Schema - A Guest Post

The following is a "guest post*" from my friend and colleague, Lori Conrad.  Lori is co-author of Put Thinking to The Test (along with Cheryl Zimmerman, Missy Matthews, and me).  Lori has been an educator for nearly 30 years and has spent the past few years teaching fifth grade in a suburban school in the Denver Metropolitan area.  

I invited her to share a bit of her thinking with us... enjoy!

I Still Teach My Students About Schema  by Lori L. Conrad 

Yes, I admit it.  I spent the last month and a half talking with my fifth graders about background knowledge.  I know the Common Core doesn’t mention accessing prior knowledge or connecting to relevant schema.  I know that many colleagues across the nation have been told they “can’t teach BK any more.”  And I know that David Coleman, one of the authors of the Common Core, in a presentation to educators, stated that “as you grow up in this world you realize people don’t really give a **** about what you feel or think.” 

But I also know what the research says about how successful thinkers make sense.  It is clear that what thinkers know, what they bring to the act of learning, makes a huge difference in their capacity to understand.  It’s the mental files thinkers open, add to, rearrange, revise, and even empty out, that often determine how we add, integrate and use new ideas and information.  Because of this, teaching students about proficient use of their schema has to be a part of my yearlong instructional plan. 

This year, our study of how thinkers strategically make use of their background knowledge started with a question two students shared as we were winding down our exploration of inferring.  We’d been using a simple equation, text + background knowledge = inference, to illustrate how thinkers take specifics from any given experience, combine details with what they already know, to figure out things that the experience implies.  After working our way through a trio of picture books about the Civil Rights Movement, Merich and Jordan asked a very profound question: 

“What happens if our background knowledge lets us down?” 

They realized that we are able to think inferentially only when we bring something to the experience.  And what happens if we show up to that experience only to find that our pockets are empty, so to speak.  

With this question as the starting point, we spent the last six weeks really puzzling our way through schema theory.  We figured out that: 

1. When what we are learning/reading matches our schema, what we already know is confirmed.  This feeling of “I knew that . . . “ helped us build confidence, and gave us a ‘foothold’ into a complex learning experience.  Too many of these “I knew that . . . “ might also signal that what we’re doing, the book we’re reading for example, might not be providing the challenge we need to push us as learners. 
2. When what we are learning/reading is new to us, we have a responsibility to build our background knowledge.  We have to determine what’s most important in this new information, and decide where we want to file it away for easy access later on.  The kids really saw this as something akin to the way Google links different webpages and websites together so a search pulls up the most meaningful/useful information first.  This new, revised schema also led us to more sophisticated inferences and questions.  For example, as they built our background knowledge about early colonization, students began wondering about how the initial drive for religious freedom turned into religious intolerance in places like the Plymouth Colony.
3. When what we are learning/reading contradicts what we already have stored in our prior knowledge, it forces us to delete errors and revise initial ideas.  These challenges to what they thought they knew nudges students to ask the sorts of clarifying questions researchers ponder when they run into a dead end.  Students recorded their confusions on post-it notes and in response entries.  These questions became the starting point for many of their conversations with me and with their classmates.  That “wait just a minute, that’s not what I thought” also helped students reread, recheck, and wonder about the validity of their own and others’ long-held beliefs.   

Our study of schema even helped us expand our definition of what background knowledge might actually include.  As readers, we realized that BK includes everything from the content, format and language of what we were reading to information about the author who composed it.  As writers, we make use of our schema about text structure, purpose, audience, and even specifics of English spelling and punctuation.  As mathematicians, knowing about multiplication and division of whole numbers gave us a leg up in our exploration of multiplying and dividing fractions, but we had some serious revisions to make in terms of our belief that multiplying always results in a larger number while dividing leads us to a smaller one.  As historians, building background knowledge about people, places and events, helped us draw conclusions about how the goals of European Explores like Christopher Columbus and Francis Drake actually set the stage for how American colonists lived hundreds of years later.  And as test takers, we looked at released items not as something to practice, but as an opportunity to name which schema files a specific test question or task demanded we access. 

It was a wondrous six weeks of learning.   

I can only guess at why exploring the ways a student’s background knowledge impacts her learning has lost instructional favor.  We might blamed it on: 

•  the hundreds of incipit ‘text-to-text, text-to-me, text-to-the word’ lessons that have cropped up in commercially produced comprehension strategy materials since those labels were first coined by Keene and Zimmerman in their first edition of Mosaic of Thought.

