education

Monumental Women: A Timely Short Text Set

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

Did you know that August 26, 2020 marks the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment?  As women, we are thankful for the many who fought for our right to vote.   The very first statue of women in Central Park will be unveiled this week to commemorate the 100th Anniversary and the millions of women it took to get the 19th Amendment into law. The statue will feature three suffragists -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth -- who represent this hard work.  You can watch the unveiling LIVE on Wednesday, August 26th beginning at 7:45 a.m. by visiting THIS LINK or visit it at a later time where it will be archived.   

This post will feature short texts at your fingertips focused on women and women’s suffrage that can be used in real time or to look back in the days and months to come.   

BUILDING SOME BACKGROUND

There are a lot of great books, texts and resources about women and the women’s suffrage movement.  Here, we highlight a few of our favorites that can be used as:

  • Whole group mini lessons, shared reading, or read aloud

  • Small group work led by the teacher, by students, or a combination of both

  • One-to-one during teacher/student conferring or for independent reading

PICTURE BOOKS

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LINKS TO THESE TITLES [for reference or purchase]

Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers  and The Staff of the New York Times

Equality's Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America By Deborah Diesen

History Smashers: Women's Right to Vote By Kate Messner

Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote by Kristen Gillenbrand

Marching with Aunt Susan: Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women's Suffrage by Claire Rudolf Murphy 

How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 

My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner 

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble by Doreen Rappaport

OTHER ARTICLES, VIDEOS & OTHER SHORT TEXTS

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Share one (or more) picture books or resources with students about the Women’s Suffrage Movement.  Invite conversation around the ideas that are shared.  Ask students if they have any questions or wonderings about voting rights, either related to today or in the past.  Jot those questions down to reference later.  Or, show the students a photograph or drawing of the new statue.  Ask them what they notice about the three women depicted. There is a great deal of symbolism included.  Then introduce the three important figures through some of the resources above.

Step 2

Pose the following questions and ideas to students, with the whole group or in small groups, and provide time and space for some conversation.

  • Did you know that Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth were all from the same state?  Do you know what state they are from? [New York]

  • Was Susan B. Anthony alive when the 19th Amendment was passed?  

  • What is an Amendment and how does it become official?

  • In 1872, fifteen women voted illegally.  Who were they and what happened to them?

  • What are the rules around voting today?  Can everyone who lives in the U.S. vote?  

  • Why is this new statue so important?  Why do you think there are so few statues of historical women?

  • What other historical women do you think should be depicted in a life-sized statue?  Why?

As students share, listen in and note students’ background knowledge, misconceptions, and wonderings.  For more on ways to kidwatch, check out the Kidwatching section.

Step 3

If time and interest permit, invite students to form mini-study cohorts (small groups no larger than 3-4) to research and learn more about a voting topic of their choice. Each mini-cohort can focus on the same topic OR they can research a variety of topics.  The main goals would be for students to have an opportunity to:

  • Read more (volume!) about a related topic of interest

  • Collaborate with peers, either by researching together or sharing new information they’ve learned with others

  • Use short texts to pique interests, potentially leading to reading even longer texts 

Step 4

Determine how long you’d like to dedicate to this learning experience and share that timeline with students.  A reminder that this opportunity can be a one-day exploration or more, depending on the time you have available and the goals you’ve set with students.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT TEXT SETS

This is the perfect opportunity to use a text set.  We love to use a curated set of texts about a topic or related topics.  Start general and get more specific (e.g show an image of the new statue and then explore the woman depicted and the movement.  Or, go the other direction and read one of the woman’s life stories and then talk about the Suffrage Movement and the statue.  By reading a number of different short texts, the readers get a broader view of the topic.  And, they get to explore the topic further.  You can start by reading a text together and then inviting your students to pick another text that is of interest to them.  

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (Benchmark, 2021).

