Here's the thing

Did you happen upon KQED's interview with San Francisco educator, Michael Essien, principal of MLK Middle School? If not, here's the report which includes an audio of the story.So many of us in education feel the pressure to keep teaching the prescribed curriculum even when our students, our kids, are telegraphing their emotional response to the curricular pressures they are experiencing. Could it be possible that the children are telling us "this is not working for me?"I believe this to be the case when so many kids have escalating behaviors that disrupt the flow of the classroom. Just as an infant wails when it is hungry, tired or bored, our students are also wailing in the form of noncompliant behaviors.As a classroom teacher, I was fortunate to have some really supportive push-in help when a child's behavior was, let's use the education-ese term, "off the wall". I can picture Liz Higgins, a now-retired social worker who was assigned to my last school, talking in the calmest of voices to one of my students who was under my desk after having up-ended her own. The child eventually returned to the class activity, and the day continued.I was fortunate to experience the power of push-in reconnections with traumatized and frustrated students many times over the course of 30 years. I hope over time I learned from these education mentors. Fred and Sandy and Sharon, Mary Ann and Maria, I don't believe I properly thanked you for that. You taught me that when a child acts out, it is important to reconnect and re-establish our relationship. What has always impressed me about these six educators is that none of them ever seem to have lost touch with their roots in education. They may have been (or may now be) administrators, but they never forgot about their own experiences in classrooms or with students.On some plane of understanding, I eventually realized that when one of my students was acting disruptively, that was a signal that, for that student at least, the demands of the classroom were too much. The times that I was able to keep that student with us in the classroom were, for the most part, successful outcomes. They did not happen all the time and they certainly did not happen as often as they should have.Principal Essien's experience as a teacher and in special education informed his decisions. He demonstrated to his staff that he could be trusted as an administrator because he still remembered what it is like to be in a classroom. Mr. Essien recognized that adding one more thing to a classroom teacher's responsibilities was unworkable, that there needed to be a collaboration between administration and classrooms in order to best serve the students.His push-in model is working because the collective focus is on what the students need in today's education pressure-cooker.Shouldn't this be the goal for every child? 

Teaching Conflict Resolutions Through Pretzel

Put yourself back in elementary school and imagine your reaction to a classmate calling you a name or hurting your feelings through action or word. Would you speak up or would you allow that hurt to fester and grow into something more significant? Would you feel listened to? And if you caused the hurt would you recognize it as such?In our adult conversation, do we listen - really listen - to each other even when the conversation is difficult? I am not so sure any more. Maybe what we adults could use is a refresher course in conflict resolution.Ruth Sidney Charmey, author of Teaching Children to Care and a co-founder of the Northeast Foundation for Children invented a powerful activity for children named "Pretzel" (click on the link to find out how the activity was implemented) as a way to teach children conflict resolution and empathy.My good friend and colleague, Paula Gendron, introduced me to Pretzel as a means to teach children awareness of others. Although from year to year it morphed into other small treats (Skittle, Sticker) according to the allergy concerns in the classroom, the premise always remained the same: we all need to feel safe in our classroom community in order to do our best work. In my classrooms, we used this activity almost weekly to heighten awareness and sensitivity  in the classroom community.Two of the rules or norms for Pretzel would be applicable to all of us.  The first one would seem fairly easy: find something positive to say and compliment someone.  It's easy to see negativity, and that can wear anyone down.  I believe that when I look for something positive to say, no matter how seemingly insignificant, it can change not only my mindset, but another's as well. For my former students, it was a requirement that there be something positive noticed and complimented whenever we participated in Pretzel.The second norm is a bit harder to do whether you are a child or an adult. When someone offers a criticism, the listener needs to really listen without interjecting commentary or excuses. It is important for the listener to remember that the words are expressing how someone perceives a situation.Listening without becoming defensive or commenting defensively is very hard whether or not you are 8 or 18 or 48 or 108. However, listening to another viewpoint or version of events along with an awareness and acceptance of how someone feels is an essential component to developing empathy. When an 8-year-old hears a classmate say that walking away from one friend to play with another caused hurt feelings, the first reaction is denial. We need to notice more when words and actions might cause another person hurt. We need to be more empathetic.Grownups need to practice conflict resolution now more than ever. We are bombarded daily with bully talk and hate speech that inflames and does not resolve anything. We need to accept that there may be more than one way to perceive a situation, listen no matter how difficult to hear, and develop our adult empathy. And maybe once we adults practice the skills of conflict resolution, we'll have less conflict to resolve. 

