Classroom Routines to Create a Caring Culture Some days, it seems like students become bears. No, I am not talking about the cutesy refreshment drinking polar bears. We’re talking approach with caution, grumpy, ready for hibernation bears. On those days, I spend more time refereeing than teaching. I wonder what has happened to my class? When these days occur, I remind myself to specifically teach and model the essentials of a caring classroom culture: acceptance of selves and others, emphatic listening, and positive conflict resolution. What then can we do to establish this culture so that students will no longer be grouchy and figuratively furry? 1. Start your week or morning off by allowing the students to share something positive they did over the weekend or the night before. Be sure to remind students what active, respectful listening looks like in your room. Allowing students to share about their lives does has MANY positive effects. Besides telling them that they are cared for and important, gives everyone a little insight into their lives. (Helpful hint: For chatty or large classes, limit the number of words they could share.) 2. Recognize positive behavior: an I Spy mailbox, paper chain, etc. Teach your students to "catch" others being good. Everyone loves being recognized. And we, as teachers, with so much to juggle, don’t always have the brain space to celebrate the excellent behavior that occurs in our classroom. Let's your students do the work for you! 3. Become an observer of student disagreements. When students argue, make them face each other and talk it out before you ever say a word. I teach mine this structure, “When this happens…. I feel… And I wish that…” This eliminates most of the accusatory statements, but still allows a student to communicate how they feel. 4. Have a heart attack. Not a literal one. Have students draw a heart on a notecard. Write something nice to a teacher, a student you know needs a pick me up, or a school official. Try to sneak the hearts to them as a class. (Half the fun is not getting caught!) Students love this and it is a quick break that gets them excited. 5. Give them a break. Take your kids outside for 5 minutes and go cloud watching. Let them imagine what the playground would be like with no gravity. Or, sit on the ground and think of what you would do if you were an ant. Sometimes, students just don’t get along because they are feeling so much pressure. Let them share ideas without the pressure of being right or wrong. 6. Read, read, read. Yes, even you Math teacher. Find books, quotes, Pinterest pins, poems, memes, newspaper cartoons. Whatever you can get your hands on that models the behaviors you want to see. Here are some book ideas to get you started! Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds Bronterina by James Howe Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev Hector and Hummingbird by Nicolas John Frith Now go forth and change your grizzly bears into teddy bears! Do you have any ways you like to add kindness to your classroom? Tell me about it in the comments below.
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Planning Guided Math sounds really intimidating, right? You don't know where to even start. Have no fear! It isn't really as hard as you think. Take a look at the graphic below and my video! We have all been in that professional development. The IC is passionately speaking about “rigor” while you are dreaming of your pajamas, a cozy nest of blankets, bunny slippers, and that Netflix marathon. Suddenly, your IC hands out papers and ask you to start breaking down your standards so you can set your “Learning Objectives and Success Criteria” Wait! What happened to the bunny slippers? Verbs! The only verbs you want to deal with are sleep, watch, or relax, right? Alas, your verbs are now highlight, plan, and collaborate. It’s not that bad, right? But knowing your standards is important. And using learning goals is honestly one of the practices that most improved and honed my craft. (If you ever read this, thanks Ann!) So Why Set Learning Goals? It’s Your Road Map...
You Avoid Detours... Setting a goal also helps you weed out questions that are unimportant or can be addressed during the next lesson. How many times have you looked up at the clock and asked yourself where did the time go? (Oh yeah, I just spent 10 minutes of my 60 minute math block reteaching addition. Wait, aren’t we doing fractions? Head Slap. Yep. I have done that a lot!) It also helps you decide if that super cute Pinterest activity is going to really hit your learning needs. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pinterest, but sometimes I want to tailor a lesson to a pin and the rigor just isn’t there! To Pinterest or not to pinterest, that is the question? Learn the Lingo Setting a learning objective establishes academic vocab. At the beginning of your lesson your learners will most likely not know some of your words.Shazaam! By reading your learning goal, your learner instantaneously are seeing vocabulary AND it establishing a Need to Know. (Tune in next week for more information about Knows and Need to Knows.) You can even make a little anchor area. Where students can self evaluate their prior knowledge of the vocabulary. I Need to Know I have these Questions and I Can… (Tune in next week for more information about Knows and Need to Knows.) Sets a Purpose- And for those of your learners that need a reason why they are doing what they are doing. They have it. With your learning goals set, your students now know what they’re going to learn and how they will accomplish it. Let’s Go! Writing a learning goal shouldn’t take you hours. Just a minute or two. Ask yourself these questions.
