One year done!

So, the last time I wrote I was at the beginning of my first year teaching high school social studies.  I won't lie.  It was a really challenging year.  Only by the time we made it to Christmas Break did I begin feeling like I fit.

Not only did I have to prepare preps for 5 courses, plus an independent class for a student who's schedule didn't merge with the rest of her class, but I also had to prepare for the Praxis II test for secondary level social studies.  I spent the whole summer preparing for that test, then failed it on the first try.  By 4 points.  I didn't focus enough on the economics portion of the test.  Needless-to-say, when I retook it a month later, I passed it by 4 points.  It was wonderful to put that test behind me.

My adjustment was also a combination of thinking like a social studies teacher, getting used to high school students, and getting to know the kids and making connections to who their parents are, where they live, and so forth.  

Some teachers might not think it's necessary to know who parents are and where kids live.  But in my small community, with a combined population (between 3 small communities) of about 2,000, I could be living right next door to a student's family member and not even realize it. 

To give you an idea, to my left, 2 houses down is where one student lives, I see the back yard of brothers who I teach, seven houses to my left are the grandparents of two other brothers who I teach.  I pass the homes of 4 students within the 2 miles ride to school each day.  And even though my husband works out of town, he has worked with 3 of my students' parent or stepparent.   Not only is my community small, but so is the valley we live in.

As this year has been a challenge, it has also been rewarding.  I learned a lot about history, geography, teenagers, and teaching in a small community.  By February Break, I realized that I was finally thinking like a social studies teacher. 

The best thing about this year, however, was during the last few weeks of school.  I was standing in the teacher's room when it occurred to me that I was going to be back here next year.  This was the first time in several years that I was able to say that.  It felt good.

So now, my focus this summer is on reviewing what I covered this year, and reorganizing, restructuring, and coming up with new ideas.  Field trip possibilities, and who could come in to speak with my students.  Below are some of the veterans who either came to speak to or Skyped with my students.  

The last week of school, I asked a couple of the National Guard (they've been working on our Field of Dreams for the past few summers) if they could show my students how to fold the American flag, and what the folds represent.

It may not have been a perfect school year, but it was a great beginning.

How to teacher history...

Although I've seen myself faced with challenges as a teacher and rise above it, I'm now teaching a subject that's somewhat new to me, at least in this concentrated form.   

I've minored in history when I was in college, and I've always been interested in history, but one of the issues I'm facing is how to approach social studies.

I spent most of my summer break preparing for the school year.  I went through the textbooks and materials and planned how I would teach social studies.  The week before school began I still didn't feel satisfied with how I was going to go about it all.  I really didn't like the idea of following the book, and Surprise! Surprise! history isn't interesting to all students.

And, to add to the pressure, I also learned that I have a few history buffs in my classes, so now I was worried about meeting their expectations.  I won't lie.  This created more pressure on me than any that I felt from my administrators.

Okay, mine was more of pushing a delete key.

So, that week before school started, I ended up tossing out my plans for the year.  I know.  Crazy!  I found an approach I liked instead that I hadn't heard about before, teaching history backwards.  It immediately made perfect sense!


The first thing I did, after the preliminary first days of school stuff, I had the students create a list of 3-5 issues that concerned them.  The issues could be anything at all.  I had them do this on sticky notes then they placed them on chart paper when they were done.  We then discussed them and created a list from their concerns that we will work from.

Not my real students

The topics consisted of current events in the US and world (It didn't matter which class this was in, they all did this step), and we then categorized the topics as foreign and domestic politics, popculture, economy, and so forth. I then had students do an online survey (google forms or Surveymonkey) about which topics they were interested in researching.  They were then placed into groups based on interest and they researched their topic until where the textbook left off (2007-2008).  

Now here's the reflection piece.  The group work went well, although some of the groups were way too big.  I knew how to deal with the slackers, and the projects came out really well, but when I look back on this activity, there are definite changes I want to make for next year.  

I should have had them focus more on the issues and researched how the issues got to that point.  For example, the battles going on between Israel and Palestine.  I could have had students who chose this topic focus on what got these two countries to this point.  This would have brought them quite a ways back in history.  If it was in a US history class, then they could have had to find why it matters to Americans.  In geography class, I could have had them look into how the political boundaries changed in time, and why this area of land is fought over so much.

What are my plans for the future?  Well, I've been on harvest break (potato harvest in our area) and we're back to school next week.  I've spent a good part of our break reflecting and trying to find a way to continue from here.

