Creating an Easy, Free Newsletter in Google Slides (Perfect for Phone Viewing!)

This past school year, I put out a newsletter for staff each Friday to help keep them updated and informed about things happening in the Library. I used Wakelet for this. Wakelet is a free tool that I enjoy and has a lot of potential for classrooms, but there were some limitations. Mainly, I couldn't always make things look the way I wanted. I ended up making a lot of graphics and images outside of Wakelet and then importing them, creating an extra step. I've also used smore in the past. Now smore makes some beautiful newsletters and is pretty user-friendly overall, but there is the subscription cost associated with this. This year I also heard some chatter around my campus from teachers regarding a need for grade level or class newsletters. So, I found myself on a mission. I wanted to find a newsletter solution for myself and teachers that met the following criteria:

• FREE! We spend money on so many things, if this could NOT be one of them, that would be great.
• Visually appealing
• Easily customizable
• Simplistic navigation
• Mobile viewing! (How often do we open a link on our phones? And how frustrating is it when you can't see it all properly? I think being easily viewed on phones and mobile devices is a major requirement when connecting with our families and making our information accessible!

After thinking this over and trying to come up with something that satisfied all my requirements, I decided to give Google Slides a shot. And I'm pretty happy with the results! Here is a super basic template of what I came up with. As you can see, it is easy to view on a computer, but it is also the perfect size for viewing on your phone. Below, I will give you step-by-step directions for creating your own and give you a copy of what I've created if you want to just start there. 

Step One: Create your SlideOpen a new Google Slides document. Start by formatting the slide size. Under the file menu, choose "Page Setup." Next, in the dropdown box, select "Custom". Change the units to "Pixels" and change the dimension to 360 x 740. Then click "Apply."

Step Two: Create your ContentThis is where you can be creative! Create your "newsletter" in any way that makes sense for your purpose. Customize your background, your fonts, add images, whatever your heart desires. Just remember not to clutter it up too much so that it will be easily viewable. You will likely need multiple pages. Once you have one page set up in a way that you like, you can right-click it in the left navigation bar and select "Duplicate slide." Then your formatting will be the same and you can make changes as needed. Remember to keep the most important information on your front page, and make this your navigation base. The reader should be able to know what's included and get to what they need from here. Also, consider what information will be consistent from issue to issue. These are resources your newsletter contains that the reader can count on. In my template, for instance, the "Class Info" will always stay the same aside from the "Spotlight" section. The reader can also count on there being links to familiar extra resources in that section and I would always leave the district calendar linked in the "Upcoming Dates" section. 

Step Three: Create your NaviagtionNow this step is not strictly necessary. The reader could very easily just tap through the slides and they WILL be able to get to all of your content. But this is all about ease of access. So think about how different users might want to navigate. I included two methods of navigation, direct links and navigation buttons.
Direct LinksFor direct links, simply highlight anything on your main page you want to make into a direct link. After highlighting, hit "Ctrl + K" and select "Slides in this presentation" from the bottom of the menu. Then select the corresponding slide for that heading. In this example, I have highlighted Event 2 and would link it to the corresponding page once I had created it. 

To change a link you've already created, simply click on it and choose the pencil to edit the link or the broken link to remove the link altogether.

Navigation Buttons

To create navigation buttons, first find the icons you would like to use for your buttons. I selected my arrows and home icon from Flaticon. I created an empty text box at the bottom of my newsletter and selected a slightly lighter shade for the background. You could also do this by inserting a shape. This becomes my navigation bar. I first inserted the home icon, sized and placed it where I wanted and linked it to slide 1. (Click the icon and then "Ctrl + K" again just like in the direct links.) Then select the icon and copy it (Ctrl + C). Go to each of your other slides and paste it (Ctrl + V). The icon will carry over with the link still attached. 

Next, add in your directional arrows. For these, instead of choosing a specific slide number when you are linking, select "Next Slide" for your forward arrow and "Previous Slide" for your back arrow. Repeat the same directions you did with the home icon. 

Your navigation is complete!

