Why I Teach Wednesdays: A "Beautiful" Story (And Catching Up on the Week)

Well I'm behind on my posts because I've had three LONG days in a row of professional development (yippee!).  So this is going to be a quick post to catch me up with Monday through today and then hopefully I'll be back on schedule.  

Musical Monday

I saw this on Pinterest and absolutely LOVE it!  It's not academic but it'd be a cute song to sing together for a brain break and/or to encourage a positive classroom environment.

Click here for the link to the YouTube video!

Teacher Tricks Tuesday

I love this vocabulary boosting activity.  Every day when I introduce a new vocabulary word from our read aloud, I put the word on a reward chart like this: 

Then every time a student says, hears, reads, or writes that word in the classroom we put a sticker next to the word.  Once the chart has a decided number of stickers (I usually put a star at 10 so it doesn't take too long), we do something to celebrate that word.  For example, one year we had the word "enormous." Once we filled up ten stickers next to the word, I had them come the next day ready to find all the enormous things I used throughout the day.  I wore enormous sunglasses to pick them up from recess in, I used an enormous dollar store pen to check attendance, I used an enormous eraser, etc.  They had a blast spotting all of the enormous things throughout the day, and it was a fun connection to the word so they hopefully won't forget it!  There's all kinds of things you can do with the different vocabulary words.  It's a great chance to be creative! If all else fails and you can't think of an activity to do, you can give them label stickers to wear that say "Ask me what _______ means today!"  I've really enjoyed this engaging method of teaching vocabulary, and I'd love to hear other fun ideas that you may have!

Why I Teach Wednesday
So I was working in my classroom last week, dusting the layers upon layers of filth that had built up, when I walked over to an area that used to be home to one of "those" students.  A student who required ALL of my energy and patience some days.  But those same students are usually the ones that hold the most special places of our hearts, aren't they!?  Ok, not all the time, but this was certainly true for this little fellow.  He drove me crazy, but he also had the sweetest heart and just needed love.  And I loved that boy as hard as it was sometimes.  Anyway, I was over in his "spot," which of course was in his own "special" area for behavior purposes.  Then I noticed some cut up sticky notes stuck to the wall in front of where his desk sat.  Three little pieces.  With three words.  "Mrs. Guillo......is......beautiful."  And that, folks, is why I teach.  No, not so children will call me beautiful (although I could certainly get used to that! ;).  But I choose to teach so that I can be there for a child, so broken and hard on the outside, yet God's child, craving love and acceptance on the inside.  I'll never forget the ups and downs I had with that particular student.  And in my 6 years of teaching there are so many that have touched my heart the same way.  Sometimes I wonder, as I'm sure you all do, if I ever make a difference in their lives.  Do they know I care?  Was I too hard on them?  Why did I get myself into this (and where's the Excedrin!?)  But then we get those little reminders that all those headaches and even tears are worth it.  Why do I choose to teach?  Because all children deserve a chance to know they're loved.  And I believe God has called me to show them that.

Teacher Tricks Tuesday: Beuller? Beuller? Beuller?

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  It's a rainy morning here!  My son and I ran to the store to get something really fast and I ended up with 30% chance of rain all over my newly applied clothes. But we were desperate for rain, so I won't complain at all.  And an added bonus...it's COOL outside!  At the end of July!  God's little blessings! 

Anyway, for "Teacher Tricks Tuesday," I wanted to feature something that a dear friend and I came up with our first year of teaching.  She's more of the genius behind it, I just sort of said, "You know what we need? Something to make taking attendance and lunch count less of a time consumer."  And she, being the brilliant teacher/creative mind she is, took it from there! 

Our theory was this:  Taking attendance and lunch count in the morning, based on what we had seen through student teaching and subbing, turned into a 30 minute routine once everyone was settled.  What a waste of precious teaching time!  Plus, it was a classroom management issue.  Does this sound familiar?

     (Teacher taking attendance): "Joe Smith?"
     (Student, not Joe Smith): "He's sick!"
     (Another student, also not Joe Smith): "No he's not!  I think I saw him in the cafeteria!"
     (Another student): "No you didn't!"
      ...etc.

Well, we may have done a lot of stupid things our first year of teaching, but this was not one of them!  The concept is simple...

Here is the version I've adapted over my years of teaching...
1)  Make a clothespin for every child.  Put their names on BOTH sides.
2) Clip them to a long piece of ribbon attached to the wall
3) When the student enters, he'll find his clip and move it to the left side to show that he's here.  If he brought his lunch, he'll move it to the left, but he'll place it below the red line (not pictured here, sorry!) on the ribbon.  
4) Student unpacks his backpack and gets started on his morning work quietly
5) Teacher takes attendance by quickly glancing at the clips and marking it on the attendance sheet.  Students are not disturbed, enticed to blurt out, or make those silly (read: annoying) alternatives to saying "here" such as "president,"  "not here," or the more creative ones like, "salami."

