New Year, New Class, New Spaces

A teacher looks at a year in two ways. First, there is "The Standard Year".  This is the way everyone looks at a year. It begins in January and ends in December.  There is also "The School Year".  This year begins, (for teachers, anyway) in August and ends in June.  So, if we are following this rule of thumb, a new School Year has technically already started. 

There is a lot of preparation, as teachers know, to get ready for the new year. For me, a large chunk of time is spent on preparing our class space. This year, the time put into organizing the classroom was well worth it, and I hope that the grade 3 students who come into this space feel relaxed, welcome and inspired. 

For me, classroom set up is the key to all things.  It has everything to do with how I teach, the strategies I use and the skills and at activities that I intend students to focus on. When I put the teaching strategies I learned together with Daily 5 routines and procedures, I knew I was finally on the path to teaching in a way that benefits students, and matches my philosophy of education. 

Having a variety of spaces is a great way to help foster independence in students. They learn what works for them and, with guidance, learn strategies that will help keep them focused to optimize their learning. In our classroom, I have set up spaces that reference the Daily 5 procedures, and allow for student choice. Below is an example of one of these spaces.  This is the "Math Space". In it is the Math Daily 3 board, which acts like a Daily 5 board and a CAFE board in one.  Next to it is an information board. Students will find posters that reference strategies, number representations and other important Math information. 

You'll also notice there are some small plastic bins in this center.  These bins are for math manipulatives and math notebooks.  These bins aren't full because I only put materials out that students are using at the time. I've learned that putting out more than is needed at the time becomes visual noise.

There are also spaces for students to sit. A low coffee table provides seating for students that would like to work sitting on the floor or seated on small pillows...

and the taller end table is exactly the right size for students to pull up a chair and get to work. 

I call this area the "math space" loosely. This is not just a space where students will work on math. Clearly there aren't enough spaces for more than 20 students. Instead, they will practice any strategy in any subject here. It is, however, the space for students to access the majority of supplies they will use in Math. 

Just as students are required to find Good Fit Books, finding a Good Fit Space to work and stay focused is equally as important. This space is just one way to help students do that. 

 

Math Games

That time of year is quickly approaching-back to school!  I'm excited-I always look forward to it, and eagerly anticipate meeting my new students, creating memories, and mutual learning.  

One of the things I'm always on the lookout for are fun math games. I recently came across a blog post on a blog called Corkboard Connections that made five very good suggestions which would be very easily incorporated into a class. Games are a great way for students to practice strategies without having to do a boat load of textbook questions.  Happy "gaming"!  

http://corkboardconnections.blogspot.ca/2015/01/5-math-games-every-classroom-needs-to.html?m=1

Summer and Learning

I'm a firm believer that everyone needs the summer vacation. Students, parents, teachers, support staff, and specialists. We all need to reboot. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I spent a fair amount of time wondering about how much my students retained, and who spent time reading, playing math games, or even drawing pictures. Basically anything that means not watching TV or playing video games. 

I'm not anti-TV. There are some YouTube videos and TV shows that my 2 year old son really enjoys. And Despicable Me. Oh my goodness, Despicable Me.  I do, however, try to put a cap on "screen time", and when I do, I watch the most amazing things happen. He learns!

On walks he sees pine cones, learns names of birds (though most of them are robins), learns the difference between the road and sidewalk, and that when he whines and doesn't hold my hand to cross the street, he gets a time out for not listening. ; )

I made him a sensory bin with rice and threw in some containers, spoons, rocks, and trucks. I saw him fill, dump, find, count, and make a major mess. It was the best. 

I was so proud of his learning!

Through these and other moments, I began to realize that maybe I thought too much about a certain kind of learning...a formal kind of learning.  I realized that I am probably not giving my students enough credit about the things they learn over the summer, and that these are also important for the upcoming year. 

It's also a good way to reflect on the upcoming year and begin to think about how students learn best. Do they learn best sitting in rows, filling out worksheets and being compliant?  Is that how our children learn best?  