My plans for next week are basically to review what we were covering before break, and give a summative assessment.  Then my next step is to go in the direction I described above.  Have students discuss what has been going on in the US and the world while we were out.  This will get those out of the loop up to speed, and those in the know the opportunity to enlighten their peers.  Then they'll get the opportunity to research what's going on more deeply in small groups, if not in pairs.  Definitely no more than 3 in a group.

If any of you out there have any suggestions or feedback, I'd be happy to read it.  Don't forget to follow my page.

These words ring true!

My quote for my blog at the top is "The art of reinvention...life is a word in progress" is truer now more than ever.  It's basically the story of my life.  I've reinvented myself so many times, be it in my personal or professional life, that I seem to always be reinventing myself in a new role.

The last time I wrote in my blog I was a 4th grade teacher, teaching elementary level for the second year after having taught middle school language arts for 6 years.  Well, I'm working on reinventing myself once again, as a high school social studies teacher.

This choice was made for a couple of reasons:  job security and location.  For the past 2 years I've been traveling for 20-30 minutes to get to work in the morning.  Now, I'll be almost 5 minutes away from home.  Also, I worked in a district with several satellite elementary schools that have been considered for the chopping block for a few years now, but had been kept open each time.  Well, it's a matter of time before these schools close, especially the one I was in last.  'Last one hired, the first one fired,' as they say.

Well, with my change in schools comes a change in many things.  I'm now teaching high school students, grades 9-12, and social studies.  Although I did teach social studies for the past 2 years, teaching US and world history and geography, as well as students and law and the history of film and media, has created quite a learning curve for me.  

I'm up to the challenge, but that doesn't mean I don't have any questions or concerns.  This is where this blog will come in.  It's part brainstorming and reflection.  A place to share some of my ideas, and reflect on how they worked in class.  A place to celebrate my successes and rethink my failures.



I'm hoping that through this blog I can fine tune some of my lessons through reflection (getting some PD in, too), and probably get some helpful feedback.

Donor's Choose Project

Back in June, I created a Donor's Choose project requesting funding for trade books that help students understand math better.  So far there's just over a month left for the project and there is no funding yet.

I'm sharing this hoping that anyone out there might be willing to make a donation or if you can't, would be able to share this post so others who could might be able to help.  Here's a sample of what the donation request looks like, and here's the link to take you to my donation page.

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!!

Theresa

#TEACH

I just finished watching TEACH on CBS tonight, and I have a mixture of emotions.  I felt proud to be one teacher in that profession.  I felt honored to have the profession I love celebrated this way.  I felt concern that there are people who don't feel the same way about teaching who would say, "Whoop-de-do!  My job is important too," and "Now teachers will walk around thinking they're something so special." I also felt grief watching the teachers and students on the show say their goodbyes at the end of the school year.  Although I look forward to a break and warmer weather, I don't look forward to parting ways with my students.

I also felt worried that perhaps I'm not a great, or even good teacher because I didn't seem as outwardly stressed about the test scores as the teachers profiled on the show had.  Or am I?  Perhaps I don't show emotion or wring my hands while they're taking tests or as I'm getting the first glance of their scores, but that doesn't mean my mind isn't going at full throttle.  That doesn't mean that I don't seek advice from other teachers, no matter whether or not they have more years in the classroom than I do, on how to deal with a child's struggles, whether academically or behaviorally.  That doesn't mean I'm not scouring the Internet looking for ideas to get their attention, to motivate them, to engage them, and keep them that way.

I've been teaching, as a classroom teacher, an ESL teacher, and a Resource Room educational technician, and as a substitute, for 11 years, this year being my 8th year in my own classroom.  During much of that time I've been a student as well.  Even now as I'm finished my Master's Degree, I feel I'm still a student, learning a new math and spelling program, for example.  But I'm also learning about different classroom strategies that will help make a difference in my student's learning.  Searching for ways to turn my classroom around to be a more student-lead environment, and for ways to reach all of my students, and the whole student.

I guess after having watching the 2-hour special (which I've also recorded in case there was something I wanted to get a closer look at), it's helped me to reflect on my own teaching, how I think about teaching, my past attempts at making my teaching better, and especially how to reach individuals rather than a group.  This leads me to ask...

1- What more can I do?

2- What am I doing right?

3- What am I doing wrong?

4- Am I forgetting anyone?

5- Do I make all of my students feel valued?

6- Do I make an effort to make sure ALL students are reached, and to take their individuality into consideration?

Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself, or not.  Perhaps I'm just trying to sort everything out, or perhaps it's just a Friday night that was so filled with emotions for me, and a wonderful program that made me think.

Update...

This afternoon I went with my youngest to pick up our new class pets.  A former colleague of mine gave me two Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.  It's been a couple of years since I last handled any, so I was a little skittish and intimidated when I saw some of the bigger ones, and see them all huddled together.

We drove the nearly 35 minute drive to bring them to my new classroom, and their new home.

The roaches need plenty of hiding places so they feel safe.

I put wheat germ on the bottom of the tank, the drift wood and half coconut shell came with the tank, and added the egg carton.  They have a petri dish for water, and a piece of banana to eat.  One of my kiddos also brought some fish food, because we read that they do eat that, and I plan to bring in some cat food, too, because apparently, they eat that too.

I took the girls (they're both female) out of the bucket they were in and this little one didn't take long to find a place to hide.  Yes, she is the smaller one.

The older, and bigger, one did more exploring....

She really seems to like the driftwood....

I'm really looking forward to seeing my students' faces Tuesday morning!

*Note - last 3 photos were done with the Skitch app for the iPad.*

Survived Week 1

When I came home Friday afternoon, I was so exhausted from the week that I fought to take a nap.  It was such a busy week, so much got planned and accomplished.  I got to know my new students pretty well.  I now know which ones will be helpful and which ones will be a challenge.  If I were to compare my crew from last year and this year, and I'd have to say there is a similar dynamic going on.

In spite of that, we've accomplished quite a lot.  We've already started talking about our state, locating key places and also talking about the role of the 3 branches of our government.  They've started a research project on our state, such as what our state flag, motto, bird, tree, flower, and so on are.  This Thursday we'll be doing Mystery Skype.  We have our first "meeting" with a 2nd grade class two states away, then we'll be doing the same with others who are waiting for things to be arranged.  I just wanted to have 1 under our belt to get an idea what to expect from this point on.

This afternoon I'll be bring to class our new "pets", if you will.  I know not everyone will feel this way, but my students are excited about getting Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches,  and I am too.  My colleagues are slightly grossed out, and I know some of the parents feel that way as well.  I know that we have to make sure they don't get out, and I have prepared all of the precautions, I think......

Phew!

It was the first day of school for my district today.  Being in a new building with different procedures that my last school, let's just say that I learned a lot today.

When the bell rings at 7:55 in the morning, my kiddos came in to class from the cafeteria where they all wait and some eat breakfast when they arrive, to drop off their book bags.  Not realizing what was going on, I had them all have a seat and began talking with them.  After about 5 minutes I happened to look out the window and saw that the rest of the school was at recess.  My poor kiddos!  I felt so bad, but like I told them, I won't make that mistake again.

One can't say that I over plan, especially today.  Although I was where I wanted to be for math, and the reading portion of the day, what I planned for science and social studies took less time than I expected, and covered the material for the next two days!  Oh well, that works well because we've got lots to do!

One more thing I learned today, is that the shoes I've been practically living in all summer are much more comfortable than the fancy shoes I chose to wear today.  So glad I brought my comfortable pair just in case, because I needed them.

All in all, it was a great first day.  I think we're going to have a great year together!

Ready or not....

Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  Perhaps.  We had our 2 days of workshops yesterday and today, and tomorrow is our first day with our students.  I mentioned in an earlier post how I received several responses from parents and students on my letters that I sent them.  I also got to meet two of them today.  I feel better about tomorrow.  Although I just taught 3rd graders this past year, for some reason I was imagining my 4th graders as larger students.  I'm not sure why....

On Sunday night I definitely didn't feel ready mentally for school.  The idea seemed surreal.  Yesterday, before our district workshop in another building, I went to my classroom to drop off some items.  When I left, I felt more motivated and energized for school to start.  This morning, after a couple of meetings, I was able to work in my room.  I got pretty much everything I can imagine prepared.   Now I'm sitting on my couch waiting for laundry, patiently waiting for a decent time to get to bed, and I feel that I'm ready.

However, as ready as I feel right now, I certainly was dealing with the nerves this morning and afternoon.  Yeah, let's just say that I'm really looking forward to Thursday, because the first day of school jitters will be over.

Count Down Begins!

This is my last Friday before school begins, and I haven't been to my classroom all week!  Whohoo!  I'm actually impressed with myself, because I'm usually there at least once a week, so not having been there since last Friday is really good for me.  So, I wonder what's waiting for me there...

