Confessions of a First Year Literacy Coach

This school year (2019-2020) was a very enthralling year for me, to say the least. Not only because of  the obvious COVID 19 situation but also because this was my first year as Literacy Coach. Aside from the well known and oh so overly shared complications due to the Corona Virus (virtual teaching/coaching, health threats, etc.), there were many unforeseen items and unknowns that I wished someone had shared with me before taking this new role in education. I am not saying at all that knowing these things would had persuaded me away from this position, however I would have been more prepared mentally for these situations. I intent to share my findings and tips in order to help those aspiring to move out of the classroom into a similar role.

Number One:
Adults are more difficult than Kids
If you really think about it, this is something that should not have come as a surprise. Reflect on the past years and focus on who did you struggle most with each year, your students or your students' parents? Most cases the ones that gave you more headaches were the student's parents. Adults can be stubborn and are not easily intimidated! As a literacy coach I worked with teachers and I proved that teachers are truly the worst students!
Top two reasons why teachers make the worst students:
1. Teachers will listen to you, agree with you, and then turn around and do what they want
2. Teachers are needy
As a teacher how many times have you heard the phrase, "Just smile, close the door, and do what you have to do"? Probably like a million times, right? As a matter of fact, we all have done it (I am guilty of it) Teachers have a gut feeling about their students that it is rarely wrong. A teacher is with his/her students 8 hours a day (sometimes more), 5 days a week. Trusting their gut feeling and experience is the first thing I had to learn how to do. I had to believe in my teachers enough to trust when they didn't like, approve, or followed one of my ideas. As a leader I had to put everything in a balance and know when to "act" when a teacher was not onboard or following instructions.
Teachers give, give, and give some more. Those 8 hours of the day are spent giving smiles, attention, compliments, feedback, emotional support, knowledge, sometimes even food, you name it! Teachers need attention too. Notice those teachers that speak up, that raise their hands in meetings, that ask and ask questions (sometime the same question multiple times), and don't be annoyed by them. Those teachers give all they got to those students, it's up to us now to refill their cups.

Tip #1: Make deals. We try it your way first; if it works, we keep it; but if it doesn't, then we try it my way.
Tip #2: Remember we are there for the students! NOT to get your ideas done.
Tip #3: ADMIT when you are/were wrong
Tip #4: Offer one to one training sessions
Tip #5: Answer the question each time it gets asks (no matter how many times by the same person) with a smile and good attitude
Tip #6: Offer snacks in all meetings and keep some in your office
Tip #7: Reward teachers with their favorite things (snacks, drinks, pens, notebooks, etc)

Number Two:
Everyone is Watching You
In the classroom all I had to worry about was my students and how they saw me. Depending on what grade level you teach, that's no big deal because most students view their teachers as their heroes. As a literacy coach I noticed that not only the kids are watching EVERYTHING you do, so are the teachers, administration team, office, custodial and cafeteria staff, parents, district personale, and the list goes on and on. I found district personale that knew about me and the things I was doing at my campus whom I had never met or even seen before in my life (thank you social media); students would come up to me and point out specific things about my outfit or makeup when I tried something new (new lipstick color or when I switched from skirts to pants); teachers would comment if I loss weight; cafeteria staff learned my lunch habits like what days I ate at school and what I liked or didn't like. It's a lot of pressure knowing that you are being watched, but it's also a HUGE opportunity to make an impact. Use it to your advantage!

Tip #8: Use social media to promote school activities and not so much of your personal life (have two separate accounts)
Tip #9: Don't make drastic changes to your appearance like going from natural lip colors to red
Tip #10: Smile, respect, and be friendly to everyone EVERYWHERE

Number Three: 
It Can Get Lonely 
This is one that I was warned about but didn't believed. At times when life got rough (and believe me, it will), I sat in my office with the door closed and lights off. In my situation, this was also my first year at that particular campus, and I was the only Reading specialist. I did not know anyone and didn't know who I could vent/rant to (both of the Math specialist were super nice and I grew to love them, however Math curriculum is very different from Reading). Even though I grew close to some teachers, they were not a good option since some of the things I wanted to vent about were about certain things we had to do per the district and I didn't agree with. My administration and leadership team members were great but they were still my supervisors. It's hard. Teachers don't treat you the same as another teacher because you are not, and you can not treat an admin member as your equal because you are not. Finding a way to decompress and blow off steam without loosing it in front of either teachers or admin was imperative for me.

