This blog has been on a hiatus this past week. I would love to use the excuse that I've been busy relaxing and taking a break from it all just to rejuvenate but that could not be further from the truth. In fact, this month has been pure insanity for me and if my eyeballs are just over that proverbial water line and I'm able to see and not completely drown...success.
So tonight I have no pictures (really, I have tons but I'll save them for next time). No amazing or funny stories. No big a-ha moments. Just some basic thoughts that have kept me grounded and sane this month.
When the hype surrounding Common Core, State Standards, testing, interventions, RTI, teacher evaluations, student assessments, and much much more is pushed aside and you can allow yourself a moment to really reflect on good teaching, I think those are the moments when you can shine as a valuable teacher. We are constantly asking questions, answering questions, digging deeper, promoting higher order thinking, eliciting great conversations, tweaking lessons in mid-lesson, being teacher, doctor, nurse, professional shoe tie-er (is that a word?!), therapist, social worker, OT, glue bottle surgeons, (shall I go on??), ....and this is all by 9:00am. When I reflect on some of my best/favorite lessons, I know at the core they were academically strong...but how I got there may not have been conventional. It's what we do and the connections you make with the lesson and the child that makes it valuable and more importantly, makes it stick.
I live by some simple rules when teaching my lessons.
1. Review CONSTANTLY.
Turn to your neighbor and share a fact you just learned.
Tell me one fact you heard.
You have one minute to discuss ...... at your tables.
Any way you review, verbal, written, and/or kinesthetically (show me) helps the new info stick in to long term memory. That is the ultimate goal.
2. Experience before label.
Not every lesson needs to be explained. Some actually need no explanation. Have them do it. Then discuss the what did you do and why?
This can look like passing out tangrams or shape blocks and letting students have 2 minutes of "play/building" time. This could be your intro to shapes or geometry.
My real mom (as opposed to all my school moms...teachers, you know what I mean) likes to harass me that everything I do with my own kiddos is a "surprise." Yes, sometimes, that's true. But sometimes I just want them to experience something before we add a name to it.
Like broccoli, most kids have heard from their friends that broccoli may not be a yummy as chocolate. So the first time you give your kid broccoli, are you going to fight the battle and try to convince them to like it before they even try it OR have them try it and when they say they like it, tell them the name of it? Seems like option 2 is a better choice to me. This also dissolves all their preconceived notions about what broccoli is in one bite. Literally. Experience it first.
3. Go for the shock.
I like to sing obnoxiously in my class when I feel it's getting chatty or I know I'm losing kids to my soft, calm voice (YEAH RIGHT!). I do this for the shock. Yes, I could raise my voice and get frustrated and the kids have a bad day. OR I could sing really, really badly. Get their attention. Refocus them. And complete the task at hand.
I don't sing for everything. Trust me...then my gorgeous, purposefully awful voice would not be effective. But I do use various voices. Make loud or even super soft noises or voices. Do something they don't expect...like stand on a desk to point to a poster up high (not very safe, but boy, do you get their attention). Do something big or something subtle to change up the ordinary and shock them into remembering that moment and that lesson.
4. Make lessons meaningful.
If you don't know the "why" of what you are teaching, let's be honest, they will see right through it. We've all been there. We've all said, "I don't know why we have to do this. Someone somewhere told me you guys need to know this."
I found that (and still do) to be more true when I taught third grade and was trying to justify to 8 year olds why they were taking state tests. As I have grown old (er...I mean experienced), I can justify anything that is in my classroom because I know the materials hung and the lessons being taught are all meaningful and purposeful.
(And to those 8 year olds still questioning testing, I would say it's no different than giving a pre- and post- test. There have to be some sort of standardized testing to show growth, understanding, and ability to apply what you know. Now how you go about doing that and what you do with those results need a whole other post for that discussion. Which you won't find here anytime soon.)
The point is, if you are doing what is right, meaningful, purposeful, and you believe in it, you will have success. Your students will be engaged and your lessons will be remembered.
5. Be clear and expect it.
Sometimes I find myself giving multiple step directions and wondering...yikes! Can they do this? The answer is yes! With clear directions and expectations, there is no reason why they cannot.