Step Four: Prepare for Pulishing
Publish to the WebIn my first iteration of this template, I chose the "Publish to the web" option. You can see that here. Now, this works fairly well and is simple because all you have to do is copy and paste the link and you don't have to worry about the sharing settings. But it does have some drawbacks. In this option, there is no way to hide or remove the menu that pops up in the bottom left corner. This is not a problem whatsoever on a computer or larger device, but on a small phone when trying to hit some of the links you end up getting the menu instead. This is a minor inconvenience and, as previously stated, you can get through the whole presentation by simply clicking through, so this may not be a deterrent to you. To publish to the web, click "File" in the menu and choose, "Publish to the web." I unchecked the option to start the slideshow automatically so that it isn't just flipping pages as your user is attempting to read. All you have to do now is highlight the link provided and share it with your readers. 

Preview PresentationIn the end, I decided to go with the preview presetnation view. That is what you see embedded at the top of this article and here. I did this after seeking feedback and getting advice from my fabulous colleagues in the Learning Librarians group on Facebook. I also watched this YouTube video to see how to remove the navigation bar that is usually visible in a Slides present view. First, click the "Share" button in the upper right hand corner. At the bottom there is a "Copy Link" button. IMPORTANT: Before you click that though, you will need to change the settings. There is a link you can press right under where it says "Restricted." Click this and change it so that is says "Anyone with the link" can view. If you forget this step, your reader will not be able to see your presentation. 

After chaning the permissions, click the "Copy Link" button and paste it into your web browser, but do not click enter. The last portion of the web address after the last / will say edit?usp=sharing. Highlight this portion and delete it. In this space type in preview?rm=minimal. Don't hit enter yet! Select the whole web address and copy it. This is the web address you will share with your readers.

Share with ReadersWhether you choose publishing to the web or the preview option, the web address will be lengthy. Consider this when you decide how to share with your readers. You may want to create a bit.ly to shorten it up and make it more friendly. Some districts do have bit.ly shorteners blocked, so beware of that before you decide. You can also just hyperlink it in your email as I have in this post. Just highlight your keyword, maybe newsletter, and use "Ctrl + K" to add a link. Your reader can easily click on it without having to see how long and messy it is! One last option is to include a QR code. This might be good if you want to post it on a bulletin board or something like that. This is now super easy in Google Chrome. If you click in the address bar, right next to the bookmark star, a shape with 4 small squares appears. Click on that and ~ VOILA ~ QR code. Just click the download button and print it out.

A Few Reminders

• Check your navigation. View your newsletter on your computer and on a mobile device before sharing to make sure everything works as you intend.
• Change your sharing permissions. If you use the preview presentation, do NOT forget to change these permissions to "Anyone with the link" can "view."
• Make a new copy each week. You likely want your reader to have continual access to previous newsletters. So each week (or however often you create your newletter), make a copy and then edit. Then repeat the publishing steps for this new version. If you do make edits to a current version, remember that they will be shown in real time. So if you delete a page and don't replace it and a reader goes to refer to your newsletter, they may not have the information they are looking for.

You can click here to get an editable copy of my template and work from there or you can create your own from scratch. Remember that in my template I have linked some items specific to my school. Don't forget to change these items out!
I'd love to hear if this is useful to you, so please share what you come up with! 
💗~K.

I'm Back! Let's Catch Up!

So, it's been a hot minute since I've written anything on here. Almost 3 YEARS actually! Whoa...

There have definitely been some developments in these last few years. In some of my last posts, I mentioned going back to school for my School Librarian Certificate. Well, I am happy to report that I finished that post-graduate certificate from the University of North Texas (Go, Mean Green!) in the Summer of 2020 and have spent the last two years as a school librarian! I opted not to complete the entire Master's degree, and just finished my certificate. (I still go back and forth on this decision, as the MLS requires just 3 more classes. HOWEVER, it requeires 3 MORE classes and those classes are not tied to school librarianship. Plus there's a capstone exam that I escaped, so.... 🤷)

via GIPHY

My first year as a school librarian, a wonderful opprotunity popped up in my district just a few miles down the road from me. I really did not think I would get a job that year, I wasn't even done with my program yet! But it was in the same district and relatively close, so I figured I had to try. I interviewed for that position in February of 2020 and low and behold, I got it! It was hard to leave the school I had taught at for 11 years and to make the decision to take my son with me and change his school, but it was such a great experience! I absolutely loved my new campus, the staff, the administration, everything! My first year was going along great... crazy, of course, because it was the first, but great. And then, the pandemic hit! Man did that throw a wrench in things. I certainly did not anticiapte remote learning in my first year in the library!

