Celebration: All is better with a little gold dust

Posted on April 4, 2014 by carriegelson

Celebration honoured. This is the loveliest of reasons to share. Join Ruth Ayres who shares a Celebration Link up on her blog each week.

I had a fantastic week back with my students. I think all of us were thrilled to be together again after a two week break, learning and sharing. I have many things to celebrate this week!

1. I loved all of the #MustReadin2014 spring updates shared by a wonderfully keen reading community. The Must Read phenomenon was born out of an attempt to gain some control over unruly TBR lists that grow and grow! Check out my update and links to update posts here. Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo is one of my favourite books read so far from this list. Maybe even more special because I read it aloud to my children and we all loved it.

2. I was thrilled to have a Nerdy Book Club post published this week. I saw a request from Colby Sharp for some retro review posts to be shared on twitter a few weeks ago. I have written some other Nerdy posts but never one in this category. I asked Colby if I could share something a little different instead of a review of one specific title. I wanted to go “retro” and look back at titles treasured with my children (now 11!) when they were preschool age. It was a nostalgic look back at books we adored. Read the post here.

3. I read the powerful picture book Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson illustrated by E.B.Lewis to my class this week.The reactions and comments were quite incredible. I think I might share some of their thinking and writing on our classroom blog. But the most interesting moment came with the ending. If you have read this book, you know that it ends with Chloe standing at the shore of the pond feeling a mix of regret, sadness and guilt. Her opportunity to offer kindness to Maya is gone. The story ends with these words:

“I watched the water ripple as the sun set through the maples and the chance of a kindness with Maya was becoming more and more forever gone.”

At first there was silence in the room and then one girl erupted, “What?! That’s terrible! It’s a terrible ending!” “It’s not terrible. It’s just not happy so it’s confusing a bit,” someone else added. Another child piped up,”It makes you think about drama and saying sorry. It makes us think. It’s good.” As we were getting ready to move on to Reading Workshop, another child said, “I liked it. I have been waiting for a bad ending in a book. Not bad like not good but every ending shouldn’t be happy – that’s not how life is.” This little girl asked me to help her find a new novel and we kept talking about the story. I asked her if she wanted to put her thoughts into a reader’s statement (we have a huge wall of these posted on a bulletin board). She came up with something that I think is quite brilliant:

Readers can’t always expect a happy ending.

That books inspire discussions and thinking like this – this, I celebrate!

4. Ah . . . book love! My students were happy to be back to our classroom full of books. I sensed it on Monday morning when an instant hush fell upon the room when we started Reader’s Workshop. I did “book commercials” for new books all week and this generated lots of excitement.

I felt the book love when I saw “who reads it next” lists being created and stuck to new books.

I felt it as I observed the wonderful engagement of one to one time with various adults who listen to children read and talk about stories and thinking with the students.

I sensed it when listening to the the buzz around the book bins during buddy reading time with the K/1 class.

Ah . . . book love!

5. If you have hung in reading this very long Celebration post (it was a wonderful week!), here is the pot of gold 🙂 One of our students makes a lot of paper objects and sculptures all throughout the day. It helps him to focus and listen. We started thinking . . . Wouldn’t it be great to showcase some of his work? Wouldn’t it be better if it was spray painted gold? Absolutely! Here is the young artist at work, gold paint in action!

And here is the installation. Thank you to the amazing Miriam (the Support Worker who I get to work with every day!) for her huge role in displaying and advertising the “piece.” There are flyers pasted up all over the school! When this boy’s Mom came in to see this art and got hugely proud and teary, we all got teary. It was a moment.

I celebrate all the many ways this is golden . . .

What are you celebrating this week?

What also happens here?

Posted on March 25, 2014 by carriegelson

Just over a month ago, I wrote this post: The Part That is True It is about a boy named “Harry” and how he learns, what he needs and how he is viewed. It is about how we honour each child. About adult judgement. About asking ourselves as educators: Is my classroom safe and inclusive for all learners?

I wrote this post because I needed to write it. I needed to put what I was feeling into words and I needed to strengthen my resolve to continue advocating for all of the children like Harry who will walk through my classroom door and be a part of my life. That this post spoke to so many others was more than encouraging. The comments and feedback gave me hope and allowed me to engage with so many about how we work with the children in our classrooms.

