Recently, our school went to an overnight outdoor education centre. Parent/student/teacher relationships are developed and also expanded during these types of trips. I had three students with special circumstances. All were brought to my attention before we left for the trip. I had one student who had separation anxiety, another had social issues and a special family event during the trip, and the third was a student with Aspergers and mom was concerned about the socialization/routine for her.
Although most of my time was occupied with these three students, I still feel my time was spent in a very productive way. One night, I spent the time helping a student get to sleep. Distracting her thoughts, staying near her, making sure she was ok. She made it through the night. The second night, she didn’t need me at all. When we returned, the parents were very appreciative and gave me a very nice note and flowers. The flowers were a very nice thought and I really appreciate them but the note I will keep forever. The parent also went to my administration team and spoke to them letting them know how appreciative the student and parents were and what a difference I made. It was a very kind gesture which will always be remembered!
I had another parent who also thanked me through the student and with a small taken of appreciation. Her child ended up getting sick and her mother was very happy that I was there with her until her mother came to get her. The last parent showed up at the school and was all smiles. Again, I received another thank you.
We may not get thank yous for all we do but remember we make the difference in students’ lives. Whether it is a child who feels included, another who is happy to be part of an event, or the student who feels s/he has learned something new – all it takes is one effort to make a difference and change that child’s life for the better.
I recently created an account on Bitstrips for Schools. Bitstrips is a free website where students can create comics or other graphic texts. Creating an account is easy. Bitstrips provides you with an access code that you share with your students. Students simply log in with the access code and they immediately have access to the different activities you create. Their first task (and yours) is to create an avatar. Students can then begin to work on the activities you create.
My Avatar
My initial activity was an introductory activity where students were asked to create a comic introducing themselves to the class. The learning goal for this activity was for students to become familiar with the comic building tools. After a week of in class work, Bitstrips is now an activity students have an option to go to when other work has been completed or they can work on activities from their home computers. Now, most of my students are completing the graphic text activities at home for ‘homework’. Parents appreciate that their children are using the Internet to complete school activities rather than to play games and watch videos on YouTube.
A quick and simple activity to help students become familiar with the tools.
What I appreciate most about this website is that all students, regardless of abilities, can navigate the tools and create a piece of writing. Once students complete an activity, it must be submitted to me for review before it can be published. I can access student writing from anywhere; smart phone, tablet, at home, or school and I can give them timely specific feedback on their written submission. I am using Bitstrips to reinforce punctuation and spelling with my third grade students. I spend a few minutes each evening sending students feedback on their submissions. The next time students log in to Bitstrips they will see my feedback and they can immediately edit and/or revise their work and resend it to me for another review.
Below are some sample comments I have submitted to students:
Hi Charlie,
This is a fun comic! Please make sure you begin each sentence with a capital and end with a period.
Hi Krisandrew,
I really like how you ended your comic! I am impressed with all your slides. Please review for punctuation. For example, sentences must begin with a capital. Example “Me too.” You missed a period in one of your thought bubbles. It is movies not movie. Otherwise, great effort! Please correct and resubmit.
Below are two activities I have assigned on Bitstrips.com:
Turning Narratives Into Graphic Texts
You are to select one of your personal narratives and create a Bitstrip.
You are to use speech bubbles for your dialogue sentences.
You are to use thought bubbles for your thinking and feeling sentences.
You are to use captions for your action sentences.
Your bitstrip should meet the success criteria for personal narratives!
Silly Story Comic
You are to write a silly story!
You are to use the success criteria for a personal narrative. That is,
-Action, dialogue and thought sentences;
-Beginning, Middle and End;
-Correct punctuation and spelling;
But your story must also include the characteristics of a silly story:
-Strange and impossible events take place;
– Characters act as if everything is normal;
-You leave the reader with a smile on their face.
Your story should be a at least 5 frames long.
Dialogue sentences must be in speech bubbles.
Thinking/Feeling sentences are in thought bubbles.
Action sentences must be in captions a the top or bottom of the frame.
I am fortunate to have unlimited access to computers throughout the school day, but you can do this in a one computer classroom. As I mentioned in a prior blog post, it is important to know what access your students have to the Internet from home before you encourage Bitstrips as a homework activity. Bitstrips has helped me engage students in the writing process. It forces them pay attention to writing conventions and it provides me with a manageable way to provide timely feedback to students.
