Make Your Writing Hospitable

We put our house on the market this last week. To prepare the house, my wife and I (and our kids) did a thorough deep clean both inside and out, not to mention the remodeling and love we put into our house over the last 11 years. We also decluttered and organized the house better than we ever have.

The response I think I enjoy most from people who have walked through is simply, "It's very clean." I take that to mean that our home is free of dirt and grime, but I also believe people are saying that it's well-organized. And I hope they've noticed that we've tried to make it hospitable.

As a sixth grade writing teacher, I want my students to make their writing hospitable. Let me explain.

If you've ever walked through a house or apartment to consider renting or buying it, first impressions matter. When things are in good condition or look new, when the place is neat and tidy, and when floors are vacuumed and dust is minimal, a person can stay positive and feel at home. On the other hand, if it's a mess, or if there's clutter all around, it's difficult to remain interested.

I tell the students something similar with their writing. It begins with the introduction of their paper, and sometimes the first line of their entire essay or story can make or break it. First impressions matter. If I see that the student has taken great care in constructing a thesis or an interesting lead, I am inclined to desire to read more, and I'll keep an open, positive mind as a teacher throughout the writing assignment. However, if I see multiple errors or a lack of following directions from the start, I will likely notice similar errors throughout the paper, and my attitude will deteriorate.

So students: welcome me into your paper. Make your writing hospitable. When you do this, I feel good. And when I feel good, I like to give you the benefit of the doubt. If the beginning of the paper is not done carefully, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to do that. So as you revise and edit your first draft, make sure to tidy it up and do a deep cleaning that's noticeable right from the start...or else it feels like this.

Testing for Leaks with Formative Assessment

Have you ever worked on the pipes under the sink? I think the plumbing process is very similar to a teacher's assessment practices.

I had a weekend project. Once our new counter tops and sink were in, I had the pleasure of installing new drains and a faucet. I figured I could then reattach the pipes underneath with minimal effort.

I don't know why I thought it was going to be easy...because it never has been before. In a word: frustration. Okay, a better word probably: anger. In fact, if nothing else will bring me to tears, plumbing will.

In teaching, we work to check the students' progress as we introduce and teach new concepts. Formative assessment is the way to go, in my opinion. Sure, I have summative assessment in my 6th grade ELA class, but whenever I get the chance, I like to check on the students in what I think is a more meaningful way. I have a ways to go in mastering how to assess students formatively, but just making an attempt at the process is of extreme importance.

Hence my reflections on plumbing this last weekend. To make a long story short, we were way overdue for new counter tops and a sink. The professionals installed everything by mid-Saturday afternoon, which left me with Saturday night to do the faucet, drains, and pipes. With a late night visit from my brother-in-law, who's a contractor, an early Sunday morning trip to the hardware store, a break for church in the morning, a skipped lunch, and another visit from my brother-in-law, I was able to (sort of) finish the job.

The much abbreviated steps I took looked like this:
1. Attach faucet and drains; restructure pipe fittings and attach.
*Now for the hard part
2. Turn on water and check for leaks.
3. Find a leak.
4. Twist the cap on the flange, check for leaks.
5. Find a leak.
6. Screw in the nut on the valve, check for leaks.
7. Find a leak.
8. Unscrew the pipe, apply pressure, twist back into place, check for leaks.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 as necessary.

This structure works when we introduce and teach new concepts to the students:
1. Introduce new concept or skill.
*And again, the hard part.
2. Answer students' questions, give practice.
3. Find a leak (in understanding).
4. Put it into different words, give practice.
5. Find a leak.
6. Complete the assignment, note the results.
7. Find a leak.
8. Give extra practice for those who need it...
9. Repeat steps 3-8 as necessary.

Educational technology has been growing, and teachers have seen the need for quick and easy ways to track student progress (or the lack of it). I'll name a few formative assessment tools that have popped up in the educational arena that seem to work wonders for many people, myself included.

Plickers
Plickers stands for "paper clickers". Students have their own printed barcodes on paper, no devices necessary. The teacher uses a webcam or smartphone after asking to record students who hold up the papers after asking questions. Students hold up their "plickers" to respond and their responses appear as a bar graph for the teacher to note the results. Quick, instant feedback--a great formative assessment tool.

Socrative
Socrative works in a very similar way to Plickers, but the students use a device to participate. The teacher logs in to the teacher side while the students join the teacher's "room" from the student side using the "room code". And it only works if the teacher is on Socrative at the time. Polls and other educational games and exercises can be performed, which give the teacher a great way to see where the students are at in their understandng.

