"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure."
These are the words of King Solomon from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verses 2-4. I just got back from the funeral of our school district's Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Mr. Jamie Hosford. As was told over an over again, Jamie was a man of great humor & a love for life. What was even more powerful was his ability to honor and validate the lives of all those he came into contact with. Besides talking about his vice grip of a handshake and his great sense of humor, the testimonies repeatedly spoke of his giving spirit, even in the face of difficulties. He was described by our Superintendent, Dr. Michael Shibler, as a "Giver".
I went to the funeral. I wasn't a personal friend of Jamie's, but he did hire me. I, too, felt welcomed and accepted the first time I met him. I so looked forward to our district's first day back at school each Fall, when Jamie & Michael would be up on stage to set us up for a successful year. It was always a comedy act, but with lots of depth & preparation behind it. Jamie always gave so much of himself to our community. And in his giving never sought "payback". He just loved giving to others.
It reminded me of the book I'm currently reading, Give and Take, A revolutionary Approach to Success, by Adam Grant. Grant describes people as either givers, takers or matchers. In some of his initial research he found that actually givers and takers are both high achievers. That surprised, and actually disappointed me at first. As I read further, his research also discovered that givers are much more content, and can always count on support when they encounter rough times because of all the people they have helped.
As an Immersion educator, I want to be that giver. I want to give to my students the love for language, the ability to use it, and the vision for how and when they can use it. I want to give to the parents of my students the confidence that they made the right decision to enroll their child in an Immersion program; that their child can overcome struggles, and that I want to work as a team with them for the good of their child. I want to give ideas to my colleagues. I also need to learn that they often need more smiles & words of encouragement than they do ideas. I want to give them that, too. I want to give to my administration the loyalty that they deserve & that will instill trust in me as an educator. I want to give to the Immersion community at large in order to encourage them to step out & take risks, to embrace a diverse community around them. I want to give to our immigrant communities the validation that their language is valuable, and that to have a 2nd, 3rd or more languages is even more valuable.
Another study that Grant sites found that, "the presence of a single giver was enough to establish a norm of giving." I know that Jamie was a giver who established that norm in our district. I want to continue that legacy. How about your district? Educators in general tend to be givers, but if your district is struggling in this area, take the risk & start a norm---be a giver.
Learning to give,
Sheryl René
Friday, March 7, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
"museo de libros"
We've had waaaay more snow in Michigan this year than anyone has wanted! Children have been cooped up inside with probably an overload on screen time, so guess how that works out for school time! Needless to say, the students were a little "on the wild side" today, so by the time our first 2 1/2 hours of class time were coming to a close, I was a little leery of how our Writing Workshop would go. But today was a special day; I just didn't realize how special.
Today was our "Museo de libros" (Museum of books). This is part of the Lucy Calkins' curriculum. My first graders have been reading series fiction books, such as Curious George, Froggy, Fly Guy, & Clifford. Using these books as mentor books for how to write a series of fiction books, we set a date for the students to have at least the first book finished. While Lucy talks about students having several books to choose from for publishing, in my Immersion classroom I am pleased when they get 1 book completed in that same amount of time. I announced last Friday that our Museo de libros would be the following Wednesday. This was our second "museo" this year, so they all knew just what to expect.
As we closed out our Guided Reading groups, and independent activities, there was a buzz all over the room. I instructed them to clean off their table tops and get out their fiction book. They quickly got their tabletops in order & looked at me in anticipation of the next step. I handed out sticky notes in a variety of colors, and gave a quick reminder of how to use them. The students were to read their fellow students' books, then leave two sticky notes. The first sticky note they needed to tell the author something they liked about the book. The second sticky note was to leave a question they had for the author, something that would hopefully help the author to see what simple things they could do to make the book even better!
With all the preparations completed I gave the signal to start. The students immediately went to their best friends' seats & settled in to read their special book. As they finished reading, they quickly picked up their pencils & sticky notes to leave a special note to their friend. I loved the hush over the room as the students read & wrote. I was thrilled by the enthusiasm they each displayed as they moved on to the next book. And we spent the next 30 minutes repeating the process. Nobody had to tell them to stay focused; nobody had to tell them to keep their voices down. The cabin fever stress had been channeled into a meaningful activity that they had totally bought into!
