A Personalized Nonfiction Reading Unit

I'm not going to lie...I absolutely LOVE teaching nonfiction to kiddos! And the best part is that THEY love it, too! Kids are in pure discovery mode and can't wait to share "Ah-Ha" facts with anyone and everyone nearby. I love watching them read and seeing their faces when they learn something new that they think is really cool. So, needless to say, this unit has always been one of my favorites.

One thing we have struggled with has been how to make it individualized for our students. The thing about this unit, is most kids do not have much background knowledge on text structures or nonfiction types. They know they like nonfiction. They know "text features" (Click here for our Text Feature Scavenger Hunt freebie that we used as review). But if you ask them to identify or use a cause and effect text structure, and they look at you like you're speaking alien. Due to this, all of our mini-lessons for this unit were whole group. We really tried to personalize the unit for our individual kids during their independent work time.

So, we teach our mini-lessons and get kids excited about text structures (wow...who knew?), but finding books that have these text structures can often be a challenge, too. By collaborating with our amazing ELL and SPED staff, we printed multiple articles from the Reading A to Z library. By whiting out the identifiable  labels at the top, we were able to provide our kids with multiple articles to choose from at their level to practice with. Another fantastic resource that we often turn to is the Stephanie Harvey Tool Kit! (click picture below to be taken to her website).

These awesome books come with high-interest, leveled articles! The CD's are great to print clear copies from, too. Not all match specific text structures, but many do, and really helped to provide multiple options for kids to choose from.

Once kids had their chosen articles/books that interested them, we gave them multiple graphic organizers to help them organize their understanding of the different text structures. We used the same graphic organizers to model with during our lessons. This was really helpful, because when the students downloaded the Google Docs that they needed, they had our class examples on the front page as a reference model. We used these formatively to help support our strategy group work.

As we dug deep into nonfiction for over a month, we wanted a culminating project that we could also tie in with our nonfiction writing standards. We wanted the kids to dig deeper into a topic that interested them, but at the same time, prove they had a strong understanding of the text structures. What we developed was a "Magazine Article." It required that they choose and research a topic, complete "Boxes and Bullets" as note-taking, cite their resources, and include the many different tools/structures that we explored throughout our unit. Feel free to click the image below to get your own copy. You will need to "FILE, MAKE A COPY" of the document first. Then you can edit your own version as you see fit.

As they researched, we coached them on their note-taking, sources, we talked about reliable sources, and provided them with additional graphic organizers to help with their own text structure planning. They self-edited and peer edited. Then, it was time to start the final product!

They were most excited about trying out Google Slides in a new and unique way. We chose Slides as our format for the same reasons so many bloggers utilize Powerpoint. It provides the user with more versatility than a traditional Doc. They can make multiple text boxes, layer them, change backgrounds, and more! They came up with some incredibly creative final articles! Most importantly, they were totally engaged and VERY proud of the final "editions." Below is my "exemplar" that I built with them to teach them the tools. I also researched Giraffes when I modeled the note-taking once we introduced the topic.

Here are a few kid examples, too! These are only the first pages of two of them. Many were 3 pages long (and for a good reason ;)

They never cease to amaze us with their creativity, excitement for learning, and the way they make every day fun! We love our jobs!

Do you have any creative projects or ways of working through nonfiction? We'd love to learn with you!

Happy Teaching!

~Angela

Collaboration Across Levels: Bigs and Littles Learning Together!

I recently posted about finalizing our Defined STEM sound project. As if that wasn't enough of a final culminating activity, Angela and I collaborated with the infamous Michael Mohammad and his incredible AP Physics students for a fun filled morning of learning! We had been talking about bringing our students together for quite some time, and after some impromptu conversations after the Convening conference, we were finally able to make it happen! Mike's students had been learning about sound...our students had been learning about sound...what an amazing opportunity for both sets of students to share their knowledge with a real audience! 

