Summer Reading....For Teachers!

     It's about that time, teachers! Looking for some great reads this summer to help energize you and give you ideas for what will surely be a quickly-approaching September? Then look no further; I've got a teacher's summer reading list right here. (Sorry, these are probably not what you'd consider "beach reads," but they are educational books that I really enjoy. Just mix one or two of them in with your novels and magazines!)

     I'm thinking you can find most of these on Amazon, but if it gets tricky, just contact me and I'll give you more detailed information to help refine your search...

• So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning -- Cris Tovani 

This is a great read for secondary teachers. Tovani is writing primarily about ELA classes, but I say anyone who is interested in how a workshop structure could work at the secondary level should read this book. (By the way, workshop structures effectively allow the teacher to differentiate, to conference, to assess students' individual strengths and weaknesses formatively...)

• The Daily 5 -- Gail Boushey & Joan Moser (aka "The Sisters") 

Disclaimer: I got kind of sort of OBSESSED with The Sisters this year. Elementary teachers -- if you are looking for a system that will help you establish routines, build student stamina, and set expectations for ELA workshops, this is the book for you. (Also, as a former secondary person, I must say that if you are interested in the workshop structure at the secondary level, I'd still recommend this book. Just read it with your "secondary eyes" and "translate" the material up a few grades!)

• The CAFE Book -- Gail Boushey & Joan Moser (aka "The Sisters")

See above. Same lovely ladies. I'd recommend reading The Daily 5 first, then delving into The Sisters' CAFE system. This book is FULL of so many great resources: specific and detailed ideas for setting up a conferencing notebook and record-keeping system, specific reading strategy lessons in the areas of comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and vocabulary....It is a great read!

• Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom -- Rick Wormeli

This book rocked my world! Rick Wormeli (who happens to be the silver fox of differentiation) is a straight shooter and really tells it like it is. While reading, I was forced to confront some of my own past assessment practices that I had to admit were not effective or purposeful. Wormeli truly changed my way of looking at assessment, for the better!

• Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom -- Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey

Yes! This book was such a useful read. Lots of practical suggestions of ways to consistently, regularly, and effectively check your students' understanding. I think it applies to all grade levels.

• Differentiation: From Planning to Practice, Grades 6-12 -- Rick Wormeli

Here he is again! This is definitely geared towards secondary teachers, mostly due to the content of the sample lessons and units Wormeli discusses (but I think elementary teachers could "translate" what it is he's doing to their own grade levels). Wormeli walks you through the stages of planning a differentiated lesson. Very useful information!

• Integrating Differentiated Instruction & Understanding by Design: Connecting Content and Kids -- Carol Ann Tomlinson & Jay McTighe

Disclaimer: This is only my second favorite text involving Carol Ann Tomlinson (for my first, see below...). The bridge between DI and UbD is specifically laid out in this text. I'd recommend it to anyone who has a strong understanding of one, but perhaps not of the other. 

• Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today's Lesson -- Connie M. Moss & Susan M. Brookhart 

This book can honestly be a bit "dry," but the idea of learning targets is so important! Basically, Moss and Brookhart advocate for a more student-friendly lesson objective to share with students and recommend that this learning target be stated as what the student will be able to do by the end of the lesson, from the student's own perspective (i.e., "I will be able to identify three traits of the main character. I will use words from our character traits word wall to do so. I will be able to provide evidence from the text that supports each of these three traits."). Learning targets can help students self-assess and can give them a purpose for learning.

• Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom -- Carol Ann Tomlinson & Marcia B. Imbeau

LOVE this one! If you are interested in the philosophy behind DI, then this book is for you. Even more so, if you are interested in helping your students understand and be a part of a differentiated classroom community, then this book is definitely for you. Tomlinson and Imbeau provide specific lesson ideas for teaching students how (and why) to be members of a differentiated learning environment.

HAPPY READING!

Annotation Nation: Using Annotations as Pre-Assessments

     I've got news for you, readers. Annotating's not just for English class anymore. 

     For those of you not already as nerdily familiar with annotation as me, it's basically just a fancy term for marking up the text, scribbling down notes, thoughts, ideas, and questions in the margins. In some ways, it's like having a conversation, a little chit chat if you will, with the text and the information you're reading about.

     But, just when I thought I knew all there was to know about annotation and how it can be used to assess student comprehension of text across content areas, Cris Tovani, author of So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning, thrilled me with another way to assess via annotation -- using annotations as a pre-test or pre-assessment! (I know, I know, it blew my mind, too!!)

     Here's what Tovani suggests. Ask students to annotate their thinking at the beginning of a unit to assess "what they know and what skills and information they need" (2011, p. 88). Something really cool to think about is actually giving students the unit test the very day the class starts the unit. WHAT?!?!? Be totally upfront with students about exactly what they are supposed to learn by the end of the unit and about exactly what they'll be assessed on? Craziness! It might seem crazy at first, but, readers, think about it: This isn't cheating. This is being super clear and transparent; this is helping students set learning goals and targets. But I digress...

     So, give students the unit test on day one. Ask them to do their best, explaining that this is a pre-assessment and will not be used to penalize them. Students should answer or solve the questions or problems they can, and (here's my favorite part!!), on those they can't, students should record annotations including questions or confusions they have. What great insight this can provide for the teacher! As Tovani suggests, "these annotations help the teacher figure out what is causing difficulty for the student so he or she can better target what the student needs" (p. 89).

     Boom! Now, as the teacher, you know what concepts and/or skills the entire class needs, you know whether any pieces of the unit can be skipped because all your students already know it, and you know how you might need to differentiate your instruction based on any variety of readiness you come across on the pre-tests (who will need enrichment? who will need support?). 

     So exciting, right?

     If you're starting to think more and more about how to use assessment data to inform your instruction, or about how to differentiate based on this data, then (shameless plug alert!) check out my summer workshop on practical approaches to differentiation in the classroom. It's at the very end of June, and I believe you can still sign up. Contact me if you need more information!

Taking a Page from Cris Tovani's Book

     In the district where I am an instructional coach, I am consistently impressed by how many teachers directly inform their students of the objectives of the day’s lesson. Providing students with a road map like this is essential; what better way to begin a lesson than to know what it is you’ll be learning, what it is you’ll be able to do by the end of the lesson?

     Well, with this post, I’d like to take our thinking about sharing objectives with students one step further. I’ve been re-reading a favorite educational text of mine lately by Cris Tovani, So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning (2011). In it, she shares what students see written on the whiteboard as they enter her ELA classroom. Here’s a sample from p. 48 of this great book:

Learning Targets	Assessments
I can show how I am thinking about a text in a variety of ways.	inner-voice sheets
Instead of saying, “I don’t get it,” I can ask a question of the text that might help me build background knowledge to answer my question.	sticky notes

     The first thing I’ll point out is the slight difference between what most of us know as lesson objectives (which usually sound much like standards) and learning targets, which Tovani employs. Posting learning targets basically has the same function as posting objectives – it lets students know what they should know or be able to do by the lesson’s end. I just happen to like how learning targets are student-friendly and are written from the perspective of the student him- or herself. 

     The second thing to take from Tovani’s chart is the real meat and potatoes, though (the difference between objectives and learning targets was just an appetizer, so I hope you’re hungry!). Tovani shares with her students how each learning target of the lesson will be assessed. I won’t go into huge detail explaining what inner-voice sheets or sticky notes are, but suffice it to say they are useful, if not “unfancy,” assessments Tovani uses on a regular basis with her students. The important thing here is that not only has Tovani planned out exactly how she will assess students on each of her lesson’s learning targets (and what tools she will use to conduct said assessments) – this is huge enough on its own, honestly! – but that she is also sharing this information with students. So, when her students begin filling out that inner-voice sheet or jotting down a question on a sticky note, they know why Tovani is asking them to do these things. They know what the tasks relate to in terms of their learning, and they know Tovani will use the data to determine how they are each doing in terms of that day’s learning targets (actually, for that matter, the students themselves can also self-assess whether or not they’ve met the learning targets based on how they felt they did with the assessments).

     If you’re a teacher who regularly posts daily objectives or learning targets, how hard would it be to take the extra step and also post the corresponding assessments? How much would this extra step help you and your students to be aware of the link between instruction and assessment?