Teachable Moments, Part 3 (Classroom Management)

A large part of teaching relies on being reflective of one's practices.  Some lessons I've bombed and that's alright. I made corrections and retaught it with a different strategy with a different outcome.

Sometimes I embark on various different tasks and when I'm done, I realize there was a much more efficient way to get the job done.  Here is part three of teaching lessons I've learned the hard way.

Classroom Management (and the Prize Bin)

My first year teaching, I spent a long time laminating different colored cards for my behavior system.  I came up with a system that had both positive and negative consequences.  For six years, I used my blue pocket chart and a laminated tracking system for student behaviors.  They'd start each day on green and move up or down depending on their choices. At the end of the day, the color they landed on coincided with a given point value toward a tracker.  At a predetermined point (every 15 points), students visited the prize bin.  

I kept up with this system for the past six years because I thought that's what I was supposed to do.

But you know what? 

It didn't really work.  

What it did was reward the students who are already intrinsically motivated to succeed and publicly acknowledge those that struggle to make good choices.  Honestly, the behavior tracker just reinforced my students' perceptions of themselves.  It wasn't motivating for the students who needed the most reinforcement for positive choices.

So if it wasn't working, why was I doing it?  Because I was supposed to? Because that's what all the other teachers were doing? Because that's what I was used to?  

None of those reasons are justification for keeping something that doesn't work. 

So I got rid of it.  I parted ways with my trusty behavior tracking system that withstood six years of teaching fifth grade.  I passed it along to a brand new kinder teacher.  I'm hoping it works better for kindergarteners than it did for fifth graders.  Since everything is still new to them and they tend to be motivated for stickers, I hope it will be successful in her classroom.

So now what?  

I believe in having some sort of tracking system to reinforce life skills.  Students need to be accountable for their choices.  They need to work for things.  They need to have the experience of working toward individual and classroom rewards.

These rewards will be in the form of coupons for experiences.  I'm still in the process of making these coupons and they will be available on TpT once I'm done.  There will also be physical rewards such as pencils, erasers, and other things that are purchased relatively cheaply.  

So how will students earn these rewards?  

That's right, I'll be using classroom dojo!  I used it previously for Reading Rangers with great success.  It's a free program and parents can see snapshots of how their students are doing.  I can give positive points for any of their predetermined categories or add my own.  I can also take away points for shouting out, not turning in homework, etc.  I'm excited to use this for my whole class management system.   

Teachable Moments, part 2 (the roster)

A large part of teaching relies on being reflective of one's practices.  Some lessons I've bombed and that's alright. I made corrections and retaught it with a different strategy with a different outcome. I don't make the same teaching mistakes twice.

Sometimes I embark on various different tasks and when I'm done, I realize there was a much more efficient way to get the job done.  Here is part two of teaching lessons I've learned the hard way.

The Roster 

I'm almost embarrassed to share how long it took me to figure out the glory of the roster.  With our new gradebook, it's always a challenge to find things because they aren't always in the most logical place.

In the past, I printed a roster when I needed it (which wasn't often).
 

After observing other teachers and listening to their conversations, I realized there were some much better uses for this glorious piece of paper.  Here are my top 5!

5) Collecting anything (permission slips, progress reports, etc).  I print a roster, label it at the top (example: progress report), and staple it to a manilla envelope.  I then place the envelope near my collection zone and place the responsibility on the students.  Whenever they turn ___ in, they highlight or check off their name.  I normally model this day one so they can see which system I'm using.  I tend to give a positive reward for turning the form in on the first day they could, which encourages them to not only be responsible, but get things done in a timely manner.  I tend not to give a negative consequence until the third or fourth day the form was due because sometimes it's not up to them, it's up to their parents.

4)  Leave it for the sub with notes about nicknames and how to pronounce any unique students' names.  Bonus points if you can print one with students' pictures.

3) Use it for informal conference notes.  Check off students' names after you meet with them about ___, then pat yourself on the back for not skipping anyone.

