Teachers who teach from the heart make a bigger impact.The best teachers I have ever met are amazing not because they have mastered the curriculum or the latest teaching techniques but because they understand children. They accept every child as they come, not as they "should" be, and they guide them gently along their own individual learning path. They are sensitive to the needs of individuals in their classroom and naturalize the idea that everyone needs something a little bit different to learn...and that's ok. They trust their heart and their gut and do what's right for kids, whether it fits within "the rules" or not. They are driven to learn because they want to meet the needs of the littles that they work with every day but at the same time they never want to be out of the classroom because they know that daily connection is so important. They connect, connect, connect and in doing so they make a big difference on kids' lives. Starting with love, compassion, gratitude and kindness makes for a better community.Too often in teaching we launch in to curriculum before teaching our kids that they are part of a bigger community - their classroom community, their school community, their hometown community, the world at large - that they need to look after. The blame doesn't entirely lie with us; there are so many outside influences trying to convince us that our kids need reading instruction, writing instruction, math instruction, academic hammering that will purportedly give them a leg up in the wide, wild world. But what world are we preparing them for? If we teach our children that the only things that matter are being better - smarter, faster, stronger - than those around them then we are actively destroying the only support system they will ever have - the village. Friends, if you can think of a moment where the village hasn't reached out to you, hasn't buoyed you up, looked after your children, made you laugh, made you cry, then you can think of a reason why we need to be teaching our kids to love and look out for others. Teach their hearts and souls first, their minds will follow, probably stronger than they would have otherwise. Students come to us with a lot on their plates. They aren't really ready to learn until they feel safe & loved.No matter how much we know about a student's background and home life, we can never completely understand what they bring to school everyday in their hearts & minds. All we can do is connect, listen and meet them where they're at, every day of the year. When we make our classrooms safe spaces for students to be their genuine selves - whether that means incorporating time & space for them to move freely, opportunities for connection, work that is engaging and individualized or simply an honouring and celebrating of differences - we allow them to feel safe and secure. This, in turn, calms their sympathetic nervous system and allows them to move forward with their learning. As anyone who has ever worked under stress can attest, it's almost impossible to be at your best when your head & heart are in another place. The best thing we can do for students is make them feel safe & secure in our rooms and in our presence. We have to show ourselves love, compassion, respect and forgiveness and we have to teach our students to do the same.Teaching is an exhausting, all day job (bonus points for knowing, instantly, where I stole that line from*). Even in the moments where we are supposed to be taking a break we are often working, often meeting a need other than our own. And then so many of us go home to our families to meet so many more needs. The potential for exhaustion, burn-out, mistakes, is huge. and don't we know it? We hold ourselves to the highest possible standard and often forget to give ourselves grace when we don't meet those standards. By learning to love ourselves, to recognize that we deserve as much compassion and kindness as we offer everyone else in our lives, we begin to learn how to teach our students to do the same. I am quickly coming to believe that instilling a growth mindset in children might just be the best way to teach resilience, self-respect and self-esteem all in one fell swoop. Learning and development is a continuum and our students are at all different places on it. We need to meet them where they're at without judgment.I have been in Pro-D workshops for the last couple of days and have been acutely aware of the recognition (or lack thereof) of the continuum of learning and development. Our school system is designed to fit children in to little boxes, boxes labeled "meeting", "approaching" and "not yet meeting". But, when push comes to shove, does it really matter if they're meeting, exceeding or not yet meeting our expectations? They will still be in our classrooms, they will still be who they are, where they're at. If we start acknowledging that all students fall somewhere on a continuum of development and learning, we start to see that we can move them along that continuum, regardless of where they started. Once we understand that teaching is actually about meeting students where they're at and moving them forward, not about students meeting prescribed learning outcomes, we free ourselves to teach kids, not outcomes. Social-emotional learning is more important than curriculum. Dysregulated students can't learn effectively.Teaching our students to recognize and regulate their emotions and arousal levels is fundamental to their learning. Some children are able to do this naturally and others need help. The fact of the matter remains that if students are dysregulated they cannot learn; if their bodies are constantly seeking or avoiding some kind of stimulation there is no way that their minds are ready to learn. With all of the pressure to teach curriculum, meet benchmarks and demonstrate student learning, it's easy to forget that we are teaching little humans; that is, until Johnny won't stop moving and Sarah won't stop crying every time you ask her to do anything resembling school work. Then it is blatantly, unavoidably obvious. And instead of blaming the kid, or the home or the learning challenges, we need to start looking how we can teach the child to self-regulate, to meet their needs in any given moment. Secondary to this, we need to accept that even we, as adults, are not perfect at self-regulation and that there are always going to be times (more for the kiddos that struggle in this department) where the wheels fall off the wagon. The trick is accepting this as normal, however disruptive it may be, and finding solutions with humor and grace, acknowledging all the while that it can be incredibly frustrating and finding a support system that helps you deal with this frustration. Just as dysregulated students can't learn effectively, dysregulated teachers can't teach effectively.
