Loving Love & Logic

While it took about two months, I'm happy to report that I've finished Love and Logic.  I've {previously shared} that I read the parent edition last summer, but it didn't quite meet my needs as a teacher.  This book is often back ordered, but persistence and patience paid off.  Amazon delivered the book a few months ago and I've been slowly making my way through the pages.

Most of the book isn't filled with earth shattering revelations, but rather small tweaks to my classroom management and instruction.  As a teacher, I've found that one of my biggest challenges is falling into power struggles with students (particularly strong willed, more difficult ones).  I'd often find myself frustrated and wanting to have the last word in arguments.  This cycle wasn't leaving me very happy as an educator.

So, I sought out solutions.  A colleague recommended this book and not wanting to admit defeat with my teaching career, I took her advice, swallowed my pride and read the book (the parent edition) last summer.  This year, I've tried some of the strategies (such as choices and consequences with empathy).  It's making a difference.

There are still days when I'm frustrated by my students' choices.  One of the most difficult things about teaching (that no one tells you) is that I don't get to leave my job at school.  Often times, I'll be up tossing and turning, trying to figure out how to deal with a particular student.

One of my students this year has really gotten under my skin.  He's not defiant, he's not argumentative, he doesn't shout out.  He just simply doesn't do anything.  He is not meeting his reading goals, he's not doing his homework, he's not participating in class, he's not doing much of anything.  He simply sits all day.  Parent contact doesn't help the situation.  He's a smart young man and capable of being successful, he's just choosing not to apply himself or try, which is beyond frustrating as a teacher.  Writing him up doesn't work. I don't want him to sit out of recess to read, because then he'll associate reading with punishment (which is not what I want).  I've tried asking him how he'll solve his problem, but he simply shrugs apathetically.  My usual strategies aren't working.

Luckily, Love and Logic had an idea that I'll be trying in the classroom.  One of my favorite aspects of this book is the real world scenarios and different suggested lines for discussion.  My students have been a little antsy lately (spring fever hit early), so they're going to have a bonus surprise indoor fun break...if they've met their weekly goals and completed all their work.  

However, this student (and several others) probably won't be joining.  Instead, I'll phrase it that they're fortunate to have some bonus time to catch up on their goals and are welcome to join us once they've met their requirements.  It's not recess that's being taken away, but rather a very real consequence to their actions (or rather, inaction).   When the complaining starts (as it will), I'll respond with empathy. I'll state that it's a bummer and ask how they intend to solve their situation. I'll state that they're welcome to join us once they've completed the expectations.

Will they be frustrated? Yes.  Will they get to uncomfortably experience the natural consequences of their actions? Yes.  Will it be a discussion? Nope.  I will let them choose to continue to be off task, but also choose the consequence (not participating in our fun activities).  I'm okay with them living with their consequences because I'm no longer owning their behavior choices.  

Fingers crossed this strategy will be a game changer for my more apathetic students. I don't resort to yelling, consequences (being written up) aren't working, so instead I'll focus on acknowledging the positive choices that others are making.

What I needed

As much as I love class dojo as a communication tool with families, sometimes I see when the dojo symbol pop up on my phone after hours, I get worried.  I've gotten messages as late as ten pm and as early as five am.  Granted, my phone is on vibrate and I rarely hear it during the middle of the night.

Friday night, around ten pm, my phone dinged with the class dojo message.

Hesitantly, I peeked at the message.  My mind raced with which parent was going to bring up an issue.  I worried that I missed something crucial and my night would be spent frantically texting my principal, making sure bully reports were appropriately filled out.

That wasn't the message.

It simply said:

Thank you for today. You're awesome :)


It was from a parent who is having some behavior struggles with her child.  Friday was lunch with someone you love and she wasn't able to make it on time because of her job.  The office called when we got back to lunch and asked what I'd like to do.  I know the "correct" response would be to keep him in the classroom for learning instruction, but that wasn't what I chose to do.  