2) Put the roster in useful places, like by the phone and in the emergency folder/backpack.  Having a list of parent phone numbers right by the phone makes calling home (for positive reasons or classroom concerns) that much faster.  It's also great for making random groups of students or assigning writing partners.

1) Grading.  With our new system, I'm not 100% confident in its ability to you know, save assignments.  So we've had to create paper backups of everything.  However, I soon realized that if I write down all their scores first, it makes entering grades a breeze because everything is already in alphabetical order!


BONUS tip:
Using your handy dandy roster, print your student names on sticky labels (size 8 font) and put them on the back of your teacher ID.  This helps during emergencies!

How do you use your roster?

Teachable Moments, Part 1 (field trips)

A large part of teaching relies on being reflective of one's practices.  Some lessons I've bombed and that's alright. I made corrections and retaught it with a different strategy with a different outcome.

Sometimes I embark on various different tasks and when I'm done, I realize there was a much more efficient way to get the job done.  Here is part one of teaching lessons I've learned the hard way.

Field Trips

I completely messed up paperwork for my first field trip.  I didn't know I was supposed to collect permission slips by a certain due date and that you're supposed to call and remind parent chaperones a few days ahead of time. I didn't know you should have a back-up wait list in case the parents are unable to attend. I didn't know you had to clarify a dress code with chaperones and inform them that infants and other small children are not invited.  Reading the list, most of these things are common sense...but they weren't to me.  

My undergraduate degrees are not in education.  I started teaching at 21.  I was a first year teacher, on track 1 (meaning I started three weeks later than everyone else due to year-round schedules) and I didn't have a good mentor.  My mentor teacher was quite hostile and took it upon herself to try to make me look incompetent at any given opportunity.  So many of the things "I should have known"...I didn't.

So, newbies, here's your field trip helpful hints:

1) Have your permission slips spell checked by admin.  

2) If you're taking chaperones, make a note that just the chaperone is welcome (and not younger siblings).  Have chaperones fill out contact information.  Include a blurb that indicates if more chaperones volunteer than are allotted, you will be holding a lottery system and have a wait list.

3) Send reminder slips and/or phone calls to those chaperones a few days ahead of time.  It's very frustrating to learn the day before that the mom you were counting on is no longer attending.  Have a backup plan (and a back up, back up plan).

4) If you have to collect money, check with your office administrator about receipts.  One school just wanted a white receipt turned in daily while another has the teacher write out receipts for each child.  In most cases, money is turned in daily. Ask first to make sure you know what's expected of you.

5) The print roster option that's available in most electronic grade book systems?  Use that.  Print off one and use it as your master list for who has turned in what.  Way more efficient than a post-it note list of who's done what.  Even better, staple that list to the outside of a folder or manila envelope.  Keep everything (except the money) related to that field trip inside.

6) Reward students that bring back slips or money on the first day they can.  The more that are turned in on time means the less work you have to do (tracking down the slips, sending home second and third copies, making phone calls, etc).

7) Make sure you tell the specialists that you are taking a field trip, that way they aren't looking for you.  They appreciate the heads up (and in some cases, the extra prep).  If possible, see if you can switch preps with another grade and have your specials when you return.

8) Make sure to check the master calendar before scheduling to make sure there aren't any assemblies.  Again, speaking from experience...ask first.

9) Whenever possible, schedule field trips for a Thursday or Friday.  It's difficult to get kids mentally back to classroom procedures after an exciting field trip, so choose your date carefully whenever possible.  

10) See the nurse and get trained on any emergency medical procedures beforehand.  One of my students has diabetes, so I learned how he checks his blood sugar, what to do if it's low or high, and who to call when.  See the nurse before you leave for a field trip to take the necessary materials with you.  Take band-aids and tissues just in case.

11) The emergency backpack that's in most classrooms?  Take it.  For me, it's obnoxiously red and quite old, but inside it contains student information in case of emergencies.  Put any medical supplies inside along with a set of flash cards.  