Differentiated instruction can be challenging for a teacher, new or ‘not so’ new. There are so many ways we can differentiate our instruction that it can be overwhelming trying to get the “differentiated” ball (or should I say cube?:)) rolling. Where do we start? I suggest that if you are just beginning to explore ways to differentiate your program that you take it one step at a time. For me, I feel that the self directed and open-ended nature of my writing program helps me to differentiate student learning in many ways. Guided reading is another example of how we differentiate content to meet the different interests and readiness of our students. What I need to explore further are ways I can differentiate the learning environment. This has been one of my professional learning goals for this year.
I believe that all students need experiences to work independently and collaboratively regardless of their learning preference. However, in order for students to be successful, we must provide for their learning needs by giving them the structure and opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in ways that best suit them.
Over the winter break I purchased a dozen privacy panels for my third grade classroom. They were not too expensive… about twenty dollars. When we returned from the holidays I introduced the panels to the students. Everyone liked the idea of the panels and wanted to use them ALL the time. At first, it was a distraction. My students sit in groups of 4 and every student in a group wanted to use a panel. I had to explain on more than one occasion that if one or two used a panel in each group then the other students in the group wouldn’t need the panels. There were times when I had to say, “No panels! Get to work!”
By the time we returned from March Break the novelty of the panels finally wore off. Now, whenever the need arises, some students will get up from their groups to get a privacy panel and it doesn’t start a “stampede” for the remaining panels! Students go on with there work indifferent to the colourful cardboard that pops up at different groups throughout the classroom. I am glad that I didn’t give up on the panels. I had patience, well… most of the time, and trusted my intuition and the process. Whenever we introduce something new to the classroom there is usually some excitement and then it just becomes part of the routine.
I have managed to find another way to address the different learning needs in the class. It is interesting to observe which students decide to use the panels and when. Jamie, for example, tends to set up a privacy panel when she is writing a reading response in her journal. Jennifer, on the other hand, needs the panel when we are working on problem solving in math.
It is important for me to create a learning environment where students have as much choice and control of their learning as they can handle at such a young age. When students are working on an independent activity, I encourage students to support each other in their groups. As long as they are using small voices and staying on task, I encourage the collaboration. However, not all students can learn this way. Some students need to limit the distractions in the environment in order to learn. These students may choose to work at a desk away from their group, on the carpet or simply put up a privacy panel. The goal is to teach students to independently decide what learning environment they need in order to be successful in the classroom. Privacy panels are one way we can offer students choice and control of their learning environment.
I’m not sure who coined that expression but if I wasn’t a Core French teacher, it would bring to mind the image of a quaint dessert trolley featuring a variety of artfully baked pastries. Funnily enough, when I typed in that subject heading to get some different ideas of carts on the market, that is exactly what came up. The one model I did find came duly equipped with many different coloured bins, whiteboard, sturdy triangular construction (and relaxed smiling model to boot). However, I couldn’t help noticing some design deficiencies. There was no built-in loudspeaker system blaring the message “Écartez-vous! Laissez passer le prof de Français!!” accompanied with flashing lights and a siren. Nor did they have an activated alarm for when someone tries to pilfer one dictionary or pencil too many. Finally, the lack of GPS tracking device for lost overheads and CDs is clearly an oversight in this day and age of technological wizardry.
A few years ago, I did see someone who seemed to master the teaching from a cart phenomenon and regretfully I didn’t take photos (the days before an Iphone). What made it work for her was the following:
a variety of different sized bins and boxes that were all clearly labelled with the corresponding word(s) and images
practical supplies which included textbooks, some dictionaries, pencils, pens, pencil crayons, overhead markers, scissors, tape, magnetic strips, stapler, etc (you get the picture)
hanging file folder box to store extra worksheets and assignments
cds, camera
visually decorated with French/Quebec flags and postcards so that it was a large-scale rolling tourist brochure
a horn
Finally, a few suggestions for teaching on the run which I have gleaned so far from my own experience. Truthfully, they would work a whole lot better if I had the wherewithal to implement them consistently after my dash across the school and up two flights of stairs in 1 min and 30 seconds (that’s if I’m running on time).
If you’re not supremely organized, enlist the help of a professional organizational consultant to get you on track. No matter how organized you think you are, you’re not organized enough.
Get into the habit of putting things down only in specific places.
Have a physical checklist of important items that you actually check before leaving the room.
Colour code things in bright colours for different classes (class lists, folders, etc) so they can easily be spotted.
Ensure your lesson includes some down time for you to get organized at the beginning and end of the period (structured student-run games, conversation starters, short audio recordings).
Have responsible students take inventory of borrowed items such as textbooks and school supplies.
If anyone else has any other ideas that work for them, please share them. Thanks to Michelle, Kate and Sylvia who responded to my last post with their thoughtful commentary. This is obviously a justifiably sensitive subject. Hang in there all of you!
