Flipping a Minilesson

Our district had a technology conference last week and one of the take-aways for both of us was the potential for flipping some lessons. Mostly, we had envisioned flipping as a high school concept. High school students could watch a lecture on line and then come in ready to work on problem sets with their teachers. Until last week, we had not considered the possibility of elementary students watching a writing minilesson, but after listening to a keynote from Jon Bergmann (read some of his work when you have a chance! Or even check out his TedTalk!)

Melanie Swider's students have been working their way through integrated social studies, information writing, and nonfiction reading units and they have been writing pieces about specific explorers. Many of the lessons have been about structure, organization, text features, and the research cycle, but, by looking at their pieces collaboratively on Google Drive (shout-out to Google Drive as a collaboration tool!), we decided that they would benefit from a lesson about incorporating geographical terms and awareness into their pieces. Many of their pieces mentioned the places explorers went with no orientation for the readers.

Melanie Swider videoed herself speaking through the components of a classic minilesson complete with a connection, a teaching point (information writers use  important vocabulary when they are writing to teach readers), a place for active engagement, and a link to the work that they were doing. For this first experience of flipping, Melanie broke the video up into four parts, totaling about five minutes in all.

Melanie Meehan had a lot of fun with the video and the students because we wouldn't let Melanie Swider talk as the rest of us watched her lesson. The goal for the students was not only to learn the teaching point, but also to learn how to interact with a video. Therefore, Melanie Meehan stopped it in several places, reminding the students to take notes. They have watched their teacher create charts enough in her lessons that they were able to create some pretty impressive charts in their notebooks. How powerful for them to watch their teacher, take notes on a lesson, and have the tracks of their learning right there in their notebooks!

Below are examples of notes students took while watching the video lesson on including geographical terms into their writing.  As you can see from their notes, students truly internalized the teaching in the video, were able to determine which parts were important to jot down, and were able to clearly organize their notes using various note-taking forms.

 

 

After the lesson, students used their notes to help them revise their informational writing pieces by including geography terms to make them stronger and clearer to the reader.  As students wrote, they had their notes out from the video lesson as well as the map they labeled in a previous lesson to use as a reference.

Our goal is to provide students with a few more opportunities to interact with a video of a minilesson all together, before assigning this work for homework. Then, the homework check will be the notes that they create in their notebooks, and the work of the workshop will be the greater challenge of integrating their new learning into their writing. Stay tuned!

If anyone else has tried flipping elementary minilessons, we'd love to hear. We'd especially be interested in the platforms that you are using, as we are still trying to figure out the safest, easiest way to provide access for students who are under thirteen years old.

Happy writing,

Takeaways from Wayland Literacy Conference

I had the honor of being asked to present at the Wayland Literacy Institute this year by Karyn Saxon, K-5 Curriculum Director at Wayland Public Schools in MA.  The two day institute was held last week in Wayland, MA.  My workshop was on nonfiction reading and note-taking strategies for grades 3-6.  Stay tuned to hear about my workshop later this week.  :)

As a workshop presenter, I had the opportunity to attend the keynote by Aimee Buckner on notebook strategies to support informational writing.  If you have not read any of Aimee's professional books on writer's and reader's notebooks, click here to check them out on the Stenhouse site.  Her most recent book is titled Nonfiction Notebooks and I have that at the top of my TBR pile now.  She also contributes to the website Choice Literacy, which is a valuable resource to educators so definitely check out the website if you haven't already.  Aimee is currently working on a new book on grammar in notebooks, which I am looking forward to reading.

Here are some takeaways from Aimee Buckner's keynote on Notebook Strategies to Support Informational Writing:

• Have students bring a glue stick with them to glue in a shrinked down chart at the minilesson so they don't have to waste time copying down charts, etc.  

• Have students do any revision and grammar lesson work in the back of their writer's notebook - turn notebook over and around so the margin is still on the correct side.  

• Read and evaluate students' writer's notebooks every 2-3 weeks using a rubric that you share with students so they know what is expected of them as notebook writers.  

•  Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman is a good mentor text to use for word choice and craft.  

• I See What You Mean by Steve Moline is a great professional book about visual literacy and how to take notes in a different format than it is in the source.  For example, if the source uses words, then you can draw pictures, create a flow chart, or other visual instead of using words.  This strategy of taking notes in a different format will help prevent students from copying the information directly from the source.  It also helps increase their understanding of the information because they need to synthesize and internalize the information in order to put it into a different format and into their own words.  Aimee had us try this strategy out using the section "Honey Jars" from Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Animals Adapt by Joanne Settel.  

• Instead of having students use boxes and bullets to rehearse for drafting, they can also use post-its so they can easily rearrange the order. They can also check off the post-its as they include the information into their draft.  

