Blog – Page 164

January 16, 2012January 16, 2012 Tina.Ginglo Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

The Whole Child

As a third grade teacher, I sometimes get caught up and distracted by the fast approaching EQAO assessment. Our school doesn’t fair very well in the EQAO world and there is a lot of talk about getting the students ready. One way our school is preparing students for the assessment is by providing them practice runs at previous EQAO questions. As Sangeeta mentioned in a previous post, I also worry about the amount of pen and paper tasks our students complete. Don’t get me wrong, knowing how to read and write are VERY important skills that must be acquired, but there are many ways to learn how to read, THINK and write, technology being one.

As we neared the end of the calendar year, I allowed myself to forget about EQAO and teach the way I taught when I taught grades 4 and 5 and kindergarten! Even though my students receive their music and art instruction from other teachers, I decided to include it in my program as well. Visual literacy, music, drama, art, movement, design and technology were springboards for incredible thinking and prompted the most meaningful and well crafted writing I have assessed so far this year! More importantly, the level of engagement in my class springboard as I observed students focus and participate in ways I was not able to observe when I did not integrate the arts in my teaching.

I know this! Why do I allow myself to get caught up in the EQAO frenzy? Don’t get me wrong. I actually like the EQAO assessment and take the responsibility of teaching STUDENTS the Ontario curriculum very seriously— but sometimes I think we get turned around and teach the CURRICULUM to students. I think there is a difference. My goal for 2012, is to make sure I teach to the WHOLE CHILD everyday and allow students to explore the curriculum in different ways before bringing out the pen and paper:)

January 6, 2012January 7, 2012 Carmen.Oliveira Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Let’s Reflect, Read, and Regroup!

Just like Alison, I too enjoy taking some time during my breaks to reflect on the teaching and learning during the previous months in our classroom. I agree with the fact that it’s a wonderful opportunity to take a closer look at our work, experiences, progress, etc. in order to celebrate what we did well while at the same time tweaking aspects that may lead to greater benefits for the students and overall learning in the classroom.

I have taken some time during my break to look at and read some professional resources that had come to my attention during the first term. Below I’ll include them with a brief overview. I also made time to read a new “young adult” series which was recommended to me by my students and, I have to say, they have very good taste because I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Book List:

Engaging Readers and Writers with Inquiry – Jeffrey D. Wilhelm

Wilhelm shows that it’s easy to teach with inquiry no matter what the subject area. The book includes: examples of guiding questions for every content area; planning guidelines and sample inquiry units; prompts, walkarounds, and dozens of activities to deepen thinking about topics; engaging examples of questioning schemes that promote inquiry-oriented reading; and much more.

Comprehension & Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action – Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels

This book is a guide for teachers who want to realize the benefits of well-structured, engaging, cross-curricular projects. It is an excellent resource for teachers to join with students to explore rich content inside and beyond the curriculum- to wonder, question, build knowledge, care, and take action in the world. I engaged my students in a unit about hunger (which I described in my blog entry entitled: When Teaching Comes Full Circle) which was structured around the strategies shared in this fantastic resource.

Matched and Crossed – Ally Condie

My students recommended this series stating, “If you liked The Hunger Games then you’ll love this series.” They were right! A futuristic fable of love and struggle against an oppressive society, it asks the question: Can there be freedom without choice? A very easy read that had me hooked right from the first page. Well worth it for junior/intermediate teachers especially.

As you can tell, having the first week of the year off was a great way for me to reflect, read, and regroup 🙂

Happy New Year to everyone and all the best for the continuation of the school year!

December 28, 2011December 29, 2011 Alison.Board Classroom Layouts, Planning

Time to Reflect

Our two week break allows time for a much needed and deserved rest. However, it is also a good time to look back on the first 3 months of school and think about what worked well and what might benefit with some tweaking. I always find the return to class in January and the return after March Break, an opportunity to change things up a little. This might be as simple as moving the desks around to give the students a new perspective of their environment, or creating new centres such as a science inquiry corner or a recycled materials corner for exploration and expression.

When I look back at the photos I have taken in the past months, I can see before me the images that show the children engaged in their learning. These images resulted from opportunities to learn together in collaboration and to explore a variety of materials and forms of expressions. It required planning that integrated language, math, science, social studies, and visual art. It confirms for me that I want to continue to provide these opportunities when we return in January. On the other hand, I see a corner of the room that is not utilized, a listening centre that is rarely used, and a need for another table to build or create collaboratively at. So, when I return in January, I would like to make a few physical tweaks to the layout and add something to the listening centre as an invitation (maybe plain tapes to record the child’s retell of the story or paper and coloured pencils for the children to draw their mental images of the story they are listening to).

