Irritations

I'm fresh out of my first staff development day of the year and well, I'm annoyed.

I'm in no way frustrated with my grade level, because they're great.  I'm in no way annoyed with my administration or a majority of the other teachers at my school, because they're amazingly supportive.

I'm annoyed with teachers from other schools.  

I'm new to my school and the WIPR model, but I'm in no way new to teaching.  This is year six, which puts me in that veteran teacher category.  However, I don't look my age.  Perhaps it's not having kids, perhaps it's because I try to get enough sleep each night and eat my veggies.  Perhaps it's just good genes (thanks mom!).  I have to put a conscious effort into my appearance to look like a teacher.  Today it was our school shirt, a knee length denim skirt, and flats...standard teacher attire. 

We had a long afternoon session with unwrapping the standards.  I've been doing this for years now, so it's a tad frustrating to go through the process yet again.  However, I understand not everyone has the hundreds of hours of professional development that I do, so I let that go.  We were working as a grade level (both my school and other schools in my district) and sharing ideas for one standard.  Some of the other teachers were very vocal about their lesson plan ideas, which didn't align to our standards.  If I'm teaching informational text, I'm going to try to double dip and incorporate social studies content as well.  It just makes sense to merge content areas to provide a more authentic learning opportunity.  I'm not doing an entire unit on Nevada history (a fourth grade standard) or dinosaurs. (Yes, dinosaurs.  That's what this other teacher was obsessed with.  Every lesson plan idea related back to dinosaurs...for fifth grade.)

I love professional development opportunities where I get to talk with other teachers about instruction.  I like hearing their ideas and learning from others.  Thus, I was really excited about this afternoon...but left severely disappointed.

However, my ideas were not heard.  I shared several strategies that I've used, with great success, but none of them made it to the poster.  My ideas weren't even considered because I'm the youngest one in the room.  I was interrupted and shot down, numerous times.  Ageism is a rather frustrating occurrence in teaching and it reared its ugly head today.  I had a nice conversation with the other teacher from my grade level.  She is on board with actually teaching the standards.  

I'm just frustrated that this afternoon was not productive.  I'm frustrated that I was shut down because of the way I look.  I'm irritated my ideas, which have been proven effective in the classroom, were disregarded but an older gentleman's ideas were put on the chart, even though he's never taught fifth grade.  What happened to being open minded and hearing all ideas?

Getting to Know My Munchkins

Since I'm starting at a new school, I'm coming in at a disadvantage.  I don't know these kids or their families.

So I pushed myself to try to learn as much as I could about my new bunch of munchkins.  I gave them several "about me" surveys and this year, actually took the time to read them.  I mean between all their beginning of the year forms, we're looking at five hundred pages or so...good thing it was a three day weekend!

It took a few hours, but I'm glad I did it.  I learned a lot about my new students (and their families).  I can easily name off ten fun facts about each kiddo, which is impressive considering I've known them for five days.  I also made notes about what I saw during their games of 20 wins and various first week sorts.

Here's a top ten list of things I've learned:

1) I've got some pretty eclectic kids.  Some told me they love Mean Girls, others are in Tae Kwon Do, some learned the difference between debit & credit cards this summer.

2) Almost every single one said they struggle with spelling and reading multisyllabic words, which only justifies my decision to spend 10 minutes a day doing phonics during whole group reading.

3) A few of them live around the block from me.  I've never had students live so close. I will probably see them out riding their bikes or have them visit on Halloween.

4) They are pretty vocal about their feelings on reading.  Some love Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, others hate the series with a passion...and weren't afraid to show it!

5) I've got supportive families.  Some filled me in on situations at home, some voiced their concerns about where their kids fall academically, but most want to be involved which is a welcome change.

6) Some already listed me as their favorite teacher, which is adorable. It also makes me worry about their previous teachers...but we'll have a great year.

7) Quite a few want to learn how to use the dictionary.  I don't know if their third grade teachers skipped that standard, but we'll be sure to cover both traditional and electronic dictionaries this year. (Ninjawords.com is my favorite!)

