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Yearly Archives: 2014
Why should teachers write?
With the increasing amount of tasks teachers need to do, why should teachers add writing to their lists? For me, I began this blog last year as an additional way for classroom parents to get to know me better. I thought it would be a way to extend the “classroom updates” that I provided to families and explain more of the “why” behind things happened in our classroom.
When I take the time to write, I spend more time thinking about what I want to say. I spend more time thinking about my practice. In the back of my mind I keep thinking, what topic should I write about next? The blog (and dissertation) have helped me become a more reflective educator. Something a blog does, however, that a private journal does not, is invite the public to share in the conversation.
So much of my research this summer focused on the rigor of conducting quality research. Through these readings, the idea of engaging other people in the conversation came up again and again. You see, I can be as reflective as I want, but without being able to talk with someone else about a topic to gain other perspectives limits my potential for learning. Knowing that I am writing publicly invites the critique of other perspectives.
There is another reason for teachers to write publicly. Teachers are closest to the realities of classroom life, yet too often we are the farthest away from the decisions being made about policies and other educational issues. There is a long history of things being done “to” teachers. Even in the field of educational research, there has been a tradition of research reserved for university faculty to conduct studies “on” teachers.
Fortunately, tides are turning in educational research and teachers’ voices are becoming valued through teacher research, action research, self-study. University faculty are recognizing that everyone in the educational community can benefit when teachers share their insights from an insider’s perspective.
But teachers do not have to necessarily be researchers in order to share their voices. Teachers should be able to share their stories of classroom life. No one knows the complexities and nuances of teaching in a classroom better than the teacher actually doing it in that moment. When more teachers begin to share their stories of their classroom experiences, the general public can gain a greater sense of how intricate it is for teachers to meet all of the unique needs of classrooms full of students. Then maybe we can value teachers more and move away from the increasing “boxed” programs towards a more responsive way of teaching and learning.
To read more about the importance of blogging and sharing teachers’ voices, visit these articles…
Do Educators Need to Blog?
Seven Reasons Teachers Should Blog
First Day of School
The floors are sparkling. Pencils are sharpened. New materials await children in cubbies and on desks. Many families use this time to purchase back-to-school outfits and new backpacks. There is no doubt there is an excitement in the air for a new school year!
I look at all of these new school supplies and back-to-school rituals symbolically as a fresh start to a new year–for both students and teachers.
For students, it is the opportunity to create new friendships. It is the chance to get to know and develop trusting relationships with an expanding network of adults at a school. Students bring their experiences from previous years, but with the expectations that this is a new year to make some fresh starts.
For teachers, we are in a profession where most of us get to keep our jobs from year to year, yet what is inspiring about our jobs is that we get the opportunity to have a first day on the job each year. Tomorrow I will experience my fifteenth first day on the job. With that comes a whole host of feelings. I still get nervous. I will not sleep well tonight. I am glad about that because it means that I care. Questions will race through my mind: Will the students be able to sit in the seats based on the way that I arranged their desks? Will they be quiet and shy or comfortable and social? How will I meet the individual needs of my students on the first day while I am still trying to get to know them? Will the students enjoy my read-alouds or will they say, “we’ve heard these stories before”? How will I reassure the anxious parent at the door that her child will be fine?” The list of questions is endless. It is the unknown…and yet, that is what makes the new year so exciting and inspiring! What worked last year may not work this year. This year will be a process of getting to know a new group of children and their families. We will try new things, make modifications of some old ideas, and continue to grow and learn together as a community. Let’s get started!
Blogging Ideas: Sunday words (file away for the summer)
As I think about how this blog will continue to evolve in the years to come, I found this teacher blog that I want to file away to look at again this summer. I like how she posts quotes each Sunday for students/families to think about in the coming week. –Nicole
Want to change the world? …Begin by making your bed (Adm. McRaven)
At the end of a school year, it is common for me to wonder, “have I made a difference this year?” As a teacher, I always hope that I have helped make some kind of positive difference in the lives of children…and myself.
My husband, Dale, shared this commencement address with me tonight, and I really felt compelled to share it with you too. I always look for sources of inspiration and motivation. Adm. McRaven relates his Navy SEAL training to lessons that we can carry with us throughout our lives. It begins with making our beds. 🙂
I hope that the students and families continue to keep in contact with me in the years to come. I have no doubts that they will have a positive impact on the people they will meet. I’d love to hear their stories.
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/05/16/admiral-mcraven-commencement-speech/
What Happens When Handwriting Fades?
We taught handwriting, but definitely not to the degree it deserved. Adding an increased emphasis on handwriting as one of my goal’s for next year.
The New York Times reports today that the loss of handwriting skills may lead to the loss of cognitive development.
Maria Konnikova writes:
“Does handwriting matter?
“Not very much, according to many educators. The Common Core standards, which have been adopted in most states, call for teaching legible writing, but only in kindergarten and first grade. After that, the emphasis quickly shifts to proficiency on the keyboard.
“But psychologists and neuroscientists say it is far too soon to declare handwriting a relic of the past. New evidence suggests that the links between handwriting and broader educational development run deep.
“Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information. In other words, it’s not just what we write that matters — but how.
“When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically…
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Paper Crane Project
Dear Class,
Having taught Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes in the past, I had a feeling that some of you were going to be interested in continuing to make origami cranes after we finished the book. I didn’t really expect the magnitude of having paper cranes cover our classroom. Look around the room this afternoon. Isn’t it amazing to see what you have accomplished?
In the older grades, teachers sometimes assign a year-end or final project. We didn’t do that—but you did. You created the project and assigned yourselves to complete it. I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to culminate the school year.
Did any of you pick up on the deeper meaning when I asked, “Isn’t it amazing to see what you have accomplished?” What you did was so much more than make paper cranes to hang in a classroom. Your parents and teachers want so much for you—to see you grow in so many ways. I am not sure if you remember the fall goal-setting conference we had with your families. Yes, all of us wanted to see you excel in reading, writing, and math. But do you know what? Many of your families also shared goals such as learning perseverance, learning how to deal with conflicts, learning how to make more friends, finding ways to increase your confidence. We worked hard in all of the subject areas (reading, writing, math, social studies, science) this year, but we were also working on a “hidden curriculum” (that is a fancy word that teachers sometimes like to use).
Our lessons in this “hidden curriculum” were practiced in the mornings before school actually started. We taught these lessons during morning meetings and Friday class meetings. When you began this paper crane project, we saw how you were doing many of the lessons that we worked on throughout the school year. I want to share with you just a few of the observations I noticed over the last few weeks.
Thinking beyond yourself- Do you remember how this idea started? It was an indoor recess day, and a couple of you said, “Why don’t we make paper cranes for one of our classmates?” You have truly warmed my heart by the amount of time that you have invested for one of your friends. How has that made you feel to be able to do something so significant for another friend? Please remember that feeling always.
Student voice/student ideas-This project didn’t make it into the Big Idea Jar. It wasn’t the teachers’ idea. This was truly your project. You created the idea. You invested the time to do it. You recruited more materials when you needed them. You own this idea and project. We hope that you learned this year that your voice matters. You have excellent ideas to contribute. You can make a difference! You should be so proud of yourselves.
Perseverance– That is a fancy word, isn’t it? It means sticking with something even when it gets difficult. Making 1,000 paper cranes is very time consuming! Many of you continued to keep working on the paper cranes in the morning, at lunch, at recess, and at home over the duration of a few weeks. There are going to be many times in life when we have to push through on an activity, project, something happening in our life when we think that it would be easier to just give up. Giving up is an easy thing to do. But life often isn’t easy, and we have to find ways to push ourselves through those tough times. Look back and remember what your classmates did in these final weeks of school and think, “I can get through this too.”
Teamwork- There will be times when you need a little bit of extra help to get through some of those tough times. I hope that you realized how much your teachers, families, and classmates were here for you during the course of the year. Great things can be accomplished when people work together. Just look at our classroom! It certainly wouldn’t look this way if only one person was doing all the work.
Parental involvement– Speaking of teamwork, I hope you noticed and appreciated the parents that came in to help thread our paper cranes. Also, other family members supported you by sending in more origami paper—some of this paper arrived all the way from California! What is important for you to remember about this is that you have families that believe in you and support you. It has been such a great year to get to know you and your families.
Support and self confidence- It’s fair to say that some students really ran with this project while other students dabbled here and there. What I appreciated so much was how we all supported each other in various ways. Silent encouragement is so much more powerful than put-downs. I never heard anyone throughout this whole process say anything unkind about what others were doing. That is so important to share. We have to be so careful about our words, don’t we? Words can either build us up or tear us down. You have been building each other up throughout this whole project. It was so much fun to see you come in the morning and share the tiniest cranes that you have made, or cranes made from cardboard and other materials. You were anxious to share, and we were anxious to praise. For friends that had an interest in making cranes but didn’t know how to do it, you took the time to teach them. Thank you for taking that time to reach out to a friend.
As I write this letter, you have a teacher that is just beaming. I am so proud of what you accomplished this year—both academically and through the “hidden curriculum.” Yes, you aced this final project, but I’m not assigning a grade!!!! Aren’t many things more important than the grade? It seems more about the process of life-long learning. Thank you for a wonderful year!