OR 

•  all the times teachers have let readers off the hook with simple responses like “I have a dog, too” without any sort of follow-up as to how that connection helped the readers better understand the story.

OR 

•  the fact that the authors of CCSS really do believe that everything there is to know about a text actually resides within the four corners of the page.   

OR 

• how little respect some educators have for what learners can bring to their school experiences.   

Regardless, I’ll continue to use the strategy of activating, building and revising background knowledge as one of the pillars of my instruction.  I want students to know that they have a responsibility to bring something to every learning experience and that they should walk away from each of these events changed.  

*Thanks, Lori, for sharing a glimpse into your classroom with us.  Your expertise and opinion always gives us fodder for thinking about our own practices!

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The thoughts expressed in guest's blogs are the intellectual property of the guest blogger.  The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the guest author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the blog owner. 

Summer Readin' - Had Me A Blast!

Last week, I email this to my fourth grade students from last year.  I thought I'd post it on All-en-a-Day's Work as well.  My friend, Dana, and I were chatting on the phone and she asked me what I ordered... here's the list!  Enjoy.

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Good Morning, 

I hope your summer is off to a good start... full of fun, family, and reading (and some math and some writing and perhaps some investigating of creatures living in your backyard)!

My summer is off to a grand start. I spent a week in Minnesota working with teachers there (I also got some cheese curds in Wisconsin and visited the town near where Laura Ingalls was born).  I came home with a few books (surprise) and some artwork from local artists in the places we visited.  I spent three days with Lauryn's first grade teacher, Mrs. Franklin, and her husband (my wife and Lauryn went with me) who now live in Minnesota in a quaint little town.  I had dinner with Mr. Muma's old boss and went to his house to visit.  My wife and I joked about perhaps moving to Minnesota when I retire in five or ten years or so!  

This week I've spent time reading and writing and reading and writing some more.  I'm on about page three of a new book, but I've also been doing some other writing as well.  I am babysitting Tonka, my son's dog.  She and Timber are keeping me on my toes (right now they are sleeping on my toes).   

I wanted to update you on my book purchases (for those of you who gave me gift cards especially) over the past week.  It's been so much fun reading other teacher's blogs and making a list of "must haves" for the classroom.  So much fun, in fact, that I decided to send you the titles so you'd know what I purchased (and perhaps nudge you to do a bit of book investigating on your own).  

I thought maybe a trip to the library with a few titles in hand would add to your summer reading.  You know, it's just as important to read 20 (make that 30) minutes a day in the summer as it is during the school year.  Lauryn's favorite summer reading includes the free pamphlets that we find when we go to the zoo, museums, etc.  We're all rereading some of our favorite "picture" books this summer (that's a silly term - they are more than picture books) and talking about them.  We're also trying to spend time without the noise box (television) on... especially now that "The Voice" is over.  I'm also trying to write about my reading every day.  

Most of these titles aren't novels, but rather the kinds of books that we, as writers, use as mentors to nudge our writing.  Just in case you're interested, here's what I ordered:

• Just in Time for Christmas by Louise Borden (a dog story by a friend of mine--she's a fabulous writer; so kind and funny in real life)
• His Name was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden (if you loved Hana's Suitcase, you'll love this one)
• The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman (yes, that Fleischman family)
• The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden (also a good cousin text to Hana's Suitcase)
• The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane (this is an adult book that I thought looked intriguing)
• Forest Has a Song: Poems by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater (this would have been good to have during our ecosystem study, plus her name is fun to say)
• The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan (this is brand new and hasn't been released yet, but I preordered it)
• Gone Fishing: A novel by Tamera Will Wissinger (a short novel in verse, a good read aloud... and great poetry, lots of ideas to nudge writing in our "Write at Home" notebooks.  And again, isn't Will Wissinger just fun to say outloud!)
• My First Day by Steve Jenkins (great nonfiction mixed with narrative, a great repeating line book)
• Lullaby by Jane Chelsea Aragon (simply because I love Salt Hands and Ms. Aragon lived fulfilling, writing life... by the way, Salt Hands is NOT easy to find)
• Winter Harvest by Jane Chelsea Aragon (again... she's a great writer)
• Georgia's Bones by Jen Bryant (she wrote A River of Words and this is about a famous artist named Georgia O'Keefe)
• A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant (a cousin text to A River of Words, perhaps)
• Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear by Nicola Davies (my daughter won't let me have her copy and I love this book)
• The Train Jumper by Don Brown (he wrote Bright Path)
• Abe's Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln by Jen Bryant (surprise, another book by her)
• Mack Made Moves by Don Brown (another great Don Brown book... I think I have-or will have-most of them now)
• White Owl, Barn Owl by Nicole Davies (I love her mix of nonfiction and narrative... she wrote Bat Loves the Night)
• Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable Discoveries by Don Brown (he's one of my favorite writers, as you know)