8) They're really good at coaching one another.  I don't know if I should give their previous teachers credit for this (or perhaps their parents), but during our math games they were helping one another.  Yes, there was friendly competition but they were genuinely wanting one another to grasp the concept at hand.

9) They work well together.  Some of them said their best friends are in the class.  I've only had to move one child in the first week.  Very few needed a gentle nudge about participating with the group and I'm thinking it was because they already knew the answers and didn't want to give it away. I'm pleased they want to talk to one another.

10)  They are full of joy.  They're inquisitive.  They want to learn.  This is the best possible scenario I could ask for as a teacher.

It's going to be a great year. 

Day 5

I made it to Friday!  

I did start my morning with duty...I'm not a fan of the gate.  I picked up my kiddos, took them off to Art, then planned math with another teacher in my grade level.  We had a grade level meeting yesterday and split up who is planning what subject.  This is an adjustment for me. Instead of planning everything, I'm planning one subject, writing up super explicit lesson plans, and making the copies for the grade level.  So far, I'm liking it!  I still read over their lesson plans and put my own flair on them, but it's nice that collaboration and team work is the norm for my grade level.

After I picked my kiddos up from specials, we jumped right into math.  For our number talk, it's "fact Fridays" where I gave them their first timed multiplication test.  

Last year my grade level split up multiplication and division facts into "easy", "medium", and "hard" facts.  We made 3 different versions of each test and would give them a chance every other week.  Today they had 3 minutes to do the easy multiplication ones.

Easy facts: 1, 2, 5, 10

Medium: 3, 4, 9, 11

Hard: 6, 7, 8, 12

Of those, about 6 of my students passed their easy facts on the first round.  I'll be making a tracker to glue in their notebooks and a brag wall similar to this:

For them to sign off when they pass each level.  Granted, this is a third grade standard, but many of my students don't have these facts mastered (yet!).  We'll alternate testing and practice weeks.

From there, I had them compare notes on what a good mathematician is before adding their thoughts (on post-its) to our chart:

 

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We also went over the first math practice (make sense of problems and persevere in solving them).  I had them record it in their math notebooks with sticky labels and added the chart to the wall.  I didn't want to put up all 8 without going over them because then students have no connection to what's on the wall.

I also raided another teacher's classroom and found the rods I was looking for!  I modeled that the rods and units represent tens and ones in this case, but made it clear this won't always be the situation.

I had the table teams model 43-29 for me using the manipulatives and they did a pretty good job.  I think most of our math this year will be hands-on because there are some major gaps to fill.  However, after talking with my grade level, I'm not the only one who feels this way so that's nice we're all wanting to give them meaningful practice to help make sense of numbers.

In science, they finished exploring the mystery bags and we had a conversation about all the skills they practiced.  They did a really good job with their team building task.

In writing, they finished their final drafts (which I accidentally left at school...Wednesday problem).  In reading, they took their STAR test to place them for AR and worked on building their stamina in silent reading until everyone was done with writing.

From there, I modeled the importance of previewing a text, again using The Lightning Thief as my mentor text.  I jumped right in and read, without modeling metacognition or stopping to think aloud parts.  A few pages in, they were confused (as they're supposed to be).

We talked about strategies that good readers use, one of them being to preview the text.  What this means is they need to look at the front and back covers, as well as the table of contents, to formulate an idea of what the text is about.  

I then had them practice with a book of their choosing, modeling on a post-it.

We reviewed phrasing and went over rate, adding to our charts in our notebooks.  We'll go over expression and accuracy next week.  We'll also go over buddy coaching and have some fluency practice before we take our beginning of the year Aimsweb benchmarks.

With the bell approaching, they did their classroom jobs and I sent them on their way with this:

They o-fish-ally survived their first week! It's Labor Day weekend and we have a staff development day Tuesday, so I won't see them again until Wednesday.  

One week down!

(On a side note, I did have to write my first citations and lock myself out of my room on Friday. I also forgot to send home last year's CRT scores, so I stapled apology notes to parents and those scores will go home Wednesday.  There were definitely moments of frustration on Friday, mainly due to me forgetting things...so a nice relaxing birthday dinner with B at Red Robin was so deserved!)

