New Year Resolutions

As winter break approached, I noticed that I had become complacent with some areas of my practice.  I don't think that this is the complacency that comes with too many years of experience¹.  I think this is the complacency that comes with figuring out how to be both a good parent and a good teacher simultaneously.

At the same time, I came across this post by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris via my undergrad education professor, @CindyOA.  I walked away thinking about this:

If you were to draw your inner teacher, what would he/she look like? How does he/she feel? Excited? Nervous? Overwhelmed? In reading the work of Martha Beck–which encourages us to pay close attention to our emotions because they are our inner compass–we’ve discovered that our inner teacher’s emotions can serve as our teaching compass. After teaching, thinking, feeling, writing, reflecting–lather, rinse, repeat–we’ve learned to trust our inner teacher, and to understand that, when she is lethargic or angry we need to adjust something in our practice or our thinking, or even both. As we have explored the connection between our energy, our effectiveness, and our teaching, we have arrived at a four big principles that help our teaching compass stay on true north. We call these four guiding tenets “The Four Intentions” and, if we are mindful of them, our inner teacher feels like this:

We use these intentions to plan lessons, purposefully considering each tenet as we design instruction. We also use them to reflect on lessons we teach. These intentions have become the framework for all our thinking about instruction, even about education in general. Here is an explanation for each intention, and questions you can ask yourself to reflect on how well a particular lesson or some other work addresses “The Four Intentions.”

Intention 1: Alignment (with our inner teacher)

In these days of aligning curricula, instruction, and language with performance standards, we offer, instead, as our primary teaching intention alignment with our highest purpose for teaching–that is, a focus on lifelong learning. This includes a reconnection with our original visions for our teaching selves and a reawakening of our loftiest visions for students as learners [emphasis added].  Staying true to the alignment intention means keeping our sights set on our long-term outcomes and the ways in which our instructional decisions can affect who children will grow up to become. The alignment intention is all about recognizing and action on our agency as teachers, and using this agency to empower students. To evaluate your work against the alignment intention, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does my inner teacher, my highest teaching self, feel safe (even happy) with this instructional choice? How do I know?
• How does this work/decision/lesson  show students their power as learners?
• Am I excited about this work/lesson? Why?

While flying through all parts of life by the seat of my pants for the last two years, I've lost some of the practices that make my inner teacher happy.  He isn't "lethargic or angry," but he is . . . uncomfortable.  Unsatisfied with his current performance.  I've let some things slide, and he doesn't like watching them slide.

So.  Here's what I'm going to do about it.

Build Better Relationships

Back when I was a second year teacher and struggling with classroom management, I began using conversation calendars (Tovani, 2004, p. 106-110) with my students - exit slips that allow me 15 to 30 second one-on-one conversations with each of my students.

In 2009, when I was only working half-time, it was no problem to go through 90 of these each afternoon.  With six classes, however, I need to set up a rotation through my classes, hitting two per week.  Logistically, this has been a little bit more than my toddler-fried brain could handle.  But I'm recommitting myself, setting reminder alarms on my phone if I need to, because the written conversations I have with students make a huge difference in my student-teacher relationships.

When I was a fourth-year teacher, I wrote and responded to student letters quarterly, asking students how the units of study went for them and what I could do as a teacher to help their learning.  Every year, I try to respond to letters my students write at the beginning of the school year where they tell me a little bit about themselves.  Lately, I've been getting through five in one class, maybe 20 in another, but in a majority of classes, zero.

I'm going to end first semester (February here in the Pacific Northwest) with teacher evaluations for my students to provide me feedback on how I can improve, and start second semester with letters from my students that I'll write one group letter back in response that explain my rationale for any disliked activities and address student suggestions.

Emphasize Proceedures

When I was a younger teacher, I was much more of a control freak.  Things had to be done a certain way.  If one student spoke out of turn, it felt chaotic to me.

Thankfully, I've mellowed², but I'm a little too far in the other direction.  It takes my juniors five minutes of reminders at the beginning of class to start their sustained silent reading.  Often, I have to threaten lunch detention in order to get everyone quietly reading.  That's silly.

I listed proceedures in my syllabus - the same ones I've had since my second year of teaching.  I just need to refresh my students on them, and start enforcing them.  (I haven't been.  At all.)

When entering the classroom: Get your materials from the filing cabinet in the room. Be in your seat with all your materials when the bell rings. When the bell rings, immediately and quietly begin the warm-up exercise.	When reading: Reading is thinking.  It is easier to think when it is silent and there are few distractions.  Do not talk when reading. When you do need to talk to the teacher or a partner, whisper. Fully focus on reading during silent reading time.
When writing: Writing is thinking.  It is easier to think when it is silent and there are few distractions.  Do not talk when writing. When you do need to talk to the teacher or a partner, whisper. Use the entire writing time working on writing.	When leaving the classroom: The teacher dismisses, not the bell. Leave your workspace cleaner than you found it and return all materials to the right place. When your workspace is clean, sit in your chair and wait to be dismissed. When dismissed, push your chair in if necessary. Turn in calendars and any other assignments on your way out the door.

Grade During Block Prep

This is my seventh year teaching, and I'm back at the school where I started my teaching career.  I work with a fantastic department and have a great administrator.  So this year I felt comfortable playing a role as a small, unnoticeable agent of change.  Most of them have to do with reading - posting student book reviews on a Twitter account other students can follow, creating and distributing book review index cards that sit in the back pocket of library books.