12) Plan for a debriefing period after the field trip.  I like to set aside 10-15 minutes to let students talk out what they learned.  Set a timer and after that, move on with instruction.

13)  Inform the cafeteria and order sack lunches just in case.  For the most part, field trips will be taken in the morning.  In our district, buses are expected to be back by 1 pm (to start making pick up rounds at schools).  Depending on traffic and where lunch falls, you may want to order sack lunches for everyone.  The ideal situation is that you're back in time to have a normal recess and lunch, so you get your teacher lunch too.  However, on field trip days this isn't always the case.  Be prepared to have the kids eat outside, picnic style, while you and the other teachers take turns running to heat up your lunch.  Eat outside with them. It's one day, it'll be okay.  Plus it gives them the chance to run off their extra energy before continuing on with your day.

14) Wear appropriate shoes and take your cell phone, just in case.  Sunglasses and sunscreen aren't a bad idea either.

15) Make student groups strategically.  Those troublesome students? Don't put them together.   If possible, don't give yourself a group of students.  Plan to be the emergency chaperone and take any students who are off task and need to be separated from the class.

16) Speaking of chaperones, check how many you're supposed to take.  Special education classrooms and general education classrooms have different legal quotas in terms of chaperones to students for field trip purposes.  Some students may need a one on one chaperone.  

17) Ask if there is an additional fee for chaperones.  Include this in your budget numbers and for bus purposes.  Make sure any cost for chaperones (like admission price) is disclosed ahead of time, usually on the field trip paperwork.

18) Whenever possible, try to have both male and female chaperones.  This makes the bathroom situation much easier to manage, especially if at an event with the general public.

19) Make sure you fill the chaperones in on any expectations before the field trip.  An easy way to do this is to send a reminder slip to the chaperones before the field trip, outlining what to expect.  Be sure to include if there's any behaviors to watch out for in your students (behaviors, medical situations, etc)  One year, we took our fifth graders to a baseball game for an anti-smoking presentation.  One of the chaperones bought a beer during the game.  We had to quickly intervene and share that this wasn't appropriate for the field trip.  Again, a lesson learned the hard way.

20) Enjoy yourself!

Veteran teachers, anything to add to the list? 

Resolutions

It's naturally that time to start thinking about resolutions, both professionally and personally.

In 2015, I resolve to:

-Find more time to be crafty.  I enjoy craft projects and DIY projects. I'm excited to redo our bathroom cabinets and rip out the carpet to replace it with tile.  (On a side note, no one should ever put carpet in the bathroom.  Silly choice, previous home owners!).  I can't wait to paint, but that's a long weekend project.  So I will fill my time with smaller projects, like this one.  I had a great time making this wreath over the weekend:

I can't wait to make more!  (On a side note, I needed 60 feet of burlap...not the 30 that pinterest suggested!)  It's for a friend, so I'm going to add her last name initial and a large chevron burlap bow. I'm excited for how it'll look once it's done.

-Go line dancing more.  I like the gym, but I'd rather go dancing with my girl friends.  It makes me happy, it's the same distance to the gym as it is to the saloon, so I might as well go there too.

-Take more time for adventures.  Go watch B's softball games.  Go for more walks around the neighborhood.  Try new restaurants.  When coworkers ask about my weekend, I want to have more stories to share.  Granted, there will be the occasional lazy weekend of binge watching Netflix, but that shouldn't be all the time.

-Read more.  It's taken me a few months to get through The House of Hades, which is a great read, but I'd like to carve more me time.

-Continue to develop products for my students, which will then be posted on TpT. 

-Give myself permission to leave work on time.  I get there early because that's when I function best, so I need to be okay with leaving after the parking lot is clear.  I will never have everything done for my classroom.  I will work on prioritizing what must be done and just be okay with a never ending task list.

-Finish those last 5 credit hours to bump up to my next pay scale.  Look into a second masters program.

