The Power and Dangers of Praise

It seems to come so naturally. You tell a high flying student “You're good at math.” or “You're a great reader!” We think that these kinds of statements build up a student's self esteem and act as a spur to achievement. Or maybe not.

New research is beginning to show us that when children are praised for being “smart” or “good at something” this can backfire and cause them to give up when things become difficult. This has been called the curse of the gifted label.

Does this mean that we should not praise children at all? No, the trick lies in praising children the right way. When we focus our comments on our student's efforts, this type of praise has a powerful positive effect.

Check out these helpful articles on the best way to praise early elementary and upper elementary students.

The Hidden Standards

Most of the country is moving to the Common Core State Standards. They can be found here. While it is important to teach these standards, we need to understand that teachers will not be judged only on whether they teach these standards but on how their students do on the Common Core standardized tests. This means that in addition to teaching the written standards, we will need to teach what I call “hidden standards” that will enable students to do well on these tests.

Some of these, I have discussed in earlier posts. Students will need to be comfortable with basic computer skills such as click and drag, keyboarding, scrolling, and highlighting text. To get an idea of the computer skills your students will need, check out these practice tests.

You will need to prepare your students to meet other “hidden standards”. For example,for some of the multiple choice questions your are instructed to select two answers. This is not necessarily difficult, but it is different from the multiple choice tests your students will have taken in the past. You will need to have your students practice with this type of test if they are to do well on the end of the year tests.

Common Core, Common Assessments

Forty-five states plus Washington DC have signed up for the Common Core State Standards. The hope was that by having the states come together on common assessments, they would save money on testing. There have been some bumps in the road. To begin with, the states split into two groups on assessments: PARCC and the Smarter Balanced Testing Consortium. Now it's beginning to look as if some states are getting sticker shock at the high cost of these common assessments that were supposed to be less expensive and coming to the conclusion that they could save money by coming up with their own assessments. Make sure that you know what your state is doing. Check here.

Beyond the Text: Visual Images

The Common Core State Standards require students to be adept at interpreting information presented visually in addition to the information presented in the written text. To get a better idea of what your students will be expected to know check out the sample questions in this article.

It's clear that students will be expected to go beyond simply locating obvious facts presented on a map or diagram. Just as students will be expected to make and support inferences from text, they will be required to do a close reading of information that is presented visually. This will mean that teachers in the primary grades will need to push beyond the traditional map skills to higher order thinking with regard to visual information. A great example of this can be found in this sample lesson.

My Hero

Rafe Esquith is out with another book. He is one of my favorite teachers, a real inspiration. I have read all of his books, including his most recent Real Talk for Real Teachers, which I find is his best so far.

“You Could Teach a Rock to Read”

It's summer tutoring time. And while I probably couldn't teach a rock to read, I had to smile when a parent said this to me. The reality is that all my struggling readers read fluently by the end of the summer. How is it that kids who have struggled with reading, often for years, do so well? I don't leave anything to chance. Everything that I have my students do has been carefully thought out.

Here is the beginning of a daily phonics worksheet:

the*      men      get       let       set

Notice that I teach “the” as part of my phonics practice, rather than

separating it to teach as a sight word. I do this because I want my students to gain confidence in the power of phonics to help them read new words. Also, I have found that it is my struggling readers who have the most difficulty in memorizing a list of sight words. By embedding sight words with my phonics lists, my students have much more success.

Now look at the next activity:

Unscramble the words.

1. het ________________________
2. lte ________________________
3. ste ________________________
4. nme ________________________
5. teg ______________________

Why is this so important? The student needs to focus on the actual letters of the word. I never use word shape boxes. Remember that “dog” and “hop” have the same shape.

Next, comes a series of fill in the blank sentences:

Fill in the blanks.

1. Dan can ___________________ a cat.
2. Dad __________________ Dan get a cat.
3. Dan ___________________ the cat on the mat.
4. The cat can get ___________________ rat.
5. Dad met ten _____________________.

Why is this so effective? As important as phonics is to reading, it is not enough. While phonics contributes 62% to reading fluency, attending to context adds another 22%. See the research here. In addition, these sentences let me slip in some review of the phonics that has been taught in previous lessons.

Finally, we end with a word search:

Circle 5 words.

T H E Q P T R A F  Z

B E X R M E N J E D

P Q B K M A L S E T

O L M I W L E T N  I

K G E T M R F Y R J

The kids really enjoy this. It's a little bit of reward for their hard work. Still, what I am having them do has been thought through very carefully. I want my student's eyes to to sweep left to right while focusing on the sounds each letter makes. None of the words are presented up, down, backwards or diagonally.

Now they're done. I want their independent phonics practice to be short and focused. This leaves them more time to spend reading fun and engaging stories.