Literacy is woven into our day. We do not have “literacy centres”, but we do have learning centres that include literacy. We have shared reading, independent reading, formal writing times that look like a Writer’s Workshop, and purposeful writing that happens around the classroom such as writing cards, letters, making books and recording observations.
There is no “language block”, instead language is used in our morning circle to share our feelings and connect with one another. It is used during read a-louds to teach conventions of books, visualization, sequence, and voice. We learn how to spell familiar words and we learn how to use rich language to describe and express our ideas. Books are connected to our math lessons and science inquiries. We share books that enjoy reading over and over again, and we read new books on the computers and listen to stories using BookFlix.
When I started my new classroom in September, there were limited literacy resources. I acquired a variety of picture books from family and friends and I used the books from our school library to fill the shelves and reading bins. To organize the books, we designated one display rack for hardcover books and another for softcover books. I remember the day that we discussed how to tell the difference. Even now, some children knock on their book to determine which shelf it should be returned to. This also provides a daily opportunity for sorting – see how literacy is never a stand-alone in Kindergarten!
One of the first things I noticed was how rough the children were with the books. It took months of reminders and practice for the children not to throw the books, step on them, or pull at them and rip pages. You would assume that by Kindergarten children would know how to handle books, but for many children in the class handling the books in a gentle and respective manner was not familiar to them. To assist in their practice, we modelled then asked the children to “close your books gently, carry them like a cake, and place them face out on the appropriate book rack”. Now the children are much more aware of the condition of the books, and often come to me with concern that a page has ripped or torn, and ask that it be fixed with tape.
Back in September, there were no (maybe a few) levelled readers for the Kindergarten classrooms. This was the biggest concern for me, as I believe in the consistent use of levelled books to develop readers in the classroom. Through the suggestion of an instructional leader, I was able to order paper copies of what are considered replacement books and use these for a book borrowing program and for work with individuals or small groups in the classroom. These books have been invaluable for my students. Although I do not assign homework in Kindergarten, I do set up a book bag program that allows children to take home a book at their level and write about their book in an accompanying journal. There are not assigned days to take or return a book, therefore it is a program that can suit the families and their schedules. I have some students who return their book bags every day or every other day, while other students may return their bag within a week or two. All of the SK students (and a few JK students) have moved up in levels, but most importantly they feel successful as readers. The levelled readers have not been a “requirement” of the childrens’ day or have they felt pressure to read. By providing them with a book at their level (mostly all at level 1 in September) they felt excited to take a book home and then felt successful because they could actually read it. This encouraged them to continue with the program and become independent readers!
I have recently returned from mat leave to my usual position of Core French Teacher in Grades 7 and 8
(not easy to get out of that one…) but this time with a major change which has greatly impacted my job – no classroom.
For the past 10 years, I have always had the luxury of having my own space (albeit occasionally squished between stoves, ovens, washers and dryers of the Family Studies room) and now I am truly realizing how lucky I was. At the workshops for the TDSB Summer Institute for Beginning Teachers, there was bound to be some poor soul who posed the question “What advice can you offer to someone teaching on a cart?” While outwardly commiserating, I was always secretly thankful I wasn’t in that position. I can say without a doubt, that in my 10th year of teaching, I have never felt so disorganized, frazzled and somewhat ineffective and not for lack of trying. And I’m one of the lucky ones who only has to shuttle between two different classrooms (on two different floors and opposite sides of the school).
I originally intended to blog about how to effectively teach Core French from a cart but when I was looking online for different visuals of such a piece of equipment, I came across an article from an older issue of Professionally Speaking entitled “The Core of the Matter” which succinctly discusses the major issues confronting FSL teachers. Based on a report authored by Maureen Smith, a teacher with 30 years FSL experience, the area of most concern was a lack of dedicated classrooms to Core French. She outlines in the study that it is not uncommon for some teachers to “give eight or more classes a day, working from a cart set up in the lunchroom, gym or multiple portables, even when there’s an empty classroom in the school.” Delivering your lessons in time sensitive 42 minute increments is stressful enough, but charging around from one classroom to the next within the 2 min travel time only to arrive and find you’d left your overhead/textbook/assignments behind adds a level of intensity which is taxing on even the most organized and well prepared instructors.
Given the situation, it is obvious that a teacher’s program would be greatly compromised. I feel particularly empathetic towards the newer teachers who must struggle with getting their resources together in addition to teaching on the run. What I miss most about my own classroom (even though my “roommate” is most congenial) is a dedicated spot to display visual aids and showcase student work as well as the flexibility to alter the seating arrangements to best suit my planned activities. Smith concludes that if teachers are expected to deliver a quality FSL education, then the gap “between the classroom environment and the policies that influence it requires careful study.” It’s too bad that as a core subject of the Ontario curriculum, there is no correlation between the huge comment box devoted to FSL on the report card and actual size of dedicated classroom space.
