Thoughts And Applications of Using Choice Words

This is my second time reading this book. Yet, it seems like the first time I've read it because I'm looking at the power of my words through a new lens. As I reread this book I'm finding myself rethinking how I phrase questions or give prompts.

 So often I get caught up in figuring out what to teach each student as I conference with them during Reader's and Writer's Workshop. I forget to celebrate how far they've come and focus on what is going well. Peter Johnston writes in chapter 2, "The more we rely on expectations and standards, the harder it is to focus on what is going well." He goes on to suggest asking students how they've changed so they realize that they are in the process of becoming.

 Chapter 3 has reminded me of the importance of asking children how they figured something out and making them an active participant in naming what they did and how they feel about their progress. This chapter changed how I speak with children. I no longer say "Good readers..." Or "Good writers..." I simply say, "That's what readers and writers do."

 In chapter 4, Johnston writes about the importance of building "the bridges between action and consequence that develop their sense of agency. " He also points out, "If children are not making errors, they are not putting themselves in learning situations." Children with a strong belief in their own agency are less likely to give up when they encounter difficulty.This caused me to think about a TED talk I heard.

 Recently I listened to a Ted Talk from NPR Radio Hour Podcast on Oct. 31 about success. Angela Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania professor, is a MacArthur Foundation fellow who studies the role that intellectual strengths and personality traits play in educational achievement. She found that grit, the tendency to sustain interest and effort in pursuing long-term goals, to be a strong indicator of educational success. Students who were intelligent but didn't put much forth effort were
less likely to be successful than those students with grit. I highly recommend listening to this Ted

Talk. You can listen to this 6 minute talk at www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html

Today felt different because I found myself focusing on progress and what was going well. I pointed out to the class that at the beginning of the year they needed help during calendar time figuring out which days were Tuesday and Thursday. A student pointed out that they can figure out Saturday and Sunday  now too. I thanked them for listening and being ready to learn. During math, all of a sudden
they discovered that they could add higher numbers into the thousands just by knowing doubles facts and adding zeroes on. I would not have known this if I hadn't asked them to show me what they know and to challenge them to keep going. I realized today that my class was more engaged because I was inviting them to tell me what they noticed about their learning.

thoughts from TPKR- Tina, Patti, Kristi, Rachel

A common thread in our team's discussion was how to empower the students' thinking. It's a change in teaching where it's more of an open dialogue and conversation, " Did anyone notice?".... as apposed to explicitly telling the students what to do. - Chapter 2

Similarly, starting with noticing what's been done correctly and building on that will help create independent and confident learners.

We also noticed in Chapter 4, where it talks about maximizing students' feelings of agency, the goal is to get students to understand how their choices constantly effect the environment and people around them.

The Workshop Method: What do we NOTICE?

We noticed that these conversational moves outlined in Choice Words (noticing, naming, identifying, and developing student agency) are aligned with the values of the Reading and Writing Workshop. Opening the conversation to the students (attentional following as opposed to attentional switching (p.18)) allows us to support their developing agency. The challenge is that we, as teachers, must be willing to be flexible. We have to let go of the safety of our lesson plan and allow ourselves to respond to their ideas on the fly, connecting back to our Ends-in-View and helping the students see how their own ideas are the brilliant work of Readers, Authors, Mathematicians, and Researchers.

Noticing and Naming and Staying Positive

I -- along with many of us -- have been struggling with staying positive and focusing on the positive with my class. I am definitely spending most of my time noticing the negative. This chapter made me think about naming and noticing positive behavior with kids -- not just the kids with behavior challenges but all the kids. I'm going to work really hard to name and notice positive behavior (and not just as an instrument of change) today. Let's see how it goes. -llm.