The Thursday before the holiday break, Mike brought over about 50 AP Physics students from Brookfield Central High School. His students were divided into five groups and shared their knowledge with our ENTIRE grade level. All of our 4th graders spent the morning rotating through different stations. The groups focused on the following concepts: 

1. Sound waves and tuning forks
2. Doppler Effect and Sonic Booms
3. Sound Uncovered using the app for iPads
4. Using Makey Makeys and Little Bits to create circuits that make music
5. Resonance

When I look at that list, it's hard for me to believe that our 4th graders would even be able to comprehend some of these difficult concepts. Mike's students blew us out of the water! They brought the information to life and, through the use of PearDeck, made presentations interactive and highly engaging! From the Sound Uncovered app to the Doppler Rocket, dancing tuning forks to Star Wars sounds...these high schoolers used a wide range of technology tools that made for a morning of fun. Learning about resonance with Little Bits and creating animals sounds with Makey Makeys, our kids (and teachers) had a blast! To learn more about the high school content, check out Mike's blog post about our morning together! 

All in all, the morning of collaboration was incredible! Not only did the high school students share their knowledge of sound with our kiddos, our 4th graders had the opportunity to present their sound instruments AND their iMovies to a real audience! The learning was engaging and authentic! 

A HUGE thank you to Mike and his students! You WOWED us and can't wait for our next opportunity to collaborate with you! Go-Carts are next...let's do this! 

~ Kate

We Are All Super Stars!!

So, I'm a little delayed in posting this. December was a whirlwind of activity, and although I had great intentions of filling my break with blog posts and planning, instead I chose to spend my days with warm cups of coffee and snuggles.

With that said, Angela and I are excited to announce that just before the winter break our students finished their first collaborative STEM project using Defined STEM. I introduced this project in a previous blog post, and wanted to share an update! Our students worked so hard over the last 2 weeks! All of the groups WOWED us with their creativity, collaboration, and ability to come to consensus.

After our students planned their conceptual models and built the physical models of each instrument, they were ready to advertise for the concert AND perform! They worked together to create a billboard and a performance, that they then recorded and edited. Once all recordings were finished, we uploaded the videos to iMovie and the groups edited their movies and finalized them for our class playlist. All members of the group had to play an active role in the video- they could sing, play an instrument, record, and/or edit the movie. Watching the smiles on their faces during their final performances was the best part of the entire project. It made up for duct tape stuck to the couches, cardboard scraps found in EVERY nook and cranny of the room, and junk, I mean supplies, strewn from one end of our space to another...we are still finding rubber bands and string :)

Our classroom was filled with enthusiasm and excitement (and a whole lot of tape!) whenever they looked at the journey and realized it was science time! With our collaboration day with Michael Mohammad looming, we were cutting it close, but all of the groups stuck to the timeline and finished on time. The students of TEAM Togetherness were thrilled to share their instruments AND their finished videos with their high school mentors. It pays to have a real audience!

We are SO proud of these kids and are already knee deep in the planning of our next STEM project! Hopefully it won't take me so long to post :)

SOUND PERFORMANCES PLAYLIST

~ Kate

6th Annual SLATE Convention

Kate and I had the amazing fortune of presenting at the 6th Annual SLATE Convention this week in the Wisconsin Dells. It was at the Kalahari Resort (Yes, you can be jealous...No, we didn't make it in the water park, but a few from our group did!) For those of you that aren't familiar, SLATE is a fantastic educational convention that focuses on the latest and greatest in educational technology. We were also pleased to see the increase in focus on personalized learning. It was a fantastic 2 days of learning and connecting with other like-minded individuals. It is always so energizing when you are surrounded by hundreds of people that have similar philosophies and are together for a shared purpose.