Be that as it may, the reality is that with the advent of full day kindergarden, classrooms in many schools are at a premium and this situation is perhaps a new permanent reality of FSL teachers. In that case then, enough venting…Stay tuned for my next blog (and originally intended article) on how best to teach French from a cart.
As it is April, I always feel that this time of year is when you really start to see the growth/progress in our students, especially in Kindergarten. Since taking over my current Kindergarten class in February, I am really starting to see the growth in my students and their learning, Shortly after obtaining this LTO, I put up a word wall in my classroom, created an interactive popcorn word word wall, as well as incorporating the Sight Word Caterpillar in our classroom (see below).
I have worked really hard with my students about what the word wall is for, and how we can use all these resources when we are writing. Each week, my students get an opportunity to write in their Writing Journals. To differentiate for my learners, I encourage ALL students to use at least 5 different colours in their pictures to add more detail. I encourage my SK students to write the sounds/letters they hear. I encourage my SKs to stretch the words so they can hear/write all sounds they hear. We have talked a lot about the use of the Writer’s Rainbow (see my previous post about this), and have modelled for students the various stages of the Writer’s Rainbow.
This past week, some of my students have really started to use what I have taught them and have started to use the word wall, popcorn words and our sight word caterpillar to help them in their writing. All my efforts have finally paid off. There is nothing better than seeing your students use the tools you have provided for them in our classroom! Such joy!
Last weekend, I had the joy of attending Halton’s annual For the Love of Literacy Conference. This was my first time attending this conference, and I would highly recommend it! To start off the day, we got our welcome package which consisted of our name tag, the workshop information about the workshops we would be attending as well as a fabulous new teaching bag, which was provided by Scholastic.
To start off the conference, I had the absolute pleasure of listening to an hour long presentation about the 21st Century Learner from the honoured guest, Lisa Donohue (you can visit her blog located at www.lisadonohue.wordpress.com). Lisa is the author of educational books, including her latest book: 100 Minutes. In her presentation, we learned about the key traits to learning in the 21st Century:
* Collaboration (working with others)
* Communication (communicating with others, via various different forms)
* Authenticity (making learning authentic / meaningful to students’ lives)
* Engagement (making learning fun to engage our students)
* Creativity (creative teaching/giving students the opportunity to be creative in their learning)
* Choice (giving students choice is KEY to them being engaged and taking ownership in their learning).
Using digital media is extremely important with the 21st Century learner. Technology is all around us, and using it in the classroom will be engaging and authentic to our students. One quote I absolutely loved that Lisa tells her students is that when they are using social media/technology, they are “tools, not toys” and these tools should be used to “extend, not escape”. I think these are fabulous quotes to teach our students about when using technology in the classroom.
Here are some fabulous ideas of how YOU can implement social media into your classroom/assignments:
* using media literacy with higher level thinking questions (perhaps give students a higher level question, that they can respond to it on their own student blog)
* having a classroom twitter account (I have one, and post pictures/quotes of students while they are learning. My parents absolutely love this. Follow us @class_obrien).
* using Toontastic or mystorybook for storytelling/retelling
* incorporating Blue Spruce books with technology. Give each group a book from the Blue Spruce collection, and get them to use iMovie to make a commercial advertising their book of choice. They could use many things taught in media literacy as well such as looking at their audience, what is the big idea of the book, etc
* using Edmodo for Learning Skills. Each group could have a different learning skill, and could make their own Edmodo page, which can be accessed all year long
If you can attend next years Love of Literacy Conference, I would highly suggest it. I will be there… will you?
Ever since I can remember, I have always strived to surround myself with people and experiences that inspire and motivate me to question, learn, and celebrate the art of living. My teachers, or gurus, have manifested themselves in different forms. A parent, a sister, my son, a friend, poets and writers in my favourite books, social activists, great teachers, or simply people who demonstrate an innate ability to rise above obstacles in their quest to live a life of purpose.
I have the privilege of coming across little gurus each and every day of my life. They happen to share a classroom with me. I owe much of my learning and growth, both professional and personal, to my students. One in particular has left me humbled and deeply grateful for allowing me to be a part of his journey. Daniel* has been the reason behind quite a few sleepless nights. His life has been one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. At the start of year, his personality reflected the confusion, fear, anger, and instinct for survival that is expected within his reality. He’s the one I would come home and talk to my family about non-stop because I was determined to understand him and somehow be a guide or figure that would help him see how amazing he truly was. After a few weeks of racking my brain and over-thinking the situation, I decided to let it go and just work on three things: building trust, getting him to believe that I liked him no matter what he did or said, and playing to his strengths at all times so he felt the power that comes from knowing that he matters. I learned to really listen, so much so that he would need to feel that he was the most important person at that moment.
