There are 2 days until break! 2 glorious days!
It is Sunday night and I have to admit it was an enjoyable weekend. I relaxed Friday night, spent Saturday doing homework and celebrating Thanksgiving with some CMs, and today cleaning, working, and reading (I am half way through book 2 of HP...). Now, I am in bed and it is well-before my bedtime. I am finishing my night off playing online and reading. This is positive thought #1.
Last week was another really difficult week. I went to school sick on Monday, called in sick on Tuesday, and had to give a standardized test most of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. My students were out of control and I was losing my mind. By Friday I was physically and emotionally drained. How is this positive? Its not, but even in all of the chaos I found a few positive things....
#2: One of my students who started the year as a non-reader read our morning message almost perfectly. He didn't even stumble on tricky words like "literacy rotation" or "mixed up." I cannot even begin to describe how proud I am of him. I am tempted to re-test his reading level now, just to have some quantifiable measure of the progress I have observed.
#3: In one of the several rules and procedures talks of the week I told my students, "You have to help me. I want to teach you what you need to get to 2nd grade, but you have to help me. You can help me by listening, keeping your hands to your own body, and always doing your best work." Unfortunately, this talk is less effective each time it is given. This time, however, one of my boys who aspires to be a class-clown raised his hand and says, "Miss Prinzo, I will help you" and gives me the cheesiest grin possible. I couldn't help but smile.
#4: Help is on the way! I asked our school's literacy coach for help with management. After explaining to her the frustration and stress I have been feeling, she told me that she is going to do what she can to help--whether it be team teaching for a few days, modeling management, practicing behavior strategies, etc. she will be there! She is an amazing teacher and I am excited to be able to work with her. I also will have my own teacher's assistant for a week post-Thanksgiving! My mom is coming from cold, snowy NE Ohio to help keep me sane for an entire week. She doesn't know it, but I have quite the "to-do" list for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
This blog serves as a place to share, vent, and discuss my career as an EL teacher in Middle TN. Please know that the views expressed on this blog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of MNPS.
Welcome to My Blog!
Welcome to my blog! I use my blog as a way to reflect, share, organize, and re-conceptualize my views as an educator. Enjoy and feel free to comment, post, disagree, and share your opinion. The more perspectives, the better!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
If you met me 1 year ago
If you met me 1 year ago, I would talk your ear off about teaching.
If you met me 1 year ago, I would smile when I talked about our students.
If you met me 1 year ago, I could tell you about how I wanted to implement a reading workshop and a writing workshop.
If you met me 1 year ago, you meet a well-rounded person.
If you met me 1 year ago, you would meet someone who was tired, but not exhausted.
If you met me 1 year ago, you would be meeting a person who believed in herself.
If you met me today, I would want to hear about something, ANYTHING, other than teaching.
If you met me today, I would sigh when I talked about my students
If you met me today, I would tell you that I don't understand balanced math, balanced literacy, or Reggie Routman Writing.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who does nothing but work.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who is no longer sure of herself.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who is working tirelessly to get better.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who is frustrated by a lack of progress.
If you met me today, you would meet a perfectionist who is no where close to perfect.
If you knew me 1 year ago and met me again today, you would not recognize me.
Sorry to be depressing. It has been a long couple of weeks. I have been putting off posting on here (and sending out my monthly, well let's be honest bi/tri monthly, update to family and friends) until I could be a little bit more positive. I'm trying to be more positive. I am really trying to be more positive, but let's face it--optimism has never been one of my strengths. I can say optimistic things, but in my head (and most likely out loud) they are sarcastic. I am a realist, and the reality is that I am not happy. I just don't know what to do about it. It seems like the harder I try, the more frustrated I become. I wake up every morning and think about how many hours it will be before I get to go back to bed. I cuss my students out under my breath at least five times a day and I am currently at the top of the school's gossip list for crying during an evaluation meeting and half of the day on Friday. Things have to get better. That is not optimism. That is reality.
I have been challenged by my MTLD to write down at least 2 positive things that happen each day. So I am going to try it. My new label, "life on the sunny side" should have a daily update about good things happening in my classroom. So here it goes...
(1) Today we made it through everything we had planned. I even had time for a pencil raid, recess, AND a word game!
(2) Based on my suggestion, our literacy coach helped us truly integrate science and language arts in our plans next week. This means that I will actually get to teach some science. We have millipedes, pill bugs, and terrariums to build!
If you met me 1 year ago, I would smile when I talked about our students.
If you met me 1 year ago, I could tell you about how I wanted to implement a reading workshop and a writing workshop.
If you met me 1 year ago, you meet a well-rounded person.
If you met me 1 year ago, you would meet someone who was tired, but not exhausted.
If you met me 1 year ago, you would be meeting a person who believed in herself.
If you met me today, I would want to hear about something, ANYTHING, other than teaching.
If you met me today, I would sigh when I talked about my students
If you met me today, I would tell you that I don't understand balanced math, balanced literacy, or Reggie Routman Writing.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who does nothing but work.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who is no longer sure of herself.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who is working tirelessly to get better.
If you met me today, you would meet someone who is frustrated by a lack of progress.
If you met me today, you would meet a perfectionist who is no where close to perfect.
If you knew me 1 year ago and met me again today, you would not recognize me.
Sorry to be depressing. It has been a long couple of weeks. I have been putting off posting on here (and sending out my monthly, well let's be honest bi/tri monthly, update to family and friends) until I could be a little bit more positive. I'm trying to be more positive. I am really trying to be more positive, but let's face it--optimism has never been one of my strengths. I can say optimistic things, but in my head (and most likely out loud) they are sarcastic. I am a realist, and the reality is that I am not happy. I just don't know what to do about it. It seems like the harder I try, the more frustrated I become. I wake up every morning and think about how many hours it will be before I get to go back to bed. I cuss my students out under my breath at least five times a day and I am currently at the top of the school's gossip list for crying during an evaluation meeting and half of the day on Friday. Things have to get better. That is not optimism. That is reality.
I have been challenged by my MTLD to write down at least 2 positive things that happen each day. So I am going to try it. My new label, "life on the sunny side" should have a daily update about good things happening in my classroom. So here it goes...
(1) Today we made it through everything we had planned. I even had time for a pencil raid, recess, AND a word game!
(2) Based on my suggestion, our literacy coach helped us truly integrate science and language arts in our plans next week. This means that I will actually get to teach some science. We have millipedes, pill bugs, and terrariums to build!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Bring it on 2nd 9 weeks. Bring it on.
For the majority of my life I have been a student. Now, I am a teacher. I live and breathe by the school-year calender. In all honesty, I do not think in calendar years... I think in school years. I can tell you what grade I was in when things happened, but the year? Give me a second to figure out what grade I was in and then I can tell you the year. I do not have New Year's resolutions in January like the rest of the world. I have them in August.
As with most New Year's Resolutions, my school-years resolutions usually fade away. The ambitious goals I had are gone. The goals of how to improve my life, my health, and my education are gone. They are replaced by day to day routines, the monotony of every day life.
My teaching goals are a lot like my school year resolutions. The excitement and enthusiasm I had is now gone. It has been replaced by a daily routine--a cycle of going to school, bringing work home from school to do, eating and sleeping. My routine for the past 9 weeks was exhausting. It was not at all sustainable. This routine caused me to question myself and my career more than a few times.
Towards the end of my first nine weeks I made a bargain with myself. I will give teaching 4 years of my life, putting everything I can into it. It took my 4 years to become a teacher and I should give it at least that much time before leaving the field. After 4 years I will re-assess. My roommates and I joke that we need to find careers that you can leave work behind at 5 o'clock and not worry about it again until 9am the next morning. We joke because we know that we are not the type of people who would be happy in a career that we could just "turn off" when the work day is over. We could make teaching that kind of career, but we would not be the best teachers. We care too much about our students. We hate the work, but love it at the same time. The reality is I do not know what else I would do.
So if I am not ready to give it up, I have to get better. I have to find more of a balance in my life. I have to find it now, not later. The great thing about school year resolutions is that the school year is broken into pieces. My life used to be measured in quarters, not it is measured in 9 week cycles. My goals for the next nine weeks are...
- Find a balance in my life.
- Regain my passion for teaching. I want to enjoy spending time with my students. I want to have funny stories to tell. I want to enjoy waking up and going to school again.
- Help my students grow at least 2 reading levels. So many of my students did not show growth in the first 9 weeks. This is unacceptable. We all need to improve.
I can't say that tomorrow will bring the enthusiasm that comes with the first day of school, but I am using it as a fresh start. I need a fresh start. I can't wait until next August rolls around. Late-October will have to do. I have had a week to prepare for tomorrow and even though there are plenty of things I would like to have accomplished over fall break, I am as ready as I will ever be. Bring it on 2nd 9 weeks. Bring it on.
As with most New Year's Resolutions, my school-years resolutions usually fade away. The ambitious goals I had are gone. The goals of how to improve my life, my health, and my education are gone. They are replaced by day to day routines, the monotony of every day life.