These small crusades³ are fun.  And often take place during my prep time.  And then I have a toddler at home.  Which means I've gotten behind on grading.  I even got a holiday card from a great student that encouraged me to have a nice break and enjoy the time off but also to grade her writing.

Thus my 88 minutes of Thursday prep⁴ shall find me at my desk, grading the papers that are so much less fun than crusades for changing school culture.  But feedback is important too, so I'll do it.  (And during my Monday prep, I'll make stickers with qr codes that lead to book trailers for the library TAs to put on books.  Bwahahaha!)


Footnotes
1. If it is, then I need to find a new job.  Go back.
2. It's all about the yoga.  Go back.
3. That only I am noticing and pretending is worthwhile, I'm sure.  Go back.
4. And weekend naps.  And evenings.  Go back.

Three Ways to Show Students Respect

My greatest strength as a teacher is my ability to build relationships with students¹.  Collette pointed me towards this TED Talk; fresh ammo for the new year².

Update: I remember now that this video freezes periodically throughout the talk, but the sound continues and the video eventually catches up. Keep listening.

Update 8/20/11 7:03PM: Angela Maiers has a follow up post to this video here.

1. When I remember that it's my greatest strength and use those skills.  Sometimes we forget what we're good at. [Go back.] 2. If someone gives me a job.  If not, those who call me in to sub, you are on notice.  I will be telling your students they are geniuses.  [Go back.]

December 5 Hike

I often find when I need to work out what I'm going to teach in the next week¹, a hike in Portland's Forest Park typically puts some grease on the cogs and get my wheels turning.

Today's is going to be a doosey.  I just posted the paper I wrote this week on teaching reading from a constructivist method for my Theory of Instruction class at PSU.  I'm a pretty sick² individual to post a graduate paper on my blog, but you are sicker if you take the time to read it.  Basically, here's the problem: at secondary schools, students are often forced into a one-size-fits-all remedial reading class if they don't meet benchmark.  They lose an elective and are not happy about it.  They take their anger out on the class and teacher by totally blowing both off.  The teacher notices they have little control of the classroom and plan their lessons around a direct instruction model because it gives them more control over the class.

Constructivist lessons would be more fun for teacher and student and might do a better job of teaching the skills. Constructivist lessons increase motivation, but require a certain critical mass of motivation to get off the ground; otherwise, students take the time to "socially create meaning" about the top ten list on Z100 rather than the reading strategies the teacher is asking them to practice.

How do I get my students to that critical mass?

On top of that, I have a colleague who gets her students to work by making their lives uncomfortable and unpleasant if they deviate from the assigned activity.  I used to be of the same mind until an administrator asked me to only punish students who disrupted class; student who choose not to learn have that right.  But my colleagues students all have "As" and know their reading strategies.  My students are receiving zeros.

Is my job to make them do the work³?  In the long run, what will be the greater benefit to the student?

1. Read "day."  [Go back.]
2. I mean sick in the conventional rather than the contemporary meaning.  [Go back.]
3. Can I really make them do anything?  It would seem my colleague does by making the alternative less desirable.  [Go back.]

Setting the Tone Recap

Before school started, I was a little apprehensive about how to set the tone for the year.

After writing that post, I thought Marzano (2003) might have something in Classroom Management that Works.  Turns out there's a whole chapter on "getting off to a good start."

While there hasn't been enough research on setting the tone for Marzano to do a meta analysis, the chapter did confirm the direction I was already leaning towards: thaw slowly.  Hit them hard at the beginning of class and lighten up towards the end as warranted.

Turns out that's totally the way to go, at least compared to what I've done in the past¹.  Overall, I've had the best week of my career, including classroom management.  I think it's partially this slowly thawing attitude I've adopted and partially the techniques I've taken from my summer reading of Teach Like a Champion².

The rules I outlined in my previous post are posted prominently, but the procedures are posted in this PBIS matrix suggested at an in-service last spring.

Calendars are still a big part of classroom management, building report, and utilizing exit slips.  My students are now getting 10 points a day and it's 50% of their grade.

I've been most surprised by the willingness students have to adopt some more prescriptive, acronymic, draconian, measures³.  I have a poster that shows students how their desk should look (Lemov, 2010, p 159).  I frequently use SLAT, which stands for sit up straight, listen, ask and answer questions, and track the speaker (Lemov, 2010, p 158).  I'm am surprised by how quickly 7th graders are willing to sit up straight when I ask them to; I was expecting a lot more push back.  My 8th graders make fun of it, but do it all the same.  My students seem more alert and, with tracking the speaker, more attentive of each other.  If I call on a student to answer a question, they can't refuse to try, because the expectation is established that they ask and answer questions.

I more energetic and more dedicated to selling my content (Lemov, 2010, p 51), and it rubs off on the students.  My calendars have a daily rating for whether students felt they learned something new and if they were bored.  I haven't put the data together in a spreadsheet⁴, but by eyeballing it students feel they're learning more and are less bored than last year.  This is partially my energy and confidence, but I think also the amount of content we hit on in a day.  To paraphrase Lemov, just like it seems you're moving faster when flying in a plane close to the ground, in class there are numerous reference points students see in a day and it creates the illusion that we are moving faster (Lemov, 2010, p 226).

