Recycle Your Reads

musings from the Reading Countess: mother of all boys and teacher of teens

   May 09

Top Ten List

By talfonsin

Top Ten Professional Hurrahs of 2012-2013 School Year

1.

2. Fund for Teachers grant fully funded for ten thousand dollars!

3. Successfully integrated Visual Thinking Strategies learned at Smithsonian American Art Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute all year, culminating in local art museum’s acceptance of student poetry writing submission

4. Awarded mini-grants through FirstBook to place new, high interest titles into the hands of at-risk students

5. Regularly facilitated writing workshop introduction to elementary ELA grades through mentoring and sharing of student samples

6. Attended International Reading Association’s annual convention held in San Antonio, Texas

7. Introduced new digital tools to staff members through student work samples

8. Total student reader’s notebooks recorded an astounding 1800+ books read!

9. Introduced students and administration to Skyping with authors

10. Established deep bonds between teacher and students and teacher and parents

Posted in 21st Century Literacy, Language Arts leadership, middle grade books, Reading Workshop, Technology, Writing Workshop | No Comments »

   Oct 21

Visual Thinking Strategies

By talfonsin

Every few years a new set of buzz words fly around the education field like pesky mosquitos flitting near one’s ear: whole language, balanced literacy, and integration of technology are but a few examples of buzz words educators have heard ad nauseum. Well, move over literature circles and article of the week…there’s a new guy (okay, term) in town. Visual Thinking Strategies.

I first learned about Visual Thinking Strategies when I attended the amazing week-long training this summer at the Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute at Smithsonian’s American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. I blogged about the experience here and here, though truthfully, it is difficult to express in words the depth of knowledge that I gathered while there in two measely posts. I encourage anyone who is interested in attending the course to apply. The invaluable training is held twice each summer, and applications will be accepted beginning in January.

I have been employing Visual Thinking Strategies in my classroom of forty fourth graders in the poorest part of San Antonio with great success this fall. Topics that might have seemed well out of their limited background knowledge have sprung to life when works of art about such nebulous ideas like U.S. immigration in the early 1900′s (using photographs taken during the time period), writing a theme/or so-what using  Norman Rockwell’s slices of American life, or the Depression era (using Dorothea Lange’s iconic black and whites or WPA’s Federal Art Project <many works housed at the Smithsonian>). Our Social Studies unit on immigration, our writer’s workshop mini-lesson on how to write a theme/or so-what and our Bud, Not Buddy read aloud were easily understood when art was used as a partner. The highest of the higher order thinking skills are tapped when you ask kids, “What’s going on in this picture?” and connect it to their content learning.

That’s why I was thrilled to see The New York Times section The Learning Network kicking off a new weekly feature: What’s Going On In This Picture? Every Monday, a new image without any additional support (i.e. captions, artist and date, etc.) and students will be encouraged to leave their thoughts and begin a thoughtful conversation in the comments section. Later in the week, additional supporting information will be shared via live discussion as well as information behind the work of art. The selected pieces will be able to viewed anytime, and will surely prove to be a rich resource for teachers as the weeks, months and years tick by. I can’t wait to begin using this resource, and encourage any educator to tap into it as well. Rich discussions ripe with thoughtful observations utilizing the highest of thinking order skills will explode in the classroom as social and listening skills are employed. In short, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Try it out. It works. VTS is effective in any socio-economic area because art speaks to everyone. Art is accessible to everyone. Art is for everyone.

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   Sep 30

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

By talfonsin

In the months since moving cities and changing schools, my family and I have undergone tremendous changes. Besides the usual moving pains, we adopted two sister poodles one week before we knew we were moving. Little did we know that one of the poodles was pregnant! Currently we are outnumbered by four-legged friends in our tiny, temporary apartment. Though my boys were blessed to actually witness the miracle of birth and we are enjoying the three new lives that joined us three and a half weeks ago (who’s counting?), I am anxiously awaiting the day when the “poopies” are old enough to leave their mama.

