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Fish!Sticks pages 78-122

Ishy explains that the final element in keeping the vision alive is coaching.  "You demonstrate your commitment to the vision by coaching . . . and by allowing others to coach you."(p.81)  Everyone in the workplace, whether a veteran or newcomer, has something to offer.  We Coach It by offering encouragement or advice to our co-workers.  When Rhonda is faced with the tragic loss of her daughter, it is Miss Scallpell who arrives at Rhonda's front door and  does an incredible job of organizing what needs to be done.  This is due in part to the fact that she has experienced a similar loss  in the sudden death of her husband.  As a result, everyone begins to see Miss Scallpell in a different light.  The staff on the sixth floor decide that the best way to honor Ann's memory is to continue what Rhonda started, and they work together to keep the vision alive.  As educators we have the opportunity each day to Coach It. We must be open-minded to the suggestions offered by our fellow teachers, and be willing to express our opinions when we feel it necessary.  We are a team.  Let's Find IT, Live IT, and Coach IT!

Fish!Sticks pgs.38-77

 

This reading begins with Ishy giving Rhonda advice to keep the vision alive. She tells her about IT, which is each persons personal piece of the vision.  She encourages Rhonda to go back and talk to her co-workers, because the only way to find IT, is through conversation.  Rhonda makes a real effort to listen to the nursing staff, and almost at once there is a positive surge of energy on the unit; however, this is short-lived when the new vice-president of nursing, Miss Scallpell, makes her debut.  She threatens the vision when she decides that the unit must do away with the name badges, toys and stuff on the walls.  It proves to be a wake up call to the staff, as they meet to discuss the impending changes.  They realize that what they have is special, and they are not willing to go back to the way things used to be.  It is Juan who comes up with the idea of wearing the fish inside their clothing.  This reinforces the vision as it becomes an active reminder of what they are seeking to accomplish.  I can see many parallels between the nursing staff and teachers.  As teachers, we often feel threatened by changes that are forced upon us, especially when we have strong feelings against those changes.  In spite of this, we sometimes become more focused on what we really want to accomplish when our backs are against the wall.  A statement made to Rhonda by Ping really hit home with me -  "I believe I write a key part of my life story at work and I want to write the best story I can."(p. 48)  As a teacher, I have spent a tremendous part of my life in the classroom, and I must strive daily to "write the best story I can". 

Fish! Sticks

Rhonda Bullock, an employee of Good Samaritan Hospital, has "hit a brick wall" in her new position as head nurse of the neuro ward.  She has serious doubts that she can hold on to the remarkable changes brought about by her friend, Madeleine.  She begins to notice a drop in spirit and energy level among the nursing staff, and she fears that the vision inspired by Madeleine is beginning to falter.  It is when Rhonda meets her best friend Margo, at a popular sushi restaurant called Takara Too, that things begin to change.  Margo explains that what is happening on the 6th floor of Good Samaritan Hospital is commonplace when new changes have been implemented.  Rhonda is also made aware of "vision moments", when Margo introduces her to Ishy, the owner of the restaurant.  I saw many parallels between Rhonda's dilemmas and those of educators.  Education, like health care, has seen so many changes over the years that we often become cynical and resistant to any change. Just like Rhonda, there have been days when I dreaded going to work, even though I have always loved teaching, because I was physically and mentally exhausted; however, just as Rhonda explained to Beth . . . "we have something worthwhile to keep going.   And we do have an investment to protect . . ." (p.15), we as educators are given the opportunity each day to have a positive impact on students lives and truly make a difference!

Revisiting the Reading Workshop

The aspects of independent reading were covered in chapter 7.  It is during this part of Reading Workshop that students have time to read their book selections, share in conversations with other students, and conference one-on-one with the teacher.  Teachers must provide an orderly environment and help children choose the right book.  To encourage communication between readers, students may participate in partner reading, story chats, or guided reading.  This chapter also provided information on different types of conferences.  I liked the "teacher to teacher" idea of wearing a hat to let students know that you should not be disturbed while conferencing or leading a small group.

Chapter 8 focused on effective assessment.  Listening to a student read provides information on fluency and reading level.  Other means of assessment are student interviews, anecdotal records, running records, checklists, oral and written retellings, and informal error analysis.  Rubrics are also useful for assessing students.  I thought the example of a rubric conference [pgs. 144-46] was interesting.

Revisitnig the Reading Workshop

Chapters 4,5,and 6 focused on mini-lessons.  According to the authors, the mini-lessons are the glue that holds the Reading Workshop together.(p.52)  Chapter 4 included twenty days of mini-lessons that can be modified according to grade level.  Chapter 5 described the 8 key reading strategies, as well as a sampling of detailed lesson plans for each one.  A list of books for teaching skills and strategies was also found in chapter 5.  Literary elements and techniques were covered in chapter 6, and again the authors included book lists for teaching these skills.  The importance of modeling is stressed throughout these chapters.  While much of this is too advanced for kindergarten, I do plan to use some of the ideas with my class.

