Eye On The Ball
I came down with something on Wednesday afternoon that kept me home from class in the evening and lingered long enough to keep me home from work on Thursday. It wasn’t too serious, though, and I was pretty much back on my feet by Thursday afternoon, which let me go to a birthday celebration for my wife with her parents and siblings. Because my birthday was just this past Monday and my wife’s birthday was actually Wednesday, there is a lot of birthday-ing in my family during the last week of January. There is also a tradition of stretching out gifts. My mother-in-law gave two professional books that I have wanted for quite some time now: The Ball and What Great Principals Do Differently: Eighteen Things That Matter Most, both by Todd Whitaker. (I already have a copy of What Great Teachers Do Differently, a book that I thought I reviewed a year ago but apparently never did. Oops!)
I read The Ball this morning while getting ready for work. It only took me about 20 minutes. It is a short story about a teacher and a former student who meet and discuss the challenges they have experienced in their lives that have managed to knock them off course, to take their eyes off the ball. Through their conversation, they both realise changes that need to be made to reinvigorate themselves and, in the process, reinvigorate those they work with.
This was a very timely read, as it is something that I have been discussing often with my colleagues. It seems like there have been so many new initiatives and laws and regulations and procedures and policies thrown at us from every direction that we have a hard time focusing on what is most important. I thought about some of the things I have done in my classroom over the past three and a half years that have fallen by the wayside because we just don’t seem to have enough time to do it and I realised that I need to make the time. The small things that bring joy into the classroom are the same things that bring engagement. As I wrote earlier this week, I want my students to want to be here. That’s not going to happen if they don’t find school to be a joyful place.
So I made a decision to bring back something that has been missing for several months: Read, Write, Think! This is my time for my students to engage in preferred activities that foster improved metacognition, teamwork, collaboration, and skill development. I announced this morning that we would be bringing it back on Fridays. We did Read, Write, Think! in the afternoon this week, but I will probably move it back to the morning next week because I have a tutor who will be coming to the room on Friday afternoons and I want to honor her time.
It is a small change, but I think it is something that will help us get our eye back on the ball, back on the goal of schooling being somethings students want to do, instead of something they have to do.
Kahoot!
This past summer, I got to participate in the Moveable Feast technology conference in Bloomington. For one week I traveled back and forth and networked with amazing educators who are passionate about infusing technology in the classroom in a way that goes far beyond substitution and augmentation and taking it to modification and redefinition. I learned about so many different resources and have been trying them out this year, exploring options and receiving input from my students about which resources are a good fit and which are not.
One of the tools I discovered was Kahoot! This is a wonderful resource for creating online quizzes, surveys, and discussions that allow anyone with access to a web-enabled device to participate. As soon as I knew I was going to get Chromebooks in my classroom, I knew I would be using Kahoot! in my room. It has taken me this long to finally do it, because I wanted a large display screen in the room.
The first thing I did with my class using Kahoot! was to get input from them on the groups they would like to be in when we go to the Krannert Art Museum next week. All I had to do was given the the URL (kahoot.it) and the PIN (displayed on the Promethean board). Students logged in, entered a nickname (my only requirement was that it include their first name), and used their Chromebooks to indicate preferences. I was able to download the results of the survey to use when organising groups.
Then I had them take a quiz to review the American Revolutionary War. Students were able to get instant feedback on their responses, see what they got right, what they got wrong, and also see how many of their classmates were in the same place as them. At the end, I asked them to evaluate whether or not they liked the quiz, whether or not they felt I should use it again, whether or not they felt it helped them learn, and how they felt at the end.
Just for fun, I let them do a brand logo quiz I found over the summer while exploring Kahoot! further. There are forty questions total, but we only did ten of them. The quiz shows a part of a company logo and asks them to select from four choices which one is correct. They really enjoyed it and wanted to keep going, but I told them we would only do a few. I have it set up to randomise the questions, though, so we can do it again and have completely different logos! I will build up a library of quizzes for them to use, some related to content we are studying and some that are going to be just for fun brain breaks.