As far as school is concerned, my boys have never been happier. The smaller, more intimate learning and social community they find themselves in is a welcome change from the overcrowded and impersonal one we left behind. I am proud of their adaptability and am reassured that our quick exit was a sound decision for everyone.

My own growing pains, though, have been much more painful. As I drive to and from my school every day, I am constantly barraged with these images:

-graffitti hastily scribbled on nearly every delapidated building

-day workers waiting for work

-the city jail

-bail bondsmen advertisements and their multiple offices

-parole office

-tire shops galore

-convenience stores run by Mom and Pops

-tacquerias

-the Mariachi Center

Honestly, these daily views of reality infuse me with much needed fuel so that when I step into my new school, I feel prepared for the day. As I leave each evening, I am reminded that all of my training and years of experience is being used for a purpose. Although I have never worked as hard as I have since beginning work, I know I am needed and feel deeply rewarded. Working with at-risk youth is exactly where I need to be and I feel blessed.

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   Aug 13

The Winds of Change-They Are A-Blowin’

By talfonsin

Change is good, right? I’ve always thought so. As an Army brat, it taught me adaptability when my father was stationed again and again in a new state I’ve embraced it in my professional life, too, having taught five different grades in three major school districts during my fourteen year career. But these past few weeks I’ve discovered that change can come around so suddenly that it leaves you reeling.

You see, my husband’s employer reassigned him to the Central and South American region, which necessitated a move back to his hometown of San Antonio. Sounds okay, right? But when I found employment in a school that ramped up three weeks before the rest of most of Texas started, things began to change. The students of the small, private, Christian school I am now working at have been in school now for four days. My learners mostly hail from a high poverty area of San Antonio, but their circumstances certainly don’t keep them down. The students in my new school are eager and hardworking kids with a deep respect for education and their elders. Their passion for bettering themselves is admirable. The faculty is also equally kindhearted. In fact, this is the warmest learning environment I’ve ever been blessed to work in.

I’m excited to see where my path leads this year with my learners, with the community I’ve aligned myself with, and with my family and their journey in a brand new city. Here’s to landing down from the tornado we’ve found ourselves in gently and with no harm done.

After all, there’s no place like home.

 

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   Jul 27

Article of the Week and Mixed Media

By talfonsin

With the push toward infusing more informational texts into the classroom (both in writing as well as in reading), teachers are scrambling to find quality resources. Having written about Kelly Gallagher’s Article of the Week before (to read my blog post, please click here), I was delighted when I stumbled onto a free resource from ABC network’s John Stossel:

Stossel in the Classroom DVD: 2012 Edition

Earned Success: What makes people happy? Is it money? What role does success play? This segment looks at entrepreneurship, happiness, and the American Dream.
Cash for Clunkers: Do government programs always help? Do the outcomes match the promises? What about the unseen, unintended results? This segment looks at the Cash for Clunkers program, and its results.
Minimum Wage: Why would anyone oppose a minimum wage? Don’t all workers deserve to be paid fairly? Don’t we need someone to protect workers from being taken advantage of? Is there a downside to minimum wage laws? Are there unintended consequences even to the well-intentioned minimum wage? Whom do such laws help? Whom do they hurt? This segment looks at the minimum wage and some unanticipated results.
Title IX: Are you opposed to sexism? Shouldn’t men and women be treated equally? Isn’t fairness a virtuous goal? Don’t we all believe in fairness? Doesn’t Title IX simply prohibit discrimination based on sex? Can good laws have bad results? This segment looks at Title IX and some unintended consequences.
Immigration: Why do people come to America? Isn’t America a cesspool of crass commercialism and greedy, materialistic people? What’s so great about America that while we criticize it and try to change it, millions of immigrants struggle to come here? This segment looks at the pursuit of happiness in America.
Entrepreneurship: Why is America so prosperous? Is it our natural resources? Or is it something more? Perhaps it’s because America is a good place for entrepreneurs. This segment looks at entrepreneurship in America.
Free Speech: Should people be allowed to offend each other? Criticize each other’s views, religion, even race? Should the government protect us from offensive speech, or protect offensive speakers? How important is free speech in a free society? How unique is freedom of speech in the world? This segment looks at free speech in America and some other countries.
Native Americans: Shouldn’t the government help Native Americans? Isn’t that the least they can do after taking their land? Government help does help, right? This segment looks at the plight of Native Americans.
Live Free or Die: Is our government on an unsustainable spending spree? Does it regulate too much? And does anyone really even care? This segment looks at government debt, spending, and regulation, and advancing the cause of liberty.