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This is the second in a series of posts about using technology in your classroom to support all learners. While it will mainly focus on iPads since that's the technology we have at our school, many of these apps are also available for Android and some even have computer versions. See the first post here. At first blush apps for writing seemed to be a simple blog post. After all, when most of us think of apps for writing, we think word processing apps, often with speech-to-text capabilities. If that's the case, we are basically talking about your preferred platform for recording, editing and sharing dictated work. Nothing complicated about that, right? But then I started to think, I mean really think, about the definition of writing and I realized that there is much more to writing than simply putting pen to paper. If you broaden your definition of writing to include spelling, planning, creative writing and presenting there are a myriad of apps out there. In the interests of keeping it simple, I have shared only the apps that I use consistently and effectively in my own practice; there are definitely many more that are super useful and worth exploring! Handwriting Without Tears: Wet Dry Try - If you use Handwriting Without Tears in your classroom then this is an excellent app to add to your toolkit. Essentially just an electronic version of the chalkboard, it allows kids to practice all of the familiar HWT letter formations on an iPad, which usually ups the motivation factor a bit. It also has a lefty-friendly feature, which is great for those poor kiddos who are smudging their chalk. How I use it: I have generally used this app in rotation as part of literacy stations. The kids seem to like the opportunity to mix it up between the chalkboards, the wooden shapes and the app. Available for: iPad ABC Pocket Phonics - Although this is technically a phonics app, I really like that kids can practice tracing the letters as they learn letter sounds. I also like the way that the app models the correct letter formation for them and progresses through the letters in a logical, well-organized sequence. Finally, the kids love it! How I use it: Just like the Wet Dry Try app, this one usually gets used in rotation as part of literacy stations and in my small group instruction. When their interest in that station starts to wane but I know they still need practice, I'll throw this app in there. L'Escapadou French Words for Kids/Dictee Montessori - Number one thing I love about this app? It's available in English and French. Second thing I love about this app? Simplicity. The movable alphabet is definitely for the primary crowd, so simple is good. Kids can explore the alphabet, placing letters on a grid, combining letters to make words and then have the app read the word back to them. They can also work on spelling given words, which are presented in order of increasing phonetic complexity. How I use it: We have this app set up at our French Immersion kindergarten literacy centres. They are free to explore building and hearing words but we do encourage them to spell friends' names, word wall words, etc as well. They have also explored the more directed spelling activity but I tend to keep this for the Gr. 1s. My only complaint is that to exit back out to the main screen kids have to use the settings menu, which allows access to changing things like the speed and tone of the voice. I don't love the sound of the Chipmunks reading the words. Available for: iPad, iPod, Android Vocabulary Spelling City - this app has so many dimensions to it for younger and older students alike. You can choose to use the free version of the app and access the spelling features (practice games & tests), all of which can be used with pre-loaded word lists (Dolch words, for example) or with your own personal word lists. Upgrade to the paid app (which is very reasonably priced) and you can also access the vocabulary features (again, games & tests). Loading your own word lists is quick and I love that it suggests definitions so that you don't have to write them on your own. *Update: I just found out that Vocabulary Spelling City is now linked to a variety of spelling/reading programs, including Words Their Way - word lists are automatically available! How I use it: We've used this app to reinforce unit vocabulary, introduce vocabulary prior to reading and practice spelling words. Although I find the interface a bit dated, the kids don't seem to mind & enjoy playing the games. Many schools use the student login feature to allow students to take tests online; we haven't experimented with this but I can definitely see the advantages. Available for: iPad, Android, Web-based Evernote - This app is as simple or as complex as you want to make it; use it strictly as a multi-platform on-line note taking tool or expand it to include individual notebooks with your dictated notes, voice recordings and clippings from webpages. Use the work chat feature to share your work with other Evernote users quickly and easily. Add in some companion apps (Skitch, for example) and the uses