Mo Excitement

I can't believe I haven't written about this. I wrote about my students writing a pigeon book, a la Mo Willems.

I did not write about the exciting twist that story took. Somehow Mo found our fabulous book and blogged about it himself! I was so excited when I read it that I emailed it to everyone I could think of.

Later that day I shared it with the kids. I showed them other posts on his blog first to help them understand the medium (they have no understanding of blogs). Then I showed them the post about our book.

Their response was not what I expected. As soon as they saw our title they all started screaming out, "He took our book!", "What's he doing with our book?" and such. I immediately set about reassuring them and telling them they should be excited. After a bit I think I convinced them and they were thrilled.

Later I realized that we had been working all week on writing new books. We were researching topics and trying to put things in our own words. In some small way I feel like they learned a great lesson (which I may have undermined with Mo's blog post).

Confession

I am inherently lazy. I'm not proud of that fact but I know it to be true. In my classroom I have to constantly fight my natural tendency toward laziness. During intersessions, I indulge it.

I plan my intersession classes to be as little work for me as possible. I do read aloud to the kids everyday. I do have to give directions for activities. But I really aim for most things to be as independent as possible. (It seems wrong that I get paid for this.)

One of the activities we did this week was to trace three-dimensional shapes to try and create a pattern to build our own copy of it. I modeled this for the kids and then gave them all paper and cubes. It was tough. They struggled.

Eventually one or two managed to make it work. The pride and excitement was strong enough to touch. The motivation for the rest of the group was unparalleled. They went at the task.

I put out pyramids and rectangular prisms. They grabbed them up. Those that were still struggling turned to the ones who knew how to do it for help.

My presence was only needed to celebrate the achievements. Kid after kid would bring their patterns to show me that they worked. "Wow! Awesome! Way to go!" And off they go with another shape. This is pretty close to heaven for a lazy teacher.

Open Eyes

I love getting to know other students during intersession. I also enjoy the break from my own students. However, sometimes I get to see something completely new in kids I know well.

I've got one of my own little darlings this week. She is a hard worker and my amazing co-teacher works with her in reading recovery. She is always raving about this little one. While I am glad to hear such news about my little darling I haven't seen such quick learning in quite the same way in the classroom.

This week we looked at two-dimensional shapes for a couple of days. At one point students were discussing shapes based on the number of points each has. This little darling could not accurately count the points. She and I worked together on several shapes practicing. Throughout the rest of the morning she would bring shapes to me and show me how she counted the points. It was great!

Today we are using three-dimensional shapes. The kids are tracing the faces to try and create a net (pattern) to build their own. It's a challenge but they are working hard. My little darling has noticed that these shapes also have points. She has counted them for me. Accurately! I am amazed.

Insanity & Adoration are Closely Related

Intersession means I work with new kids for a week. Some of them I know from previous intersessions. However, many are completely new to me. By the end of the first day there are some I adore and some that are driving me crazy. (Sometimes those categories would surprise their classroom teachers.)

I often try to learn something about the ones that are driving me crazy as quickly as possible. I only have a week or two with them so I don't want to waste it. If there are effective strategies I should be using or important details I should know, I want to learn it quickly.

This week one boy nearly drove me out of my mind the first day. I spoke to some other teachers after school and learned just a bit about his home life and emotional issues. I was able to be more patient with him yesterday.

Today we are worked with geoboards. I gave them time to play with them, we talked about making shapes and finding other shapes in them, and I gave them shapes to try and copy. They all enjoyed it. This one boy was especially engaged. He showed me shape after shape he created and things he noticed about them. He nearly jumped out of his chair with excitement when I put shapes on the table for them to copy. I sent kids to him when they were struggling to create a certain shape. He was able to be a leader and role model.

I don't think I've changed his life. But he's changed me. I needed the reminder that I have the power to make school successful for kids. I also needed the reminder that kids are so complex. The behaviors that were driving me crazy are not gone but there is so much more to him. He's become one of the kids I adore. And that's my constant goal, to have all the kids be kids I adore.

Graduate School and Life

I took two classes in the fall for my endorsement in Supervision and Administration. I enjoyed the classes, but I have to admit that I didn't work as hard as I should have (or, really, hard at all). I'm not very invested in the courses because I don't want to be a principal but I'm almost finished with the endorsement so it seems worth finishing.

