#D100bloggerPD #HackingEngagement Conclusion!

I’m so thrilled that you’re here today because we have TWO reasons to celebrate! First, today is the finale of our #D100bloggerPD #HackingEngagement blog book study! If you’ve been following along, you know we’ve had 9 amazing blog posts leading up to today’s 10^th and final post in this study of James Alan Sturtevant’s Hacking Engagement. Colleen over at Literacy Loving Gals started us off back on October 19^th and we’ve had 8 other members of Berwyn South District 100 blogging and sharing along the way. If you missed any of those posts, they are linked in Colleen’s blog at the bottom of her post. Also, if you love this idea of a blog book study, check out our previous studies on Reading in the Wild, HackingEducation, Move Your Bus, Hacking the Common Core, Start.Right.Now, and WhatTeachers Make.

As you can see, this #HackingEngagement study is our 7^th blog book study that we’ve completed as part of #D100bloggerPD. That brings us to our second reason to celebrate- which is the fact that, today, on 11/9/17, #D100bloggerPD is celebrating our second anniversary! #D100bloggerPD has come such a long way in these two years and my fantastic #teachertwin Colleen (@Litlovegal1) want to thank every single person who has had a part in this journey. This all started in the summer of 2015 when Colleen was partaking in a Jennifer Serravallo blog book study and I selfishly loved the idea and tagged along after reading about it on Twitter. At that point, I knew Colleen worked in my district, but with 8 schools and over 400 staff members, we certainly had never met in person or had a real conversation. After that study, we met up at an institute day and had the thought that we could bring this blog book study idea to our district and impact our teachers/students in the same way that it impacted us. From never having met/spoken to one another to instant kindred spirits, Colleen is truly my #teachertwin and someone shares a devotion to becoming better always and bringing that better daily to our students. We gathered some educators for our first study two years ago and the rest is history. We’re in love with what we do and love taking professional development into our own hands while sharing with the rest of the world.

Now, for the final five hacks of Hacking Engagement and the conclusion of this wonderful book by James Alan Sturtevant.

Photo courtesy of @Litlovegal1 :)

As you know if you’ve been reading the book with us thus far, each hack has a fun title with a real problem and hack (solution) attached to it. Then the reader is provided with clear steps to start taking tomorrow to set this hack into motion.

My first hack, number 46, is titled Entice the Students to do Hill Sprints, and is all about how students don’t enjoy taking notes- but would if they could get on board with Cornell Notes. Now, note-taking, especially Cornell note-taking isn’t universally known by all students. Hence the need to be hacked- however- this one does take a bit of background knowledge. In the “What You Can Do Tomorrow” section, Sturtevant explains that you’ll need to obviously teach your students how to do this properly- which naturally makes this engagement strategy not to appealing and flashy as the others. However, as he points out, “some classroom engaging activities are very important, but not necessarily joyful” (Page 186). Teaching students these note-taking skills now will empower them and clear their future path to many more exciting and engaging educational endeavors.

Next up is Peerless Peer Teaching with the Vowel Squad, and the problem here is that students just can’t sit still and this is fixed by implementing peer teaching groups. The logic here is that students need to not only be engaged in the class/activity, but they also need to engage each other. Sturtevant provides us with an anecdote of a teacher engaging students with a iMovie/Vowel Squad/Movement lesson and the whole essence is that when you step out of the ordinary, extraordinary can happen.

There’s even a handy QR code to scan and follow to an in-depth description of this situation- which I’ve provided to the left. If you’re reading this and are a classroom teacher (current/former/in some way involved) I guarantee if I asked you to think of a student who just couldn’t stop moving- it wouldn’t take you long to picture that child. This hack is for that child- but for so many others as well.

Hack 48 is one of my particular favorites- Banish Blogging Blandness and tackles the problem that, let’s face it, some students just hate journaling. This is fixed by the hack of bringing out the best in student bloggers. For me- I’ve always loved writing. It is an outlet, an escape, and quite simply, it brings me joy.

