Category Archives: Reflections

Beyond the Content

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Content is important.  Everyone should have access to a broad range of understanding our world in order to interact successfully, make intelligent decisions, and enjoy life more fully.  When I look at content I try to keep this in mind.  Consider persuasive writing – vital to understand for any child who wants to swindle, I mean receive as an investment into personal education, the need for the new Lego Movie lego set.  Fast forward several years, when the same child now needs to buy life insurance for his/her family.  On the receiving end of persuasion, this same person needs to be able to evaluate which persuasive strategies the agent is employing, then sort through the extra information, to determine what best meets the needs of the family.  Watching commercials or listening to a politician requires the same skill.  When I taught persuasive writing in a third grade classroom, first we looked at the character in the mentor text, I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff, to decide which techniques he was using to persuade Mom to let him has his friend’s iguana.  Then the students discussed favorite commercials, talked about the purpose of the commercial and what tools were used to get the buyer to purchase the product.  Of course, all of this was written on a handy dandy anchor chart, some by me and some by the students – shared writing!  Finally we looked at an OREO graphic organizer to begin our prewrite to persuade people to protect the earth.  The next day we viewed “The Great Kapok Tree” on youtube (the book is by Lynn Cherry).  The students compared persuasive techniques from the day before, went through their organizer to see if they wanted to make changes/additions, then began their first draft.  By the way, when discussing persuasive techniques, the students were highly engaged, taking turns respectfully at a higher level than usual which earned a gumball for positive communication skills towards a class reward.  It was a great feeling!!

Why Bring this up now?  Beyond the Math Classroom

One, summer is a great time for reflection.  I hate sitting idle, but also because I’m reviewing math concepts which may be used towards multiple grades.  Today, I looked at a couple of math books on fractions wanting to create relevance for the students in future years.  Math is so much more than computation.  It’s considering patterns, relationships, and promoting problem solving which is needed daily.  As far as relevance, I think for younger students, I will lean towards cooking and sharing food which is something all kids can understand.  With older students, I can really delve into shopping with real ads so the relations between fractions, decimals, and percents can be explored.  Recently, I purchased hamburger patty squares for concrete investigations into equivalent fractions, fractions to decimals, fractions to percents.  At a math conference last year, I saw this used with colored pencils – fascinating.  I plan to use a strip model more than circles because it is much easier to draw on paper without error for assessment purposes.

Note to consider:  One review center I want to keep in mind when exploring fractions will be creating pictures out of pattern blocks, then creating fractions out of the different shapes (using correct terminology).  For older students, I can change this to individually created flags which we can express in fractions, decimals, and percents.   Also, I want to use a paper balance for students to investigate comparison of fractions.  Return to page 259 of Elementary and Middle School Mathematics.  This can be done with discretely colored unifix cubes first, then expressed in a math journal or on a math balance sheet I can create.

Interviewing and Waiting

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So what is an educator to do while waiting to land a dream job to share the joy of learning, while teaching life skills?  This eager beaver prepares for a future classroom in my spare time.  Sure, I give time to my family, but often my mind drifts to procedures, game extensions, formative assessment tools, or simply classroom decorating while an impatient family member prods,  “Earth to Mom again.”  Recently, we watched The Lego Movie.  I couldn’t help pulling out a pad to take notes about different scenes and characters.  Seriously, this move is awesome (if you’ve seen the movie, you know I had to use this adjective).  It will appeal to any elementary, plus older, age groups.  Later, I created a game board which now is in my “to be laminated” pile, then bought 10 Lego Movie mini-figures as game pieces.  They came in 3 different Lego sets which I’ll place in my Rainy Day Activity box.  If I use it for math, I can incorporate characters and scenarios into my word problems.  I can also use it as a general Reader Response board, Character Analysis, or Content review which will still be more engaging with Lego figures.  Depending on how long it takes to obtain a position, I might create a Positive Behavior management system using the Lego Board enlarged, similar to the Homework-opoly board that is floating around.  I’m also preparing an interactive bulletin board for formative assessment with posterboard T-charts/Venn Diagrams, etc.  I’m reading Science Formative Assessment by Page Keeley which I will adjust to serve all subjects.  However, if I know what grade I will have, then I will concentrate on content extension games to use during flex group periods.  As far as the interviews, is anyone a fan though I certainly understand and support the process of finding a mutual fit?  So I will smile, walk in, share my thoughts…and until then, prepare.  There’s always plenty to do so the time will pass quickly.  Oh, and with summer, I can enjoy more time for socializing also.  Here’s a picture of my board – the white squares will have questions, problems, or board action directives if I use pre-made problems.  The action figures (not pictured) will move along the spaces – I will probably alternate “move forward _ space(s)” and using die according to the games I make because I plan to use this board for multiple games/subjects.  Much to do and enjoy – cheers!

