Kelly.McLaughlin Celebrating Success

Progress Reports

I can honestly say that after writing what seemed like one hundred progress reports for the first time in my career, that I am very proud of my students and myself for having had the patience to get through them all! Writing comments about a students work in 2-3 lines on a program does not seem to give the students the justice that they deserve. I found a way to get around that.

A very amazing mentor of mine in my school board showed me during my teaching placement how to foster a spark in student’s minds. He showed them their learning skills on their reports before sending in the final project. It showed the student’s what success looked like if they had already attained it and if they wanted to succeed, how they could attain that. Students attitudes changed drastically after seeing their marks.

My students have done nothing but succeed since the moment I met them. They are always working hard and always making sure to be the best student they can be. I make sure that at all points of the day I am showing them how proud I am of their success whether it be a class points system, awarding them marks for it or just pulling them aside to let them know they are appreciated.

When a concerned student came to me today and told me he was worried about his progress report, it seemed to me that students sometimes are more worried about doing poorly then they are about doing well. I think we should start to foster a positive attitude in our classes and show and tell students about success and how to succeed and to stay away from using words like failure or unsuccessful.

Positivity can go a long way and student success is what this entire progression is about, is it not?

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.

Photo of Mike Beetham
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.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Assessment, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Professional Learning and Growth, Student Ownership

Time To Smell The Roses

As the year now shifts to the final months of academia, it is important to take the time and reflect on the growth of yourself as a teacher, the academic gains that your students have made and the endless best efforts that took place in your learning community. We often start to stress or feel the pressure of the year ending with so much curriculum yet to cover that we neglect the opportunity to recognize the gains accomplished thus far. By instilling in your students (and developing in your teaching practice) the skills to reflect on their effort, accomplishments and next steps we pave the way for students to become a partner with us in the educational journey.

The timing is critical as it will allow all parties involved the opportunity to give and receive feedback that will direct them in their goal setting for the last two months of the year. If this feedback is provided too close to the end of the year there will not be an adequate amount of time to use it to create change. This is an essential time when I focus on the accomplishments of each student and work with them to establish next steps. An analogy that I would use is when a coach takes that final timeout to share a plan and pump up his/her team for that final push to reach their goal. The message the student receives is that I am capable, I have been successful and it is important for me to keep it going rather than coasting into summer vacation. Enjoy this time of year and take great pride in what you have been able to accomplish with your students.

 

 

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Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers

A Great Classroom Is Created When…

I had to share this with someone, so I felt this blog was the best way. At a recent class meeting we all sat down and started to talk about what makes a classroom great. This topic generated a myriad of ideas, discussion and debate. I am sharing with you the final product that came from this amazing group of students.

– when everyone works as a team

– you celebrate when people do something right

– every student is a success

– tell the teacher how you care for them and they will tell you the same way

– teachers teach us how to share, cooperate and work as a team

– we have fitness in the morning

– we do different kinds of things like planting

– you don’t give too many chances

– you take the time to get to know each other

– don’t be too easy, don’t be too hard

– we set goals

– when students can be taught and entertained at the same time

– teachers discipline

– you take risks with each other

– students and teacher communicate to each other

– we give lots of smiles

– students are allowed to teach teachers

– students are allowed to learn from their mistakes

Needless to say, my students have once again taught me how valuable an asset to our classroom they are. Their collective voice has demonstrated the power of our class motto ‘Together Everyone Achieves More Success’. I hope you can read my happiness and pride!

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Erin.Grewar Assessment, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, General

Revising the Talking Strategy in French Class

At the beginning of the year, I remember writing about my new strategy of getting students to speak more French during class. Brimming with hope and optimism, I had implemented “chat sessions” where kids would casually discuss with a partner/group various topics related to what we had been studying. There were times when I provided structure (specific question to discuss/specific structure to use) and others where it was more casual and focused on just speaking in French for the duration. I was pleasantly surprised by the relative “enthusiasm” and commitment with which these activities were met. By mid to late October though, both were in short supply. Instead I was forced to reckon with the all too familiar resistance and lethargy known to many Core French teachers. When I could no longer deny this fact, I mustered up the willpower and energy to once again confront the issue. Upon further reflection, I am ready to acknowledge the following:

#1: Be Consistent With Routines
This seems self evident but for me, I tend to easily get sidetracked and let it slide (a bad trait but at least I can admit it). I think a five minute window is adequate and it’s a good way to start the class – every class!

#2: Provide Variety to Activities
I still think my discussion topics are a good idea and posting some support vocabulary is helpful and sometimes crucial to the success of the conversation. Perhaps a more innovative approach is to have a pairs of students generate the topic/question/sentence starters. Getting them directly involved this way is a means of having them more implicated in your lesson. Something else I tried is the French version of 4 corners (Quatre coins) where I would read a statement and once in their corner, students would have to discuss the topic (and in my case, practise forming an opinion statement). Games are always a favourite and, when structured properly, can really provide an opportunity to work in a lot of conversational French.