-Stop comparing myself to other teachers.  The great thing about moving to my new school is I have so many teachers to learn from.  I am more than willing to try new things and have great ideas to emulate and make my own.  I just need to be more patient with myself and allow myself time to try new things. I have to give the new ideas time to see if they're effective.  I have to be open to constructive feedback, but shrug off criticism when it's rooted in anything other than a genuine desire to help me improve.

-Stop justifying my educational decisions to others (with the exception of my admin).  I'm not the type of teacher who is going to wing it. I'm not going to apologize for being meticulously prepared for things. I'm not going to apologize for veering off the lesson plan for teachable moments.  I'll do what's best for my students and the rest will just fall into place.


What are your resolutions?

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!

Prepping Notes

When prepping notes for families, I tend to make a template in word.  I like to make tables and use the fun features to jazz up the notes.

However, I still want these fun borders when I cut up notes, so I tend to organize the table like this:

Parts are intentionally left blank, that way I can cut along the edges

while still maintaining the borders of the note.

Just a friendly tech tip!

What? You've Never Seen This?

Now that it's summer break, I have time to reflect upon yet another year in the classroom.  This year was my most challenging yet and for that, I am grateful. 

I have some definite face-palm moments in my classroom.

Sometimes I forget that things I assume are common knowledge just...aren't.

The first of many, many moments was when I had to clarify that kings and queens do actually exist.  We were reading informational text on the American Revolution, which naturally included a discussion on King George III.  This was our mentor text:

They really enjoyed reading and analyzing this passage, although the language and vocabulary did provide some stumbling blocks.  However, through discussion, I realized that many of them were confused.  They knew the passage we were reading was true and based on facts because it's informational text (hallelujah they've got that down), but were "clunking" on the king label.  They didn't realize that kings and queens were real.  So after a quick discussion that included yes, kings are real and no, dragons aren't, they seemed to be more okay with the topic.  

Apparently they then all went out to recess and informed the other fifth graders, thus ending their confusion as well.  Kings did (and do) exist.  Glad that's cleared up.

Second, some didn't realize World War Two actually occurred at all, much less (potentially) within their grandparents' lifetime.  We were reading Number the Stars and I set the necessary historical background.  We looked at some maps (okay Google Earth...it's much more interactive) and took a virtual field trip of Copenhagen.

Then some of my higher students, who have read Number the Stars earlier in the year made the connection that wait, this was based on true events.  Another made the connection to some video game, which sparked a class-wide discussion.  Next time, I think I'll start with the video game reference since that made a lot more sense to many of them.

Live, learn, and teach on!

Mentoring

I love mentoring new teachers. I wish I could be mentor full time, but that's just not in the cards right now.

One of my mentees, another fifth grade teacher, was nominated by our school district for new teacher of the year.  I couldn't be more proud of her!

I met with a new teacher during my prep today.  He just finished his degree and is observing as many teachers as possible.  I have an open door policy, so having another teacher in the room is pretty normal.

He observed phonics, whole group reading, small groups, KIC (science inquiry) and writing time.  Hopefully our super active fifth graders didn't scare him off!

The enthusiasm and eagerness of new teachers is infectious. 

Just doin' my job...

One of my parents came to me today with a very pressing issue.  

She had a doctor's appointment later that day and needed a book to read.  Naturally, I came to mind as someone to recommend a new book.

This makes my heart so incredibly happy that I'm immediately thought of as a credible person to recommend books.

I know she's read Number the Stars, Tuck Everlasting, the Bad Beginning, and Who Could That Be At This Hour? with her daughter this year.  So I recommended one of my new favorites:

I gave her a quick synopsis and she was sold!  If you haven't checked out this book, I highly recommend it!

Disappointments

Last month, openings flew in my school district for a performance zone instructional coach.  Last year, we had two amazing coaches who I adore (and want to be like when I grow up!).  I need a change and thought coaching would be a perfect fit.  

I'm well knowledgeable, approachable and a team player.  I like learning from others and this job seemed to perfectly blend my interests.  It'd be a lateral move, give me an opportunity to have a wider impact on student achievement and provide a new challenge. 

