MCC Friday Reflections

      Next week is the last week of school for 2013.  Winter Break begins promptly at 3:00 on Friday, Dec. 21st.       The room this week was buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming break.  Holiday spirits were filling the room--as the kids seemed to be smiling more brightly, dancing more frequently, and singing in Music class with a bit more enthusiasm and added charm.      With the snow falling alongside the temperature Room 202 quickly became our safe haven from the elements.  Indoor recess, heat blowing through the vents, and holiday music playing in the background as we continued with the all important tasks of learning and teaching.      Pictures began filling my desk...each one different yet carrying the same basic message...a message of holiday greetings.  The drawings filled with greens and reds, pictures of Santa’s and elves, presents and snowflakes as ...

     The hallway at Lincoln seemed to only house myself as I walked from the copy room to my classroom on this frigid early Friday morning.  As I walked the tickle in my nose produced a sneeze that undoubtedly echoed to several rooms nearby.  I regained my composure as often my sneezes tend to stop me in my tracks, and while doing so I heard a faint, “Bless You”…I wasn’t alone after all.      I thanked the lone voice and continued on my way to my classroom.  As I trudged up the steep Lincoln staircase I began thinking about sneezes.  I realized that each person really has their own distinctive sneeze.  Some are loud and boisterous while others are quick, soft, and discreet.  Some come in waves, one after another, while others are few and far between.  You might even say that a sneeze, in some ways, reflects a person’s personality.      Now that December has arrived it’s probably safe to say ...

I could just see the top of the desk.   I was five years old.   I had to keep rising up on my tipee-toes to get a good look at what my older sister was doing.   It was my first Thanksgiving Break as I was a kindergartner.   The light shone on the paper as my sister wrote the letter. When she summoned me into her room I hadn’t a clue as to what she was up to.   She was my senior by seven years and in my mind she knew everything.   I caught glimpses of what she was up to and saw that she was intent on her task.   She wrote with what seemed like ease and grace to me…I longed to be able to write someday.   “What do you want for Christmas?” she asked, “from Santa” she added. “Santa?” I replied, “You’re writing to Santa?” Without missing a beat I told her that I wanted an “Oscar the Grouch” puppet.   She obliged and wrote it down. That’s all I can recall of that time with my sister, writing to Santa. I don’t remember anything else...

I have three young children (ages 6, 5 and 3).  One first grader and two pre-schoolers.  I look forward to sitting down to dinner with my young family each night, listening to the chatter, enjoying the food.  During the school week my wife and I usually ask our kids what they did in school that day.  From Henry and Ella, our youngest, we usually get the same responses..."recess, play-doh, job of the day"; from Ava we get a bit more but she seems to "forget" what she's done just hours earlier.  We kind of expect these responses but ask nonetheless--if for nothing else than to establish a pattern of expectations.  Expectations for our kids to think about their day at school, share the day's events, and hopefully gain an appreciation of other people's days. Since we aren't getting a whole lot of information thus far in their formative years, I try and make it a point each night at bath time (I give the baths as my wife gets th...

    The above picture was actually created by the class during math. We're starting a new unit and the concept is "Decimals and their Uses". Whenever I begin a new unit (especially in math) I try to ascertain how much my students already know about the content. This guides my starting point for teaching, insuring that I am not wasting their time or mine by teaching them something they already know. Those ideas are best left for a quick review rather than a full-blown lesson. There are several ways to determine the "pulse" of a class in terms of a certain unit of study; you can have them complete a K-W-L chart (what do I " K now", what do I " W ant" to know, and what did I " L earn"?), or you can give them a pretest on the concepts that will be taught and learned. You could have an informal discussion, asking them to talk to you or each other about the topic at hand. Or you could "Wordle". Wordle is a c...

The sound of the air conditioner has ceased; replaced by the whirl of the heating vent. When the vent first kicked on the dust flew up along with bits of string, glitter, and other remnants of classes past . The story for this week was titled, "The Stranger". It is a fantasy tale of a Jack Frost (or the season of Fall) In short, a farmer, with his truck, hits "Jack Frost" while driving down the road. The farmer takes him home to care for him. Jack Frost has amnesia due to the bump he received from the accident. Throughout the story there are clues to his identity. As a class we had a great time finding the clues, identifying causes & effects, and unconsciously bringing the Fall season into Room 202. The kids' clothes are aligning more with cool weather than they were last week. The colors being worn are darker, more conservative. The daylight is not as bright as it streams through the blinds. From the windows here in Room 202 (on the second ...

"We are to prepare children for the future". While preparaing to become a teacher I heard this often. It can be tricky at times only because the future is uncertain. We're not absolutely sure what kinds of jobs will be around when kids grow up. We're not quite sure what kinds of societal problems will unveil themselves. So we move along the best we know how, anticipating the future, keeping up on the latest technology, and having discussions amongst our peers. All in the name of preparing our students for the future. I have had the pleasure of being a co-leader for Student Council for the past 10 years. It's is fulfilling on many levels. One of those levels is the opportunity I have to teach children about the political process. Our local, state and national government has been set up very carefully by those who founded them. A system of checks and balances, of a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people", of electi...

Six weeks has passed since the beginning of school. In those six weeks one of my "Friday Reflections" was about establishing a classroom within the first six weeks. Well, here we are. So how has it turned out? I would say quite well.  They are still pushing in their chairs when we leave...that's encouraging! And they are slowly but surely become a "well oiled machine". One area that proves to be challenging for any class I've had is our rotating stations for Reading & Math. Three times a week, faithfully, we have Math Stations in the morning and Reading Stations in the afternoon. The kids are split into four groups and there are four activities. One activity is always with the teacher, the next activity usually involves a practice book of some sort (Math Journal or Daily Practice Book), a third station will be a game, grading, or extension activity, and the fourth station is always the computer station. The groups of students sp...