Then, another unexpected occurance. Remember how I mentioned I'd taught at the same school for 11 years. Well, the school librarian there made a decision to retire. After a friend reached out to me and talked me into it and after much internal debate (I mean, was I really considering changing schools after only ONE year and in the middle of a PANDEMIC?!), I reached out to my principal. And here we go again, I was back at my home school, which is also my neighborhood school. It was another bittersweet experience. I was super sad to leave all the people I had built relationships in that one crazy year at my new campus, but my gut just knew that this was the right choice for me and my family. 

So my second year as a school librarian was at another new campus, but not really becasue Savannah Elementary has been my campus for so long. It really was like going back home in a lot of ways. There was still plenty of learning and adjusting to do. There had been a lot of staff change so building relationships was starting over in a lot of ways. And let's not forget, it was still the middle of the pandemic. Almost all year I taught Library on a cart, trucking to classrooms with carts and doing my best to get books in the hands of kids in the middle of the mask wearing, hand sanitizing, social distancing madness that was this school year. It was another challenge, for sure, but it was still a good year. Maybe next year I'll get a "normal" year in the Library? We can hope, right?!

With all this craziness of the last few years, I let this blogging thing fall off. I really wish I hadn't because it's been a wild ride and it would have been worth documenting. But, I've had a couple of ideas that I wanted to put out there recently, and I really do like having this space for myself. Space to just share what's on my mind. I played around with starting a whole new blog, one that's more Library focused. I couldn't come up with any title I liked that wasn't already taken and really I was just using it as an excuse to put it off some more. So finally, today, I decided no... Pensive Pedagogy still works. I'm still a thoughtful, reflective person. (Too much so sometimes, which is why this blog is a good thing for me. A place to work all that thinking out!) And pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. I am very much still a teacher, I've just expanded what that looks like! So, here we go, ready for new adventures!

💗~K.

Balance...An Ever-Elusive Concept

At the beginning of every school year, I make promises to myself.

• This year I will be better.
• This year I will be more organized.
• This year I will leave school at a decent time.
• This year I won't work on the weekends.
• This year I won't lose sleep over work.
• This year I will manage my stress.
• This year I will be a better mom.
• This year I will spend more time with my family.
• This year I will make time to workout regularly.

Every year I say these things, and every year...inevitably...I fail. It is only September and I can already say, unequivocally, I am failing miserably at this elusive concept of balance. Why is it so very hard for me? Why can't I get this portion of my life under control?

I have worked out zero time this school year. That's zero, one big goose egg. I have left school before 6pm exactly 4 times. One was because I had a doctor's appointment. The other three I left around 5:30pm to get my daughter to her 6pm volleyball practice. She was late to two of those three times... And I've been up there several Fridays as late as 7 or even 8. By the time the weekend rolls around I'm so exhausted I spend at least half of day asleep, catching up on all the lost hours from the week or just vegging out to let my brain have some much needed quiet time so it doesn't explode. Then there's classwork to catch up on, an inevitable kid or family activity, maybe some grocery shopping and what can barely pass as housework (that might include loading a dishwasher and making sure we have enough clean underwear for another week). Then it is the Sunday night anxiety of reviewing lessons and preparing to start all over again. So, yeah, I'm pretty much sucking it up. 

There are reasons. There are excuses. Some of them are legitimate. Some of them are less so.

Excuse/Reason #1 - It's the Beginning of the Year

All teachers know the chaos that is back to school. Setting up the room. Getting into the routines. All the meetings that happen early in the year. Planning and professional development and so on. The beginning of the year can be rough. So maybe that's one reason. But...we've been in school for six weeks now. And I'm not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel where my to-do list suddenly becomes shorter.

Excuse/Reason #2 - There's Always SOOO Much To Do

Beginning of the year or not, all school year long my to-do list is my enemy. It's a revolving list that is never, ever completely accomplished. Every time I turn around I feel like there are more expectations and more things to pile on the plate, without ever really taking anything off. So every time I cross one thing off the list, five things are going on it - either they're back in the rotation or they're being piled on top. It's so defeating to never feel done, to never be caught up.