I went to the informational meeting.  I spent hours on my application and had several fellow educators, including my principal, dissect my resume. A current coach and writing instructor provided extremely helpful feedback on my essays.  I submitted my application early, feeling confident that I'd get the position and get to choose which performance zone I'd work in.

I didn't even qualify for an interview. 

 I received that gut-wrenching email today and spent a majority of my prep period crying.  This was my plan, everything was going to be perfect.  I'd be an awesome coach and make such a positive difference at my school sites.  I'd be just like last year's coaches, from whom I learned so much and who continue to be such amazing mentors.  But, that's not how life works.  The vision in my head did not come true and my plans didn't work out the way I expected.

My grade level is amazingly supportive and dropped everything they had to do to comfort me and talk about next steps.  Considering our report cards are due on Monday and we have several dozen comments to write, this is huge and speaks to the amazingness of the women I'm blessed to work with.

I called the number that was provided if we had questions (which I did) and was simply told my essays didn't make the cut score on the rubric.  This part truly baffled me.  I could understand not being a strong candidate due to my lack of experience in primary grades or only having five years of classroom experience.  But my essays, which were thoroughly proofread and thoughtful, honest and borderline inspiring?   Not what I expected to be my downfall.

I don't think I was told the entire story, but that's alright.  I'm not wanting to be involved in political shenanigans anyway.

After long conversations with my loved ones and my principal, I'm at peace with this, at least momentarily.  I'm sure I'll be upset about it for a few more days, but it will come in waves.  It wasn't meant to be. 

After talking about what coaching might entail, I'm not that person.  I would not be okay being in another educator's classroom, seeing a mistake being made and not being able to correct it.  A teacher friend (and current coach) expressed her frustration at seeing a teacher incorrectly model decimals and tell a student that 9/100 and 0.9 were both the same correct answer.  

Spoiler:  9/100 and 0.9 aren't the same amount.

She tried to ask a clarifying question to humbly point out his mathematical error, but was chastised for this.  He brushed off her comment to save face in front of his class and as a result, his students have the wrong understanding of math.  I would, quite frankly, have a hard time keeping my mouth shut if I was in the same situation.  What happened was simply not okay.

I wouldn't be acting out of rudeness. I'd be acting in the students' best interests.  It's not fair to that class to have an incorrect understanding of mathematical concepts.  But apparently how I should handle the situation, as a coach, is to privately leave a note or address it with administration so that the math could be clarified and retaught correctly at a later date.  

That's not how I'd roll.  For that reason (and many others), I'm glad I didn't get the coaching position.  Perhaps I'll try again in the future with a different department, but being a performance zone instructional coach wasn't a good fit.  I'd get in too much trouble for trying to do the right thing.

So instead I started thinking about what I would like to do as an educator.  I started thinking about all the different paths I could take and what truly makes me happy.  I had long conversations with a friend, with my mom and with my principal, all leading to the same answer:

A librarian.

Small group reading is truly my favorite part of the day.  Watching kids fall in love with books and get so excited about their characters warms my heart.  Seeing my students so enthusiastic about their research projects this week has been wonderful.  If I could talk with kids about books all day long, well...that'd simply be perfect.

So that's my new long-term career plan.  I'm not sure what I'll do next year.  Perhaps I'll try a new grade level (second?).  Perhaps I'll stay in fifth.  Perhaps there will be an opening for a digital coach or a literacy specialist.  Maybe I can be hired as a librarian and given a provisional year to take the necessary course work.  I'm not quite sure what the future holds, but I'm glad I didn't get what I thought I wanted.  It wouldn't have worked out well.  

I can't see all the pieces yet, but I know the universe is unfolding exactly as it should. 

Opinion Writing

We are in the midst of Being a Writer's persuasive genre.  While this doesn't perfectly align with our standards, I'm still enjoying their suggestions.  For fifth grade, they're expected to write opinion pieces where they share their opinion and give factual reasons as support.  The persuasive component isn't a standard until sixth grade.