BUT, when I was in school, I’m pretty sure my teachers were out to get me with the most boring, awful journal prompts they could find. Nothing squashes a desire to write like a formulated topic and forcing students to write about it- just like nothing squashes a desire to read than a teacher forcing you to read a certain book and removing student choice altogether. So this isn’t a new discovery- that students need choice- it’s just unfortunately one that isn’t being implemented all the time…. yet. I love how Sturtevant explains that, “Blogging liberates student expression” (Page 192). Isn’t that just SO true? If you haven’t tried blogging yet, Sturtevant gives you a wonderful outline of next steps to follow to get this hack off the ground. Honestly, you just have to start. Not tomorrow, not next week, not when you get around to it. Just decide to start and do it. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

The kid in me loves the next hack, Turn Your Students into Five-Year-Olds, because I honestly don’t draw nearly as much as I probably should be! My almost four and a half year old daughter loves drawing- and I think she’s on to something with the amount of creativity she exudes on a daily basis. This is what Sturtevant sets out to cure- he acknowledges the problem that ‘it’s hard to set creativity free’ and argues that we should simply ‘let them draw’. It’s so obvious- yet so under-done in the field of education. This hack reminds me of a visualization lesson I like to do with my students- where I read them the most engaging text I know (Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac) where a lazy uncle turns into a skeleton monster by eating the flesh off his bones after he accidentally burns his finger in the fire and realizes it’s such an easy way to get food. See what I mean?!? Tell me you’re not picturing that right now!! Anyway, I use this to try and break through to my students that we need to let this movie play in our minds. Stop blindly reading and taking in the world- open up your eyes and let the pictures come inside! I explain that you wouldn’t go to a movie and close your eyes- only wanting to hear it- so why read a book without picturing it? I love how Sturtevant provides, in his ‘what you can do tomorrow’ section, the idea of creating drawing prompts. We make writing prompts all the time- hello Hack 48!- but why not a drawing prompt? Imagine the excitement of that kid who loves to draw- finally feeling like they fit in and have an activity they can succeed with! And yes, there will be those who complain they can’t draw. But come on, I can’t draw, yet I can make a mean stick figure! What better time to encourage our kids that perfection isn’t necessary in life? If we didn’t do something every time we were worried it wouldn’t be perfect…. we’d literally never get anything done! I loved this hack and can’t wait to inject a little more art into my classes!

The last hack of the book, number 50, is Channel Your Inner Yoga Teacher and focuses on the (very common) problem that ‘teachers get busy and forget to be empathetic’. I’ve never once met a teacher who didn’t wish they had more time in everyday because it’s simply impossible to get everything done. Then factor in getting all that done while simply being a nice human and you’re really stretching thin. The hack for this problem is to ‘use compassion to build relationships and foster engagement’ which seems so obvious and yet SO needs to be said out loud for all to hear. Over and over again. On repeat. No teacher sets out to be too busy for students. No teacher sets out to deprive a child of attention. But honestly, it just happens. And you’re being either dishonest or too hard on yourself if you’re saying it doesn’t. Life is busy. Teaching is the absolute hardest thing I’ve ever done. Some days I feel like I’m hitting it out of the park. Some days I feel like I strike out swinging. The trick is that I keep stepping up to the plate AND keep thinking that a homerun is possible. That’s what this hack is all about. Find your inner drive and use it to bring your best every day.

So this brings us to the conclusion- which- if you’re looking for an inspiring two-pages to jump-start your ability to re-engage yourself in your profession and bring your best everyday- you need to read this conclusion. After a whole book of ways to engage students, Sturtevant provides the final push of truly engaging YOU, the teacher, and setting you up for success. It’s a beautiful conclusion and I strongly recommend reading every word so that you, too, can have a magical next five years.

Thank you SO much for reading along with our study of #HackingEngagement and devoting yourself to finding ways to bring your best to your students. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@MrsKRichey or click the link to the right) to stay up to date with #D100bloggerPD and all of our future studies. Thank you to all the #D100bloggerPD members who participated and a special thanks to author James Sturtevant who has been amazing with offering his support of this study, his participation in a special edition of #D100chat on Tuesday 11/7, and his overall desire to make learning the best it can possibly be for our students and for us as teachers.

Hacking the Common Core with #D100bloggerPD

Welcome to the kickoff post for #D100bloggerPD's newest blog book study- a look into Michael Fisher's Hacking the Common Core. This is one of many books in the Hack Learning Series- all of which are short, beautiful (both written and appearance!) books that help teachers employ and ignite change in their classrooms immediately!