Instead, I quietly told the office that he'd be having a second lunch with his mom because he needed to feel loved.  He's one of six children and understandably, sometimes feels lost in the shuffle.  He needed this one on one time with his momma, and that's what mattered.  I quietly pulled him into the hallway and explained he was headed to the office to see a special visitor.  He had the biggest smile on his face as he skipped (yes, skipped) off to see her.

He was gone about fifteen minutes, didn't miss anything urgent in the classroom, and I know it meant the world to him and his mom.

I don't expect to be reprimanded for this choice, but sometimes meeting a student's emotional needs must come before the educational ones.

 

A dash of professional reading

I'm in the midst of another graduate course, so I've been doing a lot of professional reading lately.  I'm a life-long learner (as I think educators should be) and wanted to take a minute to share two articles that have been rattling around in my brain this week.

Article {One}: Boo the Long October

Preach it, iTeach Fourth!

I feel like I could have written this article myself.  I liked it so much I took the time to comment, instead of just trolling through and remaining anonymous online.

Basically, October is a long, weird month.  Students are out of the beginning of the year behavior honeymoon, meetings seem to be multiplying, and first quarter grades are due soon.  I'm almost a fourth of the way through the year, how did that happen?!

Instead of griping about this, the article focuses on a cute Halloween tradition of "booing" your fellow teachers.

Images are all over TpT and pinterest, but one person starts by secretly leaving treats in another coworker's mailbox.  That coworker has a limited time (usually 2 days) to reciprocate by "booing" another colleague.  Ghost or pumpkin dicuts are usually put in mailboxes to indicate that one has been booed, and a witch or goblin could be posted if someone does not want to participate.

It's a fun little way to add some festive fun into the month of October.  Plus who doesn't love surprise treats?!

I'll be starting this round of boo-ing at work this week (ssh...don't tell my coworkers!)  I've got two black and white polka dotted tins (obviously) from the dollar section at Target (again, obviously).  I'll fill them with candy and print some boo instruction sheets. 

What fun fall traditions does your school have?




Article {Two}: Rip those behavior charts off the wall and burn them

While this was written with a tad too much angst in my humble opinion, I agree with the underlying message.  The traditional "clip" or "chart" system no longer serves a purpose in classrooms. 

 I will be the first to admit that yes, I used this system for way too long.  I started it my first year as a teacher because that's what I thought I was supposed to do.  I thought every elementary classroom needed some sort of (very public) way of displaying behavior.  I thought this truly kept kids accountable for their choices and was a motivating factor.

But then I realized how wrong I was.  This isn't really motivating, it's demoralizing.  {Last summer}, I decided to discontinue the use of this system and I haven't looked back.  I know there is some resistance, especially in lower grades, about getting rid of this trusty security blanket.

What good does this behavior tracker actually do?  Almost immediately, your eyes zoom to those kids on red.  We all know what red means.  Tsk tsk Max, Jared, and Brendan.  

How demoralizing.

Did they truly make poor choices all day long?  Or did they simply have one or two "oops" moments throughout the seven hour school day?  Chances are, it's the latter of the two scenarios.  To be fair, what human goes all day long without making an oops moment?  

If a child is truly struggling to make appropriate classroom choices, how does this reinforce doing the "right thing"? 

...It doesn't.

This article goes on to state that as educators, part of our job is preparing students for coping with future demands.  This includes helping them take responsibility for their actions and utilize techniques to cope with mistakes.

As a teacher, I wouldn't if a behavior chart was used to publicly broadcast my performance to the entire staff.  Oops, Ms. Vice left her copies on the machine in the lounge!  Uh oh, she forgot to take afternoon attendance and now she's on red.  (These are common situations for me.)

How humiliating to have one's behavior broadcast for the world to see.  

But instead of continuing to gripe upon problems, I propose a counter solution: Class Dojo.

It's by no means a new teacher tool since it's been available for several years at this point, but it's new to my classroom.  Seven weeks in, we're loving it.  (Bonus? It's free.  That's a must!)