Revisiting the Reading Workshop

Chapter 1 covered the four basic components of the reading workshop.  It also offered many comparisons between the traditional approach to teaching reading and the reading workshop method.  Suggestions for organization and management of the reading workshop were discussed in chapter 2.  I liked the idea of students decorating a library pocket with their names on it and making a pocket chart for book checkout.  Chapter 3 offered strategies for planning and structuring the mini-lessons.  The authors suggested several activities for involving students without making them feel like they were in the "hot seat".  Some suggestions were story partners, thumbs up, thumbs down, listen and find, and shared reading.  I liked the teacher to teacher ideas that were included in each chapter.  There were some ideas I would like to try in my classroom, although most of it was not kindergarten appropriate.

Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Grades K-3

Chapter 9 dealt with early fraction concepts.  Although students K-2 have little exposure to fractions, they are able to understand dividing a quantity so that it can be shared equally with others.  Story problems that involve "sharing tasks" give children the opportunity to use different strategies to decide how to equally distribute items.

Chapter 10 focused on algebraic reasoning.  Patterning is an important part of algebraic thinking.  K-1 students should be given many opportunities to identify and extend patterns using a variety of materials such as connecting cubes, color bears, buttons, and blocks.  Several activities were suggested, as well as the idea of using symbols such as alphabet letters to represent the structure of a pattern.  Many of my K students have been able to identify repeated patterns such as AB, ABC, ABB, or AABB.  

Information for helping students use data was covered in chapter 11.  The author stated that young children should be given many opportunities to categorize things, and several attribute activities were suggested.  I have used an activity similar to "Guess My Rule" with my kindergarten students, and they enjoy trying to figure out the classification.  I plan to use the blackline woozle cards and some of the loop activities with my students. 

Probability concepts were discussed in chapter 12.  Several interesting activities were suggested to help K-3 students build a foundation about probability.  The use of spinners, coins for tossing, and dice, are some ways to help young children with probability predictions.  I plan to use the activity "six chips" with my students.  I think it will be interesting to watch them determine where to place their chips on the gameboard, and to hear their reasoning after they have had several opportunities to play.

Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics

According to research, children are able to construct methods for adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers without being taught a specific strategy by teachers.  They may come up with their own strategies or share those of classmates.  The result is fewer errors, because they understand their own methods. [p.159-160]

The van Hiele levels of geometric thought are the result of research by two Dutch educators.  There are five levels:  Level 0 - visualization, Level 1 - analysis, Level 2 - informal deduction, Level 3 - deduction, and Level 4 - rigor.  Most students in K-3 fall into level 0.  At this level, there should be many opportunities for sorting and classifying - how are shapes alike and different?  The levels are sequential, but not age dependent.  There are some adults at level 0.  The classroom experiences that teachers provide are critical for children to successfully develop these levels of understanding.  The author suggests that teachers make available a rich variety of experiences with two and three dimensional shapes.[188-191]  Many activities were suggested based on the four content areas:  shapes and properties, transformations, location and visualization.  When sorting and classifying, the students should decide how to sort, not the teacher.  I plan to use activities 7.1 and 7.2, as well as geoboard activities with my students.  Suggestions were made to have stations where two or three children have access to twelve geoboards so they can compare a variety of shapes.  Geoboards can also be used to help students understand symmetry.[192-211]  I also plan to try activity 7.12 (hidden postions), with my students.  It will provide an opportunity for students to become familiar with coordinates. Pentominoes (activity7.15) is a way to encourage spatial problem solving.[213-216]

Kindergarten age children may have a difficult time understanding length measurement.  The author suggests having them start with direct comparisons of two or more lengths.  Activities 8.1 and 8.2, are ideas that I plan to try in my classroom.[228-229]

Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Grades K-3

I hadn't thought much about the negative aspects of praising children, but the text suggested using comments like "I wonder what would happen if you tried" or "tell me how you figured that out", rather than  offering praise for a right answer.[cha.1]  I agree with the idea that you must begin where the children are and allow them to solve problems by using their own ideas - to approach math in a way that makes sense to them.[cha.1]  After previewing the suggested activities, I plan to use quite a few of them in my classroom:  activity 2.1 - make sets of more/less/same, activity 2.4 - up and back counting, activity 2.6- counting on with counters (this is a difficult skill for many of my students), activity 2.13 - five-frame tell-about, activity 2.14 - crazy mixed up numbers and activity 2.18 - covered parts.[cha.2]  I'm anxious to see how my students respond.  I also plan to use some heterogeneous grouping - partner those students needing help with those who are more capable.  This interaction will provide an opportunity for the sharing of ideas and strategies.[cha.1]  I am going to make better use of my hundreds chart by incorporating some ideas suggested in the book.[cha2] I thought it was interesting that some kindergarten students are more successful at solving problems than older students, because they aren't familiar with computing skills so they pay closer attention to the problem and use manipulatives to find a solution.[cha.3] 

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