Works Cited

Lemov, D. (2010). Teach Like a Champion. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Marzano. (2003). Classroom Management that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

1. Oooh, big surprise. Go back
2. Great New York Times magazine article on this book.  Some might complain that it boils teaching down to 49 techniques, but I do think great teachers are made not born.  There is some value here. Go back
3. I'm not sure what word describes SLAT and the desk poster.  It feels weird to me. Go back
4. I tried this for one week last year.  It takes long enough to grade the calendars each day alone - when am I going to analyze data?  If I ever figure it out, it's a post in it's own with some awesome citations of K. Anders Ericsson. Go back

Setting the Tone

The first day of school is tomorrow here in the Pacific Northwest.  This will be my third year of teaching, albeit half-time.  I'm excited to get the year started.


By the end of last year, I feel like I really had a reliable method for classroom management.  Teachers implemented PBIS school-wide, I had immediately tangible consequences for good and bad behavior, and clear rules and procedures posted in the classroom.  My administrator described the difference as night and day.  More importantly, my students were more attentive, more productive and learning more.


To start with these tools all in place at the beginning of the year is a nice change.  Every year before, I've negotiated rules and expectations with students a week or two into the year.  While this hands ownership to the students, I currently lack either the presence or the experience to maintain decorum for those first weeks.  Consequently, students aren't mindful of what their rules should make the classroom look like.  Maybe in a few years I can move back in that direction.


I have four rules this year.  Directly from my syllabus:

1. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Enough said.
2. Do your best. It is impossible to succeed without trying.
3. Accept that you will not be treated the same as everyone else¹. The teacher cannot watch everyone at the same time, and sometimes will catch one person breaking the rules and not another person. When a student is given a consequence, “so and so did it too” is not an acceptable response. Likewise, students are at all different levels and therefore some students will need harder or easier work. Students should come to class ready to learn more for themselves, not in comparison to their peers.
4. Bring and use the right tool for the right job. Students can't complete class work without the proper materials. Likewise, using certain materials at the wrong time (like listening to an iPod during a discussion) impedes learning. There may be a time when students can use cell phones and iPods in class, but they should be turned off and out of sight until the teacher asks for them.

In addition, I have five sets of procedures.  Again, from the syllabus:

When reading:

1. Reading is thinking. It is easier to think when it is silent and there are few distractions. Do not talk when reading.
2. When you do need to talk to the teacher or a partner, whisper.
3. Fully focus on reading during silent reading time.

When writing:

1. Writing is thinking. It is easier to think when it is silent and there are few distractions. Do not talk when writing.
2. When you do need to talk to the teacher or a partner, whisper.
3. Use the entire writing time working on writing.

When entering the classroom:

1. Get your materials from the filing cabinet in the room.
2. Be seated in your desk before the bell rings.
3. When the bell rings, immediately begin the warm-up exercise.

When leaving the classroom:

1. Mr. B will dismiss you, not the bell.
2. Leave your workspace cleaner than you found it and return all materials to the right place.
3. When your workspace is clean, sit in your chair and wait to be dismissed.
4. When dismissed, push your chair in.
5. Turn in calendars and any other assignments on your way out the door.

During class:

1. Follow SLAT – Sit up straight, Listen, Ask and answer questions, and Track the speaker.
2. If you need to use the bathroom, quietly get out one of your bathroom passes and hold it up. I will either sign it or ask you to wait until a better time.
3. If you need to sharpen a pencil, hold your pencil up in the air and I will trade you for a fresh one.

Rather than have students sit listening to me drone on about all the expectations, I've taken a page from Dan's post on his first day of class and give students this:

Throw in some role play, some enthusiasm, and the first day jitters and I hope to have their attention for the period.  The first week at least will be consumed by setting up and practicing these and other classroom processes.

All this still leaves me with one nagging question.  Do I have enough faith in my already established [overly-bureaucratic?] classroom management that it alone can get me through the first day of school?

On the first day, apparently I've always presented myself as too nice, because every year thus far I end up backpedaling, coming down harder on students the next day or the next week because I didn't get a good enough handle on them in the first hour we met.

I know teachers who intentionally throw a student out of class on the first day just to show they mean business.  That doesn't seem like the answer to me, especially since even with a beard I'm not intimidating to anyone over the age of 10.  I don't want students to fear me; I want them to fear my justice.  I don't want them walking into class on tiptoe, but I do want my expectations clear, my consequences just, quick, and utterly devastating.

Tomorrow, how do I set the tone?

1. All credit for this rule goes to Tom Fuller, who should probably be blogging.  Go back

One Trick Pony

One of the better lessons I've taught was the first in my middle school practicum.

It was a summer course, and so we were assigned to the district's summer school program.  It was a group of about 30 students repeating 8th grade.  Another student and I were assigned to the two teachers who co-taught the class.  Although some of the students were going into 8th grade and wanted a head-start, the majority were not interested in listening to me teach grammar, or anything else.  Nonetheless, I was asked to teach my first lesson on sentence fragments and run-ons.

It was the summer.  I had some free-time, and I was eager to please.  So I spent a lot of time planning.  I made a pretty decent graphic organizer.  I asked my fellow undergrad if she could play a small part in the lesson.  I prepared a formal assessment.  For my first lesson, I was doing alright.  Then I created a superhero alter ego to keep the students' attention.

