Blog – Page 145

August 29, 2014September 2, 2014 Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Student Ownership

Backward Planning To A Classroom Community

I would like to take a few lines to introduce myself to new readers or re-acquaint myself to regular bloggers. My name is Mike Beetham and I am entering into my 30^th exciting year of teaching and look forward to the learning opportunities that will take place for me as I continually strive to enhance my best practice. I work with an area behaviour class of Junior age students and love to spend time in the outdoors.

Each September a new group of students arrive in my classroom and our journey begins. Like any other trip, you have to know where you are going so that you can plan your journey accordingly. In the first week of school we collectively complete the following activity. I create three charts with these titles:

What does a safe and peaceful classroom look like?

What does a safe and peaceful classroom feel like?

What does a safe and peaceful classroom sound like?

It starts with time for self-reflection, than moves to partner and small group discussion. Our final step is to post our ideas on chart paper. These sheets are visited throughout the first week. On Friday we take a final look at what our collective vision is and we complete the task by creating a classroom agreement that will help us create the community of learners we seek. I always accompany this with a good book such as ‘YO! Yes!’, ‘Wings’ or ‘Don’t Laugh At Me’.

As a teacher it is critical to take the time to visualize what your want your classroom to look like, feel like and sound like. From that point you put into action the activities and lessons that will move your group to the desired outcome. It is important to remember that this is a continual process and like any relationship, when the participants stop putting effort and time into the partnership, the bond starts to lessen.

Welcome back everyone and I hope you have a rewarding year!

July 14, 2014July 17, 2014 Erin.Grewar General, Questioning, Use of Technology

Technology in the Classroom – an Interesting Perspective

As schools are spending more to have technology more accessible to classrooms, the time students spend on computers is increasing. In the past, I’d never really had access to computers. The one I had in my classroom (when I had one) was so slow and dysfunctional it was basically useless. This year, one of the homeroom classrooms where I taught rotary French was also where the mobile computer lab was stored. My biggest management issue with that class revolved around the never ending battle of getting the kids off of the computers who would try to sneak the labtops in their desks at any given opportunity. I’ve never seen a group of students who were so eager to use Wordreference.com. This constant access to computers actually became a real addiction problem for a couple of students who were literally, always in front of a computer screen (and one can assume that it was the same at home). Forget computers, phones are the new device of choice! Despite being banned for use at school, teachers spent more time arguing and confiscating phones than ever before.

It was with great interest that I read the NY Times article “A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute” that was forwarded to me by a fellow teacher. Although it was written in 2011, I found it really interesting in light of the situation I just described. In a nutshell, the author writes about a school in Silicon Valley where 3/4 of the students have parents who work in the upper echelons of the giant tech companies like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. As a Waldorf school, the emphasis is placed on physical activity and learning through creative hands-on approach. The use of computers is banned at school and are even discouraged at home because it is thought that they discourage “creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans.”

It goes on to elaborate on the debate about the role of computers in education with proponents saying that not equipping students with technology to better compete in the modern world would be irresponsible. The article aslo mentions advocates stating that children who grew up with electronic devices at their fingertips simply won’t be engaged without them. The Waldorf parents argue that teaching is a human experience and that “real engagement comes from great teachers with interesting lesson plans.”

The article frequently references one parent in particular, Alan Eagle, educated with a computer science degree and the director of communications at Google. His daughter is in Grade 5 and doesn’t know how to use google but according to him, technology has its time and place. He states, “If I worked at Miramax amade good, artsy R rated movies, I wouldn’t want my kid to see them until they were 17.” Further, the technology is “brain dead easy as possible'” and that he sees no reason why kids cant figure it out when they get older. Interestingly enough, California is home to 40 Waldorf schools (a disproportionate share) and the neighbouring Waldorf schools to the one featured in the article are also heavily populated by students whose are in the high tech industry. It makes you wonder that if these people, the creators of the technology of today, are that opposed to their own children having access to it in their own lives, perhaps we need to consider how much children are exposed to in our own classes…

June 23, 2014July 2, 2014 Alison.Board Celebrating Success, Year End Activities

Time for Reflection

The last week of school is a great opportunity for reflection. It is a good winding-down exercise that the students can enjoy. In my grade 5/6 class I am currently leading the students through the steps of creating a Portfolio of their work. This is what we are doing:

– last week, we handed out all the work that I had saved through the year in various folders for assessments/interviews (such as math tests that were returned after being signed, displayed writing pieces, art work, individual goals).