Tip #11: Have your mom, spouse, or someone you trust OUTSIDE of your work environment to vent, rant, complaint, or just cry to on speed dial

Tip #12: 
The last tip is the one that helped me the most. It was the answer to all three of the biggest unknowns this position brought. It gave me strength to trust others; patience to deal with the most neediest of teachers; grace to put on a smile and be kind to everyone most days (let's be honest, I'm not perfect); peace in the most trying of times; and reminded me that I was never alone. What's the "too good to be true" tip?...PRAYER. Pray every morning for strength and grace; designate a time during your work day to pray for peace and at the same time be reminded that He is with you all day every day!

Knowing these three things and following the 12 tips does not guarantee you a perfect year. There will always be "unknowns" and complications. After all, work was created as a punishment way back when in Genesis! However, I do hope these help you as they are helping me.

The Decade Challenge

It's a new year and to celebrate the start of the year I've decided that for my first post in 2020, I would give in to "The Decade Challenge." Here goes nothing...

Ten years ago, I was a naive 16 year old wishing she could be 18; a high school junior anxiously waiting for the "big year" that is Senior year; all I wanted was to graduate high school. Ten years ago I did not know what awaited me. 

Me (left) with two friends at the Spring Dance my junior year of high school.

It is my pleasure to announce that I did in fact graduate high school and continued my studies at Houston Baptist University (HBU). At 16, that was the expectation from my mother and myself. What was unexpected is that in the last 10 years, I not only graduated high school, but also graduated from college twice. I obtained my Bachelors in 2016 and my Masters 2019 both from HBU. 

     

Ten years ago, I had no clue that I would become a teacher (I wanted to be an Architect), that I would then move on the be a Literacy Coach, that I would actually pay to wake up extra early on Saturdays and run races (what?!), that I would find some of the best friends a girl can have in coworkers, that I would be so moved and touched by so many of my students, sky dive, bungee jump, free fall into a giant net, see actual snow and hike mountains, attend many concerts, museums, and plays, and not to mention cheer on as the Astros win a championship and try to take it back. 

   

Unfortunately, not all that happened in the past ten years were happy memories. Never in a million years I could imagine that I would suffer the negative impacts of a hurricane, get hit by an eighteen wheeler and lose my first car, go through a scare where a sibling isn't at its 100 percent healthy self, watch my parents feel the strain that comes with age, or even experience the devastation of a house fire and all it's impacts (being homeless, etc.). 

Ten years ago I had dreams and plans, some that did happened and others that faded or changed over time. If one thing I have learned from the past ten years is that no matter what our plans may be, God has the last word. Ten years ago I was a naive 16 year old waiting for Senior Year, now I am a 26 year old waiting on The Lord. Yes I have plans and aspirations, but this time I go in knowing that God may modify them at any time. Ten years ago the unknown and uncertainty scared me, now I welcome it. 

From where You're standing

Lord, You see a grand design

That You imagined

When You breathed me into life

And all the chaos

Comes together in Your hands

Like a masterpiece

Of Your picture perfect plan

When I'm lost in the mystery

To You my future is a memory

Cause You're already there

You're already there

Standing at the end of my life

Waiting on the other side

You're already there

Already There by Casting Crowns

Happy New Year! 

To the Student Who Stold My Book

To the student who stold my book:

You think you got even with me. 

You think you hurt me.  

You think you have brought my spirit down. 

You think you know me. 

You think I don't know who you are. 

But I know exactly who you are. 

You are the student that was touched by the words the author wrote. 

You are the student that escaped reality and immersed yourself in this wonderful new world. 

You are the student that sits in the back pretending not to listen to the read aloud. 

You think you know how I feel?

I am pleased that you see the importance of books.

In order to "hurt" me, you took one of my books instead of one of the chrome books. 

I am delighted that you found comfort in one of my most special books. 

I am thrilled that instead of fighting or damaging school property you decided to open yourself to a new world. 

I am satisfied. Satisfied that I did my job well; that you find an escape in the forever words. 