Our first workshop day is Monday, but it's district-wide, so I won't be spending any time in my building until Tuesday.  So, my plan is to head over there early Monday morning before I need to be at the district wide workshop and just make sure everything is all set.  I have a couple of things to drop off and I probably have some parent or student letters waiting for me.

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out an introductory letter to my parents and a separate one for my students.  I asked parents to tell me about their child.  It gives them a chance to brag.  In all the years I've been doing this at the start of the year, I only had 1 parent who 'warned' me about how annoying, talkative, and inattentive her child was.  As sad as I felt reading it, I strongly believe it was the best thing, because it gave me an idea of what this little gal went home to, so I was able to give her the positive attention she deserved at school.

As much as I enjoy sending and receiving these letters, I usually only receive a fraction of what I sent out.  For example, this year, I sent out 12 letters and have only heard from 4 families (which includes parent and child).  Like I said, I might still have some waiting for me at school, and last year I received one more on the first day of school.  Oh well, some is better than none.

As of last Friday all of my bulletin boards were finished and my areas were set up.

This is one of my bulletin boards behind where I'm going to have our small groups.  I have a small table with some station work (math & language arts), and the expectations on anchor charts.  My classroom will be loosely based on CAFE, using some of the concepts, but I found a structure that I found worked well last year.

This is how I'm planning to approach our social studies unit.  I have a drawing of our state (I have fixed the paper since this picture was taken so it looks neater), and we're going to spend the first couple of days talking about what we know about our state.  The capital, where we live, other places that we know of (national parks and state parks), then go from there.

This is where I'm keeping track of my classroom jobs.   I've decided to forego the student of the week, at least the way I did last year, and rotate responsibilities instead.

This is my help wall.  Some of what's up there has changed, but the green and blue poster boards are still there.  There are lots of masking tape and Command Strips behind those posters, but I couldn't see undoing them, and the different colors helps divide the subjects.

This is where our calendar is located, as well as our daily schedule.  As long as I can remember to make the appropriate changes each day, I can avoid the usual questions of what do we have today.  Next to the schedule are hanging pockets where I store my concept charts that I'll display on my document camera.

Here is where I've place my classroom management chart.  This is the first time I'm trying it, so  I hope it works out well.

       I thought I had a picture of our meeting/reading area, but couldn't find one finished.  I'll add that picture later on.  Cosmetically, it looks like I'm ready.  Curriculum wise, I feel like I'm ready.  Now I have to get back into the school/teaching zone.  I spent all summer in school mode, and this week I managed to take a break from it.  I just hope I'm there on Monday when we have our first workshop.

Evolution in the Classroom

As teachers we tend to go through a constant evolution, at least many of us do.  There are still some teachers who are comfortable and set in their methods that trying out new ideas is difficult.  Perhaps it's because of the direction my teaching career has taken, going from teaching pre-teens to teaching 8 and 9-year-olds, that haven't allowed me to remain stagnant.

Yesterday I went to my classroom to do some organizing and starting talking with one of my new colleagues.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been thinking of using developmental spelling with my students.  As we talked more, bouncing ideas around as to how to manage it in the classroom and track student progress, we got on the topic of math facts.

Just like I was raised with having a list of spelling words and being expected to spell them correctly at the end of the week, I was also raised with practicing my math facts and being expected to keep up with the rest of the class.  Well, my conversation with my fellow teacher enlightened me on the idea of developmental math as well.  I left school yesterday excited about a new tool I can use to help my students increase their math facts skills at their pace, rather than expecting them to keep up with the rest of the class.

Two new tools!  I felt hopeful with the idea that my new kiddos will have an opportunity to do some aspect of math and language arts at their pace, which is the direction I really wanted to take this year.

With one week left before school begins, I feel that I'm ready.  My plans are made, my room is organized, and I think I'm organized (maybe) and ready to go.

Trouble focusing...

Perhaps it's the beautiful weather we've been having, teaching summer school in the mornings for a few weeks, or other distractions that life brings, but I'm struggling to stay focused with what I plan to do with my kiddos this year.  

Last year I had guidance, or shall I say a laid out plan of what the other two 3rd grade teachers have been doing for several years.  I followed nearly everything that they did, or at least I tried to.  I know my students didn't accomplish everything, or was exposed to everything that the rest of the third grade was, but it wasn't for lack of effort on my part.  There was so much to learn about being an elementary school teacher compared to having been a middle school language arts teacher for several years.  I never had to do fluency checks,  DAZE, or have them practice multiplication facts like I did as a 3rd grade teacher.  I just started with a new novel, completed the activities I had planned to enhance their English language arts skills, then moved on to the new book when we were finished.