But something else happened. Some teachers contacted me privately and talked about their struggles to support some of the students in their room. It wasn’t about the child so much as the system. The lack of supports. Other staff who didn’t share their philosophy. They talked about overwhelming needs, safety concerns and children who are experiencing a lot of stress.

Two things struck me. One, always the frustration was not about the child. Two, we don’t often talk about this. At least not out in the open.

Why?

Part of it is that so many of us who are sharing about what happens in our classrooms and schools, focus on the positive. And so we should. We highlight and showcase the wonderful. This speaks to our optimism. Our ability to find joy in the everyday landscape of a learning community. It is where we start each day and what we carry with us to be able to keep doing and loving this work.

Another part is that by talking about our struggles with upset and behaviour, we are cautious. We want to protect privacy. We don’t want to judge. We don’t want to tell the story that sometimes things are really hard. Because even though it is about what children do, we know it is about so much more.

And I think we also feel in some ways like it is an admission of not being able to cope. That if things are challenging, we are not managing. It takes large amounts of inner strength to take a breath in the middle of a child’s “outburst” and say, “This is about so much more than me.” And then to take charge, ensure safety, and help to keep everyone’s self worth intact.

It is easy to think this isn’t happening in other classrooms. I consistently share moments of happiness and joy and celebration. But the truth is that there is also drama and trauma.

Honestly, sometimes I read blog posts from other educators and think, wow. Wow, but how do they do that? I can’t get there because of things that are going on. Like the challenges transitioning back in from recess. The child who can’t manage change and is under the desk. The child who won’t come on that beautiful nature walk and so we all need to go back inside because we don’t have the staff to supervise everyone. From the conversations I have been having with other educators, other people are feeling exactly the same thing. They are also making the assumption that the struggles are not happening in these other classrooms that are so full of learning and passion.

My classroom is where beautiful learning happens. Joy. Happiness. Growth.

But, what also happens here?

Sometimes large amounts of upset. Aggression. Crying. Screaming. Hiding. Under the table. Behind a shelf. In the cloakroom. Running out of the room. Refusing to come in from outside. Games get thrown to the ground. A carefully constructed tower is kicked over. There has been biting. Pushing. Pinching. A few times we have had to get everyone out of the room and call for help to deescalate a child.

Those things also happen. In my room.

This post is not about all of these questions: Why? Who is responsible? How do we fix it? Those are big questions that I am not tackling now.

This post is just to remind us all that we are not alone. As we teach and learn and work with children – through the joy and the challenges, we are all in this together.

Celebration: Bookish Things

Posted on March 8, 2014 by carriegelson

Celebration honoured. This is the loveliest of reasons to share. Join Ruth Ayres who shares a Celebration Link up on her blog each week.

This week I am celebrating bookish things. Unfortunately, my family and I have been ill for much of the week – so my week started with a bang and ended much quieter. Book lovers know though that illness creates opportunity for much reading!

#1 Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend Western Washington’s Children Literature Conference (#wwuclc). What an absolutely fantastic and enlightening day!

First of all I was thrilled to meet #NerdybookClub members: L to R Lorna Wheaton, Adam Shaffer, me, and Shannon Houghton). I know all of these people through twitter and blogging but had never had the opportunity to meet in person. It is amazing how sharing love a love of literature and being passionate about sharing that #booklove has the power to connect. We had much to talk about and share! Hoping that we can all meet again at the next literacy conference in Washington (#wwuclc15)

I also did some book shopping. Surprise, surprise! But how could I resist? Our hotel was right across from Village Books and the very same Village Books was selling books by all of the author/photographer/illustrators at the conference.

I had wanted to share many things about this conference but being ill has sapped much of my energy. I will let these names speak for themselves: Jennifer Holm. Steve Sheinkin. Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Nic Bishop. I will say that I was completely engrossed in each presentation, in awe of the stories and the passion. I haven’t had such an inspiring or entertaining day for some time.

I was also honoured to have the chance to introduce photographer/author Nic Bishop. I have been telling my students stories he shared in his presentation all week. My stomach hurt from laughing at his explanations for just how he has taken some of the pictures he has. Before this, I was as curious as my students. We had spent time with Nic Bishop books– many fun ones – Butterflies and Moths, Lizards, Spiders, Frogs, Snakes. I asked the children to explore the books with these questions in mind:

How were these photographs taken?

What skills (besides photography) would the photographer need?

What would be the rewards in this kind of work?

What would be the challenges?