I got my grades yesterday and I received and A- and an A in the classes. How is this possible? My husband (a college professor) believes it is because these classes are basically a joke. Some co-workers think it is because an A is the standard and you have to do a really bad job to earn less. I want to think it is just because I am that brilliant. (But I think their theories are more likely.)

There is no way I could do a master's degree or an endorsement full time. I work for financial and emotional reasons. I need to be able to take classes around my work and family life. However, I want those classes to be rigorous enough to warrant the degree or endorsement. Is that possible?

In An Ideal World

We're having intersession this week (explained at the end of this post). I'm teaching a geometry class to first and second graders.

For the past few weeks I have read about geometry in several fabulous books about math (Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics, Grades K-3 and Math Matters and Navigating through Geometry in Prekindergarten-Grade 2). These books gave me a great foundation for geometry and for how children learn and understand geometric concepts.

Next I went through our district's curriculum expectations for first and second graders to begin to determine our focus for the week. Finally, I browsed through a variety of books with activities and ideas to begin planning.

This was all fairly time consuming. However, it is how I would like to plan for everything I teach. I want to have such a deep understanding of the theory and the curriculum and be able to see the big picture. I just can't find the time.

Should I tackle one subject area each school year until I begin to have a handle on them all? Should I work on one area for a few weeks and them move on to another? Should I just keep trying to figure it all out at once?

How do others deal with this?

A Different World

I know many of my students live in poverty.
I know many of my students' parents work minimum wage jobs.
I know many of my students have second hand clothes.
I know many of my students get holiday gifts from the Salvation Army.
I know many of my students don't have winter coats.
I know many of my students live with multiple families.
I really do know all of this.

However, it still hurt yesterday when a little one was sharing a foam snowflake she had decorated and made into an ornament. The kids asked her about it and she said, "My mom, on my birthday last year, couldn't get me a present so she got me this now."

She was so matter-of-fact about not getting a present on her birthday. She was so excited about this foam snowflake. I hurt for her and was so amazed by her.

First Grade Shock and Awe

The amazing reading teacher who works with my class has pushed us to do readers' theater at the end of each quarter. We've just gotten started with our first round and she suggested we model the wrong and right ways to do it.

Yesterday we modeled the wrong way. We turned in circles, yelled or whispered our lines, climbed on a table, bossed each other around, held the book in front of our faces, and who knows what else. The kids thought it was hilarious.

At the end we had them chart all the things they had noticed. They didn't miss much. However, this reading teacher mentioned to the students that she had not been paying any attention to the punctuation (something we've been exploring for a week or so). On boy immediately yelled out, in great shock, "How could anyone do that?"

I Can't See the Forest for the Trees

The books my students wrote for the library have got them energized! They are on a book writing roll and I love it. Yesterday I checked out another tub full of books, this time on lots of different topics. I got books about different animals and insects, books about trucks and fire engines, books about cars and space travel. When I showed them the books yesterday they applauded as I pulled each one out of the tub. You can't beat that.

Today they are continuing to work on their books. They are writing about butterflies, guinea pigs, owls, cars, a brother, and themselves. Everyone has a topic and is working on a book.

The problem is that I'm a grouchy teacher (as was made obvious by my last, whiny post). They are so excited by the things they are finding in the books that they have to run around showing each other what they've discovered. They are so proud of themselves for including a table of contents in their book that they want to share it with all their friends.

I keep having to bite my tongue not to tell them to stop. I have to remind myself that this is all completely fabulous.

(I wrote this post ten days ago. Sadly, as you can see below, little has changed for me. I need a break.)

We are doing readers' theaters to wrap up the quarter. It gives the kids a break from the daily routine of guided reading and allows us to really focus on fluency and phrasing. The kids are thrilled! They pull out their scripts every chance they get. As soon as they finish their reading centers they grab the scripts, sit down with others in their group, and start practicing.

I am working with one or two kids on their parts and, inevitably, I find myself scolding these self-starters, telling them to be quieter, go sit somewhere else, something! I should be commending their efforts, encouraging this behavior, seeing the positive. Ugh.

