Challenges

Last week, I got two new students.

On the same day.

One boy was moved from another fifth grade classroom and the other was from a neighboring school.

The same day, I had four students who are normally well behaved decide to launch spit balls at one another.  This of course, is not okay, so we had to have a stern talk about classroom norms.

I did not scream, shout, or even raise my voice.  Instead, I shared how disappointed I was and gave them the opportunity to come forward, which they did.  We discussed consequences privately in the hallway and they determined what they thought was fair.  They then cleaned up their mess and apologized to the class.

We had a long talk about making choices and taking responsibility.  They made a mistake.  I told them that yes, they did and they will make more in their lifetimes.  It's what they do after the mistake that matters.  It's what they learn from the mistake that makes the difference.

Some of my students needed to hear this talk about forgiveness and making amends.  They weren't necessarily the ones involved in the mess, but it was a crucial moment for our class.  In six years, this was the second time spit balls have been an issue.

I don't know if it's the recent full moon, the two new students, the strange weather, or that winter break is a week away, but I'm having a difficult time with classroom management.   Anyone else in the same boat?

Weekly Strategies

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

We've got a lively bunch of fifth graders.  They're quite opinionated and talkative, which is great...except when it's my turn.  It's an uphill struggle and we have daily talks about not wasting our valuable learning time.

To be fair, as frustrating as it can be at times, I'd rather have too much participation from them as opposed to bumps and lumps.  

My neighboring teacher started doing a "weekly focus" with her class and since it was working,  I decided to give it a try myself!

I pose a challenge to my students and this social skill is what we work on for the week.

For the past two weeks, it was following instructions the first time they were given.  They did a fairly good job with this, so we were ready for a new challenge.

Next week's challenge:

I noticed that some of them were simply writing IDK (I don't know) on parts of their math homework and turning it in.  

Now, I'm not asking for 100% accuracy. I'm asking for effort.  After all, one of our class mottos is:

I'd rather they try and learn from their misconceptions than not try at all.  We'll have this chat again next week.  It's okay not to know. It's not okay not to try! 

Differentiating what it means to make a mistake

Growing up, my teachers always stressed that a mistake is a mistake and that with careful double checking, I should have caught those mistakes.

As a teacher, I realize that's simply not true.

There are lots of different reasons for mistakes, especially in math.

I love this anchor chart.  

I would change the word silly to careless, but other than that, it's a wonderful way for students to think critically about their math errors.  From there, they could engage in a more meaningful conference about what they need to work on: carelessness, math computation or processing.

I would hang this below a sign that says mistakes are proof that you are trying.