Tag Archives: fifth grade

Dec 17 2012
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Teaching

Need to Talk? Try the Feelings Jar.

Feelings Jars

If you need to talk, I know a repurposed animal cracker jar willing to listen. Sure, I could have spent a bit more time making it pretty instead of just slapping a poorly-cut index card over the label, but I’m not that kind of teacher, sorry. Pinterest is not my thing. Hold the gasps, I think it’s cool if it’s yours.

I am, however, the kind of teacher that thinks this jar is pretty amazing. The school psychologist suggested I offer it as a way to help students settle down after recess and lunch without needing to tell me fifty million stressful things.

Today, day one, I think it worked. Hand in the air? No problem, write it down and put it in the jar! Students did not protest, I was able to get to my lessons faster, and everyone got to eat a whole lot of animal crackers, success! I also read some pretty interesting comments, including:

“I’m really happy because I have two little hamsters.”

“I’m so excited Christmas is next week.”

“I’m scared of oranges.” {Huh?}

“I’m scared.” Followed by later in the day, “I’m calm now because I talked to the school psychologist.”

I’ll spare you all the so-and-so’s are being mean… Those will get old fast, but at least the students now have a place to put their thoughts and I have a way to redirect their energy without having to stop to deal with it on the spot. I’d say I got 20 or so comments today and learned more than I usually would about my students in the process. Not bad, not bad at all.

Have anything for the feelings jar?

It’s open for business.

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Dec 15 2012
10 Comments
Health, Home, Life, Teaching, Writing

Celebrate Those Mistakes, Darn it!

I made a mistake today at work. I hate making mistakes. It was one of those memorable mistakes that I’ll carry with me until it is fully resolved. I wish I could explain more, but this is not the right forum. In simple terms, I put too much trust in a child who could not handle it.

At my last job, I made a big mistake early on. I prepared a presentation for my boss to deliver to the heads of a major bank but left out 90 or so of the 100+ slides. It was an error in communication. I misunderstood. As I sat by his side in a San Francisco high-rise, I had my first “oh, shit” moment at work. Thankfully, he did not fire me and everyone laughed. I got off easy.

It’s funny. I’m working to reframe how students see mistakes in my classroom. Maybe I should take my own advice. Instead of being embarrassed, I invite students to celebrate their mistakes and explain what they learned from them. Everyone grows in listening to each other. Students that participate are put on our Shout-Out Board for the week, under the heading, “Our most awesome mistakes we learned from!” They love it.

We kicked off this shift with a presentation about growth vs. fixed mindsets, emphasizing that intelligence is not fixed but earned through hard work. Sure some people have to work harder to get to the same place, but everyone is capable– a very powerful message that ties back to the whole idea that we need to praise kids for hard work instead of intelligence, (<– one of my favorite articles on parenting/teaching of all time).

Chart credit Pinterest.

Credit Pinterest.

Some companies are taking a similar approach by celebrating employees’ mistakes at work. Apparently, some pretty darn intelligent people believe that celebrating mistakes fuels innovation, risk-taking, and minimizes the repetition of company-wide mistakes made in the future. For all my business-minded readers out there, I recommend clicking that link.

So, tonight, instead of beating myself up, I wrote this post to celebrate the fact that I am human, I take risks and I make mistakes. The more I think about it, the more I also see that many of the risks I take at school pay off. Without my creative approaches to behavior management, I would not survive my job. While it sucks that I failed this time, I will make better mistakes tomorrow. Mission accomplished, mistake celebrated.

"I will make better mistakes tomorrow." Credit Pinterest. Side note: I'm a big fan of this tattoo positioning, had been thinking about one on my wrist, but like this better I think... Different words, though.

“I will make better mistakes tomorrow.” Credit Pinterest. Side note: I’m a big fan of this tattoo placement… Just saying 😉

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Dec 08 2012
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Life, Teaching

Teaching: An End to Week 16

Here is a little secret about teachers, or at least the ones I know. We number the school weeks from 1 to 40 as we plan. Week 16 just ended, reminding me we are almost halfway done. Still so much to learn. All those fractions, to decimals, to percents driving my kids crazy. Winter break just two weeks off. Gingerbread houses dangling over their heads like the promise of Santa watching to reward those who are naughty and those who are nice.

When I think of all the weeks I have already survived, I see a bumpy road of highs and lows. This week, thank goodness, was a high. My students worked hard, behavior was good. Only one student went to the office. Consistent behavior management is paying off, even if sometimes it feels painful. I get it though. When you let things slip, each slip gains momentum until suddenly you find yourself in the middle of disaster. Better to be consistently firm.

