2016: For the End of the Year

I'm going to be realistic here and assume that the last thing many teachers want to do over their much needed break is read this blog. So I've decided that at the end of every school year, I will honor the fact that summer is for spending time with family, heading out to the lake (or your destination of choice!), BBQ's, movies on rainy days and early morning coffee in the back yard.  I've also decided to go on a blogging break myself because I think it's important to take some time and think about the year gone by.

I'll be the first to admit that when I come across an idea that excites me, I don't think twice about giving it a try.  This is both good and bad.  Good in the sense that I like to give new ways of learning a whirl, but bad in the sense that I can have a tendency to jump quickly from one thing to another, without really giving that exciting idea a fair chance (a fair chance being time to establish, try and then reflect on it's success).  So instead of looking for new ways of doing things for my next school year, I'm going to take the time over the summer to think about what I did this year, and go from there.

As this is the final blog post of the year, I thought that, in light of the fact that there are only TWO SCHOOL DAYS LEFT, I'd dedicate this post to the following idea...
"Oh my gosh there are only two school days left and I haven't organized any fun activities for my students to do yet!!"  No?  Just me?  Oh Well.

This is pretty embarrassing, and I really hope that I'm not the only one trying to think of activities to do with my students on Sunday that they will take part in Monday and Tuesday.  Always, the catch for me is to organize activities that don't require a lot of hauling loads of materials back and forth from home to school-there's enough craziness going on.  Simple.  Fun.  Easy to organize.  That's what I look for in an end-of-year activity.

If you are in the same "last minute" boat as me, I'll share my list of "Last Days of School Activities", and hope that you can use some of these as well.

Last Day of School Activities

Student Housekeeping Duties
     -this includes everything from packing up books, to recycling papers, to helping to organize the
     classroom library, to re-organizing the apps on our iPads.
Tech Time
     -my students love their iPads, and I have never given them "free time" with technology as a
     reward, so it would be quite the novelty for them.
Reflective Booklets
     -I came across a really great booklet that requires students to think about the past year, and
     record their memories.  There are loads of ideas for these on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers.
Year End Stars
Kahoot activity 
Giant collaborative Sketchnote activity
Indoor/Outdoor Scavenger Hunts
     -again, see Pinterest
Time outside to play games (soccer, time on the playground, drawing with chalk etc)
Build Your Own Ice Cream Sundae and watch a Movie
     -I admit this is probably the one that takes the most preparing, but THE KIDS LOVE IT!  The
     only thing you have to remember is to have as many different toppings as you can get, and be the
     person who says "yes".   For example, "Yes you can have chocolate chips, bananas, sprinkles,
     strawberry sauce, teddy grahams and vanilla wafers!  Are you sure you don't want any
     marshmallow fluff with that?"
     Just a couple notes: Be aware of allergies and do this either at the end of the day OR before
     giving your students lots of time to run around outside.

I hope you enjoy the final days of your year, and take full advantage of the summer ahead.  Best of luck to you all next year!

When Kids Tell Adults How It Is

I love kids. They call a spade a spade.  And (I like to think) they don't mean it to come across as nasty, or as a poke or a way to cut us down, but what they say can make us do a double take...so long as we treat what they tell us the same way we would consider constructive criticism from an adult.
If you ever get a chance to watch TED talks, you will find a whole host of kids who call a spade a spade on all sorts of topics from poverty, to education to technology.  This TED Talk I'm going to share with you is done by Adora Svitak, who in 8 minutes, is going to tell you about what adults can learn from kids.  And frankly, she puts us in out place.  I found her talk inspiring, truthful, and a bit jarring.  Now I wonder how can I inject more childish behaviour in my classroom.  Enjoy!