My teaching goals are a lot like my school year resolutions. The excitement and enthusiasm I had is now gone. It has been replaced by a daily routine--a cycle of going to school, bringing work home from school to do, eating and sleeping. My routine for the past 9 weeks was exhausting. It was not at all sustainable. This routine caused me to question myself and my career more than a few times.
Towards the end of my first nine weeks I made a bargain with myself. I will give teaching 4 years of my life, putting everything I can into it. It took my 4 years to become a teacher and I should give it at least that much time before leaving the field. After 4 years I will re-assess. My roommates and I joke that we need to find careers that you can leave work behind at 5 o'clock and not worry about it again until 9am the next morning. We joke because we know that we are not the type of people who would be happy in a career that we could just "turn off" when the work day is over. We could make teaching that kind of career, but we would not be the best teachers. We care too much about our students. We hate the work, but love it at the same time. The reality is I do not know what else I would do.
So if I am not ready to give it up, I have to get better. I have to find more of a balance in my life. I have to find it now, not later. The great thing about school year resolutions is that the school year is broken into pieces. My life used to be measured in quarters, not it is measured in 9 week cycles. My goals for the next nine weeks are...
- Find a balance in my life.
- Regain my passion for teaching. I want to enjoy spending time with my students. I want to have funny stories to tell. I want to enjoy waking up and going to school again.
- Help my students grow at least 2 reading levels. So many of my students did not show growth in the first 9 weeks. This is unacceptable. We all need to improve.
I can't say that tomorrow will bring the enthusiasm that comes with the first day of school, but I am using it as a fresh start. I need a fresh start. I can't wait until next August rolls around. Late-October will have to do. I have had a week to prepare for tomorrow and even though there are plenty of things I would like to have accomplished over fall break, I am as ready as I will ever be. Bring it on 2nd 9 weeks. Bring it on.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Rest In Peace Mr. Lindner
4 years ago the only thing I knew about Mr. Lindner was that he was someone who I assumed was either rich and/or important enough to have multiple buildings at UC named after him. It was annoying really, to be a freshman and have to figure out which Lindner building people are referring to. As I began to make Cincinnati my home, however, the Lindner name began to mean something. It was more than ice cream or a new skyscraper downtown. It was the name of a man and a family who supported our city. Mr. Lindner is what we, in the middle class, hope from every wealthy businessman. Someone who cares about the community in which he lives---someone who cares about the people who live in the community.
Mr. Lindner's generosity was seemingly endless. His contributions to UC and educational endeavors across the city have provided access and enrichment to hundreds of thousands of students. His legacy will continue, and hopefully so many of the lessons that came with his generosity...
“Dear Student,” Lindner wrote, “I have been very blessed in my life. While I wasn't fortunate enough to go to college, you should know that I ‘study" every day of my life. I love to learn and would encourage you to increase your knowledge in every way − every day!”
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111017/EDIT01/111018002/Lindner-s-smaller-gestures-meant-lot-too?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
Mr. Lindner's generosity was seemingly endless. His contributions to UC and educational endeavors across the city have provided access and enrichment to hundreds of thousands of students. His legacy will continue, and hopefully so many of the lessons that came with his generosity...
“Dear Student,” Lindner wrote, “I have been very blessed in my life. While I wasn't fortunate enough to go to college, you should know that I ‘study" every day of my life. I love to learn and would encourage you to increase your knowledge in every way − every day!”
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111017/EDIT01/111018002/Lindner-s-smaller-gestures-meant-lot-too?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Reading Growth
My running records are finished! Let me say that one more time in celebration...my running records are finished!
As excited as I am to be finished I have mixed feelings about my results. Here is the break down...
7 students showed no progress
7 students showed expected progress (1-2 levels)
6 students showed significant progress (3+ levels)
I am working really hard to get past the fact that my students have not made the growth I hoped for. My big goal translated into running record language is that all of my students will reach a level 18 by the end of the year. I honestly am starting to doubt that this can happen, but it is too early to give up on my students. I need to create a plan.
I only started looking at my data today, but I am already trying to think of ways to improve.
My lowest students (0-3's) need decoding skills. I need to incorporate more work with blending and segmenting to help them better decode words. I also need to reinforce practicing word work and sight words.
My middle students (4-8s) have mastered basic decoding skills, but need to be more careful readers and make sure that the words they are reading make sense when you look at the text. We also need to continue to build fluency. Some of theses students REALLY need to practice being aware of what they read. Students need to be more detailed in their comprehension answers.
My high students (10-12s) are on the right track. I need to really build higher order comprehension skills, retelling skills, and help them "chunk" larger words.
So what am I going to do about it:
I think that a more consistent guided reading routine will be really helpful. We have only had 2 full weeks of guided reading and I think that having a consistent routine (and my new guided reading groups based on new levels) will spark a lot of growth.
I really want to create more interactive centers for my word work center... I have been mostly doing worksheets at the center and many of the students that I really need to reach with these skills are those who do not have the independent skills and/ or attention to complete them on their own. Hopefully more interesting centers will allow for more genuine practice. The question now turns to what...
I also really want to build more lessons on decoding into my whole group instruction. This is really difficult because my students are on such different levels that When I teach to the middle I have half of my students that either have no idea what I am talking about or get the answers so fast no one has a chance to catch up.
Better use my parents/ family resources: I do not think I am fully keeping in contact with my parents. I think that some of my parents are more of a resource than I have been utilizing. I need to create more individualized reading homework and work with parents to make sure it is done and done well.
Incorporate more student response activities: I have been doing too much teaching whole group. I really need to create time for more independent work so that I can pull small groups of students for intervention. I really would like to get to the point where I pull 1-2 skill groups each day beyond guided reading.
Create a more print rich environment. My students really have taken ownership of the print I put up in the classroom. It is amazing how much I see them look and talk about it. I would like to slowly add in more print for my students. My first step is moving and beginning my word wall, but I would also like to put up our daily schedule, introduce a birthday chart, and add our related arts to the calendar.
My mind is going a million miles a minute and I really need to reign myself in. The more concrete actions I can get done, the better. I want my students to grow as learners more than anything in the world, but I also have to become more aware of what I can manage and prioritize what will help me get the closest to my big goal. I have been getting caught up in all of the little things which I really don't think is the most beneficial for me or for my students.
I will do my best to be better about updating my blog in the progress. Hopefully the reflection will help me grow as much as it did when I was student teaching :)
As excited as I am to be finished I have mixed feelings about my results. Here is the break down...
Running Record Data X-axis: Students Y-Axis: Running record level Blue series: entry level Red Series: growth, current level |
7 students showed expected progress (1-2 levels)
6 students showed significant progress (3+ levels)
I am working really hard to get past the fact that my students have not made the growth I hoped for. My big goal translated into running record language is that all of my students will reach a level 18 by the end of the year. I honestly am starting to doubt that this can happen, but it is too early to give up on my students. I need to create a plan.
I only started looking at my data today, but I am already trying to think of ways to improve.
My lowest students (0-3's) need decoding skills. I need to incorporate more work with blending and segmenting to help them better decode words. I also need to reinforce practicing word work and sight words.
My middle students (4-8s) have mastered basic decoding skills, but need to be more careful readers and make sure that the words they are reading make sense when you look at the text. We also need to continue to build fluency. Some of theses students REALLY need to practice being aware of what they read. Students need to be more detailed in their comprehension answers.
My high students (10-12s) are on the right track. I need to really build higher order comprehension skills, retelling skills, and help them "chunk" larger words.
So what am I going to do about it:
I think that a more consistent guided reading routine will be really helpful. We have only had 2 full weeks of guided reading and I think that having a consistent routine (and my new guided reading groups based on new levels) will spark a lot of growth.
I really want to create more interactive centers for my word work center... I have been mostly doing worksheets at the center and many of the students that I really need to reach with these skills are those who do not have the independent skills and/ or attention to complete them on their own. Hopefully more interesting centers will allow for more genuine practice. The question now turns to what...
I also really want to build more lessons on decoding into my whole group instruction. This is really difficult because my students are on such different levels that When I teach to the middle I have half of my students that either have no idea what I am talking about or get the answers so fast no one has a chance to catch up.
Better use my parents/ family resources: I do not think I am fully keeping in contact with my parents. I think that some of my parents are more of a resource than I have been utilizing. I need to create more individualized reading homework and work with parents to make sure it is done and done well.
Incorporate more student response activities: I have been doing too much teaching whole group. I really need to create time for more independent work so that I can pull small groups of students for intervention. I really would like to get to the point where I pull 1-2 skill groups each day beyond guided reading.
Create a more print rich environment. My students really have taken ownership of the print I put up in the classroom. It is amazing how much I see them look and talk about it. I would like to slowly add in more print for my students. My first step is moving and beginning my word wall, but I would also like to put up our daily schedule, introduce a birthday chart, and add our related arts to the calendar.
My mind is going a million miles a minute and I really need to reign myself in. The more concrete actions I can get done, the better. I want my students to grow as learners more than anything in the world, but I also have to become more aware of what I can manage and prioritize what will help me get the closest to my big goal. I have been getting caught up in all of the little things which I really don't think is the most beneficial for me or for my students.