I also ordered these books used:

• Together by George Ella Lyon (my paperback copy is kind of falling apart - illustrated by Vera Rosenberry)
• Mail Myself to You by Woody Guthrie (illustrated by Vera Rosenberry)
• Let it Begin Here!: April 19, 1775: The Day the American Revolution Began (Don Brown - about an important time in our history)
• Dolly Madison Saves George Washington (Don Brown - haven't read this one yet and can't wait!)
• The Notorious Izzy Fink (Don Brown - this looks really good)
• Ruth Law Thrills a Nation (Don Brown - an aviation heroine)
• All Stations! Distress!: April 15, 1912: The Day the Titanic Sank (Don Brown - to add to my growing Titanic collection)
• The Good Lion (Don Brown - Beryl Markhams' story)
• Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa (Don Brown - another adventurous woman)
• Across a Dark and Wild Sea (Don Brown--which I think I may already have... but it's amazing)
• Moonpie and Ivy by Barbara O'Connor (I wonder why?)
• Barefoot Dancer: The Story of Isadora Duncan by Barbara O'Connor (Hmm....)
• Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O'Connor (one of her early books)
• Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor (a copy for the room)
• Read to Me by Judi Moreillon (my friend Paul, from Indiana recommended this one, and he teaches high school and uses it with his kids - I always trust his recommendations)
• Sing Down the Rain by Judi Moreillon (just a beautifully illustrated story and I've been thinking a lot about rain lately)

Again, enjoy your summer!  I hope that you'll find some quiet time to reflect and reenergize before school starts in August.  I'll think of you fondly as I prepare for a new adventure with a new group of learners. 

All the best, 

Mr. Allen

Children WANT to write! - Donald Graves

I wrote a tribute to Donald Graves when he died.  If you know me, you know that I've been a fan of his since my wife, Susan, first introduced me to his groundbreaking work Writing: Teachers and Children at Work.  It is the first book on teaching that I read that "spoke" to me... humbly and sincerely.  It is the book that changed the course of my career path from Speech and Language Pathologist to classroom teacher.  It is the book that still sits proudly in its rightful place among my professional text.  It has since 1984. 

In 1987, I met Don for the first time in Castle Rock, Colorado because my principal, Laura Harmon, had the foresight to send me to a workshop in the old Cantril Building.  A newbie teacher with a heart for reading and writing got to spend time with a master.  I've never forgotten that first meeting.  Thank you, Laura.

Enter Children Want to Write:  Donald Graves and the Revolution in Children's Writing  edited by Thomas Newkirk and Penny Kittle.  It's a collection of "his writing, research videos, and presentations to teachers."  It's a must have for any teacher.  It's a treasure trove of his work with writers and writing.

It's shocking to me how many teachers don't have the name of Donald Graves rolling off their tongue when they speak about young writers and writing.  If it isn't, is should be... he was not only revolutionary, but a visionary whose passion for the craft of writing and the crafters of that writing (children) is unsurpassed.  It's on Don's shoulders that we, as teachers of writers, should stand!  In the first chapter of the book, Tom writes:

"To revisit Donald Graves' work connects us to an extraordinary moment in literacy education, a quiet revolution that overturned assumptions about what children could (and couldn't) do.  It was a revolution that drew on the creative energy--and sheer boldness--of young teachers and a visionary principal.  They did it together with no road map.  Together they learned to observe, ask good questions, and wait for answers.  John Keats called this quality a 'negative capability'--the capability for "being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.
     This uncertainty scares a lot of people, now.  Or it seems an irresponsible luxury in this time of perpetual 'crisis.'  There is no shortage of programs, scripts, or 'alignment' specialists who promise to free us of this responsibility to make decisions.  When I visit schools, I can almost sense teachers ducking and dodging as these programs, tests, and 'data' come their way.  The overcrowded curriculum and the interruptions that Don mocked are even more prominent now.  The testing culture is oppressive.
     So we hope this book is a bracing dose of clarity.  This work still represents a horizon of the possible.  It is still a revolution, one that Don incited with that wonderful, unqualified sentence--'Children want to write.'"