quickly multiply. How I use it: This app is ideal for students with written-output and organizational difficulties. Use the built-in speech-to-text feature on your student's phone or tablet to have them dictate a piece of writing or take notes. Create notebooks for each subject and students can automatically file their notes in the right place. Need a piece of writing edited at home? Because Evernote is multi-platform, students can access it at home on their computer, phone or tablet quickly and easily. Start simply and grow as students become more comfortable and confident. Available for: iPad, iPhone, Android, Web-based Google Drive - Google Drive has become synonymous with cloud storage, online work space and collaboration and it is a perfect fit for using in the classroom. For some, this is the go-to option for a whole host of uses, from simply storing student work to having students work collaboratively, submit their work and mark it. The possibilities, especially when paired with other apps, are mind-boggling. The fact that it is multi-platform is a definite bonus. How I use it: Much like Evernote, this app is perfect for helping students with written-output and organizational difficulties. Have them use their device's built-in speech-to-text feature to dictate a piece of writing, then save it and share it with their peers for editing, before sharing it with you for marking. If this is as far as you intend to take it, then it's really a toss-up between using Google Drive & Evernote - both have equally good functionality (for the record, I much prefer the look and feel of Evernote). Once you start to go deeper, you may find that you prefer one over the other...Google Apps for Education represents a world of possibilities for your classroom (and beyond) that you may wish to dive in to as you continue on your journey with technology. Available for: iPad, Android, Chromebook, Web-based Haiku Deck - this simple, beautiful presentation tool shines due to it's catalogue of images that are offered up based on the words you use on your slides. Don't like those images? Similar options are also presented so that you can quickly and easily search for images to create a truly gorgeous presentation. Another great aspect of this tool is that, unlike PowerPoint, it limits the amount of text you can put on a page, forcing the presenter to be concise. How I use it: Plain and simply, to create beautiful presentations. I love Haiku Deck for it's simplicity - no more student presentations with too many words and images bouncing all over the screen, far less time spent on the slides themselves and far more on the content of the presentation. A word of caution, however: while some image searches are filtered (searching the word sex, for example, returns pictures of bugs and the statement "aww, you are making me blush") others, such as drugs or guns, return some pretty explicit images. That being said, so does a Google Images search for those same words, so use in your classroom with the same caution and guidance that you would any other search engine. Available for: iPad, Android, Web-based Ideament (formerly Idea Sketch) - This mind mapping app is easy to use and very simply laid out. While the free version only allows for the creation of 1 mind map, the paid version is quite reasonably priced ($4.59). You can also export mind maps to be printed or e-mailed. My favourite aspect of this app, however, is that you can convert your mind map to a writing outline. With one simple tap, students can see how all of their ideas flow in to a piece of writing. How I use it: In general, I use this app with my struggling writers to help them plan their writing before they begin to write or dictate. With a little bit of instruction in correctly linking their ideas (main idea then sub-ideas), most students can effectively use the writing outlines to structure their writing clearly (an issue many struggling writers face). Available for: iPad, Windows Surface Popplet - Another mind mapping tool that is simple and easy to use, Popplet allows for more creativity than Ideament. Colour, drawings and photos can all be added in to the mind map with a few taps. And while you cannot convert your mind maps in to writing outlines, you can have multiple people collaborate on one mind map, opening up great group work possibilities. How I use it: Unlike Ideament, I tend to use this app more often for planning group projects or as simply a representation of learning in and of itself (by adding in pictures, drawings, colour and links, students can show me that they understand how a concept or concepts are constructed and linked). Available for: iPad, web-based Finally, I can't help but share a fun and motivating set of writing lessons, based on the Bike Baron dirtbiking app. The app itself has nothing at all to do with writing, but when these writing lessons, from Mr. Andrews Online, are structured around it, magic happens. Writing can be such a struggle for so many kids...technology can be the bridge that helps them get to where they feel like writers. I would love to hear what apps you use to get your class writing!