Here are some samples of their questions and observations:

#2 Kirby Larson If you don’t know that Kirby Larson is pretty amazing, let me just remind you. Yes, because she writes some incredible books. But also because she sends some pretty significant mail. There is a story here that I can’t completely share. I will just say that this package contained a book that was for a child who needed it for many different reasons. Three adults were able to bear witness to the opening of this package. And . . . wow. Books are gifts. Which makes authors beyond the beyond. Thank you Kirby.

#3 Adrienne Gear is my very lovely book loving Vancouver friend who eats books and adores them as voraciously as I do. But she also shares her incredible teaching talent with others through her Reading Power books for teachers. Adrienne’s literacy workshops are some of the most inspiring and feel good (because she is so charming) workshops I have ever attended. This week, Vancouver Kidsbooks hosted a book launch for Adrienne’s fourth book: Nonfiction Writing Power. Check out Adrienne’s website. Buy her book. I happily have all four in my professional collection. Congratulations Adrienne!

Here is the invite from Kidsbooks for Adrienne’s launch and includes images of all of her books:

#4 Books, books, books! When life gives you time in bed, take time to read. I’m sure that’s a saying somewhere . . . Well time I had, so in two days of resting I finished one novel and read 5 more. What could be better than that? I will review these titles in my upcoming #IMWAYR post

Hoping all of you had much to celebrate this week!

Sunshine Sharing . . .

Posted on December 30, 2013 by carriegelson

Many of you have seen the posts circulating – some call it “homework” some Sharing the sunshine . . . But it basically works like this.

Acknowledge the nominating blogger.  Share 11 random facts about yourself.  Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.  List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!  Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. (You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you.)

I am honoured to have been “tagged” twice – first by my friend and fellow B.C. teacher Karen Lirenman who writes this blog Learning and Sharing with Ms. Lirenman but also blogs on a classblog and has all of her Grade one students blogging and connecting with the world. I am constantly learning from Karen. I was also asked to participate by Vicki Vinton who writes the blog To Make a Prairie – reading this blog means a fresh cup of coffee and some time to let all of her wonderful writing about teaching, reading and writing sink in.

January 3rd update: And one more -thanks Sarah Soltau-Heller at Singing My Song -I’ve now answered some of your questions below. Sarah’s voice in B.C. Education is one I absolutely respect!

So here goes . . .

Eleven facts you might not know about me:

1. I have two beautiful children – eleven year old boy/girl twins who I adore. I love to read to them daily, explore amazing places and listen to their big questions.

2. These beautiful children landed me on 13 weeks of bedrest at the end of my pregnancy. Where I began #bookaday 🙂

3. I taught for two years in Nitra, Slovakia

4. My husband proposed to me by writing in the back a of picture book that he had me read aloud to him.

5. Numbers stick in my head – I can remember phone numbers and birthdays of childhood friends. But I often have to do the math to remember how old I am.

6. My first degree is in philosophy.

7. I moved nine times before I was seven years old. But my husband and I have lived in our home for 16 years except for the 10 months when we moved out to renovate a few years ago.

8. I base my opinion of small animals on what they do to my garden. Birds = love. Squirrels = evil thoughts.

9. I walk to work every day. Rain. Shine. Snow. It takes me 35 minutes if I hit the lights correctly. It’s what keeps me grounded.

10. The only food group I’m guaranteed to have every day is coffee (that is a food group isn’t it?)

11. I love puzzles. Of the jigsaw variety. I don’t do them often but when I break one out, I become obsessive. And I don’t like anyone to help.

My answers to the questions. I’m doing 5 from each blogger

Karen’s questions:

What have you been served, that you ate out of respect, but really didn’t like it?

Once during my years in Slovakia, I was given a full glass of wine at 8 a.m. for helping to interview a librarian candidate in English. I took a sip and smiled and promptly switched glasses with my Slovak colleague who had already emptied his glass!

What scares you?

Top 3: 1. The boxes in my basement 2. The prospect of any type of infestation – mice, bugs . . . 3. The idea of my children getting sick.

Runner or walker?

Always walking! It is exercise and therapy all rolled into one. And a very green mode of transportation.

What’s the biggest surprise of your life?

That I couldn’t get pregnant. I am thankful everyday for advancements in assisted reproductive technology. My twins are IVF babies and we know how very blessed we were to have success finally. A long road with an absolute pot of gold at the end! Times two!

