Celebrating: A NEW Path

Have you ever been lost as a writer, and then realized you weren't lost?  I haven't been lost. I am on a different course.  A new direction that I am choosing.  Choice is such a huge part of writing.  Audience is another huge piece of writing for me.  Who is my audience?  Am I writing for an audience?  Am I writing just for me?  All of these thoughts that have been ping ponging around in my brain this winter.

When I do feel the need to write for an audience larger than myself, I always choose my Saturday celebration family.  I've written before about "taking" and not "returning."  I have been taking a lot this winter by reading all of the Saturday celebrations and not returning by writing my own post.  Here is the link up for this week.  I am thrilled to be joining in with such supportive friends. 

 

My celebrations this week are from colleagues, friends and principals.  Those who don't know that I have been on an alternative route lately.  I am extremely thankful when someone takes the time to leave a kind note, inspirational email, tweet some kind words, leave a comment on my blog from a post written months ago or leaves a voicemail for my principal about a professional development that I lead this week.   

It doesn't take a lot of energy to be kind.  After all, we all know to Choose Kind  But the best part of kind is when you're not expecting it.  Those kind moments woven together reinforce that I am on the right track.  I am thankful for opportunities to quietly lead fellow teachers and volunteer in helping students who are struggling. It's strange when the current path leads me in a new directions, but I know the journey is perfect for me.

Choose Kind

I knew when I finished reading Wonder this past summer that it would be on my must read list for this school year's read aloud.  We started the book as a class in December but because so many students had heard about the book, I had to tell them in October that it was our next read aloud.  Many of the students didn't care, they purchased the book and read it first as their JR (just right) book. They knew that we would read it as a class also but that didn't matter to them.  The day we started I had the sign below on our daily schedule...and the buzz started in our classroom.

First I heard, "We don't have a subject called that." Then I heard, "It must because it is December, and we need to be extra kind this month" I laughed secretly on that comment. Then I heard one of students who had read the book reply that is the theme of our next read aloud. BINGO!!  Before we started reading Wonder, I asked how many students had already read the book 9 out of 22 students and 4 more were in the middle of the story.  One of students said, "Don't worry Mrs. Caplin it is such an important story everyone should hear it twice."  With that said I began reading about Auggie.

We read aloud four days a week no matter what ( and yes I mean no matter what including reading the last few paragraphs before we left for lunch which is pretty important in fifth grade) The students are recording their thinking in their Reader's Notebook and for many of them they are reading along with me using their copy of the book. It's exciting to see students offer to share their copy with another student that does not have one.  Choosing kind within our read aloud.

As we finished our first section, Auggie's point of view, I asked the students to stop and reflect.  I struggle with this part of read aloud and when I say struggle I deeply mean that.  I desperately want my students to enjoy the story (Bill Prosser taught me that lesson when we team taught together-Thanks Bill!) But I want to know what my students are thinking, how are they feeling about the story, what are their thoughts about August?  I tried something new with Wonder.  I asked students to do a reflection based on 10 points.  We brainstormed the ideas and filled up our dry erase board, students chose their own topic for their reflection.  I was so pleased that I took this step - it was a big one for me, but one that I will do again.  It didn't ruin the read aloud for us, and it gave me a glimmer of what my class was thinking.  I love knowing what they are thinking about as we read each day.