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Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Classroom Management, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning About Your Students, Start of the year

Advice for Starting Partway Through the Year

This particular post comes to you as I try to wrap my head around going back to work on Monday after fifteen months off. I left mid-October of 2014 after being placed on medical leave for the last few months of my pregnancy, handing off a lovely group of students to a great teacher for the rest of the year. That was difficult, but I knew they were in good hands. This time, I’m taking over a class someone else has been teaching for the first half of the year – something I find much more difficult.

This isn’t the first time I’ve taken over for another teacher. Having done this a few times now at different grade levels, I’ve learned a few things to help make the process a little smoother.

Introduce yourself! This might seem like a no-brainer to some of you out there, but communication with families is really important. No matter what time of year you’re starting, you should either send a letter home or invite families into the school to meet you. I actually like to do both. Your letter doesn’t have to be huge and really shouldn’t be your life story, but a little bit of background is nice to include – where you’re from, how long you’ve been teaching, that sort of thing.

Get to know your students. I start the first day by playing a few get-to-know-you games, then transition into a variety of activities meant to provide insight into where my students are with language. I’m a French Immersion teacher, and at my level I don’t teach math, but if I did I would include some activities to learn their problem solving/reasoning skills in that subject as well.

Find out your students’ goals for learning. This is the perfect time of year to talk about goal setting and have your students do a learning skills self-assessment (in fact, I do that every year already). Goal setting can tell you a lot about a student and where their strengths are. I find students are typically very honest when discussing their learning skills, too. Those two activities can give you a lot of insight into your students’ strengths and areas for improvement.

Don’t try to change the routine all at once. You don’t have to be stuck with the routine the previous teacher put into place before you arrived, but you really shouldn’t overhaul everything at once. Transitioning from one teacher to another is already stressful for students, so try to keep most of the routine familiar to them while you gradually implement your own ideas. It’s hard to rein in your excitement, I know, and sometimes you just have so many ideas you want to try them all right away before you forget them. Resist that urge – you don’t want to overwhelm your students.

Resist gossiping about the previous teacher, either with colleagues or students and their families. I’ve been there, I know all about it: people will try to engage you in discussing the previous teacher’s style, personality, and methods. Just don’t do it. I probably don’t have to tell anyone this.

Don’t take on too much outside the classroom. I love running extracurricular activities, but when I’m starting an assignment partway through the year, I try to limit how much I’m doing other than teaching my class. I need the extra time to plan and, I’ll be honest, unwind. You have lots and lots and lots of years ahead of you to do the drama club or sports team you love doing. Sometimes, it’s incredibly liberating to just have to worry about teaching your class every day.

Remember that students need time to adjust. Don’t take anything they say or do the first few weeks personally – I’ve had students decide on the first day that they hate me, only to have them declare me their favourite teacher by the end of the year. I’ve had students do a complete 180 in behaviour when I started. Students will react differently from one teacher to the next, and they need time to adapt to having a new teacher.

Finally, don’t be discouraged. I find starting partway through the year much harder than starting at the beginning. I feel lost for a few weeks every time, and I think that’s a normal part of the process. Just like at the beginning of the year, it will take time for you to find your footing and get into a groove with your new class. All you can do is show up and do your best every day.

Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Constant Learning, Inspiring Students, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Professional Learning and Growth, Student Ownership

Classroom Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions are a time-tested tradition in which individuals make personal commitments to improve in some aspect of their life. I have used this activity in my classroom for over two decades and find it to be a wonderful, fun tool in helping both myself and my students set goals on how to make the most of their academic year.First and foremost I model this activity for my students by reflecting on my first four months of the school year. I determine what went well and what do I need to do to further enhance the success of my students. I set personal resolutions in the following areas:

  1. Continue – what practices are going very well and should continue in the new year
  2. Improve – what practices have not went as well as expected and what do I need to do to improve that area of my teaching
  3. Experiment – what new area or tool would I like to start to experiment with in my day-to-day practice

This year my resolutions are going to be to continue with the use of technology as an alternative option for demonstrations of learning. I will improve in my area to both understand and apply the concept of sensory accommodations in the room (especially around noise). I will start to experiment with social media and how it can become an option for my classroom pedagogy.