I’m glad I discovered Kahoot! and I am even gladder that my students enjoyed it! I am planning on using it nearly every day for quick reviews, exit slips, breaks, and checks for understanding. It is simple to use, engaging for learners, and free! That’s a triple-crown win for me!
Thirty-Two Things I Love About My Job
Today is my birthday. My thirty-second birthday, to be specific. And I have to admit: it was a rough day with my class. A lot of things that I expected to go smoothly didn’t. At a lot of things that I expected to be received with excitement went over pretty flat. And it seemed like we just didn’t have enough time to get the things done that we should have.
But I don’t want to focus on the things that didn’t go well. So instead, I am going to try to make a crazy list of thirty-two things I love about my job. These are going to be in no particular order, but will simply be in whatever order they pop into my head. And I haven’t written these out in advance, so I am making this list up as I go. So, let’s get started!
- My current coworkers. They are passionate, dedicated professionals who truly want to see all students excel.
- My past coworkers. People have moved or retired but they are still folks who taught me and mentored me and helped me as a young new teacher.
- Being able to help train new coworkers. Because of various things that have happened, I’ve had the opportunity to teach with four different amazing women in four years. Three of them were new to teaching fourth grade at Wiley and so I have been able to help them get adjusted to a new school and, in the process, have learned a lot about my own job.
- My students. Even on the days they drive me crazy, they are constantly pushing me to improve my teaching.
- My former students. There is something awesome about seeing students who used to be in my room stop me in the halls, on the street, in stores, or at public events, just to say hi and tell me what they are up to.
- My future students. I walk through the halls of our building a lot and I see the younger students and love how they stop to talk to me and share what they are doing.
- Technology. As the instructional technology specialist for my building, I get to find new ways to implement technology in my classroom in ways that I never believed possible.
- Silliness. As seriously as I take my professional obligations, I love that I can have fun and be silly, too. Whether it is wearing a birthday tiara today, shaving my head because students read over 1,000,000 minutes, or answering silly questions with silly answers, I enjoy being able to laugh and have fun.
- Books. This should be a no-brainer, but being an avowed bibliophile and life-long member of the Nerdy Book Club, I love being able to share my love of books with students and have them share there love of books with me.
- Authors. I have had the opportunity to get to know some amazing authors over the years. There are some that I have chatted with only via Twitter, one I’ve chatted with via Skype, and others that I have met in person.
- Conferences. I get to go to some pretty awesome education conferences on all sorts of topics and I get to meet colleagues from all over the state and sometimes all over the country.
- Student teachers. I have had the opportunity to host several pre-service teachers in my classroom over the past couple of years. They have each brought their own unique ideas and beliefs about education and have helped me think deeply about what I do and why.
- Inquiry groups. I am part of a group of teachers across the district who meet once a month with Teacher Collaborators from the university to talk about best practices in literacy and math instruction. It is fantastic to learn and grow with these folks.
- Student artwork. have a collection of pictures and notes that students have given me that are taped on my desk and windows.
- Field trips. Springfield, the Krannert Art Museum, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, sporting events. I love taking my students to places and events that they might not otherwise encounter.
- Student growth. There are few things in this world greater than seeing a student grow and accomplish something that he or she couldn’t do before.
- Blogs. There are so many educators that write about their experiences and share their online. I love reading their blogs!
- Blogging. I love being able to share my experiences with others, even if I don’t have as many followers as more famous bloggers.
- Secretaries and office managers. The women who work in the offices of schools across the country are so great! The ones in my building are particularly wonderful and patient, whether it is helping me find a copy of a form or giving me a spare key to my room when I accidentally leave my keys at home.
- Parents. I have been really fortunate to have supportive parents in my classrooms. It is nice to be able to call home or send an email and have a parent promise to help resolve an issue.
- Compassion. Every now and then a student does something that just blows me away. I am thrilled when I see a student reach out and do something kind for another student.
- Cupcakes. Birthdays in classrooms are weird events. No matter what else is going on in the room or between students, once someone brings in a thing of cupcakes, everyone forgets their problems and enjoys spending a few minutes celebrating a birthday with a classmate.