The day for my lesson came around and we listened to Skee-Lo's version of "The Tale of Mr. Morton" before I presented a few sentences and we identified their subjects and predicates.  It was then that my colleague, AKA the Preposition Punk, wearing a clever construction paper mask (she was in drama, if I remember right) snuck up to the board and added "When" to the beginning of a sentence: 

When Mr. Morton walked to the store.

I read the complete sentence now transformed into a dependent clause to the class and proclaimed, "this looks like a job for CAPTAIN COMMA!" while simultaneously ripping open my button-up shirt (which was no longer button-up; I'd replaced the buttons with velcro) to reveal a t-shirt emblazoned with this shield:

The students were dumbfounded, but I definitely had their attention.  I heroically slammed a comma after the dependent clause and added an indepent clause to complete the sentence and save the day. 

When Mr. Morton walked to the store., he bought a gallon of milk.

I handed out the graphic organizer and had them take a crack at it.

Fast-forward 5 years.  I still teach that lesson maybe once a year.  But it's the only lesson I teach that has that injection of edutainment right to the jugular.  The only one?  What's up with that?  Not that every lesson needs to have that element of theater to it.  It needs all the pedagogy my other lessons have, including things I missed that first time like a preassessment and differentiation.  But one lesson a year that keeps students' attention like that one, that creates murmurs throughout the hallways inbetween periods, that get students anticipating my class, is no where near enough.

Mantra 1 Recap

Greet students at the door as they enter class.

What Changed:

• Had a two minute discussion with a student I rarely talk to about her weekend.
• Had a two minute discussion with another student about how she ended up getting suspended.
• Overheard three students whisper about how scary it was that I was greeting them at the door.
• Start off on the right note with Super-Combative Attitude Student 9000_TM

Remaining Questions:

• When do I use the bathroom?

Disciplinary Interventions

In January, I wrote a post on rules and procedures from my reading of Classroom Management that Works.  This week I'll summarize Marzano's third chapter on disciplinary interventions and discuss how I adapted the practices in my classroom.

Marzano acknowledges that some feel that disciplinary actions are ineffective and counterproductive.  But, he writes, "the research and theory strongly support a balanced approach that employs a variety of techniques."  I think this variety is exactly what I was lacking earlier this year.  Last school year, I would keep my last period class after school when they chose to disrupt the classroom.  For them, the peer pressure and need to get home was usually enough to quell any major uprisings.  For individuals, I gave referrals.

When I tried the same thing this year, it hardly did the job.  In some classes the "Time After" method worked for a few weeks, in others it was completely ineffective.  Just like instruction, there is no silver bullet for classroom management.

My redesigned system involves both rewards and punishments.  Students start the day coming in and are required to be in their seats with all their materials on their desk when the bell rings.  They are then either to start reading their novels or begin the writing prompt.  Before, students would lose points from their conversation calendars at the end of the day if they did not pull this off flawlessly.  But the way I would inform them if they were off task would be by adding time after class (if I informed them at all).  Students had no immediate, individual indication that their actions were below expectations or above par.

The old . . .

 . . . and the new

Now, when students either aren't in their desk or don't have all their materials when the bell rings, they lose five points, indicated by a check I mark on their calendar as I move around the room.  Those who have their books out and are reading get a Jolly Rancher or occasionally five extra points.  Once students who weren't ready at the beginning of class get on task (and stay on task) I may elect to give them back the five points.  This same rule applies to delivery of minilessons or when I'm working with small groups at the back table.  Sometimes, I might just say a student name and "deduct/add five points" if I'm not moving in their direction.  Students now have a clearer understanding of what specific behaviors they are losing points for, and it keeps me more honest.  Since they can earn points back, they have invested interest in improving their behavior, rather then blowing the rest of the day off after losing five or 10 points out of their 25 for the day.

The point system is a form of what Marzano calls tangible recognition and "involves the use of some concrete symbol of appropriate behavior."  He notes that many of these classrooms have some sort of token that's received for good behavior, which can then be traded in for prizes or activities or something like that.  I'm adding this element to my class as well, as some students with less of a sweet tooth are getting tired of Jolly Ranchers every single day.  They'll be able to trade in Jolly Ranchers for Bleck Bucks, which they can accumulate for extra bathroom passes, or reading outside/in the library, or going to the school's coffee cart, or maybe save up 50 or 100 for a McDonald's gift certificate.  Since they'll have to trade in the Jolly Ranchers to receive Bleck Bucks, I won't have to buy as many Jolly Ranchers and can put that money to other prizes with a cost.  (One 3.75 pound bag of the candies costs me about seven dollars at Walmart and lasts about 2 weeks with my 90 students.  It's a small price to pay for their improved behavior.)

A group contingency is also noted by Marzano to have a high effect size.  My time after policy was an example of this, and I sometimes still use it when many people in the class are talking at once and I don't have time to make three different hits on calendars in three different corners of the room.  Teacher reaction is also discussed; these are the basics - the look, proximity, and an auditory and visual cue.

I found tangible recognition to be the most helpful to me, though group contingency and teacher reaction also have a high effect size.  Calling home or providing a direct cost with punishment like detention or cleaning the classroom are also discussed, but have a significantly lower effect size (about .5 compared to .9).