Photo Credit to Colleen @litlovegal1

This isn't the first Hack Learning Series book that #D100bloggerPD has tackled; we read and studied Hacking Education back in March/April of this year and you can access all those posts here if you'd like to check them out.

 

Be sure to follow @HackMyLearning and @MarkBarnes19! 

If at this point you aren't totally sure what #D100bloggerPD is- please be sure to check along the right side (scroll down and look right!) of this blog and click the #D100bloggerPD label- which will take you to all of my previous posts and all the previous studies and you'll find everything you need to catch you up to speed.

Basically, #D100bloggerPD is a fresh take on blogging and professional development that was started (almost!) a year ago by my #teachertwin Colleen- a colleague in Berwyn South School District 100- hence the D100. She had completed a blog study a while ago with a different group of people- and not only did I participate- but I loved the idea- so we got together and came up with the idea of brining this blogger professional development to our school district. That was in November of last year and since then, we have studied four books (this study being the fifth) and involved many staff members or administrators from across our school district.

Aside from learning and having fun ourselves, we've caught the eye of the authors of the books we've been studying- and some have even been gracious enough to help us along the way with materials, with ideas, or by participating in a Twitter Chat (#d100chat) in our district. We are incredibly appreciative of all the help we have gotten along the way- not only from these authors- but also from our amazing colleagues/bloggers who, without them, these studies wouldn't be possible. 

Speaking of those fabulous bloggers- here is the schedule for this blog study- and the date and location of which to find each post. As they are posted, I will link them here for ease of accessibility.

As you can see, I've been charged with writing my reflection on the Introduction as well as Hack 1 of Hacking the Common Core.  I love starting these blog book studies because I get so excited at the thought of kicking off these great events of learning. So without further ado, let's jump right in. 

Introduction

The introduction to this book addresses the question implied in the title of the book. Why do the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) need to be hacked anyway? Well, if you're an educator and you've been breathing for the last 6-7 years, you've heard of the CCSS. You've also probably cursed them, had them come up in dinner conversation with non-educator friends, and also had to explain them to a frustrated parent- all while attempting to hide your inner disdain for these lovely standards. I'm about as positive person as there is in the world- and even I will admit- these standards drove me kind of crazy. Notice how that is past tense. Yes, they were new. Yes, they're a little wonky. BUT- I'm a teacher- and I have students to educate here- so I got over it and moved on. 

The rest of the world of public opinion did not. Not a day goes by where someone doesn't share/reshare those viral posts on Facebook about the "new math" or "ridiculous things we expect of students these days" and- make no mistake about it- the world of public opinion HATES the CCSS. 

So what can we do?

Well, for one, we can realize that the CCSS did not swoop in and replace the need for quality, caring teachers. For another- we can pick up this handy book that we are discussing right now, and jump into 10 easy 'hacks' to make the CCSS make sense and work for us and not against us. I LOVE how Michael Fisher points out in the introduction, that regardless of all the change that the CCSS have brought upon us, our "students still need their teachers." (Hacking the Common Core, Page 18) This sometimes (strangely) overlooked fact is a fantastic reminder that while we, as teachers, are getting nervous, frustrated, etc. over these new standards, there are still students walking into our classroom everyday wanting to learn. There is still a task at hand- even if it may be a bit more confusing now. He reminds us that we can't just stop teaching these students. They deserve our best effort and we definitely owe that much to them. To me, being frustrated over the CCSS doesn't seem like a fantastic excuse to not be the best teacher you can possibly be.

Which brings me to my other favorite quote of Fisher's from the introduction, the unforgettable notion that "we teach students, not standards." (Hacking the Common Core, Page 19).

While I feel like this is a no-brainer- the fact that it needs to be said illustrates the point that teachers can no longer worry about just teaching their students. There's  battery of tests, an endless list of questions, and on top of those- a brand new group of standards by which to teach these students. If you've read my blog before, you know how highly I praise educators because of the simple fact that teaching is hard. Teaching is a complex art that cannot be faked, cannot be done well if not totally prepared, and ultimately, cannot be brushed aside in the media as a job any less worthy of our respect than any other profession. Throughout this introduction, Fisher brilliantly balances society's frustrations of the Common Core while also giving hope that this book will ease those burdens and lessen those fears- a task which seems impossible sometimes- but one that is achieved by the masterful hacks in this book.