One of our favorite parts was connecting not only with the other amazing educators from around the country, but more importantly, connecting more with other teachers from our own building. It was so refreshing to be able to connect on a personal level with some of my favorite people. I swear...we haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We are truly blessed to work with some of the kindest, caring, and hilarious peers! We love being around them, and genuinely enjoy each other's company. In the day to day hustle and bustle of things at school, it is SO important to connect as PEOPLE, not just colleagues! This conference gave us some time to do that, and we are SO grateful for that (and so much more!)

Yes...those are brass elephants...Yes...I am sitting on one. But in my defense...did you see our amazing assistant principal in the upper corner?? Now THAT is devotion to a good shot! :)

We presented "A Day in the Life of Team Togetherness." Our hope with this breakout session was that we could walk people through what a day is like in our personalized learning environment. That being said, we wanted to highlight the differences (and similarities) between the teacher role and that of a Team Togetherness student. We had about 50 people attend, and our amazing principal ran our Today's Meet "back channel." People asked amazing questions and really seemed excited to see what we do day to day. We shared our hurdles, our successes, how our model has scaled, as well as the great tech resources that we use on a consistent basis. The presentation is filled with additional links and files. Feel free to check it out by clicking below:

In addition to presenting, we also got to learn from other amazing educators! We had quite a few new "tool takeaways"--we learned about Knovio, Plickers, Orange Slice, and we are super excited about Videonot.es! Learning about new tools from others is so powerful, but so is seeing how they use tools you already know...but in a completely different way! We can't wait to take some of these back to our space! 

I will say, though, that my favorite learning was from the Tuesday keynote, Kevin Honeycutt. I love keynotes that are engaging, interactive, and know how to read an audience! Kevin did just that...and more! He was inspiring! He was energetic! He lit a spark in us to wrap our arms tighter around those kids that need us most. Anytime you sit in a large lecture AND you can feel those emotions...you know you have hit the proverbial keynote jackpot! Kevin has used his tough upbringing not as a crutch, but as a motivational driving force to make a difference in the lives of others. The impact he has left on countless students (and countless teachers...just like us...from around the whole world) is immeasurable. Excited to follow his site and Twitter! I know there is more learning to be had, so I can't wait to see what he does next! Some of our favorite "Kevin-isms" from his keynote and break out session (There were SO many more...):

• "Kids are growing up on a digital playground...and no one is on recess duty"--in reference to the need to meet kids where they were at and help them learn and move forward in a digital age. #digitalcitizenship
• "Teaching should be like football...you throw to where the receiver isn't....YET!" 
• "Associative learning...when how you feel while you are learning is just as important as what you are learning"
• "If I like you, I tell you what to know. If I love you, I tell you HOW to know" We need to love our kids MORE!
• "When kids get to do things they love, it writes on them with permanent ink" We need to make our lessons/classroom environments fit this more!
• "How can we bend the system to meet the kid, instead of bending the kid to meet the system?"

And finally...the one that made us laugh out loud...

• "Don't pee in my learning pool!"

Collaborating...creating....critically thinking....and most importantly...COLLECTING! Collecting ideas and memories from each other. Thanks, SLATE, for a great 2 days! Memorable for sure!

~Angela

Reading Formative Assessments

We have officially wrapped up our first unit in Reader's Workshop that focused on characters! Our kids really grew so much, especially in their written responses!

One of the things that Kate and I have been reflecting upon as we continue our Personalized Learning journey is how we can implement more immediate strategy groups within our Reader's Workshop block. Due to the skill-based nature of our math workshop, it is easy to have a "bull pen" using our daily exit slips. In reading, we try not to have daily tasks, allowing the students more freedom to apply the different skills they need as they naturally come up in their self-selected text. In addition, increasing class sizes means that it takes about 2+ weeks to get through the entire class with individual or small group conferences. These don't help our issue of needing more immediate strategy groups.

