So as I look at the board right now it says "8 days, 3 are 1/2 days" Now as exciting as that seems, I STILL HAVE SO MUCH TO DO!
I've tried several times to write a "to do" list and in the moment, I can only think of a few things. But when I go through my day and only see my family for an hour in the car, I know I'm busy and have tons to do.
Right now on my plate, I'm working full time, I'm finishing up the four classes through the district (after this post I'll only have two things left for classes) I'm painting Vacation Bible School murals, house hunting (ready to make an offer tonight we think) Did I mention all the paperwork that isn't done yet? Purchasing and setting up all the iPads for the district and running the iTunes account for the district. Prepping for end of year and trying to get SOME work sent home for the kids for the summer. I'm also thinking about two weeks from now when I paint the interior of the church building, have jury duty, have VBS. Then if we buy this house, we'll need to pull out carpets, paint the interior, have new carpets installed, move, paint the interior of our new rental house (the one we currently live in), and have the carpets cleaned so that the renters can move in by the end of August.
Let me tell you THAT'S A LOT TO DO!!!
I'm trying my hardest not to think quite that far ahead, but I'll tell you my glass is full and I'm still holding it up. Thankfully I have an AMAZING husband who will help through all the house stuff! :)
It's been a great class guys, thanks for the fun times and the laughter from last night!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Confession
So, it's the end of the year. I'm not going to lie....I could use a brush up on my "Teach" techniques. (Exactly when am I making time for that? Answer to come...as you can see by this time stamp, things are currently pretty 'down to the wire'.)
I feel my personal stress squashing out good teaching and classroom management. While the buzzer goes off in my head saying "Not the best way to handle that", all I can think of is juggling many due dates - finishing eCBM, worksamples, fitting in speeches, meetings, parent e-mails...and then grading work samples and getting report cards done - all of which require the work of my students. In addition, I can see some students start to "check out" for summer - which, while understandable, is not helping them end on a strong note. While I am conscious that I need to respond positively, lately I've been struggling to do so.
So, what do you do to stay calm in times of stress? How do you stay positive as students begin to push the boundaries behavior wise and check out for summer? After having students meet high expectations all year, it's disappointing to see them try to get away with less.
I feel my personal stress squashing out good teaching and classroom management. While the buzzer goes off in my head saying "Not the best way to handle that", all I can think of is juggling many due dates - finishing eCBM, worksamples, fitting in speeches, meetings, parent e-mails...and then grading work samples and getting report cards done - all of which require the work of my students. In addition, I can see some students start to "check out" for summer - which, while understandable, is not helping them end on a strong note. While I am conscious that I need to respond positively, lately I've been struggling to do so.
So, what do you do to stay calm in times of stress? How do you stay positive as students begin to push the boundaries behavior wise and check out for summer? After having students meet high expectations all year, it's disappointing to see them try to get away with less.
Binder Control Question/Board to Paper
Did any of you require organized binders for your students? How did you go about it? Did you have a working space for each subject as well as a homework section? Did you number each page of notes, even if they were in notebooks?
I would like to try this next year but am looking for the "straightest path" as Teach Like a Champion would call it.
Something I want to implement next year from the get go is Board to Paper. We started Math Notebooks a little late, but students were able to write what I did, plus any other notes about the concept, and examples of their own. I felt it was easy to get them from a concept (such as perimeter) to check (by having them draw examples that I could check).
It was also a good way to encourage correct spelling - if it was on the board, it was a no excuses word. :)
I would like to try this next year but am looking for the "straightest path" as Teach Like a Champion would call it.
Something I want to implement next year from the get go is Board to Paper. We started Math Notebooks a little late, but students were able to write what I did, plus any other notes about the concept, and examples of their own. I felt it was easy to get them from a concept (such as perimeter) to check (by having them draw examples that I could check).
It was also a good way to encourage correct spelling - if it was on the board, it was a no excuses word. :)
I'm Going to Kindergarten! Any advice?
I'm very excited, because I am changing grade levels for next year. I have taught 4/5 for 6 years and am now going to teach Kindergarten! I have been thinking about lowering grade levels the past few years but have been too scared to because I am very comfortable with older kids. But since I have started having my own children and am around small kids all the time now, it is alot of fun and I know I can do it. I have also spent the majority of my PE times this year observing Kinder and First grade classrooms at Green Acres so I can learn from amazing teachers. Now is my chance. But it is a huge difference in age and management. Any advice would be great. Does anyone out there know of any good books or websites that are focused on Kindergarten or First grade that could give me ideas on management/lesson plans/games/activities? I am ready to read about it all summer long. Are there any strategies from Teach Like a Champion that would be great for Kindergarten?
Monday, May 14, 2012
Fundamentals-Decoding
As a first grade teacher, reading is a big deal! We talk about it and do it all day long it seems, particularly about decoding. As I read the Fundamentals: Teaching Decoding, Vocabulary Development and Fluency, Chapter 11, I was really pleased to see so many of the decoding techniques and strategies that have become so much a part of my daily life since starting the use of the ECRI or Enhanced Core Reading Instruction approach during the past 2 years as our school worked under a grant from the U of O.