Let's dig right in and look at Hack 1: Shift Happens. I mentioned earlier that I am a positive person- or at the very least- I'm always trying to 'look on the bright side', so the fact that this hack (chapter) starts with an amazing quote from actor Chris Pine, one I had never read before, made me so happy.

This quote, shown in the picture and from page 21, sums up exactly how I feel about being in a difficult situation. He's right- we can't control everything. We can control our own attitude. This piece of advice is often easy to hear and hard to follow- but it's one that can do certain good when forming our attack plan on the CCSS. We aren't going to wake up one day to a news story that the CCSS have been abolished and something new and perfect is magically in it's place. That's just not going to happen. So instead of complaining- let's find a way to make them work for us. Fisher explains in the opening to this chapter that teachers often become so frustrated with these standards that they choose to do nothing in the place of something. Let's revisit what we learned in the introduction. Our students still need us. We cannot sit idly by and do nothing. So here's where Hack 1 comes into play. Fisher encourages teachers to "look to the instructional shifts" (Hacking the Common Core, Page 22) and break down the standards, and in turn, our confusion. Fisher explains that, "If we remove the sometimes overwhelming breadth of the standards from the curriculum conversations and instead focus only on the shifts, capacities, or practices, we can start moving toward intentional actions" (Hacking the Common Core, Page 22). These shifts are found by examining the standards and breaking them into these 'shifts' for a much more clear approach.

In the Hack 1: Shift Happens chapter, Fisher also provides steps that you can take tomorrow as well as steps for full implementation of this hack. I love that this set-up, common to all Hack Learning books, gives teachers a quick fix for tomorrow and a solid plan for the future. No one is going to wave a magic wand and make these 'Hacks' happen tomorrow- but at least the book provides a place to start. I also happen to think that the steps Fisher outlines as a "start tomorrow" plan, happen to be a darn good outline for any plan we devise in our life. In short, his four steps for starting tomorrow are:

1 Access and read.

2 Set a purpose for understanding.

3 Think of intentional actions.

4 Choose one new thing from the capacities or practices and just do it.

I challenge you to think of an obstacle in your life, right now, that wouldn't benefit from these four steps. I mean, seriously. First, learn about it. Then, set a purpose and think of something intentional you can do. And ultimately, pick something and DO IT. This is the beauty of this book- and specifically this chapter- the fact that after reading it, you feel empowered and compelled to start change in your classroom. Not to mention, you feel capable of doing so. That's pretty astounding. Fisher goes on to be so kind as to provide a menu for full implementation of this hack, as well as address some potential pushback that you might receive along the way. 

Overall, this opening Hack to the book is not only clearly written and concise- but it provides a basis for the rest of the book that can only lead you to more success in your classroom and in navigating these Common Core Standards. If you want to learn about Hacks 2-10- be sure to stick around for the rest of our #D100bloggerPD study by using the schedule at the top of this post.

Also, if you have questions for Michael Fisher, he'll be joining us for a special edition of #D100chat on October 18, right before the completion of this blog book study.

I'd love for you to leave any questions or comments below- and don't forget to check out Teaching and Learning Redefined on Wednesday, 10/5, for Hack 2 in our ongoing study.

Also, be sure to celebrate the 1st birthday of #D100bloggerPD on November 9, 2016! Check Twitter and follow with our hashtag as we celebrate one whole year of this fantastic, teacher-led, 'my time' professional development!

If, as a birthday present (I won't tell #D100bloggerPD that it's for you), you want to get your own copy of Hacking the Common Core and follow along with our study, you can get your own copy here:

#D100 bloggerPD Book Study: Coda

If you look up "Coda" in the dictionary, one of the multiple definitions that you will see is "anything that serves as a concluding part" which is obviously a fitting title for the ultimate section of this book. If you've been following along, you know that I am posting the final installment of the #D100bloggerPD blog book study of Donalyn Miller's book Reading in the Wild. If you are here for the first time today, I'd love for you to check out the previous posts- as they include a multitude of resources, reflections, and thoughts from some very intelligent members of my district and our blogging professional development crew. Here's what has happened so far:

Literacy Loving Gals with Chapter 1: Wild Readers Dedicate Time to Read

Miss G Does 5th with Vignette: Creating a Workshop Schedule that Works for You

Courtney O'Connor Guest Blogging on Literacy Loving Gals with Chapter 2: Wild Readers Self-Select Reading Material 

Social Justice Superheroes with Vignette: Curating a Classroom Library

Responsive Literacy with Chapter 3: Wild Readers Share Books with Other Readers

Pershing Principal Blog with Vignette: Conferring: What's the Point?

