In the last post, I talked about Guiding Principles for flipped reading instruction.  This is now two posts because someone...who will remain nameless...told me that it was too much for one post (he's right, of course.  I just spiral out of control when I'm excited about an idea. Or fifty).

Today, I'll deal with the last Guiding Principle, particularly as it applies to shorter works (GP 3):

4. Flipping reading has to be about process and skill rather than content

For my Essay and Exposition class (an 11th/12th grade English semester-long elective):

• Units are roughly a week, but part of a larger sequence, planned using Understanding By Design, and incorporating my adaptation of Ramsay Musallam's Explore Flip Apply structure:

            Explore Flip Apply Explore Apply Assess

More on that in a minute.

• Students will be about 75% self-paced. Monday will be the one day that is rarely/never self-paced.  
• We will read a short text together on Monday - the class focus is on essays and creative non-fiction.  This includes selections from Essay Connections, The Orwell Reader and The Blair Reader, as well as Me Talk Pretty One Day.  Because I realise that is VERY different from what most people are teaching in US English classes, I've done my example here with two poems, which at least are easy to modify for your own context.
• After reading together and assessing basic comprehension, students will either work alone or in groups to look at theme/structure/style/whatever the focus is.  This will usually take the form of inquiry.  
• • Sample Inquiry/Explore Questions (again, these are 11th-12th grade level, but could be adapted for lower levels):

• • What common structures can you find in the language in the text? 
    
  • skill: analyse impact of author's choices on text, analyse impact of word choice on text, CCS 11.3-11.4
  • Example with one text: What patterns can you find in the LANGUAGE (i.e. only the explicit/literal words in the poem, not the inferences you might make) in "Red Dust"?  
  • Example with two texts: What patterns in the language are found in both "Red Dust" and "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?
  • How is the idea of (x theme) developed in the text?  
    
  • skill: determine theme and trace development, CCS 11.2
  • Example with one text: What explicit words and implicit ideas/inferences in Philip Levine's poem "Red Dust" would lead you to believe that the author is writing about sorrow?
  • Example with two texts: What explicit words and implicit ideas/inferences in "Red Dust" and "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" can you find?  What common theme can you draw from those patterns?
  • Compare (x text) to (y text).  What do you notice about (x) pattern in the text?  
    
  • skill: analyse author's choices and development of theme in two texts, CSS 11.2-4
  • Example (with two texts, obviously): What do you notice about the patterns related to mortality in "Red Dust" and "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?  What is similar?  What is different?  Which (in your opinion) delivers the theme/impression most effectively?
  • What [figurative language/literary device/poetic meter/etc.] is used in the text?  What patterns do you notice?  What inferences can you make about the text based on those patterns? 
    
  • skill: determine meaning of words and how word choice impacts the text/theme, CSS 11.4
  • Example: Levine uses intense juxtaposition throughout the poem "Red Dust" - what controlling impression does that create?  What word patterns help you understand the controlling impression?
  • What personal experience have you had that you can relate to this text?  Explain the connection and how it relates to the text using specific examples of the language in the text that made you think of the connection. 
    
  • skill: cite textual evidence to support a claim, CSS 11.1

After they read and complete the inquiry task, we will discuss those ideas in class.  This may bleed into Tuesday (or homework for Monday night), depending on the length of the text.

• From there, students will be self paced, using roughly this format:
• Skill: Video on technique/theme/style analysis (flip)
• Practice Skill: Complete task that builds skills with a similar text (apply)
• Process-Teacher Model: Video on choice of texts with guiding questions (explore)
• Practice Process: Analyse text of choice (apply)
• Process-Student Model: Write/do project to show mastery (assess)
• Work on WBP project, either as homework during the week or with left-over class time (explore/flip/apply)

I didn't want to break up the flow of that list, so here are some additional details about those steps:

The work will be completed in order, but it can be done in class or at home, as the kids find easiest/most productive for them.  They do have to be working during class time, but not requiring the videos for homework makes it more self-paced and asynchronous.  There will be a "Watch" station so they can view the videos during class.  

There is potential that some students can skip the skill/practice steps if they can demonstrate mastery.  No point in making them build a skill they've mastered, right?  In that case, the assess phase would have to show mastery AND excellence, since they are now challenging themselves beyond basic mastery.  The will probably end up also having masses of time to work on WBP, which is okay with me.

I'm using these loose definitions for the skill/practice/process terms:
[note: these are VERY under-construction.  Feedback appreciated]

Skill: anything that builds a necessary reading, writing or thinking skill.  Usually modelled explicitly in a video.

Practice Skill/Process: anything that allows a student to work on the skill or process.  It will usually be a reading assignment, a conversation, or a piece of writing.  This is the skill-building stage that allows students to move towards mastery.  This is the step I will be most directly involved in during class time.  I will be working with students individually or in small groups.