Their books were good, great, and even just so-so. But their belief in the process and the affirmation from their peers was priceless! Thanks for the idea, Lucy.
~Sheryl René
Today was our "Museo de libros" (Museum of books). This is part of the Lucy Calkins' curriculum. My first graders have been reading series fiction books, such as Curious George, Froggy, Fly Guy, & Clifford. Using these books as mentor books for how to write a series of fiction books, we set a date for the students to have at least the first book finished. While Lucy talks about students having several books to choose from for publishing, in my Immersion classroom I am pleased when they get 1 book completed in that same amount of time. I announced last Friday that our Museo de libros would be the following Wednesday. This was our second "museo" this year, so they all knew just what to expect.
As we closed out our Guided Reading groups, and independent activities, there was a buzz all over the room. I instructed them to clean off their table tops and get out their fiction book. They quickly got their tabletops in order & looked at me in anticipation of the next step. I handed out sticky notes in a variety of colors, and gave a quick reminder of how to use them. The students were to read their fellow students' books, then leave two sticky notes. The first sticky note they needed to tell the author something they liked about the book. The second sticky note was to leave a question they had for the author, something that would hopefully help the author to see what simple things they could do to make the book even better!
With all the preparations completed I gave the signal to start. The students immediately went to their best friends' seats & settled in to read their special book. As they finished reading, they quickly picked up their pencils & sticky notes to leave a special note to their friend. I loved the hush over the room as the students read & wrote. I was thrilled by the enthusiasm they each displayed as they moved on to the next book. And we spent the next 30 minutes repeating the process. Nobody had to tell them to stay focused; nobody had to tell them to keep their voices down. The cabin fever stress had been channeled into a meaningful activity that they had totally bought into!
Their books were good, great, and even just so-so. But their belief in the process and the affirmation from their peers was priceless! Thanks for the idea, Lucy.
~Sheryl René
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Why didn't I think of this before???
Friends, Just a short note to let you know that you can now read my blog in your 1st language by just clicking on the translation button above the entry date. Please pass it along to others you know. I have been so encouraged to see that readers from Poland, Germany, South Africa, & Italy have following my blog. Maybe now they can share it with others! (Love technology!)
Sheryl René
P. S. Let me know what you think about the translations!
Sheryl René
P. S. Let me know what you think about the translations!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Collective voice
Not sure how many of you are using the Scholastic Newsletter online, but it's a wonderful resource! I have really enjoyed having the newsletters in Spanish, along with a video for each issue that is also in Spanish. We also have access to other grade levels and back issues! Some of the issues have additional games in Spanish, but not all of them.
This week I wrote to Scholastic to let them know how much I appreciate their resources. I also asked if they could please continue to put all the resources in Spanish that they already have in English on the web page. I was very pleased to get a reply from Laine Falk, the editor of Scholastic News. Here's what she wrote:
"I am so thrilled to hear that you like our Spanish resources! That really makes my day. I also appreciate your comments about wanting more in Spanish--good to know!
Have a wonderful day, and please feel free to write us any time with suggestions or comments."
So, not only do I want to encourage you to try the site, I also want to encourage you to let Laine know if you, too, would like to see more resources in Spanish on their site. And while we're at it, why not consider suggesting translations into other languages as well? You can contact Laine Falk at <scholasticnews1@scholastic.com>
Enjoy your experience!
Sheryl René
This week I wrote to Scholastic to let them know how much I appreciate their resources. I also asked if they could please continue to put all the resources in Spanish that they already have in English on the web page. I was very pleased to get a reply from Laine Falk, the editor of Scholastic News. Here's what she wrote:
"I am so thrilled to hear that you like our Spanish resources! That really makes my day. I also appreciate your comments about wanting more in Spanish--good to know!
Have a wonderful day, and please feel free to write us any time with suggestions or comments."
So, not only do I want to encourage you to try the site, I also want to encourage you to let Laine know if you, too, would like to see more resources in Spanish on their site. And while we're at it, why not consider suggesting translations into other languages as well? You can contact Laine Falk at <scholasticnews1@scholastic.com>
Enjoy your experience!