– each student had a large pile of accumulated work to sort through on their desk. As they sorted I listened to their recollections and delights as they discussed their work with their peers.

– I provided each student with a folder and instructions to select 2-3 pieces to represent math, language, art and any other subjects that they wanted to represent.

– then they were encouraged to create a table of contents for their work, and write a reflection on why they chose the pieces that they did.

– now they are assembling and decorating their folders as they choose. Some students have stapled their work in, while others have used holes and ribbon to create a book.

– in the next few days we plan to do a gallery walk and the students can share their portfolios with others in the class.

This exercise in reflection has provided students with direction and time to reflect on their own progress and success. Every student has been engaged and interested in creating their own personal portfolio. It has also encouraged them to take pride in their work and take home at least one folder, rather than making the rash decision to recycle their work before it even makes it home. It also provides a vehicle to share the work with their families.

June 19, 2014 Erin.Grewar General, Integration, Questioning, Year End Activities

Keeping the Wheels Turning As the Year Winds Down – Detective Stories

Yes, it’s that time of year again – summer vacation on the horizon but before getting there, you must survive the last few weeks of French with the Grade 8s. In case you’re not familiar with that scenario, getting them to do any work can be “a most frustratingly futile experience which sees your heart rate and blood pressure soar.” And that’s putting it politely. Although I agree with Mike about the need to have the students working on something that motivates and engages them, the challenge with seeing your students for one period a day is that there is little continuity at this time of year with it being a time of constant disruptions. What I’ve more or less resorted to by the last two weeks of school is mini activities that span a range of 1 to 3 classes. One that I’ve found they’ve enjoyed is the Murder Mystery activities. There is nothing more enjoyable than seeing your students thinking, debating and collaborating during this time when the most energy they seem to be able to muster is devoted to them repeatedly asking you why you’re still making them do work. Although I started off this post talking about Grade 8s, this is actually an activity that could work with a rannge of grade levels. I found a couple of online sites suited for students which had a variety of mysteries (and even magic tricks as a bonus). Two that were particularly are listed below. I also found the Schoastic website helpful for ideas to develop a whole unit (ideas for next year…) As for finding material in French, I was not overly successful. There was one site Polar FLE that seemed to be fairly good but again as a Core French teacher, you’ll probably find that you will need to translate and adapt the material so that your students can easily follow along. Happy sleuthing!

www.kidsmysterynet.com

www.42explore.com

June 16, 2014July 2, 2014 Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, Making a Difference Through Education, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers, Year End Activities

It Takes A Village To Raise A Child

As another year of learning is counting down and it is time for our learning community to show our appreciation to each other and the people who have helped us be so successful. I start by holding a classroom meeting where we look at our classroom Wall of Fame and reflect on how successful we have been both individually and collectively. The visual reminder of all of our accomplishments never ceases to being out smiles, laughter and a rousing chat session. I then ask them “Who has helped us all be successful?”. They respond with the obvious, their teachers, and the principal. As we delve deeper into this question, the list begins to significantly grow. The custodian who ensures our classroom is ready to go each day and allows us to be creatively messy sometimes. The secretary who always keeps us informed and has organized many of our activities. The librarian clerk who always seems to have the books we need. Their parents who have supported them in so many ways outside of school. The Occasional Teachers who have filled in and assisted them throughout the year. Parent volunteers who have supported activities in our school throughout the year. Teachers who have organized assemblies, special events and coached sport teams or choirs. Finally they discover how much they have supported each other in the year long journey.

