This time of year is the most stressful time for a teacher in a testing grade. The next few months are insane between actual state mandated tests and benchmarks to prepare our kids and see what else we need to teach. As many people have said, as long as there are tests, there will be prayer in school.
I have been very fortunate to have a student teacher this semester. The best part is that she is a math and science major!! Between the two of us, our students are getting the best of both worlds. :) The school year has been pretty smooth lately. The kids are learning and making a lot of progress. I am very proud of them!
During the past week, we read the book "Crossing Jordan", which is set in the early 1990's in Tallahassee, Florida. The book is about two girls attempt to be friends even though their parents do not want them to be friends with those of another race. Each day, we have students make a chart to keep track of characters, setting, plot, and connections. Then, after reading the chapters for that day, the students write a reaction in their journal. The other day I had 3 boys sitting at the back table with me trying to decide what they wanted to write their reaction about. One boy said, "Mrs. Edugator, we used to have a lot of racism in our class. We had people who didn't like each other because of their skin color." Okay, first...what a great revelation and the fact that he said USED to!! Then, another boy at the table said, "yeah, but we are a school family now and we don't think about that anymore." OMG!!! I could not believe it!! I may have cried tears of joy.
I have to admit, at the beginning of the year I did not think that this group would become the school family that my past groups have. I have focused on school family so much and almost shoved it down their throats (not literally). :) It is so nice to see the kids learn things you want them to learn. Not only that, I have turned them into Mini- Edugators. I can hear them say things the way I do. It is so funny.
* "We don't talk to our friends like that"
* "Is that school appropriate?"
* "Guys, if we want to play guitar hero on Friday then we have to be quiet"
Of course, there are more things that they say to each other that sound like me, but I think it is so cute. I also enjoy watching them calm each other down when they get upset. I have a few students that walk and stand right outside of our door and when they do, another student usually goes out there to check on them before I can. Okay, so of course it hasn't been all peaches and cream but the good has definitely weighed out the bad during the past month. I am so proud of my fantastic fourth graders and how far they have come from the beginning of the year. I can't wait to see how far they get by the end!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Celebrate good times... come on!!
All year I have been working hard to build confidence in my students and show them that they can do hard things. Well, this week we had a huge success!! We had a writing benchmark on Thursday (a practice for the real thing in 5 weeks). Usually on benchmarks, we do not have a huge success rate. However, this time over half of the class passed!!!! I was so excited for them! It truly showed my students that they can do it. It was so great to see smiles on their face as they found out the scores instead of tears. They have been working so hard and I am very proud of them.
The past few weeks have shown me more than ever how hard my kiddos have it when they go home. I have heard so many things from my students and it brings me to tears. I could never imagine experiencing only half of the things that they do. Then, it frustrates me. (I feel as if I am going through all of the stages of grief.) Here we are teaching our hearts out and expecting kids to pass high stakes tests, when in reality we are lucky if they get to school with clean clothes and a positive attitude. I understand the importance of standardized tests, but let's take the pressure off of the kids. They have enough going on in their little minds. I am constantly telling my kids to let me stress, just do your best! When I taught kindergarten I always thought, "I refuse to be one of those teachers that teaches to the test." Well, I still refuse. I teach the strategies and we practice passages and problems. However, I feel it is also important to educate the WHOLE child and meet as many needs as I possibly can while they are at school. My goal is to teach my students to believe in themselves and know that they can achieve anything they want to.
Another proud mama moment I had this week involved our school spelling bee. When I first told me students about the spelling bee I had ZERO students that wanted to participate. In fact, one girl even said, "Spelling bees are for white people." When she said that, my blood almost started to boil. I know there is inequality in education and I see it all the time but I NEVER want my kiddos to feel and see the inequality. I wanted to show them the movie "Akila and the Bee" but the rating isn't acceptable for school. Okay, I digress.... back to my story. My students refused to participate in the spelling bee so I came up with a plan. I bribed my students but my real goal was for my students to try something new. I had 8 out of 16 students participate in the spelling bee. The whole time I was praying they would at least make it through the first round and all of them did. Furthermore, some of my kids made it even further!! The larger success in all of this is the reaction of my students. When they got a word wrong and were asked to leave the stage, they calmly walked down.... no mad faces, no screaming, no pouting, no blaming others... SUCCESS!! On top of that, as members of their school family came off the stage, they gave each other a high five. Tears were in my eyes the whole time and words could not express how proud I was.
People ask me why I became a teacher and I always have a different answer. Here are a few of them:
* to make a difference in the life of one child
* I love watching the growth that my students make in all areas: academics, emotionally, physically...
