Sixth Grade Funnies

I have been splitting my time lately between an ELD Fourth Grade class and a Sixth Grade Science Class. Now while I am enjoying teaching both... I LOVE SIXTH GRADE!

My mentor is "high energy" or as her students say "insane." BUT you have to love her. She is just so cute and fun! Plus I have never had so much fun in Science. Shhhh! Don't tell but science is on my short list of boring subjects. Until now...

Anyways... tomorrow is Monday and I am so excited! How can anyone be excited about a Monday? Well.. its easy in Sixth Grade. Starting the first week of March, the countdown for AIMS (our standardized testing) begins. In addition, Spring Break is thrown in there just to mess with the teacher's mind and to keep things interesting.

So how does one deal with the insanity? By starting the Monday Funny Video tradition! Every Monday from now until the end of AIMS, she plays a funny video just because. Here is last week's:

Its only 25 seconds so she played it twice. We were all laughing so hard. My favorite part of the day is when the social studies teacher came down the hall and said "what does a screaming goat have to do with science?" And my mentor answered "nothing! Its just funny."

Have you ever seen a bunch of sixth graders walking down the hall and randomly screaming like a goat? Oh my! It still makes me laugh! And the laughs didn't end on Monday either! It kept going all week long. The students found more goat videos and shared them with each other on Schoology.

It was amazing how much more relaxed and how much we got accomplished in 45 minutes when everyone was relaxed. Wanna know what we are watching this week??

We are classifying animals and this one was suggested by our students for this week's video. Plus, they are working on cause and effect in Language Arts. This is a great tie in and funny too!

How do you mange the insanity leading up to Spring Break and Standardized Testing?

Teaching Cultural Identity.

Yesterday, I talked about creating a positive class culture. It is important when designing our classrooms that we think about how we address cultural identities in our classroom.


Each student walks into our classroom with a sense of who they are and where they come from. This perspective of who they are shows up in every conversation and every piece of writing that student turns in. How can we make the student feel comfortable?

How can we teach our students to accept, embrace, and even learn from the differences among their classmates? Teaching cultural identity in some form, perhaps not in the same way as in the video I shared above,  I feel is a necessity within the first week of school.

For me, part of creating a positive class environment means learning about one another and ensuring that everyone, regardless of cultural differences, feels at home and comfortable in my classroom.

What can you do to help every student feel comfortable in your classroom this upcoming year?

Creating a Positive Class Culture

How do you create a positive classroom culture? I know many people start thinking about this come March as we head into Standardized Testing Time and wrapping up the school year.

What went right? What can we approve? How can we redecorate starts circling around in our minds.


So what are my tips for creating a positive classroom culture?
       1. Create a welcoming classroom environment that you feel at home in.
       2. Taking risks and making mistakes are excellent ways to learn.
       3. Respect, honesty, and kindness are essential.
       4. Every person in this room is important to our individual success.
       5. Setting goals, both large and small, help propel us forward.
       6. Include others outside your classroom in your classroom community.

What are your tips for creating a positive classroom culture?

Professional Development Kagan Scholarships!

I learned about various Kagan Philosophies while completing some practicum hours awhile back. I truly love the ideas and think it will make me an even better teacher. I love how they combine whole brain teaching theories into their philosophy. It also works well with Love & Logic and Conscious Discipline.

Imagine my excitement when I saw this!

Both teachers and student teachers can apply. It only covers the workshop costs not lodging, transportation, or food but every little bit helps. This years workshop is held at Walt Disney World in Florida. Must apply by March 15, 2013.

In light of all that happened, I think it is important that we move forward by continuing to invest in ourselves and our students. We deserve to be the best teacher we possibly can. Now, more than ever before, the importance of making a difference today and everyday has been brought forward.

Hands Down (OR no more hands raised)

A few days ago I receive a notice of a new required practice from my university. The mandate:

No more raising hands in class. 

It is one of the the things that will be on our observations from this point forward. I was a little upset with my last observation. I did not get marked off but I am a perfectionist. The comments irritated me. 

I was watched on who I called upon. male vs. female, race, and academic ability. I was a little upset that I was seen as biased. I called on more females than males and mostly Hispanic students. I need to diversify who I call on more I was told. 

So why does this upset me? Well lets look at the demographics of the class. 24 students. 22 are Hispanic, 1 Asian, and 1 Caucasian. There are 19 females and 5 males. Hmmmm.... I wonder why I called on mostly female Hispanic students who had a basic grasp of the English language? Could it be cuz that is pretty much the only person in the classroom? 

I will digress on this issue. So I wasn't perfect... I think I can live with it. .... or maybe not. It has been a few weeks and its still getting on my nerves. I prefer constructive criticism that is actually helpful. For example, if you had divide the class into groups before working on the timeline it wouldn't have taken an hour but the 20 minutes you planned. See... that one I like!

So what do we do about this hands down movement??

I was given a few different options to use but I would love to hear your thoughts as well. Do you have a favorite technique? Do your students still raise their hands? Here are some of the options I have received:

Shoulder Buddies

Did you know there is a toy called Shoulder Buddies??? Check this out! They are kinda cute but totally not the picture I was trying to google for. =) They come in all kinds of different colors and designs. Even holiday ones. My mind is wondering how I can use these guys!