Sheryl René
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Black History month
It's the 2nd snow day right on the heels of Christmas break. I'm in my sewing room, which is actually my youngest child's bedroom, converted to a sewing room after she left town for grad school. In spite of the fact that we have cable tv, we can't find the hook up in the sewing room, so I'm left with local channels and a few other random channels. While it has been great fun watching the ooooooold shows, like Dennis the Menace, I Dream of Jeannie, & Bachelor Father, I started surfing the other 6 channels to see what else was available. I landed on Bounce TV. Are you familiar with that channel? I wasn't. I had never even heard of the channel. Not too surprising though, because Bounce TV is a channel targeted toward African Americans. I'm neither African American, nor do I work in a community that includes very many African Americans. But I was drawn to the channel.
I watched a few movies. Some were familiar faces, like Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, others were unknown to me, but great actors nonetheless. Some of the shows were heartbreaking, others inspirational, others historical. I saw some things that I thought might just be stereotypical ideas from a white person's perspective, but seemed to be portrayed as real. Even the commercials are different. Some of the medical commercials I am assuming were different because of diseases that tend to be genetic and more common in the Black race.
It's coming up on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, and in February, Black History Month. Even though I teach in a Spanish Immersion program, I see my multi-lingual and cross cultural experiences as just the beginning of understanding the many other cultures that live right here in America. I actually start celebrating Black History Month in January, as it otherwise tends to get crowded out by Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, and 100th Day of School celebrations in February. There are only so many special celebrations you can focus on and still get the Common Core State Standards completed!
There are so many African South or Central Americans as well! And, as far as I know, many of these people are citizens of Latin American countries due to the history of the slave trade, just like in the United States! Many of them have their own culture within the Latin culture as well; though it's different from the African American culture in the U.S. because of the Latin influence. I want all of my students, regardless of their race, to see this broader version of the black man's history.
I want to encourage my colleagues in Immersion education to not forget to teach about the black culture this year. Here are just a few sites to check out:
Inventors & inventions: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/black.shtml
Congressmen: http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Black-Americans-in-Congress/
Artists: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/nationalities/African-American.html
Musicians: http://musiced.about.com/od/blackhistorymonth/a/blackhistory.htm
Civil Rights Leaders: http://myblackhistory.net/Civil_Rights.htm
Athletes: http://myblackhistory.net/Athletes.htm
Blacks in Latin American: http://aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/blacks-latin-america-brief-history
The list goes on. I am very thankful for all the Black people who have contributed so much to our country, and others. May we all continue to use our first cross-cultural experiences as a springboard to learning about many others!
~Sheryl René
I watched a few movies. Some were familiar faces, like Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, others were unknown to me, but great actors nonetheless. Some of the shows were heartbreaking, others inspirational, others historical. I saw some things that I thought might just be stereotypical ideas from a white person's perspective, but seemed to be portrayed as real. Even the commercials are different. Some of the medical commercials I am assuming were different because of diseases that tend to be genetic and more common in the Black race.
It's coming up on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, and in February, Black History Month. Even though I teach in a Spanish Immersion program, I see my multi-lingual and cross cultural experiences as just the beginning of understanding the many other cultures that live right here in America. I actually start celebrating Black History Month in January, as it otherwise tends to get crowded out by Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, and 100th Day of School celebrations in February. There are only so many special celebrations you can focus on and still get the Common Core State Standards completed!
There are so many African South or Central Americans as well! And, as far as I know, many of these people are citizens of Latin American countries due to the history of the slave trade, just like in the United States! Many of them have their own culture within the Latin culture as well; though it's different from the African American culture in the U.S. because of the Latin influence. I want all of my students, regardless of their race, to see this broader version of the black man's history.
I want to encourage my colleagues in Immersion education to not forget to teach about the black culture this year. Here are just a few sites to check out:
Inventors & inventions: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/black.shtml
Congressmen: http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Black-Americans-in-Congress/
Artists: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/nationalities/African-American.html
Musicians: http://musiced.about.com/od/blackhistorymonth/a/blackhistory.htm
Civil Rights Leaders: http://myblackhistory.net/Civil_Rights.htm
Athletes: http://myblackhistory.net/Athletes.htm
Blacks in Latin American: http://aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/blacks-latin-america-brief-history
The list goes on. I am very thankful for all the Black people who have contributed so much to our country, and others. May we all continue to use our first cross-cultural experiences as a springboard to learning about many others!
~Sheryl René
Friday, November 22, 2013
Affect? or Academic?
