Photo of Samantha Perrin
Beverly Papove Diverse Learning Needs, General, Social Justice

Becoming an Ally in the Classroom

At a recent staff meeting, I was asked to present and discuss the contents of an Indigenous Resource Bundle issued from our school board. The ‘bundle’ consists of about 20 beautiful books written by Indigenous authors and educators. Topics vary from learning about your ABCs and colours in English, French, Inuktitut, Cree and Algonquin, as well as, the residential schools legacy, legends, famous First Nations, Métis and Inuit history makers, and treaties.  I was given 10 minutes to present the books and to offer suggestions on how they may be used in the classroom.  For the amount of material to be discussed and the volume of information contained therein, the time was far too short, especially considering that so many teachers are new to this reality. Because the fact is, although the reality has always been there, it was never taught to Canadian school children until very recently.

Will these resources, beautiful and rich as they are, be used in our school? I am not so sure. Like the substantial LGBTQ book collection the school board presented to us last year, these books will likely be signed out by only a few teachers who remember they are there or who are motivated to include them in their lesson plans because they attended the in-service or because they have a genuine interest and personal connection with the material. This does not mean that teachers don’t care. It does mean that they may not know how to find the time to include this perspective in their lesson plans.

Our lives as teachers are already quite weighed down by new literacy and math initiatives, new curriculum documents, new strategies to increase levels of engagement of our students, etc., and when someone comes along and expects us to teach, on top of all we are doing already, something we have never learned, we feel overwhelmed.  No wonder so many of us ask, ‘If we don’t understand it, how can we help our students to understand it?’

My only suggestion is that you begin by taking a book with an Aboriginal perspective and reading it to your class. Your journey will begin with the students’. You will not be expected to know all the answers to their questions. But you will have empathy and show, by learning and discussing, that you are willing to bridge the enormous gap that was the status quo for so very long. By reading one book with your students and asking what they thought while you were reading it – in my case, 8 year old urban students in 2014 learning about 8 year old Aboriginal students being removed by the government from their families and communities to go to school – you will never look back. Your perspective will change.  It will mean that you will have to bring up the c-word – colonization.  It is OK to tell them that because of colonization, you never learned about treaties or the Seven Grandfathers or residential schools when you were young. It may be a challenge to start such a dialogue, but this is our collective history as Canadians, and as educators, we are beholden to transmit history as accurately as possible, with the help of new curriculum, new resources, and new understanding. As the title of the book so clearly says, ‘We are all Treaty People’, we just may not realize how.

Reading one book may then make it easier to consider contacting the Métis Nation of Ontario, or a local Inuit Centre or First Nations’ Friendship Centre to invite a Métis Senator, or an Inuit or First Nations’ Elder to your class to talk to your students about something you would like to learn more about. Reach out. Ask questions. Read books to your class. Once you do, you become an ally. Becoming an ally, means you become part of a community for a mutually beneficial reason. Indigenous history is intrinsically part of Canadian history. Learning about it will enrich everyone’s lives.

Some titles to consider:

For Primary Students – When I was Eight and Not My Girl by Jordan-Fenton, Christy and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

For Junior Students – Fatty Legs and Stranger at Home by Jordan-Fenton, Christy and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Arctic Stories by Kusugak, Michael Arvaarluk

Shin-Chi’s Canoe by Campbell, Nicola I., with illustrations by Kim LeFave

Shi Shi Ekto by Campbell, Nicola I., with illustrations by Kim LeFave

Rabbit and Bear Paws Series

As Long As The Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie

My Name is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling

On-line resources:

-Metis Nation of Ontario Education Kit

http://www.metisnation.org/programs/education–training/education/metis-education-kit

-Residential School Legacy Exhibit resource for junior/intermediate students

http://wherearethechildren.ca/en/exhibition/

-Ontario Book Company offering Indigenous educational resources

http://www.goodminds.com/home

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Assessment, Before School Starts, Learning in a Real Life Context, Planning

But Why? Part 2

Why I have chosen a video? Why I have allowed them to work in groups? Why am I allowing my students to have choice in their learning?  Why have I assigned homework? This is the question I start with for every instructional unit (and in practice, every classroom decision that I make). Why am I doing what I am doing? What is my desired learning outcome? How will it move my student’s learning forward?

My change to using a backward planning model has been one of the most significant improvements to my teaching practice. I now start all of my instructional planning with the following question:

What do I want my students to know, be able to do and value at the end of this instructional unit?