Anyways... shoulder or elbow or knee buddies (whatever you choose to call it)... its the pair and share technique. Whenever you ask a question, you give think time and then they share with a partner. Afterwards, call on random people to share what their partner stated. This ensures they are listening and forming an answer together!

The Silent Thumb

Give think time after asking a question. If a student has an answer, they silently hold a thumb up under their chin. Then you can call on someone once at least 95% of the students have a thumb up. 

Choral Answers

Ask the question, give think time (15 seconds to one minute depending upon the question) and then say a code word (students should be given this first. Use of the same code word all year long makes this easiest) and all students respond together. If not everyone responds, ask the class to do it again!

Draw Straws

Well sticks actually. Place a students name on each stick. This works really well in conjunction with the silent thumb and then simply draw a name. NOTE: this helps intern and student teachers who may not know the names of your students and is left with the old raising the hand trick or asking for the little guy in blue... no not you the other one to answer the question. 

Wallet Answers

Okay... not actually in the letter from my university but I love this and it would be a perfect alternative!! My university actually suggests writing answers on a personal whiteboard or tablet (ha! like all of our students have their own personal tablets!) and then on the count of 3 or using the code word... show your answers. 

Sign Language

Once again.... that code word is important. Once you say it have the student show you 1, 2, or 3 fingers for choosing a multiple choice answer or using another sign to demonstrate their answer. For example, many teachers who use whole brain teaching use signs to help students memorize vocabulary. You can give a definition of the word and they can give the corresponding sign. 

The Together Teacher

The first quarter of the year has been wrapped up. By now, you have noticed what is and is not working in the classroom for you. The question is how to make changes that will assist you throughout the remaining portion of the year.

I have read A TON of books on classroom organization. As a new teacher (and one who some claim is OCD. I am still in denial.) I need all the tips and tools I can get. When I was asked to review another book on organization, I was hesitant. What could it actually teach me?

I saw the review on Good Morning America and it dealt with a lot of tips on how parents can get their kids organized for school. Soooo... I thought I would review it based upon how it can help me as a parent.

 

The Together Teacher is so much more that what I was expecting! Maia has spent a lot of time doing her research and it shows throughout the book. I was surprised by how many different organizational theories and "gurus" she quoted. She pulls the best of each of their theories into one, simple, easy to use program.

One of my favorite parts is the Comprehensive Calendar. I have always color coordinated my schedule but I have to admit... I have A LOT of calendars. I have one for grad school, one for hubby, one for the kids, the puppy has her own, another for teaching, and another for personal things. Nothing every stays together!

The comprehensive calendar puts everything together and teaches you how to maximize your energy levels AND your time. I love the idea of blocking time for specific tasks. I have been known to lose entire days as I spend all of that time working on a particular project.

The picture above shows my schedule. I added in what the colors mean to kinda help you see what is going on. The purple is me time.... things I do on my own like blogging, design work, creating products, grad school homework, and bubble baths! =)

The blue colors are family time. Different shades of blue represent different things we are doing. Green is my alone time with hubby and orange is my student teaching time. The boys are pink if they have something specific that needs to be done for them.

Anyways.... the colors tell me what I should be scheduling to do during that time. I just put in all of my meetings, etc... on top of the colored section and it all fits in. This was just a quick sample of my schedule so it is missing things like house cleaning and exercise which is also on my to-do list.

This is just one way of many to create a comprehensive calendar. I love how Maia gives step-by-step directions for a paper method, an electronic method, or a hybrid method.

The rest of the book is also wonderful. It gives tips on how to keep track of notes (notability is still my favorite and Maia would approve I am sure!), creating routines, managing email (where does it all come from??!), and how to set up your classroom to contain the chaos.

It also has great ideas for parents and homeschoolers. LOVE the chapter on "the backpack explosion." If only Maia had a way to keep my boys from using their backpacks as collectors for bugs and crumbs. Oh... and a way to guarantee their room does not smell like a locker room but I will digress on those.

The reflection questions throughout the book helps keep the reader focused and engaged. With these questions it is like having Maia there.... talking you through it. Asking you to look around a little harder and guiding you to the method that works best for you.

The book includes a CD with more examples and templates.

The Together Teacher would be great to helping resolve those issues that have been plaguing you throughout the last quarter and now is your chance to win your own copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Sink or Swim

I feel like this is the story of my life at the moment but alas it is actually a game I played with my son's class the other day. His teacher let me sneak in for a few hours to observe his teaching style for an assignment. Shhh! It was not an authorized observation hence the sneak part!

I have never been in a classroom with a male teacher before so was very excited! The first thing I noticed was that his room was plain rather than cute. I am used to the "girly" classrooms and this was "manland" as my son told me.

When I spoke to my son's teacher he rearranged his entire days worth of lesson plans for me. He said women over complicate things so I wanted you to see what you can teach with little to no resources and planning. He spent 5 minutes planning his day!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that he did this for me and I learned so much. Anyways... onto the my day of "not over complicating things" aka... Sink or Swim!

So do you see that pile of index cards on the floor... you will need one of those to play. Split the class into half. There is no talking during this game. The teacher divides the students into 2 teams and every player on the team has their name written on the board. Each team also has the 2 answers available written on their side of the board.

No talking is allowed or you are sunk (sit down). A student picks a card from the pile. They choose an answer. If they are correct... they pick to either swim (save) a teammate who was sunk before or sink (sit down) an opponent. Each player standing at the end gets 100 points. If the entire table is standing they get 500 points. If all 4 tables on a team is standing at the end they get a 10,000 point bonus! Points are used to win awards and are awarded by table.

Game lasts for as long as you have time. Kids get to wiggle and move but no pushing. Teacher can sink you for inappropriate behavior or talking and you can't be swum back in except by the teacher. The kids loved it and begged to play!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: I received several emails asking for more specifics on this game. So here ya go! =)

 After teaching a grammar lesson on pronouns where students learned to recognize pronoun usage as the subject or object of the sentence, this game was played. The 2 answers are: subject or object. The pile of index cards has a pronoun written on it. The student has to state by pointing whether the pronoun applies to a subject, an object, or both.

There can be more than 2 answers but you need to keep the answers to a minimum. Imagine using this to identify different types of triangles, classifying animals, determining types of sentences, etc... Basically, anything that you would classify into categories can be used for this game!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Per this teacher all you need for an entire school year is a few thousand index cards and a bunch of sharpie markers and you can be set to go! One of my favorite parts is that he taught everything in chunks. First it was taking notes, then a memory game... then sink or swim.

Lots of fun and easy to plan! What are your favorite classroom game?

Here comes October!

I am so excited... October is almost here. A few more weeks of 100 degree temperatures and we will finally hit the 90s. By Halloween... we should be in the 80s and if we have any kinda luck by Thanksgiving we will be in the 70s. That's fall in Arizona peeps!

I remember a story several years back from my youngest son. He came home crying from Kindergarten because he thought his teacher lied to him. When I asked what she lied about he said she kept telling him about all these seasons where leaves change and snow falls but that only happens in the movies. After I stopped laughing, I had to explain where we live is different then planned a trip to a nicer climate to prove his teacher didn't lie afterall.

From that moment on, the child never really like his kindergarten teacher or trusted her despite getting proof that she told the truth. It is one of my favorite memories of fall....

Since I am always HOPING for fall to arrive, I always end up in full decorating mode. You should see the amount of decorations stored in my garage or maybe you shouldn't..... This has carried over to the classroom. I have files and files and files of Holiday STUFF!

But I admit, I forget the digital files exist. I need something all in one. Click... print... go! That theory is what prompted my new line of products. Each month, I will be introducing a new packet with lots and lots of resources.

So this guy here has everything that I need in it for the month of  October. I will probably add to it later but for now it is 39 pages and has everything I need as a teacher to prepare for the month ahead!

Calendar numbers (in both formats!) and letters for my classroom boggle board. Boggle is one of my early finishers options for the month. I have a wide variety of things they can do if they finish early but they are all grade-level common-core aligned activities.

Interactive notebook pages. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my interactive student notebooks... known as Brainy Matters in my classroom. It keeps both me and my students organized, it doubles as a portfolio and review tool. You will notice that a lot of my products are now including these pages as it is what I need and use.

There are also writing prompts that cover retelling, inferencing, and creative writing, 2 sight word lists with words that pertain to the month of October, and 2 word hunts.

Math review worksheets. Again, these are core-aligned and skills that all students need to know. My fourth grader was using this one tonight as he needs a refresher on basic math facts. I use these for my students who finish early during math. This way I know they are still getting those instruction math minutes!

There are also 2 roll and cover math game boards. I use this in multiple ways... matching numbers, creating a problem equal to that number (have students record in math journals), and use that number in a problem and have you buddy solve it (mental math). 

Now while all of the above stuff is awesome... Teachers need things too! So I created a 2 newsletter (1 Halloween & 1 Columbus), labels for this months centers, 2 letters home, and 4 pages of books to read (picture books and chapter books!) for the month.

There are also 3 October calendars which I use in my classroom. I have a plain calendar for behavior and a math calendar that we use with our circle time. None of the calendars are dated as I have my students do this to help reinforce counting skills. On the math one... the right the digital date as part of our calendar time on their math calendar.

The one pictured here is the reading log. Students record minutes on the calendar and books to the right. The rubric is on the bottom. No daily minimums are listed on this calendar so you can use it as you wish. This goes home in our file folders which stay inside out binders. The left side has the instructions and the right the calendar.

We worked on this bundle for 3 days solid and I wanted to get it to you before this weekend so you would have time to use it for the upcoming month. In future packets, I am planning on adding the Family Zebra Quest Challenge and our monthly book project. I just ran out of time and steam this month.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this project. This includes clip art from 5 of Melonheadz Illustrating sets as well as exclusive pieces made just for TWT. Each month's kit will be created in a similar fashion and cover two different topics. This kit covers Halloween and Columbus Day. I will do Fall next month when it kinda feels like it here.

Leave me a comment and I will randomly select a winner!

Win the Day!

Our classroom motto is "Win the Day!"