Lego game

First Time Presenter

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Yesterday evening, I presented “Technology Tools for the New Teacher” at Texas State University.  I was so nervous that I lost several nights of sleep.  Present were a mix of undergraduate and graduate pre-service teachers.  One professor brought her class.  I spoke from the premise of not being an expert, but rather an active learner similar to the way children learn – find something of interest and interact with the material.  It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, yet I jumped at the opportunity for the experience.  Within the presentation, I tried to incorporate sites for professional development, organization, collaboration, web tools, classroom management, teacher lesson resources, classroom resources, and games.  I hate to go to a conference, then hear, “If you learn one thing from each presentation, then it is worth it.”  I believe time in life is more valuable than that so I inundated my presentation with sources though I was a little concerned it would water the information down.  Everyone comes to technology with different strengths so my objective was to share multiple areas of interest for engagement.  It seemed to go well; the professor, a principal in another district, asked me to present to her staff.  However, I goofed with some of the links and I’m not sure how.  I logged into all sites which required a password, which should have allowed for the links to work, but they didn’t.  At these points, I continued speaking as I manually pulled up the web page.  It was clunky; I’m not going to lie.  Lesson learned (well, as soon as I realize how to solve the issue).  I learned about new tools in the process of building my Power Point.  One I particularly like is thinglink.com.  You upload an image, then add text, media, and/or images.  Imagine using this for a writing assignment!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Siberian_Husky_pho_.jpg

The PowerPoint (Join SlideShare, Upload, then Share via SlideShare)

And lastly, my handouts via SlideShare

 

Classroom Furniture Project

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I have a very firm vision of how I’d like to arrange my room for student activities throughout the day and personal organization. A rocking chair was a part of my original plan because it calls to mind a cozy environment for sharing the love of a good read. However, working in the classrooms, it feels that it takes up space that could be used for the children. Because of this, I’ve decided to use a few stools at various heights. It’s an experiment – I understand much of what I think now will change with experience; that’s part of the excitement. Because it is so hard to wait for August to arrive with a classroom of students, then I spend some of my free time creating items for the future. This is said somewhat tongue in cheek. I bought 6 chairs on Craigslist almost a year ago and I finally painted my first classroom stool. My favorite colors are black and red. Red is a little strong to have much of it in the room so I’ll just have a few blips of it. Growing up in Louisiana inspired the fleur-de-lis. This represents my heritage. It’s a little funny because I dislike seeing stars all over homes in Texas or fleurs-de-lis in every decoration when visiting home – just a personal taste issue. However, it’s a beautiful symbol with interesting history behind it. It’s a fancy lily indicative of France. My hometown is Baton Rouge, but walking through New Orleans, the image of the fleurs-de-lis within the architecture is beautiful. Here is my first stool:

I learned something about painting furniture – there are a LOT of steps.  Sanding, priming, multiple paint coats, then multiple top coats.  Most importantly, beware, it’s contagious.  Two daughters are now about to begin similar adventures.

 

Student Teaching

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Teaching
As I enter into my final weeks, I think about what I’ve learned. There’s a balance between supporting those who need to revisit concepts, while moving forward for those who are ready. Daily 5 and math stations work well for this. These periods allow small group visits to enhance or reteach. I am in an inclusion class so differentiation often looks like open ended activity with heterogeneous grouping. Specific accommodations are used as well such as scaffolding with visuals. Pairs and groups continuously change, even with choice by the students. A challenge is moving into the next unit when I’d like to dig deeper so I add challenge through comparison/contrast, using deeper questions (how, why), and open assignments. In the next unit, the students will compare fables, then create a unique fable to share a valuable lesson with the first graders.

