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Roz.Geridis Celebrating Success, Year End Activities

Class Appreciation

As the school year was coming to an end I was trying to think of an idea for the kids to show their appreciation of each other. Some students will be continuing together and some are moving on to a new school. As a class, we had completed a few activities using an electronic wordle program. It made me think about doing a wordle for each student as a class.

I had each student write his/her own name of the paper asking them to make an effort in the design, size or colours. The students then passed the paper one to the right and the new student wrote one word about that student. I asked for no repetitions and the wordle moved throughout the class so every student wrote something on each student’s wordle.  The last student sitting to the left of the student on the wordle brought the wordle to me. I then matted the wordle on a little background. Tomorrow, I will be presenting the wordles to every student. The students know this is coming and are very excited to see their own wordle.

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Roz.Geridis Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Making a Difference Through Education

Making a Difference

Recently, our school went to an overnight outdoor education centre. Parent/student/teacher relationships are developed and also expanded during these types of trips. I had three students with special circumstances. All were brought to my attention before we left for the trip. I had one student who had separation anxiety, another had social issues and a special family event during the trip, and the third was a student with Aspergers and mom was concerned about the socialization/routine for her.

 

Although most of my time was occupied with these three students, I still feel my time was spent in a very productive way. One night, I spent the time helping a student get to sleep. Distracting her thoughts, staying near her, making sure she was ok. She made it through the night. The second night, she didn’t need me at all. When we returned, the parents were very appreciative and gave me a very nice note and flowers. The flowers were a very nice thought and I really appreciate them but the note I will keep forever. The parent also went to my administration team and spoke to them letting them know how appreciative the student and parents were and what a difference I made. It was a very kind gesture which will always be remembered!

 

I had another parent who also thanked me through the student and with a small taken of appreciation. Her child ended up getting sick and her mother was very happy that I was there with her until her mother came to get her. The last parent showed up at the school and was all smiles. Again, I received another thank you.

 

We may not get thank yous for all we do but remember we make the difference in students’ lives. Whether it is a child who feels included, another who is happy to be part of an event, or the student who feels s/he has learned something new – all it takes is one effort to make a difference and change that child’s life for the better.

 

 

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn.
Carmen.Oliveira Celebrating Success, Making a Difference Through Education, Mentorship, Students as Teachers

My Little Guru

Ever since I can remember, I have always strived to surround myself with people and experiences that inspire and motivate me to question, learn, and celebrate the art of living.  My teachers, or gurus, have manifested themselves in different forms.  A parent, a sister, my son, a friend, poets and writers in my favourite books, social activists, great teachers, or simply people who demonstrate an innate ability to rise above obstacles in their quest to live a life of purpose.

I have the privilege of coming across little gurus each and every day of my life.  They happen to share a classroom with me.  I owe much of my learning and growth, both professional and personal, to my students.  One in particular has left me humbled and deeply grateful for allowing me to be a part of his journey.  Daniel* has been the reason behind quite a few sleepless nights.  His life has been one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.  At the start of year, his personality reflected the confusion, fear, anger, and instinct for survival that is expected within his reality.  He’s the one  I would come home and talk to my family about non-stop because I was determined to understand him and somehow be a guide or figure that would help him see how amazing he truly was.  After a few weeks of racking my brain and over-thinking the situation, I decided to let it go and just work on three things: building trust, getting him to believe that I liked him no matter what he did or said, and playing to his strengths at all times so he felt the power that comes from knowing that he matters.  I learned to really listen, so much so that he would need to feel that he was the most important person at that moment.

What unfolded in the following months was a teacher-student relationship where I learned far more than I could teach him.  When his social worker came to visit 3 weeks ago, he asked me to be at the meeting with him.  What I heard during that time, was nothing short of astonishing.  His wisdom, strength, compassion, and resiliency left the social worker and I in complete awe.  I was in the presence of a little guru, a teacher who knows how to use obstacles to create possibilities and hold himself accountable for the decisions he makes in life.

I’ll leave you with an excerpt from the speech he recently wrote for our Speech Arts unit.  When I conferenced with him to look it over, I had to make an excuse to leave the classroom so I could have a cry in private.  He gave me permission to share it with you:

“Have you ever had a moment in your life when you didn’t believe you could do something or you thought you weren’t good enough?  I remember having low self-esteem.  There was a time I didn’t care about myself and I felt I couldn’t be me.  But that time is long gone and now when I come to school I’m proud to be Daniel*.  I feel free from judgement.  I walk down the hall and feel joyful.  Every child needs to have someone who inspires them to stay true to themselves.  They must be inspired.  The change can happen in your life and it’s amazing.  