• The National Geographic article, "Lively Lizards" by Lana Costantini, is a good mentor to use to teach introductions in informational writing.  Below is the link to the article online.  

http://ngexplorer.cengage.com/pathfinder/1009/pdf/pa_teachersguide_1009.pdf

Stay tuned to hear more about the Wayland Literacy Conference later this week! :)

Historical Fiction Book Club Unit: Part 3

Click here to read Historical Fiction Book Club Unit: Part 1 (Launching the unit)

Click here to read Historical Fiction Book Club Unit: Part 2  (Read aloud and writing about reading)

This month, students have been working hard in their historical fiction book clubs to read, think, write, and talk deeply about their historical fiction books.  They have been creating charts and using a variety of note-taking strategies to help them prepare for their book club conversations that they have on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Students choose whether to write their thinking on post-its, in their reader's notebook or book club notebook, or use Google Drive to help them deepen their thinking and prepare for their conversations.  

Below are some examples of the work students have been doing in their notebooks and on Google Drive to prepare for their conversations:

Bulletin Board where students post examples from their notebook 

Example of how one student used Google Drive to create a chart 

Another example of how one student used Google Drive to create a chart

Example of a chart created on Google Drive 

Example of a chart created on Google Drive

                 

Example of a plan one student created in preparation for conversation

   

Have a great week! :)

10 of My Favorite Nonfiction Books for the Nonfiction Picture Book Event #nf10for10

Thank you Cathy Mere (Reflect & Refine), Julie Balen (Write at the Edge), and Mandy Robek (Enjoy and Embrace Learning) for hosting this Nonfiction Book 10 for 10 Event (#nf10for10)! Cathy and Mandy have hosted the Annual Picture Book 10 for 10 Event for the past three years and this is their first Nonfiction Event.   Please check out their blogs to read about everyone's favorite nonfiction books!

I love nonfiction books so coming up with only 10 of my favorites was a challenging task for me and I had to leave some favorites off the list.  Here are 10 nonfiction books that I read aloud each year in 5th grade to support our nonfiction unit of study and other units in both reading and writing workshop:

Elephants Can Paint Too! by Katya Arnold is always a favorite in our classroom.  I love how one side of the page tells a narrative story about elephants painting, while the other side of the page gives interesting facts about elephants.  It is a great example of a hybrid nonfiction text that includes narrative and expository structures.  The facts about elephants in this text are amazing and you are guaranteed to learn new information about elephants that you never knew!

Oh, Rats! by Albert Marrin and C.B. Mordan is a fascinating text about rats that is written in a multi-genre format. There are various passages in this text that range from narrative to expository formats and the points of view vary also.  It is a great text to use when teaching students different forms of note-taking and how to decide which form to use for different texts.  For example, some passages compare two different rats so it would be a great passage to use to model using a venn diagram or t-chart for note-taking. It is also a perfect mentor to use during writing workshop throughout the year for different purposes and students love to hear about rats!

Should There be Zoos? By Tony Stead is my all-time favorite nonfiction and persuasive text to read aloud to students during the nonfiction unit. The arguments for and against zoos are research based and alternate throughout the text.   The students love stating their opinion about zoos at the beginning and then revising after learning more about the research behind each argument.  We also have debates to share our opinions and beliefs while reading and discussing the text.  This is also a perfect text to use as a mentor during writing workshop for argumentative research-based writing!

Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff and Craig Hatkoff is a powerful and inspirational nonfiction text.  A couple years ago, one of my students chose to research Winter during our nonfiction unit and she shared her learning with the class.  We were all very interested in the topic so we read the book and also watch parts of the movie too - kids loved it!  It has been a class favorite ever since!
I love all of the Hatkoff's books such as Owen & Mzee and Knut - they are all must reads!

Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle by Brian Dennis and Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery is an inspiring true story that is a must read!  Last year, my class awarded this book as the Best Nonfiction Book of the Year for our class awards at the end of the year - they loved it!  This years class equally loved it and were all very inspired and touched by this story about Nubs, an Iraqi dog of war who never gave up on making his home with the Marine Major Brian Dennis.

Tarra and Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley is a powerful narrative nonfiction text!  Tarra, an elephant, becomes best friends with Bella, a stray dog.  Even though they are complete opposites in more ways than just size, they form a close friendship that is inseparable no matter what happens.

All of Seymour Simon's nonfiction books are amazing! One of my many favorites of his is Wild Babies.  Each double page spread focuses on a different animal from elephants to opossums to kangaroos and so on.  It is a perfect book to teach how to use boxes and bullets for note-taking, summarizing, and determining importance.  I use this text constantly throughout the year for mini lessons in both reading and writing workshop.

