Literacy Now

At the end of the day it’s all about the kids. I am a classroom teacher. I am a mentor, a guide, an awakener, a keeper of confidences, an actor, a partner, a learner, a thinker, a doer—the list goes on. In all areas of my life I am a bottom line type of person. So what’s the point? What does this look like? Where will this lead? How do I do this? It makes sense that this type of thinking transfers to the work I do each day with students and colleagues. While I enjoy, and indeed love, talking and listening to the people who have grand visions of education and offer the what-ifs, give me another bottom line thinker any day. I believe we get things done. My experience learning with a literacy coach married these two ideas for me—getting things done and appreciating the purpose and vision behind them. The literacy coach worked alongside me and the students in the classroom and was an invaluable resource offering guidance in terms of instructional practices and growing my knowledge base. I wanted to do the best I could do—for kids.

Bottom line: How do I create the necessary environment for kids to learn, find, and confidently trust their voice and grow into the people they are to become?

As a classroom teacher, working with a literacy coach changed the way I think about this bottom line. It now involves we, instead of I, because from my perspective the nature of teacher collaboration changed as a result of literacy coaching. How do we create the necessary environment? Not only did I have the opportunity to work and learn with a literacy coach, but so did my grade level colleagues. Based on our experiences, the focus of our collaboration shifted from talking about “the what” to understanding and learning about “the why”. This understanding and learning enhanced our instructional practices and our ability to collaborate meaningfully and led to an improved environment for kids to learn and grow.

Collaboration practices

I assert the purpose of literacy coaching is to improve instruction and student achievement. There is research that coaching has a positive impact on teacher collaboration (Schwartz & McCarthy, 2003) and teacher collaboration structures are related to student achievement, as written by Roger Goddard and Megan Taschannen-Moran. I believe collaboration allows us to grow as educators because we can inspire and learn from each other. My experience with collaboration involved the traditional structure of sitting together with our school calendars and planning lessons, activities, projects, etc. In our planning time we would open our calendars and pencil in the date for the narrative writing publishing celebration, the date to assign the latest social studies project, the date and time for the building team meeting with the principal, etc.—all necessary. We would also talk about how word study was going, share a new strategy to introduce vocabulary, find out where each class was in terms of math lessons and assessments, decide who will make the copies for the upcoming science lab, etc.—all necessary. We would discuss the list of min-lessons outlined in the reading curriculum, ask each other questions about which mentor texts seem to fit the learning goal the best, offer book titles to suggest to our reluctant readers, etc.—all necessary. But, were we really inspiring each other and growing as educators?

Bottom line: How can we take what we gained from working with a literacy coach and collaborate in a more meaningful way to help kids do better?

The shift from the what to the why

While part of our collaboration as teachers still included the what of our work, we began to talk about the why. We were able to do this because we had the benefit of working with a literacy coach. We had gained confidence in our thinking and in our practice. We had the language to offer to our conversations. This confidence allowed us to share openly—without fear of judgment—our questions, attempts, successes, failures, etc. We felt a shared camaraderie that we were in this together. We were in this together to understand the why of what worked for kids and what didn’t. We began to see the what was the easy part, understanding the why would take some serious thinking and we could do that thinking together.

Example of that shift:

• The what is to keep the mini lesson short. Why is that important?
• The what are the components to balanced literacy. Why do they work together to create independent readers and writers?
• The what is to offer kids choices of titles to read. Why is choice so important?

The very nature of our collaboration practices changed. It was still necessary to sit around a table with our school calendars open, but there was now a value added. Planning now included rich conversations about our deeper understandings of the decisions we made and they allowed us to grow as educators and improve our craft. Yes, we were inspiring each other. Yes, we could help kids do better. These conversations took place during our scheduled planning time, but an additional shift in our collaborative structure was that they now happened readily and anywhere: in the hallway, in the lunchroom, by the office mailboxes, in an email, etc.

Bottom line: When you know better, you do better.

Working with a literacy coach was, in reality, working with a mentor—a wise and trusted counselor.This experience led to a shift in the nature of our collaboration.My colleagues and I now work with one another to improve our instructional practices, develop our skills, and most importantly, deepen and grow our understanding.We were also in a new position to raise questions about the effectiveness of some instructional choices and make decisions to implement some changes. Empowering. Now we could go back to our classrooms to take a risk and try something new because we were confident practitioners. Reflective and critical inquiry was now at the core of our collaboration, and it was a natural next step to create the same learning environments for our students.

Bottom line: At the end of the day it’s all about confidence. And the kids.

Gail Cordello has been teaching fifth grade in Wyckoff, NJ for 14 years. She has presented at national conventions and often opens her classroom to teachers looking to learn from her students. In one mid-sized school district she collaborated with Grace White, a school administrator, Chris Fuller, a literacy coach, and Gravity Goldberg, a literacy consultant, to establish a literacy coaching program and years later, the team continues to meet and share. This post is one in a series from these educators in which they share their greatest take-aways from their collective experience. You can follow Cordello on Twitter.

