For those about to write

This year has been tough, but enough about that.

One benefit to our schedule is that my two fourth block classes are smallish.  This means 10-15 students most days.  Today I was enjoying myself so much; it almost felt like summer.  Almost.  We were down to 12 kids today because two of my students were on a band field trip; one was somewhere else.  All eighth graders spent their morning completing three intense timed Explore tests, so I thought I'd go easy on them.

This group loves independent reading time, so I made sure I gave them 20 minutes for that.  During that time I was also to get a child started on the audiobook for Frindle. Sadly the archaic technology of the cassette tape requires 1:1 instruction.  (Other books being read in that room include: the Lunch Lady series, the Vampire Kisses series, the Bone series, the Bluford series, the Wimpy Kid series, the Harry Potter marathon, World War Z, The Dead and the Gone, Cobra Strike, The Running Dream, Twilight, On The Run. The last title is part of, you guessed it, a series! It's Korman's Chasing the Falconers-- a sure sell for reluctant readers who can get bogged down by their reading pace. It's Friday night; I'm sure I'm forgetting someone.) Most children are reading good old-fashioned books.  One is reading on her cell phone.  By the way, if you haven't yet fallen completely in love with helping kids develop an individualized reading life, let the lovely Neil Gaiman  help you with that.

Back when I started this blog I had twice the amount of instructional time with all language arts students.  I've had to cut out some of the activities I enjoy.  On days like these when the children are a little spent or we have several absences, I try to move some of those lessons back in.

Today we created the My Name Is...  poems that I used to do the first week of school.   With only twelve students I was able to keep the art mess to one side of the classroom to make it easier on our custodians.  Students who finished first explained the secret second step of the assignment to their classmates as they were ready to pen their creations.  When they completed their work, we "published" by posting their poems on the magnetic white board with some cheap fridge magnets from Wal-Mart.   After that, I could move students around the room in order to give them other enrichment activities.

Some took Accelerated Reader tests and got new library books before the weekend.  Some played with my deck of I've Never cards.  Students sharpened our classroom supply of pencils.  They cleaned up after themselves and others. They used my school-provided iPad to play Chicktionary. They read their classmates' Six Word Memoirs as well as today's poems.  Two students helped cut apart my circus-sized copy of Chicken Soup with Rice.  (I want to create classroom posters with the pages.)  In short, we all just enjoyed each other.

I know that there is some research that negates class size as a positive variable in student achievement, but maybe it's all about the size of the room.  When I can plug learners in to different spaces with different activities when appropriate, my job is easier, and learning can be individualized.  I miss the days of being able to take my class to the technology lab in our former school building.  There were tables, a whole bank of computers, floor space, traditional desks, AND IT WAS RIGHT ACROSS FROM BATHROOMS AND A WATER FOUNTAIN.  The instructor was so cool about letting me have my class there during his planning period.  Think kindergarten classrooms for teens.

Back to reality...

So after the first student's poem was done, our assistant superintendent dropped by for an unannounced visit.  Stay calm.  It's okay.  It's always fun to see another adult in the room.  With the student's permission, I was able to show him a finished product while explaining what was going on.  He asked a young man what we were doing; the young man was additionally cutting out a snazzy moustache and other oddities while completing his 20 word collection.  I pointed out that wasn't quite what we were doing, but the assistant superintendent did remark that the child was engaged.  True.

Allowing children some time to socialize through appropriate, guided play can foster a love of language.  It helps balance out your classroom climate as well.  The classroom needs to be a place of play and experimentation in order for everyone to stay healthy and energized.  Play can build community.  Please resist allowing kids to plug into their iPods to listen to music while all of this is going on.  Believe me-- they will get all of their daily iPod time in later.  I love music too, but allowing them to detach from the "now" prevents them from connecting with friends through language and listening.  It will also dull their observational skills that you are trying to build for their writing lives.  Please don't let them disengage through isolation.  Besides, it will wreck all your feng shui up one side and down the other.