Writing isn't a mystery.  Writing isn't a lock and step sequence of events that magically mixes and matches the 26 letters of the alphabet onto the page.  It isn't a "unit " in which a writer's pencil falls gracefully upon the page and because it's packaged in pretty publisher quality paper, success is guaranteed.  It isn't.  It isn't a rubric-based system of "teach this" and "score this" and watch as the mysterious writing wand suddenly turns children into writers who, because they have a plan, write brilliantly.  It isn't a half hour a day of drill and kill and skill, turning writers words into swill upon the page.  It isn't a five-paragraph essay.  It isn't.  It isn't a clearcut continuum of standards that are scooped out of a pot of "skills and strategies" then thrown upon paper in a neat and tidy sequence by someone who, for the most part, probably doesn't write.  It isn't a program packaged with bells and whistles, "say this" and "model this."  It just isn't. 

Writing is the work that writers do.  Don knew this.  In every word he wrote and from every child (adult) with whom he conferred, Don learned that the work of a writer is... well... WRITING!  He knew that it we have to teach "to the intention of writers, not curriculum guides or standards."  On page 57, Penny writes, "Don defined a writing classroom as a place where we experiment and learn.  The 'we' is critical of course:  Graves believed that the teacher must practice and demonstrate a deep understanding of writing craft, and in fact, called the teacher-writer the chief 'condition' for effective writing."

I don't think Don would have disagreed that we should help writers reach high standards.  In fact, if you ever took a workshop from him, you KNOW that he nudged writers to write.  Over the years, I took several workshops with him and during every one of them I was expected to write, to listen to other writers, to talk to other writers, to experiment, to revise, to "give it a go" with a strategy or skill.  Last week, Susan and I were talking to our friend Jo Franklin about all the times we sat in one of his workshops with clear expectations and notebooks in hand, wanting to write because there was no doubt in his mind that we could!  And, I remember sitting with him on the lawn with my friend, Randi Allison, talking writing and writers, children and learning, people and places.  There was always a natural and sincere curiosity swirling about Don. 

So, it's with excitement and furor that I recommend "his" latest book!  And, I'm so thankful that his dear friends Penny Kittle and Thomas Newkirk went on an archeological dig through his work to put together an amazing tribute.  I needed this book!  When I read "First Grade," I was taken back to 1992 and I heard Don's voice reading this poem to us, here in Denver... I'll be forever grateful for your wisdom in putting this book together.

For those of you who knew Don, you'll reminisce and remember.  You'll hear his voice float through the pages.  The video clips will remind you of a friend who's gone, but not forgotten (I have a sneaking hunch he's still observing in a few classrooms now and then).  The writing will "re-energize" you and perhaps encourage you to write, and more importantly, stand up for writers.  This compilation is classic Donald Graves. 

For those of you who never met Don, you'll get to meet him.  You'll hear the voice that caused thousands of teachers to revision the teaching of writing.  The video clips will give you a glimpse into the heart and mind of the man who taught us well.  The writing will re-energize you and perhaps encourage you to read more of his writing... to see what real writers in real classrooms should be doing.  This compilation is classic Donald Graves. 

Classic Graves.  Thank you Penny and Tom.  Thank you, dear Don!  Children DO want to write...

Don Brown - What a Writer!

Since beginning All-en-a-Day's Work, I've recommended several of Don Brown's books:  Gold! Gold from the American River, Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt, Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein. 

Don Brown is one of my favorite children's authors.  It could be the subject matter--people starting out as the "underdog," but triumphing in the end.  It could be his writing style--a wonderful mix of nonfiction narrative and the notes he includes in the back of his books.  It could be his illustrations--the simplistic detail that brings each text to life.  It could be the kid appeal--there's not a Don Brown book that I've shared with students that they haven't loved... and haven't asked to read independently.  It could simply just be his brilliance!

In Conferring:  The Keystone of Reader's Workshop I mention several of Don's books when I discuss the idea of strengthening stamina and endurance in young readers.  I think he understands the importance of working hard, exploring passion, and enduring the difficult times that create strength... in character, in life, in learning!  He has an amazing knack of bridging the gap of history with his stories, which are all grounded in the truth of the character's lives that he, indeed, brings to life.  

This week, I spent some time adding to my Don Brown Collection.  Oh sure, I had to dig for some his books, but I found them (although I'd love shiny new copies, many of them are used and well-loved).  Well worth the dig!

My current favorite is Bright Path the story of Young Jim Thorpe.  Jim Thorpe... once the "greatest athlete in the world"... whose story is amazing.  My fourth graders were mesmerized by his accomplishments and he quickly became the topic of study and intrigue among some of my students.  

In Bright Path there are several snippets of writing that my students and I found to be brilliant.  Here's a sample...

