My first semester of teaching is winding down, and it's been one heck of a ride! I'm proud of my accomplishments. I feel like I have a good relationship with each of my students, have covered my standards well, and have expanded my students' knowledge and creativity.
But it hasn't all be wonderful. There are plenty of things that I'm hoping to change next semester.
I'm a floater in my school, which means that I have an office instead of a classroom. I "borrow" classrooms from other teachers during the day. This is nice for me (no classroom to keep organized), but it also causes a big problem in having openers and bell-ringers at the start of class. There are days that I get to class after my students because of elevator traffic.
Next semester, though, I am set on having a ritual at the beginning of class. I read Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer in college for my class on adolescent literature and just finished her newest book Reading in the Wild. Miller teaches 6th grade and has her students read 40 books independently per year. I have to beg my high school students to read 4 books independently per year! Her secret is giving students time each and every day to fall in love with reading in her classroom. She has reading conferences with students each day to check their progress and is constantly helping students find books to suit their interests in her enormous classroom library.
I've decided that next semester on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we will read for at least 10 minutes at the beginning of class (Tuesdays and Thursdays we will write). Students should use this time to read independent readings books, newspapers, or educational magazines. Anything to get them to read. One of the things that I've noticed this semester is that students just don't read. They don't read their assigned work and they don't read outside of class for pleasure. So, instead of complaining about the epidemic, I'm going to try to do something about it instead. Kelly Gallagher wrote a fantastic book titled Reading Reasons, which offers mini-lessons on showing the importance of reading to students. As we begin the semester, in order to inspire my students to read, I will implement some of these mini-lessons.
The second big change that I'm going to put into place is a big one: The Passion Project.
I read about this on Catlin Tucker's blog a while back and have been thinking about it ever since. It's one of those ideas that has kept me up at night considering how to use it with my students.
I'm going to have my students blog. The kicker is that they can blog about anything that they are passionate about. I began this blog as a mentor text for them in a way, to show them what a blog can look like when somebody cares enough about something to write about it. I love to teach. I love education. It's what I'm passionate about, so in a sense, this is my Passion Project.
Every 2 weeks for the semester, my students will be required to write a blog entry on Blogger. They are to have research ready on every other Friday that they will put into their blog. They are to write in grammatically correct English and in a formal manner. Students will be allowed to write these blogs anonymously if they wish. However, students will be required to present a Status of my Blog twice during the semester. They must present what their topic is, what they have learned about their topic, and how people are responding to their blog (if at all).
Once the blogs are created, I will post links to each of their blogs here. I want my students to understand that they won't always be writing for just me. Writing will be out there in the world, and they need to be proud of what they write. I want to encourage them to put forth the utmost effort because others will be viewing their blogs.
Another big change that I will be implementing is noredink.com.
This website was mentioned to me by another English teacher here at HHS in my PLC. She has used it a few times with much success. It's basically a website that has students working on their grammar and mechanics skills in a personalized, differentiated manner.
The 11th grade standards in the Common Core don't focus on grammar and mechanics much at all. My curriculum focuses on grammar and mechanics only in essay writing.
This week, my students are writing an essay for The Great Gatsby. Looking over some of their outlines yesterday, I was appalled at the amount of errors I saw! How had I not noticed until now how poor many of my students' grammar is?
I've decided that students will be required to complete lessons and quizzes on noredink.com in order to strengthen the areas in which they suffer greatest. Students don't have to listen to me repeatedly hammer them bout commas if they are using them correctly, and instead these students can work on areas that they need help with!
The last change that I'm considering is the article of the week.
I read about this idea in one of Kelly Gallagher's books. You can read about it more in depth on his website here: http://kellygallagher.org/resources/articles.html.
Basically, students will be welcomed into the real world once a week with the article of the week. I will urge students to consider how the world around them affects them. This is a great way for teachers to implement more nonfiction reading into the classroom as well.
All in all, yes I'm proud of what I've done this semester. It's been tough, and I know that I will continue to make mistakes and change things as necessary. However, I also know that I'm ready to change whatever necessary in order to help my students succeed.
I'll let you know how it goes! :)
-Ms. Z
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Characters are a lot like icebergs...
My wonderful mentor introduced me to a teacher-author named Kelly Gallagher. Ever since picking up his book Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It, my life has been changed. Okay, I know that sounds corny and over the top, but I'm not kidding. I've become re-energized as an educator and inspired as a learner.
The second book that I read by Gallagher is titled Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12. Not only is this book one of the most inspiring that I've ever read, but it also gives a unique and flexible framework for teaching difficult texts.