The next post in this series will discuss teacher-student relationships.  You can also read the previous post on rules and procedures.  You can also download my conversation calendar file and try it out in class yourself in either Microsoft Word or PDF.

Rules and Procedures

In response to recent feedback from my administrator regarding my struggling classroom management, I'm reading Classroom Management that Works by Robert Marzano, Jana Marzano and Debra Pickering.  As a 2nd/3rd year teacher, I still struggle with it to some degree.  I think by the end of last year I was a successful manager of a mainstream classroom.  Getting a chance to teach remedial courses this year was an exciting instructional opportunity for me, but came with it's own behavioral challenges I wasn't necessarily prepared for.

While the bulk of help I've found from the book thus far is in the chapter on disciplinary interventions, I've decided to offer a summary and critique of each section of the book both for my own benefit (to construct and clarify my thinking) and for those who search Google before Barnes & Noble.

If you've read any of Marzano's other popular books, you know his research for them is largely meta-analytic - he takes numerous studies done by many researchers and mathematically combines the results to yield a larger number of subjects and narrow the statistical range of certainty that a particular strategy will be successful.  Very exciting.  At least, for me.  Yes, I'm serious.  No, nothing's wrong with me.  That I know of.

Marzano's (2003) meta-analysis concludes that successful design and implementation of rules and procedures results in an almost 30% decrease in class disruptions (pg 14).  According to Marzano, rules identify general expectations to be observed at all times, while procedures identify expectations for specific, repeated tasks, like transitioning or leaving the classroom.

While I have plenty of procedures, like expectations for reading workshop, expectations for writing workshop, or needing a rationed pass to use the bathroom, I think it's safe to say I've never clearly identified any specific rules.  There certainly aren't any posted in the classroom.  If I were to ask my students what the rules are for class, they would probably say something like "no talking" (because I ask them not to talk when reading or writing) or "whisper" (because I ask them to whisper when they peer revise in writing workshop) or "raise your hand if you want to talk."  None of these are general classroom rules, but procedures.  The rules I presented to them last week were these:

1. Respect others and yourself: Treat others as you'd like to be treated. Put forth a full effort - don't short change yourself.
2. Bring the right tool for the right job: Bring the proper materials to class.
3. To everything there's a season: A time to sit, a time to walk, a time to listen, a time to talk. Do what you're supposed to be doing when you're supposed to be doing it.

Marzano also stresses that the proper implementation of rules and procedures is not imposing strict guidelines; rather, it involves "explanation and group input" (pg 16).  So, I both explained my rationale behind the rules and asked students to provide any feedback or suggestions they had for the rules on their conversation calendars for the day.  I was then able to individually respond to specific concerns and tweak the rules when it was warranted.

The next step I'm going to focus on in the realm of rules is referring to them when I use disciplinary interventions to reinforce them on a regular basis.  For example, "Jimmy, when you're talking loudly during reading time, it's not very respectful to the people who are trying to focus on their books." It will probably feel a little goofy saying that at first, and I might get some snickers, but I think it will help students be more aware and mindful of them.  I might even say it sarcastically so my students don't feel like I'm treating them like

Next week I'll address Marzano's chapter on disciplinary interventions and reveal the simple adjustment I made to my conversation calendars that completely and immediately changed the tone of my classroom upon implementation.

Conversation Calendars

While planning with the district literacy coach this summer, I was introduced to a method of recording participation points and building rapport with students proposed by Cris Tovani in her book Do I Really Have to Teach Reading (106-110).  I can honestly say, without risking hyperbole, that it has completely changed the relationship I have with my students.

At the beginning of each week, students receive a weekly calendar with a space for them to write comments and give themselves a score, and a space for me to write comments and record a score.  Sometimes students are asked to write something specific in the space, like "ask one good question or make one good comment about the short story we read today."  More frequently though, they write whatever they want.  Sometimes it's comments about the class or what they did that period, other times it's about the volleyball game they have after school, or about the book they're reading and how's it going.  Sometimes it's pictures or doodles or random graffiti.  Sometimes they don't write anything.  After class, I respond in the space below.  Sometimes a response isn't necessary.  Sometimes a few quick words are enough.  Sometimes the student and I get to carry on a one-on-one conversation throughout the week that we wouldn't have had otherwise.

For one, this increases my contact time with students, something I'm all about.  Students can ask questions they may not have time for or feel comfortable asking in front of the class.  Secondly, I see a different, sometimes truer, side of my students other teachers may not get the chance to see.  I have two particular students who like to start power struggles and make loud outbursts.  One had all sorts of disciplinary interventions last year.  I wasn't sure I could handle it.  Then I introduced the calendars.  Total posers.  They do it to look all bad, but they were honest and almost apologetic in their self assessment the first week and since then they've been slowly working more and more in class - while maintaining their bad image as much as possible.

Another student was having a rough day (I wouldn't let her talk in class even though it was her birthday) and called me an a**hole.  I told her my birthday present to her was not giving her a referral. After class, I flipped through the calendars and saw that she had written "I'm sorry I called you an a**hole."  I thought that was pretty cool, because you don't always get apologies for that sort of thing.

