Tisha Nelson Celebrating Success, Combined Grade Classes, English Language Learners (ELLs), General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Integration, Math

The Music of Math

I secretly want to be a conductor of a large musical ensemble. My visits to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra always reignites my passion for music and I will always catch myself using my hands and body to dance with the beautiful arrangements of the melodious notes. However, one small obstacle has barred me from realizing this dream: I have not yet been able to master any instruments much less lead a body of musicians. Sigh! Nonetheless, being a teacher gives me the opportunity to integrate many of my passions into my classroom practice. As such, my love of teaching and my dream of conducting an orchestra have a place to collide. My class call signal – teacher: “Bah dah bump bah dah dah…” students: “Hey!” – can seem to go on for hours as I engage my students in various melodious versions of the common tune. Needless to say, I can totally get lost in the call and response clap patterns that allow me to use my hands as if they were conducting an orchestra, pulling out the very beat of each note value as students respond with the exact arrangement of claps. Each time I am left invigorated and excited and my students love it. These sessions often end up with smiles and laughter in our classroom, opposite to the quiet tone I originally was trying to achieve.

This year I teach math to Primary, Junior and Intermediate students. Math and music have long enjoyed a harmonious marriage with the plethora of interconnected concepts that can be explored simultaneously. This year in my Grade 3/4 math class, we had the opportunity to embrace this fusion. We have been exploring geometry concepts by naming, sorting and identifying characteristics of polygons. This aspect of geometry is extremely language-rich and I needed a way to solidify the students’ conceptual understanding of the principles of geometry while not losing my students in the barrage of its discourse. So we decided to accent our learning by capturing it in a song.

I invited my class to decide on a familiar tune that we could arrange our lyrics to fit. Hot Line Bling and Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) were among the tunes that were suggested, but didn’t make the cut. We opted to use the infamous Mary Had A Little Lamb as our melody base since it offered a simple structure for the type of song that we wanted to construct. We then brainstormed all of the ideas we had learned up to that point in our polygon journey. These were written on the board and were the ‘meat and potatoes’ of our song. Then the creative juices began to flow. Each aspect of our learning was written as a verse in our song. We had to be creative with our word choices and syncopation, as we had more to say than the structure of our tune would allow. So once the lyrics were written, the music teacher and I collaborated to hash out the note values of our song. Ta-dah! Music literally met math. Coupled with this, Mary Had A Little Lamb just happened to be the song that my students just finished learning to play on their recorders. Bazinga! Music met math again. And guess who got to direct this beautiful masterpiece?… ME!

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So what’s my point? Learning is awesome! No really – when a passion for teaching meets willingness to embrace creativity, amazingness happens. Children learn and teachers have fun. Being authentically excited about what you do is an important ingredient to any meaningful experience and the polygon song is such an experience which I hope my students will never forget. Because of this, neither will the concepts be lost. As for me, my dream will continue to grow. Who knows what else I might try? I’ve secretly wanted to be an opera singer…

Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Constant Learning, Inspiring Students, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Professional Learning and Growth, Student Ownership

Classroom Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions are a time-tested tradition in which individuals make personal commitments to improve in some aspect of their life. I have used this activity in my classroom for over two decades and find it to be a wonderful, fun tool in helping both myself and my students set goals on how to make the most of their academic year.First and foremost I model this activity for my students by reflecting on my first four months of the school year. I determine what went well and what do I need to do to further enhance the success of my students. I set personal resolutions in the following areas:

  1. Continue – what practices are going very well and should continue in the new year
  2. Improve – what practices have not went as well as expected and what do I need to do to improve that area of my teaching
  3. Experiment – what new area or tool would I like to start to experiment with in my day-to-day practice

This year my resolutions are going to be to continue with the use of technology as an alternative option for demonstrations of learning. I will improve in my area to both understand and apply the concept of sensory accommodations in the room (especially around noise). I will start to experiment with social media and how it can become an option for my classroom pedagogy.