Summer or winter, Jim seemed to spend all his time in the

open.  He hunted, stalking raccoons, tracking deer, or snaring

quail in traps made of cornstalks.  He played wild games with 

his friends, too.  His favorite was Follow-the-Leader where Jim

and the other boys swam rivers, climbed trees, and dashed 

among the livestock.

But life wasn't all games and hunting.   

As my young writers were working on their own nonfiction writing, they chose to attempt to emulate Don's magical rhythm, the structure of his sentences, the "But" at the end.  And, in  Don's books, you'll find a similar cadence, the same play with words.  His writing is wonderful.  It's bright!

But what I really love about using Don Brown's work with young learners is the way that he invites us into the lives of famous and infamous people... to share a bit of their story that's real and honest and often humbling.  Human.  It's the humanity in which Don couches his words that makes his books a must have for any classroom library... from the youngest readers to the most seasoned readers.  Each of his books deserve to be held up as shining examples of the importance of lifetime learning... of enduring.. of staying the course. 

My advice?  Start building your Don Brown collection as soon as possible!  He's THAT good.

Stick-to-it-ness

Endurance and to be able to endure 

is the first lesson a child should learn because 

it's the one they will most need to know...   

~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In Conferring:  The Keystone of Reader's Workshop I write about how "Strengthening Endurance and Stamina" with the readers in my classroom (p. 51-62) is one of the most important "ashlars" of our reader's workshop.  Lately, I've once again been thinking about the idea of helping nudge young readers by strengthening their ability to become thoughtful, independent learners.  Since I wrote the book, I've continued to explore this idea of encouraging children negotiate their "ability to do something or 'carry on' for a long period of time."
     I'm coming off a stellar year.  I've had the best time working with 31 fourth graders.  It was one of those eclectic, energetic, and enthusiastic groups of learners that we all dream about... just enough angst to keep me humble and just enough commitment to learning know that the fruits of our labors far outweigh the "stuff" going on outside the classroom.  Brilliant thinkers... the majority of whom had the fortitude to stick with learning tasks and the ability to make wise choices as learners.  And, I believe, it was because they were in a supportive environment, provided choice, and given time to endure!
     As I talk to colleagues about working with readers, I'm intrigued by the rituals and routines that are put in place in order for learners to "do" the work they "must do" during our literacy workshops.  Bells still ring for groups to rotate from place to place.  Elaborate charts and structures are put into place to imply "choice."  Laminated charts adorn classroom walls (Isn't change a constant in learning to be a wise reader)?  Points and prizes are awarded for finishing a book.  Children "choose" from their teacher's menu of choices.  All in the name of "independence."
     Don't get me wrong... everyone has a personal definition of "independence."  In fact, I'm continuing to re-vision mine.  I want to make sure that I'm instilling a sense of stamina instead of creating"co-dependent" learners.  I want my students to know that I'm there for them as their teacher, but that, ultimately, they have take on the responsibility of the learning role.  And, for me, it all goes back to our work at the forefront of the school year... the shared "coming to know" that takes priority as we work together to build a workshop structure (which is, indeed, the best structure for engagement and learning) in which independence can thrive.
     I recently received an email from a former student (who transferred to another school at the end of his fourth grade year and spent his fifth grade year reading "classics").  His sense of endurance still a stronghold in his mind.  In the email, he wrote...

     I would like some more books to read because I opened up my old reader's notebook and noticed three things.  One: "Wow I had really messy handwriting."  Two: "It is cool that I get to look through it again."  Three:  "How cool would it be if I continued."  So, I am.   This month's subject is not metacognition, synthesis, etc. but... STICK-TO-IT-NESS!  So please give me some more book titles I can read!!!   

    STICK-TO-IT-NESS... one of our synonyms for endurance and stamina.  As teachers it behooves us to rouse the agility of learners in our care to strengthen their stamina.  On page 62 of Conferring, I write...  

We must focus on stamina and endurance

• if we want our students to become independent, mindful readers
• if we believe that "Endurance and to be able to endure is the first lesson a child should learn because it's the one they will most need to know."
• if we believe that our reader's workshops should be places where conferring can thrive
• if we want our students to become intellectually engaged during reader's workshop and we want to have the time to spend our energy on conferring

     So, as I begin my summer and start planning for next year, I'm going to revisit the role stamina and endurance plays in reader's workshop.  A new group of learners will certainly inspire a new set of wonderings and investigations... but the idea of "Learning with a spirit of endurance" remains a constant.  Can't wait to begin.