The next part of the classroom discussion shifts to how do we show our appreciation to these people. It is quickly discovered that the best way to show our appreciation is to tell them how much their efforts were appreciated. This is where the leadership shifts to the students. In small groups the students are assigned key people to whom they are responsible for talking to on behalf of our classroom.Those messages are personally delivered over the last two weeks. We send a letter to our Occasional Teacher Local thanking the teachers who have been in our classroom this year.

As our community time draws to an end I ask them to write end of the year messages to each other. A chance to say thank you for the support, friendship and fun they had together. This message is kept secret until the last day of school where they are shared via video tape. I always view the draft of the message prior to filming is done. As a teacher, I also get to send my message to my students to thank them for helping me become a better person and teacher. It is now time for our village to move on.

June 12, 2014July 2, 2014 Erin.Grewar Differentiated Instruction, General, Year End Activities

“Frozen” in June

I know that at this stage, the last thing anyone wants to think about is winter (unless of course we’re in the middle of a heat wave). My one grade 7 class has been Frozen (as in the Dinsney movie) obsessed! They’ve seen the movie together as a class, know all the songs, can quote any line (Swedish accents included) and even shed a few tears when Anna is temporarily turned int beo ice. We had been working on a unit loosely based on On y va Destinations d’hiver way back before March Break. For a multitude of reasons (namely soccer, track and field, baseball tournaments and the school play) it has taken us forever to wrap it up – hence the title. Once May hit, we opened it up to just about anywhere for the final task where students had to write a postcard from a destination of their choice. Based on their research, they had to comment on the food, attitutude of the people, possible activites with a focus on using the futur proche (je vais visiter) and the verbs vouloir and pouvoir (je veux faire, je peux voir). For the project, several students approached me and wanted to write a postcard using the premise of the Frozen movie. The submissions were fantastic and were highly creative (and down right hilarious). I thought it was worth blogging about because it was met with such enthusiasm that students did not even mind doing the assignment. It seemed like a good example of tailoring things to suit the interests of the students. Below is an example of one of the submissions.

Bonjour Rachel,

Je suis à Arendelle avec la fameuse Elsa. Ici, c’est vraiment fantastique! La nourriture est tellement délicieuse, surtout le magnifique gâteau au chocolat. Le paysage est accidenté et à couper le souffle. J’aime beaucoup le Montagne du Nord parce que le Palais de Glace exquise est au sommet. Demain je vais faire une tournée dans le traîneau de Kristoff avec Sven et je vais faire une famille de bonhommes de neige pour Olaf. Avant de partir, je veux surtout visiter la Vallée des roches vivantes et donner un coup de visage à Hans. Je veux jamais quitter!

Ton amie,

Sophia

June 5, 2014June 5, 2014 Mike Beetham Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Planning, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers, Year End Activities

Keep Them Learning

As June (and all it brings with it) unfolds, minds start to wander, summer day dreaming begins and as a result students start to lose their focus with all the activities that are competing for their attention. This usually results in increased classroom management concerns as well as a significant drop in productivity. My plan at this time of the year is to keep my students as engaged as possible to the very last minute. This is accomplished in two ways. The first is that they become decision makers in what we are going to learn about. This can be done either as a class or as individual learning modules. The students will compose a question to which they will seek to answer. How do words travel from a studio over the radio so that we can hear them is an inquiry chosen by one of my students this year. The questions they create have to be approved and meet the criteria we have pre-established.

The length of this unit is about 3 weeks and will culminate with a classroom open house whereby the other students in the school will be able to visit our work over two days. The student must be at their site in order to share information they have uncovered and answer any questions their audience may have. Needless to say, this unit generates some of the best work of the year. For me as a teacher, it allows me that opportunity to witness (and assess) the transfer of a year’s work of academic focus in reading, writing and oral language.

The premise remains the same as I have used drama presentations, storytelling and musical performances to keep my students school focused and engaged until the last minute of school. I encourage you to share other ideas you have used or witnessed as end of the year units.