Awhile ago, I wrote about some books I have been reading that have really got me thinking about the language we use with kids (see that post here - you'll learn about one of the most influential professional books I have ever read. Seriously.). In addition to these books, a couple of other opportunities have continued to drive my learning in this area. The first was a professional development workshop I attended (about spelling, of all things. Structured spelling, which is phenomenal btw. But that's another post) where the presenter was a master at using great language. I couldn't stop noticing how empowering it was and how naturally it seemed to come to him. The second is an ongoing conversation with a good friend (and kindie teacher) about ways to talk to my daughter when she's upset because I sometimes just feel so inept in this area. She always knows just what to say, which never ceases to amaze me.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that a) words matter. A lot. and b) we are not all extremely skilled at using the right words. I am one of these not so skilled people. Sure, I know how to talk to kids, I know how to make sure that they understand me, absolutely. But what doesn't come naturally to me are the simple changes in phrasing that empower kids, that allow them to feel like they can do just about anything, that what they are doing is meaningful and important. Thankfully, although this skill doesn't come naturally to me, I believe that it can be learned (and I have that good friend who is wonderfully skilled in this area and willing to answer all my crazy questions). So, on that note, I thought I would share a few common phrases that we all use with kids and some powerful alternatives. Instead of "What a lovely picture. What is it?" try "Tell me about your picture". This slight change removes the sense that the child's picture is unclear (which, if it's anything like my 3 year old's artwork, it likely is, but they don't know that) and puts the child in the driver's seat when it comes to their own art, giving them a sense of agency and accomplishment. Instead of "Who can tell me the answer?" try "Can anyone offer a hypothesis?" followed by "Interesting hypothesis. Does anyone have another one?" Although you may have to explain the word hypothesis a few times at first, this simple change in phrase makes it easier for students to take a risk and offer an answer because you are implying that you are not expecting the correct answer, simply their best guess. Note that you have to be willing to accept multiple hypotheses and be open to the idea that an unexpected one may, in fact, turn out to be correct. Instead of "Not quite. Does anyone else know the correct answer?" try "Oh wow! Great mistake! Here's why..." As with the word hypothesis, you are making space here for students to be willing to take risks and potentially be wrong. If mistakes are treated as positive things, students will be more willing to make them, knowing they lead to growth & learning, rather than to just plain being wrong. You will be creating a culture of inquiry in your classroom. Instead of "This is how you will do ______." try "As scientists/readers/writers/historians, how should we approach this?" Aside from simply moving from a telling to an asking stance, this rephrasing allows students to see themselves as scientists/readers/writers/historians and encourages them to use the mindset of that particular role to solve a problem. Can you guide them along the way? Absolutely! Try saying "As a scientist, I think I would..." Instead of "I'm proud of you." try "I bet you're proud of yourself" or "How did accomplishing that make you feel?" The purpose of this rephrasing is two-fold; 1) it removes the idea that the child is subordinate to the teacher and 2) encourages the student to seek an internal motivation for completing something. The more kids rehearse this, the more natural it becomes. Instead of "Good try but..." try "Which part are you sure about and which part are you not sure about?" or "I see that you got the first part right. How else could you spell that second part?" I love these two because they put so much emphasis on having the student use their knowledge to figure out the correct answer. They will also give you, the teacher, a ton of insight in to what the student knows and doesn't know and where you should take them next in their learning. Asking students how they went about figuring something out is incredibly powerful as it develops their sense of themselves as a capable problem-solver. Finally, instead of "I see that you're feeling frustrated/overwhelmed/angry." try "How does your body feel right now?" followed by "Sometimes when our bodies feel like that, it means we are feeling ________________. Do you think this is how you're feeling?" This allows students to begin to internalize the process of recognizing how their body feels when they are experiencing a certain emotion, allowing them to learn to self-regulate over time. Of course, follow this conversation up with some things the child can do when they feel that way - breathing, visualization, reading, etc. Hopefully you find these helpful. I know that I will be slowly working on using these phrases more and more in my teaching; I would love to hear how your attempts go! This post was originally published in 2015 and still holds true today. If you have a little starting kindergarten or know someone who does, have a read, share it around and remember, it takes a village. It's that time of year...Back to School. Every year at this time, Facebook and Pinterest are filled with posts about the 50, 75 or 100 things your child needs to know before they start kindergarten. Talk about stressful! Admittedly, the parent in me read those lists and mentally tallied up the things that my kid could do and the things she couldn't; the educator in me just cringed and reminded me that the developmental continuum is at one of it's widest points as our children enter K and this is not the time for comparison (is there ever a time?). Cue my lovely, oft-mentioned Kindergarten teacher and friend who very eloquently responded to one such post just the other day. Her response was so on-point that I asked her to guest blog about it here! As a Kindergarten teacher and mummy to my first entering 'my zone', I'll