Building Inclusion

June 14, 2015June 15, 2015 Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Equity, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Addressing Equity

The elementary school that I teach at is a K-8 school with approximately 540 students. It has grown over the century with new additions, since its original build in 1923. I have only known the school for the past three years that I have been teaching there. So I consider the school to be diverse with many new Canadians, mostly from Bangladesh. It is also higher needs in terms of the challenges students face for success, according to the Learning Opportunity Index. The family income has declined for families attending the school, as demonstrated by the data. Many of the parents work part-time, multiple jobs, and through the evenings, nights, or on weekends.

What I found interesting to note, is that teachers who have taught at the school for more than ten years, many for more than 15 years, have difficulty seeing the demographics of the school as they are. They continue with the same fund raising projects as they always have, yet lament that there is less participation or interest from the students. They continue to book trips that cost more that an hourly wage that most families would make, then are disappointed in the attendance. It is only in the past year that they have been questioned about the cost required for students to attend their own graduation celebration. The teacher response in regards to how they are accommodating a student population with a decrease in family income, is to encourage students to come forth if they don’t have the funds and the staff will address it or provide the funds, based on the individual situation.

Recently I was talking to a teacher from another school board about equity and teacher bias. She recommended the ETFO publication, Possibilities: Addressing Poverty in Elementary Schools to read. It is an excellent resource. It not only encourages a change in mindset by educators about assumptions and biases in regards to poverty, but it provides strategies and literature connections to address the real needs of students for academic success and well-being. It also provided information on how to engage parents and the community of a lower income status.

According to TDSB, “Educational research has demonstrated that children from lower income families face more significant barriers in achieving high educational outcomes.” It is essential that we as educators are aware of these facts and barriers, as well as the strategies and supports necessary for the students that are in our schools right now.

Link to ETFO publication: http://www.etfo.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment/ETFOsBookClubs/Lists/ETFO%20Book%20Club/DispForm.aspx?ID=37

June 6, 2015June 8, 2015 Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Planning, Student Ownership

Service Learning Projects

Service learning projects are a form of project-based learning in which learning outcomes are accomplished through community service. It is a powerful approach to teaching that provides students with authentic learning experiences in real-life contexts. The outcomes of a quality service-learning project are endless (citizenship, responsibility, character, teamwork). Service learning projects are timeless and can be used at any time of the year.

I have used a service-learning component in my yearly plan for over two decades. In that time, my Junior students have worked with seniors, redesigned local parks, multiple environmental projects with the municipality, projects within our own school community, work at local outdoor education facilities, assisting local charities or community organizations and international projects with Sierra Leone. No matter what the project, the outcomes have been very consistent. First and foremost my students are able to start to look beyond their personal needs and develop a global awareness.

The goodness of all children just shines through like beacons when they know they are helping others. For my current teaching assignment I work with students who have reputations as aggressive, ego-centered individuals who do not care about the people around them. They rapidly lose that bravado when they know that they are making a difference for other people. Throughout this year we worked with our local education centre stacking wood for the upcoming maple syrup program, replanted trees and helped keep their site litter free. The experience of knowing they were making a difference for others created an outcome that was palpable. I am sure that I could see their self-esteem grow in front of my eyes.

My most memorable service-learning project occurred several years ago where my Grade 4 class worked with a group of seniors in a program called ‘Walk A Day In My Shoes’. The end result of our year-long work together was two fold. My students developed both respect and understanding for seniors and for many of the seniors, they found a new purpose in their life. As for me, I was reminded how much I love my profession and the difference teachers can make.

May 3, 2015May 4, 2015 Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Student Ownership

The Power Of The Circle

The circle has many historical references probably none more meaningful as the significance to the traditions of our First Nations’ People. It is a very powerful formation as it represents the importance of each and every person in the group. There is no start or finish to a circle as well as representing the cycle of life for both nature and humans. I use the circle in my classroom for all classroom discussions, meetings and as a morning check in and day end check out.

During circle time the students are facing each other, taught how to demonstrate a good listener position and become more engaged in each and every discussion. The key message the circle sends is that each and every person in that circle is important and valued for their ideas, who they are and the voice they will share with the rest of the group.