What is your favourite season and why?

Fall. The colours on the trees . . . Wow.

Vicky’s questions:

What did you learn from your mother?

To be with people and find the humour and spirit in everyone. My Mom was a nurse in an intermediate care facility for seniors. I remember watching her with patients and thinking she had some kind of magic. But the magic was all about sincerity, love and graciousness. My Mom is my hero.

Where do you find joy in your classroom or work?

In the tiny moments of laughter and silly and strength. The children I work with are resilient and all kinds of amazing. Everyday I find multiple moments to celebrate and hang on to those.

How do you feel about being the age you currently are?

Mostly fine because I never believe I am the age I am. And also my students often guess that I am 22 (or 75 but that’s another story). With age comes wisdom and wrinkles. I like to focus on the wisdom.

If you could have dinner (or coffee or drinks) with anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you want to ask him or her?

I would love to have coffee with Linda Baie from Teacher Dance. I know Linda only through blogging and sharing books but I have the feeling we could talk all day. What would I want to ask her? All the secrets books have taught her. Us readers, we know a lot.

What do you do to recharge?

Read. Stories allow you to steal inspiration, hope and wisdom from the pages. Every book I read enriches who I am.

Sarah’s questions:

If you could do any other job what would it be?

A detective. I love the idea of sifting through information, reading people, trusting instincts and being smarter than the “bad guys”

What is your favourite colour? Why?

Green. Trees. Forests. Ferns. Limes. New growth. My wedding dress.

What is in your freezer right now?

Never enough coffee. Although we stockpile. Frozen fruits. Banana blueberry muffins (that I made).

What were you afraid of as a child?

Slow moving white vans (Scary news story) The Green Finger (Scary story told by older cousin)

What do you do that you wish you didn’t?

Make to do lists that are not humanly possible. And then attach very human guilt/angst. Working on this.

My eleven questions – feel free to only pick some. And avoid others!

1. Go anywhere for a weekend – where would it be?

2. Who in your family is most like you?

3. What 3 strengths do you have that you would use confidently to describe yourself?

4. What is your “successful” dinner – always good and one that you might have made and shared often? (It can even be the only thing you can actually cook)

5. What household task do you always feel behind with?

6. What genre do you need to read more?

7. What change would make your current work/job better on a daily basis?

8. What do you wish you could be braver about?

9. If someone were to describe your personal style, what would they say?

10. What makes a book a 5/5 stars book?

11. Fill in the blanks. I spend too much on ____________ but it’s okay because __________________________.

I am nominating seven brilliant and inspirational bloggers to share some stories and questions. I feel like I am a little late to this “sharing” and so am bending a few rules 🙂 Anyone else who wants to participate – please add yourself to the list!

1. Adrienne Gear from Reading Power Gear

2. Beth Shaum from Foodie Bibliophile

3. Susan Antonelli from Wonder Teacher

4. Elisabeth Ellington from The Dirigible Plum

5. Lorna Wheaton from Not for Lunch

6. Ann King from King and Kids

7. Nicole Levesque from BlueStocking Thinking

It’s calling . . . #nerdlution

Posted on December 2, 2013 by carriegelson

Okay, I have also succumbed to the call of #nerdlution

I wasn’t going to because . . . life is just too busy. But then, of course, it hit me. That’s exactly why I need to do this. Claim time, joy and energy that is for me not about “to do” lists.

My #nerdlution is very simple. It is about slowing down and connecting with my two beautiful children. Starting today and for fifty days without fail (big promises, this is serious stuff :-)) I will read aloud to my children from a novel we are sharing together. Thankfully, I still do manage to read aloud to my children often. They are in Grade 6 and both avid, capable readers so I consider the fact that they still love the read aloud a pretty wonderful thing. We read nonfiction, picture books and novels. But when things are busy, I often just squeeze in a quick picture book and don’t take the time to dive back into our novel “on the go”.

When we read a longer story together, we talk. We snuggle. We predict and wonder and share. We wrap ourselves up in a story that becomes ours. And as childhood races by and busy times try to overtake us, I am claiming more of the read aloud magic back. Not just over the holidays. Not just a few times a week when busy schedules don’t win. But back to the everyday. Because, really, it is my children who made me the reader I am. They showed me that books connect to life and memories in a way I never fully understood until I had so many special reading experiences with them.