Above each of the white boards in the room is our motto. At the beginning of the school year students are taught what the motto is and what it means. You can often hear the teacher or the students reminding each other at the most difficult of times to "win the day!"

What does it mean to Win the Day? 

It means that each day you treat as if today was a championship game. This is the most exciting time, it will be difficult but not over possible. You will have to think quickly and work hard. You will have to show grit and character but in the end it will be worth it.  

Defeat is not an option. Giving up is not an option. Doing less than your best is not an option. Bad character is not an option. Each person on the team must give 110% to succeed. Every minute counts. Every play is important. Keep your eye on the ball as in the end you will succeed. You win the championship! 

My mentor's alma mater is UoO and this is their motto adopted for our classroom. The students love this and it goes so well with a sports based classroom! 

Do you have a class motto? If so, what is it?

Alternate vs. Traditional Certification

Since I decided to change careers and follow my childhood dreams of being a teacher. As I already hold two bachelors degrees, I could go back and simply do an alternate certification and then in two years apply for full certification as a highly qualified teacher.

But.... I taught kinder for a year at a private school. It wasn't a complete disaster but it wasn't a year I would care to repeat ever. It was chaotic and messy. I didn't feel like I had the skills necessary to be a teacher and yet these little people were counting on me.

So I decided to go a more traditional route and head to graduate school for a degree in education. Many times in the last two years I have been asked why did I not do an alternate certification? Would I consider doing so now?

All of these questions caused me to research it further. Did I make a wrong choice? From the research, the information is that those who are alternately certified have poor classroom management skills. I know how to manage a classroom. Maybe I should?? But then I would talk to my principal or another teacher and then continue on my merry way.

With finances becoming increasingly difficult... I was faltering again. Especially when I was handed the Kindergarten room. Did I want to take the position? In the end, the decision was made for me. It was still on my  mind until the other day....

Remember the movie Kindergarten Cop? I felt like I walked into the wrong scene of that movie when I went to volunteer in a classroom this week. To protect the innocent (or not so innocent) I will not tell you where or why or even what grade. I will tell you that the teacher is an intern... she holds an alternate certification.

That day I SAW first hand the difference between a trained and not trained teacher. I saw it in the students faces and I felt it. I had to bite my tongue from taking over her class and putting things the right way up. There are many ways to do things the right way in a classroom so normally I learn a new way to do it the right way. Never have I felt that I had to train the person who's room I was in.

Here are a few of the issues:

• children talking when the teacher is
• teacher yelling and screaming to be heard over the students
• pushing, shoving
• flying chocolate pudding
• grabbing
• trash everywhere
• kids not be safe
• board games
• lack of quality use of instructional minutes
• reinforcing bad behaviors
• no procedures or orders
• kids wandering out the room (remember this is an elementary school!)
• kids dismissed themselves early from the classroom
• a child continually changes her name and the teacher can't make her stop
• students are not sure what the teacher is teaching
• teacher sitting at the desk and calling out numbers and hoping kids are writing down the correct answer
• there is no ensuring students are correct or helping students who need it

I could go on but I will leave my list here. I was appalled. I see now why principals choose a traditional certification candidate over an alternate one. I am glad that I made the tradition to invest 2 years into learning how to teach. 

I am not saying every alternate teacher is like this. Just like I am not saying every traditional teacher is good. I am saying there are some things that teachers are not born knowing how to do. We must take the time to learn them and on the job training is not the best method for a majority of the people.

While my Kinder days never looked like this or sounded like this, I too know that it could have been so much better. And it will be, the next time I have my own class as I took the time to prepare.

What are your thoughts on the various types of certification?

Creating Classroom Groups

I have learned that the first few weeks of school are chaotic for any teacher regardless of experience. One of the reasons for this is that the students and teacher have not built a relationship with each other yet. They have no clue who the other one is and how they will respond.

While setting up the classroom, teachers create a space for each student but who really knows if that will work or not. It takes time to decipher where the best spot is for each students.

After the first four weeks of school was completed and the initial assessments were completed. There was finally enough data collected to rearrange the students into a working seating arrangement but the question became how?!

I love this comic as this is totally how I felt while discussing creating teams for the classroom. We used a Kagan Cooperative Teams to build the structure for the classroom. Each child has their name added to a rectangle shaped paper. We first marked off our hard and easy kids to manage (see the comic!).

Next we evaluated test scores and used those to add more information to the student card. Armed with this we were ready to rock!

Student #1 is a high testing, well behaved student where as Student #3 is low testing, low behavior. Student #2 and #3 are fillers. This system is for building groups of 4. You could go up as high as 5 but 4 is the ideal number.

The theory is to have 1 high and 1 low with 2 middle of the row students. That way there is someone there to help when someone is struggling. Sometimes you have a high function low behavior student. You pair them with a low function high behavior student. The high behavior (ie the good kid) acts a model for the group. The other two help balance it out.


In my classroom, we did this by grades and then by groups. Most people do not have multiple grades in a classroom so no need to worry about it. We have been using these new groups now for 2 weeks and they work amazingly well.


Do you use EEKK from Daily 5? We use it with out groups! Work with your elbow buddy or knee buddy. So much fun and reinforces the vocabulary of our classroom.