My first month of school is the time when the circle is introduced and the procedures that will be used during circle time. It is like any other beginning of the year activity, it requires a lot of work and consistency in the beginning. I use a variety of adventure based programming activities to further support the concept of how powerful the circle is in our physical education classes.

Over the course of first term there is a gradual release of responsibility to the point (at this time of the year) the circle is lead most often by the students. It becomes a tool for everyone in the room and not just the teacher. Last week a student asked to have circle time so that an issue that had taken place during the fitness break could be addressed and resolved.

Many times I am asked how do you use the circle in a classroom full of students, desks, support material and other classroom materials. My best answer to that important question is that if there is a will, there is always a way to make it work. Through both creative classroom design and the establishment of effective routines, the transition from regular classroom to circle formation can become seamless. I highly encourage you to research more about the traditional circle and how it may become a strategy in your classroom.

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Classroom Layouts, Classroom Management, First Week Reflections, General, Planning

Sweat The Small Things

Contrary to what you may have heard or read, in a classroom it is critical that you pay attention to the small things. Those intricate details are what can either make or break a classroom. Each teacher has their own style and that is as different as each student is from one another. Therefore when you get new students every September they are products of the teacher or teachers they had in the past year. Every component of the school day is based on what approach was taken with them (or not addressed) in the past. Once again you must start with your vision. What do you want your classroom to look like, feel like and sound like. From that point, you backward plan to achieve your goals. This approach is necessary whether it is September, starting an LTO in March or whether you are moving into a new division. Each component is dependent on fulfilling many small, intricate details.

The following topics are key domains that I focus in on and plan out every detail to assist me in reaching my goals:

How will I make my classroom a learning community where every member is valued and contributes to the overall success of the classroom (relationships)?
What routines will need to be developed to ensure maximum on task time and therefore student success?
How will I track student achievement and communicate to both parents and students about their growth and next steps?
How will my classroom set up contribute to student learning and the development of positive relationships?
How will I develop a student’s ability to self assess and not only be reliant on adults telling them how they are doing?

Each and every one of the above domains require specific attention to details in order for them to yield the results I desire. By sweating the small things, I am able to accomplish many BIG IDEAS!

April 9, 2015April 10, 2015 Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Making a Difference Through Education

More Than A Student

This past several months have been very challenging as it seems we have plateaued and are not progressing as I would expect us to at this time of the year. Thanks to a young girl in my class, I was reminded just how important it is to remember that I work with children and not adults.

Every morning the bell rings and I expect all of us to move into high gear in order to accomplish the day’s agenda. I am ready to give my absolute best effort (proverbial 125%) and have developed the expectation in the class that each person’s part is to put forth their best effort. Sometimes I can get lost in the tidal wave of curriculum expectations and forget that each and every day my students go home to a life that I often know little about. They come to school with many situations that can either contribute or detract from their success. I was reminded of just how important it is to take the time to check in with my class on a daily basis. This past month one of my students was going through some horrific custodial scenarios and yet she continued to come to school and attempted to live the classroom standards. She was not making the gains she had set and therefore put more pressure on herself, which ended up creating results that were not helpful from either a personal or academic standpoint.

My primary role at that time should not have been academics and curriculum accomplishment but rather meeting her social/emotional needs. Which in turn would have helped her where she needed it most.

March 9, 2015March 12, 2015 Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Learning About Your Students, Student Ownership

Trust and Verify

This is a fantastic new phrase I came upon. I have been experimenting with it in my class over the last two months. As I work with my special needs students I am always looking for new ways to say the same message. A key component that I strive to accomplish in my classroom is the concept of trust. That entails students trusting adults, adults trusting students, and students trusting students. TRUST is a pillar of an effective classroom community.

This phrase puts the trust factor as automatic and you know the verification will follow. That is a paradigm shift for many people. But what I have found from my student conversations is that the fact that I automatically trust them is in itself a breakthrough for their confidence and self esteem.