Last night Dr. Mandy Menke challenged my thinking. She stated: "Students who struggle in Reading & oral language in Immersion programs are benefited from having interventions in both their native language as well as the target language." Although there has not been nearly enough research conducted in this area, she did have a couple of studies that substantiated this conclusion. But neither has there been nearly enough research conducted to see if early 2nd language learners are benefitted by having interventions in their target language. Which brings most of us educators to rely on our own experiences (including data on specific students who are struggling in our classrooms) & bias to make decisions.
I have been on the other side of the fence until now, urging, pleading that our K & 1st graders not receive interventions in English until English is re-introduced in the Immersion program; in our school that occurs in the middle of 2nd grade. I have felt strongly about this as I have read about other teacher's challenges, and as I have watched some of my own students' families choose to have their child tutored in English before the 2nd grade English program begins. The results I have seen from this have been that the child does make progress in English, but not in the target language. When the native language thus becomes easier (not necessarily "easy") for students to read & express themselves, the interest and motivation for the target language seems to wane. Resistence sometimes follows, and parents may decide to pull their child out of the Immersion program to avoid further conflict with their child.
When I raised this question/scenario to Dr. Menke, she reminded me that what I am describing is an "Affect" not an "Academic" response, and that there have not been any studies to show how that can effect the immersion student's success in the program. I love getting clarity! I needed that word, affect, to help me align my observations and experiences with what some of these other studies have shown regarding the academic results of this type of intervention.
I'm currently re-reading the book that Dr. Menke assisted on, Struggling Learners & Language Immersion Education, by Tara Fortune with Mandy R. Menke, and I see the struggle that researchers have in nailing down this issue. For example, Fortune states that "decades of research carried out on immersion programs with typically developing language majority children clearly and consistently show that initial literacy development and full (100%) immersion in an L2 do not jeopardize English language or literacy development or subject matter achievement" (Genesee, 1987; Swain & Lapkin,m 1982; Turnbull, Lapkin & Hart, 2001). She goes on to state, "it is argued that if a learner is already struggling to keep pace with the content and language, reducing the amount of instructional time learning through the immersion language by offering intervention in English, may result in the learner falling further and further behind." (p. 81)
However, on a following page, Fortune states, "While there is limited empirical evidence that strongly supports the use of one language or the other, many practitioners recommend that intervention be bilingual if at all possible." (Genesee et al., 2004; Gutiérrez-Clellan, 1999; Kohnert, 2008; Kohnert / Derr, 2004). (p. 83)
So which direction do we choose? I don't mean to write a new thesis here, but I am always open to exploring more intensely and intentionally what the best practice is for our students. I'd love to hear from others of you, too. What has been your experience? If you were at the WMAIE meeting last night, what were you most challenged by?
I will leave you with some final thoughts from Fortune's book, "It is important to remember when considering the intervention plan that choosing one language or another for intervention will not automatically solve the problem. Demers (1994) suggests that learners not only need language remediation but also need to be instructed in 'how to learn' skills and concepts. (p. 83)
Get the book! I don't think it's out in a movie yet!!
~Sheryl René
I have been on the other side of the fence until now, urging, pleading that our K & 1st graders not receive interventions in English until English is re-introduced in the Immersion program; in our school that occurs in the middle of 2nd grade. I have felt strongly about this as I have read about other teacher's challenges, and as I have watched some of my own students' families choose to have their child tutored in English before the 2nd grade English program begins. The results I have seen from this have been that the child does make progress in English, but not in the target language. When the native language thus becomes easier (not necessarily "easy") for students to read & express themselves, the interest and motivation for the target language seems to wane. Resistence sometimes follows, and parents may decide to pull their child out of the Immersion program to avoid further conflict with their child.
When I raised this question/scenario to Dr. Menke, she reminded me that what I am describing is an "Affect" not an "Academic" response, and that there have not been any studies to show how that can effect the immersion student's success in the program. I love getting clarity! I needed that word, affect, to help me align my observations and experiences with what some of these other studies have shown regarding the academic results of this type of intervention.