This is the framework directly taken from the book. Gallagher argues that we need to take students through multiple steps in order for them to truly comprehend difficult texts. These steps begin with framing the text and move on to metaphorical response and reflective response.
Now, I can hear you all questioning that method as aligned with the Common Core. I would argue, however, that personal reflection can work with the Common Core if we insist on backing up opinions with textual evidence. One of the major deficiencies that I have seen with my students, personally, is their ability to come up with an opinion that is supported by factual evidence. In order for them to succeed in honing these skills, we need to give them opportunities to do so in the classroom with low stakes.
I decided to give this framework a shot when teaching The Great Gatsby. I started by framing the story just like I normally would. We watched the A&E documentary Fitzgerald: The Great American Dreamer and did some research on the 1920s. We learned a bit of vocabulary to help us understand what bootleggers may be. We hit the basics.
By the time that I got to metaphorical response, I was heading back to Gallagher's book in order to get some inspiration. The Iceberg Graphic Organizer seemed like the perfect tool to use.
Basically, the graphic organizer consists of an iceberg with the majority of the iceberg underwater and a small potion on top (just like a real iceberg looks). I started by showing my students a picture of a real iceberg and how the majority of the iceberg is actually underwater. We discussed how people can be like this. We see them as innocent angels, but under the surface they are something else entirely. I urged students to think of characters in this way as well. We discussed the changes that we have seen in Gatsby throughout the book and how this relates to the iceberg graphic, and we were off.
Students were first asked to think of 4 characteristics of Gatsby --2 "seen" characteristics, those above the surface, and 2 "unseen" characteristics, those below the surface.
Next, to up the metaphorical game, students turned these characteristics into metaphors. I asked them what physical object had this same characteristic as Gatsby. Students created a list that I looked over before they began drawing.
They drew the iceberg with the corresponding "seen" and "unseen" metaphors that they created. I had some beautiful things turned in to me. There's one in particular that I'm extremely proud of (see below.) He even added the green light in a lighthouse!
.
Students were also required to turn in a rationale. I created a chart in which they gave textual evidence for each of their metaphors. I had them fill in blanks such as "Gatsby is like a _________ because they share _________ characteristic." Then, they had to refer directly back to the text in order to back up this assertion. Where does the text show that Gatsby has this characteristic? What does Gatsby do or say to make you believe that Gatsby has this characteristic?
All in all, it was a successful activity. I think that students were challenged during the assignment. They had to evaluate Gatsby's character on their own, create metaphors, and refer directly to the text to defend their assertion.
-Ms. Z
The second book that I read by Gallagher is titled Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12. Not only is this book one of the most inspiring that I've ever read, but it also gives a unique and flexible framework for teaching difficult texts.
This is the framework directly taken from the book. Gallagher argues that we need to take students through multiple steps in order for them to truly comprehend difficult texts. These steps begin with framing the text and move on to metaphorical response and reflective response.
Now, I can hear you all questioning that method as aligned with the Common Core. I would argue, however, that personal reflection can work with the Common Core if we insist on backing up opinions with textual evidence. One of the major deficiencies that I have seen with my students, personally, is their ability to come up with an opinion that is supported by factual evidence. In order for them to succeed in honing these skills, we need to give them opportunities to do so in the classroom with low stakes.
I decided to give this framework a shot when teaching The Great Gatsby. I started by framing the story just like I normally would. We watched the A&E documentary Fitzgerald: The Great American Dreamer and did some research on the 1920s. We learned a bit of vocabulary to help us understand what bootleggers may be. We hit the basics.
By the time that I got to metaphorical response, I was heading back to Gallagher's book in order to get some inspiration. The Iceberg Graphic Organizer seemed like the perfect tool to use.
Basically, the graphic organizer consists of an iceberg with the majority of the iceberg underwater and a small potion on top (just like a real iceberg looks). I started by showing my students a picture of a real iceberg and how the majority of the iceberg is actually underwater. We discussed how people can be like this. We see them as innocent angels, but under the surface they are something else entirely. I urged students to think of characters in this way as well. We discussed the changes that we have seen in Gatsby throughout the book and how this relates to the iceberg graphic, and we were off.
Students were first asked to think of 4 characteristics of Gatsby --2 "seen" characteristics, those above the surface, and 2 "unseen" characteristics, those below the surface.
Next, to up the metaphorical game, students turned these characteristics into metaphors. I asked them what physical object had this same characteristic as Gatsby. Students created a list that I looked over before they began drawing.
They drew the iceberg with the corresponding "seen" and "unseen" metaphors that they created. I had some beautiful things turned in to me. There's one in particular that I'm extremely proud of (see below.) He even added the green light in a lighthouse!