Performance Tasks

Some teachers seem to be unclear about the Common Core performance tasks. These are not going to be some kind of in class long term activities. In fact, they will be computerized assessments that require extensive writing and take two sessions to complete. To get a better idea of what your students will be expected to do, check the sample performance tasks here.

It's important to think about what this means for your classroom instruction. A traditional writer's workshop model tends to be very open ended, allow for extensive student choice, and to involve a wide variety of genres. Personal journals and creative fiction tend to dominate. Whatever you think about this more traditional format, it is not what will be expected for the Common Core performance tasks.

To help your students succeed on these tasks, you will need to begin with the end in mind and design your instruction backwards from that end goal. By the end of the year, your students will need to plan an essay using multiple sources, take notes from those sources, cite their sources by title, type up a well organized multiple paragraph essay using a word processor, and wrap it up in two days. This level of expectations begins in the third grade. Tough, you bet. This is why, as I have mentioned in previous posts, you don't have a minute to waste. If your students are to reach their target goal, you must start getting them ready from the very first of the year.

Spelling and Common Core: No Time to Waste

The Common Core State Standards are challenging, particularly in the area of writing and language arts. Students will need to master three types of writing: informative, narrative, and opinion. By they last quarter of third grade, they will need to be able to produce each of these types of writing using multiple paragraphs. For the informative and opinion pieces, they will need to be able to cite two sources. Of course, students will also be expected to “Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.”

Teaching writing is time consuming. Children need time to plan, organize, edit, and revise. I have been fortunate to work in a school that allocates two hours each day to language arts, and I still have found myself scrambling to find a block of time to teach writing.

I have found that spelling can be a real black hole to take time out of my day. The tests can easily take thirty minutes with me reading each word aloud while the students write it on their papers. In addition, I have been bothered by the lack of individualization. A single spelling list is bound to be too easy for some students and too hard for others. When I try to remedy this problem by giving differentiated lists or by adding enrichment words, this makes the problem of taking too much time even worse.

I am dedicating my summer to coming up with an individualized spelling program that will allow each child to move at his or her own pace while freeing up class time. Instead of having a teacher read words aloud while the students write them, the tests will consist of multiple choice questions in which the students choose the correctly spelled word to complete a sentence. During testing time, each child can be on a different test depending on their individual spelling level. Also, the tests will not take as much time because they do not have to be read out loud.

I have finished the first grade year. It is 209 pages long and contains 52 spelling tests. Here is what the tests will look like:

Spelling Test 1.51

____________________ 1. He ___ a note to his dad.

                             a. rits           b. rites            c. writs            d. writes

____________________ 2. She put the pen in its ___.

                             a. cas          b. case            c. kas             d. kase

____________________ 3. The bus ___ on time.

                             a. was         b. wuz              c. waz            d. wus

 

____________________ 4. Beth ran to the next ___.

                             a. bas         b. base             c. bac             d. bace

____________________ 5. The page has ___ on it.

                             a. lins         b. linz                c. lines           d. linez

____________________ 6. Ann has a red ___.

                             a. dres        b. drese            c. derss          d. dress

____________________ 7. The ___ has a rose in it.

                             a. vase       b. vas                c. vac             d. vace

____________________ 8. Bob will ___ his bike to ride home.

                             a. yuze       b. use                c. uze            d. usse

____________________ 9. The dog will ___ the cat.

                             a. chac       b. chace            c. chas          d. chase

____________________ 10. Ned ___ the black pen.

                            a. choz        b. chose            c. choze        d. chos

As you can see, the students will circle the letter of the correctly spelled 

word and then write it on the line. If you are interested in this spelling 

program, it is available on Teachers Pay Teachers. I will continue to work 

on spelling for the later grades.

Common Core: Higher Expectations

Anyone who has looked over the Common Core State Standards is aware that they call for much higher expectations. This has naturally led to some concern about how students will fare with the new accountability tests coming in the 2014-2015 school year.

A good example of the increased expectations can be found by comparing the new assessments with the state tests from previous years. In Colorado, for example, third grade students were expected to be able to write one paragraph in response to a writing prompt. The response was to be written by hand, so no keyboarding skills were required. Students were not expected to cite a source of information for their writing. By contrast, the new Common Core assessments will require third graders to type a multiple paragraph response and cite two sources. The sources will be given to the students, and they will have two sessions in which to complete this task. Clearly, this is a dramatic jump in grade level expectations.

How will this affect younger grades? Working backwards, it seems that students should leave second grade with the ability to write a well organized paragraph. It's probably a good idea if younger students can enter third grade with keyboarding skills well in place, so that the third grade year can be devoted to the hard work of helping students organize essays that contain multiple paragraphs and cite sources. Some practical suggestions can be found here.