That Literacy Lady with Chapter 4: Wild Readers Have Reading Plans

The Bazz Blog with Vignette: Building a Personal Canon

Reading is Thinking with Chapter 5: Wild Readers Show Preferences

*You can also read my post on the making of a blog book study here*

As I read the final section of Donalyn's book, which is a touching story of a reading relationship between her and her students, I couldn't help but think back to all the times I have had similar relationships with my students.  As some of my readers know, I am a reading specialist in an elementary school- and formerly in a middle school. As part of my job, I teach RTI (Response to Intervention) groups- which is basically a reading group for students who are struggling for a variety of different reasons with reading at their current grade level and the group is designed to help them grow to their reading potential.

I always stop people when they say that my job is to "fix" student's reading. I'm not a handyman- I don't fix anything.

I do, however, build a relationship with students to determine their current reading abilities and work with them to set a path to achieve their own potential. Because of this, I encounter students on a daily basis who finding their way to a love for reading. I believe that if I can help a student find that love for reading, while helping them bridge some of their gaps, that they too can become lifelong wild readers and begin to fulfill their full reading potential. This is my passion. This is my lifelong journey. 

Like Donalyn Miller talks about in this Coda section of the book, I, too, share wonderful moments with my readers. A couple weeks ago I reached a milestone with one of my fifth grade students. She has been in the RTI process for a couple years now and until recently did not identify as a reader. This story is proof that when students begin to identify as a reader, that they can transform their ability- just with a positive mindset. I started seeing this student in August at the beginning of the year. She was polite and well behaved in group but never really excited to be reading. This continued on with us- me trying to find a "hook" to ignite her reading passion and her making slow but steady improvement toward grade level. Then one day our Assistant Principal Ms. Bazz, a definite wild reader herself, went into this 5th grade classroom and performed (I say performed because it was, no doubt, an epic show!) some book talks. Later that same afternoon, this student came to my group and was raving about how exciting books can be.

Let this be a lesson- one amazing book talk can change your life- because for this girl, it did. Ever since that day, she has been devouring books. She has been zealous in group and improving daily. It's been a joy to see. This all culminated with last week, the student walked into our group with a book in hand and declared, "You MUST read this book!" As an RTI teacher, my students don't usually come to group with their independent reading books- let alone proclaiming their love for them. As a teacher, these are the moments I live for. These are the moments that are imprinted on my life forever.  I sometimes wonder if kids know, when we look at the with awe, how amazing they are. This student now has a new outlook on life- all because of a book.      

I think the only thing left is to leave you with this quote- which Donalyn used to begin her Coda chapter. I think it fits perfectly the summation of this book study as it is not, in fact, a coda at all, rather a beginning for all of us.

If you've enjoyed being a part of this study or enjoyed reading along with it, please  stay in touch! Keep up with future blog studies by following #D100bloggerPD on Twitter.  

Speaking of twitter, my district, Berwyn South School District 100, is hosting a #D100chat on 12/15/15 at 8:00pm CST.  I am guest moderating along with Colleen over at Literacy Loving Gals and the topic is about #D100bloggerPD! You can join in if you'd like to discuss wild readers and how blogging/social media impacts your teaching. If you can't make it for this chat, be sure to catch a future one- they happen every other Tuesday at 8:00 pm CST. We'd love to hear from you!

  I want to thank each and every blogger who took part in this inaugural book study as part of the Berwyn South District 100 #D100bloggerPD crew.

 Each of you are special and talented and I am lucky to work with all of you. 

P.S. It was especially great to see our #D100bloggerPD hashtag trending on Twitter back on 11/29- I love the fact that we are all getting together to spread the learning in our district and share our thoughts with the whole twitter-verse! Remember: we are all in this together. The more we share and the more we learn from each other- the better!! Thanks for reading this and being a part of my PLN!