I love all of Melissa Stewart's nonfiction books! Shark or Dolphin? How Do You Know?  is one of the many titles in her "How Do You Know?" series that includes topics such as: Butterfly or Moth?; Frog or Toad?.  This series is perfect for teaching students how to read nonfiction texts written in a comparison structure and are also great to model note-taking strategies, such as a T-chart or venn diagram.  I also love her book, National Geographic Readers: Deadliest Animals.  It engages the reader right in the introduction with the surprising fact that the African Lion is not actually the deadliest animal and there are many surprising deadly animals.  

I love all of Bobbi Kalman's nonfiction books and one of my favorites is A Koala is not a Bear.  It is full of colorful photos, labeled diagrams, headings, boxed information, bold words, sections, maps, and more.  It is a great text to teach how to take notes using boxes and bullets and also comparison forms such as venn diagrams and t-charts.  

I recommend all of Nicola Davies' nonfiction books - they are all amazing!  Surprising Sharks and One Tiny Turtle are two of my favorites.  They are both great examples of hybrid nonfiction by including narrative and expository structures and features.  Surprising Sharks is full of colorful illustrations, labeled diagrams, and compelling facts that will captivate readers.  It is full of surprising facts that end up proving at the end that sharks should probably be more afraid of humans than we should be of them.  

I also love the Sports Illustrated Kids: Game Day series by Clay Latimer.  My favorite book in the series is VIP Pass to a Pro Baseball Game!   I am a baseball fan (Yankees, of course!) so I enjoyed reading about the "behind the scenes" action that we don't see watching the games - the pre-game and post-game action.  I learned many new facts about the umpires, coaches, and groundskeeper along with information about the bullpen, dugout, and the clubhouse.  This is a favorite series in our classroom this year!  I am always looking for mentor texts to use for informational writing and this is a perfect series to use to study craft in informational writing.

There are many, many more nonfiction books that are my favorites and wish I could have added them to this list (as it is, I may have snuck in an extra for good luck! ).  Seymour Simon, Nicola Davies, Melissa Stewart, Bobbi Kalman, and the Hatkoff's are some of my favorite go-to authors when I am seeking out nonfiction texts - I highly recommend all their books! 

Thank you again Cathy Mere and Mandy Robek for hosting this nonfiction book event!  I look forward to learning about new titles from others and expect it to be an expensive day for buying more nonfiction titles to add to my already extensive collection! :)

Happy Reading! :)

Using Google Drive with Students

Last week, each student in my class set up their own Google Drive account - thank you Bryan! :) The students were beyond thrilled to get started using their Google Drive and loved the idea of being able to share writing with one another and me whenever they want someone to see their work or want feedback.  They were super excited to find out that they can work on the same document at once with someone else - perfect timing for our mini-research clubs in nonfiction!

First, each student created a folder labeled "______'s Portfolio" and then created sub-folders within their portfolio for each subject area.  Then they shared their portfolio with me so I can have easy access to all of their work from anywhere...school, home, and on-the-go using iPad/iPhone.  Students started using their Google Drive this week when we started our nonfiction research in reading and writing workshop.  Students are sharing their notes, summaries, research plan, sources, and so on with one another as well as leaving comments for one another and working on documents together - it is awesome!  I love being able to see what they are working on and even while they are in the process of typing and talking with one another about their research - I get to see their collaboration in action and it is powerful.

Here are some comments from students about using Google Drive:

• "It's great to share notes with my research group and comment with one another at home."
• "It's easier than working alone and then consulting when we get back to school because you can both work on the same document at the same time and look at each other's work and revisions."
• "It's easier to save and share documents because you don't have to worry about forgetting your flashdrive and it autosaves for you while you work."
• "It's convenient because you can continue to work with partners and group at home without having to be in the same place."

Stay tuned to hear more about how we are using and loving Google Drive! :)

Nonfiction Research and Argumentative Essays: Part 1

Last week, my class started the nonfiction research part of our nonfiction unit in reading workshop and we launched our Research Based Argumentative Essay unit in writing workshop.  This is the first post in a series about our Nonfiction Research and Argument Essay unit.

Students are in mini-research clubs and have chosen an issue to research by first choosing a topic that interests them and that they want to learn more about.  Then the narrowed that topic by identifying an issue/subtopic within the larger topic and an essential question that will guide their research.
Some of the issues my students are researching are:

• Should students in elementary school have cellphones? 
• Should elephants be entertainers in circuses?  
• Should animals be grouped by species/type in zoos or mixed all together to form relationships with other animals? 
• Should students under the age of 12 play contact sports? 
• Should school cafeterias serve chocolate milk or only white milk?  
• Is global warming causing polar bears to become endangered and possibly extinct? 