Excuse/Reason #3 - I Went Back to School

So, in the midst of all the chaos that was already my life, last summer I decided to go BACK to grad school again. This time in pursuit of my school librarian certification. Crazy, I know. But I do truly believe it will be worth it in the end. I feel led to do this and think that this path is the one I'm supposed to be on. And let's be real. My grad school work is not why I'm at school til 6pm or later every day. I don't even think about my classes while I'm at school. I can't. So all of that waits until after I get home and cook dinner and get the kids to bed and, mostly, until the weekend rolls around. So this is part of my balance issue. It certainly is taking up some of my precious time to sleep and definitely cuts into family time, but it's not directly impacting the work imbalance that I'm feeling.

Excuse/Reason #4 - My Mind = Mass Chaos

I've discussed before how I sometimes get stuck in the basements of some of my strengths like Ideation and Input. My mind is often, make that always, swimming with information and the ideas swirl around constantly. This leads me to be a bit disorganized as I jump from project to project or obsess over perfecting something that is probably fine the way it is. I struggle to accept something that I view as mediocre and have trouble asking for or even taking any kind of help. Partly because I'm always flying by the seat of my pants and don't even know what I need help with, and partly because my Responsibility really needs things done correctly and sometimes that just means doing it myself. Obviously, efficiency is not my strong point. It's something I envy so much in other teachers. I wish I could just see a task and execute - just get out of my own way!

Excuse/Reason #5 - I Talk Too Much

Ok, so I really have tried to work on this one. I do spend significant amounts of time chatting with my teammates or friends after school. Not every day, but often enough to have a significant impact on my time. Here's the deal though. I really don't know how I would function and NOT do this. This time of talking to my friends, of decompressing from the day, my brain needs that time desperately. When I don't have it, I sit in my room with all my thoughts reeling and end up being very unproductive. It's almost like this reason is my small release from pieces of reason 4. I need to process and to talk to an adult and to get all these thoughts out. Then I can focus and get some work done. It's just that, unfortunately, sometimes that decompression time takes up all the time I should have spent working...

Ok, so I've put it out there. My problem. And the reasons I've identified that it continues to be my problem. Now it's time for solutions. What can I do to mitigate my circumstances and help myself?

• Prioritize - Maybe I need two lists - "Must-Dos" and "It'd be Nice..."
• Embrace Serenity - This is so difficult for me, but maybe if I really spend some time focusing on letting go of things outside of my control, maybe I could gain some peace.
• Control the Chatter - Friends, don't judge me when I start setting timers on our conversations! I really might have to begin doing this. Provide myself the time I need to decompress a little, and then focus and get back to work.
• Just Leave It - I've got to figure out when I'm just going to walk away. Done or not done, I need to get up and leave and be with my husband and children. 5pm, that seems reasonable, right? Maybe....5:30? 🤷

Alright all you super teachers out there, I want to hear from you! Please share your secrets with me. How do you manage it all? How do you keep all the plates of your life spinning at once without letting any of them crash to the ground? How do you balance the roles of mom, wife, teacher, student, and leave a little time in there somewhere for yourself? I'm really going to work on these things, and hopefully, by putting it all out there it will help to keep me a little more accountable. But I'll take any other tips I can get, so send them my way!

💗~K.

To Blog or Not To Blog.... or Where To Blog? And Summer Craziness!

Well, it has been a CrAzY busy summer! 

First off, my ten-year-old daughter keeps me pretty busy...pretty much always. She's on a swim team in the summer and she also plays volleyball, so I spend a lot of my time running Mom's Taxi Service it seems! (Totally worth it, though! I love watching her do what she loves!) Then there's my little dude. He just turned five at the earlier this month. He had his swim lessons nearly every day the first month or so of summer. Then it was his birthday and all the hoopla that goes into those events!

Then, on top of ALL of that, I went and decided to do something truly crazy. I went back to school...again! You see, somewhere in the middle of this school year as I thought about teaching and my career and what I wanted that to look like in the future, I finally realized what is I wanted to do. I want to be a librarian! It's the perfect mix of everything I love... teaching, helping kids develop a lifelong passion for reading and literacy, being involved in helping students and fellow teachers with educational technology. Yep, this is definitely where I want to be! I started my program this summer semester with my first two classes in school librarianship. That'll definitely keep a girl busy!

So, needless to say...