Now Use It! It’s not enough just to post your objectives. You need to have your learners interacting with it. I created this graphic to share how I engaged my learners. And our winner of our free resource is... Sandy Crichton Luder ! If you would like a chance to win a free resource from my Teacher Pay Teacher store comment below! Tell me you something you like or something you would like to see! Like What You See? Try these Lessons or check out my store by clicking here! I know this has happened to me. (Especially in those first years of teaching.) It could be that the district assessment was awful because of the lack of great questions in the question bank. Sorry ICs out there, but sometimes this is true. But many of the times, I was quizzing my students along the way instead of truly accessing their understanding! So...What is the difference between Checking for Understanding and Quizzing? What are some quick ways you can check for understanding? 1. Be sure to have your learning objective posted. I can statements are very helpful. Examples: I can multiply using partial products. I can give benefits and disadvantages of using Alternative Energy. 2. Plan your questions before the lesson. Here are some question stems to help you with open ended questions. 3. Think/Pair/Share often. This activity is material-less and quick! You can very quickly scan the room. Who is talking? Who is silent? You can listen in and ask students to repeat each other's responses. 4. Use Thumbs Up/Medium Thumb/Thumbs Down. Thumbs up means "I've got this!" Medium Thumb- "I get some things, but I might need more." Thumbs Down- "I am lost." I use this as a quick check. Most students are fairly honest about where they are. After I ask them to show me their thumbs, I ask them to come up with a reason why they showed me that signal and have them share it with me. 5. Have students create a rhyme, dance, song, or rhyme to explain what they just learned. Film them. I promise it will be worth. Use the videos later for writing prompts, fun updates for parents, or just to validate your students during this time! 6. Use data collection sites like Plickers or Kahoots. You can quickly assess all students in a fun way! It grades your questions for you. And you have physical evidence for yourself and administrators. (And hey, data driven decisions and technology, can you say T-TESS rock star?) 7. Agree or Disagree- I have two Corgis that fight all the time in my classroom. Students have to explain who they agree with and why. Below is an example for you. You can use your classroom theme (mine was Corgis), teachers in your school, or use your own characters. Or, simply make a statement and ask the kids if they agree or disagree. Example: Hydroelectric power is the best form of alternative energy to use in Kansas. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not? Here is an example of one of my Agree or Disagree Activities: Alright, what do you think? (This is me checking for understanding!) Have any questions? Leave me a comment and enter to win your choice of a free resource from my Teacher Pay Teacher store! Winner announced 10/21/2018.
Imagine this... You are teaching a lesson and everything seems to be going oh so smoothly. Your kids are smiling. They giggle at your jokes, write correct answers on their pages, and eagerly raise their hands to answer your well crafted, in depth questions. Suddenly, little Tom Joe hauls off and hits Paco. Your lesson comes to a screeching halt. You comfort poor Paco and ask Tom Joe, "Why on Earth did you hit him?" Tom Joe, who is also crying, responds, "Because he's mean!" "That is not a reason to hit him! Tell me what happened." "Because he is ALWAYS mean to me! "Tom Joe, tell me WHY you hit him." (Or ruined my incredible but ultimately doomed teaching groove?) Sound familiar? Little Tom Joe is struggling with cause and effect! Identifying cause and effect sounds so simple, right? Unfortunately, young children often have a hard time connecting a cause to a plausible effect. If you teach children of any age, I am positive you have heard a whole array of awkward or outrageous answers to the question, “Why do you think that happened?” (Everything from a violent friend, alien abduction to a hungry dog.) It’s important for our students to identify why something happens. This skill is needed in Reading, Science, and well every subject. But more importantly, our students need it to be successful in life. In today's "We Need It Instantaneously" society, our students need the ability to rapidly reflect on their work. They must be able to identify why things happen and how to fix problems/shortcomings quickly. As educators, how can we help our children problem solve? Play Games! Great Board Games: Who doesn't love a rousing game of Uno? What about Connect Four? These are great beginnings for teaching Cause and Effect. As you play ask questions like, "Why did you play that card?" or "What happened when-?" Some examples of more complex games for older students might be Checkers, Chess, or even Risk. Here is A Game to Play in the Classroom: Doctor, Doctor Give your students a scenario. “You forgot sunscreen and now have a sunburn.”, “You ate to much chocolate and now your stomach hurts.” Etc. They stand in front of the rest of the class who are the doctors. The doctors ask yes or no questions until they figure out the cause of the “illness”. Science in a Jar... After finishing a Science investigation, read aloud, or any activity, really... Have your students help you write questions