What unfolded in the following months was a teacher-student relationship where I learned far more than I could teach him. When his social worker came to visit 3 weeks ago, he asked me to be at the meeting with him. What I heard during that time, was nothing short of astonishing. His wisdom, strength, compassion, and resiliency left the social worker and I in complete awe. I was in the presence of a little guru, a teacher who knows how to use obstacles to create possibilities and hold himself accountable for the decisions he makes in life.
I’ll leave you with an excerpt from the speech he recently wrote for our Speech Arts unit. When I conferenced with him to look it over, I had to make an excuse to leave the classroom so I could have a cry in private. He gave me permission to share it with you:
“Have you ever had a moment in your life when you didn’t believe you could do something or you thought you weren’t good enough? I remember having low self-esteem. There was a time I didn’t care about myself and I felt I couldn’t be me. But that time is long gone and now when I come to school I’m proud to be Daniel*. I feel free from judgement. I walk down the hall and feel joyful. Every child needs to have someone who inspires them to stay true to themselves. They must be inspired. The change can happen in your life and it’s amazing.
My teacher inspires me because every day I’m with her she gets me to really think about life and how I can become better and better at what I do. When I’m having a bad day and so something I didn’t mean to, she sits down with me and talks to me. We talk about how I can use what I know to make decisions to avoid negative situations. I have learned to just be me without changing for anyone else.
…Imagine what society would be like if everyone who needed help had someone to inspire them? Thinking back to when I felt so low and not like the Daniel* I am today I realize that having someone that came into my life and helped me change made all the difference. There’s a quote in my classroom I really like. It goes like this, “I may not be perfect, but parts of me are pretty awesome.” I’m not perfect, but I am a very unique and awesome kid.”
I let him know that he inspired me to share our story with teachers world-wide. He smiled with the smirk of self-confidence.
In January, my Kindergarten class began regular weekly meetings with another class in the school. I was new to the school this year, and Reading Buddies were not formally assigned as they are in some schools. The first few months of the school year had been hectic, as I was new to the staff, the FDK program was just being introduced (with wrinkles to smooth out), and the students were adjusting to the demands of a full day of routines and a new environment. As I got to know the staff, I found that I shared a similar teaching style and inquiry approach with the Grade 6 teacher, Mrs. Robinson. In early December I approached her with the idea of bringing our classes together as “Learning Buddies” – an idea that she welcomed. We made our plans to start meeting in January on a weekly basis for a double period.
The initial meetings were mostly unstructured. It allowed time for the students to get to know one another. Mrs. Robinson and I had previously matched our students based on their needs. I have a few students with communication needs and others with behavioural concerns who would benefit by being matched with empathetic, patient and consistent students from the older class. There were adjustments in the matches that we made, and when students are absent we casually add their partners to another grouping. This relaxed approach makes it easier for the little ones to adjust, and we find the students in the classes are getting to know more than just one student. They tend to team up into small groups now, and we provide opportunities to allow for this development of relationships.
After a few meetings with the students sharing books and getting to know one another, we introduced a project that would integrate language and technology. It included the following:
brainstorm/create a story with your Learning Buddy
use the graphic organizer provided to record the topic, setting, characters, problem and solution (Grade 6 students write and Kindergartens can write or draw pictures to represent their ideas)
use 4 to 8 box organizer to draft story into a comic strip, adding speech bubbles and caption
create comic in Bitstrips program using laptops provided
teachers print one page comics in colour and take photos of Learning Buddies
arrange original plan, completed colour comic strip, and photo of Learning Buddies on bristol board for display
participate in a Gallery Walk of the completed work
The outcomes of this project were positive for all involved. We found that the students were engaged at all meetings. We noticed that the older students respected the input of the younger children and there was observable collaboration in their work. The Kindergarten children were able to retell the stories that they created and in addition to understanding the beginning, middle, and end – many also understood the concepts of setting, characters, problem and solution. Mrs. Robinson has noticed how her Grade 6 students have taken on a more responsible attitude with this role and they are genuinely interested in working with the younger students. We plan to meet regularly until the end of the school year. We have just started a topic/project about the environment that will hopefully include some outdoor gardening. This connects to the curriculum that both classes can extend separately in their individual classrooms.