But it's okay. Really, it's great! It's been a busy, but productive and enjoyable summer so far. And it's not over yet! 😉

For one of my school librarianship classes, we had to set up a website that will serve as our ePortfolio. We were given a list of different platforms that were suggested, with the first one being Wordpress. But since I'd already started this blog using Blogger, I started here. I played with it for a while and tried to get it how I wanted. Then I decided I should check out some of the other platforms before making my final decision. And...I ended up really liking Wordpress. It is a little complicated to use at first, but I'm figuring it out. I do really like how clean and professional it looks. It's not finished (like, not at all...Remember, it's a portfolio, and I'm only in my first two classes!), but here it is if you want to check it out. So should I have started this blog on Wordpress? Should I move it to a different platform? If I do that, will I just want to keep moving as I find something else I like? (I tend to do stuff like that...) Will I even have time to really blog on here while keeping up with my kids, my job, and my classes (that include another required weekly "reflection" blog)? I don't know... At any rate, I'm currently using this blog for one of my original intentions...random ramblings. This would be one of those 'off-topic ponderings' I mentioned, I suppose! Ha!

Well, my busy summer continues. My district hosts the TIA technology and curriculum conference each summer, and it begins TOMORROW! I'm presenting (for the second time this summer! 😬), but I'm super excited. I can't wait to share about the magic of #BookSnaps with some fellow educators! Maybe I'll blog again soon and let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

💗~K.

Going Digital with Feedback

Last week was the first week of summer, meaning the kids were out of school. However, it was still a very busy week for me filled with 4 days of district held conferences. My district hosted its third Assessment For Learning conference. At my campus, we have been working closely with the book Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning from the fabulous Jan Chappuis and going deeper with our assessment work.

This year my administrators asked me to present a breakout session at the conference. EEEK! I mean, I can talk in front of ten-year-olds all day long, but a room full of adults...completely terrifying. I've presented some small pieces of professional development on my campus here and there, but this was even beyond that...a room full of adults that I don't know!

Thank goodness I was able to convince my colleague and friend to present with me. (Thanks again, Hobbs!)

We wanted to focus on technology integration and how it can support our assessment work, particularly in the area of Strategy 3: Effective Feedback. We know that, in the world of assessment, quality feedback given during the learning cycle has a positive impact on learning outcomes. It makes perfect sense - we see where we are, we receive feedback on how to improve, we act on the feedback, we try again getting closer to our target. So, we wanted to give teachers some super-easy ways to use technology to give students more effective feedback more efficiently.

Now, keep in mind that we designed this session specifically for teachers that are just BEGINNING to think about the possibilities for technology and feedback in their classroom. So, if you are a Google Guru, there is probably little in the rest of this post for you. (However, you might be surprised!) You can access a copy of our presentation here if you want to see more screenshots and examples.

1. Google Classroom - Questions

In Google Classroom, your three basic post choices are announcements, assignments, or questions. I use the question tool frequently in my room. I can ask students to respond to a basic question. The example I used in my presentation was an Inference of the Day. Students cannot see any other responses until they answer the question themselves. I can then reply to their answer to provide them with quality feedback. Typing this reply out quickly as students finish or even after school is soooo much faster than handwriting the same amount of feedback. I never write as much when I do it by hand! It also gives students the ability to reply back with questions or easily give a second attempt at answering the original question.

I take this a step further, after several days of modeling effective feedback, and have students begin giving each other peer feedback. This takes some practice, but as students develop these skills they begin clearly demonstrating their understanding of the criteria. It also provides students with opportunities to practice digital citizenship and speaking to one another in an online forum for academic purposes. As our world only seems to become more and more digital, these are skills students will need for the rest of their lives! 

2. Google Docs (And All Other GSuite Tools)

Using the Comment Tool on any Google application (Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings) is a fantastic way to provide feedback during the learning cycle. If you utilize Google Classroom to distribute assignments, then you have easy access to every student's document. And because of the magic that is live Google documents, you can see them BEFORE they get to the final product. So, as the teacher, you can go to the assignment folder, click on any student's document, and easily see exactly where they are in the process of the assignment.

Then, using this nifty button (it's the speech bubble with a plus sign, if you can't see it), you can add a comment to provide students with feedback. Comments appear on the side of the document and do not interfere in any way whatsoever with the students' final product. Students can also easily use the reply button on your comment to acknowledge it, ask for clarification, etc. 