Quick Observation

First graders with:

poor gross/fine motor skills + slight OCD issues = bad combination

Guinea Pigs and First Grade Goofiness

In writing my first graders have been writing books. Initially they wrote some to put in the library but they have continued at a record pace. We checked out books on all kinds of topics to help them come up with ideas and get started. As a result, we had to have a few lessons on putting things in our own words and not copying the book.

I conferenced today with a little girl who is writing about guinea pigs. A couple of her pages didn't make sense to me and I was asking her about them. One page she couldn't explain and she decided to cut. Another page she struggled to explain to me. It said, "Guinea pigs are in a circle." (not with that spelling, of course). So she finally ran off to grab a book.

In my head I'm composing the conversation about not copying from the book. She returns with the book and the first thing she says is, "I didn't copy from the book."

Now I'm giggling inside and exceptionally curious. She flips through the pages until she finds one with a guinea pig in an exercise wheel.

She didn't copy. She put it in her own words. I hope the illustration in her book helps readers understand what she means.

EoE spells Mom

My amazing co-teacher shared with me today about a student in another school. This little girl, when asked to write 'mom', wrote 'EoE'. Of course, I looked at this completely at a loss.

She then went on to tell me that the little girl's name is Emma. Think about that for a minute.

Next, she told me that Emma confuses the letters E and M. (Not a typical problem for kids.) Again, think about it.

When Emma says her name, what does she hear? The first sound she hears is the 'm' sound. She knows that her name begins with the letter 'E'. Therefore E must make the 'm' sound.

So, EoE spells mom. Amazing, isn't it? So many of the confusions kids face make perfect sense when one can find the entire context. Kids are highly logical. There are almost always really good reasons for what they think. We, as teachers and parents, become the detectives trying to find those reasons in order to correct misconceptions.

Administrative Frustration

On the whole I am enjoying the administrative graduate classes I have been taking. The great majority of the people I meet in these classes are wonderful. They are dedicated, smart, thoughtful educators.

That said, there are always one or two that cause me great internal pain. The idea that they could be a principal someday is disturbing.

There are two types of these people. The first is just clueless. These people don't know anything about current issues in education. I'm surprised when they know what NCLB stands for. What suggests to these folks that they have anywhere near enough knowledge to be a principal?

The second type doesn't seem to understand equity issues. They are willing to cut programs and have students and families pay for things. Basically what they say is that everyone needs to be responsible for themselves. Sometimes this is based in racism. Sometimes it is based in 'back to basics' bull.

I wouldn't want to work for either of these types of administrators.

(Just as an aside, I don't think I want to be a principal. It's a very important, very difficult job. I don't think I'm good enough or dedicated enough.)

Brief Whining Break

I spent Tuesday's specials time (when my kids are in PE or music) with my little mentee. I adore her. She was in my class last year and I'm glad to continue to work with her. Yesterday I met with a couple of other teachers to discuss our plans for prepping the kids to do readers' theater. I spent today's specials time meeting with a behavior specialist to talk about a student who is continually non-compliant. Tomorrow I will spend that specials time observing a reading recovery lesson. All of these things are worth my time. I just want a bit of that time for me.

Teaching in a primary grade is constant, non-stop, always on. I'm ready to be off for a bit.

Our Brilliant Librarian, Part 2

For background see Part 1.
On our second trip to the library our amazing librarian had things ready for us to explore non-fiction books by looking at their parts. She had a bunch of non-fiction books out on a range of topics and the kids started by looking at the front cover of a book. They described all the parts of the cover they could find.

From there the explorations moved on to the title page and then to the middle of the book. Students noticed the publishing information, the table of contents, page numbers, pictures, and captions. It was fabulous. We moved on to look at the end of the book (index, glossary, more resources) but had to continue the lesson back in our classroom.

For the next week students continued working on their books and conferencing with teachers.

As we returned to reread our finished class book the kids decided we needed to add a table of contents. One girl added a 'Words to Know' section to her book and a bar code, "So other kids can check it out."

Seeing their motivation and engagement in writing these books was really exciting. Both the kids and I are feeling more energized about writing workshop now. I'm so grateful to work with a librarian that does so much to support what happens in our classrooms.

I'm hoping to post some pictures of our class book and some of the kids' books soon. Our next trip to the library will involve a writing celebration as we share all of our books and place them in a special basket in the school library for others to read.

