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

Keeping them Engaged…

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

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

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

 

 

Alison.Board Before School Starts, Classroom Management

Care for Materials

When reading Mike’s blog entry “I Lost my Pencil” I was struck with how I have struggled with the same dilemma this year. Coming from a Kindergarten class I was comfortable being a “Materials Manager” for the classroom. All the materials were shared and they were intentionally presented in an inviting way to encourage use, conversation, and expression. There was time in our day to return all the materials, and to do so as a whole class.

In my current grade 5/6 classroom, I started the year with a materials centre. This was set up with a few shelves to hold pencils, erasers, rulers, scissors, glue sticks, and markers, etc. I was surprised to discover that within a few weeks the items were no longer accessible for the whole class. I would find rulers twisted and bent on the floor. Pencils left on shelves and also dropped to the floor. The scissors had scattered as well.

I think my plan for the new school year is to be more explicit with the care of our class materials. In order for students to be interested in maintaining a materials centre, more time will have to be provided. Although I may model care for materials, I need to be more explicit in my modelling and give the time during our day to make it a priority. I also plan on acknowledging the students who maintain the materials. Mike has suggested in his blog that each group of students has a materials manager that looks after a kit. I may look for volunteers or rotate students in a group to work together to maintain the class materials centre. The care for classroom materials is connected to character trait education. It can also extend to care of the school and the community.

 

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Erin.Grewar Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Students as Teachers

The ”EXPERT” Solution

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog about the difficulties of trying to meet the needs of all the students in my grade 7 class.  Just to refresh your memory, this particular group has a unique set of factors at play which undeniably influence the overall dynamic and structure of the class: 33 students in total, almost a 2:1 ratio of boys to girls, 5 gifted students, 3 hsp and another 3 on IEPs. As a solution to managing the endless questions and difficulties of all students, I had set up a system of students who acted as “experts” in their group. I had recruited those students who felt they had a solid grasp of the material and who equally were able to demonstrate patience and good communications skills. Luckily I had more than enough who fit the bill. I had asked the remaining students to submit the names of the top three experts they felt comfortable working with and after spending a couple of months in this arrangement, I decided to move them around to new groups. In the process, I had asked the class to provide me with some written feedback on their thoughts about the “expert” system. On the whole, people thought that it was an effective solution but there were quite a few amusing comments which I had not anticipated. I thought I’d share them with you.

They could all see that having an intermediary was a good form of “blockade” and made life much easier for the teacher. Some were annoyed that their experts couldn’t answer all their questions while others were grateful for the time and effort they had put forth. Funnily enough (I suppose in response to those super demanding students), some had felt rather intimidated and overwhelmed with having to look up all the words in the dictionary for their charges. Others reflected how it was sometimes a thankless job where people were quick to criticize but slow to appreciate.

We had a subsequent discussion as a class where we had to specifically define the duties of the experts who were really only supposed to be the first line of defence. We talked about the need to balance demands with also giving the experts some space to get their own work done. Finally, it was established that the experts were not free labour nor did their duties include literally doing the work of others. With these new parameters in place, the system has been fine-tuned and is now running like a well oiled machine. The experts have achieved a near celebrity type status and seem to enjoy the esteem of their peers. We have now added a new tier as well – the “Experts In Training.”J

Photo of Erin G
Erin.Grewar Classroom Management, General, Students as Teachers

Feedback on Descriptive Feedback

Sometimes the latest educational trends sound good in theory but oftentimes tend to be less than fruitful in reality. After thoroughly marking ninety assignments and including lots of suggestions, positive reinforcement and constructive criticism, I couldn’t help wondering if the writer’s cramp was really worth it. Were these kids really going to follow the advice so painstakingly offered? For that matter, were they even going to take the time to read what was written or were they just going to zero in on the mark and disregard everything else? I decided to candidly ask one of my grade 8 classes some pointed questions. They were more than happy to participate in an official “study group” and this is what they had to say on the subject.
“Do you read the comments your teachers provide or do you just look at the mark and disregard them? “ It’s true, the mark is what they look at first but all of them take the time to thoroughly read any feedback.
“Do you try to follow through with the suggested advice?”  Most said yes but there were a handful (and you know who they are) who stated that realistically, if it required a lot of effort (example – to redo something entirely), they would not.
“What form of descriptive feedback do you feel is the most valulable?”
This question kind of depended on the type of student they were. The ones who tended to be self-motivated and driven were able to take written feedback, internalize it and apply it. In all cases, students really found that a one on one meeting (however brief) where they had a private moment with the teacher was the most valuable. The verbal feedback provided them an opportunity to better absorb and ultimately respond to advice/suggestions instead of reacting defensively to critiques.
In sum, is the time and writer’s cramp worth it? Yes, it is above all, an opportunity to engage and connect with your students which does not go unrecognized.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Planning, Wellness

Personal – Professional Balance

Just a few more hours of marking. I can coach  three teams this fall. Sure, I will gladly help out with the school musical. No, sorry I can’t spend time with you this weekend I have work to do. I will just have to cancel my time at the gym again for that parent meeting. Does this sound familiar? It is a fine balance between teaching, volunteering and personal wellness. Often we will sacrifice our own well being for the benefit of our class and school. It is extremely vital that each and everyone of us know what that balance looks like (teacher, partner, aunt, sister, daughter, Mom) and to ensure that we are buidling in time and/or activities that keep us physically, emotionally and professionally healthy.

