Things I've Learned This Week

• First graders are surprisingly transparent. They haven't learned to hide things or act certain ways for their friends.
• Eighteen first graders can spread out over sixty feet as they walk down a hall in a line.
• First graders can't sit still for a lesson, but will just stand around when given the chance to 'get their wiggles out'.
• Everything is exciting to a first grader if phrased in the right way, even a math assessment.
• Anything can be a game with first graders, counting, learning names, practicing routines, and more.
• First graders can wear you out, even when you have lots of support and help!
  

Epiphany

Ten years ago my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Spain. He had to learn to drive a stick shift in order to drive the rental. He hated it. At one point he said to me, "I was a good driver and now I'm awful." That's how I'm feeling as a teacher right now. I've been doing this for ten years and I've worked hard at it. I've learned a lot and gotten better every year. I've earned a master's degree and gotten my National Board Certification. This year I feel like the weakest link. I've gone from feeling like I'm good at this to feeling like I stink. Fortunately, I know this will pass. As I get the swing of first grade (hopefully soon) I'll start feeling more comfortable. It will still be a challenge, probably for several years, but it won't feel so disconcerting and frustrating.

Day 3 - I Might Survive!

First of all, I wonder how on earth kindergarten and Head Start teachers do it everyday! They amaze me.

I have to say that today was a vast improvement over yesterday and Monday. It gives me hope. The students came in and, with minimal prompting, followed the same routine as the previous two days. I do have to remind them of things that I took for granted in the upper grades. I keep saying, "Put your name on it." I asked each child to check their backpack for their Tuesday folder (anything we send home goes in the Tuesday folder) and then I opened each one to see if there was anything I needed to read or turn in to the office. We actually practiced what we will do during a fire drill, something I've never done in the upper grades. I go through the lunch line with all of them to be sure they have everything they need, don't cause any problems, and get through the paying process okay. I actually count heads and wait for all of the kids to line up after recess. My big kids could just figure it out and find us (and then be in trouble for not lining up).

I'm also learning to celebrate the positives. My phenomenal co-teacher and I got the class started with independent reading today. I modeled what it should look like and she showed what it shouldn't look like. They shared what they had noticed us doing and then headed back to their tables to read for 5 minutes. Five minutes! We set a timer! Afterward we celebrated the fact that every student had stayed in their seats and had books in their hands the whole time. Other than that it was fairly chaotic. I took video of it so that I can compare it later in the year. I need to see tangible proof of their improvement.

Trying to Keep My Head Above Water

Two days in first grade and I can't figure out how primary grade teachers do it. It's physically exhausting to an extent that surprises me. I expected that, but I underestimated it. I had one more student today which brought me up to a total of 18. I'm aware that it is a small class by many standards. However, it seemed like there were students everywhere all day. Lining up for recess I counted heads about six times. They can't stay still for anything. Getting them all through the lunch line is also a nightmare. I've been told this will all get easier. I don't know if it's true or if my colleagues are just trying to keep me sane. (Just in the interests of full disclosure I have to admit that I have co-teachers in my classroom for a large part of everyday. I'm not doing this on my own by any means and I'm still drowning.)

There was an opening for me in first grade this year because another teacher moved up to third. Right now, she's loving life. It's seeming so much easier to her because the students are so independent. I'm sure she'll feel the stress when standardized testing time rolls around, but for now, she's thrilled. I'm sure I'll feel more comfortable when we've got routines established and the kids can take care of more things on their own, but for now I'm just looking for a chance to sit down and possibly to eat my lunch.

(This is less coherent than I would like, but it's late. I looked at my plan book today with another teacher and realized that tomorrow is only Wednesday. How is that possible?)

Thoughts on Day 1

I survived day 1 in first grade (of course the kids went home at 12:20 so that doesn't say too much). I'm taking the opportunity to blog in order to process things.

I repeated myself numerous times today, but I don't think it was more often than I did with my 5th grade gifted class. I tried to think of all the things that needed to be explained in advance but I can only imagine how many things I missed. I'm eternally grateful to the various specialists who spent some time in my room helping me out and making life better for my kiddos.

My favorite comment from a student today came during a read aloud. The reading teacher I work with was reading First Day Jitters to the kids and said that the character slumped down in her seat. She showed them what slumped means. A student piped up, "It's like ice cream melting down."

Fun in First Grade

One of the big projects we did in the four hours we had together today was self-portraits. I'm fascinated by what the students chose to focus on in their pictures. Just looking at these pictures makes me smile.

Leap of Faith

I should be in bed asleep, but I can't figure out how to do it. Tomorrow is the first day of school at my school (we're on a 'modified calendar') and I'll be teaching first grade for the first time. I am feeling wholly unprepared and full of anxiety about helping these small people through their first day back. I'm wondering how to do things that have seemed so simple to me for years now; how should I post the schedule for our day, how can I prepare them for recess, how do I get them all through the lunch line, how do we learn all of each others' names, etc. I had all of this down in the upper grades. I have no clue for first grade.