 Of course my answer always starts with the Ontario Curriculum and the overall expectations of that subject area. The next phase on my planning is where I try to visualize what does that learning look like in the life of a 10 year old (or 15 year old or 7 year old etc…). I try to find the context for the learning so that it becomes real for my students. That context increases the level of engagement, which in turn bolsters the intake of learning.

A caution I always have to remind myself of is that I am viewing the learning tasks and content through an adult focussed brain. To be more effective I have to train myself to screen my teaching through the developmental age of my students. When you know why you are teaching something, the actual teaching becomes so much easier.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Assessment, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students

But Why?

This is a term that has become a part of my teaching repertoire since spending the last four summers working with teachers in Sierra Leone, Africa. There are two ways that I make use of this valuable term in my classroom practice.

The first is when I am dealing with classroom management concerns in my classroom. There are always students who are not following the expectations, not fulfilling the work requirements, not complying to the adults etc… The fact is that most teachers are only able to deal with the behaviour piece (tip of the iceberg). The question ‘But Why?’ forces me to look beyond the behaviour, beyond the part that negatively affects the classroom routine and to seek out the roots of the behaviour. If I can make the time to figure out why something is occurring, I have a much better chance to support a change that will be permanent.

For example, student X  in my class last year had a reputation for refusing to do his work. It did not matter whether it was numeracy or literacy he usually behaved in such a way that the teacher had to finally intervene and remove the student for the good of the rest of the class. So, student X had developed a very effective strategy of avoiding areas that he did not want to take part in. The removal from the class was actually a reward for him even though in the eyes of everyone else it was a punishment.

I had to try and figure out the ‘Why?’ for his behaviour. This took time, patience and most importantly a good relationship. The end result was that he had significant gaps in his learning due to his behaviour choices and that future testing revealed that he had a learning disability in writing. As a result, he had learned that compared to everyone else he was dumb when it came to being able to express himself in written form. The removal from a class (adult punishment) was not as negative as the inadequate feeling he had everyday in school when required to write with his peers.

The solution became the need for differentiated instruction and differentiated assessment in order to allow student X the most effective way to demonstrate his learning. He still had to write, but only when writing was being assessed. In numeracy I only assessed his understanding of numerical concepts and not his writing skills. Scribing, models, oral explanations allowed him to both gain confidence in his actual abilities and not have to focus on his area of need.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of “But Why?”.

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird General, Planning

Sharing Expertise; AKA, How I Got Out of Teaching Dance

First, a brief introduction: I am a Grade 4 Middle French Immersion teacher in Ottawa. This is my fourth year as a homeroom teacher, third year as a permanent teacher. My entire (short) career has been spent at one lovely school in the heart of Westboro. I’ve never actually taught the same assignment two years in a row, but one thing has been constant since my first year at my school: I have never taught dance.

I started at this school in November of 2011. At the time, I was covering for another teacher who had taken parental leave. That year, dance had already been taught before I arrived, which suited me fine. I am not, you see, what one would call coordinated. At school dances, I was the type to stand around at the wall and pretend I was too “goth” for the dance and was only there to be snippy in the dark corner. At my wedding, I danced twice: once with my husband, then once again with family and friends.

Twice in my life, I’ve shown what I would consider minor, and I stress minor, proficiency in dance: Irish hard-shoe step dance (AKA have some rhythm and stomp your feet, no grace required) and Dance Dance Revolution (AKA understand video games and timing).

At the end of my first year of teaching, my principal revealed to the teachers at my school that she had purchased a class set of ukuleles for use in our (admittedly lacking) music program. None of us had the slightest clue how to play ukulele, but we were all pretty excited about the prospect of listening to a class full of miniature guitars (note: ukuleles are not, in fact, miniature guitars in any way) instead of a class full of recorders.

I took one home for the summer, watched a bunch of Youtube videos, more or less figured out how to play the ukulele, and was determined to have a successful second year.

Going into my second year of teaching, I was just so excited to have a contract, my own classroom, and a bunch of new kids that I didn’t stop to think about how I would, at some point, have to figure out how to teach dance to 27 Grade 5 students. It didn’t hit me, in fact, until I was sitting in the staff room one day at lunch listening to someone else talk about starting dance with their class that I realized (aloud, because that’s my style): “Oh god, I have to teach dance.”

Fortunately for me, I have a Grade 5 colleague who LOVES teaching dance. He has a knack for getting kids to buy into dancing – boys and girls, coordinated and uncoordinated, trained and untrained. It’s amazing! He happened to be in the staff room. He happened to hear the dread in my voice as I came to my realization only moments before. Without hesitation, he said, “I could teach your class dance.”