#3: Recognize those students who really make an effort
Find a way to somehow give credit where credit is due. I myself use a star card where I sign a certain number of times and once they reach a corner, they can redeem a prize (usually a small chocolate bar). I also have something called “Les points de participation” which the accumulated total counts towards their speaking mark at the end of the term.

Whatever the challenges, it is nonetheless rewarding to see (hear) what your students are capable of without inhibition and doubt. Take the opportunity to share what is working for you. It’s great to have new ideas to try.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs

Update on J

When I last shared (September), J had arrived  in a foreign school, classroom and community. After three months of focussed work to help J realize his potential, celebrate his uniqueness and work through his challenges, I am ecstatic to report on a young boy who has blossomed. He comes to school each and every day with a smile on his face (and most importantly) a belief that he is a capable learner who now views school as a safe place to be.

Our journey is not over, but rather just beginning. J is now in an emotionally safe  place where the academic and social gaps that will help him return to a regular classroom can be addressed. As with all good instruction, the front loading work established the foundation that was necessary to build the bridge to allow J to join the learning community that awaited him.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that you are able to enjoy it with family and friends.

 

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Year End Activities

Celebrations

“If it is worth doing, it is worth celebrating”. That component is a significant part of every classroom agreement that I am a part of. As my classroom community evolves it becomes a priority that best effort is all that can be asked of the students and the teacher. As such, we do not celebrate grades, we celebrate best effort. Each and every child in the room knows and understands that as long as they are working as hard as they can, the result is always worth celebrating.

That belief began to evolve in my teaching about twenty years ago when I first began to understand the role of diagnostic assessment and how important it is to start where my students are and not be driven by grade expectations. I can best sum it up by saying, it is the juncture in my career where I began to teach children and not deliver curriculae.  My students (and classroom) began to lose the competitive edge and shifted toward a cooperative learning environment with a focus on helping everyone be successful. A significant aspect to that change was the need to redesign what celebrations looked like.

C– classroom community social events (Thanksgiving lunch, special days)

E– everyone gets to share their work in a public forum

L – lots of trips to connect learning to real life scenarios

E– extra high fives, fist pumps, sunshine calls home, notes and oral praise

B – board filled with weekly awards

R– regular positive visits from principal, parents and other staff

A – always asking for input from classroom advisors on new ways to celebrate

T – teacher models and then a gradual release of responsibility

E– every effort big or small is worth celebrating

How do you celebrate the efforts of your students? I encourage you to post your ideas for others to read.

A list of Mrs. Mcauley's Thing
Sangeeta.McAuley Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Learning About Your Students

What’s Your Thing?

The beginning of the school year always feels so hopeful and the thought of getting to know a whole new group of children is very exciting!

This year, I decided to take on a new angle to my usual “Identity” theme by helping my Grade 4 students to identify what their “thing” could be.

It all began with explaining “Identity” as puzzle pieces that make us who we are…

Each student had a chance to make an image of their identity, broken down into pieces. This led to questions such as, “How does knowing who you are help you?” and “What are the pieces that you are most proud of?”

Before I could introduce the idea that everyone has a “thing”, I decided to read, “Woolbur”, a wonderful story written by Leslie Helakoski. It highlights the unique qualities we all possess and how we can celebrate these qualities.

Afterwards, I asked students to think about Woolbur and what “his thing” might be…whether it was something he liked to do or a talent he possessed.                                               

   

Then, I asked them to try it out on me: “What is Mrs. McAuley’s Thing?” As they wrote on small white boards, I wrote my own thoughts on a hidden chart and then we compared them. It was pretty eye-opening and led to conversations about assumptions we can make about people.

Next, my students are taking photos of their “things” on iPads and putting together a collage. They are writing about one of their “things” and making an audio recording as they describe how they can use their “thing” to change the world.

If nothing else, this teaching experience has taught me that students are never too young to reflect on what makes them special. And when asked to take on a role in a team setting, they will be equipped, knowing what unique qualities they can share.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Making a Difference Through Education

The Power of Believing

It is not found in a curriculum, at an educational supply store or in a university course outline. But yet it is one of the most powerful tools that a teacher has. It is the belief in yourself to handle the varying demands of the teaching role, to have confidence in your professional expertise to help students and to instill that belief in each and every one of your students. As my students arrive in my classroom in September the one common element they have (besides a multitude of at risk behaviours) is the belief that they are not smart and that school is not a setting where they will do well. My target priority becomes the mission of helping my students be successful and to believe that school is a place where they will thrive and be triumphant.  This is easy said,  but experience has taught me that it does not occur in a few lessons or a unit of study but rather exists in my teaching philosophy and must be embedded in my talk, my instructional practices and my way of life in the school. I have developed a set of teaching eyes that focus on what students can do rather than what they can’t do. That is a contagious approach that will spread quickly from adults to children.

I would like to introduce you to J who arrived in my classroom with a very closed attitude toward school despite not knowing me, the school or the classroom he has been forced to attend. Before I could begin to help him I had to get to know him as a person and not a student. What are his interests, his talents and his challenges? Our journey of learning is now underway and it will have its ups and downs, joyous moments and sad times but we are coming together with the understanding that he will be successful, he is smart and that school is a not so bad place to be. I will keep you updated on our progress.