The way that I am using it is to show them that I believe in them, trust them to do what is right or what they were asked to do. Their role (critical piece) is to show me that my decision was the correct one. I guess a simple way to explain it is to see this as an attribute based approach in that all children are innately good and capable of being trusted. It is proving to have a self-fulfilling affect on my students. As a young boy in my class put it, “You are right Mr. B., I can be trusted”.

February 16, 2015February 17, 2015 Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Learning About Your Students, Making a Difference Through Education, Wellness

Wellness in the Classroom

Wellness is an important focus for our grade 6/7 classroom and is also a hot topic school and board wide. It encompasses so much of what we do and who we are that it can be difficult to create a specific lesson for “wellness.” In The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning book, it states, “Getting to know your students is a big part of your success as a teacher” (p 34). This is an important message, as it encourages teachers to be responsive to the specific needs and interests of their current students and not apply generic strategies or lessons.

I recently read a suggestion that a leader should learn and know at least 10 things about a person. This would be a good tool for teachers to use if getting to know the individual needs and interests of their students is challenging for them. A simple notebook with a list under each student name can be filled in as a teacher gets to know new students. I know that for some students I would easily have a list of 20 facts, while there are a few that I would struggle to get 10 for! The Class Database activity (p 39) could be easily modified with questions that involve students’ needs and interests around wellness, to gather some initial data on your students. I have also used a Multiple Intelligence quiz to determine preferences for students and used them (music, nature) throughout the year to guide my plans and make my lessons or activities more inclusive, especially when some students are feeling less confident with content or skill development.

Leading up to Bell Let’s Talk day, we viewed the commercials on YouTube and worked in groups to discuss the effective use of language and its influence on attitude and acceptance. During a language activity with the book, The Man With the Violin, students recognized the sadness of the child and made similar connections from their own experiences of being rushed through their day. We went for a class walk to a nearby park with no activity planned, but to enjoy whatever we noticed. Students were excited to Tweet about their own understanding of wellness using the Bell Let’s Talk #, making suggestions that were accessible and real for them such as “write in a journal” or “talk to an adult”. They are currently making lists of what inspires them and what brightens their day. These activities and discussions continue to be integrated through subjects like language, health, art, music, and science.

February 15, 2015February 17, 2015 Beverly Papove Building Inclusion, General

The Power of Show and Tell

There is a table in my classroom that is called La table de découvertes (Discovery Table). On it you can find things that I have collected with my family, mostly when my own children were young; there are some seashells, plenty of rocks, 2 bird’s nests, a small log gnawed and shaped by beavers, snake skin molt, a stick covered in tracks made by an insect infestation under the bark, feathers, and pine cones. It is a corner of the classroom where students can visit and touch, marvel and wonder. And it is because of La table de découvertes that Show and Tell (La présentation) has made a comeback in my classroom this year. It wasn’t in my daily plans or my Long Range Plans, but because of its success, I will now be sure to include it every year.

In September, a student asked if she could bring in something for the Discovery Table. She was very excited because she had some shells she wanted to share with the class. The student presented the shells, broken and whole, which she had found on a beach while on holiday. Every student wanted to see and touch the shells as if they had never seen such things before. They asked her which was her favourite, and she told them why they were special to her. This was our first Présentation.
Initially, it was this one student who wanted to share her treasures with the class. Soon she was bringing in something every day until her mother began to be concerned that perhaps it was creating a problem.

After all, among the many items this student brought in, there was a small cupboard filled with origami stars; two small carved statues from a hot country (she wasn’t sure which one), and a zip lock bag of her cat’s orange fur. Everything was presented in detail, accurate or not, and everyone watched and listened and asked appropriate questions afterwards. I was able to tell the mother that everyone was always interested in what her daughter brought to school.

After a few weeks, eventually other students, even the quietest ones, started coming up to me, asking if they could present something to the class. Students would bring in special items from home or simply find cool rocks in the school yard and want to present them because they had a funny shape or a shiny spot on them (Rocks are a big deal in our classroom).