For my students it starts with a discussion around New Year’s Resolutions and how it is a part of their life. Most often they talk about how the adults in their life make resolutions around quitting smoking, losing weight or exercising more. The conversation shifts to what the purpose of a resolution is and why people make them. I pose the following question, ‘Should only adults make New Year’s Resolutions?’. Of course their answer is always no. That leads us to talking about the types of resolutions that children might make. It always generates a very rich discussion about how we are individuals with different strengths, different needs and different lifestyles. That focus in itself is a key vehicle in which our group comes to understand and accept the uniqueness of each other.

The final product that is used by my students is a graphic organizer that will focus on four different areas of their life. The first is personal health. What do they need to do in order to be healthier (exercise more, less screen time, eat healthier)? The second focus is on happiness. What will they do in order to be happier in their life? The third area is academics. What do they need to spend more time on in order to be successful? The final component will be on friendships. How will they be a better friend or seek out more friendships? For the month of January we review these resolutions every Friday. After that we look at them every 2-3 weeks and finally in our year-end celebration we examine how successful we have been in reaching our resolutions. Over time I have had the students put them in a time capsule that is opened up much later in the year as well as having them take it home and share with family or a close friend. Whatever way they are used, it is an enjoyable way to start the new calendar year off.

Will Gourley General, Mental Health, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

A word or three about 2015

Last day to come clean. Tomorrow is January 1, 2016 – New Year’s Day on the Gregorian Calendar for those keeping score at home. It’s also a Leap Year too, so I wrote a lesson about it. With 365 days in the books and a great year ahead, I wanted to share a few words that have kept me hopping in 2015;

Resilience Patience Silence

Silence – In 2015, I worked really hard to step aside and listen. I learnt to listen to all of the voices in the room, not just the most frequent and loudest ones. By being silent more students were empowered to find and have their voices heard.

Silence took on another form in the classroom again in 2015. It meant that students had time to consolidate new ideas into enduring understandings in a calm and stress free environment. In 2015 we took time to be still and allow our minds to catch up from the daily bombardment of outside stimuli. We learnt about Mindfulness and how it can help in the classroom.

Patience – Patience is not a cliche, but a call to inaction at its purest. When I felt the most vulnerable in my practice as a teacher this word held me on the rails. I’ll admit, that there were times when it felt like that my life as an educator was only a penny left on the tracks away from a train wreck. At times when anxieties rose the word patience steadied me when I wasn’t feeling it that day.

Patience also guided my class room management style. Students need time, they need understanding, and they need someone in their corner while they work things out. Patience is like counting to 10. It can be the difference between a hasty [over]reaction or a thoughtful response. Patience is the lens by which we all need to see that things are not always as they appear.

Resilience – In 2015 the word resilience has worked its way to the top on a lot of lists as the 4th R in education. In my estimation, resilience is, and always will supersede the other Rs because it transcends the classroom.  We must allow students to ideate, learn, iterate, fail, succeed and repeat.

If all we are doing is programming students with the software from a curriculum, and never allowing them to test their own operating systems and hardware, then we are missing the chance to develop lifelong problem solving skills. Resilience is what makes first attempts in learning bigger than the FAIL acronym, by being the launch pad for lifelong learning.

Learning must be relevant to their lives, not ours. We cannot expect students to care about something totally antiquated and irrelevant to their world and future. Our role as knowledge mediums and intellectual fire starters is to kindle a spark of curiosity in students to become constant learners. Resilience can be developed by equipping and evolving real life problem solving skills now. My students are expected to do this everyday. As our class motto asks, “What are the real life problems you are solving today?”

So as the hours tick towards another new year I look back with appreciation on a great year of learning and look forward to another year ahead. May silence, patience, and resilience be part of your classroom in 2016. I know they will be part of mine.

Happy New Year.

 

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Literacy

My Favourite Books for the Junior Grades

I am what one would call an avid reader. My “To Read” pile never really seems to get any shorter; in fact, I think I add books to it faster than I read them. One of my great joys as a teacher is sharing my love of reading with my students. This is admittedly somewhat difficult in my current assignment (teaching first-year French Immersion to Grade 4 students) but I still keep a list of my favourite novels just on the off chance that I ever teach English again. If all else fails, I look forward to introducing my daughter to these books!

