Literacy Love
Reading, Talking, Listening & Making a Change
Pledge of the People
(with fist in air)
We pledge our allegiance to the flag in order to form a better union.
By bringing justice and peace to those who need it.
We create a safe space and community. We won’t be silenced.
We will cherish all humanity. Always putting the greater good first.
We judge someone by their insides. We stand up for what’s right. We fight for justice by standing up for black and brown lives, the LGBTQIA+ community, and people who are excluded.
Love others and love YOU–the way you were made because YOU matter! Inspired by Addie from The Misfits & everyone who stands up for what’s right
Authors: Ashlynn Clements -10, Piper Tucker -10, Madison Wheeler -11, Tina LaRosa-13, Olivia Tucker-13
Soul Sisters (during the quarantine & forever)
Copyright 2020 Soul Sisters
The Soul Sisters met over the Quarantine twice a week to read, talk, think, and live differently. In early June when the protesting around George Floyd’s death was at its peek, we discussed race as a group and what it meant to be an antiracist. We read The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, Your Move by Eve Bunting, Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazard, and Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness. We had very important discussions about race and what was happening in the country. Then we read The Misfits by James Howe. After reading chapter two, the girls were hot. There was lots to talk about. Check out the video below to learn where our Pledge of the People came from.
Model Post-it:
Skill: Method
(Character inference, Synthesis,) (TA, T & T, S & J)
Prompt/Question:
(Matches the work above)
What ideas are you getting about the character? (Question for T & T)
_____________is the kind person who________. I know this because________(Prompt the teacher voices over to get kids doing the character inference work)
The Importance of Interactive Read Aloud With Grand Discussion
In order for book discussions to go well, much of the modeling comes from whole class (or small group) interactive read aloud with a grand discussion at the end. There is so much that goes into this when planning.
Planning the Interactive Read Aloud
When I teach teachers about planning read aloud, I have them start by thinking about their kids, the skills they need, the standards and level of text. They should also think about the methods they can use throughout the reading of the book, and to vary those methods. I usually have teachers select 3-5 reading comprehension skills. For example, if it is a 4th grade class at the beginning of the year a teacher might plan for envisioning, character inference, synthesis, and critical analysis. She will keep those skills in mind when she reads the book to decide where those skills would be most impactful. Then she will create a post it with the skill on the left, the method (think aloud, turn & talk, stop & jot, gesturing/acting out) on the right, and the prompt below. See example on left:
Grand Discussions
The standards have always stated that we need to teach listening and speaking skills. These grand discussions are the perfect place to meet those standards. However, beyond the standards there is a need now more than ever for every child to feel seen, included, and loved. In these grand discussions we give readers tools to create deeper meaning from the texts and then we let our kids figure it out. We let them discuss ideas that feel hard, and no one talks about even when they’re presented in books. We read a book about a boy losing his mom, and yet we won’t talk about death. These are hard topics, yes, and important ones. These grand discussions allow are young readers, thinkers, writers to find their voice, their identity, empathize, love, and live differently.
Planning for Grand Discussions
It is often helpful to introduce this grand discussion with some goals we are trying to achieve.
Here are a few I like to start with:
We want to hear as many voices as possible
Strive for good listening. Looking at the person who is speaking and trying to connect what we have to say with what was just said.
Citing the text
Leave the discussion thinking differently
Then we want to assess. I like to hear at least 4 voices before I chime in so I can get a sense of what and how they’re doing. Then I can give a tip. There are many possibilities here. Do they have an idea or are they retelling? Are they trying to build really listening to one another or pop corning? Do they live in the land if ideas veering away from the text? Is one reader/talker monopolizing the conversation? What to do if the conversation stops or goes awry.
A Writing Workshop that Makes a Difference
When I was first trained in the teaching of writing 25 years ago, I knew immediately the impact. I was changed. I was not only a different teacher, but a different person. I read every children’s book I could find looking for ways to inspire and support my kids. I read every professional book my colleagues recommended. My best friends were writers writing for teachers like me to inspire and empower. Don, Ralph, Lucy, Georgia and Katie were those friends. They made me want to do and be better. And they helped me know and keep at the forefront the real gift of teaching writing workshop. For 25 years through standards and testing and jobs, I have never wavered. We write to be changed and think differently. We write to find ourselves. We write to have a voice. We write to impact others. Writing makes a difference in lives.
I have worked with districts all over the country and world in the teaching of writing. I always share my unit with schools I work with to launch their writing workshop so those teachers can create this culture, their culture of writers, and feel empowered themselves.
These last 6 months have reinforced the power of literacy for me. And even though I have tried to impart the vision of why we must teach writing workshop in the past, these last 6 months have made me realize that we must continue this work, and do it EVEN BETTER. We must help writers feel seen and heard. We must launch with stories and real truths. We must share our stories, our truths. We must be vulnerable writing about trauma, racial tension, acceptance, loss. Through are stories we will be seen, included, and loved.