Changes for next year

Week one of summer and I'm already thinking about some small changes for next year. Overall, I'm really pleased with how year six unfolded.  That being said, there will be tweaks for next year.  I don't ever want to do things exactly the same with my students because that means there was no growth for me as an educator. 

One of the changes is keeping a binder of communication notes from parents, including absence notes.  This year I learned a little too late that the school district wanted all of them saved. I'd already begun the end of year purge, but luckily my office clerks were very understanding.

Next year, I'll simply have a binder with page protectors where I file their notes in accordance to student numbers (alphabetical order).

I'll probably even have this be a student's job.

I'll also be doing a citation (write up) log along with keeping track of the number of times students don't complete their work.  I want to have proof for when parents question their grades (E/S/N) for responsibility.  I'm hoping next year will bring less citations because I've got some new ideas for rewarding students who do their work...stay tuned!

I'm also really excited about rearranging my classroom. I got a second wardrobe the last week of school and a new bookcase, so I need to rearrange some furniture.  Last year I had thirty students but I'm looking at around 35 next year, so I'll need more space for table groups.  Fingers crossed that the rumors are true and our projectors are being mounted in the ceiling!  That would free up so much space in the classroom. 

I'll also be using this for no names:

I found the clipboard in the $3 bins at Target and used a white chalk board marker to do the lettering. 

I also found this at Target and will be using it for my writing conferences.

I'm not pleased with the limited number of writing conferences I did last year, so I'm thinking this will be an easy way for me to keep all the information in one place.  I'll be putting a schedule on the front so I can be accountable to myself for meeting with all students on a frequent basis.

I'll be using post-it tabs to put students' names down the side and taking anecdotal notes on the pages.  Plus there are pockets to keep information in, which will help me stay organized (one of my big goals for next year!)

I also found pink and gold polka dotted and teal and gold polka dotted versions of this portfolio, so I'll be using one for my Reading Rangers conferences and one for my teacher meetings. I also bought a new pink planner, so I'm excited to start the year off correctly!

What new changes are you making for next year?

Tech Tip: Video Streaming and Notetaking

With the Common Core standards, the integration of technology is crucial for students.  We have been reading informational text about monarch butterflies so I was thrilled when I found a video on Discovery Education about the topic.

I wanted my students to be accountable during the video so I had them set up a T-chart to take notes.  On one side, they wrote information directly from the video.  This included facts and information they saw or heard.  On the right side, they recorded their reactions to the information presented in the video.

I think they did a great job with our new strategy: 

Another tip I tried was showing the video twice.  The first time, they focused on the content.  The second time, they focused on the note taking portion and vocabulary words.  

They really liked the strategy and I can't wait to try it again!

Tech Tip: Silence is Golden

We finished our FOSS kit last week and due to testing, I had two days after the assessment with my final science group.

(We departmentalized the science kits, so I taught the FOSS landforms kit to each of the four 5th grade classes.)

We tried a new strategy with our video streaming.  We watched "Thar She Blows", a short video clip from Discovery Ed on the eruption of Mt. Saint Helen's.  

The first time we watched, I had the students just watch for content.  The second time, they wrote down the crucial vocabulary words they heard.  After the second viewing, we made a list on the board:

The third time we watched, I turned off the sound.  Yes, we watched the video without sound.  The purpose was to allow the students to "be the expert" and narrate the video, using the vocabulary words.  They did a pretty good job with being the volcano expert.

I'll definitely be using this silence is golden trick again!

A week in small groups

I spend 1/3 of my day doing small groups for reading.

My 12 groups range from DRA 40-70 and are split up by both DRA level and students' interests.  My afternoon group also has all the fifth graders in GATE/TAGs (advanced course work for gifted & talented), so I have to make sure to never schedule their group meeting days on Tuesdays or Fridays.  I also had to group them in the same 3 groups for this reason.

When they meet with me, we do close reads of important parts of the passage, go over comprehension questions, zoom in on vocabulary and work on predictions and inferences.  Lately they've been running more of their small groups, which is awesome.