If you’re looking for a novel to read with your junior class, consider these titles. You know your students, and not all classes would be able to handle the subjects dealt with in these books – but I’ve taught several classes which were more than capable of reading these and giving them the thought they deserve.

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Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

It’s likely not news to anyone that dystopian fiction is very in right now. Before the Hunger Games or Divergent series hit the shelves, though, Lois Lowry was writing a series of equally powerful and moving novels. Many teachers are familiar with The Giver, which was recently turned into a movie, but fewer are familiar with Gathering Blue. It tells the story of Kira, a girl born into a town where the weak or disabled are left to die and only the strong are allowed to fully integrate into society. When her mother dies, she is put through a trial to determine whether she has any worth to society, and her talent with embroidery saves her life. Rather than being left out in the field to die, she is given the task of maintaining the embroidered robe which tells the “story of man” and is used by those in power to help keep this society in line.

It’s a dark story in many ways, but it’s accessible to and written for teens and older children. It isn’t violent the way Hunger Games or Divergent are, and is similar in tone to The Giver, which is set in the same world (but not the same society and the books can be read as stand-alones). It addresses difficult topics like euthanasia, disability, parent loss, and corruption – challenging, to be sure, but important. It ends on an uplifting note suggesting change is on the horizon.

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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

This one is likely already on many teachers’ lists. It tells the story of Brian, a young boy who is struggling with the divorce of his parents. On his way to visit his father, his small plane crashes, leaving him stranded in the wilderness. The book is about his survival: how he finds food and shelter, how he copes with his memories of home and family, and how he is eventually rescued. It’s an excellent story about survival against the odds. It addresses divorce through the eyes of a child, which would likely speak to those students who have gone through similar experiences with their own families. It could easily tie into Social Studies during or after reading. In short, it’s well worth the time to read it with your class and offers up many opportunities for rich discussion.

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Wonder by R.J. Palacio

If you haven’t heard about this book yet, you should really look into it. It has been making its way into classrooms for the last four years, celebrated for sparking discussion on empathy and compassion. The book tells the story of Auggie, a young boy with Treacher-Collins Syndrome and a cleft palate, whose parents decide to enroll him in private school after homeschooling him for the first eleven years of his life. One of the most interesting things about the book is how it’s told: we hear the story from multiple points of view, not just from Auggie. Experiencing the story this way makes it more accessible to the reader, as we watch characters struggle with their feelings as they get to know Auggie. It’s an honest narrative about acceptance and empathy, one that many students would be able to relate to, and has worked wonders in classrooms across the continent in reducing bullying.

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There are so many worthwhile books out there for students at this age, and while it can seem a little scary sometimes to imagine discussing some of these topics at the junior grades, I assure you that it’s possible (and great) to do. There are challenging topics in all of these books, so you’ll want to read them yourselves and make a decision for your class using your professional judgement. Here are a few more recommendations, without going into detail about them, which you should check out if you’re looking for more:

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell

Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George

Watership Down, Richard Adams*

The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman*

*These last two suggestions are longer and more difficult reads than the other books in this post. They are excellent works of fiction, but would need the right class and some help from the teacher in understanding some of the writing.

I’m always on the lookout for new books to recommend to my students or add to my classroom library (which I maintain in English and French), so if you have any favourites not mentioned here, let me know!

Beverly Papove Inquiry, Planning

Plans for January

Well, it’s a good thing I hadn’t planned on trying an inquiry on SNOW this year. With the unusually warm weather, I am wondering if maybe an inquiry on climate change would be more appropriate! However, that would be a rather depressing topic for 5 year olds (as it would be for people any age), and regardless of the lack of snow, there is still plenty to explore about Winter.
During the last week of school before the holidays, we had our team meeting to make sure we all have an idea of what we will be doing when we jump back into the game in January.
Here’s what I am planning on doing when we get back:

 