No-Nonsense? Nonsense!

Our local CBS affiliate posted a public opinion question this morning. The "No Nonsense Nurturing" is rearing its ugly head once again because teachers and schools using this program (see link ) have gained some news cycle traction: teachers are being told not to use "please" or "thank you" with students.As Amy Berard, former Lawrence Public School teacher, so eloquently wrote, the program requires teachers to speak with students according to a script. Don't say please. Don't say thank-you. Be direct, speak without inflection. Don't give students a choice.Oxymoronically named, the program does anything but nurture. Teachers are commanded not to use polite language as it might cause the teacher to appear to be less powerful, to lose "control". Is this what education has come to? Power and compliance?As a classroom teacher with thirty years experience, this trend in education policy to find the one program that will magically turn all students into acquiescent sheep troubles me. Educators don't need to be trained and practiced professionals who have the skills in child psychology and classroom management to read the room and respond to what the students' needs might be. No, all one needs is the magical script, training and consultant available for an extra fee.I spent the whole of my teaching career empowering students to learn by making choices, modeling acceptable social interactions, and still managed to keep 20-30 young learners from swinging from the light fixtures. Students need to learn from decision-making and practice making good choices. As a colleague in my last school used to say, "you win or lose by how you choose".An educator recently made this thoughtful observation:

One of the Great Truths of Ed. Reform is that we cheer on reformsthat affect Other Peoples' Kids, but that we would never tolerate for our ownkids.

Is this the kind of nurturing we want for our children? Puh-leeze.

What She Said....

I recently read this post from Germantown Avenue Parents' blog. Those behavior management tools - like the mentioned stoplight? Do they really help kids get behaviors on track?In my school, we are required to hang a pocket chart. Each child has an assigned number and flips cards through a series of colors - green to yellow to blue to purple to indicate the kind of day they are having.Who are we kidding with the numbered pockets?  It takes kids about an hour to know who is who.While I agree with giving students a visual reminder of their behavior accountability, I dislike having behaviors displayed publicly. Besides taking up valuable bulletin board space, it seems self-defeating.  And disrespectful.  Would you want YOUR bad day posted for all to see? Me either.What's a solution to this dilemma? I have a small, portable pocket chart that served the same purpose as the bulletin board display, but in a less public way. For my more challenging students, I maintain a periodic behavior chart which gets reviewed daily (or hourly sometimes). And for the status of the class - we can still hang out our class sign indicating our classroom community is having a 'great day', 'not-so-great day', or 'wish we could do-over' day.We can still help students get behaviors back on track. We just don't need to do it publicly.

Change is good

Like lots of teachers, I am burnt to a crisp mentally by the time June arrives. Some years, this happens sooner - usually those are the years that can be identified as curriculum change years.This year has been a particular challenge. You see, this year, everything was new again. I have been teaching for a l-o-n-g time and while I never teach the same things the same way twice - which makes sense, the kids are different and have different needs - one would think there would be something that would be connected to prior years.Not true of the academic year that has just ended. We were charged with changing our math curriculum, our science curriculum, and our English Language Arts curriculum. The level of discomfort with curriculum was pretty high.The amount of time preparing was off the charts. Why? Because anyone in the education field can tell you that those Grade 3-6 materials suggestions are often (mostly) directed toward students in the middle of that grade span.  In other words, we - my grade level team and I - spent inordinate amounts of time trying to find comparable materials to teach our students.My husband tells me that I'm a "magic bullet" kind of person. I am continually looking for the just right solution.  To this end, I discovered a great book by Mike Anderson and published by ASCD: The Well-Balanced Teacher.  If you are a study-guide kind of person, here is a link you might enjoy. FB fiends (guilty!) might like this page.It has been an eye-opening read. And somewhat comforting to know that there are plenty of other educators feeling the same way I do about the need to work smarter and be more balanced.  Ten months of 10- to 12-hour days does not make for a happy, creative teacher.Summer is a time of renewal. A time to reset those parts of my life that have gone out of balance. It is time to make change good.