We have daily word work and fluency practice.  I have to RCBM two kids a day (fluency progress monitoring with AIMSweb), so during this time, they read our weekly flueny passage (leveled passages from reading A-Z).  During that time, they coach each other on the components of fluency (rate, expression, accruacy and phrasing) to help each other improve.  By doing the same passage over the course of the week, they practice repeated reading and their accuracy improves over the course of the week.  I get to use this time to progress monitor so I don't fall behind on my case load.  I love that we multi-task and it's not wasted time.  

We have been working on weekly "must do's" as well with the A/E/I/O/U strategy and our science readers.  I chose informational text because they struggle with main ideas and supporting key details.  In fifth grade, they are expected to pick out the main ideas and make connections within text, including scientific ones.  Our science CRTs (standardized tests) are up first on the testing calendar, so I'm utilizing old science content to not only review science material but informational text as well.  If I give them a task, there should be a clear focus!  (Or in my overachieving case, several)

Here are some snap shots of what they're doing when they're not at my kidney table:

Collaboratively adding details about the characters in their novels on their large graphic organizers.

Using fifth grade description cards to analyze characters.

Responding to a post on kidblog.

Referring back to the text for evidence in a written response

Keeping track of characters in a novel

Collaboratively recording information about the novel, including juicy words, character development and settings.

Happy reading!

New (math) Strategy

During our intervention block this week, we've been using Discovery Ed testing to review previously taught math standards.

I had them using white boards & markers last week so I decided to switch it up. 

Each group got scratch paper and every student got a different colored marker (for accountability purposes).

I'd pose the problem on the board and they'd start working independently on solving.  Pretty standard procedure in a classroom.

However, I switched it up by having them rotate their papers at my whistle.  They had to jump right in and work on continuing how their neighbor had started solving...which wasn't necessarily their strategy.

I liked that this strategy stressed solving the problem different ways.

We switched a few times, then they discussed the strategies as a group.  I love when they can engage in such meaningful math discourse and model their thinking a variety of ways.

I'm thinking about trying this strategy next week with written responses as well.  Or perhaps as a quick write to warm up for writing.

There's something extra fun about using markers in the classroom.  The students are so much more engaged, which is wonderful.  Bring back the joy!

Character Traits Cards

We've been doing a lot of work with comparing and contrasting in our small groups.

I've been using character trait cards to help my students build their vocabulary.  Instead of using "dead words," they are focusing on that juicy vocabulary when describing their characters.

I gave them a pack of trait cards and had them discuss as a group which descriptions would align with the characters in their small group novels.  They also had to justify to me why they'd use those specific character traits.

From there, they added the words to their individual character maps:

Then combined their thinking on their group chart:

Due to space, I've been sending them into the hallway to work.  I've got the door propped open and I can see them at all times, so that's not a safety concern.  That way they can talk in a whisper (or as much of a whisper as excited ten year-olds can manage) and not disrupt those students who are silently reading.

(Silently reading and going back to the text for evidence? Score!)

I had another teacher listen in on them while she was observing a classroom and I loved her positive feedback.  Not only was my Harry Potter group on task the entire time (which is a feat within itself!) but they were using those descriptive words to compliment one another.  

She specifically remembered: " (Student's name), you are just as smart as Hermione!"

So cute.

I'm proud of them for really trying to be kind to one another, even when they don't think any teacher is watching.  Well done fifth graders!

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days

I had a rough day.  I'd go as far as saying it was a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day and like Alexander, I was ready to pout.  Nothing was going right.  As a teacher, it's kind of expected to always have a happy face but teaching is hard.  Some days, it's really, really hard.  

Granted, teacher problems were slightly more complex than not getting the right shoes, but I get Alexander's frustration too.  I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Scratch that, I had five of them in a row.  It was rough week.  There wasn't a day I worked less than 12 hours.  

As an educator, it happens. 

I'm just relieved it's over and I'm in the midst of a relaxing (and reflective) 3 day weekend.