Happy birthday to me! (day 4)

Day 4

I really didn't get much done before school because people kept popping into my room to wish me happy birthday, which I thought was very sweet.  My new grade level brought me balloons and cupcakes, along with decorating my room.  Wasn't expecting that from a team I've worked with for basically a week, but it's great to feel so welcomed.

In math, we talked more about persevering through problems, did our number talk, then I introduced them to one of my favorite math games 20 wins.  Basically they are placing digits (0-9) into boxes and trying to make a square equal 20 with any operations.  For the first day, I modeled with me against them before letting them try with a partner.

 

We came back together and talked about strategies that were used:

While they played, I walked around making observations.  For the most part, my class seemed very comfortable with addition strategies.  A few groups tried multiplication to make 20.  They'll play again tomorrow and their weekend homework will be to play with a family member.  I don't think I'll have much trouble getting them to want to play math games.

What they don't realize is how much math they're doing.  Yes, they're adding for the most part. But they're also thinking strategically and looking for patterns with numbers.  They're having to predict what their partners might do and prevent that from happening.  They're using multiple operations, practicing order of operations, and often times trying several different strategies until they can make 20.  I love tricking them into learning!

After that math fun, we went over phrasing with fluency.  I had them do a sort with their table teams to pre-assess them and for the most part, they know what fluency is so I'm not starting instruction from the beginning.  Of the four components of fluency (rate, expression, accuracy, and phrasing) I decided to model one.  If I modeled all 4 in one day, they'd be bored and probably confuse the components.  I'd rather go a little slower to make sure they've all got it.

I modeled several different times (incorrectly) and had them give me feedback.  They did a really good job with picking out the errors.  We made a chart together in our notebooks before moving to the carpet for today's skill lesson.

I modeled metacognition, which is thinking while reading, using The Lightning Thief.  The first time I read, I modeled great fluency.  Afterward, I asked them how I did to which they responded great!  Then I let them in on a secret: it's not enough to just read the words.  You've got to think about what you're reading.

I modeled again, this time tapping to the book whenever I was "in the text" and tapping to my head, modeling a think-aloud, whenever I was practicing metacognition.  I had two students keep score:

We talked about how we have to think while reading.  Some of them got it, some didn't.  That's okay, it's day 4.  We've got time. 

We also went over what it means to be a good reader, which was part of their homework:

I'm trying to color code my anchor charts (reading being teal) to help my students.  We'll see how long I can keep up this goal!  I had them brainstorm independently, talk as a table team, then add their thoughts on post-its.

In writing, they're continuing to work on their letters to self.  In science, they're having a great time with the mystery bags.  I also had them draw pictures of what a scientist is:

Then we had the conversation that women can be scientists too, since many drew men.  I talked about how I am a scientist whenever I step into the kitchen.  I am a chemist, hoping my ingredients combine the way they're supposed to.  I have to be accurate in my measurements and ensure my oven is preheated to the proper temperatures.  I test my experiments by eating them :)  I also shared that of the real chemists I know, the highest ranking ones are women.  This was very surprising for them but part of my job is to destroy their gender stereotypes about scientists.

All in all, it was a great day.  My biggest concern so far is I've had to move one student's desk twice already, but I think that's just an adjustment back to school and realizing my expectations of listening to instructions the first time they're given.  

Four days down!

Day Three, the frustration continues

My day of frustrating them didn't end with math.

Later in the day, we went over sorts.  They did "no way Jose and that's a fact, Jack!" first.  In this sort, they separated statements about fifth grade into true and false statements. 

They also learned the procedures for gallery walks, where they critique the reasoning of others without touching the other team's sort.  It's a great opportunity for them to also practice using the accountable talk stems that we brainstormed together.

I color coded the stems to help my visual learners.

They also did an editing and revising sort which I used as a formative assessment.  They're still a little fuzzy on the differences between the two, so that's a teachable moment for me in the next few weeks.  We didn't provide any instruction on their writing task this week because we wanted to use it as an informal benchmark.  This week they wrote a letter to their future selves, which they'll get back the last week of school.

They were pretty good with the first two sorts, but then I gave them a syllable sort.