Kappa Delta Pi Convocation
Recently, I attended a Kappa Delta Pi Convocation. My greatest inspiration came from Dr. Jeff Goldstein, an astrophysicist.

He is passionate about self generated inquiry and education. We have similar values, yet he expresses his thoughts so beautifully. Some of my favorite quotes from him are:

“We are born curious and we are born universe based learners.”
“It is the students’ classroom and the teacher lights the way.”
“A core goal should be joyful learning which leads to joyful employment, but make data driven decisions.”
“A core goal should be critical thinking on demand.”

Incredible, right? A lot of it, I’ve mentioned in my philosophy, past reflections, and class papers. However, it’s always great to see our views validated, with a fresh outlook to reinvigorate our purpose.

Class Rules

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Golden Rules

A friend of mine just became a second grade teacher.  This is exciting for multiple reasons – one simply the fulfillment of a dream and two – I discovered I am student teaching in second grade.  We’re thrilled to have this common ground because it’s one way we can feel connected since she is no longer a classmate.  Anyway, this morning we discussed class rules briefly (through texting).  She’s required to have 4 for the classroom.  This is interesting because my supervisor just recommended this week that we keep rules short and somewhat broad.  This allows for teacher discretion to consider each behavior miscue in context.  Did Johnny’s parents just divorce?  We want to take this situation into account.  There’s still accountability, but fair does not always mean the exact same.  Different children have different needs.  Okay, so back to the rules.  Here are my thoughts:

  1. Be respectful and kind to yourself, others, and property.
  2. Follow directions.
  3. Try your best.
  4. Be positive.

It’s not anything new.  I plan to have students at the beginning of the year discuss what rules should be in the room, though students generally come up with rules that coordinate with what  I have written.   I will word the rules in accordance to our student led discussion perhaps with a little guidance.  Sound Sneaky? Not really – rules of fairness, respect, work ethic,  and a good attitude all cover the rules students will suggest because it’s what makes a community work well.  Expectations, how it looks, how it sounds, and why this is desirable will be discussed throughout the year.  In line with this, I just bought over 175 pages of a reward system that has fewer material rewards off of TeachersPayTeachers from a seller, Mel D.  It’s a dangerous, yet resourceful site – many items are free.

Prezi or PowerPoint

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After trying Prezi late last year, I discovered I prefer PowerPoint.  It feels as if PP has better variety with more options.  The way Prezi moves from one screen to another feels disjointed to me.  However, Prezi is useful for the choice it provides students in form of presentation.  I always prefer giving choices when possible.  Below is my prezi from a literature study of one chapter of The Skin That We Speak by Lisa Delpit.  The book conveys first account experiences about the impact of language in the classroom.

Classroom Management Experiments

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Kagan Stuctures, the Music Wand, and Brain Breaks

Yesterday I subbed in an excellent school with third graders.  I brought several of my usual bag of tricks for experimentation.  Kagan structures for collaborative work (or breaks) and the music wand to gain attention continue to be hits with the students.  I used a brain break during an hour long session of math worksheets.  As I ran around a tiny table in front of table groups, a hit in itself, the students stood up to perform “the wave”.  When first being introduced to brain breaks, I wondered if the interruption would serve as a hindrance to getting back into the groove of working.  To date, this has not been my experience.  Students love the change in routine, then continue working with a wonderful attitude.  It deepens the teacher/student relationship which is interesting.

Twitter

Many in this group had not heard of twitter, yet this didn’t stop the enjoyment of tweeting about personal events.  If the students worked hard, they could tweet on a large post-it anything of interest.  Here’s my header post-it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best result of using this method was learning more about each student.  I visualize book responses, predictions, and inferring author’s intent in a very informal style which can still stimulate higher level thinking.  A winner idea courtesy of Pinterest.

