Twitter Profile

Reading this morning triggered in me the idea for a classroom writing assignment.  The topic current and relevant, it might well challenge students in an engaging way, while also teaching a bit of important content.  The assignment, in short, would be to ask students to write a Twitter profile.  I’m not suggesting that a classroom teacher requires students to post to Twitter or any other social site, but the task of composing a short biographical “post” is, I think, a worthy task.

I know little of Twitter and would need a 10-year-old to hold my hand through the process of posting a tweet.  In my generation, a tweet was a sound made by a bird or a car that needed lubrication.  I understand, though, that a post on Twitter is limited to 140 characters or less, including spaces and non-alphabetic characters.  Twitter profiles are limited to the same 140 characters.  Although teachers, myself included, typically urge students to elaborate (“…tell me more…” is nearly a catch-phrase for me), the idea of valuing quality and precision over quantity appeals to me.

It’s an opportunity to ask students to think, to be clear, and to experiment.  Given time to think, perhaps by allowing a day or more to pass between the assignment and the execution, and with a few examples to get students minds into the right framework, this could be a “learner.”  The assignment might be a great time to introduce both dictionary and thesaurus as a source of synonyms.  And, it would introduce and clarify “current” vocabulary, such as “profile,” “biography” or “bio,”  and “character.“  No doubt you can find even more of value here.  To boot, at 140 characters, it looks easy.  It’s something that a child might see as something that they can do and want to do.

Below, I’ve tried my hand at the process with the character count in parentheses: 

-    Heart overrules head, but head always busy.  Passion, Passion, Passion (69 characters)

• Run, bike, golf, fish, read, ponder, write, direct, etc.  Clearly, I don’t need another hobby! (88)

• Family first: dad (+ in-law) & grandpa.  Teacher, not first, but to my core.  Live to give. (90)

•   A sense of humor about myself; a serious desire to positively impact each that I touch. (86)

Clearly, I’m a man of low character…..count.

What Makes a Good Reader?

What makes a good reader?

a.  Explicit phonics instruction at ages 5-7?

b.  Parents who talk to their infants early and often?

c.  Children being read to regularly?

d.  Enrichment through television, movies, and travel?

e.  Background knowledge gained by reading?

f.   All of the above?

g.  None of the above?

Clearly, “g” is not the answer.  The evidence seems to point to “f.  All of the above.”  There is no singe thing that makes a motivated, successful reader.  For example, I read recently that students enter school in kindergarten with their academic fate somewhat determined by the quality and quantity of “adult talk” that children have received prior to age 5.  Research has demonstrated that children who, from infancy, are exposed to regular conversation, enter school with a greatly enhanced “toolbox” of vocabulary, understanding, and knowledge than the child who has been primarily exposed to “business talk” (“Clean your room;” “Eat your spinach;” “Turn down the TV”).  It seems to me, that out of the list above, background knowledge may summarize what the rest of the list represents.

Recently, in a fourth grade classroom, I noticed a list on the wall detailing quarterly reading expectations for students.  In each quarter, students were expected to read four different types of literature, like history, poetry, biography, or realistic fiction.  Students were expected to read more than four works, but a variety was explicitly expected over the school year.  I was thrilled to see this.  A classroom which supports diversity in students’ reading choices supports students’ growth as learners.  I read recently that students need to have reading backgrounds that are a “… mile wide and an inch deep.”  That’s because students need to be able to understand context to read successfully.  The wider their general knowledge, the easier it will be for them to gather even more general knowledge as they read.  It’s like the way a wave spreads out from it’s original cause.

I thought the teacher’s approach was wise, however, for not dictating all students’ reading selections.  Much of what motivates us to read is our native interests.  Were we to dictate a child’s reading list, we would likely rob the child of the excitement of setting her own course and the joy of discovery.  It’s a wise teacher who helps the child grow by guiding, without controlling, students development.

Let Them Read, Help Them Read

“You need knowledge to read, and reading gives you knowledge.”  (Daniel T. Willingham, Raising Kids Who Read, p.20)

Being so excited about Willingham’s Why Don’t Students Like School, I’ve begun Raising Kids Who Read concurrently.  I am not, in the least, disappointed.  We always like that which confirms our biases, right?  I was an early adopter of Accelerated Reader, later a trainer for the program, and “into” it with both feet.  To this day, I have complete faith in its ability to build both competent and enthusiastic readers if a teacher uses the program as it was designed.

As I visit classrooms now, it frequently saddens me to see, in light of it’s potential power, how poorly managed the program can sometimes be.  The core of the program is daily in-class reading of “A.R. books.”  A.R. is designed to be a teacher-managed program and managed daily.  Willingham tells us that for readers to read with high comprehension, 98% of the words that they read should be familiar.  That insures that students will, typically, have sufficient background knowledge of the subject to understand what they’re reading.  Interestingly, it only takes that 2% of new vocabulary combined with the reader’s background knowledge to acquire new vocabulary, ideas, and understanding, that is, greater background knowledge.

Since looking at a book cover won’t tell a child if they have sufficient background to read a book, readability scales and book leveling is invaluable.  Staying current with children’s diagnosed reading levels and their recent success or difficulty with books near that level, a teacher can direct a child’s growth as a learner.  Research tells us that students who have read widely (a reason to avoid excessive repetition with profitable, but less-than-helpful, series books) tend to succeed at a higher rate at all educational levels.

Rather than excessive classroom reading instruction, students need help finding books in many genres which they can read successfully, allowing them to grow as readers and thinkers.  I like to call this “coaching.”  It was my experience that even my reluctant readers, with months of success, became far more enthusiastic and trusted me to help them find books that they’d enjoy.

I'm Baaack!

A silly title?  Perhaps.  But six years have passed since I've written for others to read, so I think it fits.  Though time has passed, the passion remains undiminished.

The itch to write has been tickling for quite some time.  Retired now, with lots of time for professional reading, just about everything I see or do stimulates another "deep" thought about education.  Consequently, the goal will be to post a modest three posts a week, hoping to create a dialogue with teachers who, like me, think that contemporary education can be improved.  If you comment, I promise that your ideas will be accepted sincerely.

 I realize that in describing what I see as "new" frontiers will necessitate characterizing what I see as "here and now."  This takes me into the land of both paper tigers and denial, descriptions to which readers may say: "It's not really like that..." or "Some classrooms are like that, but not mine."    If you feel that way, say so, but also describe what you see or feel is the current state of the classroom or at least your classroom.  We're all learners here.

A bit of modesty is in order.  Not even for a moment do I think the ideas that are put forth here represent "truth" in any eternal sense.  Quite the contrary, they may be the impulsive musings and wanderings of a brain that refuses to be disciplined, much like a few of the personalities that populate your classrooms.  What they do represent, though, is a sincere effort to give value to both students and teachers by passing along the ideas garnered from, or those stimulated by reading books and articles that classroom teachers would likely not have the time to select and read.  Every effort will be made to make clear the source of the ideas, so that readers can explore those ideas in their original form, if they so desire.

So, please read. Please pass the link along to peers who you think might be interested.  Disagree and write back to say so, creating a dialogue which clarifies what we believe and what we know to be true and helpful.  I sincerely hope that my efforts help you make your work in the classroom more rewarding and successful.