admit I won't read these lists. I find them way too stressful and frankly, I'm maxed on stuff to worry about. While I don't generally think it's reasonable to make uninformed comments on random posts, I threw caution to the wind on this one and refered to my inner guide,: my heart. If I were to make a list of the things the kids coming in to my class every year need to know, my list would look something like this: Some things your kid really needs to know before entering school - That you love them, always. - How to love themselves, always. - How to navigate mistakes as learning and opportunity. - How to see there is magic in differences. - How to be a good friend. - How to laugh and enjoy fun. - How to take care of themselves, each other and their place. - How to achieve and maintain a happy heart. - How to love books, print, art, stories, nature, playing, inventing games. - How to love and be loved... There are so many things that I could add but they would all be heart centered. It's my jam. My colleagues and I can and will teach the rest of the stuff (it really is just stuff).. It's important stuff but... it's stuff. What really counts, what really matters, is that kiddos feel safe and loved, that their bucket is full and that they can share that with others. Parents, we know you're doing your best, we honour that. Many of you need to honour that in yourselves too. Don't worry about lists! Read this and feel it, for you AND for your kids. Don't we all need a little more of this? There's nothing your children can't do without the village that makes up their team. Teachers are part of your team and most importantly, your kid's team. We realize that children are each on their own journey. They each come with their own unique strengths and challenges. We too, want for your kids to be happy, healthy and successful, however that looks for them. We are in this together. Oh, remember to take a minute to breathe and laugh too. Time passes so quickly, don't miss the moments worrying about lists. Beautiful, isn't it? My humblest thanks for joining me on this, Robyn! This is part of a series of posts about using technology in your classroom to support all learners. While it will mainly focus on iPads since that's the technology we have at our school, many of these apps are also available for Android and some even have computer versions. See the first post here. Summer is here (ok, so summer has been here for awhile but, hey, we all needed some downtime, am I right?). Along with relaxing and playing with my kiddos, this summer I wanted to take some time to get some more products up on Teachers Pay Teachers (honestly, how do people find time to do this during the school year?!). And since I have finally been getting to that, I wanted to share a freebie with you. This is a little handout I created for our school's Stop the Summer Slide parent night that we hosted at the very end of the school year. It was a great night and I really think that the parents that came went away armed with some great activities to do with their kids over the summer. I created handouts for reading, writing, alphabet, phonological awareness skills and, of course, technology. These are some of my favourite educational apps and websites - easy to use, high in learning value and engaging for kids. If you've been following this series, you've seen a few of them in detail already.
And for all you French Immersion teachers out there, I created a version with French apps & websites as well. Looks exactly the same, with an extra little box. Click here to be linked to that one! Enjoy and let me know any apps that you would add. I'm always looking for great suggestions! Fact: As the weather gets nicer, the kids get a little more interested in playing in the sun and a little less interested in doing math. To be honest, so do I. So we have to start getting a little more creative with our offerings; they've been doing the same old math pit stations all year and despite our best efforts to make them engaging they need something to break up the routine. Enter coordinate geometry; simple, yet with so many fun activities that can be tied to it. We began with a week of stations to introduce the basics of coordinate geometry (first plane only) - 2 teaching stations, as usual, one on plotting coordinates, one on identifying them; Battleship at the games station; an interactive notebook page; and two practice stations, again one on plotting coordinates, the other on identifying them. Following that week, we got creative. After seeing this blog post, for a giant floor graph city, we decided to create our own giant floor graphs. While I would quickly come to regret offering to build the floor graphs (so.much.work.), they were the perfect thing for helping some of our students grasp the concept of coordinates. Much like the activity we found on Katie's blog, we gave the students toy cars and marked crash sites on the giant graphs. They had to drive the cars along the graph lines to the crash site and identify the coordinates. They then had to write their answers on a laminated answer sheet; once the sheet was completed they used a QR code scanner to see if they had found the correct answers. That was about 1 lesson's worth of fun and learning. We then moved to our next activity: a game loosely designed around the board game Clue. Armed with laminated pictures of people, places & murder weapons we created an activity called Get A Clue; a game where one group of students sets the stage and a second group of students finds the murderer, the murder location and the murder weapon. Students placed about 8 people, places and things (for a total of about 24 items) at various points on the floor grid. They then recorded all but 3 of those points (1 murderer, 1 location, 1 weapon) on a sheet entitled Clues; the other 3 they recorded on a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner sheet and tucked it in to an envelope. The next group then took the list of clues and methodically located all of the points listed on it. When they had found all of the points, they opened the envelope to confirm that they had done it properly. I asked the kids for feedback after they had played the game and here's what they said: "we need someone who gets murdered!", "we need more places and people", "it needs to be harder".
