Five for Friday

Happy Friday! It's been a fun week in third grade. We had our production of 101 Dalmatians last night and it was adorable! I'm so proud of those kiddos :)

These five updates are from that past two weeks since we've been so busy! Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share your five updates from the week.

Jokes on jokes on jokes!

I have a joke board in the hallway and love finding good math jokes to put up. Here's this weeks chuckle!

Our science unit- all about plants!

We've been learning all about plant structures and how plants grow in different environments. We've planted seeds, harvested thyme from our aquaponic garden, and fed insects to our venus flytrap! I've also put QR codes next to our plants with links to research websites. The kiddos are loving it! I've never seen such excited third graders doing research :)

Polya's Problem Solving

I was talking to a co-worker about finding a good problem solving strategy to tackle word problems. I'd been using the three reads strategy which is great for students struggling to understand the problem, but I needed another strategy for my students who could understand the problems but may make careless mistakes or not show their work. She mentioned Polya's book, How to Solve It, and the four steps to problem solving. I'm still reading the book but we've started trying out the strategy and I love it! My students have steps to follow that are easy to remember and they can check off, but it's more than just circling numbers or underlining key words- my students are THINKING about the problem, coming up with a plan to solve, and CHECKING THEIR WORK! It's a beautiful thing! The white boards show all the different strategies to solve the same problem! We did a gallery walk so kiddos could see how their friends solved and checked, and we discussed our favorite strategies and how we could look at their work and understand what they did. Woohoo!!

We have had a blast playing this game to review our 1-6 multiplication facts!

If you're looking for a fun way for your students to practice you can get a free copy of this game here: https://games4gains.com/blogs/teaching-ideas/multiplication-squares-game

Farm update!

Our girl "Hot Mess" is due a couple days after Easter! Shes precious!

Have a great weekend! Spring break is near my friends!

Rock on,

Diana

How to Rock Student Portfolios using Class Dojo

Student portfolios are a great way to collect student work and showcase their learning! With how education is changing when it comes to the standards, technology, and engagement, it's important to keep families in the loop of how/what their child is doing in school, and also hold that student accountable for their learning!

Cue- class dojo!

Class Dojo emerged in the education world as a behavior management tool to cultivate a positive behavior environment that motivates students to make good choices and be recognized for their efforts. As a behavior management tool alone, class dojo is an excellent resource! However, over time the website (and app!) has included new features to communicate with parents and involve everyone in the learning process.

Students can earn points for following rules, making good choices, or any other positive behavior!

Class Stories

 Class Stories allow teachers to post updates to send to all parents in the class. You can post text, pictures, videos, and even files to share with families. They can comment, like, and you can see who's viewed it. Parents that have the app on their phone can allow for notifications, so they are updated every time you post! This is a great way to document throughout the year what the class is learning and some of the strategies that are used in the classroom to teach those concepts. I've posted our anchor charts, or videos of the students explaining how they use a strategy. I love this feature for whole group updates.

Student Stories- aka a Digital Student Portfolio

There is also a "student stories" feature, in which the teacher, OR STUDENT (yes I like this part) can post a picture, video, or text. This saves that information just for that student. The teacher, parent, and even the student (if they make their own student login) can view that particular child's "story". As I take pictures during a fun lesson I can post it just on that child's story, or maybe a video of them working out a problem. Class Dojo also provides you with a QR code that will bring you directly to your class, so your students can post themselves! For example, I've printed the QR code and placed it in my classroom where the students can scan it. When my students want to post a picture of their assignment, or their science experiment, or a great grade they just got back, they pick up a tablet, open the class dojo app, scan the code, select their name from the class list, and post! My third graders were able to pick up on the process the first day- it's very easy to follow on the app!

When students post on their story, it will go to the teacher for approval. This means when I log into class dojo, I will have notifications that there are "pending student stories". I get to see it before they post and it sends to their parents.

My students are so motivated to share their best work on class dojo and they love seeing when their parents comment on their post with words of encouragement :) It saves a nice timeline of student work throughout the year! Parents also know exactly what we're learning and how their child is doing with the concept- sometimes we might post something with a mistake. I encourage the student to find their mistake and correct it in the "comments" section of their post. We really hit hard on the growth mindset and how important it is to learn from our mistakes and grow our brain- and the parents love to see when their child is able to learn from their mistakes as well!

Examples

Below are some examples of a student's "story". I love how much this kiddos likes to post and fill his mom in on his day :) He also gives me shout outs, so of course I have to share! Even though I've blurred the name, the first picture would show the student's name, to show that they are the ones posting to the story. The second picture shows my name, so I was the one who posted that picture and comment.

If you haven't jumped on the class dojo bandwagon yet, I highly suggest it. Not only is the behavior management aspect of it pretty great, but the student portfolios are where it's at!

For more information on how class dojo works and to set you up, check out their website and watch their video tutorial here: https://www.classdojo.com/#LearnMore

Rock on,

Diana

When Teaching Kicks Your Butt

Hey strangers! It's been almost two months since my last post. That's not like me, but honestly, teaching has been kicking my butt. I've been planning this post in my head but I've finally had enough time to step back and reflect on the beginning of this school year and realize some things. If you have ever felt overwhelmed, defeated, or like you're not keeping up or doing enough- this one's for you.

