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Beverly Papove Inquiry, Learning in a Real Life Context

Everybody loves worms (in our class)

We have worms. Actually, there are three senior kindergarten classrooms with worms. Our parent council very generously paid for the vermicomposters and 2 pounds of Red Wrigglers which eat fruit and vegetable scraps from student lunches and snacks. If you don’t mind worms, they are a great class pet – fascinating, easy to handle, quiet and odourless (when fed properly). Setting each vermicomposter up and settling a few hundred worms into their new home is pretty straightforward, but I recommend following the instructions provided in the kit – the worms will be much happier, sooner.

To help with the settling in process, the students used authentic writing to make posters and signs so that visitors to the classroom would be aware of the worms at work. Also, for the first five days, the lights in the classroom needed to be on all the time because if the worms think it is daytime, they will stay in the dirt, otherwise, if they think it is nighttime, they will go out crawling. Signs were made NOT to turn off the lights, tape was placed over the light switch in case it was accidentally turned off, and the custodial staff were alerted and kindly asked to change their evening routines for a few nights. Despite all the warnings and signage, sadly, one classroom wasn’t so lucky with their worms as the light was turned off one evening….The morning I went to check on the Wrigglers , I was shocked to see the floor covered in dried worms scattered in a 5 foot circumference around the vermicomposter… Luckily, there were one or two worms who stayed put and will have to carry on all the work on their own for a while. In time, we will introduce some worms from the other 2 vermicomposters to increase the colony (if that’s what you call a collection of worms), however, the lights-on routine will have to happen again to make sure another exodus is averted.

We have big plans for the worms. So far, we’ve read the Diary of a Worm, made a poster of what they like to eat, and a mural of the underground world of worms and insects, using lengths of brown wool as worms that can be easily glued into squiggly tunnels. After a Knowledge Building Circle, we collected a host of intriguing questions the students have regarding how the worms live, eat, why they are the colour they are, etc. and so we will be guiding the students through this inquiry with the help of books, collective knowledge in our group, and observation. What’s fun is that the questions about worms are leading into wondering about other creepers and crawlers in our world – spiders, centipedes, beetles. And although winter will soon be upon us and the bug world out in our school yard will be covered in snow, the Museum of Nature in Ottawa has just begun a major show on insects which will run until the spring and which many students will be thrilled to attend. Myself included.

Will Gourley Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Wellness

Mental health in the hallowed halls.

Here’s a snippet from casual conversations playing out in school hallways everywhere.
Pick the lines you’ve heard or have used before.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfiupublicradio/5601192190 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
Photo Credit:
WFIU Public Radio

“How are you? How’s it going? What’s up? How’s it?”

“Good. Great. All good here. Meh. No worries. Busy. So busy. Cool. Not too bad. OK. Could be worse.”

What would you do if someone answered honestly saying; “Not good. I’m being bullied by a group of students. I don’t like my body. My parents are divorcing. No one likes me. I feel alone and sad all of the time”? Would you pull out the motivational clichés and tell the person to toughen up? Would you walk away saying, “hope you’re OK?” and “things will be better with time” or would you inquire further? Would you feel comfortable finding out the truth? Do you have enough emotional energy in the tank to make a difference?

Regardless of years of experience, many new teachers feel uncomfortable, even under-equipped when facing mental health issues in the classroom After all, we’ve been taught pedagogy, not psychology, in teacher’s college. That’s not completely true. We did learn about Maszlow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but that was so long ago, it was only a small series of lessons/readings, and  besides we have lessons to deliver.

In this post I want to share a side of education that Maslowdoes not get enough attention. I’m talking about mental health in schools.

Understanding and supporting students with mental health issues is as important in our classrooms as the curriculum we are instructing.

What keeps educators awake at night are the the same daily problems being encountered in classrooms around the world. I am a witness to how mental health issues are scarring education. There is a recurring generational amnesia in the hallways of educational institutions and it’s time we do more about it.

That may not seem like a light and lively subject for conversation, but discussion in all of these areas is crucial as it pertains to making our classrooms safe and inclusive learning spaces. How are you dealing with issues like this in your classroom? Here are a few ideas that have helped in my learning space.