Flexible Seating

Ok, I know that it's the end of the year and the last thing on the mind of most people is how to set up their room for next year. But I have a complex.  So here it goes.
I love flexible seating. We have all sorts of places for students to sit our class.  This includes chairs and tables, which are frequently used, but dependent on the task.  Having said that, there is a rocking recliner in the room that has had a young person sitting in it everyday, a million times a day. Again, it depends on the task.
It's important to note that restrictions don't (usually) come from me.  The students have been trained in the art of choosing Good Fit Spots as outlined in the Daily 5 books, and they know what works for them, just like I know when or if they are abusing their chosen spot, in which case I intervene.  But I have been trying really hard not to tell students where to sit as much as help them identify what's not working and find a spot that does.  Oh, and these conversations go on all year. I think it's because their kids.  And they need to hear things a billion and one times, no matter their age.  Let's face it, if my mother were sitting in my house right now, she'd be telling me to pick up the clothes off my bedroom floor just like she did a billion and one times when I lived at home.  I guess in a way she is telling me, because I can hear her in my head...ugh. I'll be right back.
Ok.  Clothes off the floor.  Clearly, I digress.
I guess the point I was making was this: kids love flexible seating, and they almost always make the right choice.  But should they not, I am there to remind them of the expectations.  And when they start to veer off track I can't say, "Oh, my class can't handle that freedom.  They just abuse any privilege they get."  In that moment, I take a breath, remember that I didn't start flexible seating as a reward but a support for learning, try to figure out what I did wrong, and GO BACK TO BASICS.  (Um, Hamster Wheel anyone???)
So, to inspire you for a seating change next year, I found a great post on flexible seating.  (Thank you Pinterest!)  The post references a Kindergarten room, but the ideas are very easily transferable (or tweak-able) for any grade.  Enjoy this link to flexible seating, and I hope you give it a go!

Taking Risks: What About Me?

Often when I think about taking risks, I'm referring to my students. I think about what that means for them. There is a fair amount of anxiety that comes with taking risks, including the negative feelings they get when they take a risk and fail.

Let's face it. Nobody likes to fail. It doesn't feel good. As an adult I'd like to think that I've developed enough coping skills that, should I decide to take a risk, I could deal with it. But the reality is I'm not entirely sure how many more risks I actually take than my students.  And in the past, if I had tried somethig different, I certainly didn't tell them about it. I just tried a new "whatever-it-was", and pretended like it went off without a hitch-ESPECIALLY if it didn't.  Then I would scrape over the lesson and try to figure out where to make improvements and then maybe, if I didn't feel like a complete failure, would give it another go...in secret...again. 

Obviously there's a lot wrong with this situation, but the worst part of the whole thing is that I had created a double standard. I wanted to present perfection on all of the things that I did in the classroom, but wanted my students to push through (and even rejoice in) the creative process all out in the open. I wanted them to try something, fail, analyze their failure, talk about it, and try again. I know...(insert rolling-eyes emoticon here.). 

All that said I feel like I'm on a new path-a path to trying, failing and sharing.  This year I decided to tell my students about every time I attended a PD. When I returned to class I told them about what I learned, what I was excited about trying with them and why. In one case, I decided to try a "math talk" right away. 

I explained to students what it was, how it worked and how it was supposed to help them, and after outlining the expectations, we went for it. The students were really responsive to the process, and when we were all done, we talked about how we all did. We found that:

-it was fun to talk about how we used math processes

-it was hard to slow our brains down to talk about how we thought about numbers

-we exceeded the 15 minute time limit

-we needed to work on letting people share their ideas without interrupting

-we needed to be brave and share

-we needed to understand that the wrong answer taught us as much or more than the right one. 

After we made the list, I told the students that I had to confess I was very nervous and scared to try a number talk with them. I didn't know how it would go. I didn't prepare much and so was worried it would all fall apart. I was scared they wouldn't enjoy doing it. I was scared they'd be too scared to share.  Then one of my students said how silly it was to worry about all that stuff-I was just trying something. 

In that moment I realized they might have a double standard too, or at least we have an understanding that failure is ok as long as it's not us doing the failing. 

Our class ended up having a huge conversation about times we tried something, and failed (a lot of bike riding examples here!).  But for the most part, it seemed like my students got it-failing teaches us a lot, and if we fail, at least we know what not to do. 

We developed a language in our class around failing. A mistake was our brain growing, and that mistake could help everyone. I'm developing a very legitimate poker face, tone in my voice and neutral attitude because even the most subtle body language can crush the  drive to try in a student. 

I'm also having to act like I just don't know. There's a lot of "What do you mean?", "I don't understand.", "Can you show me?", "What do you think?", and "Well, have you tried yet?" coming out of my mouth.  This. Is. Very. Hard. For. Me.  I just want them to "get it"-whatever "it" is and I want them to feel good about themselves and have confidence and feel like they are smart but all that greatness is just undermined if I TELL THEM A WAY TO GET THE ANSWERS THEY WANT. 

I'm not doing that great.  I've got a long way to go. My students don't get to explore, play and fail as much as they need to, and I realize that the more opportunities I give them to do those things, the more I'm taking risks too. I can't control everything in an environment like that. I don't necessarily drive the learning or lessons that are taught. I have to be VERY flexible in planning and preparation, and it might even be a lot of "flying by the seat of my pants". And still, I see value. 