Process-TM: these are videos that I'll make with Andrew Thomasson where we model the writing process, a reading strategy, or have a reflective conversation.  Whatever process we model, students will be expected to show mastery of in the Process-SM phase.  If we show a reflective conversation, they will be expected to have a reflective conversation.  If we show writing, they'll be expected to write.  Etc.  

In this example, we will talk about the three texts as a preview and walk through the beginning of each text, showing the beginning of the process we expect them to finish (like marking up figurative language and analysing the impact on tone).  This will evolve as we start trying it [as of now, we've only hazily talked about it and this is probably the most complete description he's read at this point...so Andrew, if you have feedback or think this is a stupid idea, we can/will talk about it more...].

Process-SM: this step is where the students use the exact same process Andrew and I modelled in the Process-TM to show that they've mastered the process AND skill taught that week.  So in the unit I've outlined above, students would have to film themselves (alone or in a team) walking through the process we modelled on a brand new text, or they could mark up the text in writing or in a VoiceThread.  That would be assessed, and if students need to go back to build mastery, they will repeat the Skill/Practice steps with more explicit guidance from me.


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This is overly reductive, but using that model means that the content you use (i.e. what you read/watch/talk about) doesn't matter NEARLY as much as the process and skills you're building.  You can read a Cornflakes box and make it work in this format if you're clever enough.

I also know that I tend towards overly complicated systems and structures.  It always gets more simple as I bounce it around with Andrew and the rest of the Cheesebucket Posse.

I've spent a considerable amount of energy this summer trying to figure out this difficult problem: How do you flip reading instruction, particularly in a self-paced, asynchronous mastery environment?  

I don't know that I have an answer yet.  But I have thoughts.  These thoughts were HEAVILY influenced by lots of people (yes...the usual suspects).  In fact, let me make that more explicit.  These ideas are not mine.  I can't claim them and I refuse to claim them.  They only exist because of the amazing people on Twitter who process with me constantly.  They only exist because of the webinar we had last Tuesday.  They only exist because of Andrew Thomasson and Karl Lindgren-Streicher.  Andrew said it better here...and that's how things tend to work.  I talk forever and in circles, and then he just puts it so simply and beautifully, in a way that is perfectly understandable and yet so profound that I just shut up and agree with him.

So I agree with him.

That being said...writing "we" instead of "I" just sounds weird.  So mentally, when you read "I" know that there are multiple "I"s represented in this amazing collective of colleagues.

I'm going to start by listing the general ideas, then I'll give specifics after the list.   This got really, really long.  And it's probably confusing to anyone outside my own head.  For that I apologise in advance.  

Guiding Principles
1. Flipped reading is more than "reading at home" and "talking about it in class."
2. Flipping reading requires way more creativity than flipping grammar or vocabulary or even writing, and it greatly depends on instructional context.
3. Flipped reading works better with shorter texts than with longer texts.
4. Flipping reading has to be about process and skill rather than content.

Explanations of those Guiding Principles

1. Flipping reading is not reading at home and talking about it in class.
This pops up every now and then, and I just have one thing to say:
How is it flipping when you're just following the commonly accepted instructional paradigm?  That's not flipping.  That's traditional.  

So stop saying that is flipped English...please?

You can read Troy Cockrum's thoughts on the matter here.

2. Flipping reading requires creativity and depends on instructional context.
The first part is obvious - the reason there are VERY few strategies for flipping reading is because conceptually, it's really difficult to get your head around.  It takes creativity, which is where the Explore Flip Apply model comes in (more on that later...and there are tons of entries if you look back through my post history).

The second part, about instructional context, is really important.  What will work with me at Redwood High School is not what worked at San Lorenzo High School, and it may not work in your school either.  I don't know.  You're the teacher, thus you're the expert on how to teach your kids.  I can only tell you what I do, and give you guiding principles for how to structure your units and instruction.

When I flipped Night last year, I made videos of myself reading the text.  We had Today's Meet live discussions in class as the videos played (basically, it allowed me to participate in the discussion and manage the room instead of trying to read + do all of that).  Then students compiled theme and figurative language examples in separate Today's Meet threads and on Edmodo.  Then we did a lot of writing and discussion questions.  We watched a lot of related documentaries and film clips to give context.  We discussed them all.  I had a few skills videos, but not many - probably because the skills were mostly higher-level and based on lower-level skills they had learned earlier in the year (either on video or back before the flip, by direct instruction).

I consider that unit flipped.  But a lot of people wouldn't.  This is why we need to come to a common understanding of what flipped English is and isn't.