I have the opportunity to recognize students for both positive and negative behavior.  It's easy for me to see if I'm reinforcing the 3:1 ratio (three positive interactions with every negative redirect) with every child...especially the ones that struggle with behavior.  Parents are able to see all the great choices their students make and it's a quick and easy way for me to communicate with families.

The behavior categories are editable, which means I can give more weight to behaviors that are desirable (like meeting a personal academic goal).  

My favorite part? I can send out messages to all the families at once and see who has viewed my message.  This has replaced the Remind app because it's already built in to what I'm using and parents don't have to download two different things to stay connected to our classroom events.

What are your thoughts on behavior charts? 

Skipping Student/Teacher Points

For the past six years, I've relied on the trusty "student/teacher" point system.

The premise is simple.  Every time students are collaboratively working or on task, they earn points.  When they aren't, I earn points.  The difference at the end of the week (usually weeks) would be converted into marbles and fill the purple Disneyland yard glass.  Once they reach the top, a reward is earned.

I was pretty proud of my system and though it was working out well.

There are lots of articles about this behavior management system, praising it's ability for highlighting positive choices and "catching students being good." 

However, then I stumbled upon a different article that made me completely shift my mindset (which naturally, I can't find.  Sorry readers.)  

Basically, this is setting students up to fail. Yes, fail.

This statement baffled me at first.  I was rewarding students' collaboration and positive behaviors, so why was this classroom management system being discredited.  I thought I'd have to write another {dissenting opinion post}, but then I realized the author was right. 

Did this system reward students' positive choices? Yes, absolutely.

Does it create a game like atmosphere that stresses cooperation and competition? Yes.  Both of these things are encouraged in my classroom, especially when done correctly.  (Cooperation for example, on a test is frowned upon.  Competition when it belittles another isn't allowed.)

But it also set them up for failure because I, the teacher, was rewarded when they didn't meet my expectations.  I was rewarded when they failed.  

That's no way to run a classroom.  

I don't want to send the message that I'm looking forward to them failing.  I don't want to celebrate their failings.

So instead of displaying my T and S glittery magnets and washi tape "game board" space, I packed those letters away.

Instead, I'm relying solely on class dojo for my behavior system and classroom management this year.  I'll be able to keep better track of the magical 3:1 ratio (three positive interactions for every negative interaction), but I know some students need more than that. 

I'm still debating if I want to do table challenges.  I could look for the tables that are working together and award points, which highlights both cooperation and competition.  I would take myself out of the equation, allowing students to model appropriate, positive choices for one another.  The tables with the highest points after a given amount of time could have additional rewards in terms of extra class dojo points for cooperation or the ever exciting (and free) strategies of going to recess first, reading with pillows, or taking their shoes off during the school day.

Readers, what are your thoughts on the student-teacher points game?

First Week Treats

I'm finally sitting down to go through old blog drafts that I started, but didn't quite finish.  I found this one from August that I finally finished.  Since I'm starting to think about tweaks for next year, it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on what I did last year and what I will do again this year.

I'm not above bribery. Setting the year off right, with food, can make a HUGE difference. 

Day 1:

They'll be hungry before lunch time. Heck, I'll be hungry before lunch time.  So I bought a few boxes of Lucky Charms and put a few cups in sandwich bags for my students.  This dry cereal will let them munch while their bodies adjust back to a school schedule.

I attached this cute note:

I'll be keeping this, just using smaller snack sized bags!

Day Two:

Last year, I made these:

While I do last minute prep, B will assemble all my treats.  In this case, it's Starburst candies. It's so great to have a supportive man who is extra patient during the chaotic start of the year.

I'll be keeping this idea.  I may even turn this into some sort of fractions lesson by having them find patterns at their table teams. 

Day Three:

You're "mint" for greatness! (With mints).  I didn't really like the sign I made last year, so I'll be tweaking it for this year. 