In my classroom we have worked hard to develop a safe space for all learners. This means that we all try to support each other when times get tough. We try to use the idea of Ohana (family) where no one is alone or forgotten. We have instituted Mindfulness Moments as brain breaks. Students need time to consolidate their learning, and to be still/quiet for a few minutes. This little break in the action calms the mind, reduces anxiety and teaches students a valuable de-stressing skill.

In my classroom, there is always a little something to eat. It is amazing how a granola bar, a juice box, and some crackers can help a student who has not had enough to eat to start the day. During tests, quizzes or quests, as we call them, we have “test crackers”.  They’re tasty, crunchy, and important to helping students relax during assessment tasks. I have found that when a student has something to eat, albeit very small, they are more relaxed and perform better.*

In a follow up post I share some thoughts about mental health issues as they relate directly to educators. You’d be surprised how similar they are to those our students face. Or maybe not?

I need a granola bar.

* Maybe I’ve found a thesis to test for my M Ed?

Beverly Papove General

Assessment on the run

I am learning how to assess my kindergarten students on a daily basis so that when report card time rolls around, my English counterpart and I will have a bank of comments and observations on each student that we made in real time all through the term.

 

With 27 students in one class, and 25 in another, we would never be able to remember how each child was learning at different times of the year without the aid of on-going anecdotal assessments. So in order to help us remember, every day, we write observations on white address labels (4×2 inch) which we then put in binders. We have a boy binder and a girl binder, just to make it easier to flip through and find a child’s name. Each binder has dividers with a child’s name and about 5 pieces of paper for each child onto which we stick the labels. While the children are learning, we may sit down with a group and jot down what is going on with a few students. We make sure to include the date, the name of the child, the domain of learning (social, numeracy, literacy, etc), and what specifically occurred. Sometimes the note is rich in detail, other times, we get as far as a child’s name… I have noticed that this is especially true when the class is buzzing with an inquiry or a project. At those times, I feel I get caught up in the excitement and the business of fielding questions and filling requests for materials that I find it nearly impossible to stop and write something down!

 

To help with our memories, we use a school iPad to record what the students are engaged in, and include a general observation to describe what is going on at the moment of the photo. In these cases, computer technology can be a great help, or it can be a source of great frustration when it decides not to work. Most days, however, the iPad allows us to have a wonderful collection of action photos which we share with parents through the App “Remind”, highlighting some amazing learning moments in our SK class each day.

 

On their own, the binder or the iPad would not be sufficient as recording tools. Used together, however, I am finding the daily collection of information to offer more detailed snapshots of student learning in a way that is easy to maintain and easy to use for future reference.

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Equity

The Sound of the Recorder

This week in my class, my grade four students had their first lesson on the recorder. I know what you are thinking….musical bliss fills the room and everyone is transported to an elevated level of happiness. Unfortunately, day one of the recorder doesn’t quite bring up those feelings. As the students are still learning breath control and finger placement, day one sounds closer to possibly the worst sound that can be produced by 25 children simultaneously. Since I have been teaching recorder for a couple of years now, the day one sound no longer phases me and I know that after a couple of lessons the recorder will sound more like music and less like noise. However, this week I had an unusual experience on day one of the recorder with one of my grade four classes.

On Thursday afternoon, my last class was preparing for the very exciting first blow into the recorder. I reminded them about not blowing too hard, putting your left hand on top, covering the holes and away we went. One of my students, who is hearing impaired, quickly took the recorder out of his mouth and made a very pained facial expression. I went immediately to him and asked what was wrong. He told me that the noise was too loud. We spoke for a few minutes and we decided that he would move his chair across the classroom and try the lesson from there. We played for another 10 minutes or so and I checked in with him again. He told me that he was getting a headache from the noise so we put our recorders away for the day and switched over to playing a game about the staff.

After the class, I immediately spoke with the classroom teacher and asked for the contact information of the consultant who is familiar with this student’s case. We had a meeting the next day where we both brought up concerns around damaging the child’s hearing further and the ability to limit the noise but still continue to hear the teacher. During the meeting we came up with a few strategies that I could use to minimize the impact of the sound. I also had a meeting with my vice principal to ensure that he was allowed to go into the hall to work with a partner if he needs break from the sound (which is not common practice at my school).