I am proud. Yes, I am proud of you. 

You think I don't know who you are?

I know exactly who you are. 

You are the student who was freed.

You are a selfless student. 

You are the one that will share this wisdom with those who need it the most. 

You think you got even with me?

You think that you hurt me?  

You think you have brought my spirit down? 

You think you know me?

You think I don't know who you are?

Don't ever forget, I know exactly who you are. 

Sincerely,  

Your teacher who LOVES you very much

Nonfiction

When we think about Nonfiction, what comes to mind?

Kids always answer with their loud complaints. When redirected to answer the question with real answers we get the "boring" answers: biographies, autobiographies, textbooks, and newspapers. 

I open up with my read aloud and tell them that I will be reading nonfiction books for read aloud, they all make a face as I am reaching into the bookcase for my book. Their face of disgust is then transformed to a face of surprise as they see the book in my hand. 

 Because of An Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer & Adan Schaefer is a great little book on the simplified life cycle of an acorn. With 4 and 3 word pages we were able to discuss the life cycle of an acorn, a forest food chain, and create food webs. The students were shocked that this "baby" book was so informative.




Of course not all my read aloud books were going to be as "baby-ish" as Becasue of an Acorn. We continued our Nonfiction introduction week with a Literary Nonfiction book, a biography, an autobiography, and ended with a documentary. In order to really compare and contrast the genres I chose all three books over teh same subject. In this case, a person I thought could inspire my kids; a person who they could look up to; a person they could probably relate to; a person that will get them excited for not only Nonfiction, but also reading and writing in general. Naturally, I chose, Malala Yousafzai.

Malala's Magic Pencil 

by Malala Yousafzai

           

 

This book is full of wonderful illustrations. The metalic contrast of her magical pencil strokes compared to the plain colors of the images, creates a since of magical powers when it comes to writing. At the end we discover that writing and standing for what you believe is where the truest magic is found. My students really enjoyed the book and even got interested in her story. They formed questions and begged me to give them more details about her life.
The book teased us a bit by informing us that something bad had happened, but did not give any specifics in the words. The picture in the other hand, hides a small detail that sparked curiosity in my students (really, any reader).

Can you spot the hint? 

My students saw her bracelet and wondered what was it that the "dangerous men" did to silence her. When I challenged the idea that she was in the hospital, they all rebutted by pointing out more details, such as the knots on the back of her gown (hospital robe), the ac unit under the window, and the plants outside (every hospital has lots of plants). With those small details in the image and the lack of information in the text, my kids were hooked on her story. 

The next read was two chapters of a biography, Who Is Malala, from the Who Is/Was series.   

             

The who was/Is series are my favorites. The life events are described in detail and some images are incorporated but do not distract the reader from the words. In this series, the focus is on the writing. My students loved the fact that they were able to learn more about Malalal's life story.

The next read we had was the autobiography, I Am Malala. Being that my students are young in age and reading ability, I only provided a book preview (talking about the cover and reading the blur). I also read part of the introduction. My students immediately noticed how much more detail they were able to get. Their conversations included things like, "I can hear her thoughts," and "I can not only see but feel what she was going through." Those are the connections we want our students to make.
The book itself is a higher reading level but Malala did a great job incorporating all of her insight thoughts and conversations.

Poetry

Honesty is the best policy, right? Poetry, one of my least favorite genres. (Bet you didn't see that one coming) Well, it was until my Senior year in High School where we read Foster and Poe. Because of my early negative experiences with Poetry, I try to provide a positive one for my kids. As a bilingual teacher, naturally, I try to incorporate both Hispanic and Americans. Either be a Hispanic author, or and American author; or Hispanic subjects; or American Subjects. For this blog I chose a poetry anthology on Hispanic subjects by a Hispanic author and an American hero for my poetry picture book. 

BRAVO! 

by Margarita Engle

Poetry Anthology

This poetry collection is on famous Hispanic historical figures. Some of these subjects, my students know about and some, even I had never heard of them before. The collection is accompanied by pictures. The illustrations are colorful and appropriate for the cultural representation of the Latin Americas. Although, there is an underlining topic connecting the poems together, each can be read and understood separately. The poems themselves are not related to by plot and or not, necessarily, in sequential order. The poems are free versed for the most part sounding a lot like narratives. Although there are many poetic devices used, the poems are biographical meaning that the information is given straightforward. 