Building Number Sense

I want my students to have a good sense of numbers and their relationships. Math manipulatives are the key to developing this number sense.

Start with counters. They are ideal for helping children make the transition from counting by rote to actually associating number words to numbers of objects. Make sure that the counters are the same size, shape, and color. To start out, use counters that are simple and that won't distract your students. You have probably seen cute sets of counters that consist of little bears or dinosaurs. These are good for later but not for beginning to count. I like to start with square tiles or cubes.

Whenever you introduce a new manipulative, give the children plenty of time for free play. That way the kids can get this out of their system and focus on the math concept you are trying to teach.

It is important to teach your students the correct way to handle their manipulatives. Have the students practice using their manipulatives quietly. Explain that they are responsible for returning the manipulatives to you, so it is important to be careful and not lose them.

I usually pass out my counters in sets of ten or twenty. Here is a way to pass out counters efficiently, make sure you get them all back, and reinforce number sense. At the beginning of the year, have each child bring in two one dozen egg cartons. Cut off two egg holders from the end of each carton, so that you have ten egg holders. Then put one counter in each egg holder. When you are passing out counters, give each child one carton if you want them to have ten counters apiece, or two cartons, if you want them to have twenty counters. At the end of your math lesson, the students must put the counters back into the cartons. It's fast, nothing gets lost, and the students get number sense practice without even realizing it!

Keyboarding Practice

Since your students are going to need to hone their keyboarding skills for the upcoming Common Core State Standards tests, I have found some free resources for you. Try clicking here or here. 

Common Core Test Preview

You will definitely want to check out these Common Core practice tests.  They come from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, but they give a good hint about what is coming for all the tested states.

For now I want to point out a few things that your students will need to do well on these tests. They must be comfortable with technology, especially computers. Make sure that your students have basic keyboarding skills in place toward the end of their third grade year because they will need them for typing answers to constructed response questions.

Also, they will need to be able to use drag and click to order sentences. Many kids use drag and click for games and puzzles. It's a little different when you are reordering the sentences in a paragraph. If you have a Smart Board or a computer projector, you could guide your students through a practice test and show them how to do the drag and click portion. Better yet, take the kids to the computer lab and practice this together.

It looks like they will have the students using headphones to listen to reading passages and answer questions. This is something your students could practice in their listening centers as well as at the computer.

Happy Independence Day!

 

Is your class ready to celebrate Constitution Day?  It is the law. 

“Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.”

While I have found a wealth of resources with appropriate Constitution Day activities for older students, I have not found anything that's targeted to younger students (K-3). That's why a put together a packet to target these younger kids. It has a variety of worksheets, and suggested books and activities. My kids always enjoy it.

Don't Cover That Word

When I first started teaching, I led my students through a popular activity called “Guess the covered word”. I would cover a word in a sentence and have the students use context to guess the covered word. Sometimes I would reveal the first letter. It didn't take long, and the children seemed to enjoy it. But after a while, I came to realize that this was not an effective teaching strategy. So what was the problem?

I began to notice that students were making wild guesses during reading, guesses that were totally at odds with the phonetic make up of the words on the page. A student might read, “The boy walked up the hill.” when the passage actually said, “The boy walked up the mountain.” Also, some students were only paying attention to the beginning of a word. They might read, “The girl sat in a cherry.” instead of “The girl sat in a chair.”

The problem with this activity, is that it is unrelated to what actually happens when we read. When was the last time you were reading a book or magazine and came across a covered word? The point of this activity is to encourage readers to attend to context clues. But, for the activity to work, the students need to know the word already. My “aha” moment came when I realized that I use context clues when I come to a word that I don't already know.

Instead of having students try to guess a covered word, I provide my students with sentences containing difficult or unusual words that they may not already know. For example:

1. To ignite a log is to set it on fire.

 

The students need to read the entire word and use context to figure out the meaning of the word. This is a more authentic reading experience. As a plus, my kids love it! They really get a kick out of being able to read “big kid” words. It's especially effective for my at risk readers. I keep the words phonetic so it's a huge confidence builder when they realize that they can read multi-syllable words.

Which Common Core?

It's official. Forty-five states have agreed to adopt the Common Core State Standards. Texas, Virginia, Alaska, and Nebraska have opted out completely. Minnesota is halfway there; It has adopted the Common Core English Language Arts standards but not the math standards.

It's important to note that the adopting states have agreed to base at least 85% of their state standards on the Common Core. This means they can add 15% of their own standards onto Common Core. For this reason it's important to check out exactly how your state  is implementing the standards.