I think "Transaction Costs and Decoding" really highlights the point about saying as a teacher only what you need to. Using the specific and commonly used routines aid students in the predictability of learning. The teacher says "My turn" and then tells the student what is needed or redirects them through the process with minimal teacher talk. They next try it on their own again with "Your turn" Using this type of "At Bats" technique increases their opportunities for accurate practice. It has made a huge difference for learners. You do not let errors stand, you have students work until success. They then move back a few words if on a list or back to the beginning of the sentence if in text for one final application of the skill. I am a talker by nature and I really have to force myself to stick with this minimal language or I can waste a lot of valuable practice time for students. I also think sometimes that I can use too many words and truly even cause some confusion when the correction would have been so simple if I'd stuck to the format.
I also wanted to applaud when I saw the sections about using precise language with students around decoding skills. Terms like long and short vowels, bossy r, soft and hard g and c, silent e, and the encouragement of teaching those specific phonetic chunks or sound spellings to students, particularly when they make errors. I've always wondered, do teachers in upper grades still refer to word parts using these terms. Is there continuity for our students? Or do they have a learn a whole new "language" as they change grades? I always think of the example of how teachers in one building can use terms like silent e, magic e, sneaky e, bossy e all to mean the vce (vowel consonant silent e) pattern. Using precise language even from a young age is possible. Students are capable.
Doug Lemov also refers to the technique of "Speed the Exception". For sight words or irregular words, I've learned a technique that is routine and helps students understand the different strategies they need when approaching a word that is not one you can sound out. "Say it, spell it, say it". This Reading First routine allows the student to hear the word 4 times as they practice, all within about 8 to 10 seconds. Increasing the amount of practice opportunities or "at bats" in reading is critical.
I think "Transaction Costs and Decoding" really highlights the point about saying as a teacher only what you need to. Using the specific and commonly used routines aid students in the predictability of learning. The teacher says "My turn" and then tells the student what is needed or redirects them through the process with minimal teacher talk. They next try it on their own again with "Your turn" Using this type of "At Bats" technique increases their opportunities for accurate practice. It has made a huge difference for learners. You do not let errors stand, you have students work until success. They then move back a few words if on a list or back to the beginning of the sentence if in text for one final application of the skill. I am a talker by nature and I really have to force myself to stick with this minimal language or I can waste a lot of valuable practice time for students. I also think sometimes that I can use too many words and truly even cause some confusion when the correction would have been so simple if I'd stuck to the format.
I also wanted to applaud when I saw the sections about using precise language with students around decoding skills. Terms like long and short vowels, bossy r, soft and hard g and c, silent e, and the encouragement of teaching those specific phonetic chunks or sound spellings to students, particularly when they make errors. I've always wondered, do teachers in upper grades still refer to word parts using these terms. Is there continuity for our students? Or do they have a learn a whole new "language" as they change grades? I always think of the example of how teachers in one building can use terms like silent e, magic e, sneaky e, bossy e all to mean the vce (vowel consonant silent e) pattern. Using precise language even from a young age is possible. Students are capable.
Doug Lemov also refers to the technique of "Speed the Exception". For sight words or irregular words, I've learned a technique that is routine and helps students understand the different strategies they need when approaching a word that is not one you can sound out. "Say it, spell it, say it". This Reading First routine allows the student to hear the word 4 times as they practice, all within about 8 to 10 seconds. Increasing the amount of practice opportunities or "at bats" in reading is critical.
Creating a Strong Classroom Culture with Whole Brain Teaching
So being an old dinosaur, learning to blog has been a unknown land fraught with challenge and uninviting landscape during a year of overwhelm, but here I am, giving it my best attempt.......finally. Apologies to all for my tardiness in joining the party.
Chapter 5, Creating a Strong Classroom Culture, really focuses on creating that climate in the classroom where students are motivated to show up, eager to learn and develop traits that will support the life and workings of the entire group. There are five principals of classroom culture that Doug Lemov states are integral and interwoven: Discipline, Management, Control, Influence and Engagement. He also states that "the techniques an effective teacher uses ideally leverage all five."
One year during burnout season, I was searching for additional ideas to influence my classroom culture and basically survive the spring. What worked well for a month or two needed rejuvenating and revamping. Or maybe it was me that needed it. I came across videos on YouTube one day from a website called Whole Brain Teaching.
On the Whole Brain Teaching website, http://wholebrainteaching.com/ I found videos, materials and blogposts that were exactly what I needed. It transformed my mindframe and my classroom with just a few simple strategies. I really only dabbled that first spring but the strategies I used, such as the smiley/frownie points game (I think it's officially called the scoreboard), class-yes technique and 5 classroom rules complete with gestures and choral proclamations are implemented with the utmost ease. I truly ended the school year with a different attitude and actually had more fun myself because the behavior aspect had become more game like and fun for the students. One of the developers of this basically free site, demonstrates using the strategies with students from Kindergarten through college age.