Whatever the changes are, the children will notice. See the classroom as their invitation to learn. Continue with what works, and edit or make changes to things that need it! Enjoy the start of the New Year!

December 27, 2011December 27, 2011 Samantha.Perrin Diverse Learning Needs, Learning in a Real Life Context, Resources

More About Not Reinventing the Wheel…and Being Resourceful

It is sage advice for us as teachers not to reinvent the wheel’, and it is so nice when it is followed up with a good idea. Carmen’s Financial Resource link will go in my ‘back pocket’ of resources to use when in an upper grade, as will many of the ideas and suggestions from the teachers in this blog. To add to the blog’s repertoire of ‘resourceful ideas’ I have one to share that can be adapted to any grade and it has been successful with my Grade 1’s.

One of the initiatives at my school is to be more ecologically conservative (waste less, conserve, recycle and reuse). In this spirit, I have planned some creative cross-curricular art activities that have the students re-using found materials and scrap materials in the classroom. It’s a simple formula for me to follow, requiring us to use what’s available in the classroom and it results in art work that the students become very engaged in and that is meaningful to them:

I start with a picture book or unit theme to act as a springboard to the task. From the unit/book I select something for the students to create in their own image (for example, at the beginning of the school year we read the story ‘Chrysanthemum’ by Kevin Henkes).

I then have the students design a ‘plan’ of their work, mapping out the materials and colour schemes of their work (in this case, a flower that reflects their own individuality, much like Chrysanthemum’s name in the story book).

I give the students a wide variety of materials to choose from (scrap paper, coffee filters, markers, crayons, pastels, water, old wrapping paper, foil, foam etc. ) to construct their item and encourage them t o follow their plan as they create.

I usually follow up the activity with a writing task which can be linked to a variety of Language expectations (writing in the voice of their created item, descriptive writing, narrative etc.)

It’s incredible how enthusiastic and engaged the students are in these kind of activities because it reflects their own creativity and individuality. There is no wrong answer as the artwork and writing is the students’ own creation, and it is a rich task that acts as a vehicle for me to teach and assess specific strands of the curriculum that need to be applied to their work.

I am attaching a picture of the flowers created at the beginning of the school year, and I will attach more photos in the new year of the students’ more recent creations (*the leaves of the flowers show student writing: “I am special because…”)

December 19, 2011December 19, 2011 Carmen.Oliveira Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel- Use Your Resources!

I recently shared a Financial Literacy unit I did with my Grade 5/6 class last year where we explored the topic of “needs and wants” and integrated the inquiry with Literacy, Math, and the Arts. Our class was filmed and the lessons, along with the videos, are now available on Edugains, the Ministry of Education website.

The teachers at the workshop were not aware that Edugains now has an entire section dedicated to Financial Literacy with lessons and videos to support teachers. I was asked to share the resource in case others are interested in implementing and integrating Financial Literacy into their teaching.

Go to:

http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/index.html

Click: Financial Literacy and go to Resources

You can then search based on Grade levels and topics. Our exploration is under Elementary- Grade 5/6 Literacy and the Arts

There are so many amazing lessons and activities. It definitely goes to show that we do not need to reinvent the wheel to try something new.

December 14, 2011December 15, 2011 Alison.Board Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Diverse Learning Needs, Homework

Homework and Parent Communication

While reading the previous post by Samantha, I was thinking about my own students, the homework they do, and the requests or concerns from the parents regarding homework. In my Grade 1 and 2 classroom, there is a definite connection between homework and parent communication.

At the beginning of the school year, there was no assigned homework. However, unfinished work would often be sent home with the students for completion. One student in particular welcomed this opportunity, as she said her parents wanted her to have something to work on while her older sister was doing homework. Other students were rushing to complete their work so they didn’t have to take it home. This resulted in a large gap in completion time from the “rushers” and the “procrastinators.” Since it is usually the same groups of students, I have since been encouraging the rushers to go back and take a little more time, while encouraging the procrastinators to use their time efficiently and giving time for completion at the end of the day. All of this echoes Samantha’s comment about “the importance of differentiation in the classroom.” Not all students will need the same skill practice or review. Some just need more time, and others may need more support or practice.