to put in your Science Jar. Use cause and effect sentence stems... "Why did the-" "What happened when we-?" This is a great closure activity for Science to see if your students really got it. Place the strips in a can or jar. When you have some down time, need a transition, etc. call on a student to pull a question out. Go over the answer and ask the students if they are finding the cause or the effect. And drum roll please! My suggested Read Alouds!!! And a Few More!!!!If You Are Looking For Hands On Practice Check Out My Freebie and Lessons Below!This poor llama is such a funny example of the great things can come from persevering through bad situations. In the end, his little goal leads to a big reward! This is a lot like our lives isn't it? Everything seems to go from bad to worst until there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So the question becomes, how do we create kids that can persevere? I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you from the get go in writing this blog post that this last year was one of the most difficult of my life. My husband lost his job on my son’s birthday. He got a job that took him away from home till 11 o’clock at night and he left at three in the morning. Which might have been okay, if we had still been fostering teenagers. But we had added three new family members through adoption. All under the age 9, one of them being a baby! At school, I taught two tested subject areas to a grade level I did not enjoy. People would ask me how I was doing. I would just nod my head and ask how they were instead. We were not doing well. But we made it through. My husband found a new job, and I am now staying at home with our youngest. And our family are starting not just to survive but thrive. Through all of this, I wanted my kids to be happy, but I also wanted them to see that no matter how bad things got we would make it through. As a teacher I want the same for my school kids as well. My personal hard times are looking up. But some of the babies in our classroom, well... their hard times are coming up. Or, our students are going to continue facing them for years. So, how do we teach them to persevere despite their circumstances? #1- Have Family/Class Meetings Communication is key. Our students need to be able to express their frustration respectfully, detail their challenges, and express any other emotions effectively. They also need to learn to listen. We all need to voice our thoughts and feelings. The thoughts and feeling of others may not be fun or comfortable to hear but they need to be heard. Yes, you may hear how horrible the broccoli casserole was last night. But hey, if that is the worst thing your kid is coming up with at the time count your blessings and pat yourself on the back. ;) Family/class meetings will strengthen your bond and help you address issues that are arising. It is also a great time to problem solve. #2 Set Goals- One big key to persevering is knowing that there is an end goal in sight. So, help your child or student make a plan. When we face challenges, having a road map will make it easier to say, “Let’s make it to such and such day. Or, I know that I can get through the STAAR test because I am going to practice my math facts this many nights a week.” Problems don’t seem as big and overwhelming if you can focus on small parts to be successful at. (During our crazy time, I had very specific dates circled on my calendars.) I have also heard/seen dream boards. I think this is a very real visual for kids. #3 Look at Real Life Models- Kid president is a great example of a an optimistic kid! Despite his illness, he still offers great advice. Let’s face it, we all have a story to tell. Ask people about theirs. Be inspired by them. Even have some come and visit your classroom. #4 Give multi step chores or problems then step in as little as possible. Trying to let my children learn age appropriate chores or cooking with them is like herding squirrels!!! It would be so much easier to just do it myself! But, the more I let them do it, the more confident they become. As they are doing chores, I often run into tears. “I can’t reach the-“ “This———- is in my way”. I pull my kids in for a hug and tell them I know they can do it. I then tell them that they will complete this task by themselves but I will help them think through their challenge. I ask three questions... 1. What is your challenge/task? 2. What is stopping you from getting it done? 3. What tools could you use to help you get it done. (And no, your sibling are not an option!!!!!) Click on the image to the right to check out more about how I use these questions in my classroom and with my own kids. #5 . Finally, and most of you knew this was coming. Read with them!!! Yes, your ten year old will still read picture books. After another trip to our favorite bookstore, my oldest son said, “Man mom, characters in books always have problems.” I laughed and responded we wouldn’t read them if they didn’t, right?” Reading aloud teaches empathy, character education, and so much more. And hey, who doesn’t love snuggling with their kid? Except when they have just come in sweaty from outside and reek to high heaven. Go make them take a shower first than read to them. I hope these tips help you. Do you have a favorite book or a story? Tell me in the comments below! Links to the Books on Amazon!Let’s face it, we all have been at that moment where we throw our hands up in the air and ask our child or student why on earth can’t you just do it?! It’s at this moment we become the fire breathing dragon to our child. And the battle of wills or the tears flow. Do I do it for them? Do I make them re-do it? Uggghh! Why can’t they just do it? I moan.And I realize it has to be one of three things... 