I do a lot of training at the beginning of the year on basic procedural things such as walking through the "drive-thru" to go to our mailboxes, what to do when they hear certain songs, and what my signals are for getting their attention back to name a few. Once these skills are in tact and become innate, they are like brushing your teeth. You don't need step-by-step instructions to brush your teeth. You can do that while thinking of the next NEW thing you will be completing. When I give multi-step directions, I know that my firsties can follow them because the first part is all routines they can do without thinking...like brushing their teeth. The second part are the new directions they need to be focused on doing. Using those basic foundational skills and building on them throughout the year, is what helps my students when I give them 7 step directions some days (yes, I do. Terrible. I know.) I am clear with my directions and then I expect it. If it doesn't occur, we revisit the directions and try again.
I'm a huge talker! Huge! But when giving directions or starting a new activity (depending on the lesson of course), I try to use the fewest amount of words I can. Direct verbs such as Go, Walk, Get out, Sit, Tag, Think, Share, Move, Talk, Open, Line up, are examples of how my directions are started. The less words they have to remember in the directions, the better the results.
(I was planning to stop at five, but I couldn't resist this last one.)
6. Trust your gut.
Sometimes good teaching doesn't show itself on an assessment or appear in your lesson plan book. Sometimes you need to take those moments, those teachable moments, and use them to guide your instruction. I'm a firm believer in reading the signs of what your students need (and when I say need, again I'm not meaning what the results of benchmark testing and formal assessments show you). You will use the assessments to guide your academic lessons...absolutely!
I think that sometimes you need to remember that if it doesn't look right or feel right or sound right, chances are it's not right. It may be a kiddo who is struggling but you really have no idea why or where the root of the concerns are. Don't ignore the signs. Ask for help. Advocate for your kiddos. Don't be afraid to use those moments in class to teach them how to hold scissors or use a glue bottle or talk with them about feelings just because those may not be part of the standards. They need those teachable moments just as much as they need to know about text-to-self connections.
You also need those moments to reassure yourself, you know what you are doing. I am NOT the expert in teaching nor am I a perfect teacher, but when people come to me all frazzled about the CCSS or evaluations or specific students, I encourage them to trust themselves. If you are able to trust in yourself and trust your gut instincts regarding both your lessons and your students, I think you can find peace in what you do.
It's not rocket science. Just the simple ways I remind myself daily what good teaching is and then push myself to achieve it.
Love what you do. Do what you love.
I do a lot of training at the beginning of the year on basic procedural things such as walking through the "drive-thru" to go to our mailboxes, what to do when they hear certain songs, and what my signals are for getting their attention back to name a few. Once these skills are in tact and become innate, they are like brushing your teeth. You don't need step-by-step instructions to brush your teeth. You can do that while thinking of the next NEW thing you will be completing. When I give multi-step directions, I know that my firsties can follow them because the first part is all routines they can do without thinking...like brushing their teeth. The second part are the new directions they need to be focused on doing. Using those basic foundational skills and building on them throughout the year, is what helps my students when I give them 7 step directions some days (yes, I do. Terrible. I know.) I am clear with my directions and then I expect it. If it doesn't occur, we revisit the directions and try again.
I'm a huge talker! Huge! But when giving directions or starting a new activity (depending on the lesson of course), I try to use the fewest amount of words I can. Direct verbs such as Go, Walk, Get out, Sit, Tag, Think, Share, Move, Talk, Open, Line up, are examples of how my directions are started. The less words they have to remember in the directions, the better the results.
(I was planning to stop at five, but I couldn't resist this last one.)
6. Trust your gut.
Sometimes good teaching doesn't show itself on an assessment or appear in your lesson plan book. Sometimes you need to take those moments, those teachable moments, and use them to guide your instruction. I'm a firm believer in reading the signs of what your students need (and when I say need, again I'm not meaning what the results of benchmark testing and formal assessments show you). You will use the assessments to guide your academic lessons...absolutely!
I think that sometimes you need to remember that if it doesn't look right or feel right or sound right, chances are it's not right. It may be a kiddo who is struggling but you really have no idea why or where the root of the concerns are. Don't ignore the signs. Ask for help. Advocate for your kiddos. Don't be afraid to use those moments in class to teach them how to hold scissors or use a glue bottle or talk with them about feelings just because those may not be part of the standards. They need those teachable moments just as much as they need to know about text-to-self connections.
You also need those moments to reassure yourself, you know what you are doing. I am NOT the expert in teaching nor am I a perfect teacher, but when people come to me all frazzled about the CCSS or evaluations or specific students, I encourage them to trust themselves. If you are able to trust in yourself and trust your gut instincts regarding both your lessons and your students, I think you can find peace in what you do.
It's not rocket science. Just the simple ways I remind myself daily what good teaching is and then push myself to achieve it.
Love what you do. Do what you love.
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