Also, there are two major testing bodies associated with the Common Core State Standards. There is the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. This consortium will offer computer adaptive tests. That means that the test will respond to the student's answers to offer questions at a higher or lower level. This would allow high achieving students to answer more difficult questions. Smarter Balanced will provide mandatory accountability tests to be given during the last twelve weeks of the school year. It will also offer optional interim tests.

There is also the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. PARCC will provide schools with two mandatory assessments: a performance based assessment to be given after 75% of the school year and an end of the year assessment to be given after 90% of the school year. These assessments will be computerized, but they will not be computer adaptive. In addition, PARCC will also offer optional diagnostic and mid-year assessments.

Big Words Make You Smart

Vocabulary is an important predictor of intelligence and income. Children should begin sounding out multi-syllable words as soon as they are able to read CVC pattern words.

It boosts their self-confidence. My students, especially those who have struggled with reading in the past, take real pride in being able to read what I call “college words”. It also gives me a chance to expose them to more challenging vocabulary from the very first. Explicit vocabulary instruction is important. Besides this, I am convinced that children have not truly internalized a phonics pattern until they can apply it to an unknown word. Most importantly, it sets kids up to learn vocabulary in context during their independent reading.

In my Complete Phonics program, word attack sentences are provided with the very first lessons. By lesson 20, each lesson has seven word attack sentences. This way each student can practice sounding out a difficult word using the given phonics pattern. Here is an example from lesson 30:

1. Bess can unplug the lamp.
2. Jan will undress the doll.
3. Dad must dig up the crabgrass.
4. Mom had a plastic cup.
5. The kitten finds big dogs distressful.
6. The sad man is glum.
7. Mom and Dad sat in the grandstand.
   

I explain to the students that they need to break the words into syllables or “vowel chunks”. Then they sound out each part of the word. Next, they blend the syllables until they can say the word smoothly. At this point, they return to the beginning of the sentence and read it through while looking for clues to the word's meaning.

In this example, the students are reviewing s, r, and l consonant blends. Notice that sentence 6 has a one syllable word for word attack practice. I chose glum because it is a word with which the children may be unfamiliar. Most native speakers will already know the meaning of undress and unplug. These words give me a chance to discuss the meaning of the prefix un-. 

I especially like the word distressful. It has three syllables, so it is particularly challenging. And, as often happens during reading, the sentence gives a hint as to what the unknown word might mean, but it doesn't give a synonym or definition. This gives us a chance to discuss what the word might mean. How do most kittens feel about big dogs? In the end, I would explain that when something is distressful it makes you feel bad and maybe a little scared or nervous. Then I would have the students practice using the word in a sentence. 

The words crabgrass, plastic, and grandstand are more for practice with sounding out than for explicit vocabulary instruction. I always explain the meaning of each word or call on a student to give the word's meaning.

I Can Read This So Good!

It took me years to perfect my phonics instruction. I knew that I wanted it to be explicit and systematic. I also wanted it to be complete. Too many programs left out some important, but less common phonics patterns, and this left my struggling readers to flounder.

When I finally put together a phonics program that was truly complete, I started seeing results almost immediately. Most of my students really shot ahead in reading.

But a handful of children in my class continued to struggle. There seemed to be a missing piece. These kids know their phonics sounds, but they were so slow and halting. I could tell they needed help with fluency. And fluency activities did help, especially repeated readings, but it wasn't enough.

I had a boy in my third grade class, I'll call him Jeremy, who had been tagged as twice exceptional. He was gifted and dyslexic. Jeremy wasn't just in my lowest reading group. He was in a reading group of one; He was that far behind even the lowest readers in my class. Jeremy was miserable. In some ways, the success of my phonics program made things worse for Jeremy because the rest of the class was doing so well while he continued to lag. He would trudge into class as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I had to find something that worked. Typical fluency passages were not effective. They were too long, and they overwhelmed struggling readers with too many phonics patterns. I created my own fluency passages. I kept them short, around fifty words. More importantly, I limited the phonics patterns they contained and sequenced them with plenty of review.

I remember Jeremy's first time with this new type of fluency passage. It was limited to the short /a/ sound in CVC words. It took him three times to get through the passage in under a minute. He was so excited. At the end of the day, he ran to his mom waving the reading passage and shouting, “I can read this so good!” I started sending the passages home with Jeremy for extra practice.

Soon he was able to join with a group of other students for reading. That's when I found that these passages were beneficial for the whole group. Each passage emphasized the phonics pattern we were working on that day. Practicing these patterns to the point of fluency made my phonics instruction that much more effective.

I thought of my experience when I saw the Common Core video. I was especially struck by the observation”...at the moment kids can read the words on the page, fluency starts to be a factor.” Fluency should not be taught separately from phonics. Fluency and phonics are integral to each other. 

 

For more fluency and phonics exercises, please look at the items in my store.