At first, grading 75 calendars a day took about 75 minutes.  Once it became routine, however, my speed increased and I can now get through all three period in 30 minutes.  And those extra 30 minutes a day are definitely worth it for me.

To be fair though, I am only half-time, so maybe for the full-time teacher this exercise could become too time consuming.  Tovani suggests rotating calendars through classes daily or weekly in the team teaching model.  One could also have students do a end of the week self assessment and respond over the weekend.

For those interested, here's a blank calendar. You'll want to download it, Google Drive can't handle all the table-ness involved in the document.

Works Cited

Tovani, Cris.  Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?  Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2004.

Classroom Community Building Reflection

As the semester winds down, I am hoping to make some more posts on some of my thoughts over the last five months.  My goal for next year (once I secure a job, as this was a temporary position) is to post more frequently throughout the school year.

In the run up to the 2008-2009 school year I posted on the importance of classroom community building, how it relates to my philosophy of education, and some suggested lessons for a classroom community building unit.

In January, I took over the instruction for a collection of students who were in slightly large Language Arts 9 classes.  Since these freshmen came from different classrooms, it was a good opportunity to test some of these lessons.  Overall, in my two sections, I had very different results.  Some factors involved are the mix of students and the time of day these students had class.

My morning class had some fairly significant successes.  One particularly shy student who was new to the school was dragged into the classroom grid activity by a girl particularly selective of her friends.  Students who I hadn't seen speaking together in other classes were soon sitting next to each other in class.  The cliques were still visible, but there was less criticism, I believe.

My afternoon class from the start believed I was treating them like they were in elementary school.  When they did the classroom grid activity, they did what I explicitly asked them not to do: ask each other which box they are instead of asking questions about the person to eliminate boxes.  During the Two Truths and a Lie game, I was the individual asking the most questions. 

Some students from this class expalined that they already knew each other since this was a rural community, they had been going to school with the same classmates since elementary school.  That's fair enough, but it didn't explain why the other two classes found it worthwhile enough for their time.  And it did benefit the home schooled student who returned to public school this year as a high school freshman.

So there needs to be a way to establish student buy-in and relevancy (as with everything else in a classroom).  As a general rule, I've noticed the more I actually talk about educational theory with my students, the more willing they are to go along with some things.  Like when I told them that free-writing is actually scientifically proven to make them better writers, it didn't seem so "stupid" any more.

And one can always question how much students are honestly disenchanted as opposed to just being teenagers; how much they really hate what you're doing and how much of it is just to be cool and not like what's going on in class.  On the year-end class evaluation, one of my students wrote this in regards to classroom community building:

I think that you should continue doing the name game and the two truths and a lie game because those games really helped me learn the names of the students in the class.

If that's all it takes for someone to learn the two most important words for any student, that comment is enough evidence for me to do it next year.

Classroom Community Day Seven: Home Team Advantage

This activity I've shamelessly stolen from Mini-lessons for Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels and Nancy Steineke (2004, pg 43-7).

Start with the sports page in your local paper and announce the standings of a few of your home teams.  Point out to students that the teams typically do better at home than away (unless they are incredibly good or incredibly bad).  This begs the question, why do teams win more games at home than away?  Give students a few minutes to work with a partner or a group of three to list as many reasons why they think this is the case.  Then as a whole class, compile a master list.

Daniels and Steineke's major goal with this lesson is to discourage put-downs, and the big moment in the lesson comes when the teacher tells the students, after compiling the list, that "one of the most important ways to keep the home court advantage is to avoid using put-downs.  From now on, if anyone hears a put-down, just gently say 'home court' to remind that person to stop" (pg 44-5).  It's a great idea.

But it can be taken so much further.  Many of the items from a class list can be adjusted and implemented in the classroom.  When I worked with teachers in South Africa, they had this thing where if a student did well, the teacher would say, "give it to him."  On this cue, the 48 other students in the class would rub the palms of their hands around, one on top of the other a couple times, finally letting the top hand slide in the direction of the student.

I thought it was pretty lame the first time I saw it.  Especially in the context of corporal punishment being used by teachers so often to punish misbehaving and even simply forgetful students.  What student would care about this meaningless motion when they feel too unsafe in their classroom to learn?

But you should have seen the face of the student on the receiving end of that praise.

I'm not suggesting anything quite like that.  It would be too easily ridiculed in most middle school classrooms.  But supporting the idea of praise and encouragement between students is certainly not a bad idea.

Daniels and Steineke designed this as a mini-lesson, but I devote at least a full class period.  Once you've made the list, discuss with students how these could translate into the classroom.  It might be interesting to see if they see themselves as all being on the same team, or if the grading and the current schooling system creates a more competitive attitude.  Ask students what they can do on a daily basis in the class to support a home court environment.

Daniels and Steineke suggest as a variation on their mini-lesson asking students to create posters displaying some of the elements of a home court advantage along with how these would look in a classroom.  Despite the feelings of the rest of my 2005 pre-service teaching book club, I think this is a great activity, would use it to wrap up the discussion, and put the finished posters up in the room for the remainder of the school year (while still alternating other displays in the classroom throughout the year, because us secondary teachers don't do it enough).

Previous - Day Four through Six: Two Truths and a Lie
Next - Day Eight: Creative Problem Solving

Classroom Community Days Four to Six: Two Truths and a Lie

Closing in on the first week, I know a lot about my students from the information sheets they filled out.  Students began to learn each other's names by playing name games.  They may have identified with each other during the classroom grids activity.  Now I want them to get some of the information I had on the first day, but in a way that the student has more control.