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Poem Picture Book

This is a book I am most excited to use in my class and share it with my students. This very famous, long, was broken down by stanzas. Each stanza is a page in the book. Each stanza has its corresponding image. As if the words were not visual already, the images just confirms your head images. The rhyme makes it easy to read, and the meter lends itself for some fun activities. I can see myselef using this book for a poetry, ELA, lesson, a history lesson, SS, an a lesson on meter and tempo, Music. Most of the word of the pom are overlapping the images, making the main focus the pictures. 

Realistic and Contemporary Fiction

Oh boy! Realistic and Contemporary Fiction books. Some of the most fun and sad books to read. I want to say that these are my favorite books to read, but if you read my previous blogs, then you will call me a liar since I say that about all the genres I write about.
For these two in particular, realistic and contemporary fiction, I enjoy as read alouds in my classroom. I try to chose books that my kids can relate so that way our discussions are more meaningful. For this blog I chose two books that I enjoyed very much for two very different reasons. The first one is a very popular book that has received much attention recently, Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The second book, I saw it in our school's library and the title caught my attention immediately! I have not read this book to my class, but I feel that they will love it very much. It is not as popular as Wonder, but I have a feeling in my class it will be. The second book I chose for this blog is I Hate English by Ellen Levine.

Wonder

by RJ Palacio 

Chapter Contemporary Fiction

I am sure you have seen the infamous cover and heard about the movie that this book inspired. I first heard of Wonder last year from my fourth grade students. It was nonstop comments like "I can't believe you have never read it!" or the constant "You have to read Ms.Perez." Until I finally did, this year with my new fourth grade class. This book is a  bit higher than my student's reading level so I decided to read it as a read aloud. This was the first time reading the book so I was just as shocked as the kids and we cried together. If you haven't read it or seen the movie (which you shouldn't do anyway if you haven't read the book yet) don't worry, I will not give it away. 

As you may already know this book is about a fifth grade boy who is starting school for the first time, after being home schooled. The problem is that he is not only starting school for the first time, but he also has a facial deformity. He is a bright and funny boy who has to constantly hide himself from others. Auggie, the main character, experiences acceptance, rejection, bullying, respect, hurt, friendship, betrayal, and pride. Such a roller coaster of feelings!  The wonderful thing about this book, is that the feelings represented in the book is the same roller coaster we all get on; life. No, we are not all deformed, but in one way or another we hide ourselves. 

Two reason I decided to read this book: one, the voice of my last year students was stuck in my head; second, I have a wonder of my own in my class this year. We were having some problems with some kids bullying him and that's when I remembered Wonder. After we finished the book, my students' actions changed towards our Auggie. Everyone wants to help him and now even protect him from others. I never told them that our friend was like Auggie, they made that connection on their own.

The reactions of both of my classes 

when I told them this we were about to read the last chapter.

I Hate English! 

by Ellen Levine

illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

Realistic Fiction Picture Book

As a bilingual student myself at some point and now as a bilingual teacher, I was naturally drawn to this book as soon as I saw it in the Library. The title brought back memories of my early years learning English and immediately wondered if this book was about someone learning English. The cover illustration confirmed some of my initial inferences. I saw a class with many kids raising their hand and one student that looks different form the others not raising her hand and looking nervous. That image itself was very powerful with me. At that moment, I decided to check it out. 

The story is as I suspected, an immigrant student, Mei Mei,  living in New York's China Town. She loves it here, it's so much like home, but that wonderful loving feeling disappears when she gets to school. At school everybody speaks English and she must learn the new, lonely language. (Lonely because each letter has a name, each individual letter has it's own sound, etc) With the help of her teacher Mei Mei learns that English is not so bad, and that now she is a part of two worlds. 

This book was too close to home with me, and I can't wait to share it with my kids. I know they will love it as much as I did. English is hard but as I tell my kids, being bilingual is our superpower! Exactly what Mei Mei had to learn in the book I hate English! 

