For the Love of Reading

Mastering the art of reading can be a lifelong endeavor.  Some people love to read while others prefer alternate ways to nourish their desire for a good story.  Either way, school provides students with a host of opportunities to experiment with the written word.

Teaching students to read is a complex task.  By the time kids reach fourth grade they are reading and the focus shifts from “learning how to read” to “reading to learn”.

Comprehension.  An all-encompassing concept designed to elicit responses to reading in a variety of ways. Students spend much time sorting out main ideas from details, analyzing inferences, delineating fact from fiction, determining cause and effect, critically thinking about author’s purpose, and figuring out how to summarize effectively, among other skills and strategies.  It’s a tall order for kids…I’ve seen all kinds over the 14 years I’ve taught, both on an individual basis and as classes.

Throughout a school year I look at individual performance as well as classroom (as a whole) performance.  I track progress, find ways to help, and provide appropriate instruction and support.  One of the first things I accomplish within the first six weeks of school is to determine the class’s “relationship” with reading.

This year is no different.  Well…maybe just a bit.  You see, I have noticed that this group, as a whole, has a wonderful relationship with reading.  They truly enjoy their books.  And not only their books; I’ve noticed they enjoy the classroom book (Reading Street) as well.

How do I know this, what have I seen?

As I’ve always practiced, when students are finished with an assignment ahead of others, they are to either work on some other unfinished work, silent write, or silent read.  Invariably many kids this year choose to silent read, many more than any other year.  When I read-aloud to them, they beg for more.  When we sit and have discussions about common text we’ve read, they are engaged, inquisitive, and genuinely interested (most of this time).  They analyze characters and events; seek proof for their answers, and ask for help when they don’t understand.

They are well on their way to being life-long readers; they are, if not already, developing a love for the written word.  As they progress through their schooling, one can only hope the relationship being fostered develops, blossoms, and brings them joy.

Mr. Casten

Sept. 26, 2014

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

An Orchestra of Relationships

The workings of a classroom are many and varied; an orchestra of relationships competing for attention, striving towards goals, and developing individualism.

Students not only interact with the teacher, they also interact with each other, technology, the written word, sounds, and sights.   This concert of information bombards them constantly as we learn, work, and play.  Interactions can go smoothly or travel a rocky road.  They can enrich the experience or cause trouble within.  It’s a balancing act we must teach our students to perform…finding just right balance of how to manage these relationships in order to be successful in school.

Part of learning requires working together with other students on a common project.  This week, kids were placed into groups of 5-6 students and had to write a newsletter.  They each came up with their own story and then had to collaborate to get the story on the computer, designed, named, and printed.

The first day of group work the expectations were explained.  I then stepped back and let the chips fall where they may. 

It was chaotic.

I firmly believe that from chaos comes order.  After the allotted time was up and we re-grouped I used this as an opportunity for us to explore why there was so much chaos in our classroom.  We found areas within the students’ relationship among each other as they worked that needed strengthening and areas that worked well.  We resolved to have a better “work time” the next day.

Lo and behold the next day arrived and we were right back at it…designing, writing, and collaborating on the newsletters.  This time, however, and every session thereafter, things ran more smoothly.  More work was accomplished; more kids were smiling with the satisfaction of a job well done. 

Four newsletters were produced.  Each one was finished and turned in on time.  Collaboration was felt throughout the classroom and the positive consequences ensued.  

Traversing through the thick forest of relationships while working in a group became a bit easier this week for my students…and they now can look forward to more such experiences; those that will hopefully enrich their lives and their learning.

Mr. Casten

Sept. 12, 2014

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

Grow Well & Experience Much

The routine is settling in.  For my students that is.  For me, it has been the same basic routine for many years.  And while there are similarities between classes from one grade level to the next, it’s the specific routine pieces that help define a classroom.  These specifics are what need to be explicitly taught by me and practiced by my students.

Each morning I stand outside the school doors on the little “4th Grade Wing Porch”; the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are there waiting to be let in the building.  They wait patiently for the signal that their class is to begin the trek inside.  I hold the door for them.  As they pass me I greet them in some manner…a “good morning”, a “hello”, a “what did you have for breakfast?” or even a “wake up and smile, it’s [day of the week]”.  Sometimes I receive a verbal response, sometimes a questioning look (depending upon what I say), and sometimes I’m either not noticed or simply ignored.  Whatever the response it sets my day in motion; a day filled with routines and spontaneity.

We practice routines such as how to line up, what to do when finished with a given assignment, when to sharpen the pencil, how to access the 4th Grade Folder on the Shared Drive on the computers, etc.  These, and other routines, are what gives us a sense of control and comfort.  It allows the mind to relax enough so that learning can take place. 

Yet there is that spontaneity piece.  

Conversations suddenly spark up and take us off topic.  Humor interjects itself and the sound of laughter fills the room.  A new idea suddenly comes to one of us and leads us in a different direction than we planned.  This spontaneity is what makes the learning exciting.  It sparks our imaginations, challenges our comfort zone, and brings forth our genuine personalities…that part of each of us that makes us who we are.

Between the routines in place and the spontaneity that occurs, the classroom becomes a place where teacher and students can grow well and experience much.