I will do my best to be better about updating my blog in the progress. Hopefully the reflection will help me grow as much as it did when I was student teaching :)
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
"Miss Prinzo, I'm learning. yeah?"
I started guided reading last week and I am really enjoying the time I spend with my students. I have some huge challenges ahead of me trying to get my students up to grade-level and guided reading is one of the few times I can provide differentiation and individualized instruction. One of the biggest challenges with my Read reading group (my non-readers) is getting them to understand how letter sounds are blended together to make words. We have been reviewing our district's sound cards each day and I realized last week how dependent my students were on the picture. Many of my lowest students were not even looking at the letters to make the sound. On the suggestion of one of my teammates I covered up the pictures. Today the red group went picture-less. This was a HUGE moment that I had been building excitement about all last week. My students really did a great job. After getting her first sound card (students get to hold the card when they get the sound right) one of my students' goes...
"Miss Prinzo, I'm learning. Yeah?"
After I confirmed that we were infact learning, she told EVERYBODY that that they were learning.
"We're learning. Yeah! You learning! We learning."
Her excitement was contagious... the red group left guided reading with huge smiles because they were learning! Here is to investment being student generated!
What the students want...
" In their "Voices of a Nation" discussion, young people provided insight into their own experiences with education and what they think needs to be done to ensure that every student receives a world-class education. "
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-nielsen/15-things-students_b_984177.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-nielsen/15-things-students_b_984177.html
I'm a first year teacher...failure comes with the position!
I am going to cheat a little bit on blogging and pretend a discussion board post from class i s really a blog post. Discussion board post or not, it pretty much describes my life right now.
I am a first year teacher in my first quarter of teaching. Failure comes with the position!
In all seriousness,as a new teacher I have experienced more failure than success. I could give you hundreds of instances of when I have made the wrong decision, turned in something late, said the wrong thing, set the wrong tone, or taught an impossible-to-understand lesson. What I am slowly realizing is that failure comes with the territory of being a first year teacher. It is really easy to become defeated by each of my little failures. It is really easy to absorb this negative energy. It effects me and it effects my students. What I have realized is that it is not the failures that matter, it is my response to them. How do I fix the problem? How can I re-teach a lost lesson? How can I prevent mistakes from happening again? I am trying to use failure as a learning tool, but it is one of those things that is easier said than done!
Falling forward...inspiration from my grad school professor:
I am a first year teacher in my first quarter of teaching. Failure comes with the position!
In all seriousness,as a new teacher I have experienced more failure than success. I could give you hundreds of instances of when I have made the wrong decision, turned in something late, said the wrong thing, set the wrong tone, or taught an impossible-to-understand lesson. What I am slowly realizing is that failure comes with the territory of being a first year teacher. It is really easy to become defeated by each of my little failures. It is really easy to absorb this negative energy. It effects me and it effects my students. What I have realized is that it is not the failures that matter, it is my response to them. How do I fix the problem? How can I re-teach a lost lesson? How can I prevent mistakes from happening again? I am trying to use failure as a learning tool, but it is one of those things that is easier said than done!
Falling forward...inspiration from my grad school professor:
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ten Alternative Tips for New Teacher
"Expect to make hideous mistakes. Expect to have crushing disappointments. Expect to feel like quitting, at least a dozen times. Expect to anticipate vacations with pathetic longing. And know that veteran teachers also experience these things--just ask them."
Some awesome first-year tips...
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2011/09/ten_alternative_tips_for_new_teachers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeacherInAStrangeLand+%28Teacher+in+a+Strange+Land%29
Some awesome first-year tips...
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2011/09/ten_alternative_tips_for_new_teachers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeacherInAStrangeLand+%28Teacher+in+a+Strange+Land%29
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Jumping up and down, stomping feet in frustration!
Doesn't this sound like the temper tantrum of the century? Welcome to my Friday. We were in our 3rd test of the day and my students would NOT be quiet. I narrated. I reminded. I changed stars. I turned of the lights. I rang my bell. I stood on my chair.I counted. Nothing was working.
So what did I do?
Went to the back of my classroom and jumped up and down as hard as I could so I would not "go off" on them. It surprisingly worked. My classroom was still not silent, but my frustration was back to a normal level. Sometimes even the teacher needs a break.
This teacher definitely needed a break. She also needs a more effective management system.
I have some tricks up my sleeve for Monday so we will see what happens. Good night!
So what did I do?
Went to the back of my classroom and jumped up and down as hard as I could so I would not "go off" on them. It surprisingly worked. My classroom was still not silent, but my frustration was back to a normal level. Sometimes even the teacher needs a break.
This teacher definitely needed a break. She also needs a more effective management system.
I have some tricks up my sleeve for Monday so we will see what happens. Good night!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
3 WEEKS!?!?!? Classroom Management in the real world.
I have been a real-life teacher for three weeks now! Three weeks! Things have been crazy. I spend most days in a sleep-school-eat-work at home-sleep-school-eat-work at home routine. There is usually a lot more school and work at home than sleeping and eating, but things are slowing down.
Do I love it? Yes
Do I hate it? Yes
Do I want to be doing anything else? absolutely not.
I definitely had a rough start to my school year. I quickly became aware of what veteran teachers call the "honeymoon" phase and have been dealing with a lot of management and discipline problems. During my student teaching, I thought I had developed pretty good classroom management skills, but there is nothing like doing it when you are on your own. Week 2 was really rough, especially the day after we had a substitute ( my team had a mandatory professional development day to attend). Monday of Week 3 was absolutely miserable, but the rest of the week has slowly gotten better.
What were my major problems:
-- Bathroom Breaks--we had three days in week 2 that our bathroom break after lunch took over half an hour. (This doesn't include the day I had a student throw-up all over the bathroom). This was teacher-torture for me. I slowly made some improvements to increase our time. We started sitting in the hallway, I banned the students from the sinks (we use hand sanitizer), figured out which students cannot go into the bathroom together, and I now wear a clock to the bathroom...just call me Flavor-Flav. I mark with a whiteboard marker on the clock how long it should take us to go to the restroom and I told my students that if we could get to 10 minutes we could have an extra recess (and it would be well worth it). My clock also makes a handy dry-erase board to record student behavior and do review problems on.
--TALKING! My students are little chatter boxes which, when talking with some of the other EL teachers, seems to be common among EL students. So I got rid of my tables and we now have rows. I have have also gotten a LOT stricter and BMC like crazy when I am trying to get my students to listen. This is definitely a work in process.
I also put a lot of effort into our noise level system and used a suggestion from my MTLD to talk about listening with our whole bodies. This helps students to realize that talking is not only disrespectful, but hurts the speaker's feeling.
Our 7 minutes of lost recess on Friday also seemed to help (all of my students except two talked for 7 straight minutes while at the bathroom on Thursday so on Friday they sat and watched other children play at recess for 7 minutes to know what it felt like for me to wait 7 minutes). I am normally not a fan of taking away recess (and I still gave them the same amount of time to play), but it really seemed to help at our future bathroom breaks.
I also do group drinks at the end which for some reason takes less time then each student doing it on their own after they get out of the restroom. Like I said, it is a work in progress, but I am working on it.
--Bullying: I have a bully in my classroom. Surprisingly, it is a girl and she NEVER does anything in front of me, but enough students have told on her/ I have heard enough things when my back is turned to realize something is wrong. This has thrown me for a loop and I have started to re-think my "work it out yourself" strategy I have been telling my students. I have a new game plan for Tuesday and hopefully it will create some positive results.
--Pushing/ physical touch: A lot of my students push and hit. It is becoming quite a problem. I really think that the root of the problem is an inability to verbally communicate their feelings. This is something I really need to work on with my students. I have talked to the guidance counselor about addressing it in guidance class (my students go once a week as a special) and I am going to try this Peace Maker Activity from First Grade Parade to emphasize how we can be nice to each other and how we work out our problems.
I also noticed that a lot of our pushing occurs in line so I moved my line up fish (fish taped onto the floor with student numbers) farther apart. My line now stretches and zig zags all of the way across the room, but my students now will no longer be as close to each other. I made this change on Friday before I left for the weekend so we will see what happens!
My teaching is getting better, my management is getting better...or I am getting more tolerant. Hopefully things will continue to change for the better. I signed up for two different observations from TFA over the next month and will probably have my teacher environmental evaluation next week. I signed up as extra self-motivation and hopefully my students will be on their very BEST behavior!
Do I love it? Yes
Do I hate it? Yes
Do I want to be doing anything else? absolutely not.
I definitely had a rough start to my school year. I quickly became aware of what veteran teachers call the "honeymoon" phase and have been dealing with a lot of management and discipline problems. During my student teaching, I thought I had developed pretty good classroom management skills, but there is nothing like doing it when you are on your own. Week 2 was really rough, especially the day after we had a substitute ( my team had a mandatory professional development day to attend). Monday of Week 3 was absolutely miserable, but the rest of the week has slowly gotten better.