It also leads to my next Guiding Principle:

3. Flipped reading works better with shorter texts than longer ones.  
Jessica McGrover lays out in this post why this is true.  When you're having students flip a longer work and go at their own pace, they will inevitably do what you want them to do and end up working at their own pace.  And you can't have discussions about the book unless kids are at roughly the same point.  Imagine trying to discuss the theme of fate verses free will in Romeo and Juliet when one student is in Act I, scene v (after R&J meet), another student just finished Act III scene i (where Mercutio/Tybalt are killed), and another student just finished the play.  Unless you explicitly give them permission to talk about the entire play (which "ruins" it for the student in Act I), you are going to have frustrated students and a flat discussion.  Which ruins the whole experience of collaborative conversation.

The plan I've got for my flipped classes this year is to have some strategies for flipping shorter texts, and some strategies for flipping longer texts.  

Read the second part of this entry here.  It was way too much content for one post.

I've been in a frenzy of collaboration in the last few days.  First, I participated in a webinar with other English/Social Studies flippers: Troy Cockrum, Andrew Thomasson, Karl Lindgren-Streicher, and moderator and blogging-flipping-extraordinaire, Math flipper Crystal Kirch.  Kate Petty tried to join us on video, but due to technical difficulties wasn't able to be there the whole time. She did participate in the comments and wrote up some blog posts afterward that were really helpful to clarify and crystalise the thinking behind flipping English. 

We screencasted the entire webinar so anyone could watch it.  Here it is!

I've also been working intensely on a definition for what Flipped Humanities is and should be.  Andrew Thomasson and I will be recording a video about it soon, based on the five page (in-progress) collaborative Google document we developed with Karl Lindgren-Streicher.  

It's one of the coolest things I've done.  Karl and I started it with nothing, and within an hour, we had argued (in different colour text, obviously) back and forth and clarified our thinking and come to something that I think is the most clear and well-composed definition I've seen.  It's about 90% there, and still needs some work, but you'll hear more from Andrew and me about that soon.

It also came out of the debrief we had after the webinar and a conversation that started on Twitter the day after the webinar, and included Kate Baker, as well as the others mentioned above.  

Working with the people I've been blessed enough to meet through Twitter and the Flipped community is making me a better teacher, and giving me SO many great ideas and projects that it's just staggering.  I want to publicly thank everyone I've mentioned so far, for making me a more reflective teacher and helping me bring my ideas to life.  I also credit you guys for most of those ideas because they wouldn't exist without the collaboration we've shared.

More than anyone else though, I want to thank Andrew for the role he's played in my life the past few weeks.  It is an intense privilege to have him as a collaborative partner, and I have learned so much from him, both professionally and personally.  I can't say thank you to him enough, really.  None of this would be possible without you, homie.

Something else Andrew and I have been working on all week is the video Jon Bergmann asked us to make describing our collaborative video process.  We shot the original footage on Monday.  On Wednesday, after spending about 15 hours editing, not to mention the original 3 hour shoot, we decided it wasn't good enough and started over...even though it was VERY late in North Carolina.  That footage can't even compare to the original.  It's so much better, probably because we did what we do best: make an explicit plan, then ignore that plan and just talk to each other candidly. 

Then, with a TON of help from Crystal and Karl, we edited it into two videos:

1. The basics of what we're doing:

As well as the longer and more complete video that covers 

2. The applications and pedagogical underpinnings of what we're doing:

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I'm looking forward to the next series Andrew and I have planned: writing an analytical essay.  We will also start making some flipped reading videos as we start to plan our year of curriculum.  

So that was my week.  

Spending it with the Cheesebucket Posse makes it pretty much the best week ever.

And if I haven't convinced you that you need to be on Twitter, go back and read every entry tagged with Andrew Thomasson.  Then tell me why you want to miss out on potentially creating this kind of awesome collaborative partnership.  

If Twitter scares you, let me know WHY and Andrew and I will make a video that addresses those concerns.  Seriously. 

ETA: here's what Jon Bergmann thought of the video.  He was the one who asked us to make it, so it's totally relevant.

Can Jon Bergmann write a blog entry about our video?  Seriously?

I don't know if I can handle how awesome that is.

If you're interested in attending the Flipped Class Webinar, where Troy Cockrum, Andrew Thomasson, Karl Lindgren-Streicher, Crystal Kirch and I talk about the future of flipping English and History, you should check out our google document.  It has all the information you'll need to attend, and it includes a list of questions that we've generated from conversations, blog comments, Tweets, etc.  

This is a crowd-sourced event, so feel free to add your question to the list!  If you do add a question, it would be great if you could include your name and/or twitter handle so we can credit you.

As always, it will be a great conversation with a lot of dynamic and innovative teachers.  We hope you can join us on Tuesday, 10 July at 5 PM PST.  If you can't join us, then I'll be (hopefully) screencasting the whole thing and posting it to our YouTube Channel.