Week 16 was bittersweet. One of my students rapped in front of the school on Friday for our weekly Town Hall, telling the students “We don’t be rude, we be polite,” teaching assertiveness with four hundred little pairs of hands waving along with him. Still, his friend sat in the bleachers sulking because he lost his chance on the mic. Consistency is hard sometimes, even if it means you care enough about someone to recognize the long-term benefit.

It is strange how two years with the same kids makes you care about them so deeply. I know it goes both ways. They often call me Mom by mistake, the familiarity sometimes confusing when they’re not paying attention. I always respond in a syrupy voice, “Yes, darling?” Then we laugh. That’s the thing. When you spend more than six hours a day directly interacting in one small room, day in and day out, you really do become a family. Even my toughest kids, the ones who would never crack last year, can be made to smile in the middle of their fits.

So, as week 16 ends, I am reflective. I worked so hard to get this little motley crew to care about each other, and now they do, but soon enough they’ll be off to middle school and I’ll be left to start over again. I know this is teaching and I’m not sad exactly, just reflective. We have grown so much and I am grateful to be at a high point instead of a dip.

I leave you with my teaching team’s idea of a good joke. Our Napoleon Dynamite inspired snack day, a quesa-dila bar. Amazing how a little laughter at work makes the day better.

You're invited!

Teacher's Lounge

Tots

Quesadilla Bar

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Nov 30 2012
12 Comments
Life, Teaching

Twenty-one girls, Nine boys…

My classroom is comprised of 21 girls and 9 boys. When I first saw the numbers, I thought, wow, this is going to be interesting. Either we are going to be the chattiest bunch on the planet or one big happy family. Turns out we’re both, including the group of nine boys that still manages to be heard, loud and clear.

I have a special spot in my heart for these boys. Seriously, they make me hope to have a son someday, keeping me on my toes with their wit and humor. However, they also make my job incredibly hard. Not that the girls don’t too, but my toughest boys, the very ones that make me want to be a mom, also give me the biggest run for my money, literally.

Today they also managed to make me smile, repeatedly. Instead of making me want to pull my hair out, they made me like my job. One of my most challenging even went the entire day without a single fuss, (a first, ever). Another told me I really ought to learn how not to let his behavior stress me out because stress is not good for my health, (which made me laugh, almost uncontrollably). Still another came to school proud he read the fifty pages he was behind in his reading. And, my favorite part, two sat with me through rainy day recess content to share the raps they were working on instead of joining their peers…

So, when 4:30 rolled around and I wanted to go home, I went and watched the fifth grade boys basketball game instead. Last year they asked me a thousand times and I never went, always dissuaded by the drive or the overwhelming feeling of being a first year teacher. Tonight, they waved to me across the gym and shouted my name as I walked by their huddle. I felt loved. Amazing how a little love can make all that other stuff melt away.

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Nov 08 2012
4 Comments
Dogs, Family, Health, Home, Life, Pets, Teaching, Writing

Thankfulness Thursday: Three Posts Left…

Three weeks left, so three thankfulness moments:

Each morning this week I’ve awakened a half hour before I need to get out of bed, giving me time to appreciate my snuggling dog and husband. More often than not, I’ve been the middle spoon. Tuesday I lay awake and realized there was nowhere else on earth I would rather be. No where. Sharing one pillow with a dog and a spouse may not seem like heaven to many, but it is to me. Now if only the alarm didn’t have to go off at 6AM…

So grateful for these two guys!

A student in my class wrote me a letter today. She asked me to please talk to her in the same voice she used with me, calm and quiet. Unfortunately, she was caught in the crossfires of some stern words to another student. I did not yell, but I was short with her. Her little note humbled me. Instead of feeling bad I just felt like she was right. I apologized and kept the reminder with me all day. The same student is working on casting a kindness spell on our classroom. Maybe it already worked on me. As long as she keeps her spells positive, I am grateful…

Waiting on my doorstep this evening was a box full of herbal tinctures, vitamins, and teas. I’m on an experimental quest. I’ll spare you the gritty details. Most of us have one medical challenge or another (or maybe multiple). I feel fortunate mine is minor compared to many. However, doctors cannot fix it. Pain killers have been my only option. Recently, I discovered a different path. I’m seeing a woman who combines physical and mental healing with massage and home treatments. Might sound a bit hippie to some, but I feel empowered. Might just transform into a full-on hippie yet. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude…

Today was challenging but writing all that made me feel better. Maybe you should give Thankfulness Thursday a shot too. Only two weeks/three posts until Thanksgiving!