*Side Note* During this part of our presentation, in both of our sessions we discussed the use of Google Drawings thoroughly. I think Google Drawing is way undervalued as an EdTech tool. I used it last year for paperless sorts like fact and opinion or types of sentences (as pictured below). My friend talked about how useful it is for science sorts. What other ways have you utilized Google Drawing?

4. Google Forms

Google Forms is an obvious choice for the feedback cycle. From the built-in response charts to the newer quiz features, Google Forms allows for instant multiple-choice feedback and enables you to quickly disaggregate data, conduct class discussions, and intervene on misconceptions. If you have never tried a Google Form for assessment, please try it...just once! I promise it is life-changing! And, did I mention, ZERO grading for you?! Yes, please! Google recently added a feedback feature on quizzes. For each question, you can now provide feedback that would be given for the correct answer and different feedback for the incorrect answers. (Now, I will say that it appears at this time that the same feedback would be given for ALL incorrect answers...so that could be better, but still pretty awesome!)  You can even add links or YouTube videos directly to this feedback. So, say you have a division question. Your feedback could be a YouTube video reviewing the strategy you've learned in class. Instant feedback, specifically for that student, to help him get closer to the target!

5. Google Forms with Flubaroo Add-On
Ok, so this is one that I love! Now, the Flubaroo Add-On (available in the Chrome Webstore) has been around for quite a bit at this point. In fact, I'm pretty sure that when it was created Flubaroo was made to make Google Forms into quizzes before that was an option directly in Forms. But, here's why I still love it:

1. Allows for the ability to hand-grade certain questions and give individualized feedback. (Again, typing is so much faster than hand-writing). 
2. It makes a beautiful tab that organizes your grades and questions providing you with information such as which questions were low-scoring.
3. It sends each student a Google Doc either directly to their Drive or by email. This shows them as little or as much information as you want them to have along with your comments. I found this feature particularly helpful because my students would upload this directly to SeeSaw (a digital portfolio that teachers, students, AND parents can all access). This provided parents with more information about what students were doing in class. Without this document, there is not really any evidence for parents to be able to see. And though this session is really about feedback to and for kids, it is also important that parents are kept in the loop and able to see evidence of learning!

6. Go Formative!

This is a brand-new one for me! I had never heard of Go Formative until Hobbs and I were putting together this presentation. And though it's not a Google tool, it works seamlessly with Google Classroom to help you give students authentic feedback during their learning. Hobbs showed us how she utilizes the whiteboard feature in math to have students show their work. Using this, she can provide specific feedback on where a calculation went wrong instead of making assumptions about what happened based on the multiple-choice answer that was chosen. The website also has a tool that allows you to upload PDF documents that students can then mark on. You can insert questions based on the document. I have yet to use this in my personal classroom, but my mind is reeling with ideas for the possibilities. If you have any awesome uses for Go Formative, please share!

  

Using technology to give students more immediate, more effective feedback during the learning process enhances the feedback cycle for all involved. Now, do you need to give ALL of your feedback digitally? Certainly not! But, there is definitely a time and a place for it. I hope if you've never considered giving students digital feedback, there is at least one strategy you'd be willing to give a try! 

All in all, I'd say my first shot at presenting PD at a conference was a success. I might even do it again... 😉

💗~K.

What to do with high-achieving elementary readers?

So...my first content blog...here we go! The thought of this post has been bouncing around in my head for WEEKS! I'm excited to actually sit down and try to make it coherent.

I came across this question a few weeks back in a group I'm a part of. It's not the first time I've heard the question. Definitely not the first time I've thought about the question myself. It's often brought up by a parent. It's a question every elementary reading teacher contends with at one time or another. The question was this: "I have a 4th grade student who is reading at a high school level. What should they be reading?"

These kids are in our classes every year. Gifted readers! They can literally read anything, or so it seems. So what reading material is best for them?

My first thought on this topic applies to all students, not just gifted students, but it most certainly applies here. They should be reading what they WANT to read. Guys, CHOICE is so, so, so important in growing lifelong readers. That doesn't mean you can't guide their choices or encourage them to stretch outside their comfort zone, but ultimately the choices should belong to the reader!