I'll be keeping this idea for next year.

Day Four:

You're one smart cookie (with chips ahoy).  I feel like I gave too many sweets, so I think I'll tweak this for next year with smart water bottles instead.

Day Five:

I made this sign:

He'll be attaching the goldfish to the baggies.

I'm used to "meet the teacher" day being the Friday before school starts because that's what I've known for five years.  Mid panic, I asked my grade level about this and was pleasantly surprised to learn that's not at all how they operate.  Meet the teacher night is in September. Sigh!

What do you do the first week to build classroom culture?

Things I love about my classroom

A fellow teacher, former coworker, and adorable new mom Katie posted about her favorite things about her classroom in her blog, which inspired me to do the same.

Scholastic Book Orders

I love how excited my students get for the book orders.  I love that teachers get free coupons and reward points based on the parent orders, so I get to stock up on new books for my students.  This year I've noticed they're obsessed with the "Who was..." series, which is great!  I've read a few of these informational texts and they're very student friendly.  If you're looking for books on a specific person, I'd try here first.

Plus every few months or so, Scholastic includes coupons for the students.  If they spend $10, they get a coupon for a free book (under $5).  It's a pretty nice way to encourage reading.  Plus the prices are cheaper than local stores, which is always a bonus!

Class Competitions

We are a Reading Rangers school and use AR to gauge students' comprehension on their independent reading books.  We are in a competition within the grade level for the highest engage time and the highest percentage. 

However, this competition isn't enough for my students.  We have additional competitions within our classes and across the grade level.  Our current one is a race to 50 passing tests (85% or above) between the girls and the boys.  However, the catch for this one is that any time someone scores less than 80%, that team loses a point.  The kids are loving it!

Other successful competitions include:

-race to 100 100%s

-race to 100 points (each book is assigned a different point value depending on it's complexity and length)

-table team percentages

What competitions do you have with your students?

Class Dojo

I joined the class dojo train late this year, so I am currently only using it as a reward for reading rangers.  For each 100% students earn, they get 2 points.  85 or 90% gets 1 point, filling a badge earns 3 points, and graduating earns 10 points.   They are motivating one another to be in the top five, which is excellent.

Next year I will be using this exclusively as my classroom behavior system.  As helpful as the card system is, I'm over it.  With class dojo, I can reward specific behaviors.  More importantly, I can easily share the information with my students' families, which increases our home-school connections. 

Plus, it's free!

Our Anchor Charts

I haven't done the best job at posting pictures of all our anchor charts (there are a lot!) but I am proud of them.  I make them with the students and they have mini-versions in their notebooks for reference.  This year I stepped it up and have them color-coded.

Teal: reading

Yellow: foundational skills (fluency, phonics, word parts)

pink: math

white: novels

I love that my students have internalized that these are a resource designed to help them learn.  They often ask to go up and look at the charts for clarification (success!).

I ended up just stapling them on top of one another since we're out of space.  I don't have any cutesy inspirational posters up, but still ran out of wall space!  

Classroom Library 

For the first time in my teaching career, I had to level my library.  I used the reading rangers program to level my library (school mandate) but I went beyond that. I grouped my library by genre in adorable book buckets:

I've had a little bit of backlash because it's not organized by fiction/informational text or by point value.  For me, it's more authentic for readers to pick a book a book based on the topic instead of the length.

The Map

I love the map.  I love the postcards.  But more importantly, the map is getting my students so excited about geography and the other 49 states.  We are able to make connections with literature and informational text by linking the postcards with the locations named in books.  They are getting excited about colleges and starting to think about their options for their future. 

What are your favorite parts about your classroom?

Year Six, Day 1

The weekend before school started, I was a wreck.  I worked Friday night on various small tasks for my classroom, took all of Saturday off to spend with friends, and worked for a little bit Sunday morning before heading to B's family's BBQ.  Sleep did not come easily Sunday night and nightmares of past students and worst case scenarios flooded my mind.

