What IS Important to Elementary Kids

The Daily Five Tip of the Week had a wonderful cover story this week. In it, Lori Sabo writes about the lasting impact Joan Moser had on a former first grader, recent high school graduate. In the end, the former student describes her current self through the books she loves.Beyond the well-deserved thanks that Joan received I think is a far more important message to all who work with elementary students. What matters to elementary kids, what they will take away, is a love of learning.Clearly, Joan's former student learned to love to read, not from the rigor of the Common Core (which was not part of our educational landscape 12 year ago), but through the nurturing environment created within the walls of the classroom. That environment included coaching this student through some reading challenges, instilling a sense of confidence and independence, and creating a safe and relaxing physical space to learn.Planning for the upcoming year will inevitably include achievement data and plans for improvement. And there will be pressure to meet incredibly (ridiculously) rigorous curricula. But, hopefully, it will also include some serious thought given to what's important - really important - to elementary students. A place and a space in which to learn to love learning.

I Am Not A Nudge..... Really

When you have pretty strong convictions about something, they are not always understood or shared by others.For me, one of my thoughts is that creating an environment of order and welcome is of high importance to my students' frames of mind. With many of my students coming from existences that are not always orderly, I have felt that the ambiance created in the classroom can go a long way toward settling students, toward allowing students to focus and learn.My colleagues and I are reading Charles Appelstein's No Such Thing As a Bad Kid, as part of a teachers' book club this fall.  I was struck by the importance of cleanliness, warmth, and color in a classroom toward creating a safe environment for my students. Appelstein specifically calls out attending to classroom design - as do the Sisters. It is something I have been dabbling in for the last 4 months and now, armed with both Appelstein's and Gail and Joan's thinking, I may be ready to do something drastic.I hate clutter. There seems to be no end of it in an inclusion classroom, so the first thing I need to address is the collection of materials that do not appear to have a use. Countertops get covered with materials - surely there has got to be a neater way to store what materials are needed for a day or week. This is tricky when you are sharing your space with other adults - I don't want to be bossy about it, but some of the materials I see tucked away has no real purpose in the everyday learning of my students.The next step will be to somehow find a way to create a more welcoming space - adding curtains/valances (whatever the fire code allows), changing that God-awful turquoise to something more calming, putting away or weeding out materials that aren't in use, creating spaces that are welcoming for children to read, write and think.So really, I am not a nudge, but I am convinced that the changes I can make -- and the clearing of clutter -- will impact the learning environment in this classroom. And they must be done.

Outside of the Box

We will have a lot of changes this coming Fall. Some are more global: a new administrator, a new superintendent, new Core Curriculum. On a more local level, my grade level has made a decision to locate the Inclusion classrooms side-by-side, so next year I will be a SPED Inclusion room again.And there some changes in my own teaching that I've been thinking about. I've dabbled in implementing the Daily Five over the last year. It's something that makes sense to me. This summer, a couple of us will be going to the Daily Five workshop offered by "The Sisters" and I'm really psyched about learning more with my teaching colleagues.However the classroom design ideas from The Sisters that have really piqued my curiosity -- along with a suggestion from  Tuesday2's blog -- and that is what is giving me the inspiration to really look at my classroom's traditional layout.  Is the room "mine" or is it "ours"? And if it is ours, everything - seating, access to materials, EVERYthing - needs a re-evaluation as to its purpose and usefulness in a room filled with 9 year olds.Just how much radical change can be made remains to be seen -- the District has requirements (overhead projectors in each room has been a hot topic in the building this week). But there will be change.... this is going to be fun.

Classroom Design

Boy do I ever need to redesign my classroom space.  What I have is workable, but there's much more to be done.  What would my dream space look like? Here are some things I'm mulling over for next school year:1. Removing the big old TV on the gigantic (and wobbly) stand.  Yes, I do use video.... sometimes. Is it worth having this gigantic thing taking up more square footage in the classroom? I'm not sure it is. What would be a reasonable and less space-consuming alternative for those times when a picture is way more effective than words?2. Clearing the decks. Countertops are full, and I mean full, of "stuff".  I know the district has a rule that each room needs an overhead projector, but I don't use the thing since we've received an ELMO and projector.  But I also have too much "stuff" on the countertops -- just how important are those bins with independent math activities?  Time to be brutal.3. Coverup. The windows let in light, but more often than not it is harsh. And several of the windows are cloudy. Sheer curtains?  Hmmmmm, would that  a more welcoming, diffused lighting?4. Seating. Cushions and upholstery in public spaces make me nervous. I don't like to sit on the chairs in my doctor's office.  Whatever we use for alternative seating needs to be welcoming, functional, space saving and movable.5. Student work areas. Since the furniture available seems to be just desks, that's what we have to work with - no student tables (I had trapezoid tables at another school and I loved them!). What would the room be like without so many of them? How would that change the way we work?Lots to think about as this year runs out. Classroom design is a bigger deal than I've previously thought. It will affect the way the room is managed, it may affect the students' concept toward the room, and it can affect their behaviors.  Hoping that over the summer I'll get some inspiration -- and some latitude -- do make changes that will positively impact my students' time in third grade next year.

Cleaning Out

This June, with just 3 years  -- or maybe 4 if the stock market takes a nose dive -- left of my teaching career, I've started the process of streamlining.  It seems like a good idea. I certainly don't have an delusions that all that stuff I've been saving "just in case" is going to be manna from heaven for my replacement. But more importantly, we are going to begin using the new Common Core Standards here in Massachusetts.  So this seems like as good a time as any to clean closets and really look at what is useful, may be useful, and should have been in the circular file years ago.I find it difficult to let go of those things with which I've found some measure of success, even when those "things" have outlived usefulness. For example, I have entire units of author studies that my old grade level team and I developed when we had to use a particular basal for Reading First. Reading First has long expired and I no longer teach second grade, why I couldn't let go of that remains a mystery. I'm not sure it's much use to second grade teachers I know -- it is so outmoded... as it should be. Our teaching should change over time; to continue to hammer at instruction from viewpoints held long ago is to be stale and not responsive to the kids in front of us.So along with the frenzy of record keeping and end-of-year to-do lists, I am taking some time to reflect on what is in my classroom, to finally get rid of the things that are just taking up space, and to redesign the feel of the room.  I want it to be more welcoming and friendly and not so focused on function.  The Daily Cafe has some great information on classroom design, but there are others who have shared their passion for creating spaces that are welcoming to students.Lots to think about and consider over the summer. But for now, I can be found next to the recycling bin.