Roberts

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October 20, 2012

After Ms. Shields observed my classes and gave me some coaching tips this past week, I have been thinking of ways to build community in my classroom so that students will feel more comfortable with taking risks during class discussion. Even though I have seen improvement in this area from some students, the progress has been uneven among the rest of the students in my classes. Some students participate; some students do not.

Anyway, I am going to be brainstorming in terms of activities that I can build into my classroom as routines. If anyone has suggestions, I would be very appreciative.

Carl




 * //October 4, 2012//**
 * //Mr. Roberts,//**
 * //You are incredibly reflective. I appreciate your thoughts on workshop model and think you really have nailed the important piece for our classroom curriculum with infused content. The use of big idea learning to engage learners is so important as we think about getting kids to want to learn. If the topics are not real and relevant for them it is hard for them to engage. Using big ideas to hook them in ...then embedding the work around core is definitely best practice.//**
 * //Another idea to think about for getting readers reading longer might be to get students to think about//** __//stamina//__ **//as readers... There are many books that focus on stamina building as a reader that you could use the ideas to hook your students in to thinking about themselves and how this helps them to grow... start out with 15- 20- 25- 30...minutes, gradually increasing real reading time and show them how it impacts their ability to dig into a book. Build enthusiasm... hard to do with your group but... you can accomplish anything.//**
 * //Keep your ideas flowing.//**
 * //Pam//**
 * //September 25, 2012//**

I finished reading //That Workshop Book//, with the exception of the portions that deal with elementary classrooms. The middle school examples were great to see a workshop classroom in full swing.

I was familiar with the pie-model of workshop pacing before reading the book; however, I was always confused by the way that teachers would be able to say, "And then students will read a text for 25 minutes." I would think, "I cannot get my students to actively read a text for 25 minutes straight." Well, I think I found one of the reasons that others are able to do that where I am not.

Jen, the middle school teacher, was having her students read a Supreme Court decision that had to do with searches of students and their belongings while the students were at school. This was done in the context of a unit on accessing power in a democracy. The unit had three guiding questions that were far more broad thing anything that I do in my class.

This year, I have been really focusing on implementing the Common Core standards, which I think is a great thing to do. However, if I want to take student engagement to the next level, which will allow me those 25-minute blocks of "release" time in a workshop classroom, I need to embed the standard within overarching unit frameworks that focus on engaging students in subjects that they enjoy and find interesting.

I realize that this is easier said than done; however, that's what I'm going to be pondering.

Carl


 * //September 24, 2012//**
 * //September 24, 2012//**


 * Hello!**


 * I have been reading //That Workshop Book//, and as a self-professed control freak, I am wondering what you all suggest is a good way to begin the process of gradually releasing responsibility to the students.**


 * My first plan is to be intentional about turning "more" class time over to student discussion and thinking instead of teacher presenting. I am open to any and all suggestions.**


 * Also, this really only applies to my reading lab and English 11 classes since Read 180 is a different type of class altogether.**


 * Thanks,**


 * Carl Roberts**