I communicate to parents using our classroom website, emails, and the agendas – depending on the type of message I am sending. Every week when I write a journal entry on the website, I let the parents know what we are currently working on in class, for example addition and subtraction. I then provide an idea or resource for homework that the parents can use at their convenience, such as a link to an on-line math game or a game of concentration with sight words. For many of the parents it gives them concrete ideas for supporting their children in fun or interactive ways, without the pressure of completing a paper and pencil task while making dinner. I also review the children’s work during the day or when conferencing with them, and make a list of the students who may require more skill practice at home. By recording a particular task in their agenda, the parents are aware that this is specific to their child’s needs. Communication with the parents has provided a consistent extension of support from school to home. It has also helped when a student is distracted or having difficulty, and the parents are able to communicate what might be going on at home as an explanation. To be purposeful and effective, homework should be differentiated to the student or group of learners. At a Grade 1 and 2 level, good parent communication will support the learning at home.

December 12, 2011 Samantha.Perrin Communication with Parents and Guardians, Diverse Learning Needs, Homework

Philosophy and Practice of Homework

Recent posts about assignments and parental involvement had me reflecting on my own dilemmas about homework assignments and how my philosophy toward student homework has evolved depending on the students, the grade that I am teaching and my own experience. There are many factors that can influence the kind of homework students could/should receive, and that can be the students’ grade-level, ability, community access, level of support at home, the management of the classroom environment and extracurricular commitments, to name a few. It’s up to the teacher’s professional judgement to decide what is appropriate. For me as a teacher, additional influences such as experience (or inexperience) with a grade level, access to resources, ability to plan ahead and knowledge of what is actually ‘useful homework’ versus ‘make work’ influence the type of work that is sent home with the students. I am discovering that all of the factors contribute to the continuous shifts and swings in the planning and pacing of class work and assignments.

In my first year of teaching, homework only came in the form of research for class work and completion homework. The intended outcome of this kind of homework was to ‘help the students keep up with the classroom program’ (Heart and Art, p.80), which often backfired. Some of the same students who consistently did not complete their work in class also had evening commitments, parents with little spare time to supervise them and were forgetting to bring work back to school, resulting in further disruptions. Frustrations mounting, I quickly learned the importance of differentiation in the classroom and learning a better system for staying on top of the students’ progress.

In my second year of teaching, with little time and knowledge of how to access building materials for a unit that required the building of bridges, ‘Building a Bridge’ became the month-long home assignment. My assessment of the assignment required a lot of thought (weighing and grading the different aspects of the assignment) and planning, as most of the bridges that arrived in my classroom were worthy of a passing grade in an architectural course. The students’ grades were heavily derived from their classroom research and ability to orally explain the mechanics behind their work. While it was a successful assignment that enabled the students to work with and learn alongside their parents, I felt conflicted knowing that the parents/caregivers also sacrificed their evenings and weekends to support their children.

So much of what we as teachers learn is through trial and error, and most of what we learn, remember and refine is from the ‘errors’ that we make along the way. Now, the homework that I assign falls in the categories of practice, preparation and extension, which I discovered through my trials and errors, and also from the partnerships that I have this year (i.e., learning from what other’s have discovered to be successful). Weekly, my students are sent home with a language activity that reinforces and extends a concept learned in class, and a math activity (that is intended for family participation and problem solving). The math activity reinforces the skills of explaining thought processes (e.g., pictures, numbers and words to explain their solution), and is intended to prepare the students for the continued expectations through the grades. Preparing these materials isn’t too taxing of my lesson planning time, the homework is encouraged but not mandated, and through this, I hope to be considerate of ‘family time and commitments’ while giving the students (and their parents) means to practice and support classroom learning at home.

I realize that the next grade I teach will require more re-working and re-programming to find a good-fit homework outcome, and I am learning that this is normal. In planning the kind of learning that takes place outside of the classroom, I will continue to consider the many factors that influence successful ‘homework outcomes’ and utilize the tips and insights of my trusted colleagues who also continue to work and re-work their methods and planning.

December 12, 2011December 12, 2011 Sangeeta.McAuley Assessment, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context

Preparing students for their generation

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how much I count on technology on a daily basis. There’s a mental checklist running through my mind before the day even begins. Laptop for note- taking, check. iPhone with recorded message for students, check. SMART Board lesson set up, check.

Most recently, I’ve added the best one of all to this list: iPad to encourage higher-level thinking and problem-solving. CHECK!!! (no, I do not work for Apple on the side…).