(It may be a bias that I think personal listening devices are for alone time, cutting the grass, going to sleep and pretending to be busy to avoid talking to strangers on planes.  I like my music loud and shared. \m/ )

Zzzzzzzz

We don't have nap time in 8th grade.   If we did, I would be the first one with my head on the desk, thinking my happy thoughts.  For real.

Will some kids try to nap in your classroom anyway?   Yes.   What should we do?

WAKE THEM UP!!!

Why?   They got on the big, yellow bus.   When it dropped them off at school, it wasn't a surprise.   Why would they expect to sleep at school?

Also, how are we going to explain that to parents?   Let's say the child has an F in our class, and we allow them to sleep.   "Hello, Mrs. Jones, Scooter is not doing well in class.   In fact, he sleeps days at a time during third period."

Most likely the parent will wonder why this is being allowed.

When we allow children to sleep during instructional time we are telling them that their contributions are not valued in the classroom community.   We are telling them that we do not value their education.

Does this make our jobs a little harder?   Yes.   It does.

You will most likely meet teachers who allow children to sleep as one of their last ditch desperate attempts at classroom management.   Here's a scenario.  Let's say there's a child who's not being productive in your room.  You've tried all of your tricks, so before calling home you ask her other teachers for ideas or advice.  Seems the teacher of the class that precedes yours lets him zone out and drool on his desk every day.  The teacher tells you this outright.  This means you're batting clean up.  Teens usually don't physically or emotionally transition from REM sleeper to star (or mediocre) student in the flash of a class change.  As an added bonus, you will probably be met with some surly resentment from the child as well.  Mrs. So-and-So lets me sleep.  Why won't YOU?!

The child.  Don't lose that thought.  The child will test you every day, and she may not like you, but that's not what you're here for.  And, after all, she's the child; you're the adult.

What to do?

In the best case scenario, we are working in schools where having students attend class awake is a core value.  If not, hopefully we established it as a core value for our classrooms on day one.  They should know what to expect from us, if they break that rule.

Stand near the child's desk.
Tap on the desk.
Wake the child up.
Ask if he/she needs to go to the nurse.
Ask if he/she needs to stand at the back of the classroom to complete the day's work, so he/she can move around and keep those eyes open.
What about a trip to the water fountain?
How about a S-T-R-E-T-C-H?

If this happens a second time, we speak with the child in the hallway.   We reiterate our expectations for all children, and remind this child that it's disrespectful for us to care so very little about his/her education.  We can certainly ask the child for her side of the story. (I'm verrrrry clear to the child that I am not the babysitter.  If I were, I would demand better pay, tasty snacks, a comfy couch and cable.)  We then contact guidance, administrators, nurses, case managers and/or parents as needed.

If you need support from your colleagues, check the child's current grades.  Is there a class where the student is excelling?  Ask that teacher for ideas, or check the cumulative folder to see last year's teachers.  Maybe they can help.  Usually they can.  After all, they just spent nine+ months with the child.  They have a lot of anecdotal information to share, and their expertise lets you hit the ground running.

Are kids sometimes sleepy for reasons that demand our compassion?  Yes.  More often it's an electrical issue.  You know what I mean.

Here's what we're up against.  We need to help kids know when and how to "unplug" and rest.  More on that on another day.

Back to the other teacher who is letting her sleep.  There's not much you can do with a grown person making his/ her own choices in this matter, unless that teacher is one you are mentoring.  Be kind and reasonable in explaining why alert students are preferable.  Most folks get on board with that.  At this point, it's your administrators responsibility to decide whether or not to request that the teacher change his/ her classroom management approach.

While this issue can usually be resolved by working with the child, sometimes you will need to ask for help at home.

Sometimes this issue is more complex than it first appears, but try the simple approach first.  Set behavior expectations early and follow through on enforcing them.  

