Gifts from Students

Earlier this week I was FINALLY putting up my Christmas tree (yep, 15 days before Christmas - WHOOPS!), and I came across two ornaments that I received as gifts from some students a few years ago.  These two students were part of a very memorable class - one that we referred to as family.  

I co-taught that year with my friend Sarah.  She is so fabulous at building a community within a classroom, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it!  We often talked to the students about how, for the rest of our lives, we are like a family.  They can call on either of us at any time, and we will be here for them.  Forever.  

There were two girls that were particularly blown away by this concept, and they have both reached out to me over the years.  Family.  For life.  (And if you're wondering if I'm crying right now, I am.  It's fine.  I'm totally fine......)

I always remember them at Christmas time when I decorate our tree.  Those ornaments.  Best gifts ever.  (Yep, still crying....)

What's been a memorable gift from your students?

Pam




Thanks to Jennifer Hier Designs and Educlips for the great clipart!!

 

Super Teacher!

It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's Super Teacher!!

You guys, our classrooms are so quickly overflowing with students - less money in the schools = less teachers = more kids in a class!  It's a lot to keep up with!  Grading papers, parent communication, meeting the needs of all of our kids - do you ever stop moving?  Do you even get to go to the bathroom during the day?!?  

We all want all of our kids to learn the most they can without wasting student learning time, but that is so challenging to do when students have such a wide range of skills, and you are only one person!  


I've had the pleasure of working in a variety of settings in my position as a special education teacher.  Co-teaching, station work, pull-out, small groups, one-on-one.  There are so many ways to do it!  But in a class of 30+ kids, it's so hard to not feel pulled in a million directions. 

My most successful times co-teaching, where I felt like the kids were all working at their individual levels and I wasn't drowning in the students' immediate needs was doing differentiated stations.  The general education teacher and I both knew the overarching skills that were to be taught, and students worked on those skills at the highest level that they could.  

For example, in math.  The 5th grade classroom might be working on multiplying larger numbers.  Some kids are ready to practice that skill using word problems, and some kids are still learning the concept of multiplication all together.  But you know, no big deal.  I'm just one teacher.  And apparently I'm a super hero, so I can totally pull that off.  

What would I do??

After giving a mini-lesson to the whole class, I would provide practice materials for the students.  Around the room, I would place a variety of multiplication materials for practicing the skill.  Some materials will be used to practice the basics of what it means to multiply.  Some materials will provide practice for reading word problems that involve multiplying large numbers.  Then there will be a variety of materials for levels in between.  Now, the key to all of it is that none of the work REQUIRES an adult to sit at the table.  The work should have answer keys available, self-correction built in, or use a digital resource (computer, tablet, smart board, etc.) that will guide the students.  The work should have typed out, clear directions for students, so again, you do not HAVE to sit there.

Then your job is to just walk around and monitor.  Use a checklist of kids names and skills, write the date when you see a kid has successfully and independently completed a skill.  Encourage struggling kids to practice a skill more at their level.  Encourage kids who are flying through the work to try something more challenging.  

Here's a sample type of chart that
I would use to track student progress.

Kids want to complete work that they can do on their own successfully.  Kids want to feel that confidence in their abilities.  Kids will build that inner confidence and will learn to listen to their inner guide.

Now, how do you find the time to set all of this up?  Again, you are just ONE TINY PERSON in ONE TINY CLASSROOM!  

In an ideal world, you have shelf space available to leave each work in it's own individual tray or tub, with all the materials perfectly prepared and ready for students to grab.  In the real world, that shelf space doesn't exist in your classroom.  


This does take some preparation ahead of time.  I recommend that you have each individual work separated into tubs or trays (whatever organization tool you love). 

I just LOVE the stack and carry trays!  They fit regular copy paper, they are shallow
enough for kids to work directly out of, and they stack easily in a cabinet out of the way.  

Have the work you want to use put away in a cabinet, ready to quickly grab.  After you've given the mini lesson, give students a quick check to see what they know.  This could be an exit ticket type of card, a problem on the overhead that students work on a white board, or any other way that students are asked to complete a quiet, independent task.  While the students are working, place one material at each work area or on each shelf for students to grab.  By the time students are done with their quick check work, the classroom has been transformed into stations.    

Differentiated stations are also a great time for parent volunteers!!  Parents can come to help kids with questions they have about the stations, help keep kids on track, set up and tear down the station work, etc. As a parent, I LOVE to help my son's teachers in any way that I can!  I know how hard they work, and I want to be there!  This is a great opportunity!

What are your favorite ways to run stations?


Pam

Check out these great shops for the graphics used in this post!

Special thanks to The Traveling Classroom
for the great graphics!

Special thanks to From the Pond for
 fun fonts and graphics!

The Fab Five

People often ask me if I plan to go back to teaching in the classroom again when my kids are in school.  I go back and forth about it, and my answer has changed back and forth over the past 2 1/2 years.  




On the one hand, showering is optional right now.  My kids don't even notice when I look like absolute garbage.  They still do their work just the same.  I can wear yoga pants every day, and no one cares.  Or if they do, they don't say anything.  If we have a sick kid and I'm up all night, no big deal.  I can totally take a nap when they do in the afternoon.  




But then I think about my students.  Just this week, some of my 5th grade students, who are now in high school, were featured in a local news article about a work study program.  These kids, who we called the Fabulous 5 (because they are FABULOUS kids) are now WORKING!!  And I helped get them there!  That's such an incredible feeling.  I literally cried while reading it.  I'm just so proud.  

Teaching is a hard gig, if you ask me.  There's a lot to juggle.  And doing it with grace and joy can be difficult sometimes.  And meeting the needs of all of the students can seem like an impossible task.  But wow.  The rewards are really unbeatable.  Helping to shape who a person becomes and their career path is such a huge responsibility.  It's a responsibility that I need in my life.  

What keeps you in the game?  What keeps you coming back and trying again every day, even when it's hard?

DECEMBER!!!

Well, you made it.  You made it to December. Are you pulling your hair out yet??  

Coming back from Thanksgiving break is sooooooo hard!  You JUST get a taste of time with your family, time to catch up, time to ...  clean your house??  Aaaaannnndd...  then back to school.  Where the children haven't been outside for days because it's freezing, so they are all super energetic.  And they are all excited about the next break that's in just a few weeks, so their attention span is nonexistent.  But no big deal, right?  

Anyway, I'm just thinking of all of my teacher friends and my son's teacher!  Happy last month of the semester!

Until next time!
Pam