What were my major problems:
-- Bathroom Breaks--we had three days in week 2 that our bathroom break after lunch took over half an hour. (This doesn't include the day I had a student throw-up all over the bathroom). This was teacher-torture for me. I slowly made some improvements to increase our time. We started sitting in the hallway, I banned the students from the sinks (we use hand sanitizer), figured out which students cannot go into the bathroom together, and I now wear a clock to the bathroom...just call me Flavor-Flav. I mark with a whiteboard marker on the clock how long it should take us to go to the restroom and I told my students that if we could get to 10 minutes we could have an extra recess (and it would be well worth it). My clock also makes a handy dry-erase board to record student behavior and do review problems on.
--TALKING! My students are little chatter boxes which, when talking with some of the other EL teachers, seems to be common among EL students. So I got rid of my tables and we now have rows. I have have also gotten a LOT stricter and BMC like crazy when I am trying to get my students to listen. This is definitely a work in process.
I also put a lot of effort into our noise level system and used a suggestion from my MTLD to talk about listening with our whole bodies. This helps students to realize that talking is not only disrespectful, but hurts the speaker's feeling.
Our 7 minutes of lost recess on Friday also seemed to help (all of my students except two talked for 7 straight minutes while at the bathroom on Thursday so on Friday they sat and watched other children play at recess for 7 minutes to know what it felt like for me to wait 7 minutes). I am normally not a fan of taking away recess (and I still gave them the same amount of time to play), but it really seemed to help at our future bathroom breaks.
I also do group drinks at the end which for some reason takes less time then each student doing it on their own after they get out of the restroom. Like I said, it is a work in progress, but I am working on it.
--Bullying: I have a bully in my classroom. Surprisingly, it is a girl and she NEVER does anything in front of me, but enough students have told on her/ I have heard enough things when my back is turned to realize something is wrong. This has thrown me for a loop and I have started to re-think my "work it out yourself" strategy I have been telling my students. I have a new game plan for Tuesday and hopefully it will create some positive results.
--Pushing/ physical touch: A lot of my students push and hit. It is becoming quite a problem. I really think that the root of the problem is an inability to verbally communicate their feelings. This is something I really need to work on with my students. I have talked to the guidance counselor about addressing it in guidance class (my students go once a week as a special) and I am going to try this Peace Maker Activity from First Grade Parade to emphasize how we can be nice to each other and how we work out our problems.
I also noticed that a lot of our pushing occurs in line so I moved my line up fish (fish taped onto the floor with student numbers) farther apart. My line now stretches and zig zags all of the way across the room, but my students now will no longer be as close to each other. I made this change on Friday before I left for the weekend so we will see what happens!
My teaching is getting better, my management is getting better...or I am getting more tolerant. Hopefully things will continue to change for the better. I signed up for two different observations from TFA over the next month and will probably have my teacher environmental evaluation next week. I signed up as extra self-motivation and hopefully my students will be on their very BEST behavior!
My Classroom Management Inspirations. All he needs is a dry-erase marker. |
Morning Meeting and H3
I have been working hard to build a community with my 20 first graders. This has been especially difficult because of language barriers between the students who speak Spanish and those who do not speak Spanish and the constant change of students ( I gained 3 students from another class in week 2, switched 3 with another teacher in week 3, and had 2 students stop coming since the first day). There are two essential pieces of our day that without a fail all of the children get along and are kind to each other, thus they are my two favorite parts of my day!
Morning Meeting: While I have not yet had time to read THE Morning Meeting book, I have established a morning meeting routine that my students seem to really enjoy. Each morning after morning work and announcements, we form a circle around the carpet. Before I join the circle I read our morning message... something along the lines of
"Dear Rainbow Fish, What is your favorite color? Today we will do our journals, talk about characters in reading, and practice our numbers in math. After lunch we will practice our short -a words. At the end of the day we will go to P.E. We need to really work hard on our noise level today so we have more time to learn. Let's make it a great day! Love, Miss Prinzo"
After I read the message I sit down in the circle to start are morning handshake. I turn to the student on the left and say "Good morning_____." and shake their hand. They reply with, "Good morning Miss Prinzo" and then turn to their neighbor and repeat the process. Once the handshake gets back to my other side we say our morning chant (stolen from OASC ML mornings)
"G-O-O-D-M-O-R-N-I-N-G Good morning! Hey! Hey! Good morning! Whooo!"
Next we answer our morning question which sometimes has to do with academics and sometimes is more "get to know you" style. Right now I am trying to help my students use complete sentences (a Common Core Speaking and Listening standard that is particularly difficult for EL studnets). We use a big squishy ball similar to this one (mine is purple).
We pass the ball in either clockwise circle (if I am in a bad mood or my students are not acting appropriately) or back and forth across the circle (if I am in a good mood and my students are behaving). When we pass it back and forth the procedure is that your hands go on your knees if you still need the ball or in your lap if you have already had a turn to answer the question.
After the morning question I give an overview of our daily schedule and then we do a transition to face the white board so I can teach my first lesson of the day.
H3: Hug, Handshake, or High Five
At the end of the day when we line up to leave the room for the last time, we have H3. My students LOVE this! One of my favorite professors suggested this to us during our Stories of Teaching Class as a way to ensure that every student has a positive end to his or her day. I like it as much as the students do! It is nice to know that no matter HOW MUCH they drive me crazy during our afternoons, we will end our day on good terms. H3 is super simple. I have this sign posted on my door:
Here is the download for it: H3
As the children leave they tell me if they want a hug, high five or handshake. This is a SERIOUS decision. Many of my students choose something different each day (although a few never change).
Morning Meeting: While I have not yet had time to read THE Morning Meeting book, I have established a morning meeting routine that my students seem to really enjoy. Each morning after morning work and announcements, we form a circle around the carpet. Before I join the circle I read our morning message... something along the lines of
"Dear Rainbow Fish, What is your favorite color? Today we will do our journals, talk about characters in reading, and practice our numbers in math. After lunch we will practice our short -a words. At the end of the day we will go to P.E. We need to really work hard on our noise level today so we have more time to learn. Let's make it a great day! Love, Miss Prinzo"
After I read the message I sit down in the circle to start are morning handshake. I turn to the student on the left and say "Good morning_____." and shake their hand. They reply with, "Good morning Miss Prinzo" and then turn to their neighbor and repeat the process. Once the handshake gets back to my other side we say our morning chant (stolen from OASC ML mornings)
"G-O-O-D-M-O-R-N-I-N-G Good morning! Hey! Hey! Good morning! Whooo!"
Next we answer our morning question which sometimes has to do with academics and sometimes is more "get to know you" style. Right now I am trying to help my students use complete sentences (a Common Core Speaking and Listening standard that is particularly difficult for EL studnets). We use a big squishy ball similar to this one (mine is purple).
We pass the ball in either clockwise circle (if I am in a bad mood or my students are not acting appropriately) or back and forth across the circle (if I am in a good mood and my students are behaving). When we pass it back and forth the procedure is that your hands go on your knees if you still need the ball or in your lap if you have already had a turn to answer the question.
After the morning question I give an overview of our daily schedule and then we do a transition to face the white board so I can teach my first lesson of the day.
H3: Hug, Handshake, or High Five
At the end of the day when we line up to leave the room for the last time, we have H3. My students LOVE this! One of my favorite professors suggested this to us during our Stories of Teaching Class as a way to ensure that every student has a positive end to his or her day. I like it as much as the students do! It is nice to know that no matter HOW MUCH they drive me crazy during our afternoons, we will end our day on good terms. H3 is super simple. I have this sign posted on my door:
Here is the download for it: H3
As the children leave they tell me if they want a hug, high five or handshake. This is a SERIOUS decision. Many of my students choose something different each day (although a few never change).
Thursday, September 1, 2011
"Teacher sings his way to classroom lead"
Check out this news story on a fellow CM making change :)
http://www.wsmv.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6209040#.Tl8i32xO49w.facebook
http://www.wsmv.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6209040#.Tl8i32xO49w.facebook
Monday, August 15, 2011
My First Full Day
Today was my first full day and I have to say it was LONG! My students have a late lunch and related arts the last period of the day. This equals a ridiculously long day for me! I am really going to have to put some management in place because I will have to check folders and stuff them while keeping the students engaged. I will also have to make sure to print and set out everything I need for the entire day each morning--making sure I have easy access to it. Right now I am using my kidney table as home base, but that's definitely not going to work when we start small group activities.
I am pretty tired so here are a few highs, lows, and points of interest for today:
Highs:
Many of my students are very kind and responsible for their classmates without me teaching it. I have had zero instances of pushing or line cutting and it is very clear that many of my students watch out for each other. I have one student (one I can guarantee I will be writing a lot about) that many of my girls take care of.
We voted on our class "team" name today. It was a close race, but the peanut butter fish, the electric fish, and the fish with big tales could not stand up against the "Rainbow Fish."
Lows:
Did I mention today was LONG??
On a more serious note...One of the forms we are asked to collect from each child is an application for free and reduced lunch. It is also the form that our school turns in to receive our Title1 funding. I got about 10 forms back today. Of the 10 families returning forms only ONE of my families has a household income of more than $1000 (and all 10 families have one working adult). To put this in perspective... I make about $34,000 as a new teacher. My first paycheck will be more than most of my families will make in a year. This realization was a huge reality check for me. I knew my students would be low income, but I had no idea that it would be this low.