* thinking of the future my students will have
* giving my students a feeling of being loved and valued... unconditionally
* seeing the light bulb come on
* encouraging students to try something new
* watching my students become "mini-me's", especially when helping a friend.
Okay, I have written quite a bit tonight. :) I am overwhelmed by the amount of joy I have for my students and how far they have come.
The past few weeks have shown me more than ever how hard my kiddos have it when they go home. I have heard so many things from my students and it brings me to tears. I could never imagine experiencing only half of the things that they do. Then, it frustrates me. (I feel as if I am going through all of the stages of grief.) Here we are teaching our hearts out and expecting kids to pass high stakes tests, when in reality we are lucky if they get to school with clean clothes and a positive attitude. I understand the importance of standardized tests, but let's take the pressure off of the kids. They have enough going on in their little minds. I am constantly telling my kids to let me stress, just do your best! When I taught kindergarten I always thought, "I refuse to be one of those teachers that teaches to the test." Well, I still refuse. I teach the strategies and we practice passages and problems. However, I feel it is also important to educate the WHOLE child and meet as many needs as I possibly can while they are at school. My goal is to teach my students to believe in themselves and know that they can achieve anything they want to.
Another proud mama moment I had this week involved our school spelling bee. When I first told me students about the spelling bee I had ZERO students that wanted to participate. In fact, one girl even said, "Spelling bees are for white people." When she said that, my blood almost started to boil. I know there is inequality in education and I see it all the time but I NEVER want my kiddos to feel and see the inequality. I wanted to show them the movie "Akila and the Bee" but the rating isn't acceptable for school. Okay, I digress.... back to my story. My students refused to participate in the spelling bee so I came up with a plan. I bribed my students but my real goal was for my students to try something new. I had 8 out of 16 students participate in the spelling bee. The whole time I was praying they would at least make it through the first round and all of them did. Furthermore, some of my kids made it even further!! The larger success in all of this is the reaction of my students. When they got a word wrong and were asked to leave the stage, they calmly walked down.... no mad faces, no screaming, no pouting, no blaming others... SUCCESS!! On top of that, as members of their school family came off the stage, they gave each other a high five. Tears were in my eyes the whole time and words could not express how proud I was.
People ask me why I became a teacher and I always have a different answer. Here are a few of them:
* to make a difference in the life of one child
* I love watching the growth that my students make in all areas: academics, emotionally, physically...
* thinking of the future my students will have
* giving my students a feeling of being loved and valued... unconditionally
* seeing the light bulb come on
* encouraging students to try something new
* watching my students become "mini-me's", especially when helping a friend.
Okay, I have written quite a bit tonight. :) I am overwhelmed by the amount of joy I have for my students and how far they have come.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
And we are back...
We started back on Tuesday and I think we were all ready to come back to school. The kids have been working very hard already and I hope the motivation continues. We are very fortunate this semester to have a student teacher. She is going to be very helpful and I will have the opportunity to work on skills with students that I feel like I usually don't have time to see. I'm expecting great things this semester!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Where did December go?
Man, I am horrible at this blogging thing! I thought this would be something to do once a week and apparently I am lucky if I post once a month. Oh well. December was short, quick, and hyper! We all know that is expected when you combine the excitement of the holidays with a lot of sugar. We spent the last half of the 6 weeks preparing for our next Math benchmark. In the past I have only had a few kids pass the test. Unfortunately, that didn't change but my kids did jump in their scores. Several students went up 20 percentage points from the previous benchmarks! I will take baby steps because let's be honest, progress is progress. :)
We had a fantastic holiday party. Our room mom planned an exciting day with delicious food. Instead of making the typical picture ornament for the parents I taught the kiddos how to cross stitch. It was very interesting to see which kids loved it (or did not love it!). Kids that usually have very little patience for ANYTHING, sat for hours working on this project. It was amazing! Every day I am amazed at how far my class has come and the gains they have made socially, emotionally, and academically.
January starts a new semester and a new schedule. We are starting to focus a large part of our day on math, which is an area of focus for our district. I am sad that we are taking time away from science and social studies since those are the subjects that really interest the kids but we have to do everything we can to meet their needs and get them ready for fifth grade. The idea of preparing for next year excites my fourth graders so I am sure they will adjust to the change better than me. Along with the schedule change, we will have a student teacher. Ms. Mini-me is going to be a great addition to the room, not only because she will give me an extra set of hands and mind to assist students but she also is working on a degree in secondary math!! (going right along with our focus)
I have thought of some things over the break to try in the new year. Here are some of my ideas and I will try my best to update you on the trial and error that I am constantly implementing.