An important thing that's distracting me is how I plan to teach this year.  I've explored strategies such as Flipped Classroom, Whole Brain Teaching, using QR codes, and Student-Centered Classrooms (unless that's the same as Flipped Classroom, I'm still trying to figure that out.  I like some of the concepts of all of these strategies, but it's a bit overwhelming, especially as I'm trying to organize what I plan to use.  

As I mentioned before, I've been looking at beginning the year having my students investigate native and invasive species and use technology to share our data with the community as a science activity. But one of my challenges is how to guide my student so that the activity is directed by them (i.e. student-centered classroom).  

At the same time, I want to begin my social studies unit having them explore  communities and our government, beginning locally, moving on to county, state, and national.  If I plan to follow the student-centered structure, they need to develop the driving question. 

Science and social studies seem easy enough, and in language arts I'll be following a text.  As for math...the first few days, possibly the first week will be reviewing what they learned last year as 3rd graders.  This is where I won't be too lost, because I'm coming from having taught 3rd grade, but how do I use student-centered structure when dealing with math?

So much planning and organizing is involved, but I'm thankful that I love teaching and learning new strategies that I can use.  The ever-changing world of education will help keep me on my toes and hopefully keep me from becoming stagnant.  I might always feel that I'm never "there", meaning never finding that perfect teaching method, but I guess that's just the nature of the profession.

My major focus this summer has been organizing my room, now that I've moved to a new building in the district.  The major part of the organization is mostly complete, just the fine tuning needs to be done.  I've worked some on my bulletin boards, and prepared some photocopies for our morning warms-ups (which may not be following a Flipped Classroom structure).  

I created these math and language arts help boards last year because I lacked bulletin board space, so they were placed on the windowsills instead.  Plenty of Command Strips and masking tape is holding them up.

This area will be my small group station.  The board behind me is a magnetic chalk board that I might use to display information about our stations.  On my closet door is my "Classroom Jobs" poster where I'll place clothespins with my students' names on them.

This board will be the focus board for language arts, with the vocabulary words displayed where the polkadots are on the left.  The rest of the board will have our focus for our standards.

This is another magnetic chalkboard.  I was impatient and wasted some Command Strips to hang up the daily schedule and calendar, but I plan to stick colored fabric on it before it's finished.  On the right of the board is my classroom management chart.  I will have other clothespins with students' names on it to show where they are all at when it comes to their behavior.

I've allowed myself to go to my classroom a couple of afternoons a week while teaching summer school, but I'm forcing myself to stay home, at least for this next week, to focus on the curriculum and strategies I'm choosing to use.  

Until next post.....

Excited about science!

A few years back when I was teaching middle school language arts, I joined my science teacher friend at a 4-day workshop 6 hours south from my home.  Granted one of the motivators of taking the workshop was that it was an "vacation" with a friend away from home, near the ocean, free of charge, and I was getting paid a stipend from the organization giving the training after all was said and done.

Aside from the immediate and monetary benefits of attending the workshop, it was an opportunity to be trained in something science related, which appealed to me as a language arts teacher who loves science, and that uses technology.  It also is a way for my students to have an impact on their community and have a genuine purpose for their inquiry-based learning and exploring.

Now that I'm being relocated to another building in my district, I'm excited to get started.  I was so overwhelmed with my own learning last year, that I didn't get the opportunity to even consider implementing the unit in my class.   This school is located near a boat landing on a river, and has a wooded area near our playground.  These are perfect locations for my 4th graders and I to look for native and invasive species in both plants and aquatic animals.

The whole purpose of the unit is for students to identify species of plants, insects, or aquatic animals, by using species cards. They collect data, draw the species, use the species cards to determine if they have found or not found the species they were looking at, as well as include the coordinates of where the species was found.  All of this data is uploaded to the website called Vitalsignsme.org and is eventually verified whether it was found or not.  

It's a process, but after all is said and done, students have helped their community, both local and state, by identifying a species, and if it is an invasive species, then scientists in our state know where it is found and can monitored.  The unit can be kept as a small unit, or one that is on-going throughout the school year.  The thing is, in our area, we have snow for a large part of the school year, so we can't continue our investigations until the spring.

As for where it falls in the standards, it includes writing for an audience, student-driven investigations, use of technology, as well as collecting data and making graphs to represent data.  Depending on how in-depth the teacher wants to take the lessons, depends on how cross-curricular it becomes.