*I used to put their numbers on the clips instead of the names, but I changed that for 2 reasons.  First of all, I moved down to first grade, and I just thought it'd be simpler from the get-go for them at the beginning of the year.  Second, when I had a sub, she didn't have to get a class list and figure out which student was what number.  I figured I could afford the 50 cents it costs to replace the clips each year.  And it's worked beautifully.

What do YOU do to save time and keep classroom management in the mornings?  That's always a busy time, and I'd love to hear any other brilliant ideas out there!  Have a wonderful Tuesday and stay DRY!

Teacher Tricks Tuesday...My 2 Cents on Coin Counting

Hello! We started back to school this week after a fabulous spring break...and boy did we have to hit the ground runnin'!  Next week is testing!!  Eeek!

For those of you under the common core standards in K-1, you know that money is NO LONGER in the math curriculum for us ( I have mixed emotions about this!).  But, until we do away with the current standardized tests, I still feel the need to teach them at least some basics- so I address this briefly during our calendar time every day.

Teaching coin counting can be a pain because not only do students have to be able to identify which coin is which, then figure out how much it's worth, then count it all together- but they have to switch counting patterns....first by 25's, then by 10's, then by 5's, then add ones at the end.  CONFUSING!! But last year a colleague taught me a teacher trick for counting money that I just LOVE!

Teach your students to tap the coins when they count.  Tap the quarters 5 times, counting by fives.  Tap the dimes twice, counting by fives.  Tap the nickels once counting by fives.  Then add one more for each penny. 

This way, they're only counting by FIVES instead of constantly switching the counting patterns!! Genius!   I had never heard of this, but it has changed my teaching and definitely has given my students confidence in such a challenging area!

So if you've never heard of this trick, I hope it makes teaching coin counting a little easier like it did for me!  I love hearing awesome ideas from colleagues and teacher friends across the globe!  Any other great tricks for coin counting out there that you use?  Share your ideas!

Teacher Tricks Tuesday- Whole Brain Teaching

Last summer was when I made my first pin on Pinterest.  My life, like many of yours, will never be the same again.  As I was preparing for the new school year, I found myself finding so many brilliant ideas on there that made me so excited to get started with my new group of firsties.  One of my most life-changing finds was a pin that led me to a YouTube video of a teacher using Whole-Brain Teaching.  Our school has not had this training,  but I used what I gathered from the videos in my classroom and it is AWESOME!  I have since registered for the WBT website and watched the videos, read the research, and applied other aspects of it in my classroom ( I highly recommend you do this...there's a lot more videos with detailed explanations of their philosophy).  I can't wait to start this next year with an ever better grasp of it!  HERE is the link to the WBT website.

I started to type out a long description of what I’ve learned from the videos, but then I figured it’d be much better for me to just give you links to some of these videos so you can see for yourself and take what you want from them!  WBT is full of lots of little "teacher tricks" that help with classroom management and engagement.  The best part?  You can start a lot of the concepts now- right here in the middle of the year!  Another great part?  These little "tricks" aren't time consuming at all!  In fact, all of these little things you can do are meant to be quick commands with quick responses to keep the students engaged and actively learning!

I hope they inspire you like they have me.  I really have noticed a difference in behavior management, engagement, and information recall!  If you watch these videos and like what you see, you’ll have to let me know what you try in your classroom and what works for you!  And if you already use whole-brain teaching, would you share with us other ideas that bring success to your teaching?

Here you go...

#1

#2

#3

**Search on YouTube for "Whole Brain Teaching" and you'll find lots of great videos for your grade level!

Happy watching!

**Disclaimer: A criticism I have read by from some of the video comments on YouTube is that kids aren't really "learning" this way...that they're just using repetition to recall information.  Let me say, before I receive similar criticism, that my understanding of WBT is that it is meant to be used as an effective management tool and teaching aid, not the sole means of instruction.  Of course, all teachers want their students to think critically and comprehend deeply.  But they need a foundation of basics in order to do that.  I think WBT is a great way to establish that while keeping the students on task. 

Teacher Tricks Tuesday- Push Lights

Ok, I found this great management idea via Pinterest, which is originally from The Lesson Plan Diva. 

This picture is from The Lesson Plan Diva's blog.

You get one of those cheap push-lights from Wal-Mart, the dollar store, etc.  When the light is on, students are not allowed to come up and ask you questions. This way you can devote your time to the kiddos you're with and not have to be interrupted during that precious, minimal time you have in the small group setting.  As soon as I saw this idea on Pinterest, I bought a light and used it the very next day. I love it!

Then that got me thinking...I have a classroom that has bathrooms in the room- one for boys and one for girls.  It's a one-toilet closet-style restroom.  I can't tell you how many times I've had quiet work time interrupted by someone yelling "I'M IN HERE, CLOSE THE DOOR!!" (which is kind of funny, to be honest, but very disruptive!)  So I recently thought about purchasing two more push-lights to hang on the wall, one by each door, to use as an "occupied" sign.  When they go into the restroom, they push the light to turn it on.  When they leave, they turn it off!  It's a quiet, easy signal that shows when a restroom is available or not.  I can't wait to try it! 

I'm starting to see lots of other great uses for these cheap little push lights.  What are some other brilliant ways you have seen them used?