Well, That Was Ugly

I have always thought it important for students to learn to work cooperatively. When I worked in the private sector, we worked as teams or groups - almost never without some kind of interaction with colleagues.  Kids need to know how to work in collaborations, too.  And so, we set out this week to work in cooperative groups to create "rules" for defining two-dimensional polygons.I modeled the expected outcome (a chart listing the attributes of the four polygons each group was investigating). I semi-randomly created groups of 4 students with one eye on creating a heterogeneous group. Defined and had students take on group jobs - recorders, materials, etc. And sent the groups on their merry way to focus on the task.Which failed miserably. Why? Because despite our attention to polite dialogue (one student ended up telling her group to "shut the hell up"), the task of working with others needed to be broken down further. Even the simple - or so I thought - task of choosing one out of the four to record on chart paper was unattainable. I ended up spending much of the period on how to choose a recorder, what the responsibilities might be for the materials manager, etc.Clearly, this is something my students and I need to work on aggressively. After we re-gathered in our meeting spot to talk about what was not working, I knew we needed to work much more diligently on getting along in a group so that the task (remember that?) actually is completed. Yes, this is a very egocentric group; many try to have private conversations with me at the same time! But we need to learn how to get along in a group and how to negotiate working under group dynamics.And that, my friends, was the take-away from that math lesson.  

Braindropping

We all have them, those puzzling dreams that we can remember in the morning. Well, I just woke up to a nasty alarm after spending pillow time with a rather puzzling one. My mind can be a scary place.I'm not sure what I was doing, but it seemed to be some kind of math lesson - naturally. I love teaching math! I have the vague impression that people weew watching it for some strange reason..... whatever.And in that lesson a teacher's greatest fear started to come to life. The group got so out of control that teaching was next to impossible. I'm not sure what was going on anymore - I hate when the details of a dream get lost to awake time! - but I do recall having to take the activity away from one cooperative group. A group that included Charo (what????) and Queen Elizabeth II (double what????). For the record the Queen was very gracious and totally understood why the teacher was stopping her participation. Charo, however, pouted.Just as I was about to resume the activity, the alarm broke in. So many unanswered questions; did the rest of the lesson go okay? Most of all I hope I never experience one of those deja vu moments starring this dream. Analyze this one if you want Dr. Freud, but I'm guessing I made need a vacation.

Responding to bullies

I don't like being blindsided any more than anyone else. So this week when our school social worker relayed to me that one of my student's parents said her child was being bullied, I was taken aback. As a Responsive Classroom, we continually work on appropriate social interactions. As part of the Making Meaning program, a large piece of instructional time goes in to socially acceptable ways to agree or disagree, to dialogue with peers.Nevertheless, the parent's concern was laid out and, as is required by law in Massachusetts, we address such concerns seriously. We are revisiting bullying this week.I usually begin discussions of bullying by trying to figure out if students can define what bullying is and what it is not. It was amazing to me that sometimes kids think when a peer tells them to "shut up" that they feel they have been bullied. In the past, I've handled such events in the classroom with discussion between the involved students which ends with a plan the students themselves concoct for more polite interaction. But now, once the student or parent of the victim has raised the topic of bullying, there are formal procedures and documentation that need completion. What was at one time simple, has become complex. Which is what happens when we try to legislate every aspect of human behavior, isn't it?So this coming week, I will once again assist my students in defining what bullying is (for my third graders: repeated times that someone (or a group) makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable). We will read age-appropriate literature like The Recess Queen as a jumping off point. We will role model. We will talk. And we will write, because sometimes my kids feel safer when they don't have to say the words out loud.I was thinking of all of this as I watched the shootings in Tuscon, Arizona unfold yesterday afternoon. Are we, the adults in our society modeling socially acceptable ways to agree or disagree when we get so incensed about another point of view that we can no longer listen to what is being said? What kind of a model for civilized discourse is in our own adult interaction - political or otherwise - when we can't even  agree to disagree without threatening? Frankly, the Sheriff in Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, has it right.It is something to ponder.