Folk Literature

Folk Literature one of my absolute favorites! When a young reader myself, you would find me in a myth, fairy tale, and legends book. When I became a fourth grade teacher I was upset, most of the myths are higher leveled readings and thought I could not fully explore folk literature with my students. Could I have been further away from the truth?

For this post I read two books, adaptations really. One is on Greek Mythology, my favorite out of all mythologies. The second is on a Legend, King Arthur (have to admit that for a long time I thought his tales were true or at least I hoped they were). These two books I found in Barnes and Noble and they are from a series called Illustrated Classics. When I shared them with my students, they fell in love with them.

Myth

Illustrated Classics

Greek Myths

adapted by Saviour Pirotta

This book is full of some of the most well known Greek mythology stories. The adaptation of each myth is brief but well depicted. The art work accompanying the myth helps the reader further understand the myth. The illustrations work well with the words as they provide details that the author may have had to hide in the adaptations.

 For example: In the story of Cerberus, the Hound of Hell the author might have miss somethings if the illustrations were not provided. This story is one page long and is the last one in it's series. The overall myth is The Twelve Task of Heracles. The story is that Heracles is a mortal who is really good in battle. The gods were pleased with Heracles, all except one Hera. Hera did not like Heracles because to her, he was too arrogant in his demeanor.  In her eyes Heracles did not act as his type...a mortal. Zeus on the other hand thought of Heracles as a brave mortal. When Hera tells Zeus that Heracles is not brave but a brute for not taking precautions, Heracles undergoes 12 tasks to prove his bravery. The last task is to defeat Heidi's beast the Cerberus, a three headed dog with the tail of snake, who guards the Underworld. 

Int he adaptation, the author names the type of beast in the title, Cerberus, the Hound of Hell. For someone not familiar with the myth you will understand later, when the author describes the beast as a "three headed" beast, that it is a dog. To a fourth grader, that may not be the case though. My class in particular did not what type of animal the beast was, until they saw the picture. Hound is not a word that bilingual students, specifically, would know.

Another important detail the reader may have missed, is at the end of the story when Heracles completes the final task and presents the sleeping beast to Zeus and Hera. Zeus is clearly very proud and as Heracles is walking away,turns to Hera as if telling her "I told you so." The author simply said that Hera responded "' Brave? Well, I suppose he has survived all of the challenges,' admitted Hera." If the reader is not familiar with the story, then one can simply say, depending on how the reader reads that quote, that Hera is still not convinced. Yet, in the illustration we see her face showing sympathy towards Heracles.







This book contains yet another section that I love, the family tree. This is a visual representation of how the stories in the book relate to one another. Again, for those who may not be familiar with the myths and/or are just getting into them, this is a great tool to understand the myths

I like reading myths to my kids because they have some heroes they can relate to even if the actions are exaggerated and impossible. The lessons they learn from the heroes are morals they can take to their real everyday life. Take Heracles for example, he is an ordinary guy who is doing some extraordinary things due to his bravery. All of his accomplishments were attributed to his bravery not his strength or supernatural power. That is something my kids, who struggle a lot with language can connect with. 

Legend

Illustrated Classics

The Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights 

Thomas Malory

adapted by Anne Rooney

A legend full of action, adventure, loyalty, friendship, betrayal, love, and of course magic teaching some valuable morals where boys can easily get engaged and fall in love with reading, is the reason I bought this book. Again, the original text maybe to high or too complex for my students. That is why the Illustrated Classics adaptation is perfect!

Same as the Greek Myths book, the illustrations give insights to the readers that the text may be leaving out. This adaptation in particular kept most of the important details of Arthur and his Knights. The heroes in this legend are males, so my boys are more called to this story. The fact that the King and his Knights have to embark in a very sacred quest is very intriguing. The morals behind this story help the students understand themselves. Each Knight was selected for a particular virtue they hold. It is nice to see those virtues manifest through out their quests. The reader can see the results of the Knights decisions and relate it to real life with their friends.

In order to relate this story to them, I would relate the virtuous quest of finding the Holy Grail to taking the STAAR and how we have to go through many adventures until we can get there. I will also say that their weapon is the knowledge we are obtaining.

Another great feature this book has, is the brief paragraph about the author, Malory. This overview has sparked some interest in my student who is reading this book right now. He wants to find more information on the author because of this short biographical paragraph. 