Hugs,
Mrs. Titus
Summer Reading List
I began looking up 4th grade summer reading lists online to send home to parents for the summer. It didn’t take too long to realize that “Google” does not know our classroom interests better than our own kids! This year I am abandoning the canned reading lists and asking the students: “What do you want to read this summer? Here is a list of how they responded:
*Percy Jackson books–by Rick Riordan
*Kane Chronicles–by Rick Riordan
*Heroes of Olympus
*Pandora’s Box
*Hercules
*The Underworld Series
(This class really is interested in Greek mythology!)
*Magic Treehouse series (the books that are geared to the older kids)
*The Warrior Series
*Cupcake Club Series
*Around the World in 80 Mysteries (We just finished reading Mystery on Mount Fuji. The students were interested in other books in this series.)
*A-Z Mysteries
*I Survived books
*Diary of a Wimpy Kid books
*Big Nate books
*Kung Pao Series
*Beverly Cleary books
*Harry Potter books
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I would add non-fiction material to this list. The Common Core stresses the importance of reading and understanding non-fiction material.
Happy Reading!
Good morning, Guten Tag, Konnichiwa…the importance of saying, “Hi!”
The “greeting” is an important part to beginning our school day. It takes various forms depending on the day, but each day we make it a point to say “hi” to each other. When you hear about unfortunate circumstances occurring in schools, too often the scenario involves someone who didn’t feel a part of a community.
One week we actually tried an experiment in our classroom where we did not have our regular morning meetings. We reflected on that experience at our Friday afternoon class meeting. Overwhelmingly, students shared that they missed the opportunity to greet each other in the morning. Some students shared that without that greeting, they weren’t able to really connect with who was in the classroom and who wasn’t there that day. Pretty powerful stuff, isn’t it?
As the school year winds down, I don’t want to forget all the special ways that we greeted each other. I must admit that most of the greetings were my intern’s creation. Some of the ideas came from the students. Here is a sampling of the ways we said “hi!’ each day to each other:
*funny voices
*lumberjack greeting
*Tree greeting–seed grow into a tree shake a branch
*butterfly greeting: grab thumbs
*baseball greeting: hit a single, double, triple, homerun–count those people, shake hands, then that person sits down
*Elf on the Shelf greeting
*different languages
*jellyfish greeting: squiggly hands
*foot shake greeting
*stinky shoe greeting
*elbow greeting
*snowball greeting–put name on paper in the middle crumple up like snowball
*leaf greeting–same idea as snowball
*rock, paper, scissors greeting
*bear, fish, mosquito greeting–similar to rock, paper, scissors greeting
*one minute greeting–how many people can you greet in one minute
*silent greeting–say hi without talking–how can you say hi to someone and greet someone without talking
*birthday greeting–line up in birthday order and say hello
*greet 3 people then find a new spot to sit
*high five–line up into 2 rows and travel through the tube
Paper vs. Typing
(As the year nears the end, I find myself thinking back to what has worked and changes I want to make for next year. Google Docs was a discovery for me that I find myself thinking more purposefully about for next year.)
My original plan for “screen time” writing this year was going to be through having students use the classroom blog. We did a fair share of blogging this year. We wrote book summaries, composed math word problems, and created opinion pieces. What I did not anticipate was the extent that students would use google docs/google presentation to create stories. Truthfully, this has been an example where the students took the lead with their learning. My goal was to teach various uses of Kidblog—not to venture into Google docs. Now I find myself wondering how I can be more purposeful with Google docs next year. In the same thread I also find myself reflecting on the balance of “screen time” vs. “paper.”
| Paper (Student Binders) | My thoughts | Computer |
| *Easy access/always available | This is a big benefit because we share the computer cart with other classrooms. Also, there have been a handful of times when the Internet has been down. | |
| This has been a benefit that I did not anticipate. It has been great to see how students have utilized time at home to create stories. I have also seen how students worked collaboratively with siblings and other friends on stories. | *Students can access work from home. | |
| *Lack of organization | This has been a big benefit of having electronic versions of writing over paper versions. With computers, there are always “paper and writing utensils”. Papers do not get lost, and the stories are time-stamped. It has been a challenge to keep students’ binders organized into the various categories. | *More organized |
| *Revising and editing | This is where paper and pencil still trumps technology in my eyes. I like having students manipulate the words on a page, cross out words, use arrows to add words, use different colored pens and markers to show how their drafts evolve. I can still do these things with technology; however, I think that students would get caught up in the technology aspect and not think as deeply about the writing. With technology, I could have the students print their stories to revise and edit with writing tools. | *Need more technical skills for revising and editing |
| *Feedback (can conference with students easily at their desk any time) | I still believe that face-to-face interactions are best, but time is always a factor in the classroom. Being able to comment through google docs has been a huge benefit to the writing process. Students were anxious to receive comments and write back. I can see extending this idea next year to having other students and parents give comments/feedback on their work. | *Feedback (Can comment on work from any location at any time) |
| *Value in writing/handwriting | This is where there needs balance, I suppose. Students need opportunities to practice handwriting and writing legibly. Students also need opportunities to practice typing skills. I found this year that the quality of writing greatly differed in some students when they had the opportunity to type rather than write. | *Value in practicing typing skills |
| *When students use the computers, they have access to the Internet. It requires a set of lessons on Internet safety and closer monitoring to make sure that students are using the Internet for proper purposes. | *Closer monitoring with research tool |
I have to keep in mind that we are near the end of third grade and that the students developed their typing proficiency over the course of the year. Maybe incorporating Google docs right after the new year would be a good goal for next year.