Letting Go

One of my New Year's Resolutions - the list is really long! - is to try not to be such a control freak about what we do in the classroom. I'm letting go of the idea that I need to be at school before 6:30 am (our school begins at 8:30) and that I can't possibly leave before 5 pm to get things done. Yesterday I left the house at 7 am and discovered that there is a world of sunlight out there!Well, the reform movement can also be applied to my students. Yes, in general, they are a handful, but just maybe they will step up to the plate if I shift some responsibility on to them.Up to this point, I had very complicated management for what part of the Daily 5 Cafe each student was responsible to complete on a daily basis.  I felt the need to do this because of the requirements for small-group instruction within our school - Safety Net students must meet with teacher and literacy partner (also a teacher) twice each day. Out of a 40 minute block, that does not leave much time for self reading, does it? And when do these very needy kids get to experience (and possibly get jazzed up by) other aspects of literacy? It was a puzzlement.So, I've shifted things around so that the whole group lesson is scheduled for a half-hour instead of 15 minutes. Will I spend 15 minutes in lecture mode? Heck no! I just am keeping that time so that kids can go off and start other things before they are in full small group rotation mode.  I think it will work - at least it did yesterday.Additionally, the rest of the students who are not in a small instructional group, now have the flexibility (I think my exact words to them were: "I think you are grown up enough to handle this....") of completing the D5 activities in whatever order pleases them. They have to make 3 commitments: 1) to read for at least 20 minutes every day without interruptions, 2) turn in their response journal on the assigned day and 3) not to spend all of the D5 block standing in front of the classroom library chatting it up.As I was testing students yesterday (our mid-year Fountas Pinnell tests start now), I looked around the room in amazement. It was quiet, the conversations that were taking place seemed to be about literacy, and outside of 2 students who were testing whether or not I'd notice, no one was in the classroom library socializing.It is hard for me to let go. Most of the time I feel responsible for making sure everything goes perfectly -- and there's the problem. It is not just my responsibility - it is a shared one. And as far as perfect? Well, these are kids, so I need to remind myself to park perfection at the door.So far, so good.

Daily Five and Math

This year I've made an attempt to follow the "Sisters" in implementing the Daily Five and the Literacy Cafe. So far, I'm happy with what is starting to take shape. Conferencing is more focused. Tracking those kids who need more than a once a month reading conference, keeping kids accountable through the Literacy Cafe Menu, all are clearly going to be helpful when presenting a case at an RTI meeting.Now if the Daily Five can help me with getting to those students who need some extra one-to-one support, maybe it can help with meeting the needs of students in mathematics.  The Sisters are way ahead of me on this one -- the Math Daily Five provides a way to organize "guided mathematics".  In my classroom, the five categories that I'm playing with are: Math Fact Drills, Landmark Math Games, Exploring Data, Problem Solving, and Featured Activity.  The math fact activities are games - electronic and otherwise - that provide fluency practice in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Landmark Games are the "go to" games we teach throughout our third grade Investigations in Number, Data, and Space units and include games like "Close to 100/1000", "Capture on a 300 Chart" and "Fraction Cookies". Exploring Data is a new category -- our school has identified interpreting, representing, and constructing data as a focus for this year. Activities in these categories will provide students with activities for practice. I want my students to solve problems in context and I have been providing a problem for students to solve and later share solutions in this category. Finally, in the Featured Activity category, we will work on explorations that accompany the launches for the daily Investigations lesson.I want to keep the launches down to about 15 minutes - whether it's a model launch or a discussion. This isn't easy for me. But by limiting my talk, and getting kids actively involved in activities while I meet with smaller needs-based groups, we should be able to make some progress toward students meeting Grade 3 Math Standards.Will it be noisy? I'm sure it will be. Just like the Daily Five and Literacy Cafe, I'll need to build students' stamina for staying on task. But in the end it should be worth the time it will take - hopefully we can work smarter not longer.

Life in the pressure cooker

Elementary level teachers notice it. If the moon is full, if there it is a windy day, students seem more than a bit wired.  Are kids hypersensitive?I got to thinking about this idea because my students have seemed just a bit more unfocused than usual. There is no full moon and it hasn't been remarkable windy, so what gives?Actually I feel like the explanation is fairly basic. It is no secret that educators are feeling pressure: pressure to raise test scores, pressure to overcome lack of materials needed for teaching, ever dwindling classroom assistance, pressure to be all to some very needy students.We rush to stay on task ourselves and get annoyed with students who balk at transitions. We rush, rush, rush to get from place to place, from lunch to recess, from the bathroom to our classroom. Is it any wonder that our kids act out, that their behaviors telegraph their resistance?Knowing, or thinking that I know, the root cause for students' misbehavior is one thing. But until we all can get off the hamster wheel, students will balk and we will deal. 