My teacher inspires me because every day I’m with her she gets me to really think about life and how I can become better and better at what I do.  When I’m having a bad day and so something I didn’t mean to, she sits down with me and talks to me.  We talk about how I can use what I know to make decisions to avoid negative situations.  I have learned to just be me without changing for anyone else.  

…Imagine what society would be like if everyone who needed help had someone to inspire them?  Thinking back to when I felt so low and not like the Daniel* I am today I realize that having someone that came into my life and helped me change made all the difference.  There’s a quote in my classroom I really like.  It goes like this, “I may not be perfect, but parts of me are pretty awesome.”  I’m not perfect, but I am a very unique and awesome kid.”

I let him know that he inspired me to share our story with teachers world-wide.  He smiled with the smirk of self-confidence.

Alison.Board Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Inquiry, Learning in a Real Life Context

Science in Play-Based Learning

Science in a Kindergarten classroom looks like many different things. There are learning centres such as the sand or water table, where children are using free exploration and where teachers are guiding specific experiments. There are also inquiry projects that may last a day or a few months that evolve with the children’s interests and are continued with the educators’ guidance. I would like to share an inquiry that has evolved in our classroom this winter.

 

It all started with a fish. The children found a piece of ice on the pavement in the schoolyard. They noticed right away that it was formed in the shape of a fish. One of the children carried it in his arms as we lined up to go back into the school. My first reaction was to tell them to leave it outside, then I realized this could be the beginning of something bigger – an inquiry on ice and possibly how it melts into water – that the children could observe and discover.

 

 

 

 

So, the children were thrilled and brought it into the classroom. We put it in the empty water table container. Before we left for home, I asked the children to predict, “What do you think is going to happen to the ice fish?” Here are some of their responses after a brief discussion:

  • It will melt in spring.
  • It will melt in one hundred days.
  • It will melt if we put it in the refrigerator.
  • It will melt by tomorrow.

The next morning when I entered the classroom, my teaching partner asked me if I had looked at the ice fish. I hadn’t, and figured I already knew what to expect, a container of water. When I looked, I was surprised to not only find the water from the melted ice fish, but an imprint. This was a surprise for me, something I couldn’t have planned for. We were excited to share the finding with the children when they arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

The children were excited to see the shape of the fish made from the sediment in the ice. They instantly realized that it was left from when the ice fish melted. That day, the children observed the dirt and some made drawings. As a group, we discussed the possibilities and the children decided it was the dirt from the snow that had sunk to the bottom of the container.

 

 

 

This inquiry led to more experiments with snow. We talked about the difference between liquids and solids. Through our discussions we wanted to make snow melt faster. The children made suggestions on how to make the snow melt faster and we tried them through various experiments. We set some snow under a lamp in our classroom, and it took all day to melt. We also tried adding cold water and hot water (with adult assistance) to the snow. The students discovered the effects of water and compared these to the conditions outside.
This inquiry has led us to learn more about water…
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Roz.Geridis Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Questioning

Wait time

The other day I was reading through Professional Speaking (our OCT magazine). I came across a little piece on wait time and it reminded me of a situation and comment from a colleague last year. I was a model classroom for a combined grade social studies lesson. While I was teaching my lesson, I utilized my wait time with the students throughout my lesson. Upon completion of the lesson, during our debrief session, the Instructional Leader highlighted my wait time. Which developed a fantastic discussion amongst the teachers. Some of the comments were about how long I waited, thought no one was going to answer, how quiet the room was, how proud and surprised many colleagues were about the rich classroom discussion developed due to enough wait time.

Wait time is something which is very important. The first few students who are ready to answer the questions are the students who may not need wait time and are ready to answer most questions. However, by using wait time we allow many students (if not all) an opportunity to process the question and gather information to answer the question. We also know that most students are ready to move on in the lesson and are not left behind still thinking about the question or answer.

A strategy I use to help keep the students focused is I asked the question a second time, the third time I will rephrase the question. Also, sometimes I may need to help activate the prior learning by using some guided questions. Every year I use wait time. Some years I have to wait longer than others but all my students know they need to be engaged and paying attention to the lesson and classroom discussions.

 

 

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Erin.Grewar Celebrating Success, General, Mentorship