I'm My Own Dog (Candlewick Press, 2014) 
Written by David Ezra Stein
Pre-K through Grade 6 

I’m My Own Dog” is a playful introduction to both the world of having a best friend and the world of irony. The story begins with a pup that can do everything himself. He can throw his own stick, scratch himself, lick himself in the mirror and tell himself that he is good. All of these things are good and wonderful until he finds that spot, right in the middle of his back, where his scratching will not reach.  The dog decides he will train a human to do the scratching for him. He also trains the human to throw the stick, cleans up after him, and complains about his incessant yapping. Stein uses a reverse story to show the connection between man and dog as best friends.

The illustrations add an enlightening character to the story.

Cross-Curricular Connections: Art, Social Studies, English, Math

Ideas for Classroom Use: 

By Myself I Can…
This activity fosters a discussion about working alone and working with a friend. After reading, I’m My Own Dog, ask students what things they can do alone. Then brainstorm with a T-chart to figure out an activity that match these but would be more fun with a friend. For example, I can swing by myself but I can swinger higher with a friend to push me.

Have students illustrate a friendship poster to be placed the common areas of the school to encourage other students to think about friendship as well.

Cooperation Races
This activity evaluates how working as a team can make activities go faster—or not. Using some of the ideas in the “By Myself” activity of things that can be done either as a single person or a team, have students complete an activity independently and record how long it took. For example, have a student build a block tower with 20 blocks. (Depending on the age of the students, they can record their own times, or the teacher can.) Have the students use the same number of blocks with two builders. Time and record. Compare the times to see how much faster or slower the team works. Try different combinations of groups and or block numbers to see which works the best (has the fast completion rate for the most blocks). Graph all numbers and see how changing the number of people or blocks affected the resulting time.

Discuss the way working together can be beneficial or can hurt. Have students talk about ways the team could have gotten even faster with communication and cooperation. Switch partners and see if the time increases or decreases. Close the activity by discussing finding friends who are the best fit because they can help us to do better.

Ironic Stories
This activity encourages students to begin or extend their knowledge of irony. Most children at a young age can understand the irony in hyperboles and sarcasm. Before reading I’m My Own Dog, talk about examples of how something should be a certain way but people get confused. Amelia Bedelia would offer a quick look at the world of irony. Talk about exaggeration and saying the opposite of what is meant. Ask students to watch for examples of something happening that is not typically expected while reading the story. After reading, ask students to explain how the story uses irony to show that some things are better with friends.

As a closing activity, have students work independently or in small groups to create an example of irony. Have students illustrate an ironic phrase or event, such as a polar bear who likes the beach or a penguin that is allergic to ice cubes. For young students, this illustration can be done as a group with a teacher to facilitate and scribe as the children dictate. Have students read their story or phrase without showing the illustration and see if classmates can identify the irony. Show the illustrations to determine if the irony was found in each idea.

Additional Resources and Activities

Get Close to Think Deeply!
This strategy guide and video helps to guide teachers through the task of exploring complex text at a young age. The guide uses Amelia Bedelia stories to help explain how words do not always mean what a person thinks. The presenter leads students through a 4 part plan of dissecting the text and the meanings.

Online Graphing
This page allows teachers and students to edit and enter values to create a line graph. All data is customizable and printable. The site also gives links to other types of graphs.

Doodle Splash
This link from Read*Write*Think is an interactive tool that lets students create doodles online and add text to the sides explaining the doodle. This tool can be used in the Ironic Stories as an option for illustrating and writing the stories.

Kathy Prater is a reading specialist working with students with dyslexia, and a full time pre-kindergarten teacher at Starkville Academy in Starkville, MS. Her passions include reading, writing, tending her flock of chickens, and helping students at all levels to find motivation for lifelong reading and learning. She believes every child can become a successful reader if given the right tools and encouragement.

After 19 years in the classroom, I was a literacy coach. It was a leap of faith, a natural extension of what I was already doing in my daily practice, and I was ready, or so I thought. This was a new initiative in our district and, like anything new, was met with trepidation and uncertainty. Who is this person who will be coming into my room? What is she like? Why is she coming? The questions began to circulate. I could sense the tension and I needed to do something about it. It became clear as my interactions with teachers increased. I had to make them feel comfortable with me in the room. I had to create a new normal. I had to earn their trust.

Teachers experience with someone coming into their room was mostly based on being observed by an administrator and evaluated. I was not an evaluator, and although evaluation was not part of my role, being in the classroom as a supporter went against what experience told them.

