Carolyn Helmers has taught kindergarten for three decades at Maddux Elementary School (K–6), one of six elementary schools in the Forest Hills School District in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. Maddux happens to be the school Carolyn attended for second through fifth grade, so joining the staff as a kindergarten teacher in December of 1991 felt like coming home. The district also has one large middle school (7–8) that feeds into two high schools (9–12).
Being a Reader™ was recently listed on Ohio’s approved list of core curriculum and instructional materials. Maddux Elementary piloted Being a Reader and Being a Writer™ in 2022–2023, transitioning to full implementation this past school year. Below, Carolyn shares her insight into how Being A Reader has become part of their core curriculum.
What is the most rewarding part of being an educator for you?
Kindergarten is my happy place. Teaching, guiding, nudging, and observing five- and six-year-olds as they grow and develop socially, emotionally, and academically over nine months is always a magical experience. Witnessing the aha moments when a child realizes they can do something they didn’t believe they could keeps me coming back year after year.
Of course, there are challenging days and increasingly more children with challenging behaviors, but the plethora of aha moments and the pride on a child’s face make every moment worth it. The daily handshakes, hugs, or high-fives make it worth it, too!
What do you especially enjoy about your current role?
My current role allows me to execute my core beliefs every day. I believe wholeheartedly that children need to engage in reading, writing, mathematical thinking, and play every day to develop into well-rounded, empathetic human beings. I feel very lucky to work in Forest Hills with others who share these beliefs for all kindergarten children.
We design our daily schedule with these core beliefs in mind. We have four “workshops” each day. These consist of a whole group lesson, followed by targeted small group instruction and differentiated independent work rotations. The children start school in August as dependent workers who transform into problem-solving, independent workers.
I also have to admit I am a children’s book lover (I may or may not have a book-buying problem). The best parts of the day are sharing in reading experiences that touch hearts and encourage children to think and talk.
Tell us a little about getting started with the program and shifting from piloting the program to full implementation this year.
I was so lucky to be able to pilot Being a Reader and Being a Writer two years ago. I am also fortunate to work with a team of people willing to pilot with me despite having only one set of materials. We jumped in with both feet the pilot year. Originally, we scheduled 12 weeks for our initial pilot but extended to the end of the year.
I’ll admit, we spent much of the pilot year trying to get ahead. Although we planned one week at a time, our daily focus was always on implementing lessons with some degree of fidelity to fully grasp the lesson goals, components, and materials needed. We wanted to be able to share our thoughts honestly with our colleagues about Being a Reader and Being a Writer and how they fit into our Forest Hills ELA framework.
Since we jumped in with both feet during the pilot year, shifting to full implementation was relatively easy since all four classrooms had their own classroom sets of Being a Reader and Being a Writer. Our work shifted from learning the program to focusing on what our children needed and how the program could support that learning. We had what we needed when we needed it to meet the needs of the children sitting before us.
What are some qualities of the Being a Reader program and professional learning that support your instruction?
I appreciate that Collaborative Classroom has a variety of ways to meet the needs of teachers as learners, whether they are brand new or very experienced like me. Access to physical teacher materials, the online teacher portal, and knowledgeable Collaborative Classroom staff who provide ongoing face-to-face or Zoom Professional Development is critical to successful implementation.
There are ongoing opportunities for independent exploration, knowledge gathering, and grade-level Professional Learning Community discussions (school and district level). Collaborative Classroom Zoom office hours allow time for questions, and the option exists for Collaborative Classroom staff to visit classrooms and observe to offer feedback.
What have you noticed about your students as they experience Being a Reader?
Attending Responsive Classroom training many years ago immediately drew me to the community building and teacher language. It is refreshing to see Being a Reader and Being a Writer incorporate social skills instruction in the daily lessons.
Let me repeat—it’s built in! There are both expectations and clear directions on creating a community of learners respectful of everyone’s feelings, thoughts, ideas, and work habits.
The whole group, small group, and individual routines built into each lesson from day one set the tone for the rest of the year.
The Being a Reader small-group sets of books are well-written and engaging for the children. They truly enjoy them and admittedly, so do I.
Carolyn Helmers
My original worry about our slow pace in getting the classroom routines up and running quickly disappeared as I saw I how that slow, methodical process set us up for success.
I find student engagement is high with these routines in place. For example, the ‘turn and talk’ routine in the whole-group setting ensures everyone’s voice is heard. Choice is built-in during differentiated independent work time, including choice of activity, book, response, etc. Learning is explicit, fast-paced, and active during small-group instruction.
How has implementing Being a Reader shifted your teaching practices?
I was so excited when Forest Hills adopted Being a Reader as our core curriculum resource. Many already-established classroom routines are easily adapted to include Being a Reader routines and lessons.
Being a Reader has brought more focus to my read-aloud routine with established stopping points and a variety of questions at the ready. These help build child comprehension and oral language skills by talking with a partner and sharing with the group. I also feel free to follow the lead of child conversations and go off-book if needed. Additionally, I have transferred established routines from the Being a Reader read-alouds to my other read-alouds throughout the day. We love to “turn and talk”!
Vocabulary teaching has always been my weakness. It was haphazard and relied on a child asking what a word meant when we were reading. Being a Reader has fabulous routines for introducing those tier-two and tier-three vocabulary words. It also provides fun ways for the children to apply and use them in their conversations.
Did you have any specific concerns?
I am co-author of a book on teaching emergent readers at the small-group table and have explicit training in emergent literacy acquisition. This caused me some concern about the shift I would possibly be making when instructing my small groups. I have always used leveled readers and have been weary of the contrived decodable books. Well, I have discovered a place at my small-group table for both types of books! The Being a Reader small-group sets of books are well-written and engaging for the children. They truly enjoy them and admittedly, so do I.
Our kindergarten team has seen more skilled readers move on to first grade in the last two years than ever in the past. Along with the other quality early literacy practices we utilize, Being a Reader plays a big part in helping our kindergarteners learn how to read.
What thoughts or insights would you share with a school or district that is considering Being a Reader?
Teachers are in the business of helping children become literate. Since all children learn differently, no program can accurately claim with 100% certainty that it will teach every child to read, or we would all be using it.
That said, I would encourage schools or districts to give Being a Reader a good look. Take the time to pilot the program using a high degree of fidelity to determine if it meets your district’s core resource needs. As you do, start by asking yourself these questions:
- Is Being a Reader grounded in the science of reading?
- Does Being a Reader teach:
- foundational skills (phonological/phonemic awareness and phonics)?
- comprehension?
- vocabulary acquisition?
- fluency?
- Is the scope and sequence of the lessons manageable? Is there flexibility?
- Are there opportunities for choice built into the program?
- Do the books provided (big books, trade books, and decodable texts) give opportunities for children to see themselves in the stories? Are they engaging?
- Are the physical materials provided good quality? Too few, too much, or just enough?
You might be able to guess my answers to these questions!
I am glad Being a Reader is on our state list of approved ELA resources because it supports my core belief that children should read, write, and play—every day!
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Related:
Read https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/blog/kaala-elementary-reading-success/
Read https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/blog/decodable-text-in-comprehensive-reading-instruction/