Mental Thoughts on Upcoming Year

How Do You Feel About the Upcoming Year?

Sitting in the car anticipating our family vacation as we travel to Washington D.C. One of the perks of having two parents in education is that summers are off and we get to squeeze in some family vacations before the school year begins.

You may not believe me, but it is quiet in this mini-van. Gone are the days when my babies, who are now big kids, would scream out their demands or be throwing up from car sickness. So its quiet, for now and the new school year sneaks into my brain. Thoughts about the new goals and strategies I have for my year. There aren't many changes, but lots of new staff to meet. For the first time in many years, I will be teaching the same grade level for the third year in a row. Many teachers tell me year three is a good one because you get into a new kind of rhythm. I'm not sure if that is true, but I'm looking forward to what year three feels like.

I am thinking about the parents I will get to meet. Of the partnership we will get to share. They entrust me with their most precious gift for a whole year. It is always and honor. But most importantly, I hope they know that I will love their child like my own.

Then my mind drifts to our annual open house night and meeting the 22 kids on my list. Of those first moments and impressions we will have together. Of the things they will get to do: A scavenger hunt, new supplies, getting a desks and locker, and take home a secret envelope to read before the first day of school. So much excitement for the anticipated year ahead. All these things are fun, but not as important as the relationship that gets to begin on this day. That will be what we get to focus on as have our first day of school together the following day.

This one goes in the secret envelope

CLICK HERE

The stress, long days, grading, projects, field trips...etc. That will come, but its all worth it. I GET to TEACH. I get to help 22 students see Jesus through my actions and words each day. This is why I feel privileged to be in Christian Education. I can intertwine anything we learn into faith building experiences.  Our community in third grade will begin soon in my classroom and that is exciting!

How do you feel about starting the school year?

Five Ways to simply incorporate self-assessment.

 Five Ways to Simply Incorporate Self-Assessment.

Where am I Now? Teaching students to self-assess and set goals for next steps can be a challenge. You may not know that it is simple and easy. What if we start simple though?  I guarantee our students will become more aware of their journey.  Below are five simple ways to include self assessment in your classroom. 

1. Chips, Buttons, and Connect Cubes. 

For young student who require immediate gratification or if they have not made the connection between effort and success, these simple pieces will help you out. You can put chips in a jar, buttons on a string, or connect cubes. As they master each learning target, they collect, connect, or place in the jar. 

2. Learning Chains

You can complete a chain with paper. The chain could say, "I have learn to_______, My evidence is____________." When students master the learning target, they get to complete the link and save it in an envelope or make a chain to hang on the board, desk, or locker. If you don't want it to be individual. Make a class chain every time someone accomplishes a goal!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

 3. Stars and Stairs

With elementary-age students, it is important to explain this tool using same vocabulary.

"What have I done well? (That is my star)
"What can I do next? (Thats my stair)

As the teacher you help them think through  what they are going to write for their "Stair" The student has to understand that they are going to be the one to achieve the star not you.

Link Here for conferring sheet

To keep track of these conferences. Use a binder or folder. The conferring sheet is helpful (pictured above) So is the sticky note sheet (pictured below). You can actually place sticky notes on these and it will print!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

4. Turn in Bins

Grab these labels to help your classroom self assess their work on a basic level. Studies show that students who are partners in their own assessment show increased engagement in all subject areas, and are more likely to become lifelong learners. Also, students who are taught to analyze their own learning show increased motivation to learn

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

Purchase a Sterlite 3 drawer desktop unit. Add the labels inside. Students can place their work in the drawers according to how they feel about the task. 

5. Posters

Use posters in class while you instruct to get immediate feedback from your students with a quick hand signal. Post these in the front of the room for everyone to see and be reminded what they are.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

I love how formative assessment requires students to be at the center of their learning. They need to understand their strengths and weaknesses so they can learn how to deal with them. Finding extra time to do this can be a challenge. That is why it is important for us to find a starting point. I am hoping that these resources can help you on your journey to self assessment in the classroom.

