You Can Catch More Flies with Honey! Lesson Learned!

We sat in the gymtorium watching the presentation about the Negro Baseball League, and he wouldn’t stop.  He sat a few feet away from me and he wouldn’t stop talking, wouldn’t stop leaning on other people, and he wouldn’t stop putting his hands on others.  His teacher was absent, and the substitute, well, I guess he felt as long as he was there…

The student teacher pointed him out to me, and my mind raced to a time when I had tried to discipline this little boy in the hallway. He said something to me that almost made me forget who and where I was.  So, instead of disciplining him, I told her, “I’m not saying anything to him. He  said something to me a couple of months ago when I tried to correct him in the hallway.” I  turned away, determined to ignore his behavior, but I couldn’t.

I tried glaring at him, putting my hands over my lips, pointing, even gave him “the look.”  Nothing worked. All I got for my trouble was hands raised, and “What? What?” Or he would turn to his friend and say, “What is she looking at me for?”  Or, he would glare back. During the course of the presentation, he raised his hand and asked me if he could go to the restroom.  I knew this was my chance.

I motioned him toward me, and he came, reluctantly. I guess he was preparing himself for the scolding he was going to receive. But I surprised him, instead of scolding him,  I said in a light tone, “Now you want something from me. I wanted you to sit quietly during the presentation.” He smiled and nodded. I said, “When you lean on people and touch them, it makes them uncomfortable, understand?” He smiled and nodded. Then he was off to the bathroom. When he returned, he sat down, and started talking. But this time, when I put my finger over my lips, he smiled, and stopped talking.

Now when I pass him in the hallway, he says hello. Nothing major, but a huge deal for this kid.

And I know no matter how much honey you put on that spoon, there are the kids who will curse you out, disrespect you, and not change one iota.  But, sometimes, the honey works, sometimes you catch more flies.:)

A Classroom’s Simple Pleasures! Smiling/Laughing Allowed!

After reading Angela Maier’s 12 Things Kids Want from Their Teachers, I thought about the things in my classroom that really make my kids happy. I mean, besides the normal stuff, like getting an education, becoming global learners, using technology, etc… I mean the simple things that help you remember that they are just kids after all.

1. When I Laugh: I don’t mean a smile, a grin, or even a chuckle. I mean laugh until I cry. Now this doesn’t happen too often, so when it does, it really cracks them up!

2. A High-Five or Bumping Elbow at the End of the Day: Each child gets one. Every day. Even the students who are upset with me (or me with them) for whatever reason, cannot leave without giving me my high-five or elbow. For some reason, they get a real tickle out of the bumping elbow version.

3.  They Sit in “My” Chair:  There’s a chair at my kidney table in the back of the room,that I sit in when I conduct small groups. They love that chair.  Sometimes I choose a student to lead small group, someone sits in that chair.  Or when they collaborate, someone sits in that chair. Or they feel like working alone, someone sits  in that chair. Sitting in that chair provides great pleasure.

4.  They Get Chosen: Chosen to come up to the board,to be the Line Leader, share their stories, turn off the projector(I still don’t have a remote and it is on the ceiling) turn off the lights to watch a video. They don’t care, as long as they are given a chance to participate in some way, shape, or form.

5. When I Lose(Or When They Beat Me):  I played a game of Decimal Math Basketball the other day at the Smartboard. One of my boys represented the class versus me. I didn’t read one of the choices carefully(teachable moment) AND I was missing my shots! They were making theirs though. (Darn those video games!LOL) I think they really enjoyed my enthusiasm when I did manage to get one shot in! I demonstrated good sportsmanship, and double  high-fived my opponent at the end of the game, amidst the cheering  in response to his skills at beating the teacher.

6.  Eating Lunch in the Classroom:  Always makes them feel special. When they can bring a friend from any 5th grade class, it makes it even better.:) Especially, if they get to shoot hoops in the classroom when they are finished eating.

7. When I Dance: I can dance. Of course, it is the “over the age of 30″ moves. One foot steps, the other comes out, you know what I’m talking about. But, I do have rhythm, so that couldn’t possibly be what is making them laugh. Could it?:) I end my day with music. Instead of calling groups, I choose music from my Ipad and play it. The music comes on and they get ready for home. The last two weeks I used Shakira’s “Waka, Waka”, you can’t help but dance to it. They pack up their stuff, singing and swaying to the music, even the “cool” ones. Next week, I’m using Michael Jackson’s “ABC”.   In the event that our day didn’t go so well, a little music does wonders for the soul.