Building Trust, Trusting Myself

To build trust with others, I first had to trust myself. I had to remind myself that coaching was not only new for the teachers I was coaching, it was new for me. It wasn’t always easy walking into a classroom when the climate wasn’t always very welcoming. Swallowing any apprehension and trusting in my ability was the first step. A smile, positivity, and self-trust were my allies.

Teachers are more than just teachers, they all go home and have another life. They are husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers. Showing an interest and concern in that life honors each teacher, makes a connection, and builds trust. Remembering a conversation from the previous week and asking, “How was your daughter’s birthday celebration?” shows a teacher you care. You connect and become a person to them, not just a coach. Little gestures go a long way in building trust.

Be Patient and Honest

When I first started coaching, I used to carry a small notebook to jot down what I discussed with a teacher and next steps. One day, a teacher I coached approached me and asked, “What are you writing in that notebook, and who are you giving that information to? My principal? The superintendent?” I was taken aback. Although she had asked to work with me and we had formed a relationship, she was uncertain. It never occurred to me she thought I might be reporting back to administrators. I opened my notebook and encouraged her to read what I had written—trust grew.  

Teachers have a lot to say. They are the pulse of the classroom and know better than anyone else what is and is not working for the children in their rooms. As a coach, it’s important to remember that you are a visitor in teachers’ rooms; you don’t hold all the answers. Listen to what teachers have to say. Listening not only gives important information, it validates the teachers and builds trust between teachers and the coach. Listening lets teachers know the coach believes what teachers have to say is important. Teachers want to tell their story and listening is the coach’s entry into their world. Be honored you are trusted and welcome.

Do What You Ask Teachers to Do

As a coach, it’s important to remember what it was like to be a classroom teacher, so it is necessary for the coach to do what you are asking teachers to do. In a classroom, I would first model the strategy I was asking the teacher to try. Then we would try it together before the teacher would try it alone. “I do, we do, you do,” was the framework and you are providing a gradual release and making yourself vulnerable before you ask the teacher to do the same. The playing field is leveled and you are not just the observer, but the doer, working together with the teacher, in tandem.

All roads here lead to trust and trust leads to a successful coaching experience.

Chris Fuller began her career teaching first and second grades in New York City and has taught through the seventh grade. She has also worked as a reading specialist and literacy coach. In one mid-sized school district, she collaborated with Grace White, a school administrator, Gail Cordello, a classroom teacher, and Gravity Goldberg, a literacy consultant, to establish a literacy coaching program, and years later, the team continues to meet and share. This post is one in a series from these educators in which they share their greatest take-aways from their collective experience. You can follow Fuller on Twitter.

photo credit: UNIVERSITY_OF_THE_FRASER_ VALLEY_PHOTOGRAPHY via photopin (license)

Being a teacher means embracing constant change. Yet all too often, teachers are told when, how, and why to change. In this monthly column, Mrs. Mimi takes on creating change for herself by rethinking old practices and redefining teaching on her own terms. 

Ah, coaching.  The word “coaching” seems synonymous with the word “training” which is a word I have always disliked.  Training implies we are simply another employee being told a new way to do our jobs, as if our jobs are all the same or we have nothing to add to the conversation.  Like we are seals learning a new trick.  As if we don't already have enough balls to balance, now we have yet another new idea, strategy, or practice.

I get it.

This is, perhaps, why so many teachers are wary of the idea of coaches in their schools.  I have seen many resist or, in some cases, totally avoid their literacy coach.  Why?  Because it's scary to really open up and allow someone else to constructively critique your practice?  Because being truly reflective also means being open to change?

Might I suggest a meeting of the minds?  Teachers, be brave and model being engaged and enthusiastic for your students.  Remind yourself what it feels like to be challenged or learn something new.  Be excited to share your learning and growth with others.  Coaches, respect and honor the knowledge teachers already possess.  Build or expand upon that knowledge slowly, but with confidence and excitement.  Always add value.  Never do harm.

Some of my most thrilling moments as a teacher came from working closely with a coach as equals.  We investigated new ways to push read-aloud instruction.  We researched and read articles about student engagement, theories around questioning and hot new titles.  We wrote lessons collaboratively, taught them in front of one another and debriefed on successes and not-so-successes.  Meeting with her never felt like "another thing on my to-do list" because it was the opposite of an arduous task.  It was thrilling work we saw have an immediate impact on students. 

Together we explored new ideas and ways of working with students.  Together we grew and showed our students what it meant to be vulnerable, brave, and engaged all at the same time; we showed them how to be learners.

Is there anything else you can ask for as a teacher?