I have used the iPad to teach my students a number of skills:

-how to make webs as a springboard to writing (using Popplet)

-how to use audio recordings to explain what they do when they choose the “right” books to read

-how to make puppet shows that re-enact some tough choices they have made in their lives (using Puppet Pals)

I’ve never been a huge fan of paper-pencil tasks because I see how they can sometimes limit students who have a lot to say and who are creative thinkers. By using technology to engage my students, not only am I getting a more accurate picture of what they can do, but I am also preparing them to be what we always talk about in teaching: critical thinkers.

Their generation will be asked to do more thinking, more analysis, more decision-making, so why not start now?

December 11, 2011December 12, 2011 Roz.Geridis Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Diverse Learning Needs, Homework, Learning About Your Students

Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is the best classroom management you can use. You also need to be consistent with your promises and any consequences you mention. Many classrooms have reward systems and over the years, I have tried a variety of suggestions. Some suggestions you may have heard about or seen are: group points, behaviour charts/logs, reward systems, and a few more. I have combined systems I have used in the past and found a way to make it work for my class. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have a very energetic, talkative all boys class. They are great kids and are very easily distracted by each other.

At the beginning of the year, I introduced Ms. G bucks to my grade 5/6 class. I used the WORD business card template and used a variety of denominations to help the boys with their multiplication and addition skills. I also initial each buck I give out in a colour marker. The bucks were and are given out for students following classroom routines, handing in paperwork, anything I want the rest of the class to do. I sometimes give them out for handing in homework. It is amazing to see how quickly the students will pay attention when I mention I am giving out Ms. G bucks.

The students helped me to develop a list of what they can buy with the bucks. This is where the program is different from many out there and the kids did buy into the concept of program. They were involved in decision making process; I didn’t tell them what happened with the money, they told me. The kids made suggestions and if it was feasible, I would add it (but some suggestions had to be guided). For example, the kids suggested buying the ability to be a teacher for the day; we tweaked that and end up with being teacher for a lesson. All ideas were included; the students’ ideas were realistic, and again, some needed to be guided. However, I did add pencils/erasers; when students can get a new pencil/eraser the next day; you will find many are left on the floor or in the hallway. Not anymore!

I also left the ability to fine students to the teacher’s discretion. Fines to students happen after a couple of reminders, routines are still not followed. Fines are usually used to remind students of the rules. Consequences for inappropriate behaviour are based on the behaviour, not fines.

Although the students have only bought pencils and erasers with their bucks, this program has worked out very well. The excitement of saving up the money and being able to buy something big is really building in the class. At first, the class was saving for a field trip but not anymore.

You may use this idea as is but I would suggest adjusting the program to suit your students and style. As I mentioned at the beginning, this idea came from a combination of a variety of systems utilized in the past and some I have heard about. Some programs have points recorded on a large chart for the whole class to see and some are recorded by the teacher, with students also tracking points. You have to know your students. My class has students who like to separate themselves from the others and therefore individual bucks works great. Also, with individual bucks, you will find students from every table will be more focused which helps focus the attention of the rest of the class.

December 5, 2011December 5, 2011 Alison.Board Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Relationships

Reading through the previous posts, I see a common thread; the value of relationships. Building relationships are an integral part of our success as teachers and require initiative, consistency, and care. I often feel drained at the end of a school day, and need a quiet space and time to recharge (usually this is limited to my car and the time it takes to drive home!). When you think of how many children, parents, teachers, and support staff that you engage with in a day, it is understandable that teaching can take a lot out of you. On the flip side, it is also stimulating and energizing. It is the rewarding relationships with students and colleagues that motivate us and support us as professionals to keep doing what we do.

A new teacher has many things to keep in mind, but building positive relationships with a network of people will have lasting effects. A mentor may be a teacher that you are paired with based on a commonality recognized by administration, or simply by the willingness of the mentor to take on the role. It is an excellent opportunity to have a “go-to” person for your questions throughout the year. Often, there are other teachers that you meet that become unofficial mentors or supporters. In my first year of teaching I got to know the teacher that was the closest in physical proximity (the classroom next to mine) and although she taught a different grade and left the school a year later, she continues today to be an unofficial mentor for me, always receptive as a sounding board for my concerns and offers thoughtful guidance. Exchanging ideas with a colleague is another way to support your practice in a less formal way. There is a teacher at the other end of the hall at my school that I have connected with and we often cover an array of topics from instructional practices to field trip ideas to incorporating technology, all within a five or 10 minute conversation. It has become a routine that we walk to the parking lot (it’s a long walk) together once or twice a week as an opportunity for exchanging ideas and sharing information.

Build relationships and build a network to sustain your growth as a teacher. Be willing to ask questions and be willing to share your knowledge and experiences with others.