Wait, what? Can– can we DO that? Are we allowed? How does it work? All of these thoughts ran through my head, but the one that actually came out was, “YES, PLEASE.”

He explained, politely ignoring my desperation in favour of professionalism, that he had noticed my students playing ukulele in the hallways and would be interested in doing a class exchange so that I could teach his students how to play the ukulele.

Thus began our yearly autumn tradition of swapping classes one hour a week so that we could fill the hallways with awkward dancing and fumbling ukulele strumming without stressing either of ourselves out. He teaches my class dance, I teach his class ukulele, we report on these subjects for one another on the first report card, and the world continues turning. As an added bonus, I sleep better at night knowing that a bunch of ten year olds aren’t laughing at my remarkable lack of coordination.

I have since explored many other opportunities to trade classes with other colleagues so that we can benefit from one another’s expertise. It doesn’t always amount to reporting on another class full of students; sometimes we trade places just for a 40 minute block so that we can run an activity with a fresh group of faces and share some of our passion with them. What I’ve found, over four years, is that my students benefit from being exposed not only to other teachers and their unique teaching styles, but also from being taught a new skill by someone who really, honestly enjoys it.

I would strongly urge you to reach out to your colleagues and find opportunities to co-teach, trade places, or even swap classes regularly so that you can share some of your passions with them. There is room in the curriculum to connect your hobbies – and your life – with the students in your school, even if they aren’t “your” students. Their lives are richer for it, and so is yours!

Alison.Board Classroom Layouts, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Planning

Adjustments in September

 

With all the plans we make for those first days and weeks in September, it is worth being open to making adjustments, for your benefit and the benefit of the students. Here are some examples of how I have adjusted the environment and the program in the first few weeks:

  • I have changed the layout twice. We were pleased to get 6 rectangular tables and 1 round table in the second week, but have rearranged them twice to suit the needs of the students. This means that there are two sets of tables put together seating groups of up to 12 students who like to work together, and one table seats only 4 students who require more personal space. I planned for an even distribution of students per table, but am responsive to their different requests regarding space and collaboration.
  • The area carpet was originally placed in one corner of the room for community discussions and knowledge building sessions. The students enjoyed these talks, but found it hard to get close when we are limited with only two accessible sides to the carpet for rows of chairs behind those who are seated on the carpet. So, I moved the carpet to the centre of the room and it connects to the small carpet area of our class library. Now there is less movement of chairs as students turn to the centre of the room for discussions and use the extended space of the class library to sit.
  • We took a Multiple Intelligence survey to get to know our own learning strengths and the strengths of all the students in the class. We continue to consider these and reflect on them by referring to graph compiled in the class to remind us.
  • I finally typed out my schedule last Thursday. It took me that long to juggle our literacy block and periods for Science and Social Studies with withdrawal for ESL and special education support. I have added 15 minutes of literacy to the end of our day when we review our agendas with a poetry cafe allowing dedicated time for the reading, sharing, and writing of poetry.
  • We introduced “Minutes for Mindfulness” each afternoon. After lunch and a transition for French class, some of the students had difficulty settling for a full-class discussion regarding our inquiry topic. I asked if they wanted to try some mindfulness techniques, and a new student shared a website/app called www.calm.com that his teacher used last year. This adjustment not only helps the students, but I benefit from the 2 minute relaxation exercises as well!
I am sure our class will continue to grow and change. Allowing for adjustments to your best made plans is necessary to be responsive in your teaching practice – and everyone will benefit.
Photo of Lisa Taylor
Lisa.Taylor Before School Starts, General, Planning, Resources, Use of Technology

Long Range Plans – Are they ever really done?

Some teachers dive right in over the summer and plan their whole year out! I have never been that kind of teacher. Not only do I not have the patience, I am simply not organized enough to get everything laid out in advance. I find it especially difficult to get long range plans together before I have met my students.

I have tried doing a spreadsheet with a few words in each box to outline what will be happening and have each cell represent a 1 or 2 week block (pictured above), I have tried doing all of the different strands on their own page with the whole year laid out, I have even printed the curriculum document for each strand I teach and cut each expectation out and then paired them with similar expectations (i.e., in Grade 2 Science the students look at the changes of states between solids, liquids and gases, this could be paired with measuring temperature in the Math Measurement Strand, and even volume). Then I tape them all down in groups and go from there.