In the mini-research clubs, students are reading various articles/texts (hard copies and online) and watching video clips to research both sides and the evidence that supports both sides of the claim they are researching.  While reading and viewing, they are annotating the texts and taking organized notes in a separate research notebook.  Some students have chosen to create tabbed sections within the notebook to clearly mark the evidence they are collecting for both sides as well as a section for sources they are using.  Other students have chosen to not use tabbed sections but just label each page "For/Against, Pros/Cons, or Yes/No" depending on their essential question they are researching.  Some students are also color coding their notes by using one color pen for evidence "for" and another color pen for "against".  I love seeing how students are approaching the research and note-taking differently and sharing their strategies with one another - such powerful inquiry and learning from one another! 

Here are some photos of students' research notebooks and notes:  

 

Once students collect evidence to support both sides, they will make a decision of where they stand on the issue and will present their learning with their classmates in a presentation format of their choice.  For example, the mini-research clubs can organize a class debate, co-author a nonfiction book (narrative, hybrid) together using one of our read alouds as a mentor text, or can create a video or multi-media presentation.  In addition to this group presentation, each student is writing a research-based argumentative essay to support their claim during writing workshop.  Stay tuned to hear more about this writing unit this week! :)

Happy Researching! :)

Partner Conversations in Nonfiction Unit: Part 3

This is the 3rd post in a series about our Nonfiction Unit.  To read my previous posts, click below: 

• A Peek at the Nonfiction Work in our Classroom: Part 1 (includes our anchor charts during unit so far and how we are exploring different forms of note-taking with purpose!)
• Note-Taking Examples from Students in Nonfiction Unit: Part 2 (Students use colored pencils and different forms of note-taking to bring note-taking to life!)

During our nonfiction unit, students still read their fiction chapter books so I have students meet with their partners in the middle of reading workshop, instead of at the end, to clearly split up the nonfiction and fiction reading. For example, after the mini-lesson, students go off to read their nonfiction texts.  After about 15-20 minutes, I pause them for a mid-workshop teaching point that leads them into their partner conversations.  In our classroom, we have Partner 1 and Partner 2 identified in partnerships so each day I alternate between having one of the partners do the teaching, while the other actively listens and asks questions to deepen their understanding and thinking.  After talking for about 5 minutes, I have students end their conversations and switch to their fiction reading.  During this unit, some partnerships have chosen to read nonfiction texts on the same topic or the same text, while some have chosen to read texts on different topics, but read the same fiction chapter book.  

During their partner conversations, they use: 

• their texts to open up and point to specific information
• their reader's notebooks to share information and thinking they jotted in their notes 
• the post-its they used to mark important places in the text. 

I have modeled how to use the text and notes during a conversation to actively involve and teach their partner as well as how to be an active listener and ask questions to deepen your partner's thinking and learning.  We also have numerous fishbowl conversations, where partnerships model a conversation in the middle of a circle and we listen, watch, and notice what they are doing to have a powerful conversation.  This helps students see what a successful conversation looks like and the visual helps them be able to try out those conversational moves and strategies in their own conversations.  

Below are some photos showing the partner conversations in action: 

Happy Reading, Writing, and Talking about Nonfiction! :)

Note-Taking Examples from Students in Nonfiction Unit: Part 2

This is the 2nd post in a series of posts about our Nonfiction Unit.  To read my first post, please click here.  

In my previous post, I shared a photo of our class bulletin board where students post note-taking examples that their classmates can use as mentors.  Below are a few close-ups of some note-taking examples that students have posted so far. These are the forms of note-taking that students chose to use while reading their text during independent reading or while actively listening during read aloud.  I taught and modeled various note-taking strategies and we have practiced how to choose a form of note-taking that best organizes the information.  We learned that note-taking is a tool and that we need to choose the best tool to match the text we are reading, just like we choose a hammer to put a nail into a wall or a staple remover to remove a staple in papers.  

As students use different forms of note-taking, they are posting them on our bulletin board and sharing their reasoning behind using the form they chose.  They are learning from one another and using each other as mentors - such powerful learning! You will notice that students use colored pencils while they take notes - this not only gives them the ability to color-code, but also inspires them to take notes and write in their notebooks!  They use colored pencils throughout their reader's notebook, not just for note-taking in our nonfiction unit, but throughout all units and all sections of their reader's notebook. 

This student chose to use a flow-chart to show the Problems/Solutions in their text

This student chose to create organized boxes to jot down information about her topic

This student chose to use a T-Chart to clearly show the differences between Dolphins and Sharks as we read Shark or Dolphin? by Melissa Stewart 

This student chose to draw the life cycle of a penguin as he read about the sequence in his text

Happy Note-Taking! :)