A classroom should be the place they come to learn, but shouldn’t it also be a  place where they get to enjoy the simple pleasures school offers?

Resources for Teaching Dr. MLK and Beyond!

Here are great resources you can use all year long! 

Black Media Archives podcast - You can find speeches from Dr.King. Great primary source! via @rolandsmartin

Tips, Tools, and Technology for Educators – MLK Resources

WGBH American Experience- Freedom Riders film (via FreeTech4Teachers)

Youtube Playlist of MLK videos via @jamestsanders

MLK Human Rights Lesson: Top 12 Quote Game via TeachHub

All About Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. and MLK Day - Internet4Classrooms

Black History Resources - Internet4Classrooms

Prominent African-Americans

 Best Websites to Teach and Learn about African-American History/Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day

Learn It In 5- MLK Digital Archives

Smithsonian Education- Black History Teaching Resources

EducationWorld- Black History

Please add any sites you use, or are aware of, to the comments section!

Lil Wayne’s “How to Love” video- Teaching Life Choices, Their Way!

My 17-year-old and I were bonding watching music videos, and he was explaining who’s who and what’s what, and Lil Wayne’s video came on.

WOW! I almost cried after watching this video. My next thought was, “I hope our kids are seeing this. I hope our kids understand the message here. I hope our girls are seeing this.” This video broke my heart.
I know what you’re thinking, “A Lil Wayne video, is she crazy?”
But you have to watch until the end. Lil Wayne expertly presents the scenario of how life is for the main character as opposed to what life could have been for her, based on the choices she made.

No matter what you think of Lil Wayne, our children are listening to him!
Turn it into a lesson. Study the lyrics. Let students complete a biography about Lil Wayne and the choices he has made. But let them take this song/video apart and learn a lesson from one of their peers, someone they actually listen to.

I teach 5th grade, I wouldn’t show this video, even though I’m sure some of my students have seen it already. And this is not a video made just for “inner city/urban kids”, this is a video for ALL of our kids, because the choices they are making, oh my gosh, the choices they are making… If you think parts of it are too rough for your kids, use Tubechop to chop up the video.

If you are a middle or high school teacher, a parent, uncle, aunt, mentor, and you know someone who can benefit from seeing this video, watch it , and talk about it.That’s what I did with my 17-year-old, and we had an interesting discussion.

Sometimes those who we deem unsuitable, are the ones who can get through to our kids! My son put it simply, “Rappers influence people.” Why not let them be a good influence for a change?

Work as Play! Kids Just Want to Have Fun!

My team teacher and I were standing in the hallway this morning when she walked over and whispered, “If I were a kid with all this testing, testing, testing, I wouldn’t want to come to school either.” Gasp! No, actually, I know exactly what she means, school has become the most boring place  in the universe for these poor kids.

A large percentage of our students are bored with school.   Standardized testing is a huge culprit, along with its accomplice, data.  When this is the focus of your classroom, hmmm… how can I say this politely? Your classroom is a huge yawn! And you can’t fully blame the teachers, by any means, their jobs are on the line, if they don’t tow the line. What are we to do?!

I just finished teaching a unit on Addition and Subtraction with large numbers, and I did not want to provide the students with a handout with 25-30 problems on it. Instead, I said to them, “I am giving you $5,000, and you can buy whatever you want!”

First reaction, “Are you really giving us $5,000?” Um, no.

“I am going to let you shop on the Internet with $5,000. Use the exact amount, or as much of it as you can.”

We grabbed our pencils and notebooks and headed to the computer lab.  They were so excited, they didn’t even realize I was  actually checking out how much they had learned during the unit.  We got to the computer lab and I let them loose! They collaborated w/o being told and it was amazing to watch and listen to them use their knowledge.   The great part is (besides being tons of fun), was that it applied to many other standards that connect to real life.

“What sites can we go on?” (Appropriate sites)

“Should I buy the one with the sale?” (Making financial decisions)

“Mrs.M, I went over!” (Sticking to a budget)

AND, all the adding and subtracting you could ever need! I also let them use calculators to check their work.  Of course, you don’t need a computer, newspaper advertisements would work just as well. The other 5th grade teachers loved my idea, (it’s not original), and they are going to use it tomorrow. Fun is infectious!:)

All this is to say, school should be a place students want to come .  No,  school doesn’t have to be  fun all the time, but can’t it be fun sometimes?

“Are Our Gifted Children Being Left Behind?”