Mrs. Mimi, a.k.a. Jennifer Scoggin, is a teacher who taught both first and second grades at a public elementary school in New York City. She's the author of  “Be Fabulous: The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom” and “It's Not All Flowers and Sausages: My Adventures in Second Grade”, which sprung from her popular blog of the same name. Mimi also has her doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

What does a literacy coach do? I continually asked principals, superintendents, teachers, parents—even students. Everyone’s response differed. In the early implementation of coaching, some viewed the coach as a resource provider, others saw the coach as the fixer who would remediate teachers. A few thought of the coach as another collaborator, someone who could inspire their work with students. Our district was new to coaching. While energized by our coaching model, I also experienced a tinge of doubt. Quickly, I learned if coaching were to have any chance of being successful in our district, its purpose needed to be clear to all stakeholders.

Coaching as Everyday Professional Development

Coaching, I knew, was professional development. Not the sit and get model where a teacher attended a session for a day to learn something, and then returned to the district, left alone to implement. Having taught for 30 years, I participated in many of those days and recall longing to work alongside a colleague, a critical friend with whom I could try out new ideas, give and receive feedback, and grow our learning in our own classrooms. I understood the coaching our district embraced had to be the type of professional development that would allow for this exchange. It needed to be woven into the everyday fabric of teaching.

The classroom was at the heart of that learning—the place where a coach could support a teacher which, in turn, served students. The purpose of coaching, in the end, was to impact student learning. Through our coaching model, we were able to redefine professional development by giving it life within the school district.

Leadership, A Matter of Visibility, and Trust

As an instructional leader, I viewed my role as one of a guide. Too often, I observed teachers feeling discouraged—they were given curriculum and told what the latest, greatest initiative. They were told to immediately embrace and implement in their classrooms. They mostly worked in isolation and were congenial, but not very collegial. I resolved to ground my work with teachers by finding a place where their voice was valued. I felt strongly teachers needed to be empowered to examine their own strength and weakness, to seek feedback from others, and make curricular decisions that worked for their students.  Coaching was the vehicle that would pave the road to empower our teachers to do these very things.

Leading does not happen from sitting behind a desk in a remote office. I wanted to support our coaches in an authentic way. My visibility was an essential component of making the coaching model a welcome part of our professional culture. I spent as much time as I could in classrooms with our coaches so I knew first hand what challenges and successes they faced. Both teachers and coaches recognized I was there to support coaching partnerships. I also carved out time to talk with and listen to teachers, asking them about their experiences with the coaching model. How is it going for you and your students? was my simple question of choice. It became clear to me my firsthand involvement was important to teachers. Often, as I walked through the elementary school hallways, teachers stopped me to share anecdotes of working with a coach. As our coaches focused on building trust, I noticed how teachers endorsed and sought out opportunities to work alongside a coach. At the same time, the coaches worked to establish trust with teachers, I was focused on growing trust with the coaches. Our shared vision to deepen best practices around a balanced literacy model was clear. They were knowledgeable, talented, and committed to supporting teachers! By giving the coaches autonomy to make decisions and try out their innovative ideas, trust flourished. I trusted in them, valued their judgment, and continually sought their input as literacy leaders.

Feedback Matters

As we implemented the coaching model, we were mindful of how essential feedback was for its success. We thought about feedback in two ways.

Teachers needed feedback from coaches. With our consultant’s lead, we thought it most respectful to offer several types of feedback methods to teachers.

The coach could whisper in to a teacher during the lesson by offering them feedback during the lesson, tweaking it together in real time. Some teachers involved the coach in the actual lesson, while others selected to have a brief conversation with the coach on the spot as students worked independently. Or, the coach could leave a note for the teacher with points for praise and points for growth. Of course, face-to-face follow-up happened at a later time. Additionally, the coach could follow up with an email giving some general feedback and setting up a convenient time to meet to discuss the lesson. Finally, the coach was open to any unique feedback process a teacher may suggest.

Most importantly, coaches shared these feedback choices with teachers, and left the decision to choose one or several with the teacher.

Coaches needed timely feedback. Whenever possible, the coaches, our consultant, and I set aside time to talk immediately following a classroom coaching block. The coaches reflected on how effective they felt their coaching had been. What went well? What could they have done differently? As a result of taking the time to examine their process, coaches adjusted strategies, and teachers could work with those adjustments in another classroom that same day.

One of our biggest take-aways from the creation of a literacy coaching model was the importance of viewing each coach and teacher as a thought leader. If you are in the midst of creating your district’s literacy coaching model ask yourself, “How can I create a culture where everyone is empowered to contribute to the coaching model in meaningful ways?”

In our next post, we will share our third take-away: establishing the relationship between the coach and the teacher.

Grace White has worked in education for more than 30 years, teaching grades 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8. In addition her experience designing and writing curriculum helped her transition to become Wyckoff School District’s first literacy coach. In one mid-sized school district, she collaborated with Gail Cordello, a classroom teacher, Chris Fuller, a literacy coach, and Gravity Goldberg, a literacy consultant, to establish a literacy coaching program, and years later, the team continues to meet and share. This post is one in a series from the educators to share their greatest take-aways from their collective experience. You can follow White on Twitter.