Tomorrow, I will bring all of the strategies to my student to be discussed further. It is important that he have input into his learning and that he not feel like he is being excluded from the classroom. I will ensure that he has a lot of choice and that we can change things at any time if it is not working for him.

Finally, later this week, I will be calling home to discuss the plan of action and to inform the family of his reaction to the recorder which may be important in their next meeting with their audiologist.

Tisha Nelson Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Combined Grade Classes, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, General, Inquiry, Planning, Resilience

Yikes! I’m Teaching A “Split” Grade Class

Meet Linda. The start of the school year has come and gone and she has finally been successful at landing her first Long Term Occasional teaching assignment in October. It’s an FDK/Grade 1 class, and given the dynamics of the FDK program, she struggles to even make sense of what that might actually look like.

Meet Lester. After finally feeling settled with his Grade 5 class, he learns that as a result of a school wide reorganization, his neatly packaged single-grade class has now become a “split-grade” class.

Do either of these situations sound familiar? Do these narratives hold true for your current experience? Before you pull out your hair or scream, here are some practical strategies that will help you navigate this new experience. Consider the following 3Cs, Context, Community and Curriculum, for teaching in a multigrade classroom.

Context: Although a multigrade classroom is not the ideal setting for an optimum teaching and learning experience, it is worth re-imagining the situation as a combined class rather than a “split grade.” The idea of a “split” gives the impression of a type of separateness that does not accurately describe the context of learning in a class of students who generally are within the same developmental stages. The great news is that combined grade class have of two consecutive grades in one class as opposed to grades that are years apart. In this way, a combined grade class maintains a similar diversity of students, range of learning styles, social skills and academic needs as in a single grade classroom.

Community: Rethinking the notion of a “split” grade can do wonders for the type of classroom environment you nurture. As in any class dynamic, students learn best in an environment that is inclusive and fosters a of sense community and belonging. As such, the ways in which the class environment is setup should work to unite students rather than separate them based on grade. Students should have opportunities to work in flexible groupings using a range of collaborative learning structures as often as possible to invite positive peer interactions through both collaborative and independent learning situations. A combined grades should never be thought of as housing two classes in one room. Rather, students should know that they are one class engaging in similar learning opportunities. Students should be taught how to navigate their unique learning situation by explicitly teaching the importance of cooperation, and how to engage in learning that takes on a variety of groupings; such as whole class, small group, partners or even independent learning. Inviting leadership opportunities and encourage students to view their peers as resources will help to establish a community based on cooperative interdependence.

Curriculum: The idea of covering a combination of two curricula is one of the primary concerns for teachers who have been assigned combined grades. In Ontario, thankfully, many of the content areas align in ways that make tackling both grades more manageable. These content areas include Mathematics, Language, Health and Physical Education and The Arts. In these curricular areas, differentiating instruction is an essential tool for ensuring that the overall expectations of each grade is addressed and assessed. Differentiating content, process and product will allow for a seamless flow between the different grade expectations. At the same time, using the gradual release of responsibility will set the tone for independence that is often essential in a combined grade classroom. For content areas that are less similar such as Social Studies and Science, teaching through an inquiry framework allows teachers to focus on essential skills and invite students to apply those skills in different contexts. By focusing whole-class instruction on big ideas, thinking processes and strategies, teachers are able to engage students in parallel learning experiences while differentiating content.

Teaching a combined grade is never easy. But with the heart for learning and the art of teaching with finesse, even the least of ideal situations can be one that is done successfully.

For more information about teaching in a combined grade class, check out the resource Learning Together: A Teacher’s Guide to Combined Grades at Shop ETFO.

Mike Beetham Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Communication with Parents and Guardians, false allegations

Protect Yourself and Document

I want to share with you one of the most taxing and emotional experiences I have had in my three decade long career as a teacher. I work with a very challenging group of students who all have aggressive, violent tendencies and have significant struggles in learning socially appropriate skills they need to function in their day-to-day lives. As their teacher I am faced with the task of helping them develop self-regulation strategies, teach them how to interact with peers and adults in a safe and respectable manner and of course move them forward on the academic continuum.