Now our presentations are a regular event at the end of most days, with a few flexible guidelines. This is what works for us:
1) 15 minutes for Show and Tell.
2) 3 students present within that time period. This allows time for each child to speak in as much detail as they like about what they are showing and to pass around their items. The audience also doesn’t have time to lose interest.
3) Some days we present while sitting in a circle on the floor; other days students sit at their desks while the presenter stands in front of a small table where they can display their items.
4) Limit the follow-up question period to 3 questions or comments.

What I love about Show and Tell is that it is a student lead activity that is easy to facilitate. It gives students a true sense of agency as they talk like an expert in front of their peers about something that may or may not be in our Grade 3 curriculum – like sharks or cat fur – and have an audience that is actively listening and genuinely interested in what a presenter is showing and talking about. It is also an opportunity for students to be seen in a leadership role by their peers and to get a boost to their self-esteem.

Since the primary focus in French Immersion education is oral communication, Show and Tell is a clear choice as an activity that allows for a student to “acquire a strong oral foundation in the French language and focus on communicating in French” (Ontario Curriculum, French as a Second Language). The value of developing public speaking skills can also not be overlooked, as it takes great courage at any age, to ‘hold the floor’ and talk in front of one’s peers. As stated in the Language curriculum, students are encouraged to, “communicate – that is, read, listen, view, speak, write, and represent – effectively and with confidence”. Although some students may not have the confidence to volunteer, I haven’t made a schedule indicating the days when everyone is obliged to bring something to talk about. Instead, I have quietly asked a few students if they would like to bring in something to share with the class. It may take a few days or weeks before they are ready, but, following the example of the students who have gone before, everyone who has brought something in does a fine job presenting and fielding questions.

Finally, the benefits of Show and Tell go beyond the presenter to include all students in the audience. These students learn to practice listening actively and respectfully during presentations as well as how to follow up with pertinent questions. Probably the best thing of all, however, is that there is no evaluation of Show and Tell. While I do evaluate Book Talk presentations or projects with outlines and rubrics, I feel that the dynamic, impromptu nature of Show and Tell would be ruined if there were grades placed on the students’ performance, and it would no longer be a wonderful, relaxed way to finish the school day where oral presentation skills are practiced, treasures are shared, and students lead the show.

January 30, 2015February 2, 2015 Beverly Papove Building Inclusion, General

Celebrate Fabulousness

In my grade 3 French Immersion class, the following is something we do to help everyone feel special on St. Valentine’s Day. You need a few days to complete the activity, depending on the number of students in your class and how fast they work.

The idea is to make an “I am Fabulous” book. I like to use, « Je suis fabuleuse – une histoire vrai de (nom d’élève) » (I am Fabulous – the true story about (student’s name) for the book’s title. Each student writes the opening page of the book telling why they think they are fabulous, then they do the same thing for all their classmates. As a bonus, I send home a page for the parents to complete about their own child, and I also fill one out for each student. The pages are all collected and compiled so each student will receive their own ‘true story’ on Valentine’s Day and read about their Fabulousness/Fabulocité (words invented for this activity…).

To get ready, I make a chart to help students keep track of who they have written about and have them start by writing something about themselves.

Example/

Name/ Nom	Fabulousness / Fabulocité	Example/ Exemple
Me	I can do difficult things on my skis	I can do flips with no hands
Alison	She is an inventor	She invented a game called Oidar
Benjamin	He loves music	He likes to bring in CDs for the class to enjoy and we like them, too

After the students have written about themselves, I read a few samples to help create categories of fabulousness. On chart paper, in a web graphic organizer with the word Fabulousness/Fabulocité written in the middle, students see themes or categories emerge, such as; sports, kindness, perseverance, generosity, imagination, etc. You could also do categories following Bloom’s Taxonomy of Multiple Intelligences. In grade 3 language, this could be simplified to the terms Math Smart, Nature Smart, People Smart, Body Smart, Music Smart, Logic Smart, Self Smart and Logic Smart. Creating categories helps students avoid repetition and guides them to think about their classmates and themselves in many more ways.