  1. I’d like to do a Winter Web of ideas, to gather what the students know about “What Happens in Winter”. Following a field trip to a bird sanctuary in early December, we have been reading books and talking about what people, plants, animals and bugs are doing as the weather gets colder. A Winter Web will help anchor the ideas and vocabulary we are hoping to expand upon through our inquiry.
  2. Winter Wonder Wall – A Knowledge Building Circle is so helpful for giving students a space to ask their questions, and where possible, to have them answered by their peers. We write “I wonder” questions that need more exploration on sentence strips and will post them on the board beside the Winter Web to be answered as discoveries are made. To help with our Winter Inquiry, we are really looking forward to a presentation from the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre where we will learn to play some Inuit Games as well as see and touch Inuit clothing and tools.
  3. Assessment/Evaluation – Following threads of wonder, each of the educators for our classes (2 ECE educators, 1 English teacher and 1 French Immersion teacher) will provide opportunities, such as the live Bear Cam of two grizzlies hibernating at https://www.grousemountain.com/wildlife-refuge/bear-cam , for the students in both classes to explore in more depth an aspect of the Winter Inquiry (hibernation, adaptation, migration, etc.) The goal is for the students to show us what they have learned about “What Happens in Winter”.

 

I am not sure how this inquiry will evolve. I can imagine our classrooms being completely transformed into wild places where the sand and water tables have hibernating reptiles and insects deep below the surfaces; where the cubbies are stuffed not with backpacks and coats, but furry animals curled up for a long sleep, and where tables and shelves have evidence of the life cycle of various plants. And in the middle of the space (with the windows wide open), the children, dressed for the cold, are playing Inuit Games. Sounds rather perfect, however, we will have to see where the students decide to take their learning. Stay tuned!

Tammy Axt General

Art in a Contained ASD class

This year as part of my teaching package, I was asked to teach art one period a week in a contained ASD class. Surprisingly, it has become one of my favourite periods of the week and something I look forward to. There are 6 students in the classroom with a variety of needs and challenges but we have somehow managed to create some really cute art during the first four months of school.

Let me be upfront and honest. I have very few artistic skills. Therefore, the thought of leading anyone in art was a little nerve racking. To combat this problem I relied on the knowledge of my student’s interests, Pintrest and amazingly supportive colleagues to come up with some fun projects.

Before we began every project, I showed them all the finished product and had step by step verbal instructions to complete the task. This highly structured environment enabled all of them to be successful and lowered stress levels for some of the students. art making (2)

We all sat at the table together and the materials were placed in front of every students work station.

 

Some of the art we created was inspired by the students’ interests.

One of the students in the class loves animals. To inspire our art lesson,  I made a prezi about my cat Harley https://prezi.com/vquishjdeok3/my-cat-harley/. We then made our own Harley kittens out of paper plates, paint and construction paper.

cat art

Another student in the class loved the book “A Soup Opera” that we read last year in music. I took one of the images from the book and we recreated it in another art lesson.

soup booksoup art

A song called “5 Little Pumpkins” was the inspiration for another art piece. After we learned the song, we made our own 5 little Pumpkins.

pumpkinart

A colleague of mine lent me a book with a variety of art activities in it. We made teeth puppets out of paper plates and gloves. We then created tooth brushes out of recorder cleaners and tissues and sang the song “You brush your teeth”

tooth art

Another helpful tool this term was Pintrest. I sure I am the last person in the teaching profession to find out about this great tool and the next two winter art pieces were inspired from art on Pintrest.

snowman art

penguin art

 

I have taught other contained classes the arts in the past and some further considerations to keep in mind before starting are:

  1. In some classes scissors could be very dangerous if not probably monitored.
  2. Oral fixations that result in consumption of glue, clay or art materials is a possibility for some students. Make sure to read the student’s IEP and speak with their classroom teacher before bringing these materials
  3. Knowing your students’ triggers are important. I had a student in the past where holding a pencil caused them a lot of anxiety so I planned accordingly.
  4. Have a very clear plan about the pairing of student with staff to create the best scenario for success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will Gourley Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Students

The gift

It’s Monday.
I should be in the classroom right?
Nope, not this week, or the next one either (insert thoughts of appreciation here).

It’s the Winter break and millions of students and teachers are waking up to the first of 10 vacation days. WooHOO! My internal clock did not get that message. Neither did my clock radio alarm as it went off at 5:55 am as always. So as the chorus of Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield blared, I pressed snooze for the first time since September.
15 minutes later I’m up, dressed, and drinking the first of the day’s many coffees. That’s enough sleeping in for one day.