Names on a Door
How do you identify your child’s teacher? Sometimes you may look on the sign outside the classroom door. But should that be the only name that appears on the door? A few years ago, our former principal and I were presenting on coteaching at a Teacher’s Institute at Rutgers University. During the discussion, someone shared that one way they valued other professionals in the classroom was by posting all names on the classroom door. That fall, our principal added paraprofessionals and intern names to our doors. I want to push the challenge a little further. Who else has been responsible for teaching our children this year?
It’s fair to begin with my intern and me since our names are on the door; however, the days of solo teaching (even with two teachers in the classroom) are far removed from this classroom. There is a vast amount of content in various subjects to cover throughout the school year. It is difficult to have a deep understanding of every subject matter. Many times this year I sought advice, clarity, and content understanding from colleagues in third and fourth grade. Children may not have been assigned to their classrooms, but those teachers were also teaching our children. Their names should be on our classroom door.
There are so many philosophies, theories, and practices for teaching. What works one year for a group of students may not work as well the following year for a different group of students. Approaches to math, reading, and science continue to change and it helps to have someone to “unpack” best practices. I asked to meet with our instructional coach each week this year because I value the opportunity to collaborate with a colleague and to challenge myself as a teacher to really understand the best approaches for meeting each child’s needs. I need to add her name to our door.
Speaking of meeting children’s needs, we have some excellent readers and mathematicians in our class. It is equally important to find ways to challenge those students. I consulted with our learning enrichment teacher throughout the year to gain ideas on how to “push” those students. Her name should be on our door as well.
To have a school principal that values teacher autonomy—allows teachers to make decisions in their classrooms– that facilitate learning is a powerful way to empower teacher leaders and help further professional development. This greatly impacts the outcomes of what happens in our classroom. His name should be listed on the door.
The guidance from our school counselor was instrumental in creating the classroom environment that we have this year. She taught us a way to reframe questions, build community, and problem solve when times get difficult. She was a big part in helping our students find their voice in the classroom. Her name must be added to our list of teachers.
Our school custodian comes in each evening to sweep and mop the floors. He empties the trash. He vacuums the carpets. He is doing so much more than that. He creates a warm welcoming space that is ready for students to enter the following day. He helps to prepare the class environment for the next day’s learning. His name needs to be added outside our door.
Children’s greatest teachers are their families. Our families have had a great presence in our classroom this year. They have shared their expertise during different units. They have provided suggestions on how to organize homework. They shared insights with us as to why a child may be “off” on a certain day. The partnership between home and school has been so critical to what has happened in the classroom. We need to add all of those names to the list!
The students! This is their classroom. They have shared so many ideas on how they would like their classroom to look like, sound like, and feel like. Students shared with us about ways they prefer to learn, and were open with us when things hadn’t gone the way that they hoped. Their names should be at the top of the sign outside the doorway.
There are so many other names to mention: nurse, occupational therapist, speech therapist, specialist teachers, previous teachers, future teachers.
In Japan, there aren’t names on a door. In fact, there aren’t teachers’ desks in the classrooms. There is one large community faculty room where all the desks and resources are located. People in Japan shared with us that they were perplexed that in U.S. businesses, people put up dividers to “cut-up” spaces in to individual work stalls. Cooperation and teamwork are essential to their culture.
Those values are essential to our Easterly culture as well. The task of modern education is so monumental today for one person to believe that he or she can do it adequately alone. One of the ironies in my studies is that the more that I read and learn, the more I realize I don’t know. To think that you can do this job alone would be either naïve or arrogant. So, this classroom door remains open. It’s not my classroom, but a true community classroom….with more names than I can count on our classroom door.
Becoming Comfortable with Uncomfortable 