Secondly, and this goes hand-in-hand with the first point, just because they CAN read at a high school level, does that mean they MUST ALWAYS be reading at a high school level? (Is that even appropriate for a nine- or ten-year-old kid? No, of course it's not.) Should any reader be forced to always be reading at the very top of their ability? (Again, I say no.)

Think, for a moment, for me about the last book you read, the last book you CHOSE to read (because, presumably, no one is assigning you books to read anymore, yes?) The last book I read was, well...I read a lot of books written for 4th graders. Part of the job. (One of the parts I LOVE most, actually!) And even before I taught fourth graders, my self-selected texts often came from the Young Adult section. I would regularly say, "If it was written for a 15-year-old girl, I probably love it!" So... actual 'adult' authors that I enjoy, I've been known to enjoy a good Nicholas Sparks novel, maybe some Jodi Picoult, even a little Sophie Kinsella (Confessions of a Shopaholic, c'mon!).

In general, I enjoy engaging stories that provide an escape from day to day life. Is that ok? Yes! Are any of these books written at the top of my reading ability? Nope. What would happen if they were? Honestly, I wouldn't choose to read. It would be completely exhausting and simply would not provide me with the enjoyment I get from reading now. I choose reading as an escape, as a hobby, as a form of entertainment. But because I read for all of these reasons, I am also more than capable of reading something that challenges me, of learning something new from my reading, of thinking about text and making new connections or drawing new conclusions. Because I am a reader!

When is the last time you walked into a bookstore and said, "Excuse me, can you please point me to the X, Y, Z level books. I am a sophisticated, adult reader, and those are the only books I read." NOOOO! No one does that! Why not? Because it is not what real, authentic readers do. We read what we choose to read, what we want to learn about, what entertains us, what interests us. And that is OK! Why is it not ok for our kids? And what are we doing when we tell them that every book they read has to be the most difficult book they are capable of reading on their own? What happens is this, we stop growing readers, and we start growing non-readers. And that...is a tragedy.

My goal as a reading teacher is not to have a student announce at the end of the year, "I am an R!" Kids are not levels. Books are levels. I could go off on a whole other tangent about the misuse of leveling in education today, but for now, I'll just leave it at this. These words are from Fountas & Pinnell themselves (the creators and gurus of this whole leveling system in the first place!).  "We must remember that a level is a teacher's tool, NOT a child's label." And if you're interested in reading more about that, here is an excellent article. (Maybe I'll come back to this topic in a later post.)

Last note on pushing students to their highest possible Guided Reading Level...then I promise to move along. Did you know that there are 10 factors taken into account when deciding a book's GRL? While 'Text Structure' and 'Sentence Complexity' are definitely considered, so are 'Content' and 'Themes and Ideas'. This is why a book with a relatively low readability may have a relatively high Guided Reading Level. For example, books like The Hunger Games or the new book Refugee have a reported fifth-grade readability (each a 5.3), but a Y-Z GRL. The text might not be so complicated itself, but the content and ideas are heavy and complicated. When you push elementary students to get to "level Z" as fast as possible, you are simultaneously pushing them to grapple with complex, adult concepts and ideas much sooner than they may be ready to process or before they have the background knowledge and experiences to understand. Consider whether that is your goal. 

So (back on track), I do not want my students leaving my room shouting their Guided Reading Level as their reading identity. I want my students to walk out of my class and proclaim, "I am a READER!" I want them to be able to tell you all about their favorite book and their favorite characters and how books make them feel. I want them to describe their favorite genre and also maybe their least favorite (because they've tried different things). I want them to know how to tell if a book will be a good fit for them. I want them to understand that reading is more than word calling the words from a page. I want them to have the confidence to abandon a book that doesn't end up working for them and the stamina to get through books that do, even if they're long or challenging. I want my students to walk out of my classroom with a love for reading and learning and a passion to continue doing both. That is my goal!