The training I received provided me with materials, such as cameras, GPS devices, contraptions for collecting aquatic plants and capturing aquatic animals.  The website itself provides tons of materials for teachers, citizen scientists, students, and anyone who wants to participate in any way.

I feel it's the perfect unit to begin the school year with, and one that can be my signature unit.  No one else in my new district knows about Vitalsignsme.org or how to perform the lessons.  Although it was originally designed for middle level to high school students, I can see how it can be easily adjusted for upper-level elementary grades, too.  You're welcome to check out the site.  I recently did an investigation for Cow's Parsnip, or Indian Celery, and I'm just waiting for someone to review my data and verify whether or not I've identified it properly.

Exploring with QR Codes

I mentioned in my last post how I attended a workshop at my local college about using iPads in the classroom.  It was very informative and educational.  One of the workshops I chose to attend was about QR codes.

We've seen those codes that are square with weird boxes and shapes in them. When we scan them with a QR reader, we end up being taken to a web page, blog, video, or whatever it may lead to that either entertains us or provides us with more information.  

Well, the presenter for this workshop shared how she uses QR codes to link to youtube videos that provide explanation for her students in a variety of activities.  Basically, she uses it for student-centered learning.  Any given student may be assigned a QR code that will lead to a video that gives her instructions for a specific activity that helps her practice certain math skills.  Or perhaps it's for a student to listen to a story being read to her and follow along in her book.  She may also use QR codes on center (or station) activities that allows her to give specific instructions on the activity, and even demonstrate what her expectations are.

On the flip side, her students use QR codes to share with their families the work they did in class, or to demonstrate a newly gained skill, in reading or math.  Mind you this is with a 1st grade class.  She taught them the procedure for creating their own video, and from there she helps them create a QR code and it is then emailed to their parents.  

Perhaps a student has worked really hard on her reading fluency, and now wants to show her parents how well she can read the book she's been practicing on.  She can record herself reading so her parents can see (or hear) her read.

There's so much potential in the classroom with QR codes, and I'm excited with what I can do with it! 

Here's what I worked on this morning.  As for copyright laws, I was told that if my reading isn't an exact replica of the book (if I messed up the words somehow, which I did unintentionally), then I'm not breaking any laws.  Personally, I'm not listing the link so it can be searched, and I'm not profiting from it, so I don't see the harm.  If anyone knows differently, PLEASE let me know. 

 

Sorry about the huge size.  The app I'm using to do this doesn't allow me to adjust the size of images. If you have a QR reader app on your phone or tablet, you'll be able to access the link of me reading the book The Trash Detectives.

Trials in preparing a new class....

Since school finished about 2 1/2 weeks ago, I've been moving my things to a new building and setting things up.  There have been lots of organizing, too.  I went for the third time today to work in my room, and like I'm sure may teachers working in their room experience, you don't get much done.  I did get a lot accomplished, but I'm also getting to know my new colleagues.  So far they've all been so helpful, informative, and welcoming. 

Here are some pictures of my new classroom, as a clean slate.  Right now a lot is set up, but I'm in the "making a mess" stage, just trying to get things organized.

Here's the wall with new windows that overlook the playground.

Turning toward the left, this will be a larger whiteboard area...

Again going to the left, where my kiddos will hang up their jackets and bookbags, the entrance from the hall, and a closet.

Last, but not least, the back wall with two display areas, a sink, plenty of storage, and....a bathroom!  I've never had one in my room before.  Hope I don't regret it.

I've worked a lot in my room, in fact, I've been told by many that it looks like I'm ready to begin class tomorrow.  They wouldn't say that after today, though, I have lots of unfinished projects going on.

Some of the recent conversations taking place, during my breaks, have been about using the Developmental Spelling method, like I wrote about in my last posting, and apparently we have a guru in the building.  I'll definitely be picking her brain before school begins in the fall.

Other teaching strategies that I've been looking into this past week is student-centered classrooms, and flipped classrooms.  I had thought that they were the same thing, but through the research I've done this week, there are some similarities and differences.  I found that although the learning for both is student driven, a flipped classroom is when a teacher provides the lesson through a video that the students watch at home for homework, then they're ready to learn in class.   As for student-centered, I understand that to mean that students have choices as to what topic they want to focus on and create their own projects showing their new knowledge, which I think may also be similar to flipped classrooms.  I'm still learning....