Two truths and a lie takes a lot of class time, but is time well spent.  Every student gets about 10 minutes of time when everyone is giving them their complete attention and asking about them.  There's no need to force students to go, but most teenagers are alright being the center of positive attention.

One person tells the class three things about themselves.  Two of the statements are true and one is false.  Members of the class can ask any (and as many) questions as they want to figure out which statement is the lie.  The person who offered their three statements doesn't have to answer these questions truthfully - so the object is to make them slip up and reveal their lie.

I model first.  My three statements might be:

1. I was on Sesame Street when I was 8 years old.
2. I was a Boy Scout for 16 years.
3. I lived in Africa for two years.

Then I give students a good half hour to ask questions.  It gives them an opportunity to figure out and practice asking good ones.  Then we vote on which statement the students think is the lie.

For the game to be worthwhile though, the instructor has to very clearly model the activity and set some guidelines for the two truths and the lie.  Students who don't see it modeled and understand how to choose good statements might give the following three options:

1. I have five brothers.
2. This summer I went to Disney World.
3. I have a pet dinosaur.

Students who know the individual outside of school may already know they have five brothers, or that they went to Disney World.  Or that information might have shown up on the classroom grid activity.  And all students probably know that dinosaurs are extinct.

So after I model, I offer a few guidelines to help students choose their statements.
One, don't choose any statements that are related.

1. I've lived in South America.
2. I speak fluent Spanish.
3. I have a pet dinosaur.

If someone knows the majority of countries in South America are Spanish speaking, one will know that the first two statements are most likely true because only one can be false.

Two, never say never.

1. I've never failed a class.
2. I speak fluent Spanish.
3. I have a pet dinosaur.

It's hard to determine the truth value of a negative.

Three, all three statements should have a certain level of unbelievability.

1. I have two brothers.
2. I ate a hot dog yesterday.
3. Michael Jackson is my uncle.

Though you could potentially fake a number of people out, the object is to get to know each other better, and one doesn't learn a whole lot about a person by how many brothers they have or what they ate for dinner.

Four, lies need to be complete lies, not half truths.

1. My uncle is Michael Jackson.
2. I speak Spanish fluently.
3. I grow all my vegetables in my back yard.

It's pretty lame when people have voted to say "ha! I grow all my vegetables in my front yard!  Tricked you all!"

One thing that can go wrong with this activity is students will start asking all kinds of questions that don't have anything to do with the three truths.  While this is in a way the point of the whole activity (to get them to want to know more about each other), it could become uncomfortable for the student put on the spot.  One potential intervention is to limit how many questions they can ask to a hard number - "okay, only 10 more questions and then we vote!"  Students will start asking good questions about the statements rather than going off on tangents.

Each student will need about 10 minutes for offering their statements and answering questions.

Previous - Day Three: Classroom Grid
Next - Day Five: Home Team Advantage

Classroom Community Day Three: Classroom Grid

On the first day of school I do an information sheet to get to know my students. Then over the first and second nights of school I make up classroom grids for each of my classes. Each student gets a grid with one block of information for each student in the class, but there is no name.

Every student has to find all the people on their grid. The rules: you can't ask questions like "which block are you?" or copy off someone else's sheet. You can ask, "hey, do you have a dog and ride your bike to school?" The teacher should play along as well (unless you've memorized the answer sheet, which you shouldn't do because that's cheating).

Name tags are a nice thing to use on these days, since it's only the third day students have seen each other that year. Then there's none of that awkward, "who are you?" while students are filling out their sheets.

Previous - Day Two: Name Games

Next - Days 4-6: Two Truths and a Lie

Classroom Community Day Two: Name Games

There used to be a man at Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch in Elbert, Colorado by the name of Chuck Forsyth. He was the ranger, the man in charge of all the support for camp. He lived there year round, took care of all the facilities and got trucks running again at the start of the summer. He bought all the tents, tools, and lumber for camp. He probably did an armful of other things I don't even know about.

He has a full gray beard and piercing eyes. He has a great sense of humor, but you didn't see it before he got to know you. When I first starting working at camp, all I knew was that if I broke anything, I'd be having a talk with him, and knowing that I made sure I didn't break anything.

Chuck had gotten to know me a bit better by my sixth year at camp, and he told me about a staff member who had worked there before my time.

"He did the most important thing any staff member could do," Chuck said. "He learned the two most important words for every scout."

What are those, I wondered. Merit Badges? No, that's lame. Scout Oath and Law? Not two words.

"Their first and last names," Chuck said.

I had a teacher in high school, Father Burshek, who taught world religion (comparative theology) to the seniors every year. He was considered by the student body to be one very cool guy. He had a love for music and one of the most comprehensive collections of jazz music (rumor had it) in the world. I was surprised when he greeted me by name in my sophomore year. The only time I'd seen him was when he gave Mass one Thursday a semester. I'll never forget how cool I felt - "Father Burshek knows me. He knows my name."

Rumor has it that Father Burshek flipped through the Rolodex of student names and pictures before the start of every year, memorizing the names of every student in the school. All the incoming freshmen, any transfer students, and reviewing everyone else¹.