QuickKey
QuickKey is an app for your smartphone that allows you to use the camera to quickly scan as if you had a full-on scantron device. Just print the bubbled template, set up your class, and each student will be assigned a unique number to bubble in for identification. Input your multiple choice answers, and shazam, you have a ready-made quiz that you use as either formative or summative assessment.

There are many more, but these have been my go-to tools to check student understanding.

I still had a slow drip from the drain in my kitchen sink, very slow, but I could see it if I took a minute to look. Sometimes we have to look very carefully to see what leaks might be popping up in the classroom. One final tightening and the pipes were good to go. I encourage you to look at the three services above to help you identify leaks so that you can stop them up as quickly as possible.                                                                                                            

Digital Storytelling and TypingClub

The title of this blog post is a little misleading. I'm not teaching students to tell stories digitally. This time I'm the storyteller.

I jumped into teaching the middle school computer classes this year. After some experience with a technology certification, I guess my school thought it would be appropriate to throw me into the deep end. I don't disagree. In fact, I really appreciate the rewards of teaching students how to solve problems using technology, especially with Google's services and other Web 2.0 tools. I'm having a great time in what I call my Media Class.

Typing has been an interesting process, though. I walked in to the position in the fall with a dated typing program. My first semester classes worked through an originally costly Type To Learn (the original), and when they finished with that they began (and some finished) All The Right Type. I had no rubric. I watched for proper technique, as much as I knew how, and I survived. But I found some things I needed to work on. For second semester, I got my act together and researched a new program. TypingClub is a web based service that is free to use and includes 100 introduction to typing lessons called "Typing Basics", and I came up with a strong rubric for technique, speed, and accuracy.

Used with permission: TypingClub

I love the format of TypingClub. Students have a visually satisfying screen to look at when they type. After each lesson, students see up to 5 stars appear and a point total, similar to the Angry Birds game. They can track their progress in friendly competition with classmates. Better yet, Typing Club is completely customizeable for lesson expectations. You can change the words per minute, percent accuracy settings, and more. Best, of course, the students learn to type in a fun atmosphere.

Used with permission: TypingClub

Even with all these wonderful features, I had a problem. Not to stereotype too much, but I have a female eighth grade piano player in my Media class. Her fine motor/typing skills are out of this world. She breezed through the Typing Basics lessons in a flash. What to do?

With the free version of Typing Club, there are limits. And I never figured out how to download other lessons, which I think is coming to the program soon. So, I took it upon myself to create a progressive short story that students who finished the basics could explore lesson by lesson. This is the digital storytelling I mention in the title of this post. The piano player was ready to begin.

Used with permission: TypingClub

With Typing Club, you have the capability of creating typing lessons from scratch. You create a title for a lesson, choose a lesson accuracy percentage, a words per minute goal, and possibly a time limit. I do not have experience with creating logical keyboard strategy, but I decided that if students could finish the basics with success, they were ready to begin typing "for real". Hence the creation of the story titled "The Cylinder".

Once students finished the 100 basic lessons, going back and achieving all 5 stars where necessary, they were allowed to start working on "The Cylinder". I started creating the story one short paragraph at a time, ending with some sort of cliffhanger after each one to keep students interested. Little did I know that students would enjoy typing the story so much. Little did I know that I would enjoy writing the story so much.

I had to really work to stay ahead of that first student. I would create a series of lessons/paragraphs about Oscar, the hero in my story, while students typed at their computers. After a day or two, she would catch up with me, so I'd have to write more of my story. Finally, I gave a time limit for each lesson, which was one of my better ideas. My student would almost get done, and the time would stop, causing her to start over. For somebody who is typing close to 80 words per minute in the 8th grade, it's causing her to fly over the keyboard even faster.

And I must say, the story is compelling for the 8th graders. I now have 3 girls working through the story at different levels. One of them walks in to the computer lab every day and says with a huge smile, "Are we typing today, Mr. T.?" Compared to some of the antiquated typing experiences these students have been exposed to, this is music to my ears. And it's a good reminder to keep the material fresh.

And for the girls that made it to the typing story "The Cylinder", I plan to surprise them by adding into the drama a character named after them. I can't wait to see how they react when they discover that they made it into the story.

Used with permission: TypingClub

Trust on a Tightrope

While on an accreditation team visiting a small Christian school in the South Bay of California, I was fortunate enough to meet a master storyteller. I would love to learn how to tell gripping stories and speak them for all to hear, but alas, it is not my gift. Therefore, I am content enough to listen and to reflect on the wonderful stories other people tell.