Today is Thursday. I'm writing my Friday Reflection one day early. It is late afternoon slipping quickly into evening. I sit in Room 202, the sound of the air-conditioner humming in the background, silence around me otherwise. I will not be in school on Friday. There will be a substitute teacher taking care of my students for the day. It will be the first time this year that my students will tackle the day without me. It's a day of many activities on the agenda. They will be taking their Selection Test for the story, "Marven of the Great North Woods" along with their spelling test on the laptops. Of course, the Basic Math Fact Test will also be taken with paper & pencil. They will learn about fire safety in our 2nd week of the "Learn Not to Burn" lessons given by the Elmhurst Fire Department. They will have Spanish and Gym. They will complete Reading work and grade math homework. To end their day they will be practicing a "Secure in Plac...

Fourth Grade is considered a "turning point grade" in the field of education.  It transitions a child from the primary level learning to the intermediate level.  With this transitions comes a host of changes; academically, socially, emotionally, & physically. A social-emotional aspect that always presents itself revolves around responsibility and accountability.  The two "-abilities" that present the highest level of frustration, confusion, and stress for 9-10 year-olds in a school setting. On Fridays the kids are given their "work from the week".  They have completed many assignments through the course of a week; grammar, spelling, morning work, science, social studies, test, quizzes, etc..  They like getting their packets of work.  Each Friday I can hear the flipping of pages at the end of the day as kids look at the work they produced.  Minor squeals of delight and moans of distress often accompany the mad rush through the pa...

When I began teaching some 13 years ago my principal at the time gave me a book.  It was called, "The First Six Weeks of School" This book outlines strategies for setting up a classroom and getting the school year off to a good start.  It emphasizes the importance of establishing routines and expectations.  It details ways to model and teach how the classroom should run on a day-to-day basis.  It provides practical advice on how to communicate in a way that elicits respect and an appreciation for both the student and teacher.   As you might be able to ascertain from the title, the book proports that the first six weeks of school are really the most critical in this "establishing of the environment".  I can recall thinking to myself that six weeks is way too long to spend on establishing a classroom.  There was teaching to be done, curriculum to get through, chapters and quizzes, tests and papers, grades and report cards.  Maybe...

There are 25 students and two adults in Room 202.  That's a lot of people in a room for 6 hours a day.  Needless to say, there is a shortage of space.  It's hot.  It's stuffy. On the first day of school I told the kids, as I always tell my new students, to push in their chairs when they leave their desk.  I told them this is especially true this year since we have so many people. They listened.  Not only did they listen the first day of school, they kept pushing in their chairs day in and day out.  It may seem like a small thing, maybe even insignificant.  But it's more than a simple act of pushing in a chair...it speaks to the character of the class; and ultimately the character of the individual. A fourth grader has many things on their mind...least of which is to push in their chair when they get up.  They have to think about their school work, their friends, their family; who they are going to sit next to ...

The week comes to a close today. My 13th year of teaching is underway. I am fortunate; in many ways. Being able to work with children has afforded me the opportunity to reach into the future. The kids I taught 13 years ago are now in their early twenties. Some may be finished with college and seeking employment; some may be fully employed. Others may be furthering their educational endeavors by going for a higher degree, while still others may be seeking to start a family. As a teacher, it is strange to think of these scenarios when talking about my former students. You see, I still picture them as the nine and ten year olds that they were when they were with me. Placing them at a graduation ceremony, a job interview, or even a wedding seems to stretch my imagination. But I know they are there; living their lives probably in a manner consistent with their personalities that shone through in my classroom. In the end, I know in my heart that they are fine. And hopefully th...

One hundred. 100. The number of unsolicited compliments earned by this year's 4th graders in Room 202. 100. They set their goal at 81. 100. They had runs of several compliments in one day. 100. They had runs of one compliment a day for several days in a row. 100. They had dry spells; some lasting a week or two. 100. They encouraged each other to "do what it takes" to earn a compliment. 100. Many students earned a compliment for the class by getting an individual compliment. 100. They were just as excited for their first compliment as they were for their 100th. 100. Compliments were given by teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents. 100. Throughout each day opportunities presented themselves to earn a compliment. 100. They capitalized on (at least) 100 of these opportunities.  Often times more...which went unrecognized...but I saw them! 100. They earned them in t...

Charms indeed come in threes... For the past 12 years my students have set a class goal for themselves beginning on the first day of school.  We call it our "Unsolicited Compliments Goal".  When I introduce this idea to my new 4th graders they understand the concept of a "compliment" but aren't quite sure what "unsolicited" means.  The pursuit of the meaning of "unsolicited" becomes our first official lesson of the school year.  In the end, they understand that "unsolicited" means that  a request for something is not expressly made outright. Following par for the course in their endeavor to reach the goal set for themselves, the "unsolicited compliments" always roll in comparatively "heavy" during the first weeks of school.  Kids naturally are on their best behaviors when school commences in the Fall; they are just figuring out their new environment; they like to put their best foot forward;...

One of the advantages of teaching the same grade level for an  extended period of time (12 years and counting in my case) is that  one learns what works with kids and what doesn't.  One learns the  likely outcomes of certain practices.  One learns how to avoid  common pitfalls in lessons and projects which allows for maximum  learning opportunities for students. Science is a favorite subject among many students.  It is interesting, dynamic, and lends itself well to a variety of learning styles.  We  read, discuss, watch videos, create projects, and perform  experiments.  We allow the verbal, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic  learner to experience the concepts...each receiving the information suited to them. Currently we are studying the "Changing Earth".  The unit began exploring the different layers of the earth; their composition,  temperature, and...