Growth Mindset Activities and Parent Guide

This beginning of the year packet was designed to help you instill a love for learning and growing in the hearts and minds of your young mindsets! The activities in this packet work wonderfully with whole or small groups. I hope you and your students enjoy using these materials. 

CLICK HERE for the activities and parent guide

An original story about a character named Growing GUS who teaches children that growing up can be hard, but if you are willing to try, learning isn't so bad.

A parent brochure that is chock full of helpful reading information, including what a growth vs fixed mindset is, a list of do's and don'ts to use, and great questions to ask while discussing goals for the upcoming year. 

"Ready to have a Growth Mindset or Not Yet?" Activity #1

This activity can be completed as a whole group or table groups (if you teach an older grade). Students will be introduced to 8 different characters. Each character is behaving a different way while learning and playing at school. Your class must determine whether their behavior is “Growth Mindset” behavior or not. (Example: “Shannon’s group was ready to build and try an obstacle course using books and tape with a battery operated car. When the books fell down, she grabbed more and said, “I bet we need to find something to support the book.”) This is an excellent activity for students to act out and spend time discussing whether these characters Brian's are ready for growth or not. 

"Scoot!" Activity #2

This activity could also be done as a whole group or table groups. Students will read about 20 cards with statements character's make about their learning. Students will have to determine if the statement means the character has a growth or fixed mindset. 

Encourage your Young Readers

BUILDING YOUR CLASSROOM COMMUNITY SHOULD COME FIRST

We all put in hard work to establish classroom community and character building. How many of you use picture books in your classrooms for this? These are a great way to teach LIFE skills, and it is up to us to give our students access to these stories!  Below is a list of books I highly recommend. Some are new and some are older. Maybe one or two will speak to you and your class this year! Can't afford them all? Youtube it and play it for your classroom. 

—Community: Nimoshom and His Bus, You Held Me Up,  Blue Sky,

White Stars, Not Quite Narwhal, The Field.

—Identity:  Julian is a Mermaid, The Day You Begin, Beautiful, Cece loves Science,

I love My Purse (boy who gets made fun of and has a purse)

—Anxiety/Depression:  After the Fall, Small things (wordless picture book),

The Rough Patch (dog lover’s book), There Might Be Lobsters (underrated)

—Compassion/Empathy: Adrian Simcox Does Not have a Horse, I’m Sad, Teddy’s Favorite Toy,

Words and Your Heart, The Rabbit Listened, The Bad Seed (another book coming)

—Kindness:  I Walk With Vanessa(wordless picture book), Be Kind, Where Oliver Fits,

The Neighbor Kid, Albize Newton—that kid in your classroom that no one understands and impacts the other kids in a negative way,
The One Day House, Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Melissa Stewart (celebrating animal underdogs - NONFICTION)

—Acceptance & Inclusion:  Mixed: A Colorful Story (mixing colors in a segregated city),

All of Us, All Are Welcome (Aug 20) true story of a school that is super inclusive and diverse,
The Big Umbrella (doesn’t matter, umbrella is big enough for all), Strictly No Elephants (first day book)Emily Arrow video to go with,
Night Out

—Family:  Alma and how she got her name, Always Anjali,

Ocean meets Sky (pair w/ Drawn Together), Drawn Together,
Carried Away, Meet My Family (Family is Family is Family—paired with)

—Self-Concept:  Rainbow Weaver, Our Children Can Soar (different illustrator every page),

That Is My Dream (Langston Hughes poem), The Bad Seed,
Crown & Ode to the Fresh Cut (black barbershops), Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy (multiple illustrators),
My Hair is a Garden (how to take care of your hair), Hey Black Child

—Empowerment:  Don’t Touch My Hair, I am Enough, Rock What Ya Got, What If,

The Little Red Fort, Mae Among the Stars(Mae Jamison), Pearl

—Bravery:  Malala & the Magic Pencil, Brave, Rescue & Jessica, Off & Away, Jabari Jumps