In September, one of my students was struggling with complying to simple adults requests and would often escalate to verbal barrages of profanity in an attempt to goad me and/or my team into an argument. We of course would not buy into his behavior, so that student decided to further escalate the scenario to aggressive acts of throwing things, kicking things and yelling insults. Once again we remained calm and focused on our message of coaching that student to calm. On this particular occasion, the student chose to completely ignore us and began to punch a wooden bookshelf. At that point our team was faced with the burden of having to remove the rest of the students and physically intervene in order to stop the student from certain injury. My colleague and I then moved into a physical restraint that lasted for about 15 minutes at which time the student calmed and we were able to move forward with our debriefing session.

When the student was calm I checked for injuries on the hand that had punched through a wooden bookcase. We administered proper first aid, fully documented the scenario that had took place in our classroom, had kept our principal informed throughout the process and finally called the parent to update her on what had occurred and the status of her child. Throughout the day we monitored the student’s hand, updated the parent and continued on with our inclass model of assisting the student with solving the problem that was created.

That evening I was informed by my principal that the police had been called by the parent and that Family and Children’s Services was going to conduct an investigation into the allegation the next morning. I immediately contacted my ETFO President to seek advice. Over the next 12 hours I was on an emotional roller coaster. I checked and rechecked all of our documentation, went over the  child’s safety plan that we had followed and prepared to the best of my abilities for what was to come.

The next morning I participated in a meeting that included my principal, our superintendent, my ETFO President and the worker from Family and Children’s Services. Over the next three hours I answered questions, shared my documentation, toured my class where the scenario had taken place, shown them the damaged book case and then waited for what seemed like eternity for a decision as to whether I would be deemed safe to return to my professional responsibilities.

Fortunately for me, the evidence was extremely clear that my team had not only acted in the best interest of the child to ensure that further injury did not occur but had also had used our Behaviour Management System training and safety plan appropriately. BUT, had it not been for there being two adults there, detailed and ongoing documentation, clear and open communication to all parties and support from ETFO I am sure that this could have easily turned into a larger nightmare for me.

So once again, I encourage you to safeguard yourself against the possibility of false allegations by familiarizing yourself with safe practices as outlined by our provincial office. If you have any questions please seek support from your union. I hope that my experience can help ensure that other teachers do not ever have to face what I went through.

 

 

Kelly.McLaughlin Before School Starts

Getting the class ready in September

Over the summer I had a lot of free time. I found I had time to finally read a book I had received as a graduation gift called “The First Days of School” by Wong and Wong. This book taught me all about the things to do to get ready for the first days of school. It is now October and the things I found most rewarding and the things that really helped the most were:

1. Developing routines as a class and practicing them over and over again so that they were reinforced to all my students. The one routine I found we really needed to go over was stacking chairs and cleaning desks off before they went home.

2. Getting the classes attention was a very necessary act to demonstrate and develop. We came up with the clapping method which gets the students attention no matter what they are doing. I even asked that any student do it anytime they want the whole classes attention whether they are presenting from the front of the room or they want the classes attention from their desk.

3. It was also helpful to leave a lot of walls blank to add student work in the first weeks of school rather than cover it with inspirational posters or unnecessary paperwork.

4. Another thing I found really helpful was making red/green signs that students flip around when they need help at their desk. Red means they need your help and green means they are working independently and they are ok. This helps students stay focused because they do not need to raise their hand or wander around the class to get you.

All these things are more I all found in the amazing book I read and I continue to use tips from that book daily. It also offers great advice about lessons and how to focus them for maximum student success. I look forward to the next month of school!

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Classroom Layouts, General

Seven Reasons I Like to Gather My Students at the Carpet

I’m a little late getting this one posted. There was recently a death in my family, and my head just hasn’t been in the teaching game. I’ve been off work for almost a year, too, and man I can’t wait to get back. Staying home with a baby is cool, but I miss the madness of a busy Junior classroom! On that note, let’s just jump right in…

I rarely use my chalkboard. Sometimes a whole week will pass with the notes from Monday’s lesson still there, untouched but for spots where my students ran their fingers through the chalk on their way by. One section of my chalkboard is dedicated to reminders to be written in the agenda – but since I don’t assign homework (an issue for another post), even that is rarely used.