- Family Nights. Our school sponsors several different family nights throughout the year. I love seeing parents come in with their children and see some of the things we are doing in our building.
- Bulletin boards. I don’t think I ever really thought that much about bulletin boards when I was in school, but as a teacher, bulletin boards are the super cool. I get to showcase student work, share important ideas, and brighten up the hallways.
- Morning drop-off. I have morning supervision at the car drop-off. I get to greet all of the students as they arrive at school. I love seeing the bright smiles and hearing the cheery hellos.
- Student writing. My students have great ideas. At the start of the year, their writing is really choppy. But as the year progresses, it gets better and better. I love seeing the growth!
- Ties. I wear a tie to work every day. I love ties. I am becoming a necktie aficionado, with about four dozen ties that I tie with about a dozen or so different knots.
- Cardigans. I love my cardigans. I have three. I would like to get more. They go with just about everything. Seriously.
- Questions. Students ask the strangest questions, often seemingly out of the blue. I love the questions. They allow me to take advantage of teachable moments and sometimes help me learn new things!
- Going above and beyond. I love when my students take a project or assignment and go way above and beyond what is expected.
- Being able to keep work. When a student creates something awesome and lets me keep it. I love these treasures that I get to share with future students! My best friend and I gifted a book we wrote to our fourth grade teachers. I asked her about it years later and learned that she kept that book until she retired. I hope to do the same.
- New days. As I said at the very beginning, today was birthday. And it was a rough day. I love that each day is a new day, with a fresh start. I can go back to school tomorrow, ready to start a new day with my students, letting go of past troubles and moving forward.
Blogging to Stay Positive
Even after saying a couple of months ago that I wouldn’t apologise if I miss a day of blogging, I feel like I do need to apologise now because I have missed two days of blogging. The new semester has started, not just in my classroom, but also for my graduate coursework. I have classes on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this semester instead of Monday and Wednesday, and I had a meeting with my Cub Scout leaders last night that went longer than anticipated. None of that is to excuse me from not keeping my personal commitment to blog each day; rather, it is just a reason for my absence. And as I so often tell me students, a reason isn’t necessarily an excuse.
However, I have recommitted myself to keeping my blogging goals, not because I feel like there are people who are upset when I miss out, but because I feel like I am depriving myself of a much needed time to reflect on my day and share my thoughts about what positive things we have been doing in my classroom.
Sometimes it can be hard to find the positive. I have a rough days. Every teacher does. Anyone who tells you that every day is calm and peaceful and focused and on task and magical is probably trying to sell you something. I don’t say that to be cynical by any stretch of the imagination. It is simply the reality of what it is to be a teacher, especially in a public school. I have 22 students now. Each and every single one of them comes to me with a unique background and unique experiences. And each student has his or her own worries, concerns, fears, hopes, and dreams. All of that comes with them in the classroom. No one student is alike. We are all different. And that means we are not going to all do the same thing at the same time. Unless you transport us all to Camazotz. But, even then, there are going to be variations.
And so our differences, which can cause friction and strife, are ultimately what cause all of the good that happens, too. Blogging about the good stuff helps me keep a more positive attitude. So I want to keep it up. There is enough negativity in the world as it is; I don’t want to contribute to it if I can help it.
And we do have good things happen! Every day something positive, something great happens in my classroom. My students are learning. They are growing. They show compassion and empathy. They help each other. They help me. They want to do right, not because they will get rewarded, although sometimes they will, not because they fear punishment if they don’t, although some will, not because it is expected of them, although it absolutely is, but because they know that it is simply the right thing to do. But they are still children. They are young. And they are going to make mistakes.
One of my students got frustrated with a classmate today and expressed that in a way that was not as positive and healthy as it could have been. When I was speaking to him about it, he started to take out that frustration on me. It was hard to keep control because it was making me feel frustrated, too. But then he calmed down and i was able to talk to him about what happened and he said something that was so simple yet so profound. He said, “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it.”