 I got a new student at the last minute.  The stress of preparing for a new kiddo is rough.  Our district has the policy that a student sits the day he or she is enrolled.  In theory, that's wonderful for the student so they don't miss out on another day of learning.

But for a teacher, it's a tad stressful.  I didn't have much notice to find a desk, chair, notebooks, various other supplies and label the necessary classroom items (desk, behavior tracker, file, whiteboard marker, etc) for him.  I knew we had to quickly do a formative diagnostic assessment to figure out which reading room he'd be in, then the opposite period for math, find out if he was in the RTI process or already had an IEP because that also determined which room to place him in depending on the levels of instructional support.  I must say, it's lots of thinking for so early in the morning!  He wasn't the only new student we got this week either.  

I wanted him to feel welcome in my classroom the moment he sat, and that meant some scrambling on my behalf because there was about twenty minutes notice.  But he had a great first day, a great first week and was always smiling.  He's happy to be here, knew about number talks and phonics (score!) and I'm glad he's here.  Sometimes I wish I had a tiny bit more time to prepare for new students' arrival.

I'm in the process of DRA'ing my students in small groups and well, it's time consuming and there's a lot of them.  I know it's useful information and I cut out phonics this week to make extra time for it, but I didn't finish and have to continue testing into next week.  Part of this is my fault because I was unwilling to go a week without meeting with my students to discuss their novels. More importantly, they were unwilling to go a week without meeting.  I'm not kidding when I say there would be lots of pouting, some tears and borderline rebellion (district 13 style) if I told them that sorry, we'll have to wait until next week to talk about The Miserable Mill, the Austere Academy, Hatchet, Harry Potter (1 and 2), Mockingjay, Brian's Winter, Number the Stars, Gossamer, Maniac Magee and Tiger Rising. They become slightly hostile if they aren't given the chance to talk about what happened in their books.  This is a wonderful problem to have and as an educator, I wasn't going to fully cut this opportunity for them to replace it with assessments.  I compromised and shortened our meetings, allowing them to finish without me in the hallway and DRA'd in between.  I didn't finish their assessments, but I also got to see that most of my groups could handle having their own lit circle...which was great.

Battle of the books also started this week and because it was so fun on Wednesday, I had about eight more kids sign up after the deadline.  Of course I accepted them with open arms because they want to read and well, that's awesome.  

I had to turn away one student because his frequent behavior problems are interfering with others' ability to learn. That wouldn't be fair to the students who are trying to work and read in our book club.  I've had several conferences with this student's family and this student is frequently off task and argumentative in my room, so the student didn't earn the privilege of book club.  I talked with my admin and fellow teachers, who were all in support of the decision.  However, it was a very heartbreaking conversation to have.  

We sat in the hallway and talked about all the choices that were made and how these choices took away from learning time.  We talked about all the second chances that had been given and how behavior hadn't changed.  In life, we don't always get unlimited second chances and there are consequences to our actions.  Sometimes, we don't like these consequences and that's a tough lesson to learn.  I also knew that he would have been a disruption every week and that's not fair to the forty students who are so excited to sit and read.  I also knew it wasn't fair for me, who is volunteering to run this club to deal with additional behavior issues with a student who has had several dozen second chances.  

There were tears and that's hard for a teacher.  I made him cry and I couldn't do anything to fix it.  There have to be consequences, even if it's unpleasant.

My mentee is having a rough time with some students and we had a nice long chat about strategies.  She feels better, which is great.  I just wish I could observe her more.  My prep falls during her whole group reading block so that's the only subject I've been able to see her teach.  I wish I could see more.

There's some inconsistencies at our school and it's very bothersome.  I'm not one to slack off and make things up, so it's very frustrating for me to see others doing so.  It's very irksome to see such blatant favoritism.

Take these factors, add in a four hour class, twelve more issues, a few parent teacher conferences, shouting in the hallway (not me, two students), lots of tears and a lot of sleepless nights...and there's my week.  I'm glad it's over.