I have to say that I didn't give my son a detailed lecture about how to use a spoon to eat soup, have him fill out a work sheet labelling the different parts of a typical dinner, grade him, then move on to the the next unit, "Tidy Up Time-Putting Away Your Toys".  

It may be a dramatic example, but I think the point rings true. 

Let's celebrate the fact that our students are learning over the summer, and try to think of ways to incorporate what they know into what they are going to learn with us this year!

Summer Reading

As a teacher, I generally like to spend the first part of my summer doing some light reading, and I'll be recommending a few good reads to my students as well.  

I recently came across a reading list on Twitter titled "50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12". It's a pretty good list, and it even got me thinking about revisiting some of the books on the list myself.  I've decided this is a good idea because: 

1.  I would like something fun and simple to read as a start to my summer. 

2.  I never read a book the same way twice.  

You can find a link to the the list below.  It could be a good list to recommend to your students, or to look over with your own kids and read a book on the list together. 

Happy summer reading!

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/50-books-all-kids-should-read-before-theyre-12

Field Trips

Today was a great day!  Our Grade 4 class piggy-backed with the Grade 3 class and we went to a petting zoo for our field trip. It was great, and the kids could pick up and pet loads of animals. They had so much fun. They even had a chance to hold a snake around their necks if they wanted!  I got some great pictures. One of my students was cuddling on a goat while another goat was nibbling on her shirt. She was so oblivious-it was priceless. 

Recently at a staff meeting we found out the budget we had this year for field trips would not exist next year. There are lots of ways to raise funds for field trips, but unfortunately for some families there isn't a penny to spare. 

As far as I'm concerned, hands-on, experiential learning is best. When students can see, touch, hear, smell, maybe even taste, they are not only more interested, they retain information better.  But on those occasions when a field trip isn't a possibility, there are field trips of the virtual variety. 

Museums, factories, companies; there are more options for virtual tours than you might think. Many are interactive, and sometimes, there are even guided tours. They are worth taking a look at, and even if you can't get a hands on experience during your "trip" you might be able to supplement lessons befor or after with other sensory experiences. 

Below are some links for you to look through to see what's available for you if a virtual field trip is something you're interested in. 

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/04/07/ten-of-the-best-virtual-field-trips/

http://theteachersguide.bmobilized.com/?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2F&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theteachersguide.com%2Fvirtualtours.html

Helping Students Succeed

One of the most interesting things I have learned is how important it can be for the success of students to have access to a variety of tools to support their learning. 

Sometimes, these tools are used as whole class supports to reinforce an idea, concept or strategy. One that immediately comes to mind are Base 10's. I love using these to help students visually understand concepts and deepen their understanding. Some perks of using these manipulatives has to be the happy faces I see when we use them, and the comments that follow the end of a class: "Woah!  It's lunchtime already?!".  Success!

Other times, tools might be designated for specific students. I use timers to help particular students stay focused. One strategy I have for a student is centred around using a one minute timer.  He must write or read for an entire minute. When the sand runs out, he can get up, walk across the room and touch the door. After that, he must turn and walk back to his seat, sit down, flip the timer and work for another minute. 

There are so many intelligent and creative teachers out there who have discovered or created ways to use tools to support learning that it really is worth spending a few minutes of your day popping in to a colleagues room to say, "Hi there!  So what would you do if..."  Thanking/bribing with chocolate never hurts. 

Below is a link that suggests other tools you could use support student learning. Hope you find it helpful!

http://www.theedadvocate.org/10-tools-to-help-teachers-develop-executive-functioning-classroom-skills/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost

Classroom Space Matters

As I have spent a significant amount of time during the last half of this school year redesigning my space to accommodate my students individual needs, I appreciated running across the following article referencing a study done regarding the positive impact that unique classroom space can have on student learning as I scrolled through Twitter. 

Essentially, the article summarizes the study and explains what characteristics classrooms that impacted student learning the most had.  Naturalness (natural light, air quality and temperature) had the greatest impact overall. 

If you are teetering on the edge of making some major changes to your space, this might be just the article you need to read. There is also a link to the actual study in the article. 

Here's the link!

http://www.theedadvocate.org/study-finds-that-well-designed-classrooms-boost-student-success/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost