Back to the Roots

Over the last three years, I have noticed that it is easy to get swept up in what is easy for instruction.  It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness of the job from day to day.  I have found myself caught up in good, but not great instruction and I really wanted to refocus this year to better my instruction for my students.

I spent a lot of time this summer really thinking about my practice in the classroom and how that really matches up with my beliefs about learning.  I can confidently say that I believe my students learn through real practice with purpose, all while enjoying the process.  I know that they learn when they are challenged and when they make mistakes.  I know that they learn at their own pace and it will always eventually "click."  I also know that their time in the classroom isn't their only priority and outlet.  

It was clear to me that there were some things in my practice I needed to change to match these beliefs.  One of the biggest one was my homework policy.  I used to give nightly worksheets for my students to complete.   This year, I switched to weekly homework in math.  I did this because I wanted my students to have the flexibility to complete the work when they have the time.  This allows them to have time to still be kids and continue to learn to love learning.  The homework should be my students practicing what they have learned and working with the knowledge they have to continue to grow.  Weekly homework with a purpose has been doing just this.  

Take a look at some of our homework assignments from last week that were turned in today!  Needless to say... I am a proud teacher of their hard work, effort, and excitment.  They didn't all get the answer correct, but I was able to quickly see where their misunderstandings were and that was extremely valuable.

And We're Off...

to a new year with new excitements and challenges! The first week has come and gone.  We are into the second week of a new school year now and I feel more settled than I did the last few years.  It is amazing that I am starting my third year in my own classroom (six years total in teaching).

One of the biggest things I have done differently this year than other years... taking each day as it comes.  I have found myself less stressed these first few days and having more time to enjoy my students and getting to know them.  Now don't get me wrong, I still have plans (and lots of them if you know me), but we are getting to the plans as they come and fit into our day.

By having done this, I have learned in 4 days of school that I have one student that thrives as a leader and has great communication skills.  I have a student that thinks outside of the box in every way (and is going to challenge my thinking this year!).  I have a student that cares for her peers and what they need.  I have a student that takes pride in what he perceives to be an important role he was hand picked for.  And, I have a student that wants to learn and impress everyone that he doesn't let his differences in learning get in his way of being successful and sharing in class conversations and group work.  I can't wait to continue to learn about the rest of my students.

This taking things as they come and going with the flow each day means I am not necessarily getting everything I had planned for the day complete, but I am learning so much more about my students.  This will undoubtedly be more valuable than the writing seeds activity I was going to do today or the book genre conversation we were going to start on Friday.  I hope that I continue to take each day as it comes this year and really let our day be guided by what my students are doing, saying, and learning... not just my plan book.

Happy getting to know your new group... take some time to figure out their personality strengths this week.

Book Hoarding...

I used to be that student that loved getting my hands on a new book in the classroom.  Did I always jump to reading it right away?  No, but that was before I learned how amazing books could be and where they would take my imagination.  Now, I jump right into the new books the second I have a chance!  Have you ever had a student like this?

Well, this year I have one.  This student loves to get her hands on the new books the second I introduce them to the classroom library.  The only trouble is, she then holds onto them in her desk (sometimes 3 or 4 books at a time).  Now, I know where to search for the books first when a student is looking for a particular title, but even with 8 days of school left this year, I am trying to figure out how to help this student get into her books, read them, and share them with her classmates.  I certainly don't want to discourage her desire and excitement with new books, but I don't want these books sitting, hidden in a desk for weeks at a time also.

I have called this "curable virus," book hoarding in a way because my kids LOVE the books in our classroom, but sometimes, they just love to keep them in their desks and not read them.  At home, I still have a tendancy to make piles of books around my house that I am looking forward to reading.  Maybe they are getting that from me???  One thing that I can't complain about is that my students love getting their hands on new books to read.  They talk about the books with one another and I have been finding the books being passed around.  My current "book hoarder," now sits surrounded by students who share their books with one another, talk about what they are reading, and just can't put books down.  I have even started my "Trailer Tuesdays" giving students time to share what they have recently read with the entire class.  I am hoping with these subtle attempts, she will learn the excitement of diving into the books rather than looking at her pile of future adventures!

Preparing for a Genius Hour

I have been thinking about the idea of starting a "Genius Hour" in my classroom for next year.  I have been reading about what this is and trying to figure out what it would look like in my classroom.  I already love doing projects with my students during the year and this seems like the next step I need to take towards more control of learning in the hands of my students.

To prepare for this, I started trying out some new things last week (mentioned in my blog last week as well).  Not only did I love the work we did and learned a lot from the experiences, but I loved watching the excitment around learning my students had last week!  It left me wishing I had started this all sooner!  

On Wednesday, my kids and I participated in Wonderopolis' daily wonder that is posted each morning.  They spent about thirty minutes researching on their own and deciding how they wanted to share their learning with their classmates.  Each group shared their learning with the class and we tweeted to wonderopolis what we learned.  My class loved the researching, sharing, and the responses we got back from wonderopolis!  They couldn't stop talking about it all day!

On Friday, we tried our "In the News Friday."  In small groups, students read an article and participated in a discussion around two questions I provided them with.  This one is going to need more guidance than I originally thought.  Trying out these new ideas now has been a huge benefit in having time and practice for a learning curve before I jump into this "Genius Hour" idea.  

What have your experiences or thoughts been with or around a "Genius Hour?"  

Testing is Done... Now What?

Now that testing is over with for the school year and there are only four weeks before summer arrives, what do you do?

I like to use this time of the year to trial some new ideas for the next school year.  I am excited about some of my ideas that I picked up from some of my blog readers, Twitter chats, and thoughtful colleagues.  Here are some of my plans to try before the year is over:

Trailer Tuesday: One of my blog readers recently mentioned how she does this in her classroom and I am excited to trial this in my classroom.  I plan to have a sign up sheet for students to sign up to share a book and I plan to share a book I have read each week as well.  Thanks to a colleague and mentor, I have been reading one book from my classroom library a week and I now have a wonderful stack to share!

Wonder Wendnesday:  Wonderopolis posts a wonder question each day on their Twitter account.  I plan to utilize this question each week from our class Twitter account (IRESRowe).  I will be in the dark with my kiddos (scary, but trilling thought at the same time).  With groups and partners, we are going to discuss, research, and think about the wonder for the day.  I'm not really sure how this will look or where my kiddos take this one, but I am happily along for the ride with them this week!  I am going to try this as an introduction to a genius hour in my class next year (also a scary, but thrilling thought for me).

In the News Friday:  I am going to try a different use for my Time for Kids magazine subscription.  On Friday's, I plan to have my students read the main article in the weekly magazine and have a discussion around the weekly news.  I will provide groups with a list of discussion questions that they can use as a guide or add their own as they go.  There won't be anything to record or turn in.  I simply want my students to learn how to listen to one another and carry on a conversation with others about what they read and the world around them.  

I am excited to see how this works and to make changes as the students need them.  

What are you planning to trial for the end of the school year?

Reading Along Side Students

A colleague and mentor of mine recommended tonight's post.  I am grateful for her support and suggestions along the way as I grow as a teacher in many ways, but particularly language arts this year.  

A few weeks ago I mentioned my desire to focus on modeling more intentionally and frequently for my students.  The last few weeks, I have done this in many ways, but particularly in the world of at home reading.  Some students are not fortunate to have family members modeling adult reading for them.  I decided that I could do this through keeping a reading log posted in the front of my classroom each night.  I come in every morning and record the previous night's reading for my kiddos to "see" my reading life outside of the school walls.  

After a week of doing this, my students started making comments about how they could beat my reading minutes in a week.  I took them up on the challenge.  If they beat my minutes come Monday morning, they would get a little extra treat (homework pass, classroom money, candy, pick from the prize bin, popcorn pass, etc.).  The first week, I had one student beat my minutes.  The second week...

I had 5!  Not to mention that these five students went above and beyond racking up 1800, 3130, 1970, 910, 480 minutes!  Many students in my class today said that they were setting a goal to beat my minutes for next week.  I can't wait to see them all achive that goal!

My excitement around this extends beyond just the number of minutes being read by my students, but the conversations they are having around the many books they are reading.  They are sharing about their books more because they are reading books more!  One of my reading groups hijacked my plans and had a book talk about what they were all reading independently.  I enjoyed this reading group last week where I could set my plans aside, and observe the support, encouragement, and excitement they were providing one another.  I even have one kiddo that is on me to finish my current read ("A Snicker of Magic"  by Natalie Lloyd) because she can't wait to read it herself.  They are pushing one another in their own reading as well as pushing me to get books completed faster!  

Book Auctions/Introductions

The value and excitement that a new book brings to a classroom is incredibly addictive!  Today, I introduced about six or seven new books that I recently purchased for our classroom library.  You would have thought that it was Christmas morning in our room... again.  It was even all the chat on our class Twitter account today, winning our official class post for the day.

All this excitement makes me so excited to share the new books I bought today from our school book fair with them (I planned on 4 books, walked away with about 10 instead).

The thing that my kids enjoy about days when we have new books for the library, is that we "auction" them off for students to be the first to read them.  After I introduce all of the books to the class.  I ask who is interested in a particular book.  If more than one student can't wait to read the book, we "auction" it off by picking a number between 1-10.  If there majority of the class can't wait, we go to the sticks and the first person drawn who wants to read the book, gets it!  They LOVE this and can't wait for their peers to finish the new books if they are waiting.  

It warms my heart to see their excitement about new books in our classroom.  They can't wait to hear about the new books when they see a pile on my desk!  