Here is the link to the google doc.  Here's the full document if you can't/don't want to access it:

Language Arts/Social Science Webinar
This event will take place on 7/10 at 5 PM PST

The presenter line-up is:
Troy Cockrum (@tcockrun), 7th-8th ELA (St. Ignatious, Indianapolis, IN)
Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers), 11th-12th ELA (Redwood High School, Marin, CA)
Andrew Thomasson (@thomasson_engl) 11th-12th ELA (King’s Mt High School, King’s Mountain, NC)
Karl Lindgren-Streicher (@kls4711), 9th-10th Social Science (Hillsdale High School, San Mateo, CA)
Crystal Kirch (@crystalkirch) 9th-12th Algebra 1 & Pre-Calculus (Segerstrom High School, Santa Ana, CA)
Kate Petty (@techclassroom) 12th grade ELA, ELD 1 (Trabuco Hills High, Mission Viejo, CA)

Discussion Questions
How does an English teacher flip their class?
What does flipped reading instruction look like?
What role do the CCS play in flipped pedagogy?
How can we learn from/work with other subject area teachers to figure out how to flip English?
Does Explore Flip Apply work in English and history?
What kinds of skills make good videos and (if any) which should remain “unflipped”?*
How can collaborative videos make flipping English more reasonable?
What kinds of project based learning can you do in English?
How can WSQ (Watch Summary Question) & SSS (guided note-taking packet) be used in ELA?
What colour hair do you think Crystal Kirch has?
Any other questions you’d like to add for our consideration can go here:

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE!
Question/Poll is found here: http://tinyurl.com/ELAflip

Link to Webinar is here: 
http://www.anymeeting.com/WebConference/default.aspx?ip_ek=FlippedEnglish1

Technology Notes:
--You should run AnyMeeting out of Firefox, as Chrome and Safari seem to have issues.
--Before the meeting, you’ll need to create an account and do a system test (http://www.anymeeting.com/webconference/systemtest/AnyMeetingSystemTest.aspx)
--If you are unable to get into AnyMeeting, Crystal will be checking the hashtag #ELAflip and taking questions from there
--We will make every attempt to record the session and host it on YouTube afterwards (at least on the ThomassonMorrisInstr channel)

TECHNOLOGY BACK UP PLAN:
If the AnyMeeting site crashes for any reason, we will switch to Google+ Hangout and we’ll add the link on Twitter (hashtags #flipclass and #ELAflip) and our blogs, as well as on this document.  You will need stream through YouTube using the link we send out.

So one of my biggest challenges in switching from my home of four years, San Lorenzo High School, to my new home, Redwood High School, is that I will now be in charge of planning my own curriculum.  I used to do that, but when I moved to SLz, everything was planned collaboratively.  It taught me a lot about scaffolding and structure, and I am SO thankful that I learned so much while I worked there.

But Redwood isn't just asking me to plan my own curriculum - they want me to plan curriculum for three different upper-division electives (for 11th-12th graders) at a college level.  Seriously.  Last night, I brought some of the texts I'm using over to my church home group, and everyone said something like, "That's for high school students?  I didn't read that until nearly the end of college!"

One of the biggest challenges is a class called Essay and Exposition.  It's not quite an AP class, but it's still the "best and brightest" in the school who sign up.  

That being said, I was reading a fantastic article by Mike Fisher, called Snapshot of a Modern Learner.  If you haven't read it, you should.

The basic premise of the essay is that the modern learner approaches learning differently than school offers it.  

That got me thinking...what if I had students read the article and then write a portrait of themselves as a learner in the style of Fisher's essay?

It serves myriad purposes:

• working on style imitation, which is a goal of the class
• it tells me about them and their own learning context
• it leads into the unit on definition essays

It also ties in nicely with my White Blank Page project and the goals of a flipped class.  I think part of why I'm freaking out about this year is because I want to have something planned out fully and I don't.  But I also know that personalisation is a major factor in my flipped class, and without knowing the students, I don't know what they need.  Those two competing forces have made my head a really unpleasant place the last few weeks (and I'm sorry to my friends who've had to hear verbalise the neurotic personality inside my head).

In fact, Crystal Kirch, Karl Lindgren-Streicher and I were talking about planning for the year last night on Twitter.

Planning for a flipped class is really, really hard.  And even more so in English.  I mean, I can prepare content (see: Thomasson and Morris Instruction), but I can't prepare for what they know and what they will need to know.  That is only compounded by the fact that I have a very vague sense of Redwood's school culture and student makeup. 

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I'm not sure how this post descended into my own insecurities.  It probably has to do with the fact that, as a learner, I always feel like I should know more than I do.  I always feel like I am so far behind everyone else that I'll never catch up.  There are reasons for that (none are relevant for the purposes of this post), but it certainly impacts how I teach.  

I think I need to write my own "Snapshot of a Modern Learner" essay first.