To address those high-achieving readers, specifically, one more time - I read an article a while back. (I desperately wish I remembered where. If this sounds familiar, please tell me so I can give proper credit!) The author basically said that we should let our high readers read fiction appropriate for their age and provide them with non-fiction appropriate for their reading level. This is an outlook I can get behind. There is so much an elementary student can gain from fiction written for elementary students. Way beyond the abilities to read words, summarize, and make inferences. Students learn about life in these books! They learn about how to navigate friendships, that they're not alone in the world, that others have their same struggles. They also expand their world and learn about people and places they'd never otherwise know. They become more well-rounded human beings because of these stories. These are lessons that cannot be replaced! And then you can point them in the direction of a higher level non-fiction text. One where they can learn more informational items and intentionally continue to expand their already abundant reading skills. I think striving for this balance should be our goal for our highest achieving elementary readers.

So, how do we continuously grow readers? (Our high-level readers, and our low-level readers, and our mid-level readers...ALL of our readers!) We encourage choice. We help them find books they are passionate about. We give them the lessons and skills needed to continue reaching for that next step, and we encourage them to stretch themselves outside of their comfort zone from time to time. But, mostly, we let them read what they love. I'm in love with this particular Maya Angelou quote. Amen! If we can find one book you love, then we can find another...and another...and another. And before you know it we can transform a non-reader into a lifelong reader. How powerful is that?!

💗 ~K.

Who and Why?

First thing's first. Who am I?

This is me. My name is Kathy Holt. I'm a 4th grade ELAR teacher in Texas. This year is my 10th year of teaching. I taught first grade for eight years and honestly thought I probably always would. Then, last year, I was moved to fourth grade. This was a scary change. I don't think I've ever questioned myself so much, not even in my first years of teaching! But it's been absolutely fantastic. I adore fourth graders. And I absolutely love being able to concentrate all of my energy and passion on literacy. I am passionate about growing students into not just strong readers and writers, but lifelong learners.

So, second question - Why? Why am I doing this? Why start a blog in the first place? Why now? Well, a couple of reasons.

Reason Number 1: My little sister. She inspires me! My sister, Stephanie, started her first year of teaching this year. She's teaching middle school math and has moved out to East Texas to do so. As she's embarked on this crazy adventure, starting something completely new, moving away from everyone and everything she knows, she decided to begin blogging her journey. I love being able to keep up with her this way and how she is so openly sharing it all with the world. (You should check her out! https://slavone.wordpress.com) And I thought, maybe I have some thoughts worth sharing as well! 

Reason Number 2: My brain is a very chaotic place. If you know anything about CliftonStrengths, my number one strength is Ideation. This translates to...ideas are swirling in my head constantly, I'm always thinking, it never stops. This sums up Ideation to me very nicely.

And sometimes all of these thoughts jumbling around in my head just need an outlet. My ramblings about my classroom or thoughts on literacy and education aren't always appropriate for my Facebook wall. I'm a realist, I know people on Facebook are looking for basic updates and pictures of my adorable kids...

...obviously! (I mean, c'mon! So cute, right?!) And Twitter's limited characters is a definite challenge for me and my often long-winded ways. So having a blog, like a journal, a place where I can come and just write, share my thoughts and reflections, allow all my ideas to process...I thought it could be therapeutic for me. Maybe people will read it. Maybe they won't. Either way, it's for me. A place to process, to ponder, to reflect, and to think.

Onto another why - Why Pensive Pedagogy?

Would you be surprised to know that I've been thinking about starting a blog for weeks? Maybe even a few months? I've had several ideas of posts I'd like to make. Why didn't I start sooner? THE NAME! I couldn't figure out what I wanted to call it...and I simply could not move on from there. Trust me, this name thing has had my Ideation working in overdrive! But I finally settled on one today. (Honestly, I wanted to keep thinking about it. I made myself just DO it! Stop thinking, and let's get going! It's definitely a basement of my Ideation that this is so hard for me to do.)

Pensive - adj. - engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.

Pedagogy - n. - the art or science of teaching; education; instructional methods

As I contemplated what I really wanted this blog to be about, I kept coming back to that thinking I'm always doing. Reflecting. Contemplating. And I knew I wanted it to be based in my classroom. Reading. Writing. But maybe more? Best practices. Assessment. Educational Technology. I don't know...ALL of it! Eventually, I came up with Pensive Pedagogy. Thoughtful reflection on teaching and my educational practices. That will be my goal, my focus-ish!

Well, we shall see how this goes. I hope it's a project I will keep up with. I hope I don't abandon it like every other time I've started journaling in the past. I hope I don't go three months between entries. However, I make no promises. We shall see. It will be an adventure!

💗 K.