—Cultural Awareness/Understanding:  Bow WOW & Pow wow, Dreamers, All Around Us ,

All the Way to Havana

—Activism & Social Justice:  Let the Children March, The Youngest Marchers,

The Rooster Who Would Not be Quiet, Here We Are

—Processing the World: The Breaking News, The Water Princess, Now,

Ten Cents a Pound, Her Right Foot

—Doing Right/Responsibility: We Don’t eat Our Classmates, Penelope the T-Rex,
Issa Gizmo, Shelter, When We Were Alone, Alfie, Hello, Hello

—Fun & Laughter & Surprises: The Itchy Book, Out, Festival of Colors, Dude!, Misunderstood Shark, Rapunzel, Creepy Pair of Underwear

Quick Tips As You Head Back to the Classroom

Become efficient with your time as your prepare to head back to the classroom using these quick tips.

Tip #1- Know the environment you need to stay productive. 

If you are like me, you need things quiet even though you crave a conversation with those you missed seeing all summer on staff. This means I stay home and do all computer things there. When I arrive at school I print and copy. 

Another tip is to close the door and place a sign on it that reads, “I apologize in advance but I suffer from being distracted so I closed my door to get stuff done.” 

Tip # 2- Have a to-Do list. I

 I have used both digital and pre-made forms or grocery lists for this. My FREE editable printable is attached HERE as a freebie for you. (Color and Black&White available)

I also use the app. “Any List” I love that this app has a share feature. 

I can share it with my husband so he knows I’m knocking out my list😜 rather than chatting with my colleagues all day. I also use this app for grocery lists or packing for trips! Give it a try for free!

Tip #3- Treat Yourself Well

Treating yourself well doesn’t mean you need to have fancy coffees and catered lunches. (However, sometimes a teachers has to do what a teacher has to do)  It simply means to manage your time so you can take care of you. For me this means breaking the stuff I have to do into manageable chunks so I do not have to make emergency drive through runs to McDonalds. However, I do still drink my Diet Coke 😜 Once the calendar flips to August, I have four weeks until school begins. I take my to do list tasks in 1-2 hour chunks 3 times those first two weeks of the month. Then I increase my time 1-2 weeks prior to school beginning by going 4 hours 3 times. By week one prior to the first day of school, I’m in full out school mode due to meetings and open house night. I tie up any loose ends this final week and work a normal work week. 

Tip #4- Limit Multi-tasking- Say what?

 Isn’t that the ongoing job of a teacher? It seems like a skill every modern worker is expected to possess, but countless studies show time and time again that multitasking can actually limit productivity. Granted, there are times when you’ll need to multitask, and to be honest, it doesn’t look good if you get flustered whilst trying to talk on the phone and perform another simple task simultaneously. So, where possible, focus on one thing at a time.

ALL ABOUT SHARKS

Who loves Sharks?? Maybe not swimming with them, but you love learning about them. 🙌 My children love sharks. 🦈 We recently took a trip to Sea World and we stayed by the shark exhibit for at least an hour.  Reading is something I want my kids to love, so I made an extra effort to pick a topic they LOVE and create organizers to help teach them what good readers do!

My kids will get to respond to what they learn by filling out some graphic organizers. I guess that's what happens when their mom is a teacher :)

Consider enriching their experience using informational text and organizers to show what they are learning! Check them out HERE

Teaching the Core Democratic Values

Any social studies class can apply the values: Life, Liberty, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Common Good, Justice, Equality, Diversity, Truth, Patriotism, and Popular Sovereignty.

This product includes:

Pennant Banner for bulletin board

Vocabulary Posters with each CDV (Color and B&W)

Vocabulary Puzzle pieces with CDV and kid friendly definition (Color and B & W)

Bookmarks in kid friendly terms (color and B&W)

Reading comprehension passages with questions