For my students it starts with a discussion around New Year’s Resolutions and how it is a part of their life. Most often they talk about how the adults in their life make resolutions around quitting smoking, losing weight or exercising more. The conversation shifts to what the purpose of a resolution is and why people make them. I pose the following question, ‘Should only adults make New Year’s Resolutions?’. Of course their answer is always no. That leads us to talking about the types of resolutions that children might make. It always generates a very rich discussion about how we are individuals with different strengths, different needs and different lifestyles. That focus in itself is a key vehicle in which our group comes to understand and accept the uniqueness of each other.

The final product that is used by my students is a graphic organizer that will focus on four different areas of their life. The first is personal health. What do they need to do in order to be healthier (exercise more, less screen time, eat healthier)? The second focus is on happiness. What will they do in order to be happier in their life? The third area is academics. What do they need to spend more time on in order to be successful? The final component will be on friendships. How will they be a better friend or seek out more friendships? For the month of January we review these resolutions every Friday. After that we look at them every 2-3 weeks and finally in our year-end celebration we examine how successful we have been in reaching our resolutions. Over time I have had the students put them in a time capsule that is opened up much later in the year as well as having them take it home and share with family or a close friend. Whatever way they are used, it is an enjoyable way to start the new calendar year off.

Will Gourley Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Students

The gift

It’s Monday.
I should be in the classroom right?
Nope, not this week, or the next one either (insert thoughts of appreciation here).

It’s the Winter break and millions of students and teachers are waking up to the first of 10 vacation days. WooHOO! My internal clock did not get that message. Neither did my clock radio alarm as it went off at 5:55 am as always. So as the chorus of Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield blared, I pressed snooze for the first time since September.
15 minutes later I’m up, dressed, and drinking the first of the day’s many coffees. That’s enough sleeping in for one day.

It has been a hectic 4 months in the classroom.
The months have flown by at the speed of learning(my term).
Not that it’s a bad thing, but frenetic might be an apt single word descriptor.
With reports going home late this year, ongoing committees, teams and extra-curricular activities in full swing to accompany day to day instruction my schedule is full. Needless to say, free time is in short supply.

As the Christmas/Winter Holidays approached, students started hinting about gifts, our school concert, and ideas for class parties. Soon we were discussing clothing and toy drives and plans for the break.

1. “Mr G., I noticed you drink a lot of coffee. Would you like coffee for Christmas?”
2. “Can I volunteer to be an ambassador for the school concert?”
3. “Mr G., here are some toys I brought in for our toy drive. Can I bake some cookies for the class?”
4. “I don’t have a gift for you. I’m sorry.”

Here are my answers in order;

1. Yes please and that’s very thoughtful of you to ask.
2. Yes, you’d be a great ambassador. Thank you for stepping up.
3. What a kind gesture. Some cookies would be awesome as long as they are peanut free.
4. You do not need to apologize or give me a gift. Coming to class, everyday, willing to learn has been the best gift a teacher could receive, and you have been giving it since September. I should be giving you a present.

On the last day before the break we tidied the class, stacked desks, and arranged chairs in a circle for a social activity. Cookies, candy canes, and cheer were shared – along with fun draw prizes for every student. I was blessed with a number of thoughtfully worded cards and generous gifts including coffee(I can quit anytime).

While were all sitting in our social circle I began reflecting more on the conversation with the student who said he had no gift to give.  As I shared with him then, his gift to me arrived everyday in his hard work and positive attitude. I realized he had offered me another amazing gift – a chance to encourage my class; to let all of the students know how their hard work and desire to learn were the best gifts a teacher could ever receive.  So before the bells rang and the best wishes wished that gift was shared with the class.

As I look back on the first four months it is clear to see that the holidays in our class started in September because we gathered, we shared, and gifts were given.

Christmas Card 2015Merry Christmas   Joyeux Noel
Happy Holidays   Season’s Greetings
Happy Gregorian Calendar New Year

 

 

Tammy Axt General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers

The holiday assembly is this week. Help, I need an idea!

I got an e-mail last night from a friend of mine last which had the subject line “The holiday assembly is this week. Help, I need an idea!” As progress reports were just handed out in the last week or two, preparing for assemblies in December have been put on the back burner for many people. In case you need an idea for this coming week as well, below are some of the songs and features of our December assembly.