I got to work about seven am on Monday.  Our start time is 8:26. My first task was hanging our classroom pom-poms:

 I had duty (bummer) and I struggled with undoing the folding gate.  See, the gate was run over by a (rude) parent, so it's bent in a strategic way.  This means it doesn't fold up nicely and has quickly become my new Monday/Friday morning nemesis. 

Luckily a parent helped me wrestle the gate.  I was also burdened with both a stop sign and radio, so next time I'll not carry those.  Or wear open toed shoes.

My other job at duty was to help direct drop-off traffic.  We have a lot of red curbs in front of our school and I had the unfortunate job of trying to tell parents not to park.  These parents were obviously very excited for the first day and taking pictures of their kiddos in front of the school.  I had to be the bad guy and ask them to not capture this precious moment.

I went to the wrong spot to find my class and our line got bisected when we were entering the building.  I forgot to collect lunch money and we were a few minutes late to specials, after I tried to take them down the wrong way.

Thank goodness for first prep!  I took a few deep breaths, calmed myself, and proceeded to tackle my to do list.

The rest of the day was smooth sailing :)

I had 27 students show up and they were talkative from the first moment.  They're responding really well to my positive classroom vibe, which is good.  Considering how frustrating last year was, I'm determined to stay positive.  I want my room to be a joyous place.

I didn't spend hours on procedures.  I gave them a first day treat.  We covered a lot (norms for read alouds and number talks), learned some procedures, and practiced structures like Kagan pair up and share.

We read First Day Jitters, which many of them had never heard before.

It's a cute picture book with a fun twist at the end. (Spoiler--the teacher doesn't want to go to school!)

Prior to reading, we went over read aloud norms:

I was a little worried about some of their initial responses.  I asked what my job was during a read aloud and the first response I got was "to grade papers." 

Um...no.

I clarified that during a read aloud, I was the one reading.  They were dumbfounded by this notion and asked when I would grade.  I told them they wouldn't see me grade in the classroom unless it was a one on one assessment (Aimsweb, Core phonics, etc).  They were bewildered and asked when I would get their stuff done.  I said at home, in front of the TV, or while they're at specials.  This seemed to satisfy most of them, but that does worry me...

A teacher shouldn't be known for spending hours of in class time grading.  Yes, it happens.  But that shouldn't be what your students expect you to do.

Instead of me giving a tour of the classroom, I sent them on a scavenger hunt:

It's way more fun when they investigate!  Plus it gets their bodies up and active, which is crucial.

I went over the hand procedures for number talks and then made an anchor chart about the strategies they used:

After we did our number talk, I had them create their fractional me sheets:

They had forms for homework and left with smiles on their faces.

The hardest part of day one?  Well, besides the rough start?

Wearing shoes the whole day!

Craft time!

The beginning of the year is always an expensive time for teachers. I've stocked up on supplies for six table teams, including new buckets for them.  I bought some new border and letters for bulletin boards, got burlap to make border, and various other items at the craft store(s) for new cute things in my classroom.

One of the projects I just completed is my "good effort beads":

I saw on pinterest a fellow teacher made "smart beads" for her students to wear.  I modified the idea to more mesh with my growth based teaching mindset. 

By switching from "being smart" to "great effort", this shows my students that I'm focused on them. Our goal is progress.  Our academic journey focuses on improvement.  My students are in competition with themselves.  They aren't all coming in at the same place academically, nor will they all end the same place.  I have high expectations and will continue to push each of them to do their best. I believe in praising growth and progress, not "smartness".  

In a TFA (Teach for America) flashback, I vividly recall one of our many Saturday sessions ending with this idea:

Smart is not something that you are.

Smart is something that you become.

How powerful for students to realize that being smart comes from effort, perseverance, and continued hard work.  It doesn't happen overnight.

I can't wait to encourage my students to keep trying their best.