To make me feel even worse almost all of my students brought in school supplies. The first grade general supply list (which I had absolutely no part in making...) costs about $20-30. For a lot of my families this equates to 5% of their income. I actually feel guilty about taking their supplies. One idea I had was to use any of the extra materials to make a take-home summer kit for my students. This would not only relieve my guilt about much of the unused supplies, but also be a small step in eliminating the notorious "summer slide."
Point of interest:
We had a new student join our class today. He happens to have the same first name as another student...and the same last initial. To make this even more fun...I have a really hard time pronouncing my new student's last name!
I am pretty tired so here are a few highs, lows, and points of interest for today:
Highs:
Many of my students are very kind and responsible for their classmates without me teaching it. I have had zero instances of pushing or line cutting and it is very clear that many of my students watch out for each other. I have one student (one I can guarantee I will be writing a lot about) that many of my girls take care of.
We voted on our class "team" name today. It was a close race, but the peanut butter fish, the electric fish, and the fish with big tales could not stand up against the "Rainbow Fish."
Lows:
Did I mention today was LONG??
On a more serious note...One of the forms we are asked to collect from each child is an application for free and reduced lunch. It is also the form that our school turns in to receive our Title1 funding. I got about 10 forms back today. Of the 10 families returning forms only ONE of my families has a household income of more than $1000 (and all 10 families have one working adult). To put this in perspective... I make about $34,000 as a new teacher. My first paycheck will be more than most of my families will make in a year. This realization was a huge reality check for me. I knew my students would be low income, but I had no idea that it would be this low.
To make me feel even worse almost all of my students brought in school supplies. The first grade general supply list (which I had absolutely no part in making...) costs about $20-30. For a lot of my families this equates to 5% of their income. I actually feel guilty about taking their supplies. One idea I had was to use any of the extra materials to make a take-home summer kit for my students. This would not only relieve my guilt about much of the unused supplies, but also be a small step in eliminating the notorious "summer slide."
Point of interest:
We had a new student join our class today. He happens to have the same first name as another student...and the same last initial. To make this even more fun...I have a really hard time pronouncing my new student's last name!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Extreme Classroom Makeover
I am back! It has been a LONG couple of weeks. We had TFA orientation, MNPS new teacher orientation, a 2 day staff retreat, 4 PD days leading up to school AND classroom set-up!
I have been working non-stop. Over the past few weeks I have been been following a sleep-work-eat-work schedule with very little free time. Now that school has officially started, I am trying really hard to find a balance and get back into a routine---one that includes time away from school! I have a trip planned back to Akron next weekend, and even though the drive is going to suck I am so excited to get a way and talk about something that is not school or work!
I hope I don't sound like a complainer, because I really do love my job so far. My co-workers have been extremely supportive and I feel VERY welcome at my school. And...the hard work really does pay off. I inherited one of the least student-friendly environments possible, but my portable is starting to look and feel like a classroom! I have gotten a lot of compliments from staff members on my classroom which has really helped validate the work that has been put into it.
Here is a picture of my classroom as it currently stands (functional, but not finished) and below that is a link to the transformation process.
and the transformation: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1990449207394.2100739.1428270161&l=9142d892b7&type=1
Thursday was my first day of school and it went REALLY well. My students are adorable. I am still working through some language issues and really need to take some time next week to talk to students one on one. I think after next week I will have a better idea of what strengths and challenges we will have....now I just have to do some planning to make next week happen!
I have been working non-stop. Over the past few weeks I have been been following a sleep-work-eat-work schedule with very little free time. Now that school has officially started, I am trying really hard to find a balance and get back into a routine---one that includes time away from school! I have a trip planned back to Akron next weekend, and even though the drive is going to suck I am so excited to get a way and talk about something that is not school or work!
I hope I don't sound like a complainer, because I really do love my job so far. My co-workers have been extremely supportive and I feel VERY welcome at my school. And...the hard work really does pay off. I inherited one of the least student-friendly environments possible, but my portable is starting to look and feel like a classroom! I have gotten a lot of compliments from staff members on my classroom which has really helped validate the work that has been put into it.
Here is a picture of my classroom as it currently stands (functional, but not finished) and below that is a link to the transformation process.
and the transformation: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1990449207394.2100739.1428270161&l=9142d892b7&type=1
Thursday was my first day of school and it went REALLY well. My students are adorable. I am still working through some language issues and really need to take some time next week to talk to students one on one. I think after next week I will have a better idea of what strengths and challenges we will have....now I just have to do some planning to make next week happen!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Schools Shopping...Deals for teachers!
School shopping has officially taken on a new meaning in my life. Something comparable to hell. That might be a slight exaggeration, but the fact of the matter is that school supply shopping is downright stressful. I have spent almost all of my allotment of money and am now starting to calculate how much I will save by returning non-necessities or finding different supplies at different retail venues for cheaper (composition notebooks are a great example of this).
Here is a basic list of supplies I have bought:
-class set of crayons/ crayon holders
- table sets of markers
- 1 glue/ student
- Ziplock bags-all sizes
- 1 folder with fasteners/ student
- 2 folders with no fastners/ student
- 1 composition notebook with "primary" paper in it (space for picture)...my splurge/ student
- 1 wide ruled composition notebook/ student
- 10 3-ring binders for teacher use
- 6 Discovery Kids Nonfiction books
- class set of dry erase markers
- 2 teacher multi-pack of dry erase markers
- Thick pencils for beginning of the year use/ student (helps with handwriting, needs sharpened less frequently)
- Skin-tone construction paper for student self portraits
- Crowns for King/Queen of the week
- number line
- Bulletin board borders (3)
- sheet protectors
- 1 set of 8 sharpies
- table boxes
- 1 pair of scissors/student
I still need:
- White board cleaner
- mailing labels
- containers for classroom library
- electrical tape
- duct tape
A little bit of good: I am starting to get the hang of what goes where. There are also a lot of very generous teacher deals this time of year. Here are a few that I have found...
- Office Max: bag day. They gave us a large reusable bag and 20% off of everything that fit inside. They also had a small teacher care package that included a couple of sharpies, a planner with monthly coupons, and some free samples. They also have a teacher rewards card that give you $5 back for every $75 spent.
- Staples: the up the limit on sale items to 25 (instead of 3 for regular customers).
- Walmart: best prices on general school supplies
Also, a few shout outs..
-the guy at Office Depot who received a free backpack from his purchase and donated it to my classroom.
- the cashier at Office Depot who gave me two more backpacks other customers had left.
- The manager at Office Max who called another store and arranged for me to pick up a few extra composition notebooks with primary pages so I can have a class set
-my mom for making cushions to my childhood rocking chair that I am putting in my reading area along with the two beach chairs she bought me.
It has been a long week of shopping and setting up my classroom, but today I really felt that it was starting to look like a classroom. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Here is a basic list of supplies I have bought:
-class set of crayons/ crayon holders
- table sets of markers
- 1 glue/ student
- Ziplock bags-all sizes
- 1 folder with fasteners/ student
- 2 folders with no fastners/ student
- 1 composition notebook with "primary" paper in it (space for picture)...my splurge/ student
- 1 wide ruled composition notebook/ student
- 10 3-ring binders for teacher use
- 6 Discovery Kids Nonfiction books
- class set of dry erase markers
- 2 teacher multi-pack of dry erase markers
- Thick pencils for beginning of the year use/ student (helps with handwriting, needs sharpened less frequently)
- Skin-tone construction paper for student self portraits
- Crowns for King/Queen of the week
- number line
- Bulletin board borders (3)
- sheet protectors
- 1 set of 8 sharpies
- table boxes
- 1 pair of scissors/student
I still need:
- White board cleaner
- mailing labels
- containers for classroom library
- electrical tape
- duct tape
A little bit of good: I am starting to get the hang of what goes where. There are also a lot of very generous teacher deals this time of year. Here are a few that I have found...
- Office Max: bag day. They gave us a large reusable bag and 20% off of everything that fit inside. They also had a small teacher care package that included a couple of sharpies, a planner with monthly coupons, and some free samples. They also have a teacher rewards card that give you $5 back for every $75 spent.
- Staples: the up the limit on sale items to 25 (instead of 3 for regular customers).
- Walmart: best prices on general school supplies
Also, a few shout outs..
-the guy at Office Depot who received a free backpack from his purchase and donated it to my classroom.
- the cashier at Office Depot who gave me two more backpacks other customers had left.
- The manager at Office Max who called another store and arranged for me to pick up a few extra composition notebooks with primary pages so I can have a class set
-my mom for making cushions to my childhood rocking chair that I am putting in my reading area along with the two beach chairs she bought me.
It has been a long week of shopping and setting up my classroom, but today I really felt that it was starting to look like a classroom. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Different Directions
It is decision making time. I have been getting ideas, strategies, "rules" and suggestions from so many people and from so many settings that I spent most of this week extremely overwhelmed. Instead of getting a better picture of my first few weeks teaching from all of this support, my first few weeks were becoming less defined.