To add to the fit of nerves, my older daughter is starting kindergarten tomorrow. She'll go to my school, which mostly makes the whole process easier for us both. However, it seems crazy that we're both jumping off a cliff together and hoping for the best.

Things That Surprise Me About First Grade...

(After 10 years of teaching 4th or 5th grades)

• the tables are shockingly low
• the rooms are much more student-centered in set-up and organization than most upper grade rooms
  
• the stories of the kids are just as funny, if not funnier
• the instructional debates and decisions are astoundingly difficult (do we use paper or journals for independent writing, should these books remain at school or should they take them home, can we model two or three ways to do that math problem or should we only show one, etc.) *
  
• the bathroom (at least in my classroom) is huge and I can't come up with any sanitary way to use that space instructionally
• there is significantly less planning time for some reason
• I'm just as nervous as I was on my first day of teaching fourth grade

* I'm actually completely serious about the difficulty of these decisions. Everything seems critical at this young age and it seems so easy to mess them up for years to come.

FBs - Who are they?

Scott McLeod had a recent post, NECC 2009 - Who wins? that prompted quite a bit of interesting discussion around the blogosphere. In this post he muses on the idea of FBs (famous bloggers) and their possible obligations to NYFBs (not yet famous bloggers) and LRs (loyal readers). The question is only of mild interest to me, but it got me thinking about the blogs I read and which are by FBs and which are by NYFBs.

I've tried to keep some balance between the two. I think that one of the reasons I feel a need for this balance is that most of the FBs I read are not currently in a classroom. They are consultants, technology specialists, or college professors (in a classroom, yes, but with completely different time demands). Full time classroom teachers have little time to devote to blogging. And yet they are voices I would like to hear a lot more. I have huge amounts of respect for a variety of classroom teachers who blog thoughtfully and make me think. Doug, Dan, Lisa, Clarence, Christian, and Stacey & Ruth all write blogs I think are fantastic. I'm not sure how they manage to do it.

My big question here, I guess, is does it really matter? Does the imbalance between widely read blogs by actual classroom teachers versus those by others in the educational field make a difference? Should we be concerned by who dominates the discussion? I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it.

Post on In Practice

I've got a new post up on In Practice and it's something that's been bouncing around in my head for quite some time. I'm trying to figure out where we draw the line in regards to how much and what sort of things a school does for a student. I'd love to hear thoughts on it.

Rube Goldberg Machines

My students created Rube Goldberg machines during the last few weeks of the year. I used the projects as a chance to try out some technology and I'll be posting my thoughts on that soon. First, however, I want to focus on the project. The inspiration came from a dy/dan post in which he shared some You Tube videos of wonderful Rube Goldberg machines. I thought my students would enjoy watching them and that led to my thinking that they would also enjoy creating some.

It seemed like the perfect project for the chaos of the final weeks of the year. This video is photos of the project as well as short videos of their machines. The audio in it is taken from their thoughts about the project; what they enjoyed, challenges they faced, how they felt about working in groups.

If you want to see their machines in action with their explanations, check out the video on You Tube.

Poem in Two Voices

I had intended to have the two boys who co-authored this poem record it for me to post, but the end of the year got in the way. The fabulous intern who worked with my students this spring introduced them to poems in two voices and a few of them tried writing some. I thought this one was fabulous.

More information on poems for two voices

End of the Year Gifts

I received several lovely gifts on the last day of school yesterday. However, two of them amused me greatly. Not because the gifts themselves are amusing (something that is frequently true) but because of the stories that go with them.

I walked into my classroom today ready to tackle the chaos in the hopes of having it packed and well organized by the end of the week. I noticed a large bag in the coat closet area. I asked the intern I've worked with if he knew what it was. His response was that it appeared to be a gift someone had forgotten to give me. I had to agree that was how it appeared, but found the idea highly unlikely. Picking up the gift I was hoping there would be a tag with a name. Luckily there was and I should have guessed the name that would be there. It was from a young man who never ceased to make me smile and think, but who can't remained focused on the majority of tasks for longer than a moment or two. It is not hard to imagine him walking in yesterday morning, putting his backpack and the gift in the coat closet and getting involved in conversations with his friends about the upcoming promotion ceremony and other last day activities. It was a fitting final image of him.

Another child arrived on Monday telling me that he would be bringing me a gift on Tuesday from him and his parents. I told him that was so kind and unnecessary. He said, "I paid for most of it with my allowance." This was not said with joy. The next morning he arrived with some beautiful flowers. As I took them I thanked him and told him how beautiful they were. His response? "Good, they cost like $50." He clearly had better things to do with his allowance money (and really, who can blame him).

Saying Goodbye

At the end of the last day of school all of the teachers rush outside to line the street near the building. We wave to all the cars and buses as they head out for the final time for the year. Parents wave enthusiastically back and children practically hang out the windows of the buses screaming goodbyes. It's the most wonderful tradition.