Last year I went with a template that gives a full 2 page spread with a row of cells for each week. At the beginning of the year, I planned out general ideas for each month/week (i.e., I would focus on data management – graphing for the first 2 weeks, picking a just right book, and writing a retell to be connected to the Social Studies curriculum of Celebrations). Each page started out very general. As the year went on, I could use each page as more of a detailed planning spot where I would go in and “beef up” the plans for that week. Adding in the specifics of what I was going to be doing. I found this was excellent, as it acted as a long range plan and my general daybook. In many cases I would even write in the strands that we had accomplished as we finished them up for my own records.

Handing in my long range plans was difficult, as they were very thin to start. I sat down with my principal and walked him through my plan. I had taught Grade 2 before so I was pretty familiar with where the curriculum would fit together, and I had worked with my grade partner to pair up on some things and make sure we were not overlapping on others (i.e., we didn’t want to both be working on certain strands at the same time as we shared resources, but others we would want to do at the same time to bring our classes together, etc.). My plans were not overly detailed, but they had genera ideas for when I would be working on different strands, etc.. I explained to him that they are not really, “done” yet. He demanded that I finish them and submit them. It took some explaining, but in the end, I was able to create my plans the way I wanted and share them digitally through Google Drive. This way, he could pop in at any time and see where my class was headed and it was always up to date.

Not only did this format work exceptionally well for me, my principal was quite pleased in the end because my plans were the only accurate ones he had by May! We change where we are going with our teaching all the time, it is just what happens in a classroom! You get an email from a local theater company that they are putting on a show in January that would fit perfectly with something you were going to teach in May: you change your plans to accommodate. You find out that they materials you needed for your awesome unit are booked up for the month you were planning to teach it: you change your plans to accommodate. Long Range Plans are as much a living document as any other document we work with! Let it be organic and know that there will be times where you planned to work on something for 2 weeks and at the end of 2 weeks, they still don’t get it! Accommodate and move forward!

Below are some pictures of the plans I submitted last year to my principal as they looked at the end of the year – they were changed A LOT between September and the end of the year! If a box was left empty, it was because I would be continuing what we had started the week before.

At the beginning of the year, the page for these weeks might have said: Days, punctuation, predicting/retell, writing routines, read numbers and locate on number line, and 2D geometry. When I got to that week, I beefed those weeks up a bit, elaborating on what I was going to do each specific week to build on the concepts, etc.

Photo of Lisa Taylor
Lisa.Taylor Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, General, Learning in a Real Life Context, Math, Use of Technology

Themes of Success: Passion for Teaching

When I sat down to think about my very first post for this blog, it was suggested to me that I share some information about myself. So that is where I started. I would share that I have taught for 8 years in the Upper Grand DSB (Guelph and area), that I am currently released from the classroom as Chief Negotiator and Staff Officer at my Local ETFO Office, and that I am a crafter, musician, mother, wife, and animal lover. So many ideas came flooding through!

In reading through the first chapter of Heart and Art, I came across the Themes of Success: themes that emerged after over 2,500 teachers were asked to share their best teaching experience from that year. The heading Passion for Teaching (Page 8 ) really spoke to me.

Passion for Teaching highlights the importance of connecting your own personal experiences and passions with your teaching by drawing on your own personal “resources” for support. I decided this would be the perfect place to start, as I could share some ways that I have done this with my classes with great success, and in the process, you will get to know me a bit better!

Patterning with Quilts: As an avid quilter, I brought in fabric squares to my Grade 2 class and had students help me plan a quilt. They loved this activity because it was “real” to them. They got to lay out the squares, plan the repeating pattern of colours (in this case light pink, dark pink, yellow, orange) and then see it come together. I would take the squares home and sew a row or two and then come back and have them recall what came next. I would then sew a few vertical columns and see if they could figure out what the next column would look like as the pattern changes in that direction, but there is still a pattern. We did a problem solving based activity with this quilt for weeks!

When I worked with older grades, I brought in fabric measurements (i.e., 100cm x 75cm in blue, 125cm x 50cm in green, etc.) and had them plan out the entire quilt top from start to finish and then the class voted on their favourite quilt and that is the one I cut and made. It is amazing how many ways using quilts in math can be differentiated too! Giving some students a quilt plan and asking them to use colour tiles to plan the pattern, while others are being asked to measure the fabric that would be needed to make that same quilt, allows for extensions galore!

 

Animal Creative Writing: Living out in the country, we have lots of animals running around our property. One of my favourites is our chickens. We have 8 chickens that wonder the yard and every now and then, one of them disappears for a while. I often give my class an update on what the birds are up to and they write about them. They love using pictures of the chickens, that I take on the classroom iPad, to illustrate their stories using different apps.