I came across a great video of a 4th grade teacher in action.   http://youtu.be/c2zTz8eOfuI

Her name is Ms. Kelly, and I was intrigued by how well her reading class went, especially the strategies she used.  What excited me most was that there were some times that my classroom looked like that last year, at least in regards to the collaboration that took place.  This video not only gave me great ideas, but also gave me confirmation that I have done some things right last year.

If anyone has any advice regarding student-centered classrooms or flipped classrooms, I'm willing to learn more.

Until next time!

Traditional Spelling vs. Developmental Spelling

All my childhood career, until I reached high school, I had to learn a list of words and spell them correctly.  Sometimes my teacher would have me and my classmates write sentences using the spelling words, too.

As a middle school teacher, I struggled with my students learning how to spell specific words.  I was more concerned about them learning the meanings, and using them properly, than knowing how to spell them.  However, I was encouraged to have them know how to spell them, too.  This is where my students failed most, and I felt it was so unfair to them.  Mainly because at this point in the game, I felt that my students were passed the point of needing to learn how to spell the words, and that it was more important for them to learn their meanings instead.

Last year, as a first time 3rd grade teacher, I followed what most of my colleagues were doing, which was having students study 25 words and spit them out after a week of studying.  I was comfortable with this because this is how I had learned my spelling words.  

Last week, while talking to my new colleagues in my new building, I was introduced to the concept of Developmental Spelling.  I looked it up, and learned that it's basically learning how to spell using phonics.  Now I'm looking at the Whole Language vs. Phonics issue.  In all honesty, I didn't realize that there was still a debate.  However, as much as I love having the choice to take the approach I feel is necessary to meet my student's needs, I do feel that I should at least take a closer look at what Developmental Spelling is and how to approach it with my 4th graders.

This leads me to my question.  If anyone has any advice or suggestion as to how this works, I would love to hear from you.  I will be meeting with my colleagues soon about it, but would like to have more insight on the topic, and at least sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Endings and Beginnings

Yesterday was a milestone day.  It was a day of endings and beginnings.  I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this, but I'm changing classrooms again.  In fact, I'm changing buildings, too.  New building, new grade, new building principal, new colleagues, new room....new EVERYTHING!  I was very glad to have been a part of the last workshop day in my new building, too, because we made decisions and preparations that afternoon that will affect me.  It felt so nice to be included in the decisions.  I already felt like I was part of the building already.  It was wonderful!  I  was already all packed at my old building, and with my oldest stepson's help, everything is already moved to my new building.  I felt so welcomed by everyone.  I see a great new school year coming!

Successful year and more changes....

So, I have survived my first year of teaching 3rd grade.  There were times that I wondered if I was where I was supposed to be, but my belief that there is a plan for me, I just need to say yes and follow, and that kept me going.  I can confidently say that I was a good teacher.  Not a fantastic teacher like I wanted to be, but a good one.  I did a lot of reflecting and learned more than I had ever expected to learn this year. I'm a much better person and teacher because of this year.

School will be finished with the kiddos on Tuesday, and I will be finished at that school as well.  My position got cut, again.....However, this time I am NOT at the bottom of the totem-pole this time, so I'm only getting relocated to another building in the district to teach 4th grade.  I'm really looking forward to the change.  I'm already 90% packed!  As soon as I get the okay from my new principal in the new school building I'll be moving to, my stuff is heading their way.

On a sad note, however, I'm really going to miss the friendships I've gained this year.  Some I will still see, because they tend to move around the district throughout the week, but there are a few that don't.  I'll miss our daily, morning chitchats.  I will also miss my kiddos.  I had a couple of kiddos who came a went, but I have 13 students as of right now, and they have all made a mark on my heart that will never go away.  Those 8 and 9-year-olds, even the ones who challenge me behavioral-wise throughout the year, have had a part in my own education and evolution from being a middle school language arts teacher to a 3rd grade teacher, and I'll be forever grateful for their patience with me and love for me.

The big kiddos  in the back are mine, the smaller ones in the front were part
of a Pre-K class that joined us for Fun Day.

I've also learned the value of supportive parents.  I've communicated with parents before, but it was usually because they weren't happy with their son or daughter's score or final grade.  Other than that, I hardly saw them or heard from them.  This past school year I have had the overwhelming support from my children's parents.  They've been open with me on their concerns, and have supported me with mine.  There was never a question as to whether the lines of communication were open or not.  They always new they could contact me if necessary.

