Notes+on+July+13th

This is simply a page to contain our thinking from the first face to face book study on July 13th. No need to comment on this page, unless you feel led to do so.

Some outside resources that we referenced this morning were: __RTI From All Sides__ by Mary Howard __What Really Matters for Struggling Readers__ by Richard Allington

//And, I'd like to suggest the text [|__Choice Words__] by Peter Johnston for anyone who is interested in further reading on how our language in the classroom affects our students' learning, listening, sharing of thinking, and overall growth. It is a short, well written book and speaks directly to our theme today. Check out the description of this book by clicking on the title and scrolling down to the "product description"//.

After reading pp. 233-235, we took "some important, rich time for laying-out-one's-cards" (p. 235)

Here are the ideas that were shared. The highlighted points grew into a conversation on listening that we chose to linger on - and did so for 35 minutes! Wow!

=**Choice**:=
 * ==Book choice - "Just Right Books"==
 * ==Book clubs==
 * == Book reviews ==

= Learner-based teaching: =
 * == Listening to students ==
 * == teaching listening ==
 * =="Significance & Intelligence" in every child==
 * =="Zowie, what a goldmine!"==
 * ==our most struggling readers getting time to put pieces together/extended reading time==

=Authentic Learning:=
 * =="My best teaching is just what I would do."==
 * =="It's not only what we say, it's what we do."==

=Reading Processes/Procedures:= = = =Accountable learning:=
 * ==errors are windows==
 * ==teachers doing authentic assessments themselves to learn from what child is/is not doing==
 * ==developmental stages/age-appropriate texts==
 * ==do students initiate reading in their own lives?==
 * ==formative AND summative/standardized/benchmark assessment==
 * ==kid-friendly learning targets==
 * ==literacy at the heart of the school w/ kindness, respect, etc.==

=Professional learning/growth:=
 * ==uncertainty and disequilibrium = ready to be changed by our students==
 * ==How do we support ourselves with constant thinking and growth?==
 * ==teacher control and motivation vs. outside control==

=Powerful literature:=
 * ==getting lost in the world of books==
 * ==high quality texts at various levels to support choice and growth==