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Launching into Summer Writing

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: LAUNCHING INTO SUMMER WRITING

For the past ten weeks, we have offered a series called Short Texts at Your Fingertips.  One or two times each week, we provided teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. The ideas we have shared were easily integrated into any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. For some, summer is already in full swing.  For others, summer is just a few short weeks or days away.  Regardless of when your school year ends, it’s important that students of all ages keep reading and writing across the summer months.  Last week we wrote about the WHY and HOW to create voluminous readers this summer!  You can read that post here.  This week we wrap up this series with the WHY and HOW to create voluminous writers this summer! A big THANK YOU to my friend and colleague for being such a great thinking partner and writing partner!

SUMMER WRITING

There is always lots of talk about summer reading.  Children take home books and reading lists.  Writing often gets a line or two at the bottom of the book list (e.g. “Don’t forget to write.”)   We would argue that writing needs equal attention.  Encoding is just as important as decoding and picking up a pencil can be just as easy as reading that short text.  Just as readers need daily practice, writers also need time and motivation to write.  There are lots of ways to incorporate writing into your summer plans. While some children can (and will) write and write and write, all children can create some short texts.   One of the most important ways to encourage writing is to make sure your young writer has ample materials and some great inspiration.  Read on for ideas!

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TRY THIS!

Step 1

If you are looking for some strategic ways to support summer writing, here are some possible pathways:

  • Read about authors and their writing process. Here are a few to get you started:

    • Reading Rockets has lots of videos of amazing authors talking about their work

  • Often some new writing materials to help motivate -- a new notepad or notebook and some beautiful new pens often helps, a lot. See below for more thoughts about this!

  • Correspondence is a great motivator.  A teacher or relative makes a great pen pal.  The correspondence can take place via text, email or mail.   

Step 2

Help students make a plan for summer writing.  Ask:

  • How many days each week will you write? 

  • How many minutes will you spend writing each time you write? 

Ask students what they want to write about.  Do they want to write:

  • Fiction or nonfiction?

  • Notebook entries

  • Poems

  • Letters or postcards or texts

Step 3

Ask students to identify different places to write.  Create a short list of places that might be a perfect place to write, such as:

  • The kitchen table

  • At the computer

  • At the park on a bench

  • Under a favorite tree

  • On the airplane or train

  • On the sidewalk with chalk

  • Anywhere and everywhere as long as there is paper and a writing utensil

Step 4

One of the keys to writing voluminously is to have writing supplies on hand.  Some supplies that promote writing:

  • Paper (lots of it)

    • Unlined (aka copy paper)

    • Lined

    • Construction paper, card stock, etc.

  • Pencils and pens (adults have their favorite writing instruments, encourage your writers to explore different tools)

  • Crayons, markers, paint (many authors need to draw first to “rehearse” their stories and other authors want to illustrate their words)

  • A stapler (and a staple remover) for making books

  • One or more notebooks (for catching all those great ideas and for taking places so there is always somewhere to write)

  • A computer (for those who want to write with a keyboard)

Step 5

Keep reading!  Writers get inspiration from other writers.  Use a loved author as a mentor and try to write in the same style.  Or write a sequel to a favorite story and another in the series.  Here are some other ideas to spark some writing!

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Step 6

Get some other ideas from our other blog posts.  Each one of them can inspire some writing.

Step 7

Get the writing out into the world.  Writers need to “publish” their work and have it read.  Some ideas:

  • Send a piece to a relative or friend

  • Post it on social media

  • Make an author’s video and send it to others to watch

  • Host a virtual (or real) book signing

  • Write a letter and send it off 

FOR MORE  RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

Co-planning a Mini-Unit to Wrap Up the Year with JOY!

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Shannon for the last few years. We share a common love of books and we are both self-proclaimed pen snobs — meaning we are both “pen-picky” and enjoy trying to convince one another that our favorite pen type is the best. Shannon is a continual learner — with an ongoing stream of inquiry. She’s a joy to co-plan with because she exudes happiness as she noodles ideas, thinks through wonderings, and creates ways to support her students — and her learning community — in collaborative, heart-felt ways.

A DISCLAIMER OF SORTS

A few shared agreements:

  • As I co-plan with teachers, I’m not going to spend much time, if any, editing the videos.  This means it might be clunky at times.  You might get a barking dog, tech glitches, or family interruptions.  I hope you’ll be able to relate. Thank you, in advance, for assuming best intentions and for your understanding. In addition, not everything we do together is recorded.