***

Don’t forget! Thankfulness Thursday linkup at Domestic Fashionista. It’s funny, I almost wrote about watching some of my students battle writer’s block as we’ve started NaNoWriMo in my classroom. Turns out Ashley over at Domestic Fashionista already had this topic covered for the week! Great minds…

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Oct 30 2012
2 Comments
Teaching

Microscopes & Teaching

Christmas came early today in my classroom. Three gigantic boxes were wheeled to my door just as my students lined up from lunch. Let’s just say it was difficult to quiet their excitement. Still, like Christmas, I made them wait a bit. When finally we gathered on the carpet to examine the contents of the boxes, they clapped, grinned, and whispered eagerly.

Microscopes, magnets, electric circuits, a replica of the human skeleton… Oh my!

All thanks to $685 from Chevron on Donor’s Choose!

It’s the excitement these kids feel for something as simple as science materials that sucks me back in every time. See, some days I wonder how long I can do it. Some days I feel like I’m teaching under a microscope, especially lately with so many people in and out of my room. But then their enthusiasm for learning makes me think, well, maybe there really is something to this job I chose.

It’s kind of funny. I feel like I woke up one day as a teacher. I didn’t grow up thinking I would teach. I needed to escape my other path, liked subbing, decided why not. Everything just kind of happened naturally. One intense year of teacher residency and another year of teaching later… Here I am. While I never regret this choice, I sometimes question how long I can last. Today I’m refueled. Thanks to some microscopes, happy children, and all the learning there still is to be done.

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Oct 21 2012
8 Comments
Teaching

But why would anyone be racist?

Fifth grade is full of a lot of tough questions. I openly admit when I don’t have good answers, then we talk it out. This week, students asked, “But why would anyone be racist?”

It began as we read When Marian Sang to dissect Marian Anderson’s motivation for facing her fears when she sang in front of a potentially racist crowd of 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. In order to answer the question, students had to examine her background and address the racism she faced when she was growing up.

Normally we read a book of this length in a day, but students were so interested in talking about racism that this read aloud stretched into three days. Over and over again, students wanted to know where racism comes from, why anyone would choose to treat others so horribly. While we did not reach any conclusive answers, we decided it had to do with fear and groups of people living separately. Students brought up how our classroom is groups of people living together, how our president is both white and black. Their faces were shocked, upset, sometimes angry as we talked, but they were also alive with interest.

When I first started teaching, having this conversation would have made me nervous, worried I was somehow going to say the wrong thing. However, in my second year with the same kids, I am braver. I let them talk things out, respectfully, of course. I guide the conversation and offer good examples of our world getting a little better, one step at a time. It is amazing to watch them think through such challenging questions, amazing how deeply they care, amazing how even if our world still has a lot of racism, how much it has also changed over the last century.

Marian Anderson is a hero I never knew existed.

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Oct 20 2012
10 Comments
Life, Teaching

Why doesn’t everyone have healthcare?

It started out innocently enough.

My students were gathered for morning meeting at the carpet, ready for the daily announcements. I pulled out a box and explained the school was fundraising Pennies for Patients. Now, to be fully transparent, I’m not even entirely sure the money raised for this drive goes to patients, its name just makes it sound that way. But, before I knew it, our conversation somehow turned into a Q&A on access to healthcare in our country.

“But, Mrs. M, I don’t get it. Why doesn’t everyone have access to medical treatment? That doesn’t seem fair.”

A lot of eager nodding. Many students gave hand signals showing a connection to not having access to medical care. One student, a tough boy with a big heart, told the class about an upcoming surgery he will undergo and how his family is saving money for that. Another student appeared in class the next day with a patch over her eye and insisted on sharing a story of how her doctor refused to treat her the night before because of a conflict between her public and private insurance policies. Emergency care was out of the question.

It’s hard to explain to children why not everyone has access to affordable healthcare. To them, it just does not seem fair. And, I have to say, listening to their stories, I have to agree. Plenty of people will say kids have easy access to medical coverage, but I can tell you it’s not always that simple. We live in a country with a pretty confusing healthcare system.

What I find most surprising, however, is how many people do not see healthcare as a basic human right. I’m sure some of you reading this right now disagree with me. Friends of ours have full-heartedly disagreed with me. It’s just challenging to look into the faces of 30 wonderful human beings and come up with a good reason why any of them should have trouble receiving prompt, affordable, quality healthcare.

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Oct 15 2012
8 Comments
Teaching, Writing

Teachers, Get your NaNoWriMo on!

Okay, I’m now excited for November for two reasons: Time to write something new AND time to walk my students through their first novels… That’s right, I’m doing it, diving in head first and teaching the NaNoWriMo Youth Writing Program. Fortunately, it fits right in with what we’re already teaching this time of year– narrative writing.

Part of why I am so excited is because my students cheered me on last year as I attempted to write a novel in one month. This year, those same kids will get to try it themselves. When I unveiled my master plan to my students this afternoon, they were giddy. The kind folks over at NaNoWriMo will even be sending them a free box of goodies to keep them motivated.