The goal of our December assembly is to promote community and have a great celebration before the break. Every student will be involved some way in the assembly either as a member of the whole group sing along or performing with their class.

I have been spending a small part of my music classes over the past couple of weeks getting the students ready for a sing along. Instead of Rudolph or Jingle Bells, I have decided to teach the students two new holiday songs both of which they are loving!! Both of the songs are from a resource produced by Music K-8 which can be downloaded from the internet. The resource is called “All Time Christmas Favorites“ and the two songs which have been very popular are “We Will Jingle” and “Have a Happy, Happy Holiday”. “We will Jingle” plays on the riff made famous by Queen and is going to sound just awesome when a gym load of students are all rocking out together next week! “Have a Happy, Happy Holiday” is a great song if you are trying to be sensitive to all cultural backgrounds and beliefs as it makes no references to any specific holiday. It is light and upbeat and energetic which is perfect for December.

Our holiday assembly is also going to include a great presentation by our Autism Spectrum Disorder Class. They have been practicing the song S A N T A. This song imitates the song B I N G O which removes a letter at a time and replaces them with a clap. Each student in the class is holding one of the letters in Santa and as the letter is replaced with the clap the sign that they are holding is placed on the ground in front of them. Of course, they have Santa hats to wear and believe it or not their therapy dog is going to make an appearance in the performance. Acer, the therapy dog, has a full Santa outfit that he has been waiting to show off.

Another easy to prepare idea is to have a Santa costume relay race. We have rounded up two Santa costumes and we will be inviting some teachers to the front to participate in the race. One teacher for each team will be at the front of the gym and each team will race to get their costume pieces on their person first! We will have each side of the gym cheering for the team on their side. You could easily have some members of your class lead this activity.

Is there anything simple and easy that you are doing with your students this week in an assembly?

Tisha Nelson Challenging Topics, General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Professional Learning and Growth

The Heart of Teaching – Teaching with Your Heart

I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher. I’m not exactly sure when to pinpoint the start of my journey, but from as young as five years old, I knew that teaching was my calling. Throughout my educational career I had some amazing teachers who provided me with invigorating learning experiences that were creative, challenging and fun. I also encountered “the other guys”. Needless to say, I’m sure my experiences aren’t unique to those who have encountered a public education in Ontario over the past thirty years. Although I can bashfully say that I don’t remember most of what I learned from my ten years of elementary school, even as an enthusiastic and engaged learner, the two resounding life lessons that I continue to embrace are: to never settle for mediocrity and to always go beyond the call of duty. Thanks to my grade 7 and 8 teachers, I continue to strive to apply these key learnings in my life.

As I reflect on my key learnings, I wonder what key learnings I might share with my students. The experience of school in the 21st century is so much different than being a student in the 80s and 90s. The over emphasis on consumerism, the pervasiveness of social inequities and the advancements of technology which birthed the unvaulted access to information definitely add layers to make the schooling experience even more dynamic than when I was a child. How did my teachers prepare me for my future? How might I prepare students for theirs? These are essential questions I continue to grapple with and is the essence of what the heart of teaching is for me.

I believe that at the heart of teaching is the desire to help students be the best version of themselves so that they can be contributing members of society. This may seem like a long-term goal but really, at its core is my desire to prepare students to be their best self now, in order to continue to be their best self in the future. Teaching the curriculum definitely addresses many of the content that students need to know in order to achieve success in their future academic and social experiences. But what might be absent from the curriculum that proves to be essential life lessons that students might benefit from having guidance over? Throughout the past 7 years I have come to realize that more than the curriculum, there are essential life lessons students need to be exposed to. Supporting students as people first and learners second is how we can help them navigate some of the challenges they face in their day to day experiences of schooling. It is not just about the curriculum. We need to reach both the student’s heart and their mind.