1. It could be (insert gasp here) because I have never taught them to do it the right way. (That never happens really!) 2. They have the skill, maturity, and ability to complete the task, but they are applying it to a new situation. 3. Or, they have learned helplessness. They have been spoon fed for so long now they can’t do hardly anything on their own. Ahhhhh! If it is the first scenario, which really never happens..really! I take the time to think about what I want and then teach the child what I clearly expect. If it is either of the second two scenarios, I ask them the same three questions to establish a thinking pattern. 1. What is your challenge? 2. What is stopping you from completing this task? 3. What tools do you have that will help you? What Is Your Challenge? Sometimes when you ask children to do something, they authentically do not understand the task. If they can’t tell you what they need to do, you have a place to start. If they understand the task, you can move to the next question. What is stopping you from completing this task? This is the part where you hone in on what has gone wrong. They have to break the problem apart. The student must identify what it is they don’t know how to do. For example, you have asked the child to add decimals to different place values. They might say, "I don’t know where the numbers go because this one has an extra number." Ah ha! We need to talk about place value! Think of this question as your data collection stage. It helps you know which part the kids understand. It also helps them realize that they can complete at least part of it on their own which is empowering... eventually. This step isn’t easy, and it will take time, but after asking these questions like a broken record even your most helpless learner will start coming to you saying, “I know how to do this, but I don’t-“ Oh Yeah! Progress! What tools do you have that can help you? We spend time talking in my family and classroom about tools. We have real tools like stools, pencils, rulers, wet paper towels, big brothers, etc. Sometimes our tools are skills like adding friendly numbers, or our memories about things that have worked before. Sometimes, the tools work and sometimes they don’t. But either way, we recognize that we have options and we can look for resources to help us. At first, I ask the questions, listen, and then offer suggestions as a last resort. After I repeat these questions like a broken record, I don't need to offer suggestions any more. It is difficult to let them do it when I could just do it for them. But, empowering them is worth it! Once they have the thinking pattern down, they start to implement it on their own without you saying a word. Oh the beauty! So stop being the dragon and start being their Yoda. In other words, goodbye learned helplessness, no more spoon feeding for you!!!! Check Out My Latest Products on TPT!A couple nights ago, I sat reading with my comic book obsessed ten year old son. I can't say I blame him for obsessing over comic books like a bearded man over bacon. But, this comic book turned psuedo novel was killing me. Man alive, this particular book was just a list of events. I couldn't hear or see the setting no matter how much I read. There was no vibrant language to make my teacher heart flutter or to put down for his reading log!!!! So, I began to try to find some books I thought he might enjoy while still having strong writing. After scouring our personal library, the internet, and a few more resources here are some of the books we really enjoyed. And yes, my dear son, I found a comic book- like one in Frankenstink! Whole Class Read Aloud- There are many great books out there with incredible adjectives. When I taught this I always had two anchor charts going. One, the "Examples of Sensory Words", we left up all year. We added to it as we discovered sensory words. The other anchor chart was much like the Imagery Recording Sheet. As we read, we recorded examples onto both charts. After three or four examples, we simply added the words. I didn't want to rob from the magic of the book by constantly stopping and writing! How can you practice this interactively in class? 1, Split your class into groups. Give each group a very basic sentence on a dry erase board, sentence strip, or chart paper. For example, The cat walked. 2. Next, tell your class which sense they have to add to the sentence. (You may want to create an anchor chart like the one above with different sensory words before you begin. Students will struggle sometimes to come up with words and it will be helpful to have something to reference.) For example, you might start with adding a sight detail. The group might add, "The orange cat walked." 3. They then pass their sentence to group to their right. Once more you give your students another sense to add.. For example, let's add a detail that appeals to touch. They might write, "The soft, orange cat walked." Or, they might change the verb. The orange cat brushed against me. (They must leave in any words added by other groups.) 4. Pass the sentences two or three times, adding a different sensory detail each time. 5. Stroll around and choose some of the best sentences to share and maybe one or two to edit. You can post your favorites at the front of the room. What's Next?