I'm currently re-reading the book that Dr. Menke assisted on, Struggling Learners & Language Immersion Education, by Tara Fortune with Mandy R. Menke, and I see the struggle that researchers have in nailing down this issue. For example, Fortune states that "decades of research carried out on immersion programs with typically developing language majority children clearly and consistently show that initial literacy development and full (100%) immersion in an L2 do not jeopardize English language or literacy development or subject matter achievement" (Genesee, 1987; Swain & Lapkin,m 1982; Turnbull, Lapkin & Hart, 2001). She goes on to state, "it is argued that if a learner is already struggling to keep pace with the content and language, reducing the amount of instructional time learning through the immersion language by offering intervention in English, may result in the learner falling further and further behind." (p. 81)
However, on a following page, Fortune states, "While there is limited empirical evidence that strongly supports the use of one language or the other, many practitioners recommend that intervention be bilingual if at all possible." (Genesee et al., 2004; Gutiérrez-Clellan, 1999; Kohnert, 2008; Kohnert / Derr, 2004). (p. 83)
So which direction do we choose? I don't mean to write a new thesis here, but I am always open to exploring more intensely and intentionally what the best practice is for our students. I'd love to hear from others of you, too. What has been your experience? If you were at the WMAIE meeting last night, what were you most challenged by?
I will leave you with some final thoughts from Fortune's book, "It is important to remember when considering the intervention plan that choosing one language or another for intervention will not automatically solve the problem. Demers (1994) suggests that learners not only need language remediation but also need to be instructed in 'how to learn' skills and concepts. (p. 83)
Get the book! I don't think it's out in a movie yet!!
~Sheryl René
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Naysayers
I admit that when we are given a new curriculum for our District, I am often one of the first to start saying, "but for Immersion we can't..., or we need to change...." Sometimes these are valid complaints, and sometimes I find myself renegging on that argument after I try it out & find that it DOES work for Immersion students. Of course there are certain absolutes, like, talk to me all day about how important it is for students to learn short vowel words first, but there is no such thing in Spanish, so I won't be teaching that rule for Spanish. However, the Lucy Calkins teaching series for Writing is one change that I have enjoyed teaching this year more than ever! The new emphasis on non-fiction writing is actually a gift for 2nd language learners, as their initial vocabulary has to be very real and concrete.
Teachers aren't the only ones who have to confront new teaching & uncharted waters. Our parents are often called on to help their children at home for a language that they have never studied. I don't even try to argue with them when they tell me "I/We can't"... or "I don't know how..." or "But my child doesn't want to..." But I really appreciate it when they take the recommendation & run with it.
This week I was very inspired by a parent who loves her child (as we all do!), and is willing to at least TRY the teacher recommendation. I recommended that these parents ask their 1st grader to read aloud to their 6th grader (also an Immersion student), and then retell the story in her own words. (The idea being that the 6th grader could understand & help the 1st grader in the retelling process more fluently than the parents). As she related the story to me, this mom said that they had tried that before, but that the younger child had never liked reading to her older sibling. The next part was the part was what grabbed me.."But I told my daughter, you know what? This is Sra. Dalman's homework for you, so we're going to try it! We want you to learn to read & retell even better!" I LOVED THAT! Thank you to all you moms & dads out there who take up that challenge & put in the extra time to help your child achieve the dream!
Oh, I'll still be defending best practices for Immersion education, and you can hold me to that!
Still learning,
Sheryl René
Teachers aren't the only ones who have to confront new teaching & uncharted waters. Our parents are often called on to help their children at home for a language that they have never studied. I don't even try to argue with them when they tell me "I/We can't"... or "I don't know how..." or "But my child doesn't want to..." But I really appreciate it when they take the recommendation & run with it.
This week I was very inspired by a parent who loves her child (as we all do!), and is willing to at least TRY the teacher recommendation. I recommended that these parents ask their 1st grader to read aloud to their 6th grader (also an Immersion student), and then retell the story in her own words. (The idea being that the 6th grader could understand & help the 1st grader in the retelling process more fluently than the parents). As she related the story to me, this mom said that they had tried that before, but that the younger child had never liked reading to her older sibling. The next part was the part was what grabbed me.."But I told my daughter, you know what? This is Sra. Dalman's homework for you, so we're going to try it! We want you to learn to read & retell even better!" I LOVED THAT! Thank you to all you moms & dads out there who take up that challenge & put in the extra time to help your child achieve the dream!
Oh, I'll still be defending best practices for Immersion education, and you can hold me to that!
Still learning,
Sheryl René
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