All teachers, I think, know how important it is to learn the names of their students. But few teachers do everything they can to ensure their students know the names of each other. I attended a tracked school (school within a school) of 360 students, but never attended my core classes with the same 90 students every year for three years. I should have known everyone's name by the end of middle school, but I think I might have known only half, and knew only ten or twenty after my first year there. Middle school was not a good time for me. Knowing names works both ways - you feel more comfortable when people address you by name, and less anxious when you know the names of everyone.

There are two name games I play on the second day of class, but I'm sure there are many more and probably some better ones out there². Name tags are great too, I think. I used to think they're kind of silly, but I think they can help a lot. You might not wear them for these games though, as it sort of defeats the purpose.

In the first, everyone sits in a circle. The first student says their name, then the person to their right says the first student's name and their own name. Then the person on their right says the names of the first and second students, and their own name. This continues through the whole group until the first student who started says the name of everyone in the class.

Disadvantages:

1. The second and third person to go don't really need to listen to everyone else say their name, only the first person and those who are waiting to go. You could possibly fix this by making everyone repeat everyone's name at the end of the game, if you had the time.

Advantages:

1. The names are repeated 20 to 40 times, depending on the number of students in your class.
2. Students don't get to choose who's names they remember, they have to say everyone's, whether the student is in their social group or not.

The second game I enjoy a lot more. You'll need six tennis balls. The students all stand in a circle. There are a few rules: you have to say the name of the person you're throwing the ball to before you throw it; each person should get the ball once, but only once; you need to remember who threw the ball to you, and who you threw the ball to. The teacher can start by saying the name of a student and throwing one ball to them. Once you have the ball again, make sure everyone has thrown it once. Then, tell students they will throw again following the same pattern as before; everyone throws to the same person they did during the last round, only faster. You repeat as many times as you want, eventually adding more tennis balls and throwing them to the first student at intervals after the first ball is thrown.

Disadvantages:

1. Some students might get a little rowdy when they get to throw balls around the room. I tell them if they drop a ball, they have to start over. Usually this way they throw more gently and work together to make sure everyone catches the ball.
2. I was the kid everyone made fun of in gym class - my bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is pretty low. Some kids who, like me, can't catch, might feel the eyes of their classmates, but you can encourage a positive atmosphere. The countermeasures for the first disadvantage can help here too.

Advantages:

1. Everyone knows the name of the person they threw to during the game and hopefully picked up some other names as well (the names are repeated as many times as you play, which could be a lot if you go all the way to six balls, no mistakes).

Previous - Day One: Information Sheets
Next - Day Three: Classroom Grid

1. There were apparently at least two rumors about Father Burshek and I can't really confirm either one. The Rolodex makes a nice teacher legend though. Go back.
2. If you know other name games, you should definitely leave them in the comments. Go back.

Classroom Community Day One: Information Sheets

Charlie commented on my post where I did Clay's meme:

My question is what are truly effective ways to address bullying in schools. It seems students suffer so much and so many are unaware of this going on. How do we address it to make it stop? I've googled the bullying sites and seen the nifty programs but it still seems like too little.

My philosophy of teaching stems from my social experiences as a middle school student. To prevent bullying in my classroom, I plan to use the first month in a classroom for community building.

The last time I had a classroom of my own I was student teaching during second semester. So I haven't tried using these methods on my own. But other teachers I met during my college years have used the methods I'm detailing here.

Day One: Ask students to fill out an information sheet about themselves.

This is a nice way to get to know a few details about your students at the start of the year. I also use this day to take pictures of all my students which I then turn into flashcards and begin to learn students' names. Learning names is one of my weak points, but by doing this I usually know all their names within the first two weeks of class.

My information sheet looks something like this:

Name:

Age:

Class period:


I own a: tape player CD player mp3 player/ipod cell phone

I have access to a computer at home: yes no

I have access to the internet at home: yes no


Number of siblings:

Pets:

Sports I like to play:

Hobbies:

After school today I will:

This weekend, I will:

I think I am:

The second section helps me with a couple of ways I might try to bring technology into the classroom. When I grade writing, I like to read and think aloud and record for the student. Based on the responses I can decide if I want students to buy a tape or a CD-RW. If many have an mp3 player I might e-mail them the files or put them on a password protected website. I also want to know how fair it is for me to ask for typed work depending on the amount of time they have to complete an assignment. I'm also planning on using Twitter to break down the schoolroom walls. From this information and the student's age, I can also start to think about the socio-economic status of my students and their previous successes in school. This will inform my teaching but also just a few of the challenges I might face in helping to build community.

The third section I take and start making a grid for every class. Each grid has a space for every student with some of their facts written in, but without their name. Of course I don't put in any information that might have been shared in confidence.

On the Day Three, I'll pass out one copy of each form to the students and give them about an hour to fill in all the spaces. I might start the class with a quick icebreaker. I also might choose to associate a small grade with it and make a few different versions of the sheet to discourage cheating, but usually just saying "don't use this time as an excuse to talk to your friends" and "don't copy off of each other's sheets" works well enough. I put myself on the grid too and try to complete my own sheet modeling the activity and getting to know the students as well, finding the ones I share common things with (I don't usually remember who is who from filling out the grid during the previous two days).

Day Two: Two Truths and a Lie Name Games