.Students were also required to turn in a rationale. I created a chart in which they gave textual evidence for each of their metaphors. I had them fill in blanks such as "Gatsby is like a _________ because they share _________ characteristic." Then, they had to refer directly back to the text in order to back up this assertion. Where does the text show that Gatsby has this characteristic? What does Gatsby do or say to make you believe that Gatsby has this characteristic?
All in all, it was a successful activity. I think that students were challenged during the assignment. They had to evaluate Gatsby's character on their own, create metaphors, and refer directly to the text to defend their assertion.
-Ms. Z
Monday, November 4, 2013
Doctopus - A True Technology Savior
For the past few years, my school has been implementing a new initiative called the Engaged Learning Initiative. It started in waves. This year, every high school student has an iPad that has basically been loaned out by the school for educational purposes.
As a person who grew up with the internet and computers, I figured that it wouldn't be a huge change for me to move to a technology only type of school. Get rid of pencil and paper? Okay, less trips to the copy machine sounds great. Use Dropbox to save files? I already do that. Create projects that require research that's at the fingertips of my students? Count me in.
Too bad it isn't always that easy.
To start with, students don't understand technology like we expected that they would. Many had never touched an iPad before and had a very limited understanding of what it was capable of, much less used for, for education. And more than that, we didn't get technology like we expected that we would. There were so many things out there to choose from -- Edmodo, Google Drive, or Dropbox? Which is the best? Which works best for my class? For my students?
And having students figure out how to turn things in -- oh that's where things got messy...
I started with Edmodo and felt pretty confident in my choice. I could grade easily, and students seemed pretty comfortable with it. They knew their passwords, I had folders clearly labeled that they could use to find handouts, and the alerts were useful for getting out important information quickly.
I used Google Drive for planning -- I created everything using Google Docs, Forms, and Presentations -- and for saving all of my classroom data. The more I played with Google Drive, the more I enjoyed it. My school system set up a Gmail account for each student, so they had access to Drive, Blogger, and all of the other Google apps. I figured, hey, since I enjoy Google so much, maybe my students will too.
I decided to have my students create and share a folder with me titled Last name, First name. In this folder, they were to create two different folders: "Turned in", and "Graded". When they needed an assignment graded, they would put it in the "Turned in" folder. After I had graded it, it went in the "Graded" folder. It seemed like a great system...for a while.
It didn't take me long to realize that this system was exceptionally time consuming.
Many, if not most, of my students have been trained into using Notability. Notability is an app that allows you to write on PDF documents. Students have grown accustomed to using this app in different classes, and you stick with what you know, right?
Well, my problem was that, in order to write directly on their work as I wanted to, I had to open each student's' folder, open their "Turned in" folder, and then export the document to Notability or another PDF-editing app. After I'd marked on their assignments, the document was exported once again back into Google Drive. It took forever. And honestly, it wasn't worth it.
So I started searching the web for something that made life easier. I knew it had to exist, I mean that's the point of technology, isn't it?
I love Google apps. I wanted my students to love Google apps the way that I do. I wanted them to be well-versed in how to use Google Drive -- how to save and create documents that they could keep forever up in that mysterious cloud. And as much as I wanted that, I needed something easy for me to use and even easier for me to grade.
That's how I found Doctopus.
I won't rehash how to use it, there are plenty of websites and videos out there to do that. What I do want to do, however, is give a quick overview and let you know about this fantastic resource that I had never heard of.
Doctopus is a script that you can run on a template Google Docs assignment to create individual Google Docs for each student. Okay, it sounds scary, but I promise you it's not. All you need is a template assignment and a Google Spreadsheet with students' first and last names, email addresses, and flags (I'll get to that in a minute).
Basically, you create an assignment, whether that be a worksheet, project directions, an interactive discussion, anything. After you've created the assignment, you run this script in order to make one of these sheets for every student -- just like you'd be handing out paper copies. Students can write and edit on their own or in groups. The editing right choices are fantastic for this program.
While running the script, Doctopus will create individual links that will take you to each student's assignment. All of these links will be found on the Google Spreadsheet that you started with (it's kind of amazing). So, as a grader, all you have to do is click on the link, and you're taken directly to the student's work. No flipping between apps. No exporting and importing documents.