Transitioning

For whatever reason, this group of students is having a heck of a time dialing things back after any unstructured time. I noticed it almost immediately which, given all the other chaos accompanying the first days of school was quite an accomplishment. Some of the problems that are interfering with getting back to work: excessive socializing and inability to stay focused on the afternoon's lessons and activities. We use a behavior chart as part of our positive discipline climate: for more than two days in a row I've discovered one or more students who have moved a classmate's behavior card instead of their own.It appears that the students have developed some less-than-acceptable work habits, doesn't it. And before we can begin purposeful work on the academic gaps, there clearly  needs to be a correction - stat.Many of the students in my room -- possibly 50% of the group -- are reading at the first grade level and their math skills are pretty low as well.  Are the behaviors at the root of distracting student? I don't think it takes a PhD to say yes. So, like most teachers I know, I've spent the weekend obsessing over the situation and how we can get on track.Tomorrow I plan to begin a more purposeful outreach to parents of my students. Although we are not scheduled to conference with parents until the first report card in December, I hope to reach out to each family.  If we are going to make up some of the ground lost, there needs to be lots of hard work at home and at school.I am hoping the parents will agree.

Not everything is academic

School started a week ago.  I can already see the work ahead of us - and that is NOT a reference to academics. This group of students has lots of trouble transitioning, especially outside of the classroom. And there are a lot of them this year - my class size is at what used to pass for the maximum in this district. Any wagers on when it surpasses the maximum? I'm thinking maybe tomorrow is the day.In the mix this year - 2 students who are living at shelters for a variety of reasons. I guess given the economic conditions, this should not be a surprise.  One parent that I have been able to conference with told a heart-wrenching story of being forced to move from another state, being forced out of an apartment, losing furnishings.... matter-of-factly, the parent revealed that the family was on the way to pick up furniture from our local WISH foundation (a group providing furniture to transitional families). In another place and time, would picking out your new sofa from cast-offs have been so nonchalantly revealed?Domestic violence and the trauma resulting from students who witnessed this violence also impacts a couple of my students. Sign of the times? Another parent reveals the story behind her son's acting out - the grief in this woman's voice is palpable.And of course there are the "usual suspects". Students for whom academics are challenging, for whom language acquisition is in the beginning stages, students whose self-worth has been wounded nearly beyond repair.This is the group that has been thrown together. We are working at attempting to become a community - a caring, sharing community of learners.So far figuring out the puzzle has been more than a bit challenging for me; the pieces that need to be in place are not there yet. We are working on it, but it will take time. Before we can begin our work on the curriculum, we need to build our community. There is simply no other way.

Where to begin.....

The first weeks of school, as every teacher will tell you, are spent setting up and refining routines.  I find our school's decision to use the principles of the Responsive Classroom provides lots of guidance and reminders on building a classroom community.This morning, I watched a refresher on one of the most basic of routines: moving through the hallway. This video of Caltha Crowe talking, modeling, and practicing transitioning in a hallway reminds me of the essential teaching that takes place those first days: watch here.Teaching students acceptable routines for behavior in school (and out!) is an immense undertaking. Explaining the reason for the rule, engaging students in the rule's creation, modeling and practice-practice-practice -- all is exhausting during those first weeks when we, too, are getting used to a more structured routine.Is it worth the time and effort? I believe it is. Whenever a class routine disconnect happens, I can usually trace the problem back to the source - me! I wasn't explicit, I didn't provide adequate modeling or practice.And the process will begin next Tuesday at 8:30.

Mindblowing Task of Setting Up a Classroom

I've been at this for 23 Fall startups now and I've yet to find the "perfect" room configuration.  Over time, I've managed to get the task of setting up - at least for Day 1 - down to a two-day affair, but it is not without angst.My students do not sit in rows - they never have. I've been an early adapter for collaborative or cooperative learning and have just never let go of those concepts.  This year I have 24 students on my (current) roster. That number will probably not be the final count of students. I currently have 5 groups of 5. While that's not an ideal configuration of students in a group, I dislike have so many clusters of desks around the room that the walking flow is impeded. Here is a wide shot of how the desks are arranged at present: The desks for the students are arranged in the front 2/3 of the classroom space. This year I have an ELMO and projection equipment to include for whole-group lessons or for sharing examples of student work.  The classroom already has a pull down screen at the front of the room over the white board.  Off to the side there are some shelves and cabinets for storage and a sink (big smile).At the rear of the room, opposite the white board, I have placed 5 2-shelf units that comprise the Leveled Library for the classroom.  There is a tack board above these shelves.  In this area, I have a large gathering rug, a sizable rolling easel,  and a rectangular table (doubling as extra small group instructional space and a listening center area).The alphabet chart is above this board. I generally have the students help decide where the wall displays are going, but in the case of the alphabet chart - a royal pain to hang on a good day - the decision is fait accompli. This year I am implementing the Literacy Cafe along with the Daily Five as a management tool. The Cafe strategy board is to the left of the image.  I'm still struggling with where to put a Choice chart for students.Another important area in the classroom is our Behavior Tracking area near the exit door.  This is a spot for students to monitor their behavior color and it is also where the daily schedule will be posted.  To the left of the behavior chart is a lunch choice board. Students are expected to make one of 4 lunch choices as they enter the classroom by placing a personal magnet under the choice for the day.  This choice board doubles as an attendance check-in for me.  If the meal magnet hasn't moved from the 'parking lot', then the student is absent - otherwise I get to choose lunch for them. Since I teach Third Grade, this routine is pretty reliably run by the students.I use magazine boxes to store students' reading materials. Those boxes are stored on the counter top between the classroom's windows. When it is time to begin reading activities, student retrieve the magazine box and keep it on the floor next to their desk or wherever else they may be working during Reading Workshop. So will this work? I sure hope so. I keep my requirements pretty simple:

1. students need to have the ability to work in groups
2. clutter, especially mine, is keep at a minimum - the space needs to be clean
3. traffic flow is easy and everyone can be visually monitored

Now for the test: students arrive Tuesday and we will see how successful this room configuration is.

Balancing Reading Assessment

I've just started reading a professional book by the Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) called The Cafe Book. The Sisters wrote The Daily Five which I've been partially using in my own classroom during Reading Workshop to help manage what the "other kids" are doing while I'm conferencing or working with a group.When I began my career, like the Sisters, I was uncomfortable if I met one of my reading groups more often than another. But after being encouraged by my Principal to "get out of the way" of more adept readers and not meet with them so often, I've been a bit more willing to let go of the fairness is equal philosophy. What this means for me as a third grade teacher is that my more advanced readers meet with me as a group just once a week. They read longer, chapter-based texts, and I've taught them (a painful process I have to admit) to work as an independent literacy circle. The time I've carved out is spent on my Safety Net and Below Level students - who need more support in order to become more proficient as readers.So now that I've divided up my time so that the students who need more of me, get more of me, what's next?  Well, if you say Assessment and Conferencing, the kind of assessment that lets you know where your students and and what they need help with, we're in agreement. However, once you've conferenced or assessed a student, a teacher needs to actually do something with that information.Like the Sisters, I've been through a ton of different models and suggestions for keeping track of what my students know and what they need to know next.  Sticky notes seem like a good idea -- but like Joan, I kept having to retrieve them from the floor and try to figure out in retrospect who the note was about. Not exactly efficient. Clipboards, file cards, the whole gamut of record keeping is enough to drive one crazy. Trying to find an effective and efficient way to gather information about my students -- one that I can sustain when the year's pace becomes high pressure and crazy -- is key for me right now.  I know data gathering is a fact of my teaching life that will probably never disappear.And then, once I've got all this fabulous data, what to do next? I'm hopeful that the Sisters, who seem to have a practical and realistic handle on balancing assessment with putting the results of assessment into practice, have a few ideas.

It's the little things

Teachers generally roll with the punches; lots of mid-step changes and revisions to policy, curriculum, means flexibility is one of the most important traits of a teacher. Even the most compulsive of us -- and I include myself in that category -- manages to get through the continual stream. Teachers react and respond to split-second changes in what has been planned in a lesson; reading the room and adapting accordingly is so natural that it almost does not appear to be happening unless, of course, you know how the teacher envisioned the lesson during the planning process. Last minute schedule snafus, newly minted processes to handle paperwork, new mandates from the school department -- those changes never seem to bother teachers too much. They're expected.And then, there are the little things. Last Tuesday the good feeling as a new day started, quickly evaporated in a nanosecond. Why? Because the breakfast milk crate was partly filled with expired milk. Not just old milk, expired as in a week-too-old milk. Given the date on the expired milk (9/12) and the date on the "good" milk (9/22), my guess is that someone at the milk vendor may need a quick lesson on place value.One would not think that such a small event would set a classroom on edge, but it did. Eight-year-olds are awesome kids -- on the verge of becoming quite independent really. But throw in a spoiled milk or two.... in an instant the classroom is in an uproar.We eat a grab-and-go breakfast in our classrooms each morning. As it happened, Tuesday was cereal day. I was moving around the classroom greeting kids, reminding them of our morning routine which has yet to become automatic despite 10 days of "practice" when I noticed a buzz about milk. The buzz gradually, but with alarming speed, turned into a full blown roar -- the milk was not only old, but sour. By this point it had been mixed in with most children's breakfast cereal bowl. Curdled, smelly, disgusting tasting hunks of spoiled milk among the Cheerios. Ugh.The wave of panic that ran through my classroom rivaled that of a wildfire. Code orange, code yellow, code red! Energy level raised. Amazingly, the kids still tried to eat their cereal -- we had to stop them from continuing. In the end, teacher-turned-surrogate-parent and helped the kids to throw away the spoiled breakfast.Of course living by the clock as we do there was no time to ask for replacement food -- nor was any offered. And a quick mini lesson in, "if it tastes spoiled, throw it away" was implemented times the four 3rd grade classrooms in our wing. This seemingly minor event, however, set the tone for the day.  I was annoyed and cranky about the disruption and the kids were upset and hungry. It took several hours for some resemblance to calm, purposeful learning to return.As I've said, it's the little things that either put us over the edge or keep us on track.