No Foolin'

I think all teachers might be guilty of sizing up their kids during the first week of school, sometimes the first day even.  Let's just say on day one there's a child who is already acting up in the classroom.  I mean, he/she knows about first impressions, right?  What in the world?  Have mercy!  Will this child be the death of us before June can get here?  That's a hyperbole, but you know what I mean.

Here's what I know about those kids.  Sometimes those kids are the ones who manage to carve out the deepest spots in your soft teacher heart.  Don't be fooled into giving up on them.

Are you a kind teacher?  I thought you were.  It won't be enough to be kind to the whole class.  You need to speak to these children individually, call them by name.  Often their tiny little knots of anger will start to loosen.  Sometimes praise can embarrass a child, but sometimes these kids ache to hear a kind word.  Don't be afraid to give a sincere compliment for their accomplishments in or outside of your room.  Even if only yesterday dealing with this particular kid made you actually write the countdown to summer "vacation" in your lesson plan book, don't withhold an earned word of praise or thanks.

We all know that life is hard.  As adults we also have learned that we will never really know just how hard it is for others, including our students.  We're also smart enough to know when to take a child's negative behavior personally and when the behavior has nothing to do with us.  We know how to find windows when children seem to have shut doors on the adults in their lives.  When we speak to even the smallest success with a child, that can be powerful.

And when our students (formerly known as angry) realize that we are on their team, they are usually the first ones to pitch in around the classroom or say a kind word to us in order to make our lives easier.   All because we acknowledged them.

You're my favorite!

8th graders can have the same curiosity about the world as their  kindergarten selves.
It won't take you long to find a good reason to like each one of them.

I confess.   By the end of the year, I've said this a lot...to a whole lot of kids.   And it's true.   

Here's a great article on cnn.com about the subject of teachers who play favorites.   Here's the best part: 

"'I would say, first off, that teachers do their best to treat all kids fairly,' said Dryw Freed, who has taught for 16 years in public schools in North Carolina and Virginia. 'With that said, we are only human and do respond differently to different children.' But it's not as simple as having one favorite. In a class of 27 students, Freed says, the majority of the children would all rotate and have 'moments of being one of (her) favorites.' 'With very few exceptions, each kid has something that endears her to a teacher, so there don't tend to be dramatic, clear-cut favorites,' says Freed. 'It's not a case of a few favorites and a bunch of goats. It's more like a collection of beautiful, funny, endearing little people, a couple of whom happen to stand out slightly at one end of the spectrum or another.'"

That is the perfect way to sum it up.   Here is a short list of personal reasons for liking the children in my classroom:

You're kind.   I've never seen you treat your classmates in any other way, even when you thought I wasn't paying attention.

You clean up after yourself.   When I make time for an art activity, you don't wait for the 10th request to return your supplies and clean your area.   You respect the work of our custodians like I do.

You're calm.   You're in 8th grade; how do you travel in such a bubble of peace?   Once I find out who you are, I feng shui the classroom by placing you near my desk.   The classroom temperature changes.

You're like a dog with a bone.   You don't give up.   Nothing is too challenging for you, even when I know that it just may in fact be a little out of your comfort range.   You're on it.

You love to read.   I don't care if it's a comic book or Dickens.   If you have identified yourself as a lifelong reader already, I love that about you.

You had 10 better excuses than that other kid, but you turned your work in on time.

You were not ready to read when they were teaching everyone else how to read in elementary school, and now you're having to reopen as many of those windows as possible.   But....you're trying.   Love it.

You have Asperger's.   The world is difficult to decode for anyone, but you're finding that you may have some added speed bumps in reading all of the signs when it comes to interpersonal relationships and the life lessons in literature.   Watching your mind work is exciting for me.   Truth be told, your logic and reasoning make a lot of sense to me.   You're amazing and strong.

You wore that to school.   That wacky outfit is awesome.   Your sense of fashion is electrifying.