The flag option is one of the most useful parts of Doctopus. You can choose to have students work in project groups (groups created by you with one document per group), whole class (one document shared by the whole class that anyone can edit), individual - all the same (every student gets his or her own document that are all the same), or individual - differentiated (every student gets his or her own document but can be different based on their flag). The last choice, individual - differentiated, is especially helpful for those of us with co-taught classes. This gives us the opportunity to create multiple documents that are based on different levels depending on each student's ability. This way, no student has to know what level anybody else is on. Those students with IEPs don't have to be embarrassed by getting a shortened worksheet, and the students who are gifted don't have to worry about working at a slower pace. It truly gives you the deep differentiation that technology usually lacks and many of us are searching for. All you have to do is give students "flags" or capital letters A-Z. I gave students two letters -- one for their differentiation flags and another for their jigsaw groups. This way, students had no idea what each letter meant, they just knew they were each different.
Another high point of Doctopus (gosh there are so many!) is how students turn in work. They just press "X"! That's it! They don't have to turn assignments in anywhere. Once they're finished with their work, they simply close it. No more claims that he or she "forgot" to turn in an assignment or that Google Drive "wouldn't let me." Also, to make sure that students don't work past the due date, there's an embargo option. This cuts off all editing rights of students so that the work that's completed on that date is what is considered turned in.
I've only used Doctopus once, but I'm already head over heels. I had students create a graphic organizer (you'll see it in my next post!) with a rationale included. I had certain students write less than others, so using Doctopus allowed me to have each student work on their own Google Doc created just for them with their differentiation level in mind. It was fantastic.
So far I have run across just a few tiny glitches in Doctopus. I had students fill out a Google Form in order to create my spreadsheet. (Actually, they did this twice -- one for the flags and another for the jigsaw groups). I didn't realize this, but make sure to have students enter their email address that they use to sign into Google Drive, not necessarily the one that they use all of the time. In order to access and edit their Doctopus created Google Doc, they'll need to be logged in using that email address.
Also, Doctopus can only handle so much when running the script. I made the mistake of creating one Google Spreadsheet for all of my students, and once it would stop running I would just rerun it. Well, that also meant that it sent another email out to my students telling them that I'd shared a document with them. I sent about 20 to one of my students on accident due to rerunning the script. I decided the best option was to split up the Google Spreadsheet based on periods. It's worked much better since then.
Here are a few great websites/videos to introduce you to Doctopus. This goes without saying, but I highly recommend it.
http://www.youpd.org/doctopus
http://traintheteacher.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/doctopus-goobric-making-google-apps-for-education-more-awesome/
http://www.newvisions.org/blog/entry/a-conversation-with-andrew-stillman-developer-of-doctopus
There's another great addition to Doctopus called Goobric, which basically incorporates a rubric into the assignment that you can access through the Google Chrome toolbar. I haven't tried Goobric in my class yet, but I will this week. I'll keep you all updated :).
I hope this helped give you some ideas about how technology can be useful and time-efficient.
Until next time,
-Ms. Z
As a person who grew up with the internet and computers, I figured that it wouldn't be a huge change for me to move to a technology only type of school. Get rid of pencil and paper? Okay, less trips to the copy machine sounds great. Use Dropbox to save files? I already do that. Create projects that require research that's at the fingertips of my students? Count me in.
Too bad it isn't always that easy.
To start with, students don't understand technology like we expected that they would. Many had never touched an iPad before and had a very limited understanding of what it was capable of, much less used for, for education. And more than that, we didn't get technology like we expected that we would. There were so many things out there to choose from -- Edmodo, Google Drive, or Dropbox? Which is the best? Which works best for my class? For my students?
And having students figure out how to turn things in -- oh that's where things got messy...
I started with Edmodo and felt pretty confident in my choice. I could grade easily, and students seemed pretty comfortable with it. They knew their passwords, I had folders clearly labeled that they could use to find handouts, and the alerts were useful for getting out important information quickly.
I used Google Drive for planning -- I created everything using Google Docs, Forms, and Presentations -- and for saving all of my classroom data. The more I played with Google Drive, the more I enjoyed it. My school system set up a Gmail account for each student, so they had access to Drive, Blogger, and all of the other Google apps. I figured, hey, since I enjoy Google so much, maybe my students will too.
I decided to have my students create and share a folder with me titled Last name, First name. In this folder, they were to create two different folders: "Turned in", and "Graded". When they needed an assignment graded, they would put it in the "Turned in" folder. After I had graded it, it went in the "Graded" folder. It seemed like a great system...for a while.
It didn't take me long to realize that this system was exceptionally time consuming.
Many, if not most, of my students have been trained into using Notability. Notability is an app that allows you to write on PDF documents. Students have grown accustomed to using this app in different classes, and you stick with what you know, right?