It has been a hectic 4 months in the classroom.
The months have flown by at the speed of learning(my term).
Not that it’s a bad thing, but frenetic might be an apt single word descriptor.
With reports going home late this year, ongoing committees, teams and extra-curricular activities in full swing to accompany day to day instruction my schedule is full. Needless to say, free time is in short supply.

As the Christmas/Winter Holidays approached, students started hinting about gifts, our school concert, and ideas for class parties. Soon we were discussing clothing and toy drives and plans for the break.

1. “Mr G., I noticed you drink a lot of coffee. Would you like coffee for Christmas?”
2. “Can I volunteer to be an ambassador for the school concert?”
3. “Mr G., here are some toys I brought in for our toy drive. Can I bake some cookies for the class?”
4. “I don’t have a gift for you. I’m sorry.”

Here are my answers in order;

1. Yes please and that’s very thoughtful of you to ask.
2. Yes, you’d be a great ambassador. Thank you for stepping up.
3. What a kind gesture. Some cookies would be awesome as long as they are peanut free.
4. You do not need to apologize or give me a gift. Coming to class, everyday, willing to learn has been the best gift a teacher could receive, and you have been giving it since September. I should be giving you a present.

On the last day before the break we tidied the class, stacked desks, and arranged chairs in a circle for a social activity. Cookies, candy canes, and cheer were shared – along with fun draw prizes for every student. I was blessed with a number of thoughtfully worded cards and generous gifts including coffee(I can quit anytime).

While were all sitting in our social circle I began reflecting more on the conversation with the student who said he had no gift to give.  As I shared with him then, his gift to me arrived everyday in his hard work and positive attitude. I realized he had offered me another amazing gift – a chance to encourage my class; to let all of the students know how their hard work and desire to learn were the best gifts a teacher could ever receive.  So before the bells rang and the best wishes wished that gift was shared with the class.

As I look back on the first four months it is clear to see that the holidays in our class started in September because we gathered, we shared, and gifts were given.

Christmas Card 2015Merry Christmas   Joyeux Noel
Happy Holidays   Season’s Greetings
Happy Gregorian Calendar New Year

 

 

Tisha Nelson General, Professional Learning and Growth

Resolutions for the Year to Come

As elementary school teachers, we have the opportunity to celebrate the new year at least twice a year. The first happens in September with the start of a new school year and the second, in January, with the mark of the beginning of a new solar calendar year. As we approach the latter event, I take this moment to reflect on some of the things that I wish to continue to embrace as I move forward – some renewed new year’s resolutions of sorts.

1. Have fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Teaching is the best job on earth. Enjoy the opportunity to the fullest.

2. Make time to connect with your colleagues. Whether it be in the staff room at lunch or in the hall as you pass by, invests in professional relationships with your colleagues. You are on the same team and teamwork doesn’t simply happen by working in the same building.

3. Be okay with not knowing. In the spirit of inquiry, be willing to embrace the learning in the process as well as the learning at the end of it.

4. Focus on 1-2 professional learning goals at a time. There will always be new initiatives and ideas to grapple with. Be sure to feel comfortable with one new thing a year and you will not feel overwhelmed by trying to grapple with them all.

5. Enjoy recess duty. While ensuring the safety of your scholars, it is also a great opportunity to connect with them as well.

6. Know that things will get done. Every school night doesn’t have to be a late one.

7. Work smarter (not harder). You do not have to reinvent the wheel. Make effective use of the resources around you in order to accomplish what you are set out to do.

8. Be good to you. Find the time to engage in the things that (re)energize you.

9. Give yourself permission to not be the perfect teacher. The perfect teacher doesn’t exist. And if he/she did, who would want to walk around with all that pressure? Be the best version of yourself where you are at, while embracing opportunities to grow.