You come to school regularly.   Do you know how much easier it is to teach a child who is in front of me?   Loads.   Thanks.

You turn in all of your work.   Yes, I assign work for a reason.   I also think I give a reasonable amount of time to complete it.   You agree.

When you don't turn in your work, you don't act surprised when your grade's low.   You understand that I grade with numbers, not good intentions.

You think of yourself as a bad writer and listen intently to instructions on how to improve.   You try the tips out in your own work.   Hey!   What do you know?   You can barely believe what you just created.   You are excited and let me post it on our classroom wall.   You even think of writing as a career choice.   Look at you!

You read every single small book I put in the back of the room, even though you claim to hate reading. Whatever, kid.   I still think you're great.

You're always ready to help me pass papers and supplies to your classmates.

You don't shame me with disrespectful behavior during library visits, fire drills and grade level assemblies.

When you come to class, it's to learn.   Asking for a bathroom pass is rare for you.   Rare.

You unpack your supplies before class.   You are so old school the way you sharpen your pencil before instruction starts.

You never forget to write your name on your work.

You always participate in class discussions.

You never participate in class discussions, but you write the most insightful journals, responses and papers.   It's okay if we keep your ideas to ourselves.

You get out of hand.   I speak to you in the hall.   You cut it out.   I love a kid who can recognize a mistake and make a change.

Your parents cut your hair right before school picture day.   You spend homeroom hiding under a desk, but you still get your picture made.   It's okay.   Retakes are just around the corner.

You're funny.   Your papers are full of personality.   I love a natural born storyteller.

When I play James Brown, you're the only kid brave enough to get up and dance.   You don't care.   You just get up offa that thing.

You're game for whatever I have planned.   Even when I teach you the "Harold and the Purple Crayon" yoga stretch because I think we have spent way too much time sitting and testing, you get up and try it with your awkward 8th grade self.

I tell you that your writing is bad this time, super bad.   You take it in stride and revise and edit.

You laugh when I read silly stories to the class.

I know a little bit of the hand that life dealt you.   It's one foot in front of the other some days.   But every day you do something amazing anyway.   I marvel at your strength.

You do your best on state tests.   Thanks.   

You stand up for what's right.   Compassion.

You rock that band solo.   I can't imagine how many hours of practice got you to this moment.   I admire your dedication.

It's your first year being mainstreamed after being released from special education services.   You are doing your best.   You are excelling!

When you are out and your family asks for make up work, you complete it and turn it in.

You are in my group to watch over for a field trip.   You understand that I am totally OCD when it comes to keeping other people's children safe.   We have a great day, and you always let me know where you'll be.

You come to school with something to write with and write on.

I think you all get the point.   Is each kid my "favorite" at some time or another?   Probably.   There are plenty of reasons that I think that children are fabulous, and all of them aren't related to being academically inclined.   I'm certain that most 8th graders have no inkling of how even the smallest efforts can endear them to the adults in their lives, but I hope that more than a few of them have found themselves appreciated for trying to be the best of who they are.

Just Follow Your Heart

For many of us the day after Labor Day marks the official beginning of our school year.  Maybe it's gonna take a lot of coffee to set your bones in motion.   Maybe it's music that powers you up.  If so, here's a beardless Steve Earle with an old favorite, "The Revolution Starts Now."

What kind of revolution will take place in your classroom this year?  You know that's where the magic happens, right?   Have we all done some time in a workplace where that which occurred beyond our little corners of the world was not so lovely for children, faculty or staff?  Perhaps.  But you can keep your classroom afloat in spite of it all.   You can.

Create a place where your soul is fed as well as the souls of the children in your care. Here's a snippet of Earle's lyrics to set the scene for you:

"Last night I had a dream 
That the world had turned around 
And all our hopes had come to be "

What do you and your students dream about and hope for?  It's worth setting aside time for them to write about their wishes, even if it's just an option for a freewrite journal.  (What's a freewrite? It's anything you want it to be, as long as it's school-appropriate. Still, some kids like a topic to fall back on, if they're experiencing writer's block.)

