They have the power to replace many of them. Yes please, sign me up.

Alan's presentation was a well structured collection of stories, which was fitting considering the title of the workshop, and the intended learning.  Through his own memoir like tales and anecdotes from students and teachers with whom he's worked, Alan was able to share his passion for living the writer's life and carefully placed his writer's notebooks at the very heart of it. As participants we lapped it up, following him from spiders under corrugated iron to the aisles of K-Mart all while he demonstrated the value of writer's notebooks. All while he demonstrated how he lives the writer's life. And for me that was the central message: as a teacher of writing I need to be a writer.  

And so, I stopped at Officeworks on the way home. I have two potential books. My mind is already 'rehearsing' the first marks I'll make in my notebook. I'm excited!

Is it silly that I so love the look of the top
book that I don't want to cover it?
 It reminds me of my childhood pen pal.

Not just for myself though. As much as I love writing and look forward to growing as a writer personally, I am excited to share this tool with my class.  Not yet though.  As new (or potential) notebook users we discussed the 'how' of bringing notebooks into our learning spaces. There seem to be two main streams of thought: teacher as 'expert': developing a degree of comfort and familiarity with the process first and then using the teacher's notebook as a tool before students begin OR teacher as 'co-learner' alongside the students. Knowing myself and my students, I want to spend some time living with my own notebook before taking it into our learning space. 

Even before I introduce the notebooks to the kiddos there are so many simple and practical ideas I took from today that I can start using straight away.  Here are a couple:

• Presenting a beautiful/powerful sentence and asking how the author has used punctuation (or sentence structure etc.) to create that beauty/power. Can we use punctuation (or sentence structure etc.) the same way? What can we learn from the way the author has used punctuation (or sentence structure etc.)?
• Taking a piece of writing and replacing the 50c verbs with $5 verbs. E.g. Replace fall with plummet.
• Presenting a short passage of quality writing as a model and having a go at writing a piece in that shape/style/voice.

I have LOTS more to say about this workshop but not today; need to let it percolate a little first. I will share my progress with my notebook and, when it happens, my kiddos' notebooks. Who knows, they may even let me share some of their writing?

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 2 Know the content and how to teacher it
Standard 6 Engage in professional learning 

How Do You Use Twitter?

In the words of a dear friend:

"I do, very much, love my job. You are challenged, inspired, frustrated, intrigued, entertained, flustered, provoked, humbled and more….and that’s all within an hour!"

(Thank you Katie Havelberg.)

So, I'm really frustrated to been put back on the bench by my doctor. I want to be at school. I miss my kiddos and my colleagues. 

One colleague I particularly miss, because she moved school this year, is Aimee Lipczyk. Yesterday she tweeted that she was talking to her class about the benefits of Twitter and called for people to chime in.  I don't know how her lesson went, but with the plethora of ways to use Twitter in the classroom I can imagine.  

Twitter, like most social media platforms, seems to polarise people.  Love or hate, there is no middle ground.  There are no prizes for guessing on which side of the fence I fall.  So following the mini twitter discussion prompted by Aimee, I did a bit of digging to find what other people are using Twitter for in their classrooms.

Here are 28 of  some of my favourite uses - some of which I use, others new to me (but will probably show up in our learning space in the near future):

1. Networking with other classes.
2. Sharing on the spot learning with parents (and the world).
3. Live tweeting excursions or incursions. 
4. Connecting with authors.
5. Microblogging 'aha' moments.
6. Using hashtags to take learning deeper.
7. Summarising a lesson's main point in 140 characters or less.
8. Becoming politically active.
9. Using hashtags to facilitate research.
10. Sharing student/class blog updates.
11. Comparing global differences.
12. Finding a class for Mystery Skype.
13. Following the news.
14. Twitterchats
15. Creating a class Twitter newspaper with interesting retweets/#hashtags
16. Building a sense of community.
17. Running social action projects like #Socktober
18. Asking for expert opinions.
19. Connecting with professionals.
20. Writing serialised stories or poems.
21. Using a hashtag to compile resources.
22. Sending out inspiration into the world.
23. Hooking up with other classes around the world and using Google Earth. 
24. Shout out to the teacher's network for authentic data to share with students about current topic of learning.
25. Twitterpolls.
26. Keeping a research diary.
27. Making friends! 
28. Being involved in challenges like #Mathsphotoaday

A word cloud of these 28 ideas. Fascinating to see where the emphasis lies isn't it? 

How do YOU use Twitter with your class?

Note: @the67VRPs is our class twitter account.  (Please feel free to follow us.) I run it through tweet deck on MY laptop and always check it carefully before mirroring it to our TV so that I can be sure of the content/contacts etc.   The kiddos devise their own tweets from the account and name them so that if it's a direct conversation with a student from another class it can be tracked.   