On day one of this #nerdlution challenge, we finish up Chapter 14 of The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens.

Completely confused about the #nerdlution revolution? Read Colby Sharp’s blog.

Let the reading begin!

Curiosity Racers

Posted on October 19, 2013 by carriegelson

I am excited to announce that our classroom now has a class blog: Curiosity Racers. I will continue to share all of my #booklove on this blog as well as reflections and rantings about learning and teaching.

Curiosity Racers will showcase sneak peeks into our classroom learning. Student art and writing will be shared. Photos of our learning in various areas of the curriculum will be highlighted and students will have the opportunity to guest post to share important events. And because my students are avid book lovers and readers too, many book reviews and reader responses will be included.

So far, we have three posts up on the blog. We would love any comments as we are learning to respond collectively and appropriately to the comments left on our class blog.

Want to learn about what math looks like in our room? Read here.

Does meeting some grumpy witches sound like fun? Check out this post.

Do you know the book Desmond and the Very Mean Word? Students shared their thinking here.

I would like to thank inspirational B.C. educator Karen Lirenman (@KLirenman) for encouraging me to give more voice to my students and their learning. Hopefully next, we will begin to have individual blogs. I follow very far behind Karen and all of the amazing things she does but I keep her clearly in sight running through her many learning experiences with her students! Always, I am learning from the work that she does and so generously shares.

Dear Guest Teacher

Posted on October 6, 2013 by carriegelson

So here are a few confessions and some truths:

I have a lot of anxiety about being away
Many of my students share this anxiety
Often, I choose not to be away even when I should be because it just seems easier all around. I have a few oh my, my, my stories from previous years that contribute to this feeling.
While my students are delightful, happy and excited about learning, many of them could also be described as impulsive and as finding change challenging.
The reality is that when a lot of the magic of a classroom is based on relationships, and someone new comes in in a leadership role, things can go off course. Normal “substitute” stress that has nothing to do with the capabilities of anyone. It’s just the way it is.

But, this year I have decided that I need to be human. And sometimes I am sick. And sometimes I have to go to the dentist. And sometimes I have an exciting learning or teaching opportunity elsewhere. I need to be away sometimes. My students need to be able to manage.

So I decided to involve my students in the process more. When I was away at the end of September, we planned for a Guest Teacher collectively. Did I think this would ensure that all would go perfectly smoothly? No. I have young students. Impulsivity, anxiety and change is still impulsivity, anxiety and change no matter how prepared one might be. But, did I think our collective ownership of the day would lead to the day having more potential for calm, happiness and learning? Yes!

And so over the course of about a week, we spent a little of every day planning for our guest. Everyone, including adults who might be in the room wrote an introduction sticky note. (** We are the self named Harmony Class because when we talked about what it meant to have three grades in one room, one brilliant child observed, “It’s like a harmony.” And the name has stuck! :-))

Each child took a moment to share something special about themselves and that helped us to remind each other that not only are all of us special and unique but that the teacher would be too. We had a chance to meet someone new.

I put up a blank day plan that had times and activities using large chart papers. Everyday we spent a little bit of time filling in details together. For example, what should we do in math that would be successful? The students chose to play Gridlock, a game they had played before to practice coordinate systems. Everyone voted that this would be an activity where we could be engaged and independent.

Eventually, our day plan looked like this. While I filled in the chart, student input was included for each activity. They reminded me of routines, important details and special instructions.

For some procedural details, students added their own sticky notes to elaborate on our directions. I love the lunchtime directions, particularly this one:

“Stay for a bit but not a lot to make sure we are calm.”

So . . . the verdict?

Well, some things went beautifully . . . I received this tweet from one of the Support Workers who spends time in my room:

@CarrieGelson 15 minutes of reading all silent 🙂 pic.twitter.com/297I9OuuOM

— Erich MP (@ErichMP) September 25, 2013

The note from my Guest Teacher started like this:

“Thanks for the day plan. You have a very sweet group of kids. Everything went as planned.”

It ended like this:

“I enjoyed my day with them.”

In the middle it referred to an “incident” – I’m okay with that. Truly, even when I am there, we often have an “incident” 🙂 Or two . . . Perfection was not our goal. The beginning of owning the day together was. As was respect, building community and learning how to welcome guests into that community.