Have you ever heard the saying, “He/She treats me like a stepchild?”  Of course, when it is used, it is not  meant to be a compliment.  It meant that the stepchild was ignored, while all the biological children were fawned over by the parents.

I started thinking about this after I read an article in the Holiday 2011 Instructor magazine entitled,  ”Challenge Your Top Students”. Soon after reading the article I had a conversation with my sis-in-law who runs a home daycare.  She complained that the students she taught before they went to kindergarten were not being challenged.  They were given the same work as the other students, who are not close to their level of instruction.

This is how I see the gifted child, like the stepchild in that saying.  I realize gifted is seen as just another label by some, but I think it is a label with merit.  You can call them what you want, but you know who I mean.  That child(or children) who stand out from all the rest academically. The ones who exhibit higher order level thinking every day, in almost, or all, subjects. They shine brighter than the other stars in your room.

I fear that our gifted children are being eclipsed. Thanks to standardized testing, and/or the incessant demands placed on us,these students are often ignored.  Worst of all, they are not being challenged, their talents are dulled. They are no longer given the opportunity to stretch, because they have received high scores on standardized tests.

We have 3 levels of reading, Red, Blue, Green. We are told to meet in small groups with Red, who also get pulled for interventions, and the Blue group, who just need a nudge to meet on state testing, every day. The Green group, once or twice a week. Which group do you think represents the gifted students?

I have found a way around this, and I make sure that I challenge all of my students.  There are schools that offer gifted programs to meet the needs of these students.  However, I am sure, there are a number of  classrooms where gifted students needs are completely ignored.

At a meeting I attended, a third grade teacher stated that she was not teaching cursive because it was not on the state test! I wonder what happens to those students who had no problem passing the state test?  Are they getting the same content as all the other students?  Are they being forced to sit through the  inane testing material that we are supposed to drill into our students?  What happens to that bright child who is subjected to that type of classroom environment?

In an era where so many children are dropping out of high school, we need to make sure that we don’t lose the ones least likely to drop out. Put yourself in that child’s position, where day after day, you are given  worksheet after worksheet.  Or your main assignment is to help the students that don’t get it.  How boring!

Fortunately, I have access to  technology that allows  me the ability to create lessons and/or projects that give my gifted kids a chance to be who they are, smarter than average. And as difficult as it is to differentiate instruction, along with all the other requirements we have to fulfill, we owe it to our gifted students to provide lessons and/or projects that engage and challenge!

Let Students Own, Not Rent! Making it “Our Classroom”

The other day, I don’t remember why, we moved our desks. Instead of 6 groups of four, we ended up in two groups of 12. At some point during the day, my students asked me to leave the tables in two groups of 12. I took their request lightly, and began to dismiss it. But they pleaded, because they really enjoyed the new  layout of the room.  They began to support their request with strong reasons, and I relented. The desks stayed where they were, and have been like that for the last couple of days.

It’s their room too. I came to that realization that it  can’t always be my way, I had to let them own their classroom. When I speak to my students, I make sure that  I say “our classroom”, but I believe my words speak louder than my actions. I am certainly not a dictator, but I know now that I could loosen the reins a little more.

We have to allow our students the chance to make decisions.  As difficult as it may be in this time of standardized testing. We have to allow them the chance to be part of the decision-making process. As the school year progresses, I am going to make a conscious effort to truly make it “our classroom.”Letting them decide the layout of the room was a big step for me, but I am loving it. They were  right, there is more space.:)

Yawn, Yawn, Go Away! Little Johnny Wants to be Engaged!

I sat with my small group today and listened to my students, and smiled. They had  finished sharing their writing prompt about an imagined device that would make their lives easier. I listened to stories about a teleporter , a robot, and a pen, that can do the unimaginable.  After they shared their stories, and asked each other questions, they began an animated conversation about how they could market their inventions through a partnership. I sat and listened to their imaginations go wild!

We have to engage our students,  understanding that there is a difference between engaging students and entertaining them. I am not an entertainer, I do not sing and dance.(Well, not all the time anyway) My job is to teach, but to teach in a way where my students can wrap their minds around a subject in a way they are used to. My students are bored easily, they spend a lot of time in front of  a television playing video games. Therefore,  every day I make it my mission to  find a way to engage them.