Today has kind of been a turning point for me. I have stopped listening to "must do's" that everyone seems to have and began to take them as opinions on what a classroom should look like. I need to regain my OWN view of a classroom first and then I can incorporate some of the very helpful suggestions I have been given. I also created a series of lists (I am a big list maker) to help organize myself. I have the following lists: Ask Emily (my team leader), to buy, to make, bulletin boards, centers, and teacher to do. Everything fits on a list and even though I have not started a single thing on my list, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!
I also received the keys to my classroom portable (aka trailer) today and even though there are some things I am definitely not thrilled about (post coming), I have a better idea of how I can set up my classrooms and classroom processes. Again, a huge step to making me feel better about the next few weeks!
The moral of the story: stay true to yourself and ideas, but be open to making changes and modifications based on the feedback of others.
Today has kind of been a turning point for me. I have stopped listening to "must do's" that everyone seems to have and began to take them as opinions on what a classroom should look like. I need to regain my OWN view of a classroom first and then I can incorporate some of the very helpful suggestions I have been given. I also created a series of lists (I am a big list maker) to help organize myself. I have the following lists: Ask Emily (my team leader), to buy, to make, bulletin boards, centers, and teacher to do. Everything fits on a list and even though I have not started a single thing on my list, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!
I also received the keys to my classroom portable (aka trailer) today and even though there are some things I am definitely not thrilled about (post coming), I have a better idea of how I can set up my classrooms and classroom processes. Again, a huge step to making me feel better about the next few weeks!
The moral of the story: stay true to yourself and ideas, but be open to making changes and modifications based on the feedback of others.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Cost of Dropping Out
NPR is starting a week-long series on the cost of dropping out of school. Their goal is to discuss the economic and emotional consequences of dropping out of school by putting faces to drop out statistics. Even though I have heard many of these statistics before, I am humbled by the magnitude of the achievement gap.
I look forward to reading this series and I cannot wait to meet my students and help give them the opportunity to an education that will hopefully help keep them in school. My goal is to create life-long learners--students, that no matter their circumstances, want to learn and will continue to keep learning. In my classroom I hope to start this by instilling a sense of independence into my first graders. I want them to realize from an early age that they are responsible for their own education. I believe that this will "plant the seeds" for not just staying in school, but benefiting from it.
I look forward to reading this series and I cannot wait to meet my students and help give them the opportunity to an education that will hopefully help keep them in school. My goal is to create life-long learners--students, that no matter their circumstances, want to learn and will continue to keep learning. In my classroom I hope to start this by instilling a sense of independence into my first graders. I want them to realize from an early age that they are responsible for their own education. I believe that this will "plant the seeds" for not just staying in school, but benefiting from it.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Institute Debrief
Well, I am finally back from Institute and a long weekend of moving and driving. I am semi-settled into my new house (until the POD with all of my furniture and boxes gets to Nashville) and we have started Round 0 orientation.
Institute is over and with so much driving time I have had time to think of some key take aways. The thing about the majority of TFAers (myself included) is that we are very critical--especially of ourselves.We see a problem and we want to fix it. My Institute experience is no exception. The reality is that I failed my students. We did not meet our goal as a class and the majority of my students did not meet their individual growth goals.
So my question is..What went wrong? The answer...a lot of things! Most of these things have been written about in previous posts as I was going through them, but the major things that I believe I need to change for next year so that my new class does not have mediocre growth are:
- Spend more time on investment...There is a huge jump in our data after the three week mark. I felt the difference in relationships with my students and the numbers proved it. Once I started learning about my students and having some fun with them, they started achieving. The other side of investment is helping the students to understand that what they are doing in the classroom, that the goals we have for them, are important to their current and future success.
- Build strong routines and procedures...I really want a classroom that functions independently. My students are more than capable of doing many of the things I did for them this summer and, as a result, I lost a lot of time for individualized and small group instruction.
- Give students more opportunity to experience and engage with material. I felt like I was talking all of the time and the reality is that while I was talking very few students were learning.
- Differentiate more...I saw so much growth during AIT and I need to make sure that small group and individualized instruction has a strong place in my classroom.
- Find what works for me as a teacher...All of these things above, and so much more, are things that I knew going into this experience, but knowing and doing are two very different things. I lost sight of who I was as an educator and what I could give to my students. As we moved further into weeks 3 and 4 I became more comfortable with my teaching style and how my style impacted my students.
These are all things I am working on building into my classroom vision and plan that we are working on during Round Zero. I am confident that my new students will benefit from my mistakes over the summer because I refuse to let my classroom and my students go in a direction that I am not comfortable with again. I am in the process of making changes and I will never let my classroom be a place where the teacher's mistakes hinder student progress.
So there is the bad and what will come of it. Here are some of the good things that have helped rekindle my teaching "fire"....
- all of my students eligible for promotion (including special project #1) who met the attendance requirement met their goals for promoted! Together the first grade team using a collaborative AIT model promoted 8 students to first grade. There are so many statistics to support the urgency for students to achieve promotion in the early grades and we helped make it happen for 8 students!
- All of my students showed growth in both math and reading. Even though it was not the growth we wanted our students still learned SOMETHING over the summer.
- As a teacher I learned about how to use data to drive my classroom and my students. Assessments are so much more purposeful and meaningful to me now than they ever were before.
- I am leaving Institute with a strong network of support and many resources to explore.
I am leaving Institute on "The Brain Train." I have been motivated to learn more, to do more, and achieve more. Not only have I put faces to the Achievement Gap, but I have a better understanding of my role in helping my students get to "Destination Success." I made an impact on my students and they have made an incredible impact on me.
Institute is over and with so much driving time I have had time to think of some key take aways. The thing about the majority of TFAers (myself included) is that we are very critical--especially of ourselves.We see a problem and we want to fix it. My Institute experience is no exception. The reality is that I failed my students. We did not meet our goal as a class and the majority of my students did not meet their individual growth goals.
So my question is..What went wrong? The answer...a lot of things! Most of these things have been written about in previous posts as I was going through them, but the major things that I believe I need to change for next year so that my new class does not have mediocre growth are:
- Spend more time on investment...There is a huge jump in our data after the three week mark. I felt the difference in relationships with my students and the numbers proved it. Once I started learning about my students and having some fun with them, they started achieving. The other side of investment is helping the students to understand that what they are doing in the classroom, that the goals we have for them, are important to their current and future success.
- Build strong routines and procedures...I really want a classroom that functions independently. My students are more than capable of doing many of the things I did for them this summer and, as a result, I lost a lot of time for individualized and small group instruction.
- Give students more opportunity to experience and engage with material. I felt like I was talking all of the time and the reality is that while I was talking very few students were learning.
- Differentiate more...I saw so much growth during AIT and I need to make sure that small group and individualized instruction has a strong place in my classroom.
- Find what works for me as a teacher...All of these things above, and so much more, are things that I knew going into this experience, but knowing and doing are two very different things. I lost sight of who I was as an educator and what I could give to my students. As we moved further into weeks 3 and 4 I became more comfortable with my teaching style and how my style impacted my students.
These are all things I am working on building into my classroom vision and plan that we are working on during Round Zero. I am confident that my new students will benefit from my mistakes over the summer because I refuse to let my classroom and my students go in a direction that I am not comfortable with again. I am in the process of making changes and I will never let my classroom be a place where the teacher's mistakes hinder student progress.
So there is the bad and what will come of it. Here are some of the good things that have helped rekindle my teaching "fire"....
- all of my students eligible for promotion (including special project #1) who met the attendance requirement met their goals for promoted! Together the first grade team using a collaborative AIT model promoted 8 students to first grade. There are so many statistics to support the urgency for students to achieve promotion in the early grades and we helped make it happen for 8 students!
- All of my students showed growth in both math and reading. Even though it was not the growth we wanted our students still learned SOMETHING over the summer.
- As a teacher I learned about how to use data to drive my classroom and my students. Assessments are so much more purposeful and meaningful to me now than they ever were before.
- I am leaving Institute with a strong network of support and many resources to explore.
I am leaving Institute on "The Brain Train." I have been motivated to learn more, to do more, and achieve more. Not only have I put faces to the Achievement Gap, but I have a better understanding of my role in helping my students get to "Destination Success." I made an impact on my students and they have made an incredible impact on me.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tomorrow is...
...THE LAST DAY OF INSTITUTE!
What an experience this has been! Tomorrow is an early morning to what is going to be an emotional day so I am going to leave it at this has been a life-changing experience and I am sad to leave my students when I still feel like there is so much progress that can be made, but PUMPED for my return to Nashville and my own classroom!
Night!
What an experience this has been! Tomorrow is an early morning to what is going to be an emotional day so I am going to leave it at this has been a life-changing experience and I am sad to leave my students when I still feel like there is so much progress that can be made, but PUMPED for my return to Nashville and my own classroom!
Night!
Teacher training model
http://www.takepart.com/news/2011/07/08/classroom-rounds-should-teachers-be-trained-like-medical-school-residents?fb_js_fbu=1428270161
This is an interesting approach to teacher training and something that I think is mirrored by the combination of both the ECE program at UC and my TFA training so far. I might be getting ahead of myself, but it worked for me!