3 Down, 177 To Go.....

I have a love-hate relationship with the first week of school.I love it because it is a time for a fresh start, a do-over; everything about the start of the year is new and exciting.  And to be honest, after 10 weeks away from teaching, I miss it.... even the most annoying of personalities has made the changeover to endearing in my most human of memory banks.  Honestly, what other profession allows one to have a "new year" in September (and then another in January)?Meeting students for the first time and building that community of learners out of so many differing personalities is challenging and fun.  As a Responsive Classroom, we often start our year with a Human Treasure Hunt (see page 2 of this link).  We learn much about our sameness, and our differences and begin to build a tolerant classroom together.  Will we falter? Most likely, but then we will regroup, rethink and begin again.This year I have finally taken my principal's advice to move slowly and not give in to the pressure to get the show on the road.  We have spent 3 days learning and practicing routines that will become part of my students' mental "muscle memory".  We practiced the quiet chime signal until students can stop and listen without reminders, we have learned important emergency routines and other essentials. And, using ideas from The Daily Five, students learn what is expected during Independent Reading -- this is the routine I am most excited about.  By slowing building my students' "stamina" for reading independently, I hope for once and for all (well, it's a hope), that my students will be able to work independently thoughout the 60-minute Reading Workshop Block so that my focus can be more on instructing and conferencing -- and not so much on behavior managements.  We are well behind diving into academics this year.  I am trusting that the time and effort spent in setting routines and expectations will pay off in the long term.So, what don't I love? Well, for one thing I don't love the paperwork that comes with the start of school. Yes, I realize it is part of the territory, but starting, updating, and creating lists in cumulative folders, record cards, gradebooks, and so on is tedious.  Did everyone change phone numbers this past summer -- I'm beginning to think they did! And, it does not seem to matter how much I've anticipated returning to my school hours and routines, I am one disorganized mess during that first week.  I'm still not sure if we have food in the house.However, this weekend I am determined to enjoy the beautiful end-of-summer weather with which we've been gifted.  And next week we'll begin again to build our community of learners.

3 Days and Counting.....

Hours put in since the last post:  6+Yesterday I met with our Team's new Special Education Teacher, Melissa.  I don't know about Melissa, but I am definitely feeling the overwhelming panic that encompasses the start of a new year.  The weird dreams have already begun.  It will be good to get back to school and find out the students are NOT throwing spit balls around the room while I chase after them in my nighty :-)I wrote a sketch of what I hope to accomplish over the first 3 days of school.  Trying to find a balance between the procedures and routines I feel are necessary to creating a classroom community and some fun stuff so the kids don't feel overwhelmed is always a tightrope walk.  I like order; accepting that "things" won't be perfected (or as close as they'll get) until a good six weeks into the school year always gives me an uncomfortable feeling.I did change the desk arrangements around, partly to accomodate a student in a wheelchair and with a wheelchair accessible desk and partly because I just don't want to give up on cooperative groupings of 3 or 4 students.  I like grouping my students heterogeneously so that they can talk to each other when they are stuck, need help, don't remember what to do. As you can see from this shot, a large meeting area takes a good part of the classroom.  It's important to me to get down on the floor on the same level with the students and this is one way I achieve that.At this time, there are minimal supplies on the students' desks.  The empty red writing binder and 5 tab dividers, a word study test book, a spiral notebook used as a math journal, crayons and a bookmark.  Once my class list is fairly final -- on Monday during Staff Orientation -- I'll add a personalized materials.  Working in urban schools for the last 20+ years has taught me to be cautious about personalizing materials until the students actually arrive in the classroom.  Over the last week my class roster has fluctuated from 18 to 20 to 19 as students move around the district to another elementary school.  Students will continue to enroll in the District through the week after Labor Day as not all parents will be familiar with the early start date.Melissa and I read through the cumlative folders and IEPs of the incoming students.  It is good to think and plan ahead for these students: How can we adapt and change materials so that everyone feels successful? There are so many questions that need answers.As of today, the physical space is prepared. The first 3 days of plans have been sketched out, and I am as ready as I can be at the moment. Waiting for the first bell on Tuesday with lots of First Day Jitters.