If you have any ideas on how to improve this game, I would love to hear them! I have been thinking a lot lately about the power of language. What we choose to say and when can profoundly affect how children see us and, most importantly, see themselves. While I was always aware of this, it has really been highlighted for me in a few ways lately. Professionally, Kristi attended a conference and came back very excited about the work of Peter H. Johnston. I immediately downloaded one of his books to my Kindle and have been engrossed ever since. Personally, my oldest daughter has been struggling with some anxiety and I am learning (slowly, ever so slowly) to use the right words to both hear her and help her navigate life. I am very lucky to have some amazing people on my team to help me walk in her shoes and give me the words I know she needs to hear when they just won't come to me. This post is dedicated to those people who help us find the words; thank you. Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning - Peter H. Johnston. Wow. This book is fantastic. Reading it is one long series of aha! moments, moments that feel at once so incredibly obvious and so profound as to initiate a major shift in one's practice. This book is set up in such a way as to be easily accessible to all - brand new practicum teacher and seasoned veteran alike. Specific, precise wording is coupled with detailed examples, allowing you to borrow exact phrases ("I see you know how to spell the beginning of that word") or use the examples to build upon your own existing practice. This book is a must read for all, parents and teachers alike. A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound - John Irving. The power of language is infinitely evident in this book, originally published (unillustrated) as part of Irving's novel A Widow for One Year. The title itself hints at the language play within the book, full of similes and metaphors that would be excellent when teaching writing. If you are looking for a fun, slightly creepy book for the gr. 4-8 crowd, look no further, this is the one. I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track - Joshua Prince. This book had 3 generations of family members giggling when we read it. Why? Because the rhythm and rhyme are tons of fun. This book is representative of the large category of books that I think too few kids are reading these days - books that play with phonological awareness, books that make playing with language, manipulating the sounds in words, so much fun. The power of fun books like these to help young kids develop their pre-reading skills is immeasurable. There you have it - three very different takes on the power of language (4 if you count the language I am learning to use with my darling, heart-forward daughter). Language is one of the most important pieces of any culture - how we use it can profoundly affect our children. How do you use language to help your children grow?
It was bound to happen...we love the station-based, two teacher approach to literacy so much it was only a matter of time before we transferred that over to math! Some examples of our Math Pit Journals. Gotta love the math humour! Of course,many people are already using math stations as part of their regular teaching practice in math. In fact, when my sister-in-law did her practicum many years ago in New Zealand her sponsor teacher taught math solely using a station-based approach, a practice that was built in to the Kiwi curriculum. Many people, however, are just looking at adopting this structure, realizing, as we have, that it allows you to really reach all learners, no matter what their readiness level. Our adventures in Math Pit actually started with a false start; initially, the plan had been to take several of our Gr. 5-6 classes and regroup the students according to achievement in various strands of math, throw in an extra teacher or two and create a multi-class, multi-teacher model for teaching math. While this model had a lot going for it, there were some flaws that we just couldn't wrap our heads around - scheduling was a big one, with teachers feeling out of touch with the needs of the students in their classroom coming a close second. Once we realized that this just wasn't the model for us, we explored other options. And then it hit me - I had three 1 hour blocks open in the Lit Pit. Could we do Math Pit? A quick text to a willing guinea pig and I had my answer - yes, yes we could. Yay! I love trying new things! Then we had to plan this thing called Math Pit. I knew that there were some key parts of the Lit Pit that we wanted to maintain - leveled groups, 2 teaching stations & the element of love for learning that we try to foster in the Lit Pit - the rest was a blank slate. In consultation with one of our teachers who already uses math stations quite effectively, we started by deciding what each station was going to be. Here is what we ended up with: - Teacher-led instruction - Guided practice - Unit Practice - Interactive notebooks - Math Facts - Math Games We then proceeded to draw out our rotation - by far the most confusing part of the whole process! See my diagram below for what our rotation looks like. Here's what we've realized: because of the rotating nature of the stations, some students end up at unit practice or guided practice before they make it to the teacher-led lesson. It's rather hard to practice something you haven't learned yet, so we have had to tweak it such that the teacher-led lesson (classroom teacher) and the guided practice (me) are relatively interchangeable. In this way, some groups do the lesson with me and others with the classrooom teacher, then do the guided practice with the opposite person. In many ways this is good, as the classroom teacher and I do not necessarily teach in the same way, so the students get to see multiple ways of approaching different concepts. If you're up on your station-based approach, you'll have realized that there is still a small flaw in our plan...yep, you guessed it - one group still goes to unit practice without ever having had a lesson (confused? See the diagram below for the way our rotation works and remember that when the kids walk in on day one, each group goes to their corresponding station; there are no empty stations). We have not quite resolved this one - at times we call that group over (we have intentionally placed our strongest group there) for a quick mini-lesson and at times we have them work on a review of last week's concept. Because it is our strongest kids that are there, they often rise to the challenge of reading the text book and figuring the concept out for themselves (this, in fact, was their suggestion for resolving this problem. Smart kids!). One of our Math Facts station questions and some of the answers our kiddos came up with. So interesting to see how each group tackled the problem! This is one of the things I love best about the set up of the Lit Pit, and now the Math Pit, for our intermediate students; differentiation happens by virtue of so many factors, many of which require no extra planning on the part of the teacher (hello, Universal Design for Learning!). By intentionally placing our strongest group in a situation where they have to figure out for themselves what to do, we are challenging them; at the same time, we scaffold and support the lesson for our weaker students by ensuring that they receive the lesson immediately before going to unit practice, followed by another teacher led station the next day for follow-up. This structure does not require that we plan different lessons or activities for each group (although we can - and do!) but intrinsically allows us to meet their needs, ensuring that we are differentiating without increasing teacher work load. In laying out our rotation, we initially started with three 20 minute stations a day. This meant that Day 3 was a repeat of Day 1, so we carefully considered which groups would benefit from a repeat of which stations, altering starting positions and rotation to ensure that each group was getting the most of what they needed. What we realized: Several weeks in, we realized that 20 minute stations were not quite long enough for some groups and some concepts, so we have switched to 2-30 minute stations. At times this is too long, but we have found it is easier to fill the time with math games or problem-solving activities than it is to try and cram in the learning for students who need more time understanding a concept. There are, of course, logistical challenges beyond station rotation. Behaviour management, for one. With 4 independent stations, there is the potential for mass chaos if the students at those stations are not engaged in their task. The solution here has proved to be relatively simple - ensure that the tasks at each station are at the level of the groups working at that station. If work is too difficult or too easy, you will have problems. Taking the time to make sure that your students know what they should be doing and that they are able to do it goes a long ways to ensuring a good day in the Math Pit. Of course, some extremely dedicated and competent para-professionals (CEAs in our district, EAs in many others) don't hurt either! We are very grateful for all of the extra support we are able to pull in to the Lit Pit and Math Pit (see this post for suggestions on including others in your station-based approach)! Another logistical challenge is what happens on the 2 days per week when that class in not in Math Pit; in our case, the classroom teacher does a whole class lesson on the same topic, preps any interactive notebook work and explores other topics in math that we may not touch on in Math Pit. This is the beatuy of the Lit Pit and Math Pit - the classroom teacher always knows exactly what his/her students have been working on and is able to follow up as needed in the classroom. In a traditional pull-out model of support, obtaining the degree of synchronicity between myself and the classroom teacher would require such a large amount of time as to be unmanageable. With this model, we are both on the same page at all times. Quick 5 minute conversations as they walk out the door and we know exactly who needs what to be successful. Sigh. I really do love that piece of it. This is the first in a series of posts about using technology in your classroom to support all learners. While it will mainly focus on iPads since that's the technology we have at our school, many of these apps are also available for Android and some even have computer versions. Audible is an easy-to-use, cloud-based provider of audio books. They have thousands of titles available for purchase and a number of different purchase plans. I love that their titles are read by professional readers, often by well-known actors. While this may not seem like a big thing, it really changes a student's enjoyment of a book when it is read by an actor versus being read by a computer. Both novels and picture books are available, and new books are added regularly. Another cool thing, if you happen to be working with Kindle devices, is WhisperSync; when you own both the audio and Kindle versions of the book, they will automatically sync to your last read spot, regardless of whether or not you were listening or reading. A great tool for kids who want to listen to their book on the walk home and then pick the kindle version up at bedtime. How I use it: This app is a definite must for kids with learning disabilities in reading. I also find that it works very well for reluctant readers who just don't want to read, as well as for fluency practice for younger readers. It can be used on its own or paired with the paper copy of the book for maximum effect. Available for: iPad, iPhone, Android,Windows Phone, PC, Mac