There have been lots of road blocks, student anxiety being in the top.  We often don't think 8 year olds are afraid of much or even worry about failure, but they've already got a pile of experience in understanding how school works and how to survive:  Get the right answer (of which there is usually only one) and present it-it's easy. Except that it isn't easy to get and present the right answer if they're doing the work to find it.

Now I'm left with this:

How do I move forward?  Where do I start?  How do I start?  When do I start?  How do I cover everything?  What will my assessment look like?  What if I don't cover everything?  Is that even an option in my learning?  How much am I actually allowed to fail professionally?  Is there any slack?  How much?  How do I get over this and jump in? 

Man, oh man. This is scary.  

On the ConnectED Conference

I am freshly back from Niagara Falls.  (I know-and in the middle of the school year no less!)  I had a very spontaneous opportunity to go there for what I thought was your basic conference about using technology in the classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I was very excited to go, especially because I received a division grant that allowed me to turn my classroom into a 1-to-1 environment with iPads. However, to say I was out of my depth is an understatement.  I have an understanding of what I want to do with technology in the classroom, but the overall affect I know it could have for student learning seems overwhelming.  I just don't know enough, and don't know enough about how to get there!  So I really looked at going to this conference as an opportunity to learn.

When the invitation was sent out and the ball started rolling, I have to admit that I didn't know what I was in for.  I knew there was going to be talk about technology in the classroom.  I knew that the conference was in Ontario.  I knew I was going with a handful of others.  What I didn't know is how dynamic this conference was going to be.  This morning as I was reviewing the notes I took over the last several days, it hit me how valuable going to the ConnectED conference was, and I discovered that my take-away was very different from what I thought it was going to be.

Truth be told, I think I came back with more questions than answers, but I don't look at that like it's a bad thing.  At least now I feel like I have direction.  This might not seem like such a big deal, but it's the one thing I really needed.  I had an understanding of what I wanted to achieve in my classroom in general, but now I feel focused.  I learned about tools, coding, tech toys, maker spaces and maker thinking, redefining the classroom with Google Apps for Education, implementing Genius Hour and digitizing lesson planning and gamification...in 3 days.  My brain was exploding.  I was excited and overwhelmed, and the day before the last day of the conference I was scared that I wasn't going to be able to figure out a way to put it all together.  And then it was Friday.

Thankfully, a light bulb went off in my head within moments of attending the first session of the last day.  The session was called The Connected Classroom.  It was delivered by teacher Peter Cameron, and he spoke about technology in a way that surprised me.  I don't know what I was expecting when I attended his session, but it wasn't what I got.

The session was about using technology to make human connections.  Of course there have been many conversations about how technology is preventing people from making valuable connections with each other.  Texting and "saying" something on Facebook is easier (especially if it's something negative) than it is to speak to someone face to face.  As Cameron's session went along he shared how he began the year with compliment booklets students make for each other to set the tone for the year, he showed how he connected students with experts and "adventerures" around the world using technology, and he made sure that he worked volunteer time into his class, all in an attempt to cultivate community and make human connections.  It was also apparent that the students interest was the driving force behind so much of what was done in class.  The whole time I was thinking, "That's how I want to teach."  I highly recommend checking out his website here to get a better idea of all the wonderful experiences his students are engaged in.

From there, everything just sort of snowballed and culminated in a session that focused on the importance of having a growth mindset, and how that affects a classroom.  Having this type of mindset forces us to look at the process rather than the product.  These presenters shared how they posted student work on bulletin boards highlighting the mistakes the students made with a positive message like "My brain grew!" on sticky notes.  The teachers that spoke at this time also acknowledged how adopting a growth mindset was an uncomfortable one at first because teaching in this way completely changed how they looked at curriculum, planned units, assessed students and collaborated with each other and the community (local and global).  They also went on to say how their students are better, more critical learners because of it.  This session was headed by principal Gianna Helling.  She documents her school's journey here.

When it was all said and done, I realized that a major change in the classroom comes with letting go and giving students autonomy.  And lots of it.  The great part is that I don't have to become an expert in all the areas that students find interesting.  There is a global community of experts, educators and professors, university students, athletes, explorers, "adventurers", authors (and any one else you can think of!) that are literally only an e-mail or Skype session or Tweet away.