* Karaoke to increase fluency
* Journal where students and I write back and forth to each other
* Playing more team building games
* Implement ways for students to help each other solve problems.
I wish you the best as the new year begins. I know I am looking forward to a better 2010!
We had a fantastic holiday party. Our room mom planned an exciting day with delicious food. Instead of making the typical picture ornament for the parents I taught the kiddos how to cross stitch. It was very interesting to see which kids loved it (or did not love it!). Kids that usually have very little patience for ANYTHING, sat for hours working on this project. It was amazing! Every day I am amazed at how far my class has come and the gains they have made socially, emotionally, and academically.
January starts a new semester and a new schedule. We are starting to focus a large part of our day on math, which is an area of focus for our district. I am sad that we are taking time away from science and social studies since those are the subjects that really interest the kids but we have to do everything we can to meet their needs and get them ready for fifth grade. The idea of preparing for next year excites my fourth graders so I am sure they will adjust to the change better than me. Along with the schedule change, we will have a student teacher. Ms. Mini-me is going to be a great addition to the room, not only because she will give me an extra set of hands and mind to assist students but she also is working on a degree in secondary math!! (going right along with our focus)
I have thought of some things over the break to try in the new year. Here are some of my ideas and I will try my best to update you on the trial and error that I am constantly implementing.
* Karaoke to increase fluency
* Journal where students and I write back and forth to each other
* Playing more team building games
* Implement ways for students to help each other solve problems.
I wish you the best as the new year begins. I know I am looking forward to a better 2010!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Where has November gone?
I just realized that I haven't posted for almost a month! A lot has happened this month and it has been very busy. Our class spent most of the month with very few privileges from their grades and behavior. However, they made a complete 180!! Several students brought up their grades. Most students are working very hard and take pride in their work. More importantly, I am so amazed at the school family they have become. Here are a few examples:
* We had a student move to another school within the district. I was out at a conference the first day he was gone. After the conference, I went by the school to check the sub's note. I was impressed because I had the first positive note all year from a sub. Then, I had a piece of paper that said, "Mrs. Edugator, can you please give this to our friend?" Under the note was a bag made out of notebook paper, yes notebook paper. Inside the bag were notes for our friend that moved encouraging him and telling him how much they miss him. I have to admit, I cried.
* We have a friend in our class that gets frustrated with work and walks out of the room to "take a break" when he can't handle it. I don't have a problem with this because it is an appropriate way to handle his anger and after a few minutes he comes in and gets back to work. I usually give him 5 minutes and then talk to him and encourage him to go back inside. Lately, members of our school family have asked if they can go out and encourage him instead. I usually stand by the door and hear things that I wouldn't think of saying. Kids can be the best encourager and teachers for each other.
* My kiddos are not the best test takers. My class gets easily frustrated when they don't know something and even more frustrated when I can't help them. The benchmarks we have taken so far (state formatted tests) have resulted in very low grades. I know my students can do better than this but I need for them to believe that. I have been working hard to build their confidence. This past week I showed them a graph of all our benchmark scores to this point. I pointed out the growth they made between the first and second math benchmark. Well, my students decided that having a smaller class will give them the power to become better learners. They asked if they could write our principal a letter to convince her to keep our class small (we are at 15 right now). Yes, I will always take advantage of a teachable moment! :) The writing assignment for the week in writing went from what I had planned to writing a persuasive letter to our principal. It is amazing what is important to them.
Okay, now that I have written a novel I will let your brain rest! I am very proud of my students and how much they have grown. I am excited to watch their progress throughout the year and proud to have the opportunity to teach this group of kids. They are great kids with huge hearts.
* We had a student move to another school within the district. I was out at a conference the first day he was gone. After the conference, I went by the school to check the sub's note. I was impressed because I had the first positive note all year from a sub. Then, I had a piece of paper that said, "Mrs. Edugator, can you please give this to our friend?" Under the note was a bag made out of notebook paper, yes notebook paper. Inside the bag were notes for our friend that moved encouraging him and telling him how much they miss him. I have to admit, I cried.
* We have a friend in our class that gets frustrated with work and walks out of the room to "take a break" when he can't handle it. I don't have a problem with this because it is an appropriate way to handle his anger and after a few minutes he comes in and gets back to work. I usually give him 5 minutes and then talk to him and encourage him to go back inside. Lately, members of our school family have asked if they can go out and encourage him instead. I usually stand by the door and hear things that I wouldn't think of saying. Kids can be the best encourager and teachers for each other.
