Some Thoughts from Jen Jones - Hello Literacy!

We went to a great conference in Concord yesterday, the NC Assoc. of Elementary Educators, SW Region. The keynote speaker was Jen Jones who has a blog called Hello Literacy and a store on Teachers Pay Teachers. She's invited to speak all over the country on reading and writing and literacy and education. Here are just a few things she said...

CONNECTIONS / DISCONNECTIONS

Teachers usually solicit for sameness, likeness, and inclusion when they ask students to "make a connection." Sometimes this can make students feel like they have to have a connection with the story. Well.....maybe they don't! Sometimes a story is just a story. And sometimes, having a disconnection is a form of self-monitoring. We need to teach this to kids.

CLASS MOTTO

Everyone's a teacher. Everyone's a learner.

WHO'S LEARNING?

Whoever is doing the talking is doing the learning. Get kids up and presenting to the class.

MINI LESSONS

Mini lessons should be 10 minutes or less. Be careful that the time doesn't stretch on.

The reading instruction should never get in the way of reading.

SO WHAT?

We always ask kids, "What's the main idea?" Then we should go on to ask them, "So what?"

...What is the big idea about that (main idea)?

...How does this affect the world - globally - and me?

It's important that we ask kids to reflect on the main idea, not just identify it.

AUDIENCE

Students do their worst writing when the teacher is their only audience.

Think about this: How is what I ask the kids to do going to be shared outside the classroom?

Help students make connections to people outside their school.

If we do this, kids' writing will be better, and they'll be more excited about and invested in their writing.

TEACHERS ARE GATEKEEPERS

Teachers are gatekeepers to everything that happens in the classroom.

Instead of saying "no" to kids' ideas, say "yes!"

Instead of saying, "Why do you want to do that?"...say, "Why not?"

...Why can't kids write with pens instead of always using pencils? There are erasable pens now.

...Why can't kids check out 5 books from the library at a time?

...Why can kids only go to the library one time a week for 30 minutes? We adults go to the library whenever we want. Why can't kids?

Listen to your students. What do they want? ...Then, before you say, "no", ask yourself, "Why not?"

HELLO LITERACY BLOG

Check out Jen's blog at HelloLiteracy.com.

HELLO LITERACY on Teachers Pay Teachers

Check out Jen's Hello Literacy story on TpP.