I find bringing my own interests into the classroom really helps my students to connect with the activities we are working on and it makes them feel like what they are doing is relevant.

 

Photo of Tammy Axt
Tammy Axt First Week Reflections, General, Learning About Your Students, Planning

Planning Time Coverage in an Autism Spectrum Disorder Class

Hi everyone! My name is Tammy Gallant and I am a music teacher for students in grade 1, 2 and 5 in the Peel District School Board. This is my fourth year as a music teacher and I hope to be able to assist those new to the planning time role in schools across Ontario. My school is a suburban school about 30 minutes outside of Toronto with a very high ELL population. In addition to music, I also have planning time coverage in the full day kindergarten and contained Autism Spectrum Disorder classes. I hope you enjoy my posts.

As mentioned above, I am very lucky to be doing coverage with the students in the contained Autism Spectrum Disorder class. A colleague of mine was also given the ASD class on a different day. So, the two of us decided to meet before the first day to discuss possible ideas for our 40 minute classes with them. The conversation went something like this:
“Tammy, what do you think we should do with these students during our first period with them?”
“Maybe we could try to do some songs or games, but I really don’t know these students as many of them are new to the school.”
“Which do you think would be better, a game or a song?”
“Well, possibly some songs. In the past, I have had great success with some action songs but I don’t really know this group of students that well. They may not like them.”
“What do you think about some kind of craft or art activity?”
“I haven’t done a lot of art activities in the past with the ASD class as they haven’t really enjoyed it. But, these new students might really like them.”
The conversation went back and forth like this for about five minutes until we both realized that we could plan all day long but it didn’t matter until we actually met and interacted with the students. We decided that our best course of action for the first four or five periods that we had this class was to try a variety of activities including: songs, bean bag games, puppetry, books, short videos, art activities, instrument building, costume play, French language exposure, etc… We also tried different structures within the class such as teacher-directed, small group, circle time, student-led, and exploration time.
We decided that we both would take some observational notes and meet after the first two weeks to discuss some longer term planning for this class. The aim will be to make it as enjoyable as possible for these students while supporting them to meet their own unique goals. I will keep you updated on our evolving program.

Overheard in an Ontario Classroom…
One kindergarten class was asked what kinds of things they could make up songs about. After answers like butterflies and school, one old soul in the front row raised his hand and told us that he would like to make up songs about being brokenhearted. One can only assume that his family are avid country music listeners.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Planning, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers, Year End Activities

Keep Them Learning

As June (and all it brings with it) unfolds, minds start to wander, summer day dreaming begins and as a result students start to lose their focus with all the activities that are competing for their attention. This usually results in increased classroom management concerns as well as a significant drop in productivity. My plan at this time of the year is to keep my students as engaged as possible to the very last minute. This is accomplished in two ways. The first is that they become decision makers in what we are going to learn about. This can be done either as a class or as individual learning modules. The students will compose a question to which they will seek to answer. How do words travel from a studio over the radio so that we can hear them is an inquiry chosen by one of my students this year. The questions they create have to be approved and meet the criteria we have pre-established.

The length of this unit is about 3 weeks and will culminate with a classroom open house whereby the other students in the school will be able to visit our work over two days. The student must be at their site in order to share information they have uncovered and answer any questions their audience may have. Needless to say, this unit generates some of the best work of the year. For me as a teacher, it allows me that opportunity to witness (and assess) the transfer of a year’s work of academic focus in  reading, writing and oral language.

The premise remains  the same as I have used drama presentations, storytelling and musical performances to keep my students school focused and engaged until the last minute of school.  I encourage you to share other ideas you have used or witnessed as end of the year units.

Photo of Erin G
Erin.Grewar Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Year End Activities

Le passé c’est brassé – Bring the Passé Composé to Life (Part 2)

               An important lesson that I’ve learned this year is have the students write in a concise manner. In the following assignment, La journée de …, students must basically incorporate most of the major things we covered in approximately 10 sentences (passé composé with avoir/être, singulier/pluriel, compound sentences and adverbs). Originally in past years, I used to do a similar project entitled “Une semaine dans la vie de …” which involved them describing the week in the life of someone using the same requirements but was more than double in length. With my senior classes, I’ve been focusing more on quality rather than quantity by teaching them how to expand and elaborate on simple ideas. Again, the shorter length requirement is more feasible for reluctant FSL writers but showing all your students how to achieve more complexity allows your more advanced students to still be challenged. I’ve attached the project guidelines and reference sheets for you to view. Hopefully, it might be useful for an end of the year assignment.

la journee de project guidelines

Les activités possibles – au passe