Good luck this year!  And if you're trying to pick a revolution to start, compassion is always a great cornerstone to any movement.

Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up

Robots or rhumba?   What are you in the mood for?

Play a song to let your students know that it's time to clean the room.

I can't wait to try this and see if I have any 8th graders who are brave enough to dance in the classroom.

That's so gay.

If you've heard this before, you might be an 8th grade teacher.

If you teach middle school, and this is not a topic that you've had to address, good for you.   I've had to address it every year.   I talk about it in conjunction with my behavior expectations on day one.

Here's the short version of what I say to 8th graders.   In our classroom, we are here to learn.   It is my top priority that you feel safe and welcome here.   You do not have to believe all of the same things that I believe, and I can't control your behavior when I am not with you.   But we will not use labels for groups of people as insults.   Think about how many people are in this classroom and how many family members and friends we are connected to.   What are the odds that no one in here has a gay relative, friend, or is gay themselves?   Exactly.   I respect your personal opinions on the subject, but we are not going to do or say anything in here that is going to detract from anyone else's learning, safety or comfort.   You, no matter who you are, belong here.   We are here to learn.

Obviously, you would adjust the language and content to the age level that you are teaching, but that's what I feel is appropriate for my students.   Here's the tricky part.   Some kids don't get it.   What they take away from the discussion is that my teacher thinks it's bad to be gay, so that's why I shouldn't say it.   They have a hard time understanding that the insult is given to the named group, not to whatever they think is "so gay" at the moment.   If it takes them longer to catch on, be patient.   It's also appropriate to ask, "What's a better word for what you are really trying to say?"

Someone will slip up in the first month of school and say it.   This is not because they are trying to defy you.   It's because they've said it for so long that it's become a habit.   Address the issue, revisit your expectations and move on.   If it happens again, it's time for a talk in the hall, so you can make sure that the child understands you and that you understand why the behavior is continuing.   This will probably happen with one child per year, maybe.   I've never had to put pen to paper and create a discipline referral for students using language related to denigrating someone else's sexuality for incidents that happen with my students in my classroom.   

When you draw the line with 8th graders in a way that is rooted in fairness and compassion, they usually respond positively.   Remember how insecure you were in 8th grade?   What if you knew that your teacher was there to protect your heart whenever possible.   What could you have accomplished with your writing, your art, your friendships?   And what's better than being the kind of teacher who nurtures a sense of community and compassion at such an important stage in a child's development?   When you stand up for kindness on behalf of children, there is nothing to debate.

Here's more on the topic.   

Mediocre Housekeeping

Shed a little light.

I'm not saying that I can't sew.   I am saying that I don't have the required patience and natural affinity for straight lines.  

Here's the related dilemma.   I love the sun.  If it were up to me, I'd teach in a glass box.   When I'm reading or writing, the world sometimes goes missing for a bit.   This is not the case for all of my students.

I started off the year teaching with the blinds open all the way, but I found that I needed some cafe curtains to help keep the easily distracted students on task.   I still raise the blinds, but here you can see my no-sew solution for obscuring the view.

For each modular classroom window you will need a tension rod, approximately 3 dish/tea towels, a fistfull of metal shower curtain rings and another of bulldog clips.   T.J. Maxx and Tuesday Morning are great resources for inexpensive linens, but I ordered mine from Amazon.  

If you would like to raise and lower the window for some fresh air without breaking your fingers, you may also want to invest in some inexpensive gardening gloves.   But if it's my cool MLK Jr. poster you're after, it's for sale on Amazon too.

Come closer.

Putting Kids in the Corner

Well, sometimes it needs to be done.   I'm not talking about a screaming match and banishment.   I'm talking about reducing distractions in order to focus.  