Teaching volume? I used the video  Volume Song to supplement the curriculum. Boy, does that song stick in your head! Learning about Leonardo’s Horse? I located a video that mirrored the selection in the anthology, “The Story of Leonardo’s Horse“.  I added an image of Mona Lisa to Collaborize Classroom, and asked my students to post why she is smiling. And to my delight, I found a video on WatchKnowLearn, “How Mona Lisa Got Her Smile“. We are studying Ecosystems, and I have two wonderful opportunities to make it real for them.  We are participating in a contest offered by the Philadelphia Zoo, and I have registered my class to join the Polar Bear webcast being offered on the Edmodo site.  And, of course, in order to provide access to my students, I post all of these wonderful items on Edmodo, so they can be accessed at home.

Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that all I do is put my feet up while my students watch videos.:)  Not at all, each video incorporates learning, this has to take place. For example, after watching  the video,  ”How Mona Lisa…”, the students and I discussed  story elements and sequence. It’s not all fun and games.  At the time I was writing this post, I was also engaged by my PLN in a  #5thchat. We discussed using drama in the classroom. Another exciting way to engage your class as they learn.  Imagine how many more students would stay in school if they weren’t bored out of their mind?

I do not like being bored, (I think back on all the PD workshops I have attended), and I try to spare my students that fate. And again, I’m not suggesting that every minute of your day be comparable to a video game.  But we have to do something to make our kids interested in coming, and staying, in school!

“Write On!” Why I Love Kidblog!

A friend of mine was observed the other day.  Her students were creating mini-books about the selection they read in the anthology. Little stapled books, a square for the picture, and lines for the journal entry they were creating, based on the story they read. However, the principal left a note on her observation sheet,”When do you incorporate writing in your classroom?” Did I miss something?

I have a “writing block”, and sometimes my kids write during the block, and sometimes they don’t. But, my students write all day. A “writing block” is not required to teach writing, writing is required. I am one of those teachers who do not teach grammar separately, my son’s high school teacher is, to each his own. But, I am sure he and I would agree, our students have to write!

There are so many ways to incorporate writing into the curriculum, but my favorite tool is blogging. I use Kidblog because it is simple to set up, kid and teacher friendly, and safe. My students love the ability to have an audience on Kidblog. What better way to motivate students to write well, then to know other people, all over the world, will read what you have posted? (Quadblogging , Comments4Kids, and my TwitterPLN provide an excellent audience)

Of course, this doesn’t happen automatically.  But as time goes on, and they receive more comments, they begin to take ownership of what they post on their page. I sent the link to their parents, hopefully some will write comments. I have a student who edits over the weekend, the weekend! She edited 5 of her posts this weekend. (“Go outside and play!”)

Every day, during at least one subject, my students write. They write in their notebooks first, this gives me a chance to have a conference, if necessary. It gives them a chance to edit and proofread. They might write to explain how to solve a Math problem, tell a story using their Word Sort words, research a topic, give their opinion on an article from Tweentribune, there are numerous opportunities.

But what I love the most, is the question, “Can I post this on my blog?”  My blog. They can post wherever they have Internet access. Our Room82011-2012 Kidblog , is my writer’s motivator! Every student in my class has at least one post so far, but the school year has just begun. I’m looking forward to finding the author in all of them.

Write on,  kids, write on!

Collaborize Classroom! Creating Critical Thinkers!

We always strive for our students to be critical thinkers, we want them to think outside the box.  As a matter of fact, we want them to think beyond our classroom doors! We promote collaborative teaching among teachers, and we welcome it in our classrooms among our students.   As you know, I am a  fan of Edmodo, but I’ve recently learned about a new platform called Collaborize Classroom.  A FREE online learning platform, yes, I used the “F” word.

I signed up for it, set up my classroom, and wondered what I was going to do with it.  Then I saw an  online demo, and  I was hooked! I am really excited about implementing this when I return to school.  What I love about it is that it gives you the ability to do what it says, collaborate. Encourage collaboration with the students in your room, another class,  classes in another state, or around the world. You can embed any type of media on the site. You can assign work, projects,etc… and the students work together to produce results. Collaborize has also announced the addition of a Topic Library. They will have lessons already created by teachers, which makes our job a lot easier.

The coolest part for me was the discussion forum. You post questions, your students can vote and/or comment, they can even watch videos related to the topic, without leaving the site! You will get reports of the work each student is doing. Collaborize takes the results and creates a graph which is then shared with your students! And don’t worry about help, they have a wonderful support team who is willing to provide FREE professional development to teachers.

I won’t learn the full extent of what I can do with Collaborize Classroom until I return to work, but I’m looking forward to using it in my classroom!! ! Watch the video to get an understanding of exactly how it works!