We've clarified the difference with the kiddos and let them know if they want to try to persuade their readers, that's just dandy.

We've also been doing mini lessons with commas:

They're doing pretty well with these language standards! I'm hoping they'll apply their knowledge in their writing, since that's a great way to see if they truly understand the skill.

I modeled writing my opening:

It really helps my kids to see my example and color code the different parts (opinion and reasons).

Yes, I wrote about football.  I think it's important to model real writing and for me, I would write about football.  It's more authentic because they know I'm passionate about my sports and as writers, we write about things we know.  I don't think they'd take the lesson as seriously if I wrote about why you should buy a pre-owned car instead of a new one.  Yes, I could write about how it's cheaper, etc but I wouldn't be super interested in the topic. It wouldn't feel genuine to me and they'd pick up on it.  It's important to bring a piece of yourself into the classroom and spread the joy of learning.

Impromptu Parent Teacher Conferences

When I dismissed my kiddos on Friday, I had a parent waiting by the door wanting to chat.  This wasn't a scheduled meeting, but the look on her face said it was urgent.  So I asked her to wait a few moments while I took care of some last minute end of the day issues (calling another parent, printing report cards for magnet school applications and dealing with another upset student).  She gladly waited and politely looked the other way when some choice words were used by an upset ten year old.

She came in and expressed her concerns about her son's math performance.  My neighbor, his math teacher, popped right over (without me having to ask, because she's amazing like that) to join the conversation. 

She expressed all the strategies she was trying to use at home and we talked about the strategies we're using in school, including changing his placement during our intervention/extension portion of the day to allow for more math support.  We talked about the importance of bringing home the math notebook and having her son talk through the math strategies we go over in class.   

It was a short, very positive conference.  My student was there and we all clarified that he wasn't in trouble, we (family & teachers) just wanted to work together to help him succeed.  They left feeling confident and armed with ways to support learning at home, which is wonderful.  I made sure to let her know how much I appreciate that she was concerned and wanting to help her son do his best.

While it wasn't a planned conference, I love that my students' families know I have an open door policy and that the whole fifth grade team supports their children.  I love that they know it's perfectly acceptable to come talk to us about ways to help their kiddos.  At the end of the day, we're all on the same side with the same goal: helping students grow academically and become successful, confident young scholars.  It's nice to have support at home! I'm glad my student's family cares so much for him and isn't afraid to ask for help!

Change can be a good thing

I'm halfway through year five of teaching and my oh my have things changed.

For the most part, I see the changes as a good thing.  I know to truly see a program or strategy's effectiveness, it should be consistent within a school for several years to be able to accurately measure growth.  That's something we're working on at our school.

When I started teaching, we followed a scripted reading program with weekly spelling tests and a story of the week.  I taught comprehension strategies, sort of, but we were expected to abide by the book.  I thought I was doing pretty well following the structure and doing the same things as the other teachers in my grade level.

This blind, naive attitude only lasted a few months and (with administrative approval), I'd completely abandoned the scripted program by my second year. I don't do well with scripted programs anyway.

I brought additional challenges upon myself by having to find meaningful content, but at least during my second year I was teaching standards and not just a story.  My students were becoming more engaged and I was enjoying teaching more.

By year three, I was feeling more confident in the classroom.  I'd finished my masters degree and my Teach for America obligation. I had taken a lot of district trainings and was on a task force to unwrap the (at the time, new) Common Core State Standards.  There were still lots of extra demands on me to find the materials I needed to teach with and lots of long weekends preparing.  I was also in conflict with veteran teachers in my grade level who were unwilling to try new strategies and envied my successes in the classroom.

Year four brought more confidence and a partner.  I was no longer pitted me against the grade level, but rather me and my ally against the veteran teachers.  Slowly but surely, our students rose to our high expectations and outperformed the others simply because we weren't teaching a bland, scripted program.  We were teaching (and reteaching) the standards with a variety of strategies.  Not all of them worked, but our students were rarely bored.  Their high levels of engagement translated into higher test scores due to what I believe was their interest in learning. 