Well, my problem was that, in order to write directly on their work as I wanted to, I had to open each student's' folder, open their "Turned in" folder, and then export the document to Notability or another PDF-editing app. After I'd marked on their assignments, the document was exported once again back into Google Drive. It took forever. And honestly, it wasn't worth it.
So I started searching the web for something that made life easier. I knew it had to exist, I mean that's the point of technology, isn't it?
I love Google apps. I wanted my students to love Google apps the way that I do. I wanted them to be well-versed in how to use Google Drive -- how to save and create documents that they could keep forever up in that mysterious cloud. And as much as I wanted that, I needed something easy for me to use and even easier for me to grade.
That's how I found Doctopus.
I won't rehash how to use it, there are plenty of websites and videos out there to do that. What I do want to do, however, is give a quick overview and let you know about this fantastic resource that I had never heard of.
Doctopus is a script that you can run on a template Google Docs assignment to create individual Google Docs for each student. Okay, it sounds scary, but I promise you it's not. All you need is a template assignment and a Google Spreadsheet with students' first and last names, email addresses, and flags (I'll get to that in a minute).
Basically, you create an assignment, whether that be a worksheet, project directions, an interactive discussion, anything. After you've created the assignment, you run this script in order to make one of these sheets for every student -- just like you'd be handing out paper copies. Students can write and edit on their own or in groups. The editing right choices are fantastic for this program.
While running the script, Doctopus will create individual links that will take you to each student's assignment. All of these links will be found on the Google Spreadsheet that you started with (it's kind of amazing). So, as a grader, all you have to do is click on the link, and you're taken directly to the student's work. No flipping between apps. No exporting and importing documents.
The flag option is one of the most useful parts of Doctopus. You can choose to have students work in project groups (groups created by you with one document per group), whole class (one document shared by the whole class that anyone can edit), individual - all the same (every student gets his or her own document that are all the same), or individual - differentiated (every student gets his or her own document but can be different based on their flag). The last choice, individual - differentiated, is especially helpful for those of us with co-taught classes. This gives us the opportunity to create multiple documents that are based on different levels depending on each student's ability. This way, no student has to know what level anybody else is on. Those students with IEPs don't have to be embarrassed by getting a shortened worksheet, and the students who are gifted don't have to worry about working at a slower pace. It truly gives you the deep differentiation that technology usually lacks and many of us are searching for. All you have to do is give students "flags" or capital letters A-Z. I gave students two letters -- one for their differentiation flags and another for their jigsaw groups. This way, students had no idea what each letter meant, they just knew they were each different.
Another high point of Doctopus (gosh there are so many!) is how students turn in work. They just press "X"! That's it! They don't have to turn assignments in anywhere. Once they're finished with their work, they simply close it. No more claims that he or she "forgot" to turn in an assignment or that Google Drive "wouldn't let me." Also, to make sure that students don't work past the due date, there's an embargo option. This cuts off all editing rights of students so that the work that's completed on that date is what is considered turned in.
I've only used Doctopus once, but I'm already head over heels. I had students create a graphic organizer (you'll see it in my next post!) with a rationale included. I had certain students write less than others, so using Doctopus allowed me to have each student work on their own Google Doc created just for them with their differentiation level in mind. It was fantastic.
So far I have run across just a few tiny glitches in Doctopus. I had students fill out a Google Form in order to create my spreadsheet. (Actually, they did this twice -- one for the flags and another for the jigsaw groups). I didn't realize this, but make sure to have students enter their email address that they use to sign into Google Drive, not necessarily the one that they use all of the time. In order to access and edit their Doctopus created Google Doc, they'll need to be logged in using that email address.
Also, Doctopus can only handle so much when running the script. I made the mistake of creating one Google Spreadsheet for all of my students, and once it would stop running I would just rerun it. Well, that also meant that it sent another email out to my students telling them that I'd shared a document with them. I sent about 20 to one of my students on accident due to rerunning the script. I decided the best option was to split up the Google Spreadsheet based on periods. It's worked much better since then.
Here are a few great websites/videos to introduce you to Doctopus. This goes without saying, but I highly recommend it.
http://www.youpd.org/doctopus
http://traintheteacher.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/doctopus-goobric-making-google-apps-for-education-more-awesome/
http://www.newvisions.org/blog/entry/a-conversation-with-andrew-stillman-developer-of-doctopus
There's another great addition to Doctopus called Goobric, which basically incorporates a rubric into the assignment that you can access through the Google Chrome toolbar. I haven't tried Goobric in my class yet, but I will this week. I'll keep you all updated :).
I hope this helped give you some ideas about how technology can be useful and time-efficient.
Until next time,
-Ms. Z
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