Organization Day 3

Time 4.5 hoursAfter cleaning and arranging the large items in my classroom, it is time to start prepping for the students' arrival.  I purchased an additional 10 cardboard magazine files to be used as book boxes. That makes a total of 24.  I am prepping for 24 because that, in theory, is the maximum number of students that may fill the classroom -- however, there's always the possibility that more students arrive than anticipated.After assembling the magazine boxes, I used some large format Avery shipping labels and created book box labels.  I use numbers, not student names, to label the boxes.  The student will use their "number" as their address at the mailbox center and for the book boxes.  Finally, I placed a line of yellow painter's tape on the countertop so that the students can replace their book box on the counter at the end of the day without interfering with the countertop vents.Each book box has the bare bones of a Readers' Notebook and a baggie filled with essential reading supplies.  The baggie idea came about as a result of reading To Understand by Ellin Oliver Keene -- and it's one of those "why didn't I think of this long ago" moments.  Each baggie contains a pencil, a highlighter, and some sticky notes.  After I assess each student using the F&P Benchmarks, we will make a Reader's License and that will also be put in the bag for reference.  The Reader's License has the student's name, picture and a color dot corresponding to the student's independent reading level.  This has proved to be very helpful in reminding the student -- and me -- where the student will find books that are "just right".After seeing the Fountas/Pinnell Reader's Notebooks -- and calculating the cost -- I make my own version of a Reader's Notebook for my students.  I chose a red 1-inch flexible vinyl notebook (it bends and fits right in the magazine box) and have been able to recycle these notebooks now for the 3rd year.  Inside the notebook are 5 dividers labeled "Record & Goal" (daily reading record and a recording sheet of what the students & I agreed would be a next step), "Genres" (defined genres and a monthly tally of the genres student has read), "Interests" (books and genres that student would like to read at some point), "Responses" (weekly letters about how reading is going/teacher directed responses to a shared text), "Reference" (mini lesson reminders).  I have a different organization system for Literacy Circle materials and storage which uses a plastic see-through box.Once we have our Reading Workshop up and running, it is my expectation/hope that students will be able to take this book box with them to any corner of the room without scrambling to find all the necessary materials for 5 minutes.Next up, I needed to check to see that all the materials I need for starting school are available.  We have particular requirements for our academics:  a composition style notebook for recording Buddy Tests (Fountas & Pinnell, Word Study), a math journal (I use a spiral notebook and have students paste or copy a problem onto a blank page before solving), and a Writer's Binder.  Having worked in school districts where ordering and budgets are frequently challenging, I have been in the habit of replacing the essential school items with a portion of my previous year's classroom ordering budget.  Luckily, last year was no exception and I have all the essentials that are needed.  Our ordering for the current school year was delayed and, had I not stockpiled, it would be a bit less than organized for start up.Finally, I looked through the masters of essential printed materials that I use in the notebooks -- things like the students' reading record and the conferencing/goals forms.  I organized these items into folders so that, if copy assistance is offered, I can take advantage of it. These are mostly materials that will be introduced to the students during the first month of school as we build both the Reader's Notebook and the Writing Binder.On the way home I stopped in the office to get an updated roster.  Our class lists can be pretty fluid from June to September so expecting the unexpected is always a good idea.  However, I like to write to my incoming students about a week before school starts to welcome them to Grade 3 and, if nothing else, help them to remember their new teacher's name!  But my main goal in writing to the students is to begin the process of opening communication between home and school -- and this is the first step of many.  I keep my letter to the students brief -- welcome, a few hints of the exciting things we'll be doing in Grade 3, and a reminder about bus passes and dismissals on the first day.Feeling a little better about being ready for the First Day, next up will be some long-range planning with my new Special Education partner and some specific planning for the first week of school.  Lots to do!