1. Teaching is hard.

My school is full of super friendly teachers that often have their door propped open and I walk by to see them rocking it and teaching their hearts out. I'm like woah, teacher goals right there! They seem to have it all together and I can't find the copies I made 20 minutes ago. I keep telling myself that additional years of experience will make this all easier but honestly, this job will always be hard. This job will always be demanding but OH SO WORTH IT! Children will always have new and different needs, new ways to engage, new ways to communicate or connect. Each classroom has a different vibe and require new ideas. Also, I did a quick poll and turns out everyone feels the stress that comes with this job. We do it because we have the passion and love of children, and that's why we continue on despite how hard this job can be. So don't worry, if you haven't changed your "I can" statements in a while or came to school with two different shoes on, you're not alone my friend.

2. The feeling that you're not doing enough

Like we've covered- teaching is hard. Each child in your room has their own strengths, areas to improve, interests, and ways of learning best. We try to take all of that into consideration when teaching that child in whole group lessons and small group lessons. We also do this for 25+ students. We then track how they're improving and new areas of weakness to change our instruction as they grow. All of this is happening while also considering the child's well being outside of academics- how are they socially? What other support do they have and need? How is their health? This is a lot to keep up with! Not to mention we keep track of as much data as possible to make those best decisions for the child. What a huge responsibility.. and it's not one that teachers take lightly. The past couple months I have felt overwhelmed in trying to reach each of my 48 students every day and not let one thing slip past. I felt defeated if a student did poorly on a test because I felt I failed them. I needed to take a moment and realize that while I still need to continue and address any needs my child has, I also know that my students are excited to enter my classroom, they are engaged, they are showing growth, and I am doing everything I can to help those children learn.

3. Pressure from admins and parents can sometimes suck the life out of you

Ok maybe "suck the life out of you" is a bit strong, but sometimes you just want to go REALLY? I can't say I've experienced too much pressure from admin but I know that's rare- so I am extremely thankful for a supportive staff! However, many people experience higher ups asking for things such as lesson plans in advance, standards to be posted, data and progress monitoring, and my favorite- attendance to be done on time! All of these things are not unreasonable at all.. I mean yes you should have clear learning targets and students should know what's expected, and yes you need data to make informed decisions on how to differentiate your instruction and yes.. you need to know who's absent but sometimes you just want to say OK throw me a bone here! Give me a quick break! Or just say "You are doing a great job. Do your attendance. Here's a candy bar". I believe we call this the compliment sandwich :) Sometimes just a little understanding that 1. teaching is hard and 2. You sometimes feel you're not doing enough because of #1, will go a long way!

This can apply to pressure from parents too. In today's age it's very easy for parents to get in touch with you. This is great to have better communication, get out quick updates, answer questions or discuss concerns. Parents also love to be involved in their child's education and we love that. However, when you start getting texts on your cell phone (wait.. how did they get my number) at all hours of the night or an email that's written in the heat of the moment you just want to go REALLY? I've found that I really have to take a step back, take a deep breath, and I respond when I'm ready. I worry some parents may seek immediate responses and while their concern is very important to me as well, I still have to take into account my own self care and respect my personal time after 5pm (although we know all too well it's hard to leave the teacher life at school). The important thing to remember is everyone involved wants what's best for the child, and that's a pretty great thing!

4. Does it seem like there's a full moon every week? Is it just me?

As I like to say, some days are just cray cray! I have had to completely rethink my behavior management system. I like to use PBIS or positive behavior incentive system (or something similar). The main focus is on the positive and thus motivating students to make good choices for that positive recognition. This usually works pretty well because often negative behavior is attention seeking- and when it doesn't get that attention they realize that by making good choices they are recognized. I use this in conjunction with Whole Brain Teaching which is not just a behavior management plan, but rather forms of engagement so that students have no down time or boredom to act out. It engages all parts of the brain to make students stick with you. However, teaching has been kicking my butt in part because of some of the behaviors emerging in the classroom. If you feel overwhelmed by behavior it's important to find the source of the misbehavior..Why is it happening? I'm finding that sometimes the expectations I have for their behavior and work ethic isn't what they're accustomed to. Even so, I've had to make sure that I stay consistent with my expectations- if you let anything slide then they know they can test you. While this has been time consuming and draining, the pay off will be worth it in the end. The truth is it's not just that we want a quiet class, we want these tiny humans to know how to function as adults with manners and self control!

So, what I have learned from this serious butt kicking I'm getting this year is that Cupcake Moscato wine is worth the money! Hehe, but really, please know that if you're having a difficult week, month, or year, know that what you're doing is making a huge difference. You may not see it immediately or feel like you are, but I promise that if you have the passion for this job then you are exactly where you need to be, and these children are growing and learning because of you. Find something to help relax when the stress and pressure of testing, parents, or full moons gets to you. I think the most important thing to remember though is that you're not alone in feeling like this sometimes.. teaching is hard and it can consume you. Take a break and vent to friends- you're not alone!

Celebrate the little things!

Rock on,

-Diana

Classroom Reveal 2016

We're about to start the 2016-2017 school year on August 22nd and I can't wait! I've been working in my classroom since late July to get it set up and make some changes from last year. He're a little bit of what I've been up to!

Where can you get this stuff??

A few of these items I picked up on Amazon! I love getting packages at the door and they seem to always have the best prices. Here's a few of the things I've got in my room this year that you can find on amazon as well! (affiliate links to help my decorating addiction)