Click on this link and order your free DVD to integrate into your ELA/History classroom. With each segment averaging five or six minutes in length, I envision pairing some of the segments with selected nonfiction texts. Mixed media reaches a myriad of learners, particularly ESOL.

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   Jul 26

Art Is

By talfonsin

In my last post, I briefly shared what Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) might entail in a classroom. I learned about VTS methodology and put it into practice, lots of practice, during the week long Smithsonian American Art National Teacher Institute in Washington, DC. After a brief overview of the theory and watching the Smithsonian’s presenters facilitate the thirty-ish teachers from across the globe in observing, commenting, listening and “reading” a painting, it was our turn after lunch on day one of the training to try out our new legs.

Guiding intimate groups of four or five institute participants through a portion of the massive historic structure was a museum education specialist. Our task? The insecure group of newbies were charged with meandering through the museum like a mouse following cheese and stopping abruptly at a piece of art sight unseen. After a few seconds of gazing, the group would be asked who wished to facilitate the conversation about the painting, someone would inevitably raise their hand (albeit feebly and with knocking knees) and then be asked to guide a high level discussion about said piece of unknown art. Knowing little about art, this was immensely challenging for me. Frankly, my eyes scanned the doorways in desperate search of an exit sign a time or two. But I pushed through the pain and persevered.

After encouraging our “students” to gaze at the selected piece for a few minutes sans comments, probing questions were tossed to our “class,” namely -what’s going on in this picture, -what do you see that makes you say that, -what more can you find? When listening attentively to the responses, the facilitator was expected to -listen carefully, -point to what is mentioned, -paraphrase each comment, -accept each comment neutrally, -neutralize biased/negative language, -link comments that relate.

It sounds pretty straight forward, right?

Um. No, actually it’s not. Added to the pressure of knowing zilch about a piece of art, standing in front of your (very clever) peers you know relatively nothing about, and trying to follow the “rules” of facilitating a rich discussion, did I fail to mention that we were given only seven minutes from start to finish?

Oh, and one more cherry on top of the teetering ice cream sundae…we were warned that the art would become more and more challenging as our little tour progressed. Therefore, it was in our best interest to be among the first volunteers should we be feeling a little bit uneasy about the process. I, of course, did not heed those sage words and had the dubious task of facilitating a discussion about this little piece of art:

Dreams No. 2

1965 Jacob Lawrence Born: Atlantic City, New Jersey 1917 Died: Seattle, Washington 2000 tempera on fiberboard 35 3/4 x 24 in. (90.8 x 61.0 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation 1986.6.95 Smithsonian American Art Museum 2nd Floor, North Wing

Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Strangely, though, going through the process of both acting as facilitator of a discussion as well as playing the role of student really opened my eyes. Wide. There are benefits to looking at a piece of art (cold or otherwise) and going through the VTS process.

1. Having a partner(s) can provide an additional set of eyes to someone who might be feeling a bit sheepish (namely me). With a partner(s), you can bounce ideas off of them and see what sticks. A partner(s) also provides affirmation and helps to clarify your thinking. In case you weren’t paying attention, this is what educational experts like to call “21st century learning.” It’s community building 101.

2. In a time of rush, rush, rush and go, go, go, Visual Thinking Strategies allows teachers some breathing room. Rush, rush, rush through the curriculum. Go, go, go through the TEKS because the checkered flag (standardized testing) is not so much as waving to us in the fast approaching horizon as it is mocking us. The argument of “we don’t have time for this” loses its punch because the truth is-VTS actually SAVES teachers time.