How do you create groups in your classroom? Do you have an alternate method?

Clip Behavior Management

Have you heard about the Clip Board Behavior Management system? I totally love this idea and it meets the requirement of my school AND goes so well with Conscious Discipline!

I started to create my own using this awesome glitter card stalk and hated it! It just did not go with my classroom at all. Then I saw this picture on Pinterest from Journals From the Jungle and bingo... and idea came to me!

I totally love the black and white background with the color accents. Zebra print has a special meaning in my class so totally would not work for me BUT I could do a different patter and use the glitter to outline it. =) I can't wait to get started on this new idea but it will have to wait until I have more time.

In the classroom I am currently in, we use this all the time. This is what it looks like in our class, a sports themed one:

I am really liking the sports theme but not sure I could rock it year round. Now football season is coming and I can rock that one but not so much the other sports. =) Sorry about the glare the tiny windows directly across from this are sometimes a pain.

I love how I can tell my students to "clip up" when they are doing something right. It is amazing the power of those two words. I was teaching a small group lesson the other day and most of my kiddos were getting antsy as recess was 3 minutes away. One little friend quietly did as I asked. I asked him to clip up. Immediately, I see students sitting taller, concentrating harder, and pens writing!

I love that by looking for the positive that I do not have to focus on the negative. I did not have to say "give me your best for 3 more minutes." Or "I do not see students who are using their learning time wisely." Instead two words gave me their best efforts for those last few minutes.

GENUIS!

Check out the new management website - there is a lot of great information there and if you don't want to create your own clip chart you can purchase one from them. Also TpT has a lot of versions available for sale. There is also information on variations of this chart.

I am looking for some more pictures/ideas on how to create one of these in my black, red, and white theme. If you made one or no of a link to one. Please leave it in the comments. Or just share your creative ideas. I would love to hear them. 

How do you use this in your class? If you use something else, what do you do and how does it work for you?

CD Chap 2: The School Family

It has taken me forever to get to writing this next chapter. I had so much fun with and learned so much about myself on multiple levels. I have been wanting to get to the second chapter of Conscious Discipline but alas I have been overwhelmed with other things.

UNTIL TODAY!!!

This chapter is about how to create a school family! I was so excited about this chapter. During the first month of school, I feel that creating a school family is just as essential as setting up rules and procedures. This chapter talks about how routines and rituals are the heart of the school family.

Principle 1: 

We are all in this together!

Routines create predictability. It supports the school family like our skeleton supports our bodies. I love that analogy! Rituals creating a caring culture with a common goal. They do take some time away from learning but are the most important part of establishing a school family. Rituals help build trust!

 There is a long list of types of different types of rituals and attitudes about them. Rituals including caring for all members of the classroom and include classroom jobs,

This is the song we sing each morning with the students in my current classroom which is a grade 1-2 combo class. There are actually several songs and chats that we do/use as part of our routine. I wonder if my mentor teacher has ever heard of Conscious Discipline? I will have to ask.

Teacher:Good Morning To You 

(students repeat)

Teacher: And how do you do? 

(students repeat)

Together: We are all in our places

With bright shining faces

And this is the WAAAAAY

We start off our Day

I love this absent routine from Heather's Heart. Have you seen it?

 Principle 2: 

Contributing to the welfare of others

This section talks about how everyone wants to feel needed. It has a great list of classroom jobs and why they are important. It suggests that you should have a job available for everyone to do. HEY! That is what I said before! LOL! I really like some of the "specialty" jobs and maybe mixing up some of the jobs I use to add these in. 

It also talks about the importance of community service, valuing others contributions, and helping parents become involved. All things I highly recommend!

Principle 3: 

How you see others defines who you are

This  section hit home with me on such a personal level. It asks you to simply answer "Who am I?" and then talks about how the answers color our interactions. This is SO TRUE! The tips in this section are AMAZING! I need to re read it. I need to really learn to retrain myself on what I am noticing. 

Principle 4: 

We are all unique NOT special

I laughed so hard when I saw this! One of my pet peeves is people thinking they are special. They are not special. Special implies you are better than someone else. I do not believe I am special. I am not better than everyone else. I am simply unique. My own person with my own unique strengths and weaknesses. I will save you all from my soapbox moment!

Principle 5: 

Some forms of praise can be discouraging. 

This section was also very interesting to me as I have heard my professors say "Never praise a student. You can notice what they are doing but never praise. Praise is making a judgment about the person. It is not helpful!"

Oh how I struggle with this one! 

My favorite part is when it says you should act like a football fan when you are encouraging students. Are you sure about that? Have you ever seen me during a Bears game? I might scare my kiddos!

Praise is a judgment. It tells a child who you think they should be and is a sign of conditional love. Instead we are to notice and describe behavior. There are some great tips to help you notice rather than praise. 

Principle 6: 

Children need encouragement especially

when they have made a poor choice. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how discipline issues are handled. This is truly the type of teacher I want to be. A lot of open questions, a lot of solutions, and discipline that is done with love and understanding!

So once again, I feel like have not done any justice to this chapter at all. There truly is so much in each one that you really have to read it to understand.

Here is the next video in the series. I hope you enjoy!


