End of the Year - Gliders

Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations is having a linky party called:

Well, since the end of the year just happened, I can remember some of the things that happened :)
{Other things just happened in a blur!}

One of the things we did on the last day was make paper airplanes - whoops, no, no - we made
Paper Gliders!

{Here is the most boring picture in the world of a paper glider! You can say thank you later.}

I have an origami book that I use for instructions. They are very similar to THIS.

I do not use plain white and obviously boring {see picture above} paper. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought one of their huge sets of scrapbooking paper - $20, $10 with a coupon. And I use that. It's much prettier and nonboring!

So we made the paper airplanes - no, no, Gliders! and then I let the kids fly them in the room. First I had all the girls, then the boys, then my kids all have numbers - so all the odds, then the evens. Then 1 - 11 and then 12 -21. It was a blast! They really enjoyed getting to fly airplanes - no, no Gliders! in the room and it was a great 30 minute project.  

I'm looking forward to finding some great ideas and filing them away for next year. If you are interested in more end of the year activities, check out the linky party at Seusstastic Classroom. 

Have a great day! Mine will be spent indoors while the great outdoors hits 100! 
Sara

Take away Tuesday

Flip-Floppin' Through 3rd grade is having a linky party called Take Away Tuesday. The idea is to share something that readers can take away and use. 

Here's an idea I tried last year and I liked how it went. I got the idea from a book called The First 6 Weeks of School. 

This book is full of good ideas and specific examples of how to build community in your classroom and establish procedures. {They have a website called Responsive Classroom that has lots of articles and ideas for free - click HERE to go there.} 

In previous years, I had noticed that while I had quickly learned all the students' names, they just didn't seem to know each other.  Crazy to me! Particularly because more than half of my class had gone to this school in first grade – Together!
 
So last year, at the beginning of the year, we started our day with a morning meeting. Maybe you already do this. {Have you ever been to Wal-Mart or Target when they do this? So you know it's got to be a good idea, right?}

We'd start in our circle and we did several things. But the biggie was I would ask a question. So I'd model how I wanted the kids to answer, and then we'd go around the circle and everybody would answer. 
 
I'm so mean, I made them stand up, say their name and then answer the question. And if somebody didn't answer - well, we're coming back to you. {And my heart's pounding a little, cuz I know I can't make anybody do anything, but really, come on!} The book gives some ideas of questions - favorite color, what you like to do at recess, that sort of thing. We did some of those, but then I asked my kids for some ideas. We were studying oceans to start the year, so one suggestion was favorite ocean animal. And then somebody got really smart and we asked favorite ocean mammal.
 
To me, the great thing about this was suddenly we all started knowing each others' names. And as a bonus - we figured out that somebody else had the same favorite color as us; or also like to play tag at recess; or like the same ocean animal as us. So I really felt it was a great team building exercise.
 
Unfortunately, we couldn't keep up our morning meetings because our whole mornings were pretty structured {set by the higher ups}, but I would like to see if I can't continue those at least once a week. I wanted to do that last year, but it didn't happen. This year I'm going to try again!

For more ideas, stop by Flip-Floppin’ Through 3rdGrade! 

As for me, we are definitely into summer – 100 degree or better temps all week. Yesterday and today, 108! It’s a little early for this much warmth, in my humble opinion!

Stay Cool!

Cleaning Up Funnies

I've mentioned in a previous post {or 2} that I'm working on our back room in the basement. This room has become somewhat of a dumping ground for: 
* school stuff I have no idea what to do with
* books, his and mine, because why not have a library in your own home
* craft stuff - yarn, sewing things, stamps, paper, etc.
* photo albums that we have no where else to put
* and just about anything else that doesn't seem to "go" any where, but we're not quite ready to give up

So I was going through a pile of papers. They were all things that kids had made me. Some I kept because they made me go "awww."A bunch I tossed, because... well, that's why I'm working on this room - to get rid of some stuff - and those just didn't make the sentimental "awww" cut. 

And then there were these. I was going to toss them after I read them to my family. But as I was reading them, I started cracking up - so I might have to keep them, just for the laugh factor. 

First:

It says: to: Mrs. Sanders I'm sorry about not bringing my yellow folder. please accusee me. I will look for it on the weekend. 
OK, so I used to have these yellow folders for the students to take things back and forth from school and home. She's obviously lost {ok, we can say misplaced} hers. But the part I chuckled about was please accusee me. Whatever you want, honey. 

This cute picture has Mr. Sanders labeled and Blondie labeled. And then some other people and a caterpillar. I guess I'm just an extra in this child's mind! {I just hope I'm not the caterpillar!}

As soon as I started reading this, my nineteen year old said, "Oh, no." I'm not familiar with this song, and maybe this student shouldn't be either - however she IS making connections!! The letter says, "I heard a song that went
'Sush girl shut you're lips. Do the Helen Keller and talk with you're lips.'
{We might have just learned about contractions, so we HAVE to use them.} And then my student adds, It has Helen Keller like in our story and that video we watched. 
Yes, thank you for noticing!

This letter is the one I just couldn't get through. It says:
Full of Beauty. I love Beauty. And just like the book Sleeping Beauty. Mrs. Sanders is Sleeping Beauty, the beauty of Queens. (look on the back) Mrs. Sanders is Mrs. Queen of the world. She gets to boss everybody around. But in a nice ways! :) Good Luck. 

Is the good luck because I'll need as I try to boss everybody around? For some reason, my family was really cracking up on this one. I just don't understand! 

Oh, there's your chuckle for the day! I hope you're smiling - I am. 
Have a great weekend! Sara

Teaching with Intention, Chapter 8

I've been doing my own little book study of Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller.
 