Ruckus Readers. These semi-animated books on the iPad are just wonderful! The illustrations are bright and colourful, with just a little bit of animation. They have tons of titles, both fiction and non-fiction, that kids really enjoy (lots of TV and movie tie-ins but more than enough that aren't) and the books are levelled so you can tailor them to the needs in your class. Each one has the choice of read to self or read to me and the pacing of the read to me is well done, with the words highlighted in yellow as you go. Another neat feature is the incorporation of simple games that allow readers to win virtual stickers; my favourite game is the pop-up sparkles that appear after the text has been read. Once readers tap the sparkle, a word appears, which they then have to find in the text. Kids love this! Unfortunately, most of the books are for in-app purchase, so you do have to be prepared to spend some cash if you want to use this app. How I use it: At the moment, Ruckus readers are used primarily in the Lit Pit as an option at the Love to Read station. I would love to buy more as the kids seem to have made their way through all of the free options I initially downloaded. The librarian (who, thankfully, is also tech focused) and I are going to have to make some decisions about how options such as these factor in to our budget! RAZ-Kids. If you are not yet familiar with this site and app, you need to be! RAZ-Kids is the online, levelled library of Reading A-Z, who produce a variety of reading, vocabulary and writing materials, most notably printable levelled books both fiction and non. Once you have purchased a very reasonably priced subscription, you are able to give your students access to colourful books that can be read to them (well-paced, with word tracking), read on their own and with a brief comprehension quiz at the end. The books are engaging and the reading is well done. My students love earning points to help them build their rocket and they also enjoy completing a level and moving to the next one. One of the great features of this app is that students are able to access this app/site easily at home as well. I love that their log in system is simple, even if multiple classrooms are using the same iPads - once you've entered the teacher's name once, it becomes a button on the main login screen, ensuring that no one has to remember their rather complicated login and password information. How I use it: This app gets used pretty much everywhere in our school: classroom, Lit Pit, intervention room, home. Many classroom teachers use it as a center or to help students who need fluency practice during silent reading. I use it to engage some of my struggling readers while I work with others in their small group. With the great diversity of non-fiction titles offered, I can also easily find books to support a classroom theme or help a student with material for a research project that I know is at their level. The printable books are fabulous for being sent home as home reading (it's really not a big deal if they get lost) and also allow students to mark them up as we search for specific sounds or practice a particular reading strategy. Definitely get some parent help to put the printables together though - it's a lot of work! Have you got any favourite apps you use to get kids reading? I would love to hear about them!
After a relaxing and restful 2 week Spring Break, we jumped right back in to the thick of things today. The great thing about Spring Break, other than that it's a break from the day-to-day busy-ness, is that I have time to power through some longer reads that otherwise take me forever to get through. So this edition of #IMWAYR is dedicated to some of the bigger books I read over the past 2 weeks, with a few picture books thrown in for good measure. The Joy Of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World (Christina Crook) - Full disclosure: this book is written by a friend of mine. If it weren't however, I might still have come across it as it is getting some pretty major press exposure these days (NY Times, CTV Morning News, CBC, Psychology Today - wow!). The book explores our complex and often addictive relationship with technology, an exploration driven by Crook's 30-day internet fast (chronicled at Letters from a Luddite). At once well-researched and intimate, Crook's book exhorts us to put down our phones, tablets and computers and reconnect with the people that really matter - those immediately around us. She encourages us to slow down, to live in the moment, to take the time to see and feel and listen, to be present. This book is one of a growing number of books, blogs and websites that focus on the idea of living in the now and is well worth the read. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Cheryl Strayed) - Although Wild bears no similarity to JOMO in writing style or subject matter, it nonetheless focuses on the same idea - getting the heck out of Dodge (literally or figuratively) in order to find "rest, stillness and attentiveness" (JOMO). Unlike JOMO, this is not a researched piece of writing; it is a painful, funny, intimate memoir of someone who was headed right off the rails and rescued themselves in a drastic and rash manner. More Eat, Pray, Love than Hands-Free Mama, Wild was a great beach read. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie) - This book lived up to everything I had read about it - wonderful, depressing, maddening, hopeful. The tone in which the book is written is light, belying the tragedies that come fast and furious throughout. While reading it, I could not but help thinking of some of the families that we encounter in our teaching lives and the tough row they have to hoe. Definitely a great read for high school but some of the themes are probably a bit too mature for middle school. Tilly the Trickster (Molly Shannon) - Another book purchased because we were going to see the play, Tilly the Trickster is perfect for April Fool's Day! Tilly loves to play tricks, most of which are harmless fun. But as her tricks begin to adversely affect more and more people around, Tilly begins to question whether or not they are such a great idea. The only thing that I don't love about this book is the ending but it could lead to some great discussions about how our actions affect other people and what we should do about that. Stranded (Jeff Probst & Chris Tebbets) - Playing on the success of the Survivor TV show, this series follows 4 kids stranded on a deserted island. A fun read for 7-12 year olds who love adventure books and are looking for an easier read than Rick Riordan or Gordon Korman. This one gets high marks from Kristi's son! Once again, I didn't get this out on a Monday but I did it and I appreciate everyone who let me know that they're happy I'm doing it even if it doesn't happen exactly on Monday! Hope you had or are looking forward to a wonderful, restful spring break!
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Welcome!I'm Bryn, teacher, mom, book lover, athlete. I am passionate about living life with my family, teaching and learning something new all the time. I hope you find something that speaks to you here on my blog and would love to hear from you too! Categories
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