Continuing with empowering students, I picked up some lanyards:

Which I turned into:

I'm very excited for my new brag necklaces.  Again, this emphasizes a student's progress over time rather than a numerical score.  

This year, my students will be reading...a lot.  We are utilizing AR with our "reading rangers" program that focuses on comprehension and stamina.  I'm excited that this is used consistently K-5 in every classroom, so there is a school wide support and buy-in from students.

I also am a realist and know I teach ten year-olds...

Which is why I created this:

I know I will have books get damaged. I understand small rips from wear and tear, but I think if a student completely destroys a book, the family should replace it.  I'll need to double check with my grade level and administration, but I'm thinking of putting that in the library contract I send home at the beginning of the year.  In five years of teaching, I've only had to collect from a handful of families.  One student left my copy of Hatchet on the bus.  One had a water bottle explode and flood her backpack.  A third left it out for the dog to find (comically yes, the dog ate it).  A fourth ripped the spine in half.  A few others lost the books in various places.  I think it's fair to hold families fiscally responsible.  After all, if they lose library books, they have to pay to replace the books...so why shouldn't the same be true for my classroom library?

I wanted to jazz up our information space, so I had a little fun with chalk board markers.  I bought a banner from the party supply aisle at Target:

I also borrowed a neighbor's cricut to make:

We are expected to post our calendar so it's obvious what the students are working on, so why not make it fun? 

I also want to to focus on small groups in math, which means I'll need an additional management strategy.

I decided on student math coaches, which would be designated by these:

I'm all about collaboration, so they'll soon say "math coaches".  Students will prove to me they can handle the concept, then I'll give them the lanyards and let them coach their peers while I work with a small group.

More pictures coming soon!

Simplicity, part 2

As I blogged about last week, I'm excited to try some new, simple tricks in my classroom.  Last week I chronicled ideas 1-3, so today you can find the next four gems! I'm all for small, simple tweaks to make my classroom run a little more efficiently.

Idea Four: "Partners" Poster

In the past, I've used a handmade version of this poster for groups to set norms:

This groups one works pretty well.  I found this "partners" one earlier this week and can't wait to use it as well!

I like that this poster goes more in depth with expectations.  I also like the "explain your answer" part because students need frequent reminders to do so!


Idea Five: The Ten Commandments of Math

I may need to tweak this idea so it's not so overtly religious, but I like this anchor chart:

I think laying down some ground rules for math would be a great thing! It might be cute to make it like a constitution and have my students all sign our declaration of math.

Idea Six: Additional Rewards for the Mystery Walker

I already implemented the mystery walker idea last year but I like this extension idea.  All I'd need to do is recreate this with my favorite fonts (we don't have time for cutesy clip art in fifth grade!) and dedicate a bucket to collect raffle tickets.

Idea Seven: Color Coding Notebooks

In a perfectly coordinated, OCD controlled world, all my students would have the same color notebooks for each subject.  I'm aware that won't happen.  But this could be a good back up plan:

The original pin was about text books, but we don't really use those in my classroom.  When we set up our notebooks at the beginning of the year, I could have each subject be a different color.  Having students search for their blue math notebook would definitely help with the desk organization and help struggling students with staying focused.  I know that it's tough for fifth graders to use a different notebook for each subject, but it's definitely necessary for middle school!  I'd rather they struggle with me and enter middle school prepared to switch classes and stay organized.

I'm committing to small, simple steps toward a better, more organized and positive classroom!  Who is with me?

And...she's done!

For those that have been following the adventures of Ursula, I'm pleased to announce that she's done!

My students enjoyed chips and capri sun during our movie reward.  I'm pleased with the positive changes I've seen in most of them.  The strategy didn't work for all my students but it was nice to reward the students who are trying :)

One More Week!

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to announce there is just one more week of our homework challenge with Ursula:

All she needs is her wand and she'll be ready to reward the students who have earned their homework reward.