10. Be. Just be. Be grateful, loving, respectful, courageous…

Beverly Papove General

Kindergarten at a Thousand Miles an Hour

As I slump in a chair at the end of a day teaching kindergarten, I remind myself that, although I feel overwhelmed at times and unsure at others, I am learning each day. I was placed in this position without having any previous training or experience as a kindergarten teacher. I remember feeling very intrigued at the time my principal and VP suggested the switch from grade 3. I could have refused but instead I accepted the challenge. Now I cannot imagine teaching anything else. I’ve been a teacher for over 25 years, but not a kindergarten teacher. Kindergarten is a whole new ball game. Did I mention that it is a fast game, too? It feels as if the school year has slammed into the Christmas holidays and will continue to gather speed in January.

 
After four months, I am beginning to feel a teensy weensy bit more confident with the planning and activities in the classroom. Although we share and co-plan, I like to ask my ECE counterparts for their opinions about something I have planned because they are the ones with the years of training and experience at this age level. I may have a general theoretical notion of how and what may work, combined with my personal experience as a mother of two boys, now grown up, but really, that does not amount to much compared to what the ECEs bring to the planning table and to the classroom. It takes a team that respects and effectively collaborates to make a kindergarten class run well, and I feel privileged to be part of such a team.

 
And the kinder classroom is so very different from the grade 3 classroom where movement and noise could regularly be brought to a minimum during a learning period. My English counterpart often uses the term, “Birthday party behaviour” to describe behaviour we seek to curb in the kindergarten classroom – the kind of free-for-all party atmosphere usually experienced at the end of a birthday party.

It is an apt description. All the more so since the set up for a well-run kinder classroom feels rather like hosting a birthday party as you plan and prepare enough activities to keep the attendees interested, focussed, and engaged, and you circulate to make sure everyone is happy. Imagine hosting a birthday party for 27 five year olds every day… no other grade quite fits that description.

 
As we gallop along, trying to tie up loose ends, follow through on planning, assessment, evaluation, meeting the curriculum, and contacting parents about behaviour, speech issues, and hearing problems, the only thing that remains constant is each young student – little beings who need to play and explore, and whose emotions are so immediate. They are going at their normal, five year old speed when they come to school each day and we are trying to keep up with them. No wonder I am exhausted at the end of the day.

Tammy Axt General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers

The holiday assembly is this week. Help, I need an idea!

I got an e-mail last night from a friend of mine last which had the subject line “The holiday assembly is this week. Help, I need an idea!” As progress reports were just handed out in the last week or two, preparing for assemblies in December have been put on the back burner for many people. In case you need an idea for this coming week as well, below are some of the songs and features of our December assembly.

The goal of our December assembly is to promote community and have a great celebration before the break. Every student will be involved some way in the assembly either as a member of the whole group sing along or performing with their class.

I have been spending a small part of my music classes over the past couple of weeks getting the students ready for a sing along. Instead of Rudolph or Jingle Bells, I have decided to teach the students two new holiday songs both of which they are loving!! Both of the songs are from a resource produced by Music K-8 which can be downloaded from the internet. The resource is called “All Time Christmas Favorites“ and the two songs which have been very popular are “We Will Jingle” and “Have a Happy, Happy Holiday”. “We will Jingle” plays on the riff made famous by Queen and is going to sound just awesome when a gym load of students are all rocking out together next week! “Have a Happy, Happy Holiday” is a great song if you are trying to be sensitive to all cultural backgrounds and beliefs as it makes no references to any specific holiday. It is light and upbeat and energetic which is perfect for December.

Our holiday assembly is also going to include a great presentation by our Autism Spectrum Disorder Class. They have been practicing the song S A N T A. This song imitates the song B I N G O which removes a letter at a time and replaces them with a clap. Each student in the class is holding one of the letters in Santa and as the letter is replaced with the clap the sign that they are holding is placed on the ground in front of them. Of course, they have Santa hats to wear and believe it or not their therapy dog is going to make an appearance in the performance. Acer, the therapy dog, has a full Santa outfit that he has been waiting to show off.

Another easy to prepare idea is to have a Santa costume relay race. We have rounded up two Santa costumes and we will be inviting some teachers to the front to participate in the race. One teacher for each team will be at the front of the gym and each team will race to get their costume pieces on their person first! We will have each side of the gym cheering for the team on their side. You could easily have some members of your class lead this activity.

Is there anything simple and easy that you are doing with your students this week in an assembly?