I wish more of us would take the time to do that. It reminds me of some fantastic advice from a young man who is an inspiration to me and so many others: Kid President.
So now that the first couple of weeks of the new semester have gotten started, I am going to work at getting back into blogging each day. Thank you for your continuing support! Please feel free to share something positive that has happened today!
Google Classroom
In my ongoing quest to find quality, worthwhile tools to integrate technology in the classroom, I recently decided to follow the lead of some my colleagues in my building and across the district and I registered my class for a Google Classroom account.
Google Classroom is a tool available through the Google Apps for Education suite that allows teachers to create and collect assignments electronically. This is hugely important for me for a couple of reasons:
- First, I am always looking for ways to cut down on the paper being generated in the classroom. While I want my students to be comfortable with writing with pencil and paper, but I also want them to use digital writing, too, so that we don’t go through thousands sheets of paper.
- Second, one of the technology standards for fourth graders is to type a one-page document in a single sitting. While there is currently considerable debate on what a “single sitting” constitutes, it is definitely important for them to have plenty of opportunities to build their stamina in typing.
While my main focus will be for students to type responses, Google Classroom will allow them to upload various file types, including all those created through Google Docs and any files saved on Google Drive. I had my class use Classroom for the first time this morning with their daily journal topic. Up until now, the topic had been written on the whiteboard and then each student would write a response on a notebook. With Classroom, the topic is posted on the site and then each student can type a response and share it directly with me via Drive. What makes it even better is that I can easily track which students have completed the assignment and which students are still working.
I’m excited to continue integrating Google Classroom and expanding our use of 21st Century technology tools in our room! I also hope that my students’ stamina will grow and their ability to use these tools accurately and efficiently.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration 2015
Each year our school has a special assembly to celebrate the life and accomplishments of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I don’t know how long this tradition has gone on, but I know it has been many, many years. This year’s assembly kind of snuck up on us, in part because of the two “cold days” we had right after winter break, which is when we usually plan and organise the assembly.
However, we were still able to put together a great program, in large part due to the Herculean efforts of our visual arts teacher and one of our dance/drama/music teachers. Different classes put together presentations, including songs, videos, and poetry recitals. The first graders sang a song about being peacemakers. One of the third grade classes shared a video about ways that they can make Dr. King’s dream a reality. A fifth grade class presented a video of students reading excerpts of poems by Langston Hughes. The other fifth grade class did a song. One of the fourth grade classes (not mine) did an animation based on a poem about Dr. King. (My class was going to do an animation to a song by the Beatles but we simply ran out of time.)
The entire assembly was led by the handsome engagement director guy from the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, who has been a long-time friend to Wiley Elementary School and has become a part of our school family over the years. Families were invited to attend and join in group singing while celebrating the work of a man who dedicated his life to ending racial inequality and fighting for justice. Our society still has a long way to go before we truly achieve the dream that Dr. King shared, but I truly believe we are doing better than we were in the past. This weekend, take some time to reflect on not just what Dr. King did, but also the other men and women who struggled to bring about civil rights for all people.
Acoustical Engineering
Miss C and I recently started an incredibly awesome project with our Learning Buddies. They are doing a science unit on acoustical engineering, using resources recently acquired by our instructional coach. For the next several weeks, they will be exploring problems related to sound and using the engineering process to learn about the problem, imagine a solution, develop a plan, create a solution, and improve it after testing it out.
We started last week with a pre-assessment by asking the first and fourth graders to tell us what sound is and then to think about a way to communicate a song. This week we both read a story to our classes called Kwame’s Sound about a boy in Ghana who is going to be playing the drum for an Odwira with his cousin Kofi and has to figure out how to share the rhythm he came up with. The challenge is that Kwame is blind and so he can’t use traditional written music. He uses his knowledge of the engineering design process that his acoustical engineer father has taught him.
When the students were together this afternoon, we had the students identify the elements of the engineering design process and then had them work on an assignment coming up with different words (onomatopoeias) to describe the sounds made by drums, elephants, birds, cell phones, and other things. One thing we discovered pretty quickly is that it is really, really, really difficult to come up with words that represent the sound an elephant makes. We have words to describe how the sounds is made, such as trumpeting, but we don’t have a true word for it. As a result, it was a lot of fun seeing what our students came up with!
I am really excited about this project and can hardly wait to see what our students will do next as they learn about acoustical engineering and actually put it into practice! If you had asked me even a month ago if I thought children under the age of 10 could even say the word “acoustical,” let alone use it correctly, I would have laughed! Now, though, I know better! We have a group of nearly 40 students who can define acoustical engineering, describe what acoustical engineers do, and explain the engineering design process!
Oh, and my class also knows what fufu is. Two of my students have even eaten it regularly. I may see if I can get one of their parents to make some to share with the class.
Buzzing for Math
I recently read a professional text that had been highly recommended by a very good friend. I was excited to read the book because it was written by an educator who has received many accolades for his work and because my friend had given it such rave reviews. It did not take me long to read the book but I had one problem: I did not like it. At all. Which is why I am not going to say the name of the book or the name of the author.
There were a few good insights that I wanted to implement in my classroom practices, though. One of them was the idea of thoroughly pre-teaching museum exhibits before bringing students there for a field trip. The other was a simple game to facilitate math fluency.
The game has several names when I look online, but the most common one is just Buzz. The concept is simple: students take turns counting by a specific number and when they get to a specific multiple of another name, they say “buzz” instead of that number. For example, students start counting by 1s. When a student gets to a multiple of 3, he or she says “buzz.” So it would go like this: 1, 2, buzz, 4, 5, buzz, seven, eight, buzz, 10, 11 . . . and so on. In this case, if a student said a multiple of 3 instead of buzz she would be out. If he says buzz instead of a number, he is also out. If a student doesn’t know what number is up next, he or she is out.
There are ways to make this game more complex. I wanted to use this as a way to get students to think about common multiples. One way to do this is to make it a game to play at the very end of the day. After all the chairs were stacked and students’ belongings were packed, they gathered on the carpet and stood around the edges of it. I had them take turns counting by one number and buzzing on another. The first game was a practice round. We counted by 10s and buzzed on 100s. So it went 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, buzz, 110, 120, . . . and so on. Once the students had a sense of what we were doing, I made it more challenging: count by 2s, buzz on 7s. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, buzz, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, buzz. . . The last round we did was counting by 3s and buzzing on 5s. 3, 6, 9, 12, buzz, 18, 21, 24, 27, buzz . . .
Like I said, it is a simple game, but it keeps the students engaged and they have to pay attention to what numbers of being counted, whose turn`it is, and when their own turn will be. I am hoping that Buzz will become a regular feature of our end-of-day routines, along with Around the World. Today was pretty successful. Tomorrow we will use it again, but I will use my two 12-sided dice to determine what number we are counting by and what number we are buzzing on. Hopefully this will become another incentive for students to further master their math facts!
Learning to Listen
Listening is an interesting concept. From its etymological roots, it means the same thing as hearing, but that isn’t actually how we use the word. To hear is to “perceive with the ear the sound made by someone or something.” To listen, on the other hand, is to “give one’s attention to a sound.”
“But wait,” some of you are thinking, “isn’t that essentially the same thing?”
No, not it isn’t.
There are a lot of sounds in the world around me that I perceive with the ear that I don’t give any attention to: the trains that go by my house several times a day, the ticking of a clock in the background, the sound of chairs or desks moving in the classroom, the buzzing in my left ear that is a result of my tinnitus. If I were to give my attention to these things, these sounds, all day long, it would drive me up the wall. So I learn to ignore them as much as possible. (I still notice them, of course. I just don’t make them the focus on my attention.)
Listening, on the other hand, requires me to focus on other people or other things. Listening involves hearing the sounds and responding to them appropriately. When I listen to a song, I hear the music but I think about it, too. I contemplate my feelings. Some music makes me feel excited. Some makes me feel sad. Some music is calming. I also listen to signals, such as the buzzing of the fire alarm, the blaring of the severe weather siren, the ringing of the bell to alert me to the start of the day, the start of lunch, and the end of the afternoon.