Students needed to fully complete their homework for 8 of the 10 weeks to be invited to the reward party.  All I ask of them is one sheet of math homework and their reading logs.  I'm not asking for perfection, I'm asking for effort.

Around twenty of my thirty one students will be attending, so it will be nice to celebrate with the students who are being responsible.

I'm sure I'll get attitude from the ones who aren't invited to our recess celebration, but it's a natural consequence to their actions.  I'm not sure what messages they receive at home, but in my classroom, if you don't do the work, you don't get the reward.  It's that simple.

AM reward

In our SWAG competition between AM and PM, the AM has won again.  This time, they had a half hour of free board game time.  The timing worked out perfectly because we lost twenty minutes of our hour to an assembly, so after fluency there was only time to meet with one group (and cover everything we needed to).

Reward snapshots:

Many of my games were generously funded by friends, family, and strangers on donors choose.  Thank you again for continued support in my classroom!

(The Series of Unfortunate Events board game was perhaps my favorite find ever! I found it at Bookman's, a used bookstore in Arizona.  I didn't even know it existed until one magical spring break!)

I love watching them get so excited about comprehension and reading games!

Monthly Mystery Motivators (February)

We've had some escalating behavior concerns, so we decided to focus on the following positive behaviors:

We are trying to set our students up for future academic success as well as to be kind people.  We had an assembly with them and gave them contracts to sign, outlining the four behaviors we are looking for.  

If students do not follow the behaviors, they earn strikes in the given reward period.  They must display positive behavior choices 80% of the time to earn the monthly mystery motivators!

For February:

The students who earned the reward had extra recess time with their teachers (and the art teacher during his prep).  The students who didn't earn the reward wrote a behavior reflection with the counselor instead.

Our next reward is on the 12th and then again at the end of the month.

Each reward is different and we have 6 rewards in all for the duration of the school year.  Students must earn 4 of the 6 rewards to be invited to the end of year, fifth grade only dance!

We want to show students that by making good choices, being respectful to others and completing your (home)work, you get rewarded in life.

Sometimes, the reward is as awesome as an hour of kickball!

Ursula, several weeks in

For those of you following the adventurous building of Ursula, here is her most recent glamour shot:

As you can see, she is nearly complete!  With three weeks left in this class motivator, I'm pleased to see a nice change in some of my students. Did this motivator work for all of them? No, of course not.  But I have seen more effort out of most of them, which is what I was going for.

We'll be having a lunch time party for those students who fully completed their homework for eight of the ten weeks.  It will be a juice and donuts party during recess time and by invitation only!  I'm excited to get to positively reward my students who are consistently trying their best.

Tomorrow she'll get her arms, next week her yellow shells and her sea horse scepter on the final week!

Tech Support from Facebook

I have a teacher facebook.  

It's in no way linked to my personal one and I use it as an extension of my classroom.  It's a nice way to remind students and parents about what upcoming events we have happening at school.

I'm friends with current students, parents, former students and other colleagues.  My profile picture is of the sign outside my door and I think every other status is related to books or being kind.  There is truly nothing on there that I wouldn't feel comfortable showing my principal...or her boss.

I had a message from a student that she had something urgent she needed to ask me.

Immediately I went into uber-protective teacher mode and assuming the worst.  Was she being bullied?  Is there a problem at home?  

Oh no.  

Her urgent question was how to customize her Google chrome background because she was jealous of my Avengers one.

These are the urgent problems my kiddos need help fixing!

I walked her through it because well, who wouldn't want an Avengers background?!

I love that they feel comfortable asking for help and that I've created a safe space for them.  Obviously technology is important and part of my job is to turn them into digital citizens (one customized background at a time!).

On a side note, we had the impromptu mini-lesson that we DON'T WRITE IN ALL CAPS because it looks like yelling on the computer.  I'm glad they're enjoying blogging so much!  It's so great that they're internalizing that they're writers and have different audiences.

(We did have to have the conversation that LOL JK :)  does not belong in our final draft papers.)

At least they're learning and enjoying it!