May 24, 2014May 24, 2014 Mike Beetham Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, General, Learning About Your Students, Mentorship, Student Ownership

Classroom Advisors

Wow, things have certainly changed since I was in school. When I went to school we __________ (fill in the blank with a change you have observed). When I look at the behaviours of my students, the choices they make and day-to-day social interactions in my classroom I filter it through the 54 year old brain of mine. It usually doesn’t make sense or seems silly and a waste of time. There are many times when I can’t make heads or tails of some of the things that my students do. So, what I tried (and found very useful) is to try and understand it through the brain of the age group I am working with. I sit and talk with individual students, small groups or even at times the entire class and have them explain to me the why of what took place. I tell them that through my adult brain it does not make sense and why would anybody do that. This opens up a wealth of opportunities to delve into the world of my students.

It has evolved to the point where my class votes in key students who will represent their needs and interests and those students become the classroom advisers. When ever a decision that requires our entire group’s input is needed, I go to the classroom advisers who then go to their classmates and get their feedback. The advisers then must prepare a summary of the input they received and meet with me as we collectively make the best decision for our group. In other scenarios, they serve as a resource who can explain to me what a student was thinking or why this makes sense to them. The final role these students play is being a peer mediator/mentor as students work their way out of poor decisions they have made. Needless to say, this is a very empowering strategy for both my students and me.

May 19, 2014May 19, 2014 Alison.Board Classroom Management, Inquiry, Learning in a Real Life Context, Year End Activities

Keeping them Engaged…

These last two months of school can be trying for both teachers and students. The students are ready to get outdoors and classroom management is necessary as their social volume seems to increase with each warmer day. People that are not working in education often suggest that I must enjoy these last weeks of school as I anticipate the summer. It is hard to explain how challenging the last two months can be. Teachers feel overwhelmed to complete marking, prepare themselves for the looming task of report writing, as well as make plans for their teaching placement in September! In addition to that, teachers want to feel that they are keeping their students engaged with learning into June, not just keeping them busy.

Here are some suggestions to try out in the last month of school that will actively engage your students, if you haven’t already:

Have students design an original book cover for a book they have read, with a new artistic representation (art, media) and a new summary (language) on the back. When completed, create a gallery walk or a contest for best original design. If completed with another class, you can swap covers to judge.
Allow students to work individually or in small groups to create a dance based on a specific theme, element, or cultural influence. Provide them time each day to work on it (they love this!), then use days in June for each group to present to the rest of the class (or even invite parents in for an Open House event).
Provide students with about 3 poems of different styles to read and reflect on. Allow time for group discussions and sharing of ideas. Create a poetry workshop for a few periods each week. Students can peer review or you can provide feedback. Students select their favourite original poem to read to the class. Or create a Poetry Cafe for parents or other students in the school to attend. Students will enjoy advertising, writing invitations, and preparing beverages for the Cafe!
Take your learning outside! Go on weekly walks in the community and look for connections to your current lessons/activities in Science, Social Studies, or Math. If students ask particular questions, use it a starting point for a mini-inquiry that you can support for the last month in the classroom. Document your walks with photos, written reflections, or drawings.
Find a purpose. Use the last two months to pursue something meaningful in the community that there may not have been time to do over the winter months. Adopt a school garden to care for, clean up in the community, or buddy up with younger/older students and work together.

Enjoy!

May 13, 2014 Erin.Grewar Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Year End Activities

Le passé c’est brassé – Bring the Passé Composé to Life (Part 2)

An important lesson that I’ve learned this year is have the students write in a concise manner. In the following assignment, La journée de …, students must basically incorporate most of the major things we covered in approximately 10 sentences (passé composé with avoir/être, singulier/pluriel, compound sentences and adverbs). Originally in past years, I used to do a similar project entitled “Une semaine dans la vie de …” which involved them describing the week in the life of someone using the same requirements but was more than double in length. With my senior classes, I’ve been focusing more on quality rather than quantity by teaching them how to expand and elaborate on simple ideas. Again, the shorter length requirement is more feasible for reluctant FSL writers but showing all your students how to achieve more complexity allows your more advanced students to still be challenged. I’ve attached the project guidelines and reference sheets for you to view. Hopefully, it might be useful for an end of the year assignment.

la journee de project guidelines

Les activités possibles – au passe