There is no “front” to my classroom, either. There isn’t one place where I stand while teaching, one spot where my students know to look for me if it’s lesson time. My desk and my computer are on opposite sides of the room. My students sit in groups/pods, not rows.

I am, I guess, what you would call a fairly non-traditional teacher.

When it comes time for whole class discussions, more often than not, I gather my students on the large carpet. (Okay, up until last year, my “carpet” was actually two giant rugs I bought from IKEA with my own money… but last year, RIGHT before I went on maternity leave, my principal let me know that I was getting my very own large rug provided by the board. Awesome! I’ve seen it. It’s great. I can’t wait to use it!)

Gathering students is awesome. It was something that was never really talked about during my teacher training, nor did I see a lot of my colleagues doing it. I started doing it in my Grade 5 class because I had set up a really lovely little reading corner and found that my students really enjoyed the space. We used it for read alouds at first, but since I saw the benefits of having them there, I expanded it to most lessons. Now, four years later, I pretty much only teach that way. Why is it so awesome? Let me tell you!

1) No desks, no random things to play with. We’ve all had students who just can’t keep their hands out of their desks or their chair on the floor during lessons. I got tired of telling my students to keep all four feet of the chair on the floor every few seconds. I got tired of trying to keep their hands out of their desks. When the class is gathered on the carpet, there are no desks to hold tempting trinkets and no chairs to lean back in.

2) Kids can move. I find it much easier to accommodate students who need to move around when we are gathered at the carpet. Kids who benefit from being able to walk around during lessons can sit on the edge of the carpet, giving them freedom to get up and move without disrupting their peers. When you want to give the whole class a body break, you don’t have to hear thirty chairs all screeching at the same time.

3) You can set up centres before class. Sometimes I set things up on my desk pods while my students aren’t in class. When they come in and see things on the desks – group work supplies, science experiments, etc. – they know to go straight to the carpet instead. From there, I can give all instructions and send students off to the desk pods without worrying about them touching things or having to set things up while they wait.

4) It’s easier to hear everyone. Students can hear me better, I can hear them better, and they can hear each other better when we’re all in a group on the carpet. It’s a smaller space, so even the quieter students can speak their minds without too much difficulty. I don’t have to project as much, which makes me seem “softer,” if that makes sense. Redirection doesn’t seem so harsh, reassurance seems even kinder.

5) Turn and talk is more varied. I find my students never sit in the same place every time, so when you ask your students to “turn and talk” during a lesson, suddenly they’re speaking with a wider variety of peers when they’re gathered on the carpet. In pods, they are always stuck talking to the same peers, and that gets a little stale.

6) Students need fewer reminders to pay attention. When you have students sitting in pods, the temptation to look across the desks to the person sitting in front of you is huge. You can make faces, pass notes, generally just not pay attention… and it’s pretty easy to get away with, too. Sitting on the carpet, everyone is facing one direction: the speaker. It becomes glaringly obvious when you turn to speak to the person next to you. When you aren’t paying attention, you get called on it immediately. Very quickly, students learn that during carpet time, they’re just better off paying attention from the get go.

7) It feels like a community. There’s something really nice about everyone sitting together as a group on the carpet. Instead of sitting in pods or rows, you’re sitting with all of your peers together. It feels different.

There are many, many more reasons why I like having my students gather on the carpet, but hopefully those gave you at least a few things to consider. If you never gather your students together (and you can do this even if you don’t have a carpet – the bare floor works, but you can always do it outside, too!) maybe think about trying it out for a read aloud one day. You might be surprised by how much your students enjoy it, even at the Junior level!

Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning in a Real Life Context, Resilience, Students as Teachers

The Power Of A Story

Story is a magical tool that can bring to your students exactly what they need or want at any time in your day, week, month or year. When my students need to laugh I find a story that brings us to belly laughing. When my students need to understand empathy, a story helps them look beyond their own needs to the needs of others. When my students need to learn a lifelong lesson, I find a story where we learn from the positive or negative choices of the characters. Story, whether it is bound with a beautiful cover or comes from the mouth of an 8 year old captivates all of us.

