It's Only September...

The month is almost up and the honeymoon is definitely over. Our students' true colours are shining through, and ours are too. And an all-too-familiar feeling is starting to settle into the pits of educator stomachs. If left unchecked, this feeling can cause some serious problems. This feeling's name...is panic. Well, it's actually that nagging feeling you get before panic. Pre-panic.

 

You might be thinking the following:

"Where are all those papers with that important information I need that I got with all those other papers at the beginning of the year?"

"We still haven't mastered the routines in our classroom!" 

"I have assessments that have to be finished in 1/2/3 weeks!"

"The other class is so much farther ahead than I am!"  

"I should really be organizing that."

"Are my pants seriously on backwards right now...?"

Well that last one might be a bit far-fetched, but you get the idea. 

When I touch base with other teachers, one of their (and mine) concerns is how long it seems to take for students to follow classroom procedures. It's difficult to ignore because we need those procedures in place to help us as we teach for the rest of the year. It's so easy to become frustrated, especially when you think you sound like a broken record and, saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over....

Here's what I try to ask and remind myself of when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed in September:

1.  They're kids. All of them. From 5 to 18.  And they just came back from a two month vacation, and if I'm tired, they probably are too. 

2.  Am I just expecting too much?  There's a lot for students to adjust to this time of year. It's important for me to remind myself that I'm not the only one with a full plate. 

4. Did I explain procedures well, or did I assume they're mind readers?   Sometimes, I think they're mind readers. But they aren't. Two words. Exlpicit. Teaching.

5. Get a grip. It's only September. 

And really, that's what it comes down to for me. I can be really hard on myself because the pieces of the puzzle have not all perfectly fallen into place.  But that's not fair to me or my students. I am trying to be consistent, fair, kind, and patient because it will all work out in the end. And after all, it's only September. 

Body Breaks

I can't say enough good things about body breaks and brain breaks.  I love them.  I think that they are a gift to teachers and to the sanity of teachers. 

I recently had a conversation with a new teacher who asked me a great question, and then made a very honest comment.
"What is the difference between a body break and a brain break?" and "I just don't know if I can fit it in my lesson with so much content to cover."

In reference to the question, I can offer my own interpretation of body and brain breaks.  To me, a body break is a set amount of time for students to get up and move around.  This doesn't always mean to get them in front of a SMART board for a 5 minute dance-a-long.  Sometimes it does, but most of the time, at least for me, it doesn't. 

I usually try to follow this general rule when using body breaks: "Short time, high intensity".  I want to get as much out of about 2 minutes as I can.  I want to get their blood pumping, and their heart beating faster.  One way to do this is by doing what I refer to as Physical Copycat.  I do various cardio movements, which students are expected to mirror...in silence (for the most part).  I jog in one place, do knee lifts, squats, hopping, and move my arms up, down and in circles.  Granted, this also gets MY heart pumping, but it's fine.  Usually I need a little pick me up too.

Another break is a table walk.  I have my students split up into small groups around one of the tables in our room and let them walk around it for 30 seconds.  Sometimes I say "switch" to tell them to move in the opposite direction.  I used to give students a set number of laps to do, but they always ended up doing the last lap more than once, so I switched to timing.  Frankly it helps keep me less annoyed.  This is also easily done around desks in pods.  I just split my students into their pod groups and send them on a walk. 

A brain break, on the other hand, is like allowing students to have a "thinking time-out".  They essentially get a break from whatever it is they are learning about, but you may not ask them to get up and move. 

I taught my students the hand jive recently.  That was funny. We started off really slow, and then "jived" progressively faster until we were going as fast as we could.  I was really trying to impress students with my super fast hand jiving skills, going as fast as I could go when one of my students stopped me and said, "You better slow down.  Your face is getting red."  !!  I love kids.

Another favorite is Copycat Clap.  Basically I clap different rhythms and students are expected to copy it in unison.  I don't give them any warning when I start, that way it doubles as a brain break and a strategy for getting students attention.

There are times when students need a significant break.  (And by significant I mean 5 minutes max.)  Sometimes, the go-to's just don't work anymore.  It's during these moments when I turn to on-line body break options.  I have three favorites.

The first is Go Noodle.  This site allows teachers to set up their class for free and choose a character.  Every time a body break option is completed, points are scored for their character.  There are a lot of options from dancing, to coordination to calming activities.  If you set it up on your favorites, it's easy to get to, and basically ready to go with minimal instructional time wasted.

My other two favorites can be accessed on You Tube.  The Learning Station and Just Dance are definitely student favorites.  The Learning Station has some really fun repeat-after-me songs (Go Bananas and Boom Chicka Boom) that are easy for students to learn and follow, and Just Dance gets them moving to their favorite tunes. 

An honorable mention here would be simple breathing activities.  Breathe in through the nose for a 3 count, hold that breath for a 3 count, and, controlling the breath, breathe out from the mouth for a 5 count.  This is a great way to calm a rowdy crowd. 

Now, moving on to the topic of time, and where we might fit in these breaks. 