In this post I've really only begun to scratch the surface with all of the information that I received over the past week.  Below are some of the comments that were made in the sessions I attended by the presenters I saw.  These statements from presenters made me reflect on what I was doing in the classroom, and challenge me to view teaching, planning, assessing and collaborating in a different way:

1. What should we do and why?  When we figure out the "why", it gives our "what" purpose.  (I strongly suggest watching this video to better understand what the "why" can do!)

2. Let's fail spectacularly.  Failure is a great teacher.

3. If you're not reflecting on a daily basis, you're not learning.  (Applicable, I think, to both my students and myself.)

4. It's important to allow yourself and your students time to PLAY with technology.

5. Create a school-wide model to teach students how to organize their digital work.

6. Teach students how to use technology and then create a school environment that supports using it.

7.  It's not about finding the perfect answer because there may be many.  It's about bringing the thinking to light.

8. Students need to see teachers using technology for learning, and moving through the the learning process with them.  We don't have to be the experts all the time.

9. Inquiry is where inspiration and perspiration intersect to create genius.

10.  Share.  Share everything.

11.  Remember that learning is messy.

12. When we post the product, we are saying we focus on the perfected end result of learning.  Creating a bulletin board to post evidence of the process says we are focused on how we got to the product.

13.  I spend the first two months of school allowing students to engage in tasks that I know they will fail in.  Then we learn how to deal with failure.  We talk about the process of learning.  We talk about how to think when we fail, what we should do, who we can talk to and we train our brains to look positively at failure.

The Hamster Wheel

You spend quite a bit of time at the beginning of the year preparing yourself and your students for the routines that you will expect to be practiced and mastered. Let's face it, it takes a LOT of mental and physical energy to get students used to procedures that need to be followed for a class to run smoothly. But, it's the beginning of the year, and they're fresh, you're fresh, and after a few weeks, you start to see that well-oiled machine working. You look around your class with a sense of pride and think, this is going to be a great year.  Then Christmas break happens. 

Goodness knows you and your students are well deserving of some time apart, and of some R&R, and even though you're leaving the school with a smile on your face in the back of your head is the first day you'll be back. Inevitably, that first day back arrives and you realize that even though your students "know better", you may have to spend a week or two getting them back on track. The silver lining is that you're not totally exhausted, so reviewing and re-practicing these ever important procedures isn't the worst thing you've ever done.  As expected, the students seem to pick up where they left off, and you're all off and running....until the Spring Break. 

This break happens after a lengthy (and in Saskatchewan, generally frigid) January.  Now, I try to be patient after this break and be fair about re-establishing routines, but it's soooo HARD!! I quickly begin to feel like this IS the worst thing I've ever done. I know it's necessary-the routines have to be in place, but I just don't always want to!  We've got stuff to do people!!

Definitely after the Easter Break, I'm really digging deep. I find I talk to myself more; "Why do I have to keep going over this?! It's not like they don't know the expectations!".  And it's at this time of the year when I wish that I could flip that elusive magical switch for students that controls "following procedures" and keep. It. On.  (I hear the Beach Boys in my head right now.  "Wouldn't it be nice...").

So I'm already trying to mentally prepare myself. I might come back to a class that just gets down to business like we never left. But they're 9, so the chances of that are highly unlikely. The good news is that I have a wonderful class, and they don't disappoint me, so I shouldn't feel too sorry for myself, and I guess when I think about it, I'm reinforcing the expectations all the time in one way or another anyway. So I suppose I'll just pull up my socks (like I tell my students to do), and re-establish those routines. Because it really IS easier with them than it is without them. 

Red Flagging Ourselves

I was talking with a colleague today recently after school and we got onto the topic of "red flags". Usually, as teachers, we look for red flags in our students. We think about what the grade-level expectations are and we diligently follow our students' progress.  

But what about finding our own "red flags"?  How do we know when we have become complacent?  How do we know if we are using best practice?  How do we know if our management strategies are efficient?  

I think our best compass is our internal compass. 

I know when I've wandered off the path, so to speak, I can feel it in my gut. And when I think closely about the times when my compass is off is because I know that what I'm doing is not in sync with what I believe teaching should be. 

For example, In the past I've had a slotted time in my day for independent reading for my students. But it wasn't long before I started to get this feeling in the pit of my stomach that this reading time was missing something.  I was giving them 15 minutes of extra time to read for fun, which is good, but I couldn't drop the feeling that I was not taking advantage of this instructional opportunity.  I could just feel it. 

Even though structures are in place to help, our best guide is ourselves. We just have to pay attention.