I want to share with you how a young, heroic young girl named Maya has helped change my students and I. Several years ago I met Maya as she entered our school in Grade 1. Maya has had to deal with the effects of a brain tumour all of her life. She has encountered the ill effects of chemotherapy and made hundreds of hospital visits that each time involved some kind of painful treatment. She has lost some mobility, has limited vision and struggles with learning new concepts. Yet despite all of those barriers to living a regular life she is this magical, bundle of positive energy that lights up a room. When you are around Maya you can’t help but smile and enjoy life.

I teach some very challenging students who have learned how to use aggression and violence as a way to deal with the struggles they face. Our first unit in our class this year was looking at heroes, both fictional superheroes and nonfictional everyday heroes. We established some criteria as to what makes a hero and have been examining a variety of characters and real people to determine if they will make it to our hero board. I told my class that they were going to be able to meet one of my heroes. They were all excited and made multiple predictions as to who that hero might be and what made them a hero to me. So on one quiet Thursday morning the call from the office came that our guests had arrived. I went down with our class receptionist and welcomed them. As you would expect, the excitement was at a peak as to who would walk through our classroom door. As Maya carefully and slowly made her way in to our circle area there was an absolute look of shock. How could this young girl be Mr. B’s heroine?

Over the next hour, Maya with the help of her Mom shared her story. The group was captivated as they went through a spectrum of emotions listening to the courageous story of Maya. Despite my knowing and hearing this story many times, the students noticed the tears in my eyes. By the time Maya was ready to leave, the boys had embraced her and made her an official part of our classroom.

Needless to say, the letter writing we did that afternoon was some of the most powerful I had experienced with this group of students.There are so many stories out there that can and need to be shared to help all of us become better people.

 

Will Gourley General, Professional Learning and Growth, Resilience, Start of the year

The Re-Org

Well, it’s bound to happen in any school once, but again? That’s new.

I teach in an amazing school in York Region that opened in Sept. 2014; right in the middle of a growing subdivision. Our original numbers for K to 8 seemed modest  at 300+ last year, and have since grown to over 5oo+ and rising in 2015.

Yup! Despite the statistical wizardry school boards use to construct population models, even the most seasoned actuaries struggle to solve an illusive problem in education, that of population growth or decline. As such, many schools like ours needed to be “re-organized”, and with that come a few highs and lows.

Re-Org

After months of prepping, planning and perspiring to start the year, our school has been re-organized to accommodate the incredible growth in our area. This week many students were introduced to new classes, new routines, new schedules, and new teachers. At the same time, teachers were introduced to new students,  had to choose which students to transition to new classes, rewrite plans/paperwork, and prepare for the possibility of different teaching assignments. None of which is ultimately a bad thing on its own, but to a new teacher it can be pretty daunting.

To outsiders, reorganization is something related to the business world that is usually a precursor to bankruptcy proceedings. In education it is merely a reality due to unpredictable student population growth and decline. Here’s a brief explanation as explained to parents;

“In order to comply with the Ministry class size reduction strategy, we have had to move small groups of students from many different classes. This process was done with emphasis put on academic needs, boy/girl ratios and social needs of students.”

In education it is an important measure to preserve government mandated class sizes in all elementary panels. As any teacher who has experience Re-Org knows, classes can be overcrowded to start the year. Frequently, JK/SK teachers can have 30 +/- , as can junior and intermediate teachers.

As students fill the classrooms to capacity and beyond, the need for more manageable class sizes becomes necessary and mandatory. This could mean more or less split/combined classes, new hires, surplusing, a complete reworking of teaching assignments, and or no change at all. Actual class sizes will then vary depending on the school, administrative creative class structuring, and or willingness to reorganize classrooms to accommodate what has been  “mandated” by lawmakers.

As a teacher it helps to be able to adapt/adjust and advocate for yourself when Re-Org happens. You are not alone. If you are new to teaching, ask for some support from your admin or a teacher who has gone through it before. Take time to communicate with students, clarify changes to schedules (yours and theirs), and collaborate with colleagues for resources, plans and curriculum content.

With school’s officially starting in September, it may not be until Re-Org in October when the routines, roll call, and real teaching can begin. You can do it.