Due to this, we decided to implement a form of formative assessment approximately once per week (sometimes every 1.5 weeks). One of the simple ways we do this is through a sticky note check in. Students have the opportunity to submit their best "character thinking sticky note" from that week (since we were in our character unit). They stick their sticky to a laminated class poster that is filled with numbers. Each of our students is assigned a number, so they each have their own "home." We ask them to put their name/number SOMEWHERE on their sticky note, because they will get mixed up later.

We collect the entire batch at the end of Reader's Workshop and can easily sort the sticky notes into "got it" or "don't got it." This allows us to quickly be able to organize a strategy group for the next day.

Another project that I have been tackling is becoming more familiar with the new Teacher's College Reading Progressions, as we utilize Teacher's College materials for both reading and writing workshop. While these are truly amazing tools, as with many other Teacher's College materials, they are incredibly "wordy." The entire Narrative Reading Progression is approximately 20 pages, which doesn't always lend itself to 4th graders that have the attention span of a fruit fly! :) Due to this, I modified them into bulleted tables. This format allows the entire Narrative Reading Progression to fit onto 4 pages (2 pages if you copy them back-to-back). I also made them for the Informational Text band, as well.

In addition to the entire document, I also saved each, individual band as smaller, PNG files. This allows us to insert these images anywhere we would like them (SMART files, Google Slides, Docs, or FORMS!) You can even print them out when working with strategy groups or individual students that you feel need to focus/reflect/set goals on one particular area.

We have also introduced individual bands of the progression as they pertained to our Character Unit of Study. This sparked the idea of self reflection for our students against the progression bands. We aren't using them as an exact rubric, more for reflection, discussion, strategy group work, and goal setting. We also decided to implement an alternate form of formative assessment. We used the applicable reading progression bands that we had been discussing the most that week, and created a weekly response/self-reflection tool using Google Forms. 

(Click to view actual form)

This allowed our students to create one "long and strong" about their best character thinking that week. It also asks them to reflect on their work against a specific band in the narrative reading progression. After reflection, they can go back and revise their response prior to submitting. The best part of Google Forms, is that all of your student responses (in our case...51 of them!) all feed into one, beautiful spreadsheet that you can now tweak, sort, and view in multiple ways!

There are many benefits to the spreadsheet! 1. Having ALL of your kid responses in one place! This is such a gift for a teacher to not have 51 sticky notes or papers to sort through (or lose!). 2. I set my responses to feed all into one place, making my entire unit of thinking all in one document! 3. I added a column called "score" to my spreadsheet, where I can easily give them a score against the band they were focusing on. This is super helpful, because you can then SORT your entire spreadsheet lowest to highest (or vs. versa depending on your needs). Now I can see all of my lowest responses in one chunk, making them my first strategy group that I will meet with the next day!

Now, I'll be honest, Google Forms can have their "downsides." The first being that not everyone is as familiar with them as other Google Tools. Due to this, I will try to put a blog post together about some of my favorite "tricks" having to do with Google Forms. I recently presented PD about this Google Form Reflection Tool to other teachers in our district, and I found that the majority of them needed more support in creating/manipulating Google Forms, than the actual progressions! :) So, I definitely recognize the "need" in that area! Another downside is from the student lens. If a student does NOT finish their Google Form Entry by the end of your reading block, there really is no way to save their progress (that I know of, at least? If anyone out there has a solution to this sticky problem, I would LOVE to connect! :) To alleviate this issue, we encourage our students to write their "long and strong" in their digital reading journals FIRST, then "copy/paste" it into their Google Form when they are ready. We also have a few students that use the new "voice type" option in Google Docs to "speak" their response, then "copy/paste" it into the Form when they are ready (really amazing accommodation for your students with special needs or ELL needs!). If you are an iPad classroom (we use Chromebooks), that speak option should be readily available directly within the Form. 

How do you use formative assessments in your reading workshop block? Have you been using the new Teacher's College progressions? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Teaching!

~Angela

Adding Inquiry using Defined STEM!

