Chicken/Egg Change

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? When regarding this long debated question in an educational realm, we think in terms of change. Which comes first, a change in belief or a change in practice? It is hard to change our practice when we are entrenched in a current belief system. It may be equally hard to change our beliefs if we don't just jump in and change our practice, allowing the inevitable results to bring about the change in belief.

We recently had an opportunity to hear Michel Fullen, a leading international expert on change, speak at the Wisconsin State Reading Conference on this very subject. Michel suggests that it isn't always necessary for teachers to initially embrace the theory and research behind new instructional practices. If the techniques and strategies are sound and teachers just jump in, the results become the impetus for changed beliefs. "We change behaviors first, then we change beliefs."

We work with teachers all over the country, many of whom are new to the Daily 5 and Cafe Menu. The internal struggle is sometimes written on their faces as they try to reconcile new information with current practice. My teaching partner was recently one of these. She was reluctant to begin using the Cafe Menu for a variety of reasons. Many of the strategies were new to her and she wasn't sure she was ready to teach them. She was comfortable with and proficient at her whole group instruction and guided reading group practice. She really wanted to give herself a year to learn the strategies and have lesson plans ready for her Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary instruction. After assessing her students, she could easily see where their goals fit on the menu, so we encouraged her to just jump in and go for it.

She did. The part she felt most insecure about was knowing what strategy to choose, so we offered a simple rule of thumb: 4-4-3-3. When assessing or conferring with a child, if you aren't sure which strategy to teach, a great place to begin is with the top 4 strategies under Comprehension. the top 4 strategies under Accuracy, the top 3 under Fluency and the top 3 under Expand Vocabulary.

These are the strategies most often used by readers, even adults, making them a great place to begin instruction.

Want to know what happened? Her students reading achievement was amazing, she gained a newfound love for teaching reading, and her beliefs regarding individual and differentiated instructions shifted completely. Change in practice led to changed belief.

Michael has a book out if you'd like to know more.

FAQ

Q: I am an Intermediate teacher. Do you do two or three rounds of the Daily 5 in your intermediate classes?

A:The Daily 5 book alludes to the idea of 5 rounds, but we have since tweaked that...

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50 Tools to Improve Writing (Website)

We love it when smart people put together useful and relevant resources that help us teach our learners or grow as learners

ourselves. Here is a site that does just that.

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Registration Information for 2010 Workshops

Registrations for our 2010 workshops are filling fast, so we wanted to make sure you look at your calendars and see if we will be in a city close to you. We would love to spend the day with you.

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New This Week For Members

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Onsets and Rimes...A Lesson

When setting up Daily 5 we ask students to check in with a thumbs up or thumbs to the side indicating how they did with each behavior on our "I" chart. This system for checking in carries a bit more accountability for the students.

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Parent Pipeline - Use the Picture...Do the Words and Pictures Match?

An important accuracy strategy listed on the CAFÉ menu is: Use the picture... Do the words and pictures match? This strategy teaches children one approach to assist with decoding words and gaining meaning. After introducing this strategy, use the Parent Pipeline to help parents support their child at home.

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Designing Your Listen to Reading Space

Do your students enjoy the listening rotation? Whether you are using MP3, CD or cassette players, you need a place to house your listening equipment. Here's a terrific solution...

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