This master storyteller was the headmaster of the school I visited, and he led a chapel on Wednesday morning for the 4th-6th grade students. He told the story of a French acrobat from the 19th century named Jean-François Gravelet, better known as Charles Blondin...the Great Blondin! Blondin was the first man to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls from the U.S. side to Canada and back. No safety devices, and no fear.

Thousands gathered to watch his many courageous feats across the 1,100 foot tightrope. Well, as I said, I'm not the storyteller. Here's a 2 minute video to give you the background of the Great Blondin.

A daredevil for sure, right? Let me tell you, the previously mentioned headmaster had those 4th-6th grade students eating out of the palm of his hand when he described the fantastic feats of Blondin. Their rapt attention was tangible. I had a good view.

May I focus in on a piece that the headmaster expanded upon? After all his spectacular accomplishments, and even with proof of pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with potatoes across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, when Blondin asked if they believed he could wheel a man across, the visiting dignitaries replied with a resounding, "Yes!" But when Blondin encouraged the dignitary to put his belief into action by "hopping in", the dignitary shamefully said, "No."

We, as fellow humans, can relate to the dignitaries, I'm sure. We believe with all our hearts that something is possible. We've seen it happen, and we celebrate successes. But when we are asked to step out in faith, we hesitate...or we procrastinate...or we respond with an outright "No." The book of James in the Bible is clear. At the end of James 2:26, it says, "faith without deeds is dead." Personally, I struggle with this. I would imagine you do as well.

After listening to the headmaster of the school I visited tell the story of Blondin, I realized in a new way that faith is not true unless there is also action. The dignitaries in Blondin's day were guilty of "believism", something I am guilty of, too. They believed in Blondin completely, but they would not act. However, faith contains works. And faith is what the old lady at the end of the story had. She had faith in her son, and her voluntary deed did not go unnoticed.

This is not only a Christian's struggle. It is a human struggle. We all have belief. But we don't all act. It is a businessperson's struggle, a student's struggle, a teacher's struggle. On some level, we all struggle to hold true faith.

Educationally, teachers know about what other teachers are doing and with what they are having success, but to pull the trigger on the idea that has been percolating in your mind is a completely different story. Specifically speaking of technology in the classroom, we can have tools (or toys) to our heart's content, but we have trouble redesigning our lessons, so we continue on as we always have. We have trouble finding time, so we continue on as we always have. We have trouble thinking outside the box, so we continue on as we always have.

We believe it can be done, but we never step out onto the tightrope, even under the guidance of a master tightrope walker. We don't have the faith.

Maybe you have this faith. I'm getting there. My "edtech" experiences have been good. I've failed with some but succeeded with many more.

In Blondin's story, I've been one of the spectators for way too long. I believed it could be done, and I've watched others walk the line. It's time to transform belief into faith and jump into the wheelbarrow, trusting that everything will turn out just fine.

Especially when that faith is grounded on the saving grace of Christ Jesus, who, by the way, is The. Master. Storyteller.

7 Ways to Erase the Chalk

I start every year going over boundaries and setting expectations with my sixth grade students. This last year, after taking some classes and adopting a new English Language Arts curriculum, I overhauled my ELA program, so after introductions I had a great opening for the students on the first day. It went something like this:

"I've taught for 15 years, and I think it's gone quite well. But this year I've planned to transform my teaching. If I can change after so much time, you can turn over a new leaf as well...if you really desire it. Some of you had a rough year last year. Well, this year can be whatever you decide to make of it. You get a fresh start."

We started the year with a lot of positive energy, but as always, that energy waned after just a few short weeks. Keeping the students involved and excited is a tough task. Also, students who have had struggles for many years don't just succeed at the drop of a hat. So just because I attempt to keep it positive and uplifting, it doesn't mean the students are going to meet my expectations all the time.

Do we give up on our students? Are there middle school (or elementary...or high school) kids whose school habits are irredeemable? When do we get to the point of no return? I hope we can answer, "Never."

If you know baseball, it's such a mental game, and attitude is everything. My son's coach loves to talk, and one of the things he loves to quote over and over is, "Erase the chalk." If my boy is pitching and walks one or two people, Coach will say, "Just erase the chalk. Get the next batter." If my son makes an error, same thing. If somebody strikes out, same thing. Erase the chalk. Start over. He says, "Don't hang your head like you're defeated. Get your chin up and keep working."

I try to have that attitude in the classroom. Creating an intentional work environment for students gives them a chance to start fresh, to erase the chalk, when necessary. Generally, creating this type of atmosphere allows room for risk-taking and paths toward success. Keeping students positive and motivated is key. You might want to try these 7 ways to keep things fresh in your classroom.