Adding inquiry and STEM activities into the content areas has been a priority for Angela and I since the beginning of our journey together. Some of the most memorable moments with our students involve inquiry and their voice and choice.

This year, our school was fortunate enough to subscribe to Defined STEM. Defined STEM offers a variety of resources, across all standards and subjects, with their subscription. These performance tasks present students with real-world problem solving around a specific career or industry. The performance tasks are inquiry based, and typically tackled in a small group. Defined STEM uses the G.R.A.S.P. Model to introduce their performance tasks.

Every aspect of the project/performance task is completely customizable. The subscription allows you to edit tasks, products, upload additional docs, videos, and/or links. Rubrics are included for each task, and those are also editable. You can even upload your own rubric. Once changes have been made to a performance task, you can share it with a colleague and your students. When given a link, they can easily access the student version!

Many of the classrooms at our school are implementing these performance tasks across subject areas. A STEM committee met last summer to look at ways we could embed this amazing resource into our already existing science units. The cross grade level conversations were empowering, and helped many of us get a better grasp on the website and all it has to offer.

After customizing the performance task and rubrics to best meet the needs of our students, I created additional materials that would support them during their product creation. I could easily link these docs directly to the online performance task so that ALL necessary materials are embedded right in the website link sent to students! I also created a PACING GUIDE to help us, as teachers, plan the inquiry project, AND to help our students use their class time wisely. Although many of our students are working on Genius Hour projects right now, this is our first inquiry group project. Angela and I felt the pacing guide would help keep them on track, and divvy up the product tasks.

For our first performance task, our students will be creating a SUPERSTAR MUSICAL GROUP! They will be working in their inquiry groups to problem solve and apply the knowledge they learned during their Physics of Sound unit. We introduced the performance task to the students today and they will be meeting with their inquiry group next week. We promise to post pictures of their progress over the next few weeks! 

~ Kate

Learning Lab is Up & Running!

We are excited to announce that the 4th grade Learning Lab is up and running! We needed a few weeks to get to know our students, and to wrap our minds around what we were doing, but I'm happy to say that we are off to a great start and loving the 45 minute block each day. 

Learning Lab is a collaborative time for our entire 4th grade team. During this block, all students, teachers, and several support staff meet in the LL space. We have two, 20 minute rotations where students have choice in what they are working on. Our first cycle is scheduled to last 7 weeks. 

After digging through our grade level data, we determined that some students needed additional practice in a variety of areas of reading and/or math. This intervention block, run by classroom teachers, takes place during one of the rotations, but students' voice and choice still comes through in their second rotation! With all hands on deck, our 4th grade team has been able to provide our learners with the following choice activities during our first rotation:

• Math Olympiads
• Reader's Theater
• Genius Hour
• ALEKS/Dreambox/Front Row
• Typing Agent- keyboarding practice

To get started, we gathered as an entire grade level for a few days to explain Learning Lab rotations and expectations to our students. We used this Google Slide presentation to discuss self monitoring behavior, working independently, being productive, collaborating when necessary, and problem solving. Towards the end of the week, we shared a Google Form with our students. They each had the opportunity to share their first and second choice activities with the teachers. 

As teachers, we dug through the Google Form responses during our PLC time, created a schedule, and organized our students into groups using this Google Sheet. Students names and homerooms were listed under each gropu. It took a lot of checking and double checking, but we managed to organize all 130 kids. It was REALLY important to us that each child had an adult to check in with at each rotation. Although the students' voice and choice came through in their rotation picks, accountability and use of time is extremely important to us. The students know that they are responsible for the learning taking place each day, and that they must be prepared and ready to learn. 

As we finish up our first rotation, our 4th grade team is already brainstorming possible choice activities for our upcoming rotation. As we review our intervention and classroom data, we will be sending out our next Google Form in the near future. Looking forward to what's up next! A HUGE thank you to every one for their hard work, creativity, and flexibility! 

~ Kate