So are you reading this book with me? If so, what are your thoughts on Chapter 2? If not, what are your thoughts on this anyways?

Parent Communication

How does one convey all the information that is needed to parents? Do you use a website, emails, phone calls, letters home, texting, home visits, or a combination? How do you keep track of the communication going back and forth? These are the questions that have been posed time and again in my graduate classes. I have researched and found a lot of talk on the importance of parent communication but very few examples of it.

I am planning on using a combination of things. I have currently set up a classroom website as a primary means of communication to parents. In the future I am hoping to create some postcards that I can quickly fill in as well.

Bridging a problem

I spend my days primarily in a Title 1 school which is failing to meet NCLB requirements and has a 99% free or reduced lunch rate. These kids are tough; they come from unimaginable backgrounds, and have very little parental support. I was shocked when I found out that the school had special liaisons to go to a student’s home to collect documents (registration, field trip, etc…) as the parents have no car. My heart breaks for these kids as I grew up in a similar environment. 

Perhaps because I do understand their background, I have been able to successfully work with some of the most difficult students that others have given up on. 

I LOVE the agreement bridge. My favorite part is the fact that it uses “we.” All too often, I hear teachers state the student has a problem. This is wrong. It takes two people to create a problem, if the teacher was not requesting/imposing A, there would be no problem. These students need to feel like someone is on their side, that they are a team. Together anything is possible! The agreement bridge provides this foundation. 

While the agreement bridge provides collaboration, negotiation, flexibility, and infinite possibilities, I do feel that the time it takes to set up the game and the continual time needed to play it could be an issue. Working with younger elementary students, I feel that I could use this with my students in a one-to-one counseling session for the first meeting during lunch or specials (only time to meet alone).

During this time I would meet with the student to create a game board using a laminated file folder. The center of the game would have a picture of a ruler and a bridge. We could each make a marker that represents us. No words or anything else on it. Then we can hang it up in a special spot in the room. This would serve as a reminder that 1) we are a team 2) we are working on meeting goals together, and 3) would provide a daily visual reminder of how we are progressing.

This allows the teacher and student to move the marker closer to the goals without having a meeting. I also think that the student and teacher should be able to move the marker backwards. Sometimes this simple silent clue, will let the teacher know we need some special time together. 

One of the things I do with my problematic students is that I set a new goal with them at the start of each day. Today we will complete 5 more math problems. Today we will not interrupt Mrs. Poland during her reading lesson. Today we will complete bell work.

I have found this simple 30 second talk helps my students. We high-five when they accomplish it. I make sure that if they get done early with a project we have some “Hello” time.

I think the most important thing that our most trouble students need to know is that we see them, that we are happy that they are there, and that we are a team. Together… we can make anything possible.

The agreement bridge documents our possibilities and our success. It also great for meeting IEP and 504 goals. We can look at those together, pick one to focus on and added to our bridge. The ideas are truly limitless!

My First Bulletin Board

Since I am still home, I haven't really done any bulletin boards yet. I have a feeling that I will be done quite a few over the next few weeks as I am helping a friend set up her classroom and shadowing her for the first few weeks of school.

I should have taken a before picture but I didn't. I had a medium sized bulletin board at home that I used to use for homeschooling, then when I worked at home it was in my office, and now it just kinda hung out in the hallway collecting dust.

I decided to snag it for my classroom and created this:

I used the fabric I had that matches my banner for the center. I purchased it for a different project but it ended up being too dark for that. Then I used a red wavy border backwards and then the black and white scrolly border is hot glued to the frame.

My inspiration was from Mrs. Noble's class. I am not sure what happened but her classroom site is gone now. =( So all you have is this picture and some others I have.

I love the idea of having somewhere to stick reminders for the students and extra copies of fliers that went home. This will reduce some of those "Mrs. Poland... what are we having for lunch? When is ....? questions.

Do you have a place in your room to place reminders and extra papers? If not, how do you manage these items? 

Conscious Discipline - Chapter 1 - Part 2

So most of this week I have been talking about Conscious Discipline and wanted to wrap it up with the rest of chapter one today.

Random note --

I had an interview for a substitute teaching position this morning... it was just a formality. I already knew I was hired. Anywho... instead of a "normal" interview we discussed my future with the school district. When do I graduate? When is my student teaching? What school do I want to work at? What grade level do I want to teach? What year do they need to have my spot open for me?

YES!!  I just got offered a third full-time position and again I can go any where in the district that I would like to go. I have to meet with the Superintendent in the next week or so to discuss some special project he has for me this year.

Back to Conscious Discipline --

The next part of the chapter teaches all about how the brain works. It discusses stress and the brain and temperament of both you and the child. I LOVE where it talks about a "good fit" between temperaments. There are some people that just seem impossible to get along with. This explains why AND how you can improve your "fit."

Principle #4: Your job is to keep the classroom

safe so children can learn. The child's job is to 

help keep it safe.

One of my pet peeves as a parent is a classroom that is not psychologically supporting my child. Translation... the classroom where "some" bullying is allowed as "children will be children." I feel that any level can easily be escalated beyond control. 