All evening I have been thinking about how to rejuvenate some of this same excitement for current books in our classroom library.  After all, I can't purchase new books every week (even though I so desperately want too)!  I am thinking that I will have a time of book reviews next year, either each week or every other week.  This would be a time when I can share a few books from our library with students (and some weeks this would be a pile of new books).  I am thinking that I can even have my students share books they have been reading from our classroom library as the year progresses.  Not a novel idea, but certainly the next routine and adventure I am looking forward to starting and tackling the remainder of this year and next year!

How do you go about introducing new books and old friends to your students during the school year?

The Challenges of When to Model for Learning

One thing that I am constantly reminded of in my teaching is the importance of modeling, modeling, modeling for my students.  I have found that it is easy to forget and so easy to assume that my students will get the idea and we can move on.  After all they are in fifth grade!  But on the other hand, they are only ten and eleven years old... still kids at heart and mind (and should be).

Why am I finding myself thinking this?  I feel that it is the large amount of content that I feel pressured to cover in a given year.  Having now taught in my own classroom for almost two years, I am amazed at how 180 school days does not seem like enough to get through the pages of standards (which seems so doable before the kids show up at the start of the school year).  That leaves me, at times in a rush, thinking that my kids will get the idea and we can continue on to something more challenging.

When I go to assess their learning progress, I am reminded of how I may not have modeled or modeled enough for them to be successful and feel successful.  I then have to take a step back and model the expectation and learning for my students.  I am finding that some classes need modeling in some areas, but not as much in other areas.  How challenging it is to determine what each class needs from year to year!  There truely isn't a "cookie cutter" school year for a teacher!

One thing that I have recenctly realized is that my current class has trouble with their at home reading.  I don't think they have the motivation on their own, an at home model, or perhapes a real world example of how important reading is in their future adult worlds.  I have decided that I am going to complete a reading log, along with my students, to track my at home reading this week.  I am hopeful that by having this log posted in the front of my room all week, my kids will begin to see the value of reading and how/why adults read daily.

What are some ways you are reminded to model for your students during the school year?

Celebrating Individual Strengths

I had the pleasure of spending all day Saturday listening to and learning from Ruth Ayres (read her blog here: www.ruthayreswrites.com).  I attended a session where she talked about celebrating in the world of writing.  This year, I have really worked hard to celebrate my student's writing, intentionally, not only at the end (product), but also in the process.  On Saturday, Ruth gave us more ideas for how to celebrate our kids work.  I left this professional development session with my head spinning and ideas flowing!

This is a time of year that I remember being more challenging last year as my fifth grade students were excited and focused on their big changes with middle school on the horizon.  This class is showing no different signs of excitement and anticipation.  That being said, their focus, thoughtfulness, and kindness towards one another has not been at their best for a few weeks now.  On Saturday, we were asked to select one student to record all the things I could celebrate about them over a few short minutes of writing.  What I ended up with was a list of five students, lots to celebrate, not enough time to celebrate/write more, and an idea that has turned my student's classroom community around quickly!

I made the decision on Sunday to write each of my students a brief, two sentence note letting them know what I celebrate about them, individually, as a part of our classroom community.  No two students had anything similar on their notes.  Take a look at some of my comments below.

The response I got, blew me away!  I stood in the hallway greeting my students and watched their reactions as they found their personalized notes.  They looked around the room with smiles and confusion on their faces.  They walked around sharing one another's notes and reading eachother's note.  They talked to one another.  They came to me and told me how they had no idea I had noticed.  They wanted to share more because they were so happy to hear I noticed their behaviors and choices in the classroom.  I even walked to my desk to find notes from my students that left me smiling ear to ear.  

The results I got have turned a frustrating, at times, day into a pleasent day(s).  We have had fun as a classroom community and we have started listening to one another again.  My kids needed to know their value in our classroom and know that they were noticed for their individual strengths.  I will certainly do this again... only sooner!

Giving up the Control

This school year has been such a busy year!  I have grown so much as a teacher and am amazed when I think about all the different things I have tried this year and learned from.

Today was one of those days that I wished I had tried this activity last year, because it went so well and my class would have loved it last year!  I know I never would have tried it because it was much less structured than I would have ever considered a year ago and yet it is just what my class needed this year.

Today was a reminder to me of how much I have grown this year.  I never would have trusted myself to let my class "go."  I had students working in so many different directions today during our Language Arts block, yet they were the most engaged they have been all year!  I had students working on their persuasive essays (both at my table with me and independently at their desks), students were reading, students were planning their persuasive essay commercials, students were taping their commercials, students were editing their commercials, and students were working on non-fiction text feature posters.  Having this many activities happening all at the same time was a lot less structure than I am used to and often comfortable with.

The results of the day were amazing today.  I had students who completed their commercials that far exceeded my expectations!  I had students lost in their books.  I had students tell me that they were proud of themselves for completing their essays and that they were proud of the essay they have spent so much time working on.  I left feeling as though we had a very successful day as a class and can't wait to see if I can continue giving up the control like I have this year to my students and their opportunity to learn through experiences.