This is an interesting approach to teacher training and something that I think is mirrored by the combination of both the ECE program at UC and my TFA training so far. I might be getting ahead of myself, but it worked for me!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
UC Partnership
Reading things like this makes me wish I was still a UC student so I could be a part of this:
The level of partnership with the Cincinnati community in CECH is unprecedented and I, for one, am a much better teacher (and person) because of it.
Monday, July 11, 2011
A Different Side of the Delta
Look at these pictures. These pictures show the familiar landscapes that I see out my window during the commute to and from school each day. This is the Delta I came to Mississippi expecting to find.
This, however, is not the Delta that my students know. I cannot tell you how shocked I was to find out that only 5 of my 19 students have ever been on a farm. My students are surrounded by farm land, drive past it everyday, yet they have never set foot on a farm. To me this shows the unbelievable limits poverty can place on opportunities. The reality is that the experience my students, most of which come from low income backgrounds, is more similar to that of what you would expect inner city students to face. While there are some major differences, the strength of religion and respect and the being a major difference, I am realizing that my Delta students are faced with so many of the same challenges that inner-city students face. There have been several small things to build towards this realization, but a conversation with my roommate who teaches secondary literature really pushed me to start thinking about the similarities. She had a conversation today about pressure with her students today and it shed light on drug, gang, and familial issues that forced me think about the similarities and differences more seriously.
I really wish I had spent some time at the beginning of this experience seeing the towns that my students call home. I feel like it would have helped ground me and also help me pull from experiences prior to TFA to better serve my students.
In the end it really comes down to the achievement gap. We came here to help close the gap. We came here because the gap is every bit, if not more, real for my QES students as it will be for my students in Nashville and in urban populations nation-wide. We came here to give students opportunities and while 5 weeks cannot change everything, it can change something.
CH and SH sound unit
My students have been really struggling with their first digraphs: the SH and CH sounds. This is the plan I created for the week to help them distinguish these sounds from other sounds and from each other. Today was the first day of teaching this unit and I loved the simplicity of it. Below you can find an overview of the unit and then I have linked to some of the resources I used. Many of the resources were borrowed so I cannot put them up until I have permission. Enjoy!
Objective for week: SWBAT spell, decode, and distinguish words with sh and ch digraphs
Materials for the week:
- M,T,W,TH,F Do now worksheets
- Picture cards and workmats for SH, CH, and “Other” word sorts
- Dry erase boards/ markers
- “Shelly’s Shell Shop” and “Chip the Chimp” from A to Z reader(7 copies)
- Crayons and pencils
- Chart paper “mad lib”
- “Writing” paper for spelling test
DAILY AGENDA:
Monday
- “Do Now” Trace and Write SH words by the pictures
- INM: Reintroduce SH
o Brainstorm SH words
- GP: Do a picture/ word sort… Which pictures are SH words which pictures are not
- IP: Circle SH words on a work sheet
o RW 19, 20 Give “Shelly’s Shell Shop” and have them read it in pairs and when finished color SH words with a crayon
Tuesday:
- “Do Now” Fill in the sound SH words
- INM: Reintroduce CH
o Brainstorm CH words
- GP: Do a picture/ word sort…which pictures are CH words and which are not
- IP: Circle CH words on a worksheet
o RW 19, 20 Give “Chip the Chimp” and have them read it in pairs and when finished color CH words with a crayon
Wednesday:
- “Do Now” Write SH and CH words, underline the SH sounds and Circle the CH sounds
- INM: Review on Sh and ch while focusing on the difference between the two words.
- GP: Sort pictures between CH and SH categories
- IP: Circle the correct sound for each picture
Thursday
- “Do Now” Circle SH sounds and CH sounds
- INM: Review SH and CH and do a quick word sort between the two sounds.
- GP: As a class we will write a CH/SH mad lib. I will create a frame for a story and students will volunteer words to put in our story.
- IP: Students will complete picture sentence pages
Friday
- “Do Now” Read SH and CH picture sentences from yesterday (with blanks filled in). Circle CH sounds and underline SH sounds.
- INM: Review how to spell and say our sounds with other letters.
- IP: Spelling test: ash, shop, she, chop, chin
Do you believe in me?
That's right they do.
I can do anything
be anything
create anything
dream anything
become anything
because you believe in me.
Do you believe in me?
Because I believe in me,
and you've helped me get to where I am today.
Thank you.
--Dalton Sherman
Inspiration is the best when it comes from the mouth of child.
That's right they do.
I can do anything
be anything
create anything
dream anything
become anything
because you believe in me.
Do you believe in me?
Because I believe in me,
and you've helped me get to where I am today.
Thank you.
--Dalton Sherman
Inspiration is the best when it comes from the mouth of child.
What do Morgan Freeman, Kermit the Frog, Native Americans and Tamales have in common?
Q. What do Morgan Freeman, Kermit the Frog, Native Americans, Tamales, birthdays, coffee shops and lesson plans have in common?
A. My weekend! (and the Mississippi Delta)
I spent this weekend playing "tourist" in the Delta. After a long week (though seemingly shorter than weeks 2 and 3) I resisted my Friday and Saturday afternoon naps and decided to explore a little bit. It was a great choice and I really appreciated the "life lesson" (or life reminder b/c I am pretty sure I have had to re-learn this lesson more than a few times) that there needs to be a balance between work and play. Even though I didn't really catch up on a lot of sleep, I feel refreshed and energized in a different way...like I am mentally ready to take on the week (although physically my body is angry at me for deciding to climb a 5 story Native American mound in 100 degree heat and follow it by too much cake, fried food, ice cream and beer).
Check out the highlights of my weekend:
A. My weekend! (and the Mississippi Delta)
I spent this weekend playing "tourist" in the Delta. After a long week (though seemingly shorter than weeks 2 and 3) I resisted my Friday and Saturday afternoon naps and decided to explore a little bit. It was a great choice and I really appreciated the "life lesson" (or life reminder b/c I am pretty sure I have had to re-learn this lesson more than a few times) that there needs to be a balance between work and play. Even though I didn't really catch up on a lot of sleep, I feel refreshed and energized in a different way...like I am mentally ready to take on the week (although physically my body is angry at me for deciding to climb a 5 story Native American mound in 100 degree heat and follow it by too much cake, fried food, ice cream and beer).
Check out the highlights of my weekend:
Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero Blues Club |
Leland, MS: Birth place of Jim Henson Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog Birthplace Exhibit |
Hot Tamale Heaven: Road Side Stand Best Hush Puppies I have ever tasted! |
Checking out the Mississippi River and imagining Huck and Jim floating down on a raft up the river. |
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Integrating subject matter isn't just an ECE thing!
Check out this article in NYT about how two scholars are integrating science and art---each using an artistic medium to explore science. I read this article and was really excited. I am already thinking of ways to incorporate art and science in my classroom in a way that includes more than just coloring!
"Ms. Miebach and Mr. McCrory may appear to be engaged in very different pursuits, but their goal is the same: to promote understanding by finding new ways of seeing the world. They’ve never met, but both are invested in the idea that better visualization leads to better thinking"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/business/science-to-art-and-vice-versa-prototype.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
"Ms. Miebach and Mr. McCrory may appear to be engaged in very different pursuits, but their goal is the same: to promote understanding by finding new ways of seeing the world. They’ve never met, but both are invested in the idea that better visualization leads to better thinking"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/business/science-to-art-and-vice-versa-prototype.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Saturday, July 9, 2011
"What's on yo' lips?"
E: "Miss Prinzo, What's that pink stuff on yo' lips?'
Me: "It's called lip gloss."
E: "Why do you have it on your lips?"
Me: "To make my lips stand out a little bit more."
E: "Oh, well you should never wear it again."
Me: "It's called lip gloss."
E: "Why do you have it on your lips?"
Me: "To make my lips stand out a little bit more."
E: "Oh, well you should never wear it again."
Friday, July 8, 2011
My Number Line Lesson was...
PERFECT! Well not perfect, but it went over very well with my students and in a very short time I believe I was able to help my students refine their number sense, counting skills (forward and backward) and reinforced the idea that they need to be able to count forwards and backwards from different places to add and subtract.
The real test will be tomorrow when I teach subtraction by counting backwards with the number line as a tool.
The real test will be tomorrow when I teach subtraction by counting backwards with the number line as a tool.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
How Bad Do You Want It?
It has been a Tim McGraw kind of day. This was the last song I listened to before getting off the bus tonight and it is perfect for my day.
I get to make my living
Doing what I loveToday I decided that my teaching was not good enough for my students and that with only 7 days left, I need to live and breathe making changes for my first graders.
Every night I give my heart and soulSometimes that ain't enough...
This is hard becuase the reality is I cannot handle my students on my own. Yes, I can control them, but it takes a lot quality teaching time and a lot of energy and stress that detracts from my lesson. Not to mention the fact that my five students with chronic behavior problems (for those non-teacher out there...students who continue to misbehave and do not respond to warnings and consequences...you know the type of student I am talking about. We found out today that our 5 students were separated over 3 different rooms last year, but we are lucky enough to have them all together. To put it in a nice way our FAs explained that the four of us would be more than prepared for the 'classroom from hell' next year after this summer...) continually are removed from the carpet and other classroom learning.
Can you feel it?
Can you taste it?
Can you hear it ohhh knocking at your door?
This is not okay, this is not helping us reach our goals. My collab partner for this week and I were both very unsatisfied with this and decided that it was time to make some changes happen.
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
We have a really good chemistry together and decided that tomorrow we would team teach. This is not something typically acceptable because it can hinder our own development, but the two of us were adamant that this is what is best for our kids. We called an "emergency" meeting with our CMA and presented our plans. With some critical feedback we are on track to team teach for tomorrow.
We also are on track to completely change our math calendar for the last week to focus on quality over quantity of objectives. Our review starts tomorrow and we are moving away from an assessment/ objectives based lesson for the day and giving our students a strategy to build number sense. We are teaching number lines!
It gets EVEN better...not only are we team teaching, reviewing a requisite skill, but I am taking my kids outside and teaching a 100% kinesthetic and verbal lesson. I don't have to teach on the carpet tomorrow!
Tomorrow is a make it or break it day.
Are you eatin', sleepin', dreamin'
With that one thing on your mind?
It could be awesome or it could fail miserably. Regardless, this is the best I have felt going into a day all institute. This feels like me. This is my style of teaching. Yes, my LP could be more thought out, but the plan is in my head and I have a whole bus ride to get the details together. I have my past experience and my new TFA skills and I am hopeful that this is the balance that I am looking for.
As much as this lesson is for my students, it is a lesson for me. It is a lesson to bring some of my personality back into teaching.
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all/ You've got to lay it all out on the line.
Samurai, layers, and cheerleaders oh my!
Q. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. 'er ranger.
I love asking young children what they want to be when they grow up. Their answers are fantastic. Here are a few from my students:
-Cheerleader
-Cheerleader and tee-ball player
-football and basketball player
-lawyer
-police man
-samurai
My challenge? To convince them that reading and math will help them reach their very ambitious career goals.
In all seriousness, every once and a while you can SEE a student's eyes light up. Children have a look of pure excitement and joy. I got that today from one of my most serious and hardest working students. I was doing her investment survey and I told her..
"Did you know cheerleaders need to use math? When they learn their cheer leading routines and dances, they learn them by counting to 8. This is called an 8-count."
I had her stand up and do an 8 count with me and her face lit up like the Fourth of July. It was such a simple thing, but so worth it.
These are the moments I love teaching the most.
A. 'er ranger.
I love asking young children what they want to be when they grow up. Their answers are fantastic. Here are a few from my students:
-Cheerleader
-Cheerleader and tee-ball player
-football and basketball player
-lawyer
-police man
-samurai
My challenge? To convince them that reading and math will help them reach their very ambitious career goals.
In all seriousness, every once and a while you can SEE a student's eyes light up. Children have a look of pure excitement and joy. I got that today from one of my most serious and hardest working students. I was doing her investment survey and I told her..
"Did you know cheerleaders need to use math? When they learn their cheer leading routines and dances, they learn them by counting to 8. This is called an 8-count."
I had her stand up and do an 8 count with me and her face lit up like the Fourth of July. It was such a simple thing, but so worth it.
These are the moments I love teaching the most.
Special Project #1 update
Remember special project #1? My student who is very excited about learning, but has very little control? Are you ready for an update?
I will give you the bad before the good (it is always nice to end on a positive note).
MJL had a really difficult day today. He was the only student to reach silent lunch in the consequence chart, was removed from math session #1 and sat out for my guided practice today. All of this on top of the fact that he spent an extra 10 minutes today walking up and down the halls with me until he could show me what it looks like when a first grader walks in the hallway. That was our day and the reality is that MJL's days tend to look like this.
BUT...
Last week we were told about MJL's kindergarten year. This student was pretty much out of control. When he wasn't sent to his own space in the back of the room to put his head down and check out of the class he was running around the room, crawling under the tables, drawing on everything in sight and could not keep his hands to himself.
MJL is lucky that he had 4 teachers that recognized very early into the year his passion and excitement for learning. He is lucky that we were able to create opportunities for this child to earn praise in the classroom, and he is even luckier that his 4 teachers realized his potential.
We had a "come to Jesus" meeting with our two FAs and the school lab teacher today about our management in the classroom. It was not a pretty meeting (nor unexpected), but one take-way from this meeting was that all three teachers could not stop saying how much improvement they had seen in MJL. The three of them sincerely believe that he has shown so much growth in his behavior and is really beginning to act like a student. Why is this so important? The data shows that this student learned enough to get close to promotion EVEN when he was separated from the class and removed from learning the majority of this past year. If we can teach him how to behave in the classroom, how to be a part of the community, and how to be a positive role model in the classroom, I have no doubt that he can handle the academic work. Imagine how far ahead this student will be if he actually gets the chance to participate in class.
Today I made a positive impact on this student. This is the feeling that teacher's live for. It is the feeling that will drive me to get up tomorrow and it is the feeling that will drive me to make sure I get my lesson and management right. MJL deserves it. All of my students deserve it.
Tomorrow is a new day. I have goals for all of my students, but MJL in particular. My plan is to engage him so much that he doesn't have a chance to act up. He will be my model, my special helper, and he will walk like a first grader in line. Why? MJL craves attention. He is at a stage where he is just learning to understand how to get positive attention and be a part of a classroom community. I need to do my best to give these tools to him.
I will give you the bad before the good (it is always nice to end on a positive note).
MJL had a really difficult day today. He was the only student to reach silent lunch in the consequence chart, was removed from math session #1 and sat out for my guided practice today. All of this on top of the fact that he spent an extra 10 minutes today walking up and down the halls with me until he could show me what it looks like when a first grader walks in the hallway. That was our day and the reality is that MJL's days tend to look like this.
BUT...
Last week we were told about MJL's kindergarten year. This student was pretty much out of control. When he wasn't sent to his own space in the back of the room to put his head down and check out of the class he was running around the room, crawling under the tables, drawing on everything in sight and could not keep his hands to himself.
MJL is lucky that he had 4 teachers that recognized very early into the year his passion and excitement for learning. He is lucky that we were able to create opportunities for this child to earn praise in the classroom, and he is even luckier that his 4 teachers realized his potential.
We had a "come to Jesus" meeting with our two FAs and the school lab teacher today about our management in the classroom. It was not a pretty meeting (nor unexpected), but one take-way from this meeting was that all three teachers could not stop saying how much improvement they had seen in MJL. The three of them sincerely believe that he has shown so much growth in his behavior and is really beginning to act like a student. Why is this so important? The data shows that this student learned enough to get close to promotion EVEN when he was separated from the class and removed from learning the majority of this past year. If we can teach him how to behave in the classroom, how to be a part of the community, and how to be a positive role model in the classroom, I have no doubt that he can handle the academic work. Imagine how far ahead this student will be if he actually gets the chance to participate in class.
Today I made a positive impact on this student. This is the feeling that teacher's live for. It is the feeling that will drive me to get up tomorrow and it is the feeling that will drive me to make sure I get my lesson and management right. MJL deserves it. All of my students deserve it.
Tomorrow is a new day. I have goals for all of my students, but MJL in particular. My plan is to engage him so much that he doesn't have a chance to act up. He will be my model, my special helper, and he will walk like a first grader in line. Why? MJL craves attention. He is at a stage where he is just learning to understand how to get positive attention and be a part of a classroom community. I need to do my best to give these tools to him.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Song of the day: Firework by Katy Perry
Do you know that there's still a chance for youCause there's a spark in you
You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July
Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Yes, that's right...my inspiration from the day was Katy Perry, but I mean the 4th of July in combination with a new week and a semi-change in attitude. It's kind of perfect.
So I came into this week with the mindset of looking ahead. I am looking ahead to Nashville and how I can combine my teaching style with what I am learning at Institute. I am looking ahead to gaining some confidence. I am just ready to move on in general. The reality is I am "over" Institute.
This attitude put me in a much better mood, at least for the morning, but then I realized one important thing. This mindset was not one that would allow my summer school students to move forward. So I had to change it. This is easier said than done...I had created this mindset as a way to get through Institute and now I have to break it down to a much more vulnerable, stressful place.
And today was stressful, but three important things came out of it. (1) With the help of my CMA I was able to create a plan for blending a little bit more "me" into my lesson; (2) I picked two major focus points for this week..student engagement during lessons and combining the BMC with positive narration; and (3) I was able to admit and vent a few things that I had been internalizing and work through them.
So back to Katy Perry. The part of the song that really stuck with me is "ignite the light." To be 100% corny I need to "ignite" my students. I need to engage them and I need to make time to pull students for intervention to ensure that every student gets what he or she needs.
Pictures are from the 4th of July party that the city of Cleveland, MS held for us.
I LOVE the Delta hospitality.
The PS 22 Chorus version of "Firework": The PS 22 Chorus has been brought up in a few different sessions. Tonight it was to look at the faces of the children singing and to try to bring this type of expression into reading fluency. Last week we were encouraged to think about the teacher actions that led to the students being such phenomenal performers (and so engaged in what they are doing). Food for thought.
After a hurricane comes a rainbow. Good night!
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