New Years Equals a New Leaf

     I know there are lots of clichés around the start of the New Year and I have to say that I believe in every one of them. As far as teaching is concerned (in my experience), there are guaranteed to be two magical times of the year where everything goes smoothly and you feel on top of the world. The first is the very first week of school in September where your bright-eyed students sit complacently hanging off your every word. The second couldn’t come at a better time and occurs upon the return from the winter holidays. New Year’s coincides with a shift of cosmic, spiritual or divine proportions and seems to permeate the psyche of even hormonal eighth graders. It is a small window where people stop to take stock of the past and visualize the future.
     As a teacher, this “pause” is a golden opportunity not to be squandered. In this momentary blip (which might last a few days if you’re lucky), it’s as though students have suffered a mild form of amnesia. Apart from being slightly annoying from a pedagogical perspective, it nonetheless allows you to chart a new direction. Changing up the look of your classroom with new displays, layout and seating plan is refreshing and energizing.
     A fresh start has a lot of appeal on many levels not only for you the teacher but for your students as well. Although it’s often said that students thrive on routine, it’s also true that change, spontaneity and an element of surprise go a long way as well. Don’t neglect the fact that your students might also be affected by the psychological hype surrounding New Year’s. I would bet that many of them are thinking about their own ambitions and might have something specific that they would like to achieve. Others might need a blank slate and a chance to start over with you. Any way you look at it, it’s good to capitalize on the energy and momentum surrounding the New Year and move forward with positivity, renewed energy and vigour.

*Some suggested New Year’s Activities:
Have students write down a goal they wish to achieve by the end of the year. At the same time on another sheet of paper, have them envision some of the difficulties they might encounter and write a short encouraging letter to themselves. This teaches them how to set realistic goals, anticipating challenges. At some point, have them read their letters to themselves and compose another to also be opened in the near future. Repeat the process until the final time when they re-read their goal an have them assess their progress.

On a small piece of paper, have students write down something they do not want to carry with them into the New Year. It can be a bad habit, a personal quality or negative situation. In real practice, you would toss your paper into a bonfire symbolizing that you are leaving your burdens behind. This is obviously not an ideal method of disposal for a classroom situation – something equivalent might be the shredding machine…

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Roz.Geridis Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students

Connecting with Students as a Prep Teacher

It has been an interesting start to the school year. I have a change in my teaching assignment and for the first time I have ½ day of prep coverage. Getting to know all the names and developing relationships with over 100 students I see 80 minutes a week has been a challenge. Especially since most of my teaching position has me in the gym (no desks and regular seating plans).

To help me get to know the student names – I have the students change into gym clothes. At the beginning of the year, I had the students sit on the floor or bench in the gym and went through the class list calling out the student names and putting a face to the names. As the year has progressed, I have moved to having the students come up to me and showing me their clothes. I have them share their last name which still gave me time to get to know their names. To move things even faster, the students who have brought in their gym clothes regularly go a change right away and say hi to me as they come into the gym.

The student teacher relationship has taken some time to develop. I try to find a way to connect with each student. Some students, I ask about their extra-curricular activities (sports, dance, etc). Once I know what the student participates in, I try to ask the student about their extra-curricular once a month. For my ELL or students who do not have extra-curricular, I ask about their weekend or break plans. Sometimes, the kids go to the movies and I ask about the movie s/he saw.

Developing the relationships have really helped with the classroom management during the prep periods. The students have appreciated my effort to get to know them a little better and are making a larger effort to listen and to do their best during class time. It is great to have the kids walk up to you in the halls asking when we have your class again. I know some of that is because it is gym but also I have some classroom prep which kids are also inquiring about. Making the connection with students is something that helps to make a difference in student education.

 

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Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Planning

Making Adjustments

As I read the previous additions by fellow bloggers, I look for connections to my own classroom, and what I see is the constant of change. We are all working with different age groups, but consider similar topics, such as adjustments to integrate technology, outdoor education, or making learning meaningful. Like others, I am continuously reflecting on my practice and making adjustments. As I am teaching in a new Full-Day Kindergarten classroom, there are many changes that the ECE and I have made in the last 8 weeks.

In September, our days were focused on establishing routines and building a community with our 27 children. The biggest routines were entry and dismissals, learning centres, and independent reading/quiet time. Then, as the children settled into these routines, we constantly re-assessed our schedule. We found that our children are so social, that independent reading is more like a book club with sharing and discussions. So, we now lead meditation and quiet breathing and stretching exercises after our reading block. Some of the children struggle with stilling their minds, while others have embraced it and look forward to this part of our day.

Adjustments to the classroom are also a constant in FDK. As interests in certain areas increase or wain, I change the spaces to accommodate the children’s interests and needs. I also change the materials. The basics in each learning centre remain the same, such as the blocks in the building centre, however, I may add recycled materials, clipboards and paper, or figures to encourage new relationships with the materials.

The planning has become one of the most challenging aspects of the FDK program, as there is no time for the ECE and I to sit down and exchange ideas. I continue to plan weekly with my Kindergarten teacher partners, then I convey ideas to my ECE while we are in the classroom together. I started off the year with my weekly plans in a binder on my desk (as I always previously used them). Then, I realized that it was more beneficial to enlarge them on an 11 x 17 inch page and hang them in the centre of the room where the ECE, and the Special Education Assistant can access the daily plans with ease. We are also using a web diagram to document the big ideas that are emerging in the classroom and the connections to the curriculum, which is visible to all.