Everyday I am constantly wondering about how my students are navigating the world while I address curriculum expectations. These are the reflective questions that arise from my interactions with them:

  • How might we support my students in seeing themselves as capable?
  • How might we support my students to be motivated from within themselves and not based on grades or the need for validation?
  • How might we encourage my students to take risks and try new things when realistically when we evaluate their understanding of curriculum and the consequences of risk taking may not garnish the reward they desired?
  • How might we teach the value of perseverance and that dedication to a task may cause improvement and denounce the rhetoric that practice make perfect.
  • How might we support my students in navigating the social hierarchies in school knowing that creating a respectful learning environment does not guarantee the kind of friend relationships that students are looking for from their peers?
  • How might we support my students in navigating a competitive world while yet embracing the benchmark of their own personal best?
  • How might we support my students in navigating the reality that particular aspects of their social identities (race, accents, culture, etc.) will grant them access into some opportunities but also bar them from others simply because of the ways societal systems are structured and not necessarily based on personal attacks?
  • How might we nurture confidence in our students?
  • How might we make students accountable for their choices?
  • How might we support students in embracing self-love in a society that values constant validation from others?
  • How might we support to identify their emotions beyond happy, mad and sad and how to effectively navigate them?

Like many of the questions that I pose, I don’t always have the answers. As I continue to reflect deeply, I can only hope that my pedagogical choices can address some of these concerns. As I teach to the minds of my students, what I hope for is to reach their hearts. Teaching from my heart, I pull back the curtains of curriculum and instruction and see the person and not just the learner. This unveils the weight of the task set before me.

Kelly.McLaughlin Inspiring Students

Re-designing education

I wanted to spend this post discussing a new book I have purchased called, “Creative Schools” by Ken Robinson. This book has inspired me to try many different things with my grade six class.

1. We renamed all our subjects- our class has been thinking about relevance with the different things we learn in school. We decided to change all the names of our subjects so that they can be more suited to what we actually learn during those subjects. We have also started to tailor our projects and lessons to ones that will benefit us as a class in the present and future. No “meaningless activities” ever!

2. Recreation of schedules- the students used their survey skills, graphing skills and averaging skills so that they can choose their own schedule. They know created our class schedule so all the subjects they feel are the most meaningful for them will be studied the most. This new schedule reflects student interest and time that is best spent.

3. Class jobs- As Ken states in his book, students are best prepared for the real workplace by having jobs in the classroom in their childhood. I have now started to give students jobs weekly that really challenge them for example, post on my classroom blog, and then at the end of the week I evaluate their weekly performance. This mark goes directly onto their report in the initiative column.

4. Goal setting- Students are now creating goals for themselves and for the school. The students have these goals on their desk as the focal point for their day. Students work toward these goals daily. As they complete a goal, they get a visual sticker to remind them of what they have accomplished. These goals are for personal success as well as a celebration of their efforts toward our school. Some goals include fundraising for our school, raising money for different efforts and sports related actions.

The book has been very inspiring so far, knowing that everything in it will help inspire students in various ways. I am very proud of the changes we have made so far and I have seen a change in interest in students daily activities. I hope to continue this student led classroom for the rest of the year! I will continue to post about these initiatives.

 

Beverly Papove Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context

Fall Gardening with Kinders

Because we have made it part of our timetable to spend the first and last block of every day outdoors with our SK students, we have become pretty regular weather watchers. So when we noticed that they were calling for 20 degrees on a Thursday in November, we decided to plan for a full morning of activities outside.

 

The first thing we did was brainstorm what learning opportunities we could provide that were a little different from the regular. Then we let the parents know of our plans, reminding them of the importance of dressing their children appropriately for a day of exploring outdoors, a day that included a filled water table. We also included the principal in our communications and were very happy when she had no objections or concerns.

 

With 2 ECEs, 2 teachers, a parent volunteer and a Child and Youth Worker placement student, we were able to put together a good variety of activities 2 days ahead of time. Besides the climbing structure which is always a big draw any day, we had cooperative games on the pavement; a reading area under a tree with a basket of books on a tarp; and a water table and Lego ship building. We also provided metres and metres of mural paper attached to the school wall for painting on; dump trucks, watering cans, shovels and pails for digging and building with; and a chance to do some gardening in the raised vegetable garden beds.