3. VTS pushes the observer to think using the highest of the higher order thinking skills. Listening, speaking, reading (you are actually reading a work of art when you consider the message, characters, setting…) and writing. Your brain is firing on all pistons. Isn’t that what we want our kids to do?

4. Writing. Ah, writing. Yes, looking at great works of art with a group of trusted friends (and trust me, after feeling and sometimes looking like a fool in front of relative strangers, they are friends), actually helps us with writing specificity. You try describing an item tucked cleverly in the corner of frame or a thought about the overall them of a piece without sharpening your word skills. And that pays off big time when the pencil hits the paper (or the hand hits the key). You get the idea. Honing the art of description using art allows the mind to flow freer and translates to a freer thinking mind no matter what the writing (or speaking, or listening, or reading) tool.

And we all win in the end.

So what do you think? Go ahead and explain what’s going on in the picture above. What do you see that makes you think that? {<–That’s text evidence, by the way.} What more can you find?

Need some help with this? Click here.

 Still not convinced? Check out Art Is by Bob Raczka and pay particular attention to the use of verbs. Then ask yourself what they demand of the reader. (Because I’m a spoil sport, I’ll give you a hint: think observe, infer, and inquire to name a few). Don’t you just LOVE those words when you talk about ELA and History?

Inhale deeply.

Ah.

That’s the smell of art infused into an ELA/History classroom.

Posted in 21st Century Literacy, Language Arts leadership, Reading Workshop, Technology , , | No Comments »

   Jul 21

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS): The Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute

By talfonsin

On July 9, 2012, I traipsed up the never-ending steps and literally skipped into the old Patent Office (now known as Smithsonian American Art Museum) in Washington, DC. Beginning the first of five days at The Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute, I tried to shrug off the extreme humidity from outside and walk in with a fraction of the sweat from my brow. But I wasn’t just sweating from the oppressive heat, I was wringing with sweat from worry. What was I getting myself into, anyway? Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about as I was immediately greeted with a warm welcome and loaded down with an art book that could double duty as a weight and a swag bag full of goodies to bring back for use in my classroom.

Day one training began with a before-hours tour and history of the impressive building. Each morning, in fact, began promptly at 8:30 and the museum didn’t open to the public until 11:00. This meant that should the urge occur before opening hours, that we had to be escorted to the (ahem) facilities, making us me feel like one of my students. Of course I understood the caution, especially after learning later in the week how a priceless painting from the 1800′s was savagely defaced with a ball point pen. Here are some interesting tidbits I gleaned from the behind-the-scenes walking tour:

-1836: the building began as our infant nation’s patent office, but it was originally intended as the National Cathedral

-1836: the first portion of the building was completed

-Civil War years: served as a hospital for Union soldiers, Walt Whitman was a volunteer nurse during the last year of the bloody war

-some recovered soldiers, prior to being discharged from the makeshift hospital,  reputedly broke into the glass cases and stole models of irreplaceable patents

-Abe Lincoln held his second inaugural ball in those hallowed halls, spending approximately three hours at the gala. He was long gone, though, when a veritable food fight started because there were so many people and the grub wasn’t coming fast enough. Whole trays were hefted to eager arms and then it all broke loose…

-1813: a fire broke out, prompting the building to be renovated in the new “American Renaissance” fashion. Beautiful frescos are a reminder to us that our country was beginning to develope a sense of self as the architecture of the remaining structure changed.  (As a sidenote, during the War of 1812, the British fully intended on burning the building to the ground, but kept going leaving it unscathed after being convinced of the importance of preserving the intellectual property within. Sadly, the Library of Congress and the White House, among many other public buildings, did not fare as well).

-1958: falling into disrepair and rather “interesting” updating, the building was scheduled for demolition. Congress gifted the historic structure to the Smithsonian as a permanent home to display American art and portraits.

-currently houses two floors of “usable storage” (where the art piece I selected for the week is housed). Coincidentally, this is a unique and very generous feature of the museum. Usually artwork, when not being viewed on the floor of a museum, sits locked away where no one can appreciate its value. 

VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES (VTS)

It used to be that education was showing right answers. Now it’s application-critical thinking=what does it mean? Where do I go if I don’t know? There is NO ONE RIGHT ANSWER!

VTS helps kids put into words what they’re thinking-direct links to speaking, reading, writing, and history beautifully integrated into one seamless motion.

Using the teacher as the facilitator, VTS allows students to focus on communication and critical thinking skills through:

-observation/inference

-revision of thought

-careful listening

-aesthetic development

Developed by Harvard psychologist Abigail Housen in conjunction with  museum educator Philip Yenawine, VTS seeks to “reach students throughout the United States and abroad in urban and rural settings…who struggle to learn; and across languages and cultures…VTS is an effective means of developing critical thinking and communication skills with every demographic.”

After having spent five intense days training using this method and the vast resources of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, I am convinced that in a time-crunching era where standardized testing seems to dictate what does (and doesn’t) happen in my classroom, that VTS will be a time saver. Further, it will elevate my student’s thinking, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills to unparalleled levels. Still not convinced? Check out how it’s done, and see the piece of artwork I selected for my weeklong study at the same time…

THREE CORE VTS QUESTIONS

-What’s going on in this picture? (Not what do you see…)

-What do you see that makes you say that?

-What more can you find?

RESPONDING TO STUDENTS’ COMMENTS

-listen carefully

-point to what is mentioned

-paraphrase each comment

-accept each comment neutrally

-neutralize biased/negative language

-link comments that relate (aha…that’s synthesizing in case you weren’t paying attention)

So how would VTS be used in an ELA classroom, you ask? Stay tuned. That’s food for thought for yet another day.

Posted in 21st century literacy, Language Arts leadership, Technology , , , , | No Comments »

   Jul 19

Weekly Diigo Posts and The Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute

By talfonsin
I just returned from one of the best professional development trainings I have ever been blessed to attend: The Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute at Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. I will be posting several reflections about my rich experience in the coming days, but for the time being, here are my weekly Diigo posts.
11 Jul 12
a flexible and systematic research-based approach to integrating the development of students’ thinking with content learning across subject matters.

Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

12 Jul 12

Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes.

Posted in 21st Century Literacy, Language Arts leadership, Technology , , , | No Comments »

   Jul 09

Weekly Diigo Posts

By talfonsin
10 Jul 12

teaching method and school curriculum centering on open-ended yet highly-structured discussions of visual art, significantly increasing students’ critical thinking, language and literacy skills along the way.

free educational clip art

03 Jul 12

Interactive game reinforcing the classic The Odyssey

Interactive game that teaches the good, the bad and the ugly of Dicken’s time

02 Jul 12

teaching authentic writing in a socially mediated world

Where do you store YOUR treasures (time?) See exactly what you do with your time and how to better use it

Easily schedule a meeting/date that is mutually conducive to many

Guiding student questioning for PBL, PD

provides instructions for using an ordinary dictionary to find extraordinary histories of words. Many English words have their origins in other languages. By finding words with similar sounds and meanings in other languages, it’s often possible to trace the history of a word back through many centuries

Complete guide to using Skype in the classroom

30 Jun 12

Teaching Secrets: Get to Know Students Through Seating Challenges

 

Posted in 21st Century Literacy, Technology , | No Comments »

   Jul 01

Weekly Diigo Posts

By talfonsin
02 Jul 12

Complete guide to using Skype in the classroom

30 Jun 12

Teaching Secrets: Get to Know Students Through Seating Challenges

28 Jun 12

a new service for creating explanatory videos through what appears to be a simple drag and drop process. PowToon provides drawings of people and objects that you can arrange on blank canvas. After adding your narration to the arrangement you can publish your video.

27 Jun 12

Most current Digital Tools

Technology Applications Teacher Network

 Vialogues allows you to post a video and then invite participants to answer questions, discuss or just comment.
 great anecdotal notes records
25 Jun 12

Step-by-step How-To for QR

Lee Ann Spillane’s Virtual Classroom
Florida HS teacher’s site-full of reading/writing ideas

How to get students to participate in online discussions

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