Year five: my dream team.  I work with three other fifth grade teachers and my special education co-teacher.  We are on the same page 95% of the time and always supporting one another.  None of us follow a scripted reading program with a new story a week.  No one gives a spelling test with 20 words that students had to memorize over the week and regurgitate on Friday.

No no, I think we do something much, much better.  

We teach a weekly, grade-level phonics skill with explicit phonics.  We teach the patterns, practice sorting by sounds, encode and decode with text, then on Friday give them a quick formative assessment with five words to see if they can apply the skill.  I don't want to see if they can memorize basic facts, I want to see if they an apply their knowledge of word parts to spelling unfamiliar words because that's a much more true assessment of whether or not they got the skill.

For math, we are using the Investigations program which is far superior to what we previously used.  Based on over eighty years of research and partnership with NCTM, the program has students discovering math concepts through manipulation and discourse, which provides for a more meaningful understanding of mathematics.  They are constantly building their number sense through Number Talks and math games that rely on critical thinking.

For reading, we're loosely following another school district's pacing guide because it draws heavily from mentor text that is rigorous, engaging and within an appropriate lexile level.  Before choosing to go with their plans as our backbone, we read through their plans, double checked that all standards were covered and added in our own notes.  I think it's going fairly well.

We don't give a weekly reading test (thank goodness!).  Instead, we give a monthly one with longer reading passages (to build their stamina) with questions that cover several standards.  I'm not testing how much they remember of a story we'd read together and discussed in class five times (because at that point, it was regurgitation, not knowledge).  We're testing how well they can independently apply the skills we've been working on in whole and small groups to the unfamiliar passage.

I look back at my first year in the classroom and have the overwhelming urge to apologize to that group of students. 

 I did the best I could with what I had, but I would never go back to that way of teaching.  I would never rely on worksheets and a story of the week.  That's not what helps students learn.

As an educator, I'm constantly trying to learn new strategies and implement them in my classroom.  While this highly reflective process can be a tad frustrating when things don't go as planned, I think that learning and trying new things is far better than repeating the same thing over and over again.

In the past five years, I've implemented interactive notebooks and Number Talks.  I do explicit phonics three times a day (whole group and both small groups).  I have students interact with technology rather than me being the sole one to create things.  I have centers and literature circles with novels, something I didn't even attempt until my second year.  I've learned how to do the CORE phonics assessment to see where students break down phonetically and the DRA to determine their reading levels. (Although it's time consuming, I much prefer it to the old diagnostic tests I had to give!).  We're using mentor text for reading and writing, doing mini-lessons and having students publish drafts both on the computers and the iPads.  It's been a tough, uphill battle and I'm proud of the new things I've learned.  I'm appreciative of the trainings I received at my school, from my district and from outside educational entities.

I'm saddened by teachers who are scared or unwilling to try new strategies.  I don't have the same bunch of kids I did when I first started five years ago, so why should I teach the same lesson the same way?

(Poor Harry Potter, subjected to the old ways of teaching)

Change can mean better instruction for students.  Change can mean more engaging, thoughtful, purposeful, driven lessons.  Change can mean teachers have more flexibility and students have more opportunities to collaborate with their peers on projects and activities, rather than just sitting quietly and working independently. Change can bring joy back into the classroom.  I'm not saying every aspect of education needs to change nor that all change should be blindly accepted because that's no good either.  However, if change brings about higher student performance and helps create more critical, thoughtful, passionate young scholars, why not give it a try?

Change can be a good thing.  

Real World Math

While we do number talks to start our math block, I like the idea of this type of problem as an additional warm up or closure:

Umm...close?  But last time I checked, that wasn't how much I'd save!

It's important for students to be able to analyze the mistakes of others and critique their reasoning (math practice #3).  Plus this provides a great "teachable moment" on the importance of checking your work and how math truly is all around us.