1. Think outside the box.
Any teacher can follow the set curriculum. Get creative with it, add to it, create breaks within it, play games, go hands on. I will throw in literature circles and allow a small group to work through a book for a couple of weeks. Comprehension...check. Written response...check. Vocabulary...check. Well, you get the picture.

2. Surprise the students.
If you're experiencing the doldrums in your own classroom, I can almost guarantee that your students are feeling the same thing. I love it when the students ask, "What are we doing today?" One, it shows that they are ready to learn. And two, it tells me they are okay with something new. And it keeps it interesting for me--I hate it when I bore myself. Sometimes I give an assignment, but I allow partners (and usually create the partner groups myself) to turn in one assignment with both names on it. Many variations can and do occur within this partner work.

3. Throw in technology.
We all know that students need a "hook". If using technology as a tool to do that works to engage students, then why not? If a child is not very into the normal routine, try some tech once in a while. I would say some of the easiest ideas come when you start a lesson using a YouTube clip. Just search for something on topic, and you're sure to find something worthwhile. If you're brave, set up a YouTube account for yourself (or use an existing one) and be the star of your own show. The students will love it.

4. Keep good humor.
Students love a teacher with a sense of humor. School is not business, though it is a student's job for the time being. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't have some fun within your job. I keep saying that the students keep me young. I couldn't imagine teaching in a classroom without a smile on my face, or without a smile on the students' faces. I take it as a challenge to get a student to grin. How can you teach middle school without humor? Tell a joke a day. Share a funny situation that happened to you. Keep them on their toes.

5. Show students you care.
It's amazing to think that each of those students in your classroom has a history, present, and future all their own. If you let them know that you care about each one of these periods in their lives, they will never forget you. One of the ways I do this for students is on their birthdays. Of course, the old tradition of spanking children for fun on their birthdays is no longer feasible (and legally irresponsible to say the least), so I've adjusted to shooting them with a foam disc shooter. My students in sixth grade turn 12 usually, so I keep it loaded with 12 discs, and students look forward to their turn all year. Summer birthdays don't get forgotten. That's what "half-birthdays" are for, right?

6. Encourage question asking, continually.
Make sure you remain approachable. Students come in all shapes and sizes, and they have their own ways of dealing with problems, or questions. I think teachers need to make themselves available for whatever the students bring to the table. I typically allow students work time at their desks as I wander or sit at my own desk doing some of my own work, but they can always approach me. Smiling works wonders, too. My opinion, though, is that students (especially at the higher grade levels) should know to ask higher level questions. For example, a reminder of instructions could be taken care of with a classmate, but specific questions regarding process could be teacher solved.

7. Meet with parents face to face.
I definitely could do this better. When issues arise, students need to know you're taking their situation seriously. If they struggle, talk to them first. If it's necessary, get the parents involved. As a teacher and a parent, I've learned that parents just want to know that the teacher cares and is making efforts toward success. In any situation, documenting student progress or lack of it is tantamount. Also, documenting a plan for improvement is necessary. Follow through with administration is always encouraged. In the parent meetings I have been involved with, it gives a fresh perspective on how much families really love each other. And that situation helps me love the students even more.

Go[ogle] Ahead - Blow My Mind

My Media Class this year in both 6th and 8th grades is working through many of the Google Apps available to our school this year because of our new Google Apps for Education (GAfE) account. I recently opened the students' eyes to Google Drawings. I had them use the functions along the toolbar to create mindmaps related to a topic they had worked through in another class this semester. Some focused on English, some on Math, some even created a mindmap on a P.E. topic.

I love the background and the colors on this mindmap.

With this mindmap, I was simply impressed with the detail.

Once students shared their mindmaps with me, I thought I'd take it up a notch: I gave them about a period and a half of class (2 days worth) to wow me with their Google Drawing skills that they had gained through exploration with the mindmaps. Of course they wanted more direction, so I told them that they had a rule...but only one rule:

They needed to blow my mind.

I told them it was merely for extra credit consideration, and I wasn't going to help them. They had to earn it on their own. I wouldn't walk over to their computer and give any toolbar tips because I didn't even want to see it until they were finished. I allowed them to collaborate as much as necessary and to give pointers to each other. Some students were quiet as they set to work; some were loud and had to be hushed. All were engaged.

I don't think I had ever let the students loose in this fashion before, and I've been teaching this age group for almost 16 years. I'm finding out more and more, though, that more freedom is exactly what students need for real creativity. Give them a bit of instruction, and then set them free to make something cool and useful.