Here's the thinking spot in my old classroom.   Note that it's surrounded by many people who have mastered the art of writing.   (Oh, and there's James Dean as a tribute to teenhood.)   Kris Kristofferson is a Rhodes Scholar, y'all.   This is a power desk.   Behind it is a big, wooden podium that provided some additional privacy.   There's not a "think about what you did" poster in front of the child.   It's Joe Perry being calm and cool while Steven Tyler breaks out into some kind of wacky musical scat-- I'm guessing here.

I would sometimes ask a child to try out this location after several attempts to redirect his/her focus on the task at hand, but there was also the option of a child choosing to sit there if he/she wanted a cozy place to create.   At first, there was some hesitance about the corner, but for some students, it was the most coveted place in the room--and they knew they didn't have to act up to use it.

This isn't a sleeping corner or a quarantine corner.   This is a tool for you and the child.   I have one in my new classroom, but I haven't gotten the corner vibe just right yet.   When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter finally aligns with Mars, I'll let you know.

Sometimes when I write, I vant to be alone.   It's nice to be able to provide teen writers that option as well.

My desk was at the back corner, directly behind this row of students.   I also had a magnetic mirror that I could place on the white board, so I could check up on the lone writer and wave hello at welcome intervals.

Turning it In

If you will be a brand new teacher this year, don't forget to read Harry K. Wong's The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher.   Often it's the thought of their first days that make new teachers the most nervous.   The first week of school also sets the tone for the year.   Sure, you'll make some mistakes.   Just make a mental note about what didn't work, so you'll remember next year.   Relax a little.   And...congratulations on getting hired!

Anyhow, read the book for all of the great, practical advice.   My favorite time saver is designating a place for students to turn in completed work.   My students use plastic in-boxes labeled by class period.   Depending on the number of classes I teach, I also have a matching out-box.   (I taught 6 classes this year, so I did not have a plastic tower of 12 trays.   It's back to block this year, so I will be able to use 6 total.)

These boxes live on a table close to the computer I use for entering grades.   There is also space on a nearby wooden chair for their spiral journals, should I ask for the entire notebooks to be turned in.   These locations are at the back of the room, along with the electric pencil sharpener, trashcan and other student supplies.  

Why the back of the room?   Every year you will have a few students who love a parade.   Well, they love their parade.   Any trip to get out of their seat is prolonged and includes side conversations, slothlike movements to complete the intended task...which frequently involves searching for that "missing" pencil for five minutes that they are currently sharpening for three minutes while blocking traffic and instruction.   The back of the room cuts down on some of this behavior.   Also, students should use the trash can at the beginning or end of class...unless they are ill and need an emergency receptacle pronto.

You can't change who they are, so please use these students when appropriate to pass papers back to their rightful owners, assist you with handing out photocopies, books, etc.   In short, give them teacher-approved time to let everyone stare at them for a portion of class.  

If you want students to collect the papers by rows before turning them in, have the children pass their papers to the person behind them until all papers arrive at the back of the room.   Passing papers forwards is much more chaotic and just asks for someone to be cracked in the back of the head.   This is another sensible process I learned from Mr. Wong.

Why is having a predictable place for completed student work so important?   Well, when you are able to steal a few minutes to grade papers while your students are working independently, you really don't want to be interrupted again and again with a student asking where to turn something in and/or adding it to your current stack of papers.   There's never enough time for grading, and you will just have to cobble minutes together here and there.  

Timely feedback, especially when it comes to student writing, is important.  Don't collect more papers than you can grade in a few days.   Combine a couple of small assignments for one grade in the grade book.   Touch the papers as few times as possible.   Think of other ways to simplify the task of grading while still being fair to students.

And, yes, there will be at least one student in every class who will still ask you from September to June, "Where do I turn this in?"   One's better than 20!

Thanks to Christopher Newport University's Student Virginia Education Association President Rebecca Capel and her fellow chapter members for purchasing organizational classroom supplies, so I can hit the ground running.