Every day at our gathering circle, I start by asking the children, “How do you feel today?” As the children share their responses, I get a better understanding of what adjustments I can make to ensure it is a successful day for all of us. Making adjustments is just another way of being a reflective and responsive teacher.

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Erin.Grewar Classroom Management

Classroom Management Core French Style Part 3 – Running With It

Allow the Class to Be Part of the Solution

When confronted with issues of classroom management, you need to make allies of your students who are obviously an integral part of the solution. Don’t worry, your students will be all too eager to share their perspective and insight. While a class meeting is sometimes an appropriate forum, having them provide some feedback in writing is even better. To elicit more interesting and helpful input, give them questions to answer (What is the reason why people are misbehaving? Am I contributing to the problem? How does it feel to be a student in this class? How can the situation be improved?) and ensure they are specific with comments, criticisms and suggestions. Writing anonymously allows them to be more honest and upfront. Finally, when you have read through all of their statements, make sure to address the situation the following class. Sometimes reading out a few comments aloud can have a more profound impact (they care more what their peers think of them). It’s important to reiterate what you, the teacher have understood from the message they have relayed and check with them to make sure you are all on the same page. End off with what you are going to change about the way you teach and handle situations. This may not be the end of your problems but your goodwill and sincerity will not go unappreciated.

 Hone In On the Real Troublemakers

While it may seem to be a larger issue, sometimes it actually comes down to reigning in just a few students. You may realize how the dynamic changes one day when one or two of them are absent (try not to look too excited in front of the rest of the class). After careful consideration so as not to overlook anyone, I’ve resorted to rounding up the selected individuals at the end of the day.  After a particularly frank and open conversation devoid of animosity, they are made aware of how their actions are bothering myself and the rest of the class and the next steps I intend to take if the situation is not resolved. Make sure to have a well-defined plan in place and be prepared to follow through. Again, this may not solve the problem in one shot, but it does allow you to come to some sort of mutual understanding.

 Stay Positive

This is really the part about putting it all in perspective. First of all, be thankful that you are a rotary teacher and you only have to make it through 40 min intervals – they will soon be on their way! Also, focus on those students who want to be there to learn (even if you sometimes feel you are addressing 2 people). The more out of control you feel, the easier it is to resort to screaming, sarcasm and a host of other unpleasant behaviours on your part. Just imagine what it would be like to be a student in such a negative toxic atmosphere. Sometimes that is the key to turning it around – make your class a place where kids feel comfortable to enjoy themselves and feel good about being there. 

Summary

Classroom management is the key to being an effective teacher. That being said, there are many different approaches and it is vital that whichever one(s) you decide to take, it’s a reflection of who you are as a person. When you are comfortable in your own skin, your confidence will grow will be projected to your students who can only respect you all the more for it.

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Erin.Grewar Classroom Management

Classroom Management Core French Style Part 2 – Not Losing It

Blow Them Away with Your Creativity

In my experience, this has always been my most offensive defence. Although your class might follow a predictable format, you can nonetheless incorporate a wide variety of activities and assignments. Consider the difference between using the passé composé to complete worksheets vs describing a week in the life of Kim Kardashian. When students are engaged, they will not misbehave. This means knowing what they’re interested in (music/athletes/actors) and also allowing them the freedom to be equally creative in return.

Explicitly State Your Expectations and Let Them Get to It

Students need to know exactly what you expect them to do. Make sure to always model writing and speaking to give them a clear idea of how to proceed. Saying “Okay, everyone turn to your partner and talk about …” is much different than firstly brainstorming some useful vocabulary/expressions then having a volunteer come up to model a conversation with you. Doing so allows you to reinforce the concept you were teaching or to work in a little bit of extra review. Clearly communicated expectations avoid the dreaded scenario of the hundred and one questions and ensuing mayhem.

Have an Inoffensive Signal to Bring Them Back

Instead of using a blaring whistle, shouting until you’re hoarse or flicking the lights off (which inevitably results in shrieking), come up with something noticeable that also reflects your personality (chimes for the Zen masters, catchy hand claps or simple countdown). Whatever you choose to do, the most important thing to do is wait for silence and their full attention before proceeding. If someone starts talking, immediately stop (in mid-syllable even) and wait again. Silence is more effective sometimes than lectures or endless complaints.

Become the BFFs with the Homeroom Teacher

Having a support system in place is crucial. Homeroom teachers tend to have a lot of leverage with their students (usually more than the Core French teacher anyway) and are potentially your number one ally. Not only can they provide you with much needed insight and information about your students, you can also use what works for them and apply it in your own classroom. If by chance (and the probability is high) that you are both struggling with the same student, you can coordinate your efforts (join in on any parent meetings) to gain more credibility.