My new building that I'll be working with has been praised highly by my colleagues.  I've also worked with my new principal in my old district.  He was my mentor teacher back when I started teaching middle school. In fact, because of what I've heard and who I'll be working with, I'm excited.  I'm really looking forward to using my new-found skills, abilities, and knowledge to be an even better teacher next year.  I have some new tools in my new toolbox I can use, and some old tricks up my sleeve that I wasn't able to use with 3rd grade.  It's a pretty exciting time!  It's as if this past year was a stepping stone, only meant to prepare me for next year and beyond.

To leave you with something to think about, I found this saying on Facebook today...thought it was important for me to remember when I feel overwhelmed.

Not my babies!!

Tomorrow will be a first for me. I'm leaving my kiddos to a sub. Don't get me wrong, I've been a full-time substitute before and I know there are a lot of wonderful subs out there. It's not leaving my little gals and guys to a sub that's concerning me, but it's my first time this school year not being in the classroom with them....and I'm sad.

I guess part of me is also concerned because I want to make sure they have plenty of quality work to do that's meaningful. I don't want to leave them with busy work, so they're working on projects that they've already been working on and I have some stations (or centers if you will) for them to also work on if there's time left.

Another part of my fear is cutting the apron strings, if you will, and that their behavior will be a testament to how well I manage my classroom. I do have confidence that my little guys and gals will behave well, but still...there's always that fear lingering in the back of my mind that will probably rob some of my sleep tonight and distract me during my day tomorrow.

I'm definitely going to miss those smiles and chatty voices. The talkative little girls excited to tell me their latest news, and the shy boys with their baseball caps on their heads and their hands in their pockets. I've become so attached to them and will miss them tomorrow. Perhaps I'll "forget" something in my room and have to go back to get it....you know, something that just can't wait for when they're gone to recess. That's okay, I'll get through the day and have them to myself on Friday.

I feel better now.

Testing, testing, testing....

I float around the Facebook and Pinterest worlds probably too frequently.  One is to socialize with family, friends, former and current colleagues, and former students and the other is to get new ideas for practically everything under the sun.  Frequently I'll come across cartoon or ecards making fun of standardized tests.  Like this one...

...and these ecards that we see everywhere...

Right now my state, and I'm sure many of the states, are in the midst of standardized testing.  If not now, then  they will be later on in the spring.  I can't help but think the rigorous scheduling and the strict regulations imposed on our students can be stressful in itself, never mind the content. How on earth does one expect 8 and 9-year-olds to sit still for 45 to 90 minutes without walking around?  I  can't even stay in one spot that long.  I must add, however, that our guidance department has done a fantastic job of scheduling the test sessions in a realistic manner, but just the same.  Let's just say it's a good thing our kiddos get a recess.  I'm just hoping the weather stays nice, at least until the test sessions are finished so they can continue to go outside to play.

One thing that I've tried to do before and after the testing time is do some stress-relieving breathing exercises and stretches.  After the second day they actually started looking forward to it.  They were so cute, because they thought I was forgetting and asked to do the stretches. I've also tried to give them activities, related to the content they're learning, of course, that was more on the creative side that gave them a mental break, at least for the rest of the morning.  One of the activities they worked on this week had to do with their social studies unit on communities.

I found this cute idea on Pinterest where they focused on 5 specific communities: their house, their city/town, their country, their continent, and their planet.  I gave them card stock with 5 circles.  Two of the circles they had to draw, such as their house and their town.  For their country, continent, and planet, I provided them with a copy already printed out that they just had to color.  Here's a picture of what we did:

This isn't the best picture, but you see how the end result looked.  I hung them on pushpins on the edge of our windows to display them.  Like I said, it was an easy project that meant something, but gave them a chance to relax a bit.

Another activity they did was to color and put together their scarecrows.  They came out cute and are now hung in our hallway outside of our classroom....

Below the scarecrows is the pumpkin I put together with sheets of orange card stock that I taped together in the back, drew the pumpkin, then laminated it after I cut it out.  The leaves have the Haikus that my students wrote about fall.  I showed them a nice autumn picture of a path in the woods, and they drew from their experiences to focus on what they might have seen, heard, smelled, tasted (like hot chocolate), or felt while they were in the woods.  I also have pumpkins that they will write short writing pieces on about other autumn experiences.  

Everyone else was doing trees with leaves, so I decided to take a different approach.  I don't always like following the crowd.  I've always been the type of person to go my own direction, after having been inspired by others, of course.

I'm really enjoying being a 3rd grade teacher.  Not that I didn't at first, but I'm beginning to feel more comfortable and have been thinking more like a third grade teacher than in the beginning.  I'm still a work in progress, but I think I'll always be one.