The next day in Writing Workshop we had two prompts: Think about your day with the Guest Teacher, write about something you felt proud about and share a “work on for me” thing. Many students shared that they were proud of their hard work, that they were kind and polite to the teacher and that they did many activities as planned. A general “work on for me” theme was about improving listening, and being more quiet at carpet time. One little guy said he needed to work on being more patient. The noise at times had frustrated him. Students were honest and reflective.

So would I do this again if I am know in advance I am going to be away? Absolutely.

My reflections would be this:

I felt proud of my students for working together to plan a day for a Guest Teacher to share the room with them. A “work on thing” for me would be truly relaxing and knowing that we did our very best to prepare for a smooth day. I mostly relaxed whereas in the past, I never did. Again, the goal was not a perfect day but rather working towards developing more responsibility and independence. That road is a long one and we need to travel it one step at a time. This collective planning allowed us to sprint ahead here and there!

In 2013/2014 I will be . . .

Posted on September 22, 2013 by carriegelson

On the last day of school in June all of us in our classroom brainstormed a huge list of words on the board. What did we want to be in 2013/2014? Beyond goals, how did we want to visualize ourselves? How did we want to be described? What descriptors would be a fit for each of us? We each chose five words. We wrote them down and signed the paper. We also asked a witness to sign.

Most of us were returning to spend the year together again for 2013/2014 as our Grade 2/3 class was becoming a Grade 3/4. Over the summer, someone switched schools and some new students moved into the neighbourhood. By the end of week one in September, we had become a Grade 2/3/4 class with 8 new students. We invited our new students to also take part in this exercise sharing our words and coming up with a few more.

With photographs of us, these words are going to be posted on the walls of our cloakroom. We will see them when we arrive each morning and as we grab our coats and bags at the end of the day. Our words will surround us as we learn and grow. Will these words feel right at the end of the year? Will they be motivational? Will they inspire us? Confuse us? Make us reflect and think? We don’t know yet. We do know that we felt pride and confident choosing our words and happy to share and celebrate them.

If you visit us, please look out for our photos and words in our cloakroom. If you follow our learning journey from afar, here are some lovely examples.

*****

Fun

Calm

Focused

A Writer

A Leader

*****

A Teacher

Brave

A Reader

A Learner

A Listener

*****

Kind

Passionate

Peaceful

Giving

A Thinker

*****

A Reader

Creative

Brave

A Leader

Myself

*****

Independent

Brave

Compassionate

Helpful

A Reader

*****

Creative

Brave

Focused

Patient

Organized

*****

Brave

Calm

A Reader

Respectful

Kind

*****

Creative

Patient

Helpful

Calm

Fun

As the teacher of all of these young students, I was amazed at how brave many of these word choices were. There was real vulnerability in the writing down of words that have big importance. Some quiet children chose the word Talkative. Children who struggle with impulse control wrote that they would be Calm. Learners just beginning to read wrote the words A Reader as did voracious readers who devour books. Our classroom community values many things and this also came through in the choices: Mindful, A Leader, Creative, Kind . . .

These words will visit us everyday, I am not going to ask the students to revisit their choices and evaluate later in the year. I don’t want these words to be intimidating. This process is not about living up to a goal. This process is about choice. We all have the ability to choose who we are becoming. The words we have chosen celebrate this power. My responsibility and my joy will be to support these choices all year long.

Happy 2013/2014 everyone! What will you be?

Would you like to share your 5 words in the comment section? We would love to read them!

Here are mine and Miriam’s (Miriam is my brilliant Student Support Worker who shares these wonderful children with me):

*****

Connected

Thoughtful

A Learner

A Reader

Passionate

*****

Creative

Artistic

Imaginative

Patient

Connected

Come on in and read with us!

Posted on July 20, 2013 by carriegelson

It is no secret that I love books. Books, books, everywhere you look! That is one way to describe our classroom. But the best thing about books is the readers who enjoy them. Sharing the reading experience is an important way to build a community of readers. Time exists everyday for reading and the adults who work in my classroom or visit regularly love to be part of the action.

Come on in and read with us! The top ten benefits of shared reading with adults. There's a Book for that

Lucky for us, we have numerous volunteers who are a regular part of our week, spending time with us in the classroom. Often, that time involves a shared reading experience When children and adults read together, everyone benefits – the adults, the children and the teacher (lucky me :-)). Shared reading builds community at the same time as it helps to develop reading skills and a positive attitude about literacy. There are so many benefits – here are my top ten!