I LOVE the idea of creating a safe place in your classroom. In fact, I have designed one into my classroom not knowing about this part of the book. I have a chair for my kiddos, a small table with a lamp, a note pad and special pins, a monster to eat the notes, Mr. McPea as a friend to hold onto, and an Australian Flag to cuddle in. I call my safe place... Australia after the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. 

I need to make a sign. 

Do you have a safe place in your classroom? Do you think it is just a waste of space or a needed spot? Does it have multiple uses? 

I use mine for tattling and if someone is sick as well. Its kinda my "I need some space" zone. 

I found it interesting that morning meetings should always be done in a circle so everyone feels equal BUT what if there is not enough room? In too many classrooms space is extremely limited. In my classroom we have a rug to sit on but everyone is in rows. There are just too many kids for a circle. It this okay? What do you do in your classroom. 

Loved the list of warning signs at the end of the chapter. I need to copy this and hang it somewhere as a reminder until I learn this one. 

To Do's for Chapter 1

~ Take responsibility for my own upset

~ Maintain composure

~ Know your triggers & work on eliminating them

~ Create a safe spot in my classroom

~ Morning Meetings

~ Start class the brain-smart way; establish a morning routine to support this

~ Post list of warning signs 

~ Practice STAR and other ways to focus

Conscious Discipline - Chapter 1 Resources

With so many people interested in this topic, I decided to share with all of you some of the resources I have found to use with this chapter. The first one is a webinar video that introduces you to the concepts presented in this chapter.





Many of us have learned about this book from the beautiful and talented Heather. I just adore her! She has the biggest heart ever and her posts are truly inspiring! I know she is planning a book study on Conscious Discipline. She has started it... I am just waiting for the next edition to post.




I also found these resources:

Breathing Star Activity

Songs

Here is the list of songs for this chapter:

Get Ready

Welcome

STAR Song

My School Family

Conscious Discipline - Chapter 1 - Part 1

This chapter has sooooo much information that I decided to create 2 posts on this topic.  I am not sharing everything that is in here so you really do need to read the book to get the full benefit from it. There is simply no way I can do justice to it and so much of it is on a personal level in this chapter. It is all about you!!

Principle #1: Composure is self control in action.

The first part of this chapter hit home with me in a variety of ways. I come from a less than ideal childhood. I know that I have scars from this that still affect me to this day. I attempt to overcome them yet I did not have the tools to do so. This book provides tools for not just being a better teacher but a better person. I LOVE THIS!

The part that hit home the most for me was being a slave to our insecurities. This is huge for me. I often find myself avoiding trying something for fear of failure. I have to first convince myself of either success or that even if I do fail all will be as it should be BEFORE I begin the task. I wonder how often this is true for my students as well. 

Principle #2:  No one can make us angry without our permission. 

Your perception of an event determines your feelings about it. I have always known this is true. I am one of those people who rarely get upset but when I do its not pretty. It usually results in tears. My hubby has said something to me about this in the past that the book also reiterated. You become upset because the world didn't work as you thought it would. Oh how true that is!

The section goes on to discuss triggers and how to remain in control of your upset. How to accept that sometimes life does not go as you believe it should. Tips for removing your own triggers and handling those of your students.

Principle #3: Start the day the brain-smart way.

Now that we know what causes stress, how we respond to stress, our triggers, and ways to identify and manage those triggers... we move into the classroom with a better sense of ourselves. 

The first part of this section discusses creating a morning routine to help unite, disengage, connect, and commit yourself (and your students) to the day ahead. Several suggestions are given as well as an area to write down your own routines and to improve them. 

My Morning Routine

Meet students outside

Walk them inside silently

Students line up outside classroom

I peek in & turn on the song of the day

Stand at door

Greet children as they come in the door

Students have until end of the song to put away all their things

Problem of the day

Announcements

Independent Reading

When looking at my current routine, I noticed there are some things that I can do to help my students prepare for the day ahead. I am working on this and will share it another time.  Being able to relax is a big part of this routing. STAR is designed to help students with this. Ideas for brain breaks are given... I see another project in my future! 

Available at TpT

I have always used code words with my autistic son but have never thought of using them in the classroom. When he is becoming mean and aggressive I tell him "fork." It means you are stabbing me in the back with a fork and need to check your attitude before you get into trouble. All of the boys have an emergency word that means "front and center in 10 seconds or less." This is for if there is a fire, someone broke in the house, a storm is coming, etc.. The boys know this word is spoken with urgency. They are to be complete still and quiet. We have a different word that means come here. Each one is a way for me to express something without being wordy. I love the idea of using this in class. 

There is also talk of the first part of classroom songs, relaxation exercises, brain breaks, classroom mottos, and more. What are your thoughts on the first part of this chapter? 

Classroom Jobs

Classrooms are busy, messy places that take a lot of time and energy to keep clean and organized. Students love to help out and having a job teaches them responsibility. I have taken an idea again from another teacher and made it my own. I will have my students apply for a job (application in future post) and interview for a job once a semester. I will then hire and train the students the first semester. The second semester, the students will train their replacements.

I have designed my classroom so that each of my friends can have a particular job to do. Here is the current list of ideas, responsibilities, and qualifications for the positions from my classroom website. I may need to add/delete jobs depending on my class size. Also, jobs will not be required so if a friend does not want to apply, he/she does not half to. Time of completion will depend upon the job.