But I also know I have the amazing opportunity to work with my grade level, which is filled with such dedicated teachers.  I learn from these women daily and know they're also making their decisions based on what's best for students.  Think of a pack of lion mamas and that's our fifth grade team :)

While collectively, they drive me slightly crazy with their talking (which is out of excitement), I do adore these fifth graders.  I love at the end of the day when we fist bump on their way out and they tell me their "click" of the day.  Their click is what is "staying with them" and made sense to them.  Naturally, I pretend frown when they tell me it's a subject I don't teach or recess, but it's great to have them reflect on their learning and share it with me.

I also am appreciative of the support I have from other educators.  My admin made the time out of her very busy schedule to talk through an issue I'd had.  Through our conversation, the missing pieces of information were filled in and now I understand why the decisions were made. lt was a difficult conversation for me to bring up, sharing that I was frustrated with an outcome but through discussion, we both filled in each other's gaps and now the situation makes sense.  

We also had one of our old academic coaches on campus this week and well, she's amazing.  We talked through my structure of small groups and looked at the questions I was asking of my students when they read their novels.  I'm doing everything right, which was nice to hear.  The same amazing coach sent me inspirational texts throughout the week because she knew I was having a rough time.  

She also works at her parents' restaurant which has amazing Italian food.  She suggested I come in on Friday night because in her words, I deserved garlic knots, pasta and cannolis.  It didn't take much arm twisting to convince my boyfriend that we needed date night since he had a rough week too and well, who doesn't love pasta?  We had a wonderful relaxing meal which almost made up for the rough week.  Then I found this note when I got home attached to our left overs:

It made me cry. She's the best.  My grade level is the best.  My students are such hard workers (most of the time) and my family and boyfriend are supportive through my tears and sometimes colorful language. One awesome friend stopped in to work to borrow something and ended up bringing me dinner since I didn't have time to run out and get food before my class.  I'm thankful to not be in this alone. I'm thankful to be an educator, even though it's not always an easy road.  There will be rough days.  There will be terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.  But some days are like that...

...even in Australia. 


(If you haven't read Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day stop what you're doing and go read it immediately.  This blog post and it's images will probably make a lot more sense after!)

New Strategy: Mega Chart

My students have done a great job at keeping track of characters for our novels:

So I decided to try a different strategy:

 I gave them markers and a large piece of paper to keep track of characters.  They were so excited!  Their nerdy reaction to their new task warms my heart :)

I can tell who is contributing to the poster because each student is keeping track of one or two characters instead of all of them.  They will use a different color each time and I can always tell by their handwriting.  They just don't know they're being held accountable for their chart.

Instead of talking with me about how the characters are developing (I know, I already read the books), they'll meet as a group without me to discuss.  Since each person is responsible for a smaller portion, they can go more in depth about those characters and how they're changing throughout the novel.  

I told all my groups that we're preparing for middle school and that means they get more responsibility.  11/12 groups are really excited for the new challenge!  (As for the other...we're working on it.  The first task is making sure they do their homework and show up prepared!)

Happy reading!

Stop and Jot

I've had several trainings on Close Reading and having students annotate while reading.  While there is lots of different research, I'm going to zoom in on the importance of annotating.  Basically the goal is to get students to practice metacognition, or thinking about what they're reading while reading.  I want my students to move beyond simply reading the words and into thinking critically about what they read.  I want them to interact with the text.  One strategy is to "stop and jot".

Here's our "stop and jot" anchor chart:

(day 1)

(day 2)

You may notice it's not filled in all the way...that's on purpose!  Instead of teaching them all the symbols at once, they learn 1-2 at a time and immediately practice the annotating within text.  I have them work independently and then collaboratively with a partner!

We've been using this lesson idea in our intervention block.  Using this text, we gave students a different purpose for reading each day.  We stressed the importance of re-reading and I think they've done an awesome job with the lessons!


One of their tasks was to come up with alternative titles:

In doing so, they had to think about the main idea and justify their answer choice.

After day 1:

Students' example after day 3:

I had each student use a different colored pencil so there would be student accountability.

I think they're finally understanding that often times, you need to read the same text multiple times :)