As soon as I finished reading both of these books two boys asked to read them after me. Both boys have said that they love the books and are eager to finish the books to swap with each other and hold a book club with me on both books. One is in page 8 of his book, which means he has only read 4 pages of text and 4 of illustrations, and is already retelling me the story and how he thinks its going to go from there.
I love to see my kids excited about reading. Specially two boys that I know have struggled to get into a committed relationship with books. One is dyslexic and the other just doesn't like it.

Historical Fiction

If I were at any time in the horrible position of choosing one genre to read for the rest of my life, I would have to pick realistic fiction. I enjoy learning about history through stories, not facts. One particular time period I personally enjoy reading about is the era of the monarchy in England. Of course those novels are not appropriate for a 4th grade class room, so I try to read other books to share with my students. The War that Saved My Life by Kinberly Brubarker Bradley (actually a book I was forced, I mean encouraged, to read by my professor) was really interesting and I am planning to incorporate it into my lesson plans for next year. Another book I recently read is Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco. Both books about a war, with very different characters, yet a well written story full of many clues about that particular time period.

The War that Saved My Life

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Why I chose this book?

I finished reading the book a few weeks ago and it is still fresh in my mind. I enjoyed the plot and learned a thing or two about the World War 2. 

Summary

The story is being narrated by the main character. A young girl with a disability and the need to be loved. After Aida, the main character, leaves he home with her brother they ended up going through quite the unimaginable journey. No, it is not a physical journey that I am referring to, but one more complicated; a journey of their knowledge and emotions. With their new guardian, Aida and her brother learned to protect each other, love and care for one another; they also learned manners and even how to read; but the most important, sacrifice. 

Pink and Say

by Patricia Polacco

Why I chose this book? 

I chose this book because of the author. Patricia Polacco is one of my favorite author/illustrators. Polacco was one of the authors my students research as part of our author study, and I acquired so many new books. One of the new books was Pink and Say. I had not read this book, and got excited to read it. Unfortunately I had not had the time to read it. As soon as it arrived my students were using it for their project and something always came up. Now I have read it, I wish I had sooner. 

Summary

The story is being told by a narrator. Later, we find that the narrator is in fact the author and is actually sharing a personal story that's been in her family for generations. The story is about two young men fighting in the civil war here in the US. Both of the men were fighting for the Union Army and bonded in a most terrible way. Both were sick, one injured, and each a different race. Your definition and view of a hero will definitely be challenged. 

Images

The images follow Patricia Polacco's style from all of her other books. The color scheme is also the same, opaque and warm. The usage of line is present. If you are familiar with Polacco's art, then you would notice even some familiar faces. One thing I love about the illustrations in this book, in particular, is the combination of pictures and photographs. At the end of the book, where the characters are at home, one can find picture frames around the house setting. The interesting part is that the images inside of the picture frames are actual photographs, which I can assume comes from her actual home. 

No, I did not learn dates, names of generals, nor did I learn important battles or either war. What I did learn is the way society viewed each other and treated one another regarding each time period. I learn a few vocabulary words of the time period along with some of their customs and traditions. I was reminded of the power that love and compassion hold. I think that's all I can ask from a book. 

Lunch- A slice of Life

I swing open the glass door, allowing the cold air escape for just a minute.
The familiar vegetable and fresh baked bread aroma smacks me in my face.
There's a long line.
I look at my watch.
I consider getting out of line to use the restroom.
As I am about to move my foot, the warm air rushes inside.
"If I leave now, I won't ever get to order," I thought.
Finally I order, pay, and swing open the glass door once again.
The cold air escapes as the warm air rushes in, for just a minute.

Writing Journals in a T&T World (Tech & Testing)

"Journaling", a concept not new to kids.They don't know that they have been using Writing Journals their whole life. Diaries are the most common way that most of my students have kept a writing journal. Now with technology, I have a lot of students keeping up with blogs, YouTube channels, and of course their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Unfortunately, their type of writing is done mainly through visuals (pictures) and are self centered. In turn when they write in the classroom, their essays are short and dull. Because of the technological,  highly visual, and self centered world we live in I chose the following types of journal entries...