1. Fluent models: Opportunity to listen to an adult read. We all know how important this is to help students become more fluent readers. When reading with an adult, there is often turn taking with a story and so the child has the opportunity to sit back and benefit from the modelling of a proficient adult reader who demonstrates the importance of phrasing, expression and enthusiasm as they read.

2. Oral Reading Practice: The students also have time to work on their own oral reading fluency. Reading aloud to an adult is wonderful practice!

3. Enhancing conversation skills: All kinds of talking happens when sharing a book. “How about you read that page and I read this page?” “Can you help me if I get stuck on a word?” “I’ll be Piggie and you be Gerald!” “What was your favourite part?”

4. Vocabulary Development: As stories are discussed, new words and concepts are introduced. Children are exposed to more new words through reading books than just having a casual conversation. When an adult is working one to one or with a small group, there is the opportunity to talk about unknown words or concepts that are not clear.

5. Time for tangents: It is always wonderful when a story takes you off in a few directions, sharing stories and connections. “That reminds me of . . . ” “Did you know that I . . .?” “Have you ever . . .? ” Time reading with an adult means these important conversations can happen.

6. The gift of time: One to one attention that conveys, “You are important. I like this time we spend together. It matters.” Enough said.

7. Bonding over books: Books are the bridge that help connections form. It is easy to share and talk about books, laugh about stories and learn new things together. As the reading and learning happens, the connections and bonding does too. Magic.

8. Pride: Positive feedback from an interested adult directly impacts the confidence and pride young readers feel about their growing skills.

Come on in and read with us! There's a book for That

9. Making book love contagious: This happens when we share our love of reading with children. The more people sharing, the more that is shared! I am so thankful for all of the adults who help me ensure that students are catching the love of reading.

10. Reading = Enjoyment: The association of happy experiences and reading is essential if we are going to create life long readers. Not all children have had the experience of being read to by a loved one. Shared reading in the classroom with a caring adult helps students to have positive associations about books. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

During our busy school year, I don’t always have the time to properly celebrate all of the wonderful adults who share reading time with my students. This post is my tribute to all of them. What you do means so much!

A reading community is very important in my classroom.

Other posts on this topic:

The Grandparent Effect

Come see What I Celebrate

A Love of Reading Starts Between Us

Dear New Student

Posted on April 23, 2013 by carriegelson

Hey teachers . . . . What would your students highlight if asked to share about their classroom? I was delighted to see what my students mentioned when I asked.

The task? Write a note to a fictitious new student. What would someone new to our room need/want to know?

Dear New Student:

“My friends are so nice to me in this class. I love my teachers and all of our helpers and visitors. I love all of the books! They are special and calm. I play with my friends but not all of the time! We go to the carpet for read alouds. I love math. It is so fun and it makes me happy.” Kelvin

“We are so nice that your heart will break. And we listen. We do art too. You will get smarter in this classroom. You will meet different students in Seymour School. You must have a big brain. We do singing at school.” Kala

“This classroom has lots of books like chapters, board books, picture books. So if you don’t know this, this is not the class for you! Get reading!” Ava

“We do mindful breathing three times a day. At the class meeting, we say something we are grateful for. Sometimes, I say I am grateful for my friends.” Vicky

“Be polite at people. Be nice. Do reading groups. Do your job like cleaning up if it is the end of the day. I love math. I love books too! Did you know that we do mindful breathing 3 times a day? You could read a book many times.” Kevin

“We always come to the carpet for a story after lunch. We do art every week. We do a gratitude circle. You say something special when you got the gratitude stone. Sometime I say I am grateful for my family. BLG readers come every Wednesday. There are lots of books in our classroom. I like to read Jack Stalwart series, Stink books, Owly and Captain Awesome.” Heman

“I’m Gracie. I just wanted to let you know that we do quiet time. And Ms. Gelson has a library in her classroom! She loves loves loves reading. We have an art gallery in our classroom too. On Thursdays we have class meetings. But what you really have to know is that . . . WE LOVE READING!” Gracie

So while these letters started off to an imaginary new student, in the end they turned out to be little pieces of writing I treasure.

Yes, the book love is transferring! Students love a room full of books and time to read. Our daily mindful breathing features big. Math is fun! Learning and community are front and centre!

This is a classroom we are proud of and ready to share – so . . . Dear new student, if you arrived, we would welcome you!