Saturday, July 11, 2015

Celebrating #SummerPD at Home


Time to Celebrate thanks to Ruth for always encouraging us to choose celebration!
This week's link up is here.

It's still raining in Ohio...plans had to change and gardening has been difficult.  I kept thinking the rain would stop, but it hasn't  I celebrate the time it has created for my summer learning.   I didn't have to go any further than my back deck. I am celebrating a balance with my book choices: adult, children and professional books.  None of those decisions are ever easy for me and finding a balance can sometimes drive me crazy.  

My professional book:  READERS FRONT & CENTER by Dorothy Barnhouse is a grand slam for me.  I've been struggling with my reading conferences and here are several ideas I'm lifting from  this book which is why it s a home run.  

  • "I had fallen into the trap that if a student retells a story that means they are getting it" p. 16
  • "So you're rereading to try to figure it out. That's a great strategy. What makes you think it's a ----" p. 18
  • "Oh you're changing your mind: How come? What information in the text is telling you it could be a ----" p. 19
  • Staying in a researcher mode is key to a conference. "What can I find out about this student as a reader?" p. 20
  • "Every text has an opening that allows us to notice how our students are comprehending." Accepting this takes an enormous shift in attitude, frankly a text does have right and wrong answers. p. 22
I'm only on Chapter 3 and I had to stop and blog...needed time to start recoding my ideas and gathering great questions as I get ready for revamping my conferences this fall.  

7 comments:

  1. Reading while it rains is a lovely thing to do! And yes, wish we could send your garden some sun and take some of that rain in return!

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  2. It is still raining here in southern Indiana too. So, so tired of cloudy days since I am a pool person. The sad part is - I still have so much I want and need to do! I have the Barnhouse - I may to get that one out and take a look. Enjoy your weekend even if it is a rainy one!

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  3. Like Carrie, our NW needs some of that rain - our driest June on record. And July so far has been more of the some. I'm encouraged by your post to dive into my summer professional book. Now I want to know about your children and adult book choices.

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    1. Echo. Red Butterfly, A Hanful of Stars
      A Girl on a Train, Celebrating Magic

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  4. We've had so much rain, too, but mostly evenings, thank goodness. I especially like #3 of your takeaways. It's so important to ask questions that call for examples from the text instead of one word answers. Thanks!

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  5. Yes, so much rain...and yet you still find the celebration! I always love this kind of list -- golden nuggets from a book. Thanks for choosing to celebrate!
    Shine on,
    Ruth

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  6. This is such a wonderful book - wise learning, for sure. I found that I had to read this very slowly - complex ideas here.

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