A strategy I use to help students learn to express their opinion and justify it, is something called “Les 3 Ps” (Je PENSE… PARCE QUE… PAR EXEMPLE…). You can use a template for the students to complete as in a cloze activity, write it on the board so students can copy it and complete it in their own handwriting, or have them type out a few a day on the computer. There are probably a million other ways to do this more quickly and conveniently, however, once they get going, it does go remarkably fast. Students use the ideas they generate in the chart graphic organizer to fill in the blanks and complete these sentences.

Example/

Je pense que ______________ est fabuleux/fabuleuse, parce que ____________. Par exemple, ___________________________________________.

In English, it could look something like this;

I think that __________________________is fabulous because ________________ . For example, ___________________________________________ .

For the cover of the book, students are invited to bring in a photo of themselves or they can draw their portrait if they choose. For the pages inside, students are encouraged to illustrate their message to their classmates to help decorate the book and make it more special.

Although it takes a little planning and organization, creating the book is a nice activity to help remind students of the talents they each have.

January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 Lisa.Taylor Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Making a Difference Through Education, Wellness

Student Mental Health

With #BellLetsTalk day coming to a close, I thought I would talk a bit about how to address mental health in the classroom and why it is so important. No matter what the grade, it is essential that you model healthy behaviour, and teach strategies to deal with stress and talk to your students about mental health. There are obviously different levels of this and you would gauge that based on the group you have, but no matter what, it should not be ignored.

Last year I was having some personal mental health struggles. My physical health was fragile and I had been given some potentially very bad news about the possible outcomes for my physical health. This, combined with other issues that were weighing down on me, caused my mental health to really buckle under the pressure. I remember one day going into my class of Grade 2s and sitting on the carpet to do Tribes Tribbles. This is an activity where you pass around a card with 5 furry creatures on it and each student completes the sentence, “I’m feeling ______ today.” The blank is a colour and that colour corresponds to one of the characters. Each of the characters has a facial expression and body language to express an obvious emotion (sad, angry, happy, excited, just okay, etc.). The student also had the option to explain why he/she was feeling that way.

This particular day, I started us off. I had been feeling quite down that morning and my emotions were at the surface. Students have the “Right to Pass” if they do not want to share, but I was modeling healthy behaviour by sharing my feelings with a group I trusted. I told my class that I was feeling “blue” today. I decided to tell them why. I explained to them that our hearts are like cups and everything that happens in a day that is upsetting or “bad” is like putting a bit of water into that cup. It makes the cup heavier, and it starts to fill it up. I told them that I had been having a difficult time lately and that my cup was very full. One of my students asked what happened when the up got too full. I explained that everyone handles it differently, but that we often get very upset, and even cry. I then told them that there are ways to empty the cup before it overflows. We brainstormed some ways to empty the cup out – playing with friends, snuggling up with your parent(s), talking to someone about what is bothering you, helping someone else who seems to have a full cup, etc. We also talked about the fact that some of us have big cups, and some of us have smaller cups. Something that will roll of one person’s back, might cause another a great deal of emotional stress and pain. It all has to do with the size of their cup. This made the whole concept of feelings and handling bad feelings more concrete for them.

The most significant part of the whole activity for me though, was that my students could see that I was feeling blue. I was having a tough time. I had been for quite a while. As we went around the circle so that everyone else could have a turn with the Tribbles, my class did something I will never forget: they overflowed my cup and emptied it all at once! They shared their feelings with me in a way that filled my heart with such joy, as I knew they understood the importance of sharing, talking, and supporting each other. They said things like, “I feel blue because my friend is feeling sad today and I don’t know how to help him.” By the end of the circle that day, I was sobbing. My cup was almost full when we started so I knew it wasn’t going to take much. We did Tribbles almost everyday last year and I loved it. It doesn’t always start off in a deep, emotional place, but when it gets there, it is pretty incredible.

I feel like Tribbles or something like it lays a solid foundation for conversations about mental health and feelings in general. This is an activity that can be done from Pre-School up. It is non-threatening and a very positive way to share highs and lows in a non-threatening way.

Watching social media on a day like #BellLetsTalk makes it so clear that there is still a lot of work to be done to educate around mental health. I have included some infographics that were shared today that I found particularly interesting/shocking. Let’s get the conversation started when they are young and the stigma isn’t there!