I have no idea how I managed to look this happy in this picture. I was weepier today than I have been on any other last day of school in my ten years of teaching. I don't know if it is because I am moving to the primary grades so this feels more final or if there is some other factor. I loved this group of students, but I've loved them all. I worry for some of these students, but that's also true every year. I am so proud of the work we've done this year and so frustrated by the things we didn't do. But, yet again, always true. We had a wonderful year together.

More to Come...

What 'first' would you like to see?

After Obama claimed the nomination yesterday I felt this was a moment in history to discuss with my students. My morning message explained the details and then asked, "What 'first' would you like to see happen?"

They struggled a bit with the question, but once they got going they were on a roll. Some of their answers were quite serious:

• a president who cares about global warning
• all weapons destroyed
• a law that requires all endangered animals have reserved areas to live on
• an NFL for women

Others were absurd:

• a house made out of marshmallows that could bounce all over
• kids getting paid to go to school or for doing nothing

Some were serious, but highly unlikely:

• a time machine
• cloning endangered animals to save the species

It made for a fascinating morning meeting.

"Playing" in our Strategies Lab

Playing alone, with a partner, or in a small group - honing problem solving skills through games.

Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs

Our last state standardized test was this morning. One of my students will be taking it as a make-up test because she broke her arm at recess on Friday (I was out!) and is getting a new cast this morning. She is not alone, however.

Another student came up to me first thing this morning to say that she will be picked up every afternoon for the rest of the year rather than walking home. I didn't think too much about it, just thanked her for letting me know.

She went on to tell me that her home had been broken into yesterday. I immediately dropped what I was doing and gave her my full attention. She's been having some significant family problems all year and I have been amazed with her resilience. Very little was taken during the break-in, only some important papers and a ring. The computer, XBox, PS2, and such were all left behind. As a result, she is terrified that her family was the target, not their things.

Because today is a test, one of my first reactions was to call our assistant principal for advice. I did also email our counselor so that she could talk to this student sometime today. I'm so lucky to have an administration that is understanding and proactive. Our AP came right down and talked with my student. They jointly decided that she should take the time to talk to the counselor, we would call her family to touch base and see if there is anything more we could do, and she will take the test another day. Everyone seemed comfortable with these decisions.

It just saddens me that one of my first reactions had to be to think about this test. I'm glad she doesn't have to sit down and take it right now, after all of this, but how different will things be tomorrow or the next day. How meaningful will this test score be? And how many other students have issues distracting them that they are not willing to share publicly?

Writing Beyond Pencil and Paper

Our fifth graders have a new, county-wide required project. Last year my class was one to beta test it and this year my school is one of sixteen to pilot it. Last year I felt rushed and had another huge year end project we did as a school. As a result, I was disappointed in their projects (not that they didn't work hard). The project involves looking at different cultures (we study ancient cultures in fifth grade) to better understand global interdependence and to use technology.

This year we got started earlier, did a lot of prep work ahead of time, and I had a better big picture vision. So far, I have high hopes for how this will turn out next week when they are due.

My kids have found a new search engine they really like: boolify. They have almost all been using it frequently. My favorite thing about it is that it has them thinking more critically about their search terms. They are using the 'and' term and the 'not' term well to narrow their searches. I think that is a difficult thing for kids to do.

Another big improvement this year is that my students are really trying a variety of new technology. Last year they all either created web pages through an awful site or created powerpoints. This year, thanks to their push and my growing knowledge, we have a lot more going on. Many of them are using their own wikis in Blackboard to organize their research, especially if they are working with a partner.

One student is creating a blog using blogger. She wants to put a powerpoint slideshow on it as well as several other options, if she has time to create them. She's using the blog as a place for some text and a home spot for other aspects of her project.

Another student is creating a webpage using googlepages. Her site has inspired kids in my class and in other classes and she will not be alone in using this tool.


Several groups are using Movie Maker or Photo Story to create movies using images they've found (we're still struggling with some copyright issues, especially for those who want to include their movies on a website).

They're pushing themselves as learners with technology, which I find exciting. However, the biggest thing I think they're learning from this project is a broader picture of 'writing'. They are finding that they can use other ways of sharing information than simply writing a paper. And that they still need to do some planning, drafting, revising, and editing of their work, regardless of the medium. I hope that as they head off to other schools next year they will take that knowledge and their skills and continue to push themselves and their teachers (as they have done with me!).

Warning: Not Education Related - Personal Post - Feel Free to Ignore!

Yesterday morning my sister and I participated in a sprint triathlon. That means it is shorter than a more traditional triathlon. We swam one quarter mile, biked twelve miles, and ran three miles. I have been training, at least a little bit, for a while now. However, I was still terrified when we showed up at the pool. I thought we had to be insane to think we could do this. However, less than two hours after we started we crossed the finish line and I felt fantastic. It was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again next year. (And I am so grateful to my sister for agreeing to do this with me because I would never have attempted it on my own.)