In the lesson cycle, we have done the "I do" and "We do". So now, it is time for your students to read independently and see if they can find their own examples. The first day I assign this, I usually walk around and look at the books my students have. Because some, like my son, will not have books that lend themselves to doing the imagery recording sheet. For higher level readers and thinkers, I have them "doctor" or fix two or three sentences from their chapter. Lower level readers and thinkers might get pulled over to me for a quick guided lesson. Phew! Day One Is Finished! But who teaches imagery for only one day? Over the course of the next week, I continue to read great books aloud. After I have taught the entry level of identifying what sense the sensory language appeals to, we move into higher level thinking. Such as, what emotion is the author trying to evoke by using words like... Below is a picture of my mini lesson and task card set I created. It has three sets of cards to move up those level of thinking. Finally, I usually allowed my students to draw about what they read this week. They had to support their drawings with sentences from their stories. But this was a great way to get students talking and interested in different books! Be still my teacher heart. Do you have any book recommendations comment below. As teachers, we take on too much! Between loving on our precious students, lesson plans, faculty meetings, best practices, grades, helping parents, technology that never seems to work right when an administrator walks in, PTO, and oh so much more, we are exhausted! That is why it is imperative we find ways to have others help us! My answer, delegate whenever possible. So here are some ideas for student jobs to hopefully help you cut down on some of your workload!
Leader Role #1- Morning Boss Train a student to be your Morning Boss. Create a morning checklist that your Morning Boss goes over with the other students. My bosses made sure other students “checked in” by asking ... 1. Did you move your lunch clip? (This was also my way of taking attendance. If a clip was left over I knew the student was absent.) 2. Can I stamp your homework? (My boss only checked for completeness or if a student had a question) They recorded any students with questions or missing work on the clipboard. 3. They were responsible for helping me with attendance and reminding my lunch count person to take the count. Leader Role # 2- Snack Leader If your students have a snack time every day, set a timer. When the timer goes off, you don’t stop to pick up trash. Have a responsible student walk around with a trash can. They collect trash or silently dismiss students one at a time to take snacks back to their backpacks. You may need to practice this procedure but you will get to a point where this becomes second nature and snack won’t be a big deal. Leader Role # 3- Kindness Coordinator One of my favorite jobs to have students be is the kindness coordinator. It is their job to spot someone being kind throughout the day. We had a kindness tree where our kindness bloomed. You can share this however you would like! The kindness coordinator keeps their eyes peeled for someone being kind, They can see it themselves or take suggestions from other students. At the end of the day, or sometimes in the class meetings the next day, the Kindness Coordinator shared what they saw and we would write it in a flower. It’s tattling in a positive light! Leader # 4- Technology Guru We all have that kid. The one who knows more about our tech than we do. Or, if you have to google it yourself, would love if you taught him or her at the same time. So do that! Make that student responsible for updating apps, helping other students, turning on the projector. You'll be glad you did and you can keep going! Do you have a student led job that saves you time? Comment below. Did you know that National Talk Like A Pirate Day is coming up? This year, it is September 19th!!!! Or, perhaps ye arrrr just searching for some Pirate Themed Fun? Either way, landlubber, pirates arrr often engage even your most reluctant learner! So let's set sail for fun! Get ready with some Pirate Words and Phrases!!!!
Here are some of my favorite books.... 1. Shiver Me Timbers (Poetry Anthology) 2. Dirty Joe the Pirate 3. No Pirates Allowed 4. The Pirate Jamboree 5. Pirates vs. Cowboys 6. A Pirate's Perfect Pet 7. Pirasaurs 8. Small Saul Look at my Pinterest boards for some craft and snack ideas... https://www.pinterest.com/onealc1/pirate-themed-education/ What is your pirate name? Look Below to find out! Arrrr you looking for some Writing Lesson? Pirate's Perfect Pet is possibly one of my favorite books ever! There are so many great lessons that can come from this one book. The book is fiction. But within the fiction is a list, persuasive text, rhyme, alliteration, and more! The story is hilarious and the illustrations will have you laughing out loud! Below is a pirate themed freebie! What is the Perfect Pirate Pet? Have your kids use this organizer to convince you! Included in this pack arrrr organizers for various levels of writers and pirate themed paper for publishing. If You Liked My Freebie, Check Out These Lessons!
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