Today we locked up our inner editors. I almost passed on this, thinking it might not be the best use of instructional time, but they had a blast drawing the mean voices inside their heads that keep them from writing. It turns out that even ten year olds have fears of not being great. We’ll need our editors again in December when it is time to revise, but until then, we’re locking them up so we can just get the words out, (good advice for us grown-up writers too!):

Good-bye for awhile evil inner-voice editors!

It’s funny, I was a little hesitant to teach narrative with NaNoWriMo because it feels like such an epic endeavor to convince fifth graders to pour their attention into novel writing for an entire month. However, day 1 down of preparing their thoughts and I feel like it might be an awesomely memorable part of their year. They’re excited, I’m excited… Wish us luck!

***

PS. I’m now contemplating making my NaNoWriMo novel targeted at a middle grades/young adult audience. This is completely off-course from my previous plans, but it sounds like fun to write something I can actually share with them while they’re writing…

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Oct 09 2012
6 Comments
Family, Teaching

Get Excited About A Wrinkle in Time!

The nerdy little girl in me got really excited when I saw that A Wrinkle in Time was re-released as a graphic novel. As I enjoyed the story again, I realized time was folding back on itself as the child me and the adult me merged across two decades. Then, my copy was already old and worn, enticing me with the allure of a well-read classic. Now, my copy is alive with the illustrations of a new generation:

The cover alone is likely to attract more readers than the old tattered version in my classroom library.

The book is full of so many little truths I never properly absorbed as a child.

I also love that the book tells kids that different doesn’t mean dumb.

And, most of all, I love that the book acknowledges the childhood desire to blend in as well as the journey toward self-acceptance.

Not only did this lovely adaptation reconnect me with my inner nerdy little girl, but it also revealed an adult parable about the darkness in our world and the importance of love. I am excited to add this book to my classroom library, certain my students will also enjoy the illustrations, the allusions to the very math they’re learning, (converting fractions to decimals…), and the rare instance of a math genius girl as the hero who saves herself, her family, the world.

While it took me a bit to adjust to reading a graphic novel, (I didn’t realize how different parts of your brain are required to balance picture and word information simultaneously), I really loved rediscovering this classic story with an adult perspective. If you have a young person in your life who would appreciate a story about being both different and wonderful, I highly recommend ordering this book, (and allowing your grown-up self to enjoy it first!).

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Sep 28 2012
9 Comments
Life, Teaching, Writing

At Least I’m Good At Cheering Myself Up…

Today a student brought me a note. At first, I barely looked at it, distracted in my attempt to convince the class that listening to the sounds of the ocean while writing is beneficial. Most of my students have never been to the beach, so when our peaceful CD started playing and they looked at me funny, I told them to imagine they were writing in front of the sea. Again, strange looks, until I said I was imagining myself there right then, the sun shining, the waves crashing, with a big old smile on my face. That time, they smiled back and nodded, finally getting the picture.

Then, I remembered to look at the note and realized it was a list of all the things the student likes about me, (much more interesting than the complaints I was expecting to read). See, when she was really upset with me last week, an administrator asked her to make this list. She wasn’t asked to share, so I forgot about it, but today she unexpectedly gave it to me anyway.

My favorite entry:

Mrs. M is good at cheering herself up. 

An astute observation, particularly as I sat there using the ocean to indeed cheer myself up, soaking in a few moments of artificially-created tranquility.

This was followed by:

Mrs. M is good at cheering the class up.

So, as easily as I sometimes fall into a funk, at least I’m good at cheering myself (and others) back up. This is probably the best compliment I’ve received in a long time. Thank you dear, bright, sometimes-angry-but-still-forgiving child.

I leave you with 22 crudely-shot seconds of the glorious Oregon Coast in Bandon from this summer. Maybe it will cheer you up too in its quiet simplicity.

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Sep 25 2012
11 Comments
Life, Teaching

Dirty, Dirty Politics

One of my fifth graders is getting a life lesson early. This week is student council elections and her posters are being ripped in half in the hallway, sprayed with water, destroyed. To top it all off, she’s also being called nasty names. When I first discovered this, I wanted desperately to protect her. I wanted to make it stop, (and, I feel I have done everything in my power to do so).

Nonetheless, as I walked to my car this afternoon, it occurred to me that if nothing else, she is learning something about life that is all too true– politics are dirty, even at age 10.

Someone really wants to win. Still trying to figure out who our own Tracy Flick is…

Cue the scene where the posters are torn from the wall.

Perfect timing as our own, “adult” presidential election heats up. If only the grown-ups would lead by example.

 

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