Not all their Google Drawings were great. Some merely scribbled. But all were required (and they knew this from the beginning) that they would present their drawing to the class, making sure to answer three questions:  
     1) What is it?
     2) What's my favorite part?
     3) Why do I deserve extra credit for my creation?

Yes, one student presented his drawing exactly this way:
     1) This is a car.
     2) I like the car driving.
     3) I deserve extra credit because of the car driving.

...not much extra credit consideration there.

But most students were excited to get up in front of their peers (and their teacher) and show off the fun things they discovered in their explorations. They took risks. They really blew my mind.

And it's fitting to show you a few of their creations that surprised even them. My students would love to hear what you think of their creations in the comments. Enjoy!

Marika thought that the Google drawing wasn't so easy compared to other things she's tried,
but she could have fooled me!

It took a while for Bree to place all the windows in the cityscape.
but she did it, and I love the silhouette.

Andre blew my mind because of his originality...
and his message about how God can work through any situation.

You could tell Josh was having fun.
I especially like the attention to detail with the headset.

Sabrina was very humble about her drawing,
but I think this could show up on Google's search page someday.
I just love the color scheme!

Entr Flickr Refreshr

Have you ever had an obstacle placed in front of you that you wanted to conquer? The thrill of the climb? The joy of the hunt? The breaking of the iceberg? And then after diving in, you realized that your obstacle was much larger than you had anticipated? Maybe teaching has been like that for you. Perhaps your school year has been a never-ending uphill climb.

I took a class through CUE and FPU called Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom. Honestly, that class was an uphill climb for me. So much information had been pushed through this brain and explored with these fingers on this computer that I was feeling exhausted. I had reached that point in Will Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms as well. I wanted to try all of his ideas, but I was overwhelmed by so much information...and his ideas were supposed to help me save time by using web 2.0 tools!

It’s similar to when my family was hiking up to Scott’s Lake just off the Tahoe Rim Trail outside of South Lake Tahoe. We decided we’d take the boys for their first “man-sized hike”. Shucks, my wife and I had hiked pretty hard core before we had kids. Now our kids, ages 10 and 8 at the time, were finally ready to go hard core with us. We took in God’s wonders, the rocks, the trees, the meadows, the mountains, and our destination was Scott’s Lake.

There was a point where we were kind of done with the whole taking in the scenery thing. Some mountain bikers pedaled past us, and we put on a smile, but I think we were all wishing for the lake, the destination. My limited map-reading skills didn’t help us either: “Oh, from the looks of it, we should get there in about 10 minutes.” Try closer to 45...

It wasn’t until those bikers started coming back down the hill and encouraging us--“You’re almost there!” “It’s just around the bend!”--that we started smiling again. We were tired, but we were making the most of it, working on having a good attitude as we awaited the sight of the lake. Needless to say our feet were sore and needed some massaging action.

And that’s where I was at with Will Richardson’s book. 

And that's about where we are right now in the school year. It's the beginning of April, and we all could use a good foot massage. Ah...enter spring break!

Enter Flickr.com

Flickr is just fun. I have no doubt that when I introduce photo sharing to my students, they will feel refreshed, as I was with Richardson’s chapter. His ideas were straight-forward and engaging. Perhaps it was my visual learning style that was sparked by the visual literacy possibilities within Flickr, or maybe it was the storytelling potential of each picture I saw. I was refreshed. And boy, were we refreshed when we halted our hike at Scott’s Lake! Our shoes flew off, and our sore feet got the foot refresher they needed.

It’s this storytelling that motivates me as a teacher. I want to tell stories to my students, and I want them to be able to share their stories with each other as well. On Flickr, I especially like the idea of using Flicktion, using photos on Flickr as story starters. If you look at a photo, it’s meant as a social tool; it’s meant to tell a story.

I plan to upload photographs to Flickr or Picasa and allow the students to choose one to base a story around. I have done something like this with a Chris Van Allsburg story.I do something like this with a Chris Van Allsburg story. We will work on story elements and writing process as we go.

After my family soaked our feet and put our shoes back on for the hike down the hill, we ended up singing some hiking songs, and we even tried some trail-running. We made predictions on arrival time and had a couple good conversations with fellow hikers. The obstacle had been overcome. Even though it was larger than we initially thought, we persevered and conquered.

The end of Will Richardson's book and the end of my Web 2.0 course was inspiring. I look forward to the end of the school year working out the same way. May the trip down the hill be quickr!