Class Dojo

Another experiment was the use of Class Dojo.  Assuming I would not be using a computer in the classroom, I printed out a Class Dojo page with student roster numbers, table numbers, and one slot for “Whole Class”.  Each slot has its own avatar in the appearance of a monster.  I wish there were more monsters so each student could have an original image, but I believe I can create additional avatars if I choose.  I’ll check into this later.  I informed the students how I receive the best classes everytime I sub, but wanted a better way to brag to their teacher at the end of the day.  Because of this, I printed out the avatar sheet.  During the day, I would catch students performing three model behaviors: following directions, respecting people and property, and staying on task.  There were no rewards from me, but I would leave the paper for the teacher so she could see how wonderfully her students behaved.  Points, once earned, could not be taken away.  This form of positive reinforcement was received very well for an initial trial.  It will be interesting to see the effects over a longer term.  I really have to thank my prior mentor during my internship for modelling true positive reinforcement.  It was quite an experience to observe how effectively she managed the classroom without calling attention to any negative behavior.

Overall

At the end of the day, I would conclude all management experiments as successful.  Three teachers asked for my name and number because the students responded well.  This was a bonus since this is a school where I would love to be a part of the team – very positive, friendly, down to earth dynamics.

NSTA National Conference, San Antonio

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San Antonio or Bust

Since this conference will not occur until April, I shouldn’t write anything yet.  However, I can’t help myself.  My family hears more than they desire about education, FB friends really aren’t interested in future conferences, and my husband is traveling.  Therefore, I will enter here with the most enthusiasm sans all cap letters or exclamation points that I have registered, not just for the NSTA National Conference being held in San Antonio, BUT (okay a few caps) for a Professional Development Institute.  This means I leave a day early, as projects are looming for the semester, for an extra day to participate in a professional series “The Literacy and Inquiry Connection: Instruction that Scaffolds and and Enhances Scientific Thinking and Understanding.”  The title alone makes me feel like a child at eye level with the pumpkin pie for Christmas dinner, a trace of cinnamon – traipsing, teasing; yet it’s only 8 in the morning.  I am even more excited about this conference than I was the fall math conference (NCTM regional Dallas).  I’ve had April’s conference bookmarked for an entire year.  Now one can understand why I had to write about an experience I’ve not yet fulfilled.  Math conference, Kagan workshop, Science and Literacy – now I require a full literacy workshop to round out my early training.  I’ve attended a couple of TAIR conferences, with another arriving in February, but I’m wishing for the Stephanie Harvey of workshops.  She holds a summer session every year in  Colorado.  It’s in my future.  I did attend Harvey Daniel’s workshop at the TAIR conference at Baylor University.  He’s pretty amazing as well – I have his collaborative book with Stephanie Harvey.  It’s not been used so that really doesn’t say anything.  Since we went to Disney for Christmas, we won’t travel for Spring Break.  I’ll use this time to work ahead of schedule (hopefully) in order to not lose sanity from work hours lost due to this conference.  Science, Literacy, Teacher Lingo, and a hotel room to myself (this factor is equivalent to all others as a mom of four) = Visions of sugarplums dance in my head.

My Latest Discoveries

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Semester End

Flannelboard Stories

The semester is at an end – what did I learn? Way too much to include in this post, but I have some discoveries worth mentioning.  One is flannelboard discoveries, not what you would necessarily expect in an elementary room anymore, right?  However, I have a huge interest in non-fiction and poetry.  Imagine the gain in content understanding when retelling a non-fiction trade book depiction of content which coordinates with current topics.  Now consider, fluency, engagement, and comprehension as a pair of students use a flannelboard to practice a two-voice poem.  Do I have your interest now?  The semester was full enough that I only had time to complete one story (non-fiction on pumpkins in poetic prose), but I will use the holiday to add to my collection.

Sumdog and Dogonews

I found two new websites which I can incorporate into my future classroom.  One is www.sumdog.com.  This one uses personal avatars, allowing coins earned to be used to purchase accessories for this avatar as correct answers are given when playing a plethora of game choices.  The instructions are a little ambiguous, with not much time for a student to process the information, but the games may be learned through trial and error which I find is often the case for today’s games anyway.  It’s a highly engaging website.  It would be nice if teachers had a little more control over student choice within appropriate perimeters.  I’m all for student choice.

The other website I’ve discovered through edublogs.  It’s now one of my widgets on the right sidebar, www.dogonews.com.  This site has previewed articles and videos for student viewing.  Some articles are linked to maps.  There is also an area for book reviews by children.  I’ve not even realized the full potential of this website yet, but know it’s worthy.  Articles have some words highlighted, linking to a glossary to aid vocabulary.