1. Assignment Clerk
~ Responsibility: List all assignments for the day on the board (I think this is going to be  written on an easel pad and then posted on a bulletin board).
~ Qualifications: Good handwriting
2.  Scheduler
~ Responsibility: Changes schedule at the end of each day to reflect tomorrow's events
~ Qualifications: Must be capable of remembering upcoming events
3. D.J.
~ Responsibility: Chooses and plays morning song as students enter the class. Maybe asked to play
additional music at other times of the day as well. Will make sure the equipment is off and put away
when not in use.
~ Qualifications: Must like music. All new music must be approved by Mrs. Poland prior to playing. Must know how to work CD player and/or iPad system.
4. Greeter
 ~ Responsibility: Meets any guests that we may have.
~ Qualifications: Must be professional, courteous, and have a pleasant personality. Must love people
and be able to remember/follow directions.
5. Assignment Sorter
 ~ Responsibility: Puts all collected assignments in student number order, paper clips together, and
places in the "To be graded" bin. No name papers are hung on the "lost & found" board
 ~ Qualifications: Must be able to count to 35. Must be quick with hands and responsible. Must not be
afraid of paper cuts.
6. Postal Clerk
~ Responsibility: Delivers graded work and other items to student mailboxes.
~ Qualifications: Must be quick with hands and responsible. Must not be afraid of paper cuts.
7. Pencil Sharpener
~ Responsibility: Makes sure there are enough sharpened pencils in the "sharp" bucket for the entire class for the upcoming day. If not, sharpen pencils.Check to see if any groups need pencils, takes away dull ones to sharpen another day and replaces with sharp pencils ready for use.
~ Qualifications: Must know how to operate pencil sharpener
8. Table Manager 1
    Table Manager 2
    Table Manager 3
    Table Manager 4
    Table Manager 5
~ Responsibility: This person manages their table. Makes sure chairs are pushed in when we leave the
 room, the floor is trash free, passes out and picks up papers as needed, and acts as secretary if a
member of the table is absent.
~ Qualifications: Must have good handwriting. Must be alert during the day and stay on task. Must share Mrs. Poland's passion for cleanliness and organization.
13. Morning Planner Assistant
~ Responsibility: Place stamp on planner for those with a parent signature, circle in red those that do not
~ Qualifications: Must have good eyesight, be able to keep confidentiality, and work well under pressure.
14. Afternoon Planner Assistant
~ Responsibility: Place check mark in teacher initial box if everything is written down
~ Qualifications: Must have good eyesight, be able to keep confidentiality, and work well under pressure.
15. Messenger
~ Responsibility: This person moves our clip to show where we are at during various parts of the day.
This person also carries messages as needed.
~ Qualifications: Must be professional, courteous, and have a pleasant personality.
16. Operator
~ Responsibility: Answers phone "Mrs. Poland's room. This is __________. How may I help you?"
~ Qualifications: Must have a good phone voice. Must know how to operate a phone and take a
message. Must have good handwriting. Messages are to be placed in Mrs. Poland's mailbox (future blog post) and the flag raised.
17. Librarian
~ Responsibility: Makes sure our library and listening centers are clean and everything is properly put
away and organized.
~ Qualifications: Must love books. Must share Mrs. Poland's passion for organization and cleanliness.
18. Custodian
~ Responsibility: Makes sure that all surfaces in the room are clean and organized. For example, after
centers, ensure that all items have been put back appropriately.
~ Qualifications: Must have good eye sight. Must share Mrs. Poland's passion for organization.
19. Environmentalist
~ Responsibility: Lines up small trash cans by the door at the end of the day for the janitor to empty.
Replaces the small trash cans next to each group in the morning. Reminds the class to use the recycle
bin when possible.
 ~ Qualifications: Must know location of all trash cans in the room.
20. Board Cleaner
~ Responsibility: Erases approved areas of the board at the end of the day and at various times           
throughout the day when asked. Makes sure caps are securely on markers at the end of the day.
Checks to make sure all markers are working at the end of the week.
~ Qualifications: Must know where erasers are located. Must be able to reach the top of the board.
21. Clip Manager
~ Responsibility: Moves everyone's clip back to green at the end of the day.
~ Qualifications: Must know how to use clothes pins. Must be able to reach top and bottom of the
clip board.
22. Line Leader
~ Responsibility: This person leads the line throughout the building.
~ Qualifications: Must be familiar with the building layout. Must be capable of remaining quiet in line. Must walk at a pace that everyone can keep up with.
23. Door Holder
~ Responsibility: Second person in line. Always stops to hold the door for us. Changes the sign for where we are at once everyone is out of the room.
~ Qualifications: Must be strong enough to open doors. Must have cheerful personality and smile often.
24. Line Ender
~ Responsibility: Last person in line. Makes sure everyone is out of the room, the lights are off, and the door is closed. Reports if anyone leaves the line. Carries emergency bag if needed.
~ Qualifications: Must be responsible and trustworthy. Must remain calm in an emergency. Must know  how to follow in line and remain quiet.