Truly technique 30 Tight Transistions and Technique 33 On Your Mark are found in many of the strategies on this site. One demonstrated in a fun way passing out papers as a fun, energy filled game that takes little time and then using "class-yes" transitions back into learning with positive reinforcement on the scoreboard. The idea is that working together benefits everyone, thus earning points. There are levels of the scoreboard which change as student needs change, and winning can result in a 3-4 minute game of "Mind Soccer" which is simply a review game of classroom content. I've never played it exactly as the site suggests but made a few minor adjustments to make it work for my class and they are thrilled with this academic game.
Technique 35 Props is also one that I found much support from this website. Our class does the "Yes" 1 second celebration and might groan. We have ways we honor and acknowledge students efforts and achievements with "crab claps", "give a whooo", "kissing that brain" and cowboy cheers of "Yahoo!"
My principal upon seeing several of these techniques used in an observation, commented that this approach served as a "I've got you!" implying I'm supporting you in learning how to meet behavior expectations and rules rather than as "aha, I caught you doing failing to do the right thing".
This organization offers professional development training periodically and webcasts too. I have watched previous webcasts and found value. I even planned a trip last summer around trying to attend a workshop in California just to learn more. After 25 years of teaching to come across something so powerful that I feel like it has breathed new life into me and my classroom, I highly recommend you check it out. I'd love feedback on what you think.
Chapter 5, Creating a Strong Classroom Culture, really focuses on creating that climate in the classroom where students are motivated to show up, eager to learn and develop traits that will support the life and workings of the entire group. There are five principals of classroom culture that Doug Lemov states are integral and interwoven: Discipline, Management, Control, Influence and Engagement. He also states that "the techniques an effective teacher uses ideally leverage all five."
One year during burnout season, I was searching for additional ideas to influence my classroom culture and basically survive the spring. What worked well for a month or two needed rejuvenating and revamping. Or maybe it was me that needed it. I came across videos on YouTube one day from a website called Whole Brain Teaching.
On the Whole Brain Teaching website, http://wholebrainteaching.com/ I found videos, materials and blogposts that were exactly what I needed. It transformed my mindframe and my classroom with just a few simple strategies. I really only dabbled that first spring but the strategies I used, such as the smiley/frownie points game (I think it's officially called the scoreboard), class-yes technique and 5 classroom rules complete with gestures and choral proclamations are implemented with the utmost ease. I truly ended the school year with a different attitude and actually had more fun myself because the behavior aspect had become more game like and fun for the students. One of the developers of this basically free site, demonstrates using the strategies with students from Kindergarten through college age.
Truly technique 30 Tight Transistions and Technique 33 On Your Mark are found in many of the strategies on this site. One demonstrated in a fun way passing out papers as a fun, energy filled game that takes little time and then using "class-yes" transitions back into learning with positive reinforcement on the scoreboard. The idea is that working together benefits everyone, thus earning points. There are levels of the scoreboard which change as student needs change, and winning can result in a 3-4 minute game of "Mind Soccer" which is simply a review game of classroom content. I've never played it exactly as the site suggests but made a few minor adjustments to make it work for my class and they are thrilled with this academic game.
Technique 35 Props is also one that I found much support from this website. Our class does the "Yes" 1 second celebration and might groan. We have ways we honor and acknowledge students efforts and achievements with "crab claps", "give a whooo", "kissing that brain" and cowboy cheers of "Yahoo!"
My principal upon seeing several of these techniques used in an observation, commented that this approach served as a "I've got you!" implying I'm supporting you in learning how to meet behavior expectations and rules rather than as "aha, I caught you doing failing to do the right thing".
This organization offers professional development training periodically and webcasts too. I have watched previous webcasts and found value. I even planned a trip last summer around trying to attend a workshop in California just to learn more. After 25 years of teaching to come across something so powerful that I feel like it has breathed new life into me and my classroom, I highly recommend you check it out. I'd love feedback on what you think.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Sweat the Details
I just realized (at 5:50 in the morning, what a dork) that I have been dwelling on how Sweat the Details works in my classroom for a while now. I have nice live plants, I have a place for everything, I try to keep everything clean, but instead of reading this as a cue to behave in an orderly way a number of my students seem to be cued for destruction. I find sunflower seed shells spit in all my plants, sinks, and just everywhere really. Gum is smeared across the radiator. Notes with disgusting pictures are hidden on the shelves, or the drawings are just right on the tables. When I come back from a day with a sub (as I will today) books are missing, plant's leaves have been cut with scissors, and there are huge additions to the sunflower collection.
I don't know if I should interpret all of this as a signal that I am doing something wrong (they can tell I like my room to be nice and want to get back at me for something?) or if this is just because with over a hundred teenagers moving through my room a day there is bound to be someone that will do these things. What do you think? I just don't know.
I don't know if I should interpret all of this as a signal that I am doing something wrong (they can tell I like my room to be nice and want to get back at me for something?) or if this is just because with over a hundred teenagers moving through my room a day there is bound to be someone that will do these things. What do you think? I just don't know.
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