 

I was in charge of gardening. I brought some gardening tools from home (trowels, sequiturs, forks, and cultivators) which the students could easily manipulate. We set about pulling up the dead plants in the vegetable garden, trimming the perennial herb garden plants (lots of great things to smell and taste), planting about 20 bulbs of garlic, and covering the four raised beds with leaf mulch from the school yard. We had so much fun! We dug up a small Rosemary plant to overwinter in the classroom and a small maple seedling that was out of place growing in the middle of the vegetable bed. The students decided that we should dig the seedling up, bring it into the classroom and look after it until spring, at which time we could plant it in the school yard.

 

The students were so enthusiastic about the plants, but even more so about the bugs they discovered in the garden. Although many of them were hoping to find worms, we found slugs, grubs, potato bugs, and spiders, all of which they handled gently for closer inspection. One student asked if we could bring one of the slugs into our classroom. Since we already had a small aquarium set up for observing worms from the vermicomposter, we discussed whether we could use it as a slug habitat. Now we have worms AND a slug in our classroom. I mentioned in last month’s blog what great class pets worms could be. Slugs are even easier!

Tisha Nelson General, Inspiring Students, Professional Learning and Growth

LOL – Learn Out Loud

Would you buy a new car from a salesperson who is driving the competitor’s vehicle? Could you eat from a chef who refuses to taste his own food? Might you trust your life with a lifeguard who questions their own ability to swim? Would you follow a leader who delivers the message of do as I say and not as I do? In the same ways we would like those who are selling us a particular product or idea to be consumers of their own assurance, teachers can promote the joy of learning by the ways they model their commitment to lifelong learning to their students. Learning out loud as an educator has the ability to ignite a fire for learning in the students we teach.

Learning out loud is a teacher’s permission to practice what they preach. As teachers our vital role is to be a provoker of learning: inviting students to deep levels of thought by problematizing the ordinary and investigating the mundane. With information accessible to the masses, teachers need to model the essential skills that students need essential skills students need to navigate a world of information overload. Students are watching; so by being critical consumers of information, perseverant problem solvers, collaborative colleagues and future-ready risk takers, we are modelling for them the importance of learning and growing every day.

What might learning out loud look like? Opportunities for teachers to learn are never limited to taking a course, or attending workshops, but rather, teachers can learn out loud by being transparent in the risks they take in their own practice, the open reflection they model and the invitation for feedback they present to their students. In short, teachers can model their willingness to learn simply by openly trying something new.

One of my fondest memories of intentionally learning out loud was in 2010 during my first experience teaching grade 6 math. The previous summer I had taken my first Math AQ and I was conscious about staying accountable to the new learning I had encountered in an effort to continue to grow in my practice. At the start of the year I made my learning process transparent before my students by letting them know that I was learning how to be a more effective math teacher. I labeled a wall space above my desk as Ms. Nelson’s Learning Wall where I place prompts for the teaching/learning strategies that I wanted to be mindful of including in my practice. I told my students that I would be referencing my learning wall for help in the same ways they reference anchor charts when they are learning. When trying something new, I would start by telling my students that this was a risk I was taking then I would invite them to reflect on the process with me by giving me feedback from a participant’s perspective. When mistakes happened, I acknowledged them and would redo lessons. I would let my students know that my mistakes were evidence that I was trying and that mistakes were always welcomed in my class. When I experienced struggle in my practice, I highlighted it, and would celebrate the aha moments when a breakthrough came. My transparency as a learner leveraged the playing field in my class where my students saw me learning alongside them and I engaged them as resources.

Professional Learning Wall

Learning out loud continues to fuel my teaching practice. When I am confused, I confess it. When I am unsure, I model resourcefulness. When I am excited about a new Idea, I take risks. When I learn something new, especially when that learning comes from my students, I celebrate it. The more enthusiastic I am about my own learning,the more enthusiastic students are about their own. I once encountered a quote about teaching that read, “Teaching is my passion, getting better at it is my job.” This philosophy speaks to a teacher’s commitment to lifelong learning. Essentially, we need to ensure that we buy the product that we are in effect selling – an education.