When it comes to listening, the biggest focus is listening to people. I am hearing what they are saying and responding appropriately? I am thinking about their words, or am I thinking about what I want to say next? Listening to students is even harder, because they often use words that mean one thing to mean but mean something completely different to them, and it is my responsibility to decode their messages.
I’ve been reading a book about this very issue. It is called How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk. Interestingly enough, this book isn’t actually a “how to” book. It is more of a “this is what we have learned works well, so if you want to try it how, here are some ideas” book. I am not even done with the book (in fact, I am barely into the second chapter) and much of what I’ve read has seemed fairly intuitive, but reading it has reminded me of the traps that adults fall into when we think we are listening to students. One of the biggest traps is trying to solve problems and give them the answers. We do this to each other, too.
I ask my students to reflect each week on what they can do better. Instead of talking at others, I want to focus on being better at talking with them. I think I do an okay job with this already, but I want to do better. So I have set a personal goal for myself: I need to start talking less and listening more. I need to let my students know that I am not only hearing their words, but I am giving them the attention they deserve. I also need to let my colleagues, my friends, and my family know the same thing. I found this quote and felt it was quite appropriate to this topic and a great way to end this post and the week:
Using eBooks
In my ongoing quest to find and use appropriate resources for my students to use with our Chromebooks, I have been fortunate to work in a district that is fully supporting these efforts. In addition to encouraging me to use the resources I have found and share them with others, district leaders have been able to secure resources for us. One such resource is Scholastic’s Storia School program.
With a collection of nearly 2,000 eBooks, my students can access high-quality literature that is sorted by guided reading level, grade level equivalent, genre, and a host of other ways. Each student has his or her own individual username set up through my classroom account so that they can track their reading, save books, and build their own collection on a digital bookshelf.
I introduced Storia School to my class this morning. My goal was to get everyone signed in and set up and then help explore the site. Of course, that isn’t what happened. Instead, students got signed in, found books, and started reading right away! In just 30 minutes, my 22 students got set up, logged in, and read, as a class, 1,097 pages from 58 eBooks. 11 of those books were read from start to finish. After reading, students are able to answer a short five-question quiz about the text. I love how engaged my students were and how excited they were to explore Storia and read!
I have just learned that school is being canceled tomorrow due to the severe cold weather, but I hope that at least some of my students will take advantage of their new Storia School accounts to get in some reading while at home!
Stay warm!
Student Saturday
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned having a guest post of sorts go up on Kirby Larson’s blog. I also mentioned that I was going to start incorporating her Teacher Tuesday concept on my blog with Student Saturdays. I am not going to use any of my students’ names, first, last, or even initials. I will just be featuring a different student’s response to a few questions I asked them each Saturday. I actually meant to start this two weeks ago, but you know, life…
Anyway, today is the first Student Saturday feature. I am not going to edit my students’ responses at all. I want this to be their voices sharing their ideas without any interference from me! My goal is to let each student have an opportunity to share a little bit about him- or herself with visitors to our blog. If you have any questions or remarks for them, feel free to leave them in the comments below and I will pass them on!
- What is your all-time favorite book? Why?
I don’t have a favorite book all the ones I read are really good so I can’t really tell
- Tell about a recent story, poem, or essay you have written. Why did you write it?
It’s called The Tale Of The Two Princess’s I wrote it because I felt like writing a book
- What has been the most challenging thing you have learned to do in math?
I don’t really know maybe two digit by two digit multiplication.
- What has been the best research project or science experiment you have done?
My French Explorer report.
- Who is your favorite person in all of history? Why?
In all of history maybe Leonardo Da Vinci because he was an awesome artist
- What is your favorite activity in P.E.? Why?
FOUR CORNER DODGEBALL AND BLOB TAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because they the awesomest games of all time
- What do you prefer to do during recess? Why?
In recess I like to play SORRY!! because it is awesome
- Describe fourth grade in just one word!
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So there you have it! Have a great weekend! School starts again on Monday!