  • The ideas shared in these videos are NOT “the way” or “the right way” -- they are just one way to approach the work.  I hope you’ll spend some time actively studying the co-planning conversation. As you listen, take stock of the ASSETS that emerge from the conversation.  Think about:

    • What’s the WHY behind our work?  

    • What moves are we trying to make in service of students?

    • Name the implications for your work going forward.  What might you adopt or adapt to fit your setting, interests, and/or needs?

  • Focus on process versus end product.  The work will continue to unfold even if it’s not captured on video segments.  If you check back into our shared documents, you’ll notice changes because our work is dynamic, not static, and will evolve across time.

HERE’S WHAT WE ARE UP TO

  • Shannon’s students have settled into a learning from home routine and are launching into their 8th week. Each week brings about new celebrations and new challenges.  

  • Shannon wants her students to end the year with a mini-poetry unit, celebrating reading and writing!

THINGS WE ARE THINKING ABOUT NOW

  • How do the enduring practices we use in the classroom translate -- or not -- to remote/digital learning from home?

  • What’s the WHY behind this mini-poetry unit?

  • What’s going to get kiddos jazzed up about reading and writing poetry?

  • What end demonstrations or learning celebrations can we co-create with students to honor their work?

VIDEO

If you are interested in watching a coach and teacher co-plan — working as THINKING PARTNERS in response to the unique times we are currently experiencing — check out this video.

SOME REFLECTIONS

  • What poem types will be new/unfamiliar to students?  What poem types will feel like “old friends”?

  • Will students write poetry on paper or on the computer?  They have options so I’m wondering what they will choose?  

  • Will students illustrate some of the poems they write?

  • Is there a way to help students collect all of the poems they are reading and writing [a binder or folder] to keep them organized at home?  If so, maybe they could be used to inspire reading/re-reading poetry over the summer.

OTHER LINKS & RESOURCES

Our DRAFTY, dynamic, in-motion, evolving plans: Julie & Shannon: Co-planning Mini-Poetry Unit

Small Group Plans:  Small Group Reading & Writing Lesson Plans to Adopt, Adapt or Improve [During Remote/Distance Learning]

Short Texts at Your Fingertips:  Poetry

If you want to learn more about Shannon’s classroom, check out her blog!

IDEAS TO CHEW ON

As most educators would agree, working from a distance is not the same as in-person experiences. In my work as a consultant, it’s not unusual for me to work across the miles with teachers. In fact, most of my consulting contracts include some form of this type of professional learning, particularly as we prepare for our work together in the classroom. Planning and working across the miles is how we often get a jump-start to our work together. The difference, of course, is the work we are typically planning is NOT from a distance. So, that is where we are trying to make a shift.

I’m in good company when I say we are all kind of tired of this by now. However, with so many unknowns about what school will — or should — look like in the fall, we are using this spring as a dress rehearsal of sorts. We are asking:

  • What’s working? What’s clunky?

  • Who are we reaching and supporting in ways that are making a difference?

  • Who are we concerned about? What don’t we know that we should know?

  • How will we stay connected and minimize the “distance” that separates us?

  • How will we create compelling, sophisticated learning experiences that take into account our foundational beliefs and practices in ways that nature and inspire students?

Two pieces I’ve recently written that might be of interest are:

Until next time — keep at it! You’ve got a whole crew of educators cheering you on because we know the spirit and camaraderie surrounds us all! Reach out if you’d like to chat about ways I might be of service and support your efforts!

Simplicity and Connection in Distance Learning

We’ve heard it and said it lots of times over the past weeks. These are tricky times. I’m so proud of all the educators have stepped up to make the most out of the changes and challenges that have come their way. As I support educators across the miles, it’s clear that there is no one right answer or one right way. It’s about putting our best feet forward in meeting the individual and collective needs of the learning communities we serve. And, then, pushing pause to reflect so that we can make reasonable and responsive moves forward.

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Patty McGee about the simplicity and connection in distance learning. Our conversation was refreshing and I’m thankful for the opportunity. In case you missed it, check it out here!

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Thanks to Patty and Benchmark Education for your continued support of important conversations and work!

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