They were completely stumped.  Some groups used their responding cups to ask for help, one group tried to bribe me (both with food and a dollar), some made piles of what they thought they knew and what was confusing, some started sounding out the syllables, and others were on the right track.  They asked for help, but I let them struggle.  Struggle is a good thing.  When we came back together, I had a lot of grumpy students.  I told them that this activity helped me to see where I need to start phonics instruction (with what is a syllable), and showed me that they knew to ask for help, were comfortable asking for help, and could work together.  No groups quit during their struggle time (which was five minutes, I'm not that mean).  

They wanted to know the answers.  I said no, they don't get to know that yet.  We'll start instruction next week, but I'm not just giving you the answers without the practice.  

This was very irritating to many of my students, especially the higher ones.  I told them they won't always get the answers right away.  They won't know everything right away.  Learning is a process and it takes time.  They aren't used to not getting the answers right away and I told them this will be an adjustment.  They'll have to work through things.  They'll struggle. In the end, it will make them stronger thinkers.

I think some of them get it, but it doesn't mean they like it.

Best part of day 3?  This happened:

Oh yes, it happens in real life. 

Day 3

Day 3.

Also known as the day I pissed off most of my students, on purpose.

I didn't plan to irritate them.

We did our number talk and it involved a subtraction problem with lots of regrouping.  After walking around and seeing my students' answers, I noticed about half of them got the answer right. Others were having calculation issues or subtracting from left to right and getting all confused.

So I started the problem and asked what my next step was (it was regrouping).  The answer I got was to add a "1" to the one's place.  I asked if I was adding one or ten. I was told one.  I asked where this one came from. No one could tell me.

Face palm.  This does not bode well for math this year.

So we stopped solving the problem.

I gave them a two digit subtraction problem instead: 51-37.  Almost all of them got it right with the algorithm.  I saw one student try with a number line (yay!).   Then I modeled the problem with manipulatives (rods and cubes).

I explained that when we are regrouping, I'm not adding numbers out of no where.  I'm taking a set of ten from the next place value and redistributing them.  I wish I had these to use to show them actually breaking apart a set of ten:

But alas, I don't.

I gave them another problem to solve, both numerically and with a picture.  Most of them got it right using both ways.

Next week we'll go back to larger place values.  We'll also use manipulatives because they don't have enough hands on experience with making groups.  I've got some large gaps to fill!

After math, I asked them how they felt using this system:

Most of what I got in response was this:

They aren't there yet.  They told me they need more practice.  I told them good.  

I got a lot of confused faces.

I told them that in math, they aren't going get the concept on the first day. I told them I'm going to require multiple ways of thinking about the problem.  I told them they're going to have to prove they understand what is happening with the math, not just show me the right answer.

Many of my higher students are not happy with this challenge.  

To them, I say good. They'll be better off in the long run.  I had some grumpy math faces today!

Year Six, Day 2

Day Two

With no duty to be had and the kinks from yesterday all worked out, the morning ran much smoother.

We started our day with this meme:

Before I showed them the wordle from their first day feelings exit tickets:

I was pleased many of them wrote in complete sentences.  My favorite may have been the child that just wrote "I'm satisfied."  I still have a few that are nervous, but that's to be expected. 

We went over more classroom procedures, did our number talk (which lead to some awesome discourse about making sense of problems!), made our class norms with a gallery walk, and did another read aloud:

This mentor text focuses on life skills and provides strategies on not erupting (interrupting).  Again, most of them had never heard this book so I'm on a roll!

Can't wait to read this gem on day 3!

I did make my first student cry.  Yes, we made it through a day and a half of fifth grade before there were tears.

He had his phone out and in his words, was just looking at the time.  Since his back was to the wall, I chose to believe him.  We had a conversation in the hallway because it's not a conversation for the whole class.  He apologized, we talked through strategies (look at the clock, keep phone in backpack), and I moved him seats so he would face the clock.  I gave him his phone back at the end of the day, but there were still tears. 

I guess the honeymoon is over?

Day three is a weird day.  We'll tackle second prep and our first assembly.  Fingers crossed!