Our Brilliant Librarian, Part 1

Recently my class wrote a pigeon book (Don't Let the Pigeon Eat Candy in the style of Mo Willems) and we put in our school library at the invitation of our librarian. Other classes have been loving it and my kids are super proud of themselves.

Our fabulous librarian decided we should take this a step further and have the kids write some books independently that we can place in the library to share with others. We decided to start with writing about plants. That way their books could be as simple as, "Trees are big. Trees are green. Trees are plants." or such.

The first day in the library the kids looked at lots of books about plants and we made a list of things we learned. This mostly entailed the kids finding pictures that fascinated them and then one of us reading them the caption. We took a bunch of books back to our room and continued our research.

From our research we planned a drafted a class book and the kids began working on their own books. The draft was done on one sheet of paper with about nine boxes. The kids could list the different things about their topic and then choose an order for them. The only requirement was that their book had to be about plants. All of this took place during one week and prepared us for our next trip to the library.

Math Is Hard

I find helping kids understand the concept of place value, specifically of 10s and 1s, to be a significant challenge. Somehow by fourth and fifth grade these kids totally get it, but I have no idea how their primary teachers taught them! Now that I am one of those primary teachers I'm struggling with this.

We often use these blocks to illustrate the equivalency. But I'm not convinced that it makes it really clear unless you are already accepting of the concept. So last week I decided we needed a bit more obvious of a picture to help with seeing this. I pulled out our 100 chart and we put in blocks to illustrate each number starting at one.

As we got closer and closer to 10 the kids started to see it was getting crowded. When we got to 10 we put in 10 little blocks. Then, thankfully, one of the kids suggested we try the orange block instead. From there it was easy to do 11, 12, 13, etc. We jumped to the early 20s and early 30s (I knew this would be tough to pull off even in the upper 20s and 30s much less down into the 60s or higher). I'm not sure this worked completely, but I do think it got us off on the right foot.


Title is taken from the controversial Teen Talk Barbie who actually said, "Math class is tough."

Photo Gallery

I spend an inordinate amount of time at Target. I have all sorts of rationalizations for it, but it is completely excessive. So, I end up buying numerous things on clearance, just because I can't pass up that price! One thing I bought some time last spring was a set of decals to stick on walls. They are clearly designed to decorate a child's room. I thought they would be great in my classroom.

At the beginning of this year I used a few because I don't like to put out a lot of things before the kids arrive. I want them to help create the classroom. So a few of these small things added a bit of color without being too intrusive.

Recently I pulled the package out again as I was reorganizing some things (a constant battle). I realized that there were also picture frames and photo corners there. So I printed out some pictures from this year and created a photo gallery for us. I'll add to it as the year continues. The first day it was up the kids were thrilled. As I add I think they will be excited again and again. Plus, somehow, seeing the gallery makes me smile, even on the worst days.

Agreeing with Dan

Dan Meyer frequently gives me something to think about. A recent post of his stayed in my brain for several days. He is a compelling writer and what he has to say here is fascinating. He is writing about his 'blue students', kids who are struggling.

But graduation, college, and career are all abstractions wrapped in scare quotes to my blue students. So they pummel my flabby pedagogy daily to the point that I'm burger. Lean burger.

Dan is becoming a better teacher on a daily basis because these students need him to be. He can't skate by with these kids.

It took a few days, but I finally realized that his post reminded me of something I had written (and strongly believe).

If you want to see powerful, meaningful instruction taking place, look for schools teaching struggling learners. The students may not be scoring on standardized tests as well as their middle class peers, but I'd bet they're making more progress on a daily basis thanks to their hard work and their teachers' dedication.

One coworker, Mark, agreed with this assessment. He has worked elsewhere and also sees the difference.

Here the teachers keep their eye on the ball, because when they take it off, a kid literally falls through the cracks.

Blogosphere as Window

Reading blogs of other teachers gives me a window into other classrooms. Teaching is a fairly isolated profession and I rarely have the opportunity to see what is happening in classrooms other than my own. (Although I do think that I are more aware of other classroom practices at my school because of how much planning we do as teams or in small groups.)

I've been wondering why I find other teacher blogs so compelling when all I am doing is reading about their days. I finally realized that I am analyzing their teaching in the same way that I analyze my own and trying to learn more about the best way to help my students.

It is possible that I am just rationalizing to make myself feel better about how much time I spend reading these blogs.