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 4 Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments
Standard 6 Engage in professional learning 
Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

Joining the Dots

Today I had the privilege of accompanying 18 of our senior students to a GRIP Leadership Conference.  These 18 students represent our three year 6/7 classes and were chosen following collaborative processes that involved identifying the characteristics and qualities we would like to see in our leaders.  I can't speak for the other two classes but in my class all (self-nominated) candidates gave short presentation to the other students about how they demonstrate the identified characteristics and qualities. Our choices were based on these along with our prior knowledge of the candidates.

Back to today...

Amongst the other things covered today was the notion that leaders stand up.  They stand up when there's an opportunity, for the right thing, others and themselves. Of course we unpacked what that all meant and then the presenters mentioned a few people who exemplify these things.   Imagine my absolute delight when one of the students from my class leant over and whispered to me:

"All I can think of is Charlie Perkins. He was a real leader who really stood up."

I still grin like an idiot when I think about it.


The first time she'd heard of Charlie Perkins was yesterday during our Way Back Wednesday discussion about the Freedom Ride of 1965.  It was the first time that nearly any of my class had heard of him or the Freedom Ride which surprised me considering the media coverage the 50th anniversary has received this week. His life story and the '65 Freedom Ride really captured everyone's imagination.  I think our discussion left most students with more questions than answers, and eager to keep talking to learn more.

And that is why we never miss WBW.

I'm always very careful in my choice of WBW topic, and some weeks I struggle to come up with something that ties in with our other learning areas. (This is one of my non-negotiables: it must integrate across our programme so that it isn't a stand alone lesson.) The 50th anniversary of this incredibly important event in Australian history was one reason I chose it this week. I also needed to start talking explicitly about the concepts of primary and secondary sources, perspective and contestability - and what better way than with an event that has primary sources from various perspectives and secondary sources that raise questions about the primary sources. The icing on the cake for me was Charles Perkins' brilliant example of leadership.

As teachers we all get a thrill from those moments when students join the dots and create a masterpiece. Today. Today that happened for one of my students. Even the memory of it thrills me.

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 1 Know students and how they learn.
Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it.
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.

It Shouldn't Be This Complicated

A few days ago I wrote about labels and the inevitable 'othering' that comes with the act of labelling people.  Now I want to talk specifically about one particular label: giftedness.

I mentioned in that earlier blog post that I have two children who've been labelled as gifted and that we've used the label to 'other' them into a specialised programme.  Hypocritical? I can see how it might look that way. It's a bit more complicated than that though. When we're dealing with kids, it always is right?

Giftedness is an umbrella label applied to different groups of individuals depending on the organisation or educational body doing the applying.  Here in South Australia the Department of Education and Child Development uses Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent to identify that "gifted individuals as those who possess a natural (innate) ability or aptitude in at least one field or domain of ability, such as intellectual, creative, socio affective or sensorimotor, which is manifested to an outstanding degree, positioning them amongst the top 10% of their age peers" (DECD, 2012).  

Other definitions focus on behavioural characteristics such as asynchronous development (Columbus Group, 1991) or a greater awareness (Annemarie Roeper, 2000).  The problem with all of these definitions, as with any umbrella label definition, is that they paint only part of the picture.

A very cursory search of the world of mummy blogs will show that living with 'gifted' kids is often described as a minefield of much, much more than asynchronous development. Talk to any mainstream teacher and they will tell you that the rare truly gifted student they come across are usually the toughest kid in their class to reach.  My 13 and 15 year old sons both have a greater awareness of some things and practically none of others that don't rate as worthy of their attention.  I've been told that to think my children need different educational accommodations is pure elitism.

The thing with giftedness is that it's rarely simple, and never easy.  So that's why it's a bit more complicated. 

Educational outcomes for gifted children are often very low because due to disengagement with school. Many do not 'survive' our traditional methods of schooling well at all. Those who do get through secondary school with the grades to enter tertiary education often drop out.  

Giftedness is a loaded label that 'others' both the kids and their parents, and carries a social stigma of elitism. I'm NOT comparing the challenges associated with parenting or teaching gifted children with the challenges associated with other special needs. The challenges are different. Qualitatively and quantitatively  What I AM saying is that this label is complicated and these children deserve consideration of their special needs. Most do not get this. My two are lucky: they've got pushy parents who know their way around the education field.  It shouldn't come down to luck though. It shouldn't be this complicated.

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 4 Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments
Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

Practise DOES NOT Make Perfect

I don't know about you but if I hear practise makes perfect one more time I may just scream.  Let's be clear about this: practice makes PERMANENT, not perfect.  Perfection - whatever that is - is harder to achieve.  There are so many reasons for this.

The one that I'm focussing on with my class at the moment is that doing something the wrong (or unhelpful) way  REPEATEDLY will embed that practice in the brain and make it habit. Everyone can think of examples of this: whether spelling a word incorrectly or leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor.  The more we do it, the more it becomes a habit.   Practise in this case does NOT make perfect but permanent.

So what are we learning does 'make perfect'? Practise WITH feedback and coaching.