I can definitely empathize with this teacher.  There is a lot for us to do in a week, a day, a period, but this is what I know.  If I give my students break, it helps them perform better.  For example, think of the last ten or 15 minutes of class before lunch.  Things can start to get a little hairy sometimes.  Maybe your time is the end of the day, or after a recess.  I've found I can either run around like a chicken with my head cut off, spouting all manner of stern but ineffective teacher talk at my student in the hopes that they will (PLEASE!) do something, or I can pause, use some of that time to choose and use an appropriate break activity (or activity combo), and then get back to work.  I will admit that it's not fool proof, and sometimes I have to try a couple to get them back to a productive place, but generally I see improvement.

As for when to use body breaks, I say it kind of depends.  Sometimes I schedule them into my lesson-after I've taught a new concept or read a book to the class.  Sometimes I want to teach a lesson and allow my students to stay focused for as long as they can.  Once I feel the energy in the room heightening, I use a body break.  There are some times when I just forget too.  This usually happens because I feel like I have lots to do that class.  What ends up happening is I find myself constantly asking students to focus on me, stop talking, stop playing, stop twiddling...  I'm getting better at recognizing these behaviors in myself, and that becomes a good indicator for when to use a body or brain break.

I would also like to say as an aside that if I am noticing a consistent lack of engagement and focus in my students, the first thing I do is look at my lesson.  Is it something that is engaging for students?  Have I explained the processes well?  Is there a purposeful reason for doing it?

Hope that helps to get you moving!
Happy dancing/clapping/squatting/copycatting/breathing/jogging-in-one-place...ing!

A Book A Day

This year I have committed to reading at least one full picture book to my grade 3 class a day. I have made a board for our classroom dedicated specifically to this idea, which we already lovingly refer to as our book-a-day-board.  On it, I post a 4x6 print out of the cover of the book we read together.  By the end of the year, we will have close to 200 book covers represented on the wall!

Although I want to help students cultivate a love for reading, we aren't simply reading these books just for fun. This is also a way for me to teach content, and model using strategies. 

I want to place reading at the forefront of our day as a way to underscore its importance. I usually begin by reinforcing the idea that reading everyday is important, and when we choose good fit books (re: The Daily 5), reading is so fun!

I also want to build a sense of community within our classroom.  Reading our book-a-day book happens in the whole group space in our classroom (I eagerly await the giant rug that's in order!). 

In this space, students are asked to sit closely together as they listen.  Then, when the book is finished, they have to discuss it in one way or another. So far students have practiced a turn and talk (students stay seated), and stand and talk (students can move around this way). 

Because it is so early in the year, we've been focusing on basic strategies for reading.  Using picture books, I have been able to model how I expect students to use these reading strategies daily.  There is already a class favorite on our board.  Toads on Toast by Linda Bailey is a book I used to model a comprehension strategy (Check for Understanding).

I recently read a great blog post by a middle school teacher who uses picture books in her classes to teach all kinds of concepts. I highly recommend checking it out. And don't forget to peruse through the links. She also offers up lists of book suggestions. 

A link to the blog post can be found below. 

Happy reading!

http://pernillesripp.com/2015/09/02/but-how-do-you-really-teach-with-picture-books/

Transitioning and Getting Student's Attention.

When I think of strategies meant to get student's attention, I think back to my first year of teaching and remember how I didn't have any. 

...

Well, none that were very effective. I look back and give myself a slap on the forehead when I think about it now. I tried the "Pause and Wait", I tried the "Give Me Five", I tried the "Ignore and Keep Teaching" (FYI-don't try that one).  Oy-What was I thinking!  

Thankfully, I now have some strategies that I'm proud to say have worked successfully!  (Applause is appreciated.) One of the favorites for my students last year was "Copy Cat". When I needed to give further instruction, or have students transition, I clapped a rhythm that they were required to copy in unison.

When teaching this strategy, I gave students ample opportunities to practice. First, I explained the procedure, showed how it worked, then we practiced. It was explained to me by a mentor that, no matter what strategy I used, it was necessary to explain to students that they were responsible for finding me wherever I was in the class and keeping their eyes on me for instruction. That was so important, and was one of the best pieces of advice. This strategy quickly became our "go to". We even used it for body breaks. During this time, students volunteered to lead the group in a Copy Cat Body Break. 

I also used a count down strategy. I would say, "Ok class I need your attention in 3-2-1."  This one also worked extremely well. Again, eye contact was expected and hands off whatever they were doing at the time was expected. 

I make sure I have two or three good strategies to use because even with these, students get bored. I mix them up, use one for several days, then a different one. But the constant is that students must follow the expectations that follow: eye contact, and hands off. 

I am particularly excited to use a sound strategy this year with the help of a device called The No Yell Bell. 

It has volume control, and seven settings for different sounds including an alarm and applause-which could be really fun during a Q & A session, or class game. 

It's so simple, even I could use it!  I plan on using this for transitions between tasks as well. There is a chimes setting on it as well which will be the perfect sound to ease students out of any activity they are doing as they practice strategies for learning. 

If you would like to hear the No Yell Bell, chimes in action you can find me on Twitter @iteachandlearn2. 

Please let me know your go-to attention grabbers by commenting or tweeting.