Whoo Hoo! This is the last "real" chapter. I thought there was one more chapter, but it's just really a page of wrap-up. So this will be it for me. 

Chapter 8 is called The Thoughtful Use of Time. Doesn't that just crack you up? If not, maybe this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon will. {I'm just cruising for the copyright cops to come!}


Debbie Miller acknowledges the tension we teachers are dealing with. But she says, "when getting done takes precedence over doing, when finishing becomes more important than figuring out, we've lost sight of why we became teachers in the first place..." And then she adds, "Learning by doing takes time." Can I get an Amen!

The first part of this chapter talks about time - and then she moves on to conferring with students. She admits that when she is conferring with one student, she could have been touching base with 3 or 4 or 5 or even 6 students. But, she says, "touching base isn't teaching." She tells us when conferring with students, we "support children as they apply what we've taught them in large and small group settings."  

Debbie Miller asks us to try this - to confer with one or two children a day for two weeks. {Doable, isn't it?} And ask this simple question, "How's your reading going today?" If they say good, ask them to tell you more.  

This is something I can see myself doing! I like this idea! What about you - are you a teacher nerd like me? Are you already, maybe just in the back of your mind, thinking about what you want to try next year? 

I almost feel like having a pajama day today, but we're getting family pictures taken tonight, and I'm not sure that's the way I want to be remembered :) Maybe I'll just have a pajama morning. 

Thanks for sharing Debbie Miller and Teaching with Intention with me! 
Sara

Teaching with Intention, Chapter 7

Moving close to the end of my own little book study on Teaching with Intention!



Chapter 7 is Assessment, Reflections, and Next Steps.















Oh, I LOVE Calvin and Hobbes {and I'm probably breaking some copyright laws, but whatever!}

When I think of assessments, I usually think of a test that shows "did they get it?" But Debbie Miller seems to be more interested in on-going, formative assessments. She talks about conferring, observing, listening in, looking at student work, and more. She says "When we ask students to make their thinking visible during the process of learning something new, these authentic responses are the kinds of formative assessments that guide our instruction." 

Did you get the last part - guide our instruction. To me, what Miller is saying is that even though I have lesson plans for the week, I need to see where my kids are as we progress, so that I can see where I need to go next. 

Miller calls this Next Steps. She doesn't talk much about Next Steps, but she does say that we need to be reflective and ask ourselves questions about our lessons, and then think about what's next.

Not as much to take in as the last chapter, but more thinking for sure. 

Yesterday was not the best day - my daughter ended up not feeling well all afternoon and evening. Hoping that today is better. And we have rain - that's a big Hallelujah in this dry area. Hope you have something that brings a smile to your face. Sara

Teaching with Intention, Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of Teaching with Intention - what a doozy!



Do you ever read something and just go - gulp?
That's what I'm doing here.
Chapter 6 is titled Lesson Design: Creating Lessons Based on Principles and Practices You  Believe In.

Debbie Miller says, "Back then I was used to marching through teacher's guides and textbooks from beginning to end, start to finish. Children and I flitted from one topic to another - it was like we studied everything and nothing. But this new way of thinking about teaching and learning was dramatically different."
There's a gulp.

I'm guilty of that. {But in my defense, my district sets the curriculum, particularly in reading, and we are expected to follow it.}

So if I'm guilty of that, how can I stay true to my district's curriculum/guidelines, and still do some of the things that Debbie talks about? She answers that by saying, "When we're thoughtful in our planning, we lend purpose, focus, and direction to our teaching."

I feel like this is my next step - that I need to become more thoughtful in my planning. How can I tie things together? How can I help my students make connections? How can I help them see themselves as learners, readers, mathematicians? How can I show them that what we learned last week matters this week and next week and so on? How can I help them do these things themselves?

Ack - almost too much to think about. I need to store this away until later, when I start planning next year. I already have a couple ideas brewing in my mind. 

Now I'm busy thinking about my summer day. Some work around the house stuff - I'm working on our back room which has basically become a dumping grounding for all our extra stuff - and then a relaxing afternoon. Hope you enjoy your day!
Sara
 

Teaching With Intention, Chapter 5

I know in my last blog post - my Summer Bucket List - I said I didn't want to do any school related stuff until July 15. But I feel like this is an incomplete, and I want to finish it up. 

I started my own little study of

And I had gotten through chapter 4. I've got 5 chapters left, and I'm going to try to do one a day this week, just to finish this up. {And get that incomplete off my record!}

Chapter 5 is called Swimming with Sharks: Teaching for Understanding and Engagement. In this chapter, Debbie Miller takes an actual lesson, actually a unit, on sharks, and tells her readers things she does to encourage understanding. Miller says, "The point is to know who you are and what you're about when you're teaching based on your beliefs, your students, and the environment you are creating." When doing a unit of study, Miller suggests making a large file folder and labeling sections of it Our Schema, New Learning and Misconceptions. 
Sort of like this from Deanna Jump:



I did something similar to this with a couple units I did at the end of the year on Dinosaurs and Insects. 

Wait, wait, wait - yes! {fist pump} I remembered to take pictures:

One thing I didn't do, that Debbie Miller suggests and I want to incorporate next time, is see if you "can make connections between new learning and what we already know."

Another idea Debbie Miller suggests is that when you hear your little voice in your head say Wow!, you need to "slow down, listen carefully, and think about what you just read." I try to do this with my kids, but sometimes I hear the tick, tock of the clock, and I don't take time to help them see important things we've read. 

Last Saturday, Tammy from Forever in First wrote about what she values. I like what she wrote, and it encourages me to continue thinking about this. Take a look for her ideas.

Otherwise, I'm enjoying my summer break. Last week was vacation time in the Colorado Rockies - I'll have to do a show and tell soon. 

Sara