* My kiddos are not the best test takers. My class gets easily frustrated when they don't know something and even more frustrated when I can't help them. The benchmarks we have taken so far (state formatted tests) have resulted in very low grades. I know my students can do better than this but I need for them to believe that. I have been working hard to build their confidence. This past week I showed them a graph of all our benchmark scores to this point. I pointed out the growth they made between the first and second math benchmark. Well, my students decided that having a smaller class will give them the power to become better learners. They asked if they could write our principal a letter to convince her to keep our class small (we are at 15 right now). Yes, I will always take advantage of a teachable moment! :) The writing assignment for the week in writing went from what I had planned to writing a persuasive letter to our principal. It is amazing what is important to them.
Okay, now that I have written a novel I will let your brain rest! I am very proud of my students and how much they have grown. I am excited to watch their progress throughout the year and proud to have the opportunity to teach this group of kids. They are great kids with huge hearts.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Red Ribbon Week
This week was Red Ribbon Week at school. We had a great week with the master plan in place! Each day we had a different dress up day and I was excited to sport my Gator jersey to school, especially on the eve of the Fl vs Ga game. Our class put red cups in the fence to spell "Just Say No". Unfortunately, a few days after all of our hard work and problem solving (the cups kept falling out) we had a pretty bad storm and most of the cups were knocked out of the fence. The day we went outside to fix them, there were district men out there picking up the cups. So, we didn't get to fix them. :( The kids could not believe that someone threw away "our cups". I think I told you about the art tag in a previous post. We were tagged last by a kindergarten class. They made us a powerpoint and came to our room and read it to us. I forget how little kindergarten kiddos are but they were so cute and my kids were excited to have them come visit us.
We were having a class discussion on how important it is to find something that you like to do so you don't get involved in drugs and I was amazed when one of my students asked, "What do drugs look like?" I realized how innocent these kids are compared to the kindergarten students I had in Florida. My kids in Florida were bringing lunch money in weed bags and knew what most drugs looked like. I had a few kids this year who knew what weed looked like but that's about it. I am so thankful for parents that keep their children sheltered. However, it is also important to talk to our kids about drugs, how they can hurt our lives and bodies, and what to do if they are ever offered drugs.
Part of my master plan is to have students earn back rewards. In order to earn back an award everybody in the class has to complete the mystery assignment for the week. To help the kids manage this without creating more work for myself, I have made a check sheet and they have to mark off their name when they turn in their work. This has made a huge difference in keeping up with missing assignments. Well, yesterday the mystery assignment was a Fraction Walk and everybody had turned it in! The class decided as a school family to earn back tickets. I give tickets for making the right choices, as well as incentive to bring in supplies for contests around the school (fundraiser, recycling drive, etc.). They were very proud to see that their hard work has paid off and I am glad to have an engaged class of students that want to learn again. I think their progress reports were a huge wake up call when they saw their grades. Here's to a great remainder of the year!
We were having a class discussion on how important it is to find something that you like to do so you don't get involved in drugs and I was amazed when one of my students asked, "What do drugs look like?" I realized how innocent these kids are compared to the kindergarten students I had in Florida. My kids in Florida were bringing lunch money in weed bags and knew what most drugs looked like. I had a few kids this year who knew what weed looked like but that's about it. I am so thankful for parents that keep their children sheltered. However, it is also important to talk to our kids about drugs, how they can hurt our lives and bodies, and what to do if they are ever offered drugs.
Part of my master plan is to have students earn back rewards. In order to earn back an award everybody in the class has to complete the mystery assignment for the week. To help the kids manage this without creating more work for myself, I have made a check sheet and they have to mark off their name when they turn in their work. This has made a huge difference in keeping up with missing assignments. Well, yesterday the mystery assignment was a Fraction Walk and everybody had turned it in! The class decided as a school family to earn back tickets. I give tickets for making the right choices, as well as incentive to bring in supplies for contests around the school (fundraiser, recycling drive, etc.). They were very proud to see that their hard work has paid off and I am glad to have an engaged class of students that want to learn again. I think their progress reports were a huge wake up call when they saw their grades. Here's to a great remainder of the year!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Side Note
We are reading "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing" this week. I gave my kids some questions to answer after reading the first two teachers. One of my fantastic fourth graders said, "Mrs. Edugator is like a regular teacher now." Some of my colleagues thought that was great. However, I don't want to be a regular teacher. I want more! I did have a good chuckle though. :)
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