Journal Type 1- Writing ONLY with Your Eyes

In this type of journal the writer tries to pain a picture with the words. With this journal type the writer has to describe what they are seeing with their eyes and making sure that when the reader reads their entry they can see exactly what the writer is looking at. This is a great way to work on their descriptive language and their elaboration. 

Journal Type 2- Thinking about a Person 

Personally, I fins this type of journal entry to be quite easy. Even when I don't intent to, I end up talking about another person, my mom. She is always somehow present in my journal entries. To students writing about themselves and what they do comes natural. Again, we live in a world were we feel compelled to inform others about our lives. How many time do we find in our social feeds pictures and captions on what the person is eating, reading, doing, and even thinking. That has our kids' vision narrowed. Starting to write about other people will widen their topics, help them see beyond themselves, and even learn from someone else. 

Now, think back to when you were a child. Learning to walk is a hard task. As babies we tried to model those before us. As we tried, we fell, but then we tried again. We would fail again, and again, but we kept trying. Until one day we were giving our first steps and parents are running trying to get the camera, and clapping, cheering, smiling; all because we wobbled two steps.
Now imagine a baby, trying to walk. The baby fails to stand up. The adult in front of the baby screaming at him/her. Telling the baby they failed, and they had to push harder, and pay attention to how it's done. Then the baby continues to try. Finally, the baby walks his/her first steps. The adult smiles and sais, "about time! you need to catch up."

Testing and assessments are important to drive instruction, I get it. The problem comes when testing and assessments become our lessons. Students will not learn if we are grading everything they do! Some assignments need to be done as a form of them just trying. I can't expect a baby to stand up and walk on the first try, so why give an assignment to a student to be graded on their first try? The students need the practice and we need to encourage the practices while guiding them. The parents stand by their baby holding their hands, walking at the baby's pace. They don't scold their baby for not doing it on their own. Intentional strategies are important because that is the way we, as teachers, are holding the hands of our babies as they learn to walk.
Just the same, parents don't expect to hold their child's hand every time the child gets up and walk, but they do still walk by them so the child can hold the parent's hand if need be. As teachers we need to shoe the tools to our students and have them available for use if need be. For example, I keep the writing process posted all year round, just in case. I keep copies of different graphic organizers available, just in case if my students feel the need to use them. Do I require them to use it? Of course not. Not every child is the same.

In conclusion, not every task done in the classroom will be an assignment, but they will be Intentional Strategies. From journal entries to full page essays.

Picture Books or Not...

Alexander and teh Wind-Up Mouse 

by Leo Lionni

Caldecott Honor Book

Summary: Alexander, a mouse, is just trying to survive by eating crumbs. Unfortunately, every time Alexander comes out of his hole, he is greeted with screams and people running away. He then meets a wind up mouse and Alexander wants to be like him. Alexander then goes through a journey to make a wish to change himself but when he realizes his friend, the wind up mouse, is in trouble, his wish shocks the reader. 

Verdict: Yes, it is a picture book. 

A Bike Like Sergio's 

by Maribeth Boelts

Illustrated by Noah Z. Jones

Summary: Ruben is a kid who has a family with financial struggles. He desperately wants a bike like his friend's Sergio, but he knows that his parents will not be able to get it for him. As the story progresses Ruben finds a $100 bill. He does not return it to the owner and considers buying himself a bike. To his surprise, and mine, he does not. Ruben decides to do the right thing and return the money. Unfortunately, SPOILER ALERT, he does not get his bike but he does feel proud of himself. 

Verdict: Yes it is a picture book

The Empty Pot

by Demi

Summary: Let me start by saying that this is now one of my favorite books! Ping, the protagonists, is trying, just like all the other kids in the kingdom, to be the next emperor. The challenge was easy, at a simple glance, to grow the most beautiful flower from the seed the emperor gave the children. In a year's time, the children would present their flowers and the one with the best one will be the next emperor. When Ping's flower did not grow, and he presented the emperor with an empty pot, it was to everyone's surprise that he was to be the next emperor. The task was indeed one of great difficulty, to be honest. 

Verdict: Yes, it is a picture book.

All three of these books are picture books because the illustrations drive the story. The illustrations are collaborating with the text to tell the story. With out the illustrations we would not be able to tell that Ruben felt guilty when he found the bill.; we would not know that Ping has a beautiful garden, and that it was very unusual that he was not able to grow his seed. The illustrations also could tell the story if the text was not present. The reader can follow the story of Alexander, and even see his hurt when he is reprehended by the humans. 

Great stories, that I am already thinking how I can add them to my lesson plans! 

Slice of Life 2

   The temperature seems to drop. I reach for my jacket, start walking around. Opened the door, looked down the hall. My phone rings and it said 10:15. I close the door and walk to the front of the class. grab a book and call the students to the front of the room. Book opens and we get transported to a whole other world. "Calm down, everything will be ok. You'll be just fine." Then the intercom interrupts me.  "Miss Perez, I will be coming in in five minutes." As I am replying with confirmation, my heart begins to speed up, the temperature skyrocketed, and I ferociously tell myself "You will do just fine." Then, she walks in. My evaluation begins. 

My BHH of Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

   I remind my students all the time, that in order to really ENJOY a book the reader must always read with all of his/her senses. To really EXPERIENCE a book we must pay attention to the words are read with our eyes, hands, ears, and nose in order to see what is going on, feel what the character is feeling, hear what is going on, and smell the character's surroundings. It is until now that I learn how to explain to my students what to do to really UNDERSTAND the story. In order to really understand the story, the reader must remind himself/herself of BHH, Book, Head, Heart. If you are not familiar with the BHH strategy by Beers and Probst here is a quick explanation. If you are familiar with the strategy scroll down to the next paragraph. :)

B-BOOK
What is in the book
   -What's the book about?
   -Who's telling the story?
   -What does the author want me to know?
H-HEAD
What's in your (reader) head?
   -What surprised me?
   -What does the author think I already know?
   -What changed, challenged, or confirmed my thinking?
H-HEART
What's in your heart?
   -What did I learn about me?
   -How does this help me be better?
 
   It is true that it is never too late, at least I hope that's true, because I am going to teach this to my students. And if that is not true, then I hope the "its better late than never" quote applies to my case. I feel that a good reader must use the book, his/her head, and his/her heart in order to really understand and capture the theme and message of the story. This is not only great for kids to try, but also for us, adults. This is a great strategy for ALL readers regardless of their age and it applies to ALL books, regardless of it's READING LEVEL.

    Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt is a great book with a terrible ending (don't worry, I wont spoil it). I thought when I read the book, I had truly captured the story that is until I did the BHH strategy. This is what I got out of the book. Remember that this strategy is between the book and the reader so, not everyone will get the same responses, SO what my BHH looks like will not spoil the book for you.
B-book
The book is about a young man, a kid really, who is retelling the story of his family adopting a young man who is not exactly the ideal adoptive brother to have. His hard life has produced a beautiful daughter, even at his young age,a life full of anger and pain, and a misunderstood teen.
H- Head
As an educator my mindset got challenged with this book. There is a part of the book where the narrator is explaining how the teachers treat Joseph (the protagonist) and how they don't like him or are even afraid of him. Then the Jack, the narrator, says the line that resonates in my head even to now, "if the teachers only knew..." referring to the nightmares Joseph has, the ways the cows react to Joseph (it's a big deal in the book), and the true story behind the "bad" kid in the school. It made me think on how as teachers, we tend to jump into conclusions, and judge students based on their past. This book really challenged me to be as open minded as I can be and try to understand my most disturbed, misunderstood, bad, and whatever else you want to call them students. As an educator I must be as clueless, yet not careless, to the baggage the students carry and bring with them to my class.
H-heart
 Finally, after reading this book, I learned that I must fight my peers and coworkers, even, when it comes to the most difficult students. First, I must fight them, push them to forget their baggage and to get them to accept themselves and explore what they are good at. Once we find their talent, I must help them channel all of their anger brought by their baggage into their positives and exploit those talents. When that happens, my coworkers may not understand it and may even push harder on the student, that is when the push and pull will begin and trying to not get them discouraged may prove to be even more difficult.

   Overall, this is a great strategy to use and teach my students. I love how three simple letters deepen the connection and understanding of a book. The simplicity of the strategy makes it easy to remember and the complexity of the thinking involve helps the reader grow and realize more than what he/she had hoped.