What is the value of your ‘yes’, if you never say ‘no’. Over the course of my career this has made more and more sense to me. Sometimes life feels like that runaway snowball that just keeps building and building. It seems that nothing is ever taken away. My change came from a very profound moment I had with my young son many years ago. I was focussed on school work when he approached me and I quickly brushed him off and said, I am busy right now. He looked at me with his bright blue eyes and said, “That is okay Daddy, we can do it in the summer”. Needless to say, I had to re-examne my priorities. Did he really believe that family life only occurred in the summer? I soon found out that even if I did not get every paper marked, every lesson done or gave up a volunteer activity or two that life at school still went on and there was no loss in the quality of the program I delivered nor in the relationship I had with my students.

Today, well into the  years of my career I have learned that I can still put 100 percent of my effort into my class and school during the day, have time for my family and most importantly stay healthy. I hope that this message can be learned by others faster than it was for me. A healthy teacher is more likely to have a healthy classroom. Your career is not a sprint, but rather a marathon. You are the most important asset in your classroom, take care of yourself.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Classroom Management, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Students as Teachers

What’s For Lunch?

One of the best team building activities and diagnostic tools that I use is eating lunch with my students during the first month of school. During this precious time, I am able to discover so much about the uniqueness of each and every one of my students as people and students. Bonus content comes in the form of what I learn about the  social climate of the classroom (and school).  Over the course of a week I make sure that I move around the room and sit in a variety of groupings to ensure that I have 1:1 contact with every student.

Of course the reciprocal scenario also unfolds as I am able to reveal myself as a real person right before their eyes. I soon am not just their teacher! It is that critical beginning where I am able to send them the message they are important, they are special and that together we will accomplish great things and overcome challenging struggles.

For any teacher new to a school you must always balance this with the need to connect and become a part of the professional team at your site. The critical concept is that this is a planned event with a specific target outcome and can’t just be left to happen haphazardly.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Classroom Management, General, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers

When Does A Classroom Agreement, Become A Classroom Agreement?

I have been using the concept of the group collectively coming up with the behaviour and work standards they would like to live with for their time together as a team for over a decade. But on one fateful day in the winter of 2013 I was able to be a part of an experience that was a profound learning opportunity for me. Students have always enjoyed and valued being asked about the type of classroom they want to create. They have generated ideas, held dialogue on their and other’s ideas, compromised and come to an agreement in which they sign and live by. At that point the class moves forward and the journey begins.

This year we went through the same process I had for many years and came up with a wonderful classroom agreement that everyone was proud of. As always, about a month into the year I purposely broke the classroom agreement and needed to be held accountable for my actions just like everyone else who signed the agreement. That usually means that I have to go through  the problem solving model we use, take ownership for my choices and deal with the appropriate consequences for my actions. Needless to say, there is never a shortage of students who are willing to give up their free time to monitor their teacher as he sits in a detention. Thus the lesson passed on is that this agreement is truly for everyone in the room and not just for students. What made this year different was how my students reacted to it. They were completely silent and unsure of what to say or do when I put myself in the solution zone. A follow-up debrief revealed that teachers have always said that they were part of the agreement, but usually just said sorry when they did something wrong and moved on. They had never been held accountable as the students are. This experience provided me with me a lot to think about!

Photo of Mike Beetham
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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Carmen.Oliveira Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Student Ownership, Wellness

The Freedom of Giving Up Control

When my non-teacher friends describe teachers, words like type A, perfectionist, and control freak tend to be at the top of the list and although they may say it’s all in jest, I know that’s exactly how they see most educators.  Truth be told that in conversation with colleagues and observing many classrooms, I have to admit that to some degree, giving up control presents a challenge that not everyone is willing to take on.  For some teachers, the thought of having students organize the classroom library or put up a bulletin board on their own makes them nervous, to say the least.

I’ve always thought of myself as an educator who shares in the learning with my students and I’ve worked to create an environment in my classroom that I feel is conducive to exploration, inquiry and self-expression.  Of course, this is how I believe things to be without taking into consideration if indeed, my students feel the same way.  I decided to speak with my class about how they felt with respect to the control they had over how things we run.  Interestingly, we came to the conclusion that although they felt they could question anything and could express themselves while feeling valued, they did wish they had more control over day-to-day routines such as organizing supplies, creating the class calendar, writing the homework, putting up bulletin boards, etc.

I realized that I hadn’t given them those opportunities because of my limited belief about how much eight and nine year-olds could handle without creating havoc in our classroom.  I had my doubts about giving up that control over the day-to-day tasks but was curious to find out how they would handle it.  Students began to put up and take down bulletin boards, organize the class schedule and calendar, write up the homework on the information board, organize the forms and notes mailboxes, track completed and unfinished work using class charts, create their own anchor charts, organize the classroom library and supplies cupboards, etc.

What began to happen was wonderful: the students quickly demonstrated how independent and capable they are to run the day-to-day classroom tasks and I had more time to myself that I used to plan, mark and prepare for activities.  Giving up control ended up giving us all the freedom we needed both to do our jobs better!