If we think about the example of spelling a word incorrectly: in our room I don't correct spelling in student work but I do highlight incorrect spelling; so the student will notice the highlighted word and  add it to their spelling error analysis bank (SEAB) along with the correct spelling. Students independently and collaboratively look for patterns in their SEAB and choose their focus rules/patterns/words for their spelling capacity matrix. They work through this capacity matrix with constant feedback from each other, me and in many cases their parents. And the result? An individualised spelling program that has high engagement, regular feedback and improved spelling across all writing.

It works. Sure, there's practise in there, but each time we identify something we need to improve there's feedback and coaching. So why does society persist with the notion that practise makes perfect?  Is it common sense - it just makes sense that the more we do something the better we'll get? I'd counter that in most cases where this does work we are receiving subconscious or indirect feedback.

When I reflect on how this applies in my own life, I don't have to look very far.  This month I've been participating in #28daysofwriting which has seen me writing (nearly) every day.  Has practising (blogging) more  made me better at it? No.  You know what I have improved though? Coming up with blog ideas BECAUSE of my stats.  I've been tracking my stats and can see which topics attract more readers. (Not that I write solely to attract readers.) I'm also better at labelling my posts, following direct feedback about how I was doing it.

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
Standard 4 Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments
Standard 5 Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

Two Days Off? What?

I spent the weekend in bed. Not in the lovely "laze around in my PJs because it's the weekend and I can" kind of way, but in the "if I move I might puke or pass out" kind of way. Blurgh.  It ended with a    trip to the local emergency room last night for some emergency rehydration.  According to the kids I was having trouble fathoming why there were eyes on the rubbish bin (there aren't), and why they wanted me to blow out the birthday candle (they didn't). Apparently dehydration can lead to confusion. Who knew?  Long story short: I've spent today working hard to keep down steamed rice with the goal of stretching to dry toast later tonight. Party animal right?

Actually, the hysteria I experienced on being 'allowed' to come home from the hospital bordered on a party:

"You want me to take how many days off work?  I can't do that! Are you mad?" I could feel my head starting to spin again at the ridiculous notion that the doctor was suggesting I stay home for TWO days.  I turned to my husband with a 'who does she think she is?' look.  He merely nodded.
"Not you too! I can't stay home for TWO days! That's insane. Do you know what's going to happen in my classroom in two days? Do you know how much work I'll have to catch up on? I have meetings! I have assessments! I have... Oh! Oh!" And I sat down at that point. The stress what just too much.

Of course, the fact that at that point I still couldn't keep down water wasn't playing into my thinking. Why would it? Minor point right?  The fact that whilst I've been persistent in pursuing my lofty goal of digesting steamed rice today I wasn't ever likely to be overly successful wasn't even a consideration. Again... Minor point!

I know I'm not alone in resisting taking a sick day.  It's just one of those things that we, as teachers, do. Sometimes it seems like the act of planning the day and writing up the notes for the relief teacher  makes it all too hard. Sometimes the idea of what you'll 'come back to' is too much. Sometimes there's just too much to do. None of these are good reasons to not take a sick day. And yet I've heard them all already this year.

I can't think of another group of professionals that does this to themselves.  So why do we?  I don't think there are any easy answers. For me, it's partly a control thing, partly a workaholic thing, partly a  desire to fit in as much as I can into my time with my class, partly a need to feel needed and a whole bunch of other things.

This week resistance was futile. The doctor handed the medical certificate straight to my husband and they shared one of those knowing looks.  And so I'm at home. I couldn't have gone to work today and unless a miracle happens overnight I doubt tomorrow would have been an option either. I WILL be going back the following day though. I will. Probably. I hope.

Margaret Wild

One of my favourite children's authors is Margaret Wild.  I'm sure I've mentioned her before. In fact, I know I have at least once just recently: here. Last year my class indulged my passion by agreeing to go along with an author study focussing on her. Our school's literacy scope and sequence suggests that year 6/7s undertake an author study during term 4 so it all worked out quite nicely. 

Studying an author of picture fiction enabled all of my students to access multiple texts.  Last year's cohort had a reading age spread well over 10 years from well below year level. Assigning a shared text was NOT an easy option: welcome the picture fiction books of Margaret Wild!

With over 30 of Margaret Wild's book in our class library we were able to compare, contrast, respond, identify patterns, find common themes, and much much more.  Different people found interviews with her (our favourite can be read here), and it was fascinating to see the different ways she is profiled on different publishers' websites.

Some of our favourites that I'm sure the VRPs would be happy for me to recommend to you:

What is treasure to you? This tale of a refugee
 child's life journey examines this beautifully.

A beautiful story of family and friendship.

A story about friendship, trust and betrayal
told with strong imagery and descriptive writing.

Guaranteed to make ME cry.
Poignant story of love and death.

Do you have a favourite picture fiction author? Or other children's author? Or even an illustrator? (I LOVE Julie Vivas!)  I'd love to hear about them.  (I'm not so sure my husband would love it... I have a problem restraining myself when it comes to buying picture books!)

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 1 Know the students and how they learn
Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning