The No Excuses List

By the time my friends reach 4th and 5th grade, there are some things that should be non-issues. There are some things I should not have to spend instructional time on.  Basics.  Thus was born the No Excuses list.

Each year, after the first couple of weeks of school, I do a quick intro to the No Excuses list. This is a chart of things that, by the time they get to 4th or 5th grade, a student can reasonably be expected to be responsible for doing.  Things like starting sentences with capital letters and putting endmarks on sentences.  It is not unreasonable to expect those things of my students.  However, I find so many of my friends do not have automaticity with them.  They should be no-brainers, but my friends have shown (year after year) to be very lax in doing them.

To intro the chart, I have the chart done with just the title.  I explain what a No Excuses list is. I tell them that this chart will have on it the things that we know every 4th and 5th grader has been taught in previous grades and can be expected to do when reading or writing.  These are things your teacher this year should not have to teach again because you learned, practiced, and did them in 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd grade.  I then have the kids brainstorm a list of what they would put on the chart.  THEY KNOW!  They know what they should be doing!  Without fail, every year, they come up with the exact things we need to have on our list.

I usually start with the top two; capitalizing sentences and using endmarks/end marks. (I always write endmarks as a compound word. I've seen it both ways band have just always written it as a compound word. Spell check does not agree!) We add teach item to the chart and in the bullet, put the date we add them to the chart. On my chart, the 27th and 28th were actually both added on the same day, but I was talking and writing at the same time and wrote the 28th by mistake.  Except for those two items, I usually add items one at a time with at least a week or two between adding an item to the chart. This gives my friends time to work on each without being overwhelmed.

What makes the chart work is the rule.  Once it is on the chart, from that date forward, it is expected to be done on all work. No Excuses!  If a paper is turned in with any of these errors, the student will get the paper back to fix or redo. Or, if I notice it on the paper before they turn it in I will say that I can't accept that paper and they need to check the No Excuses chart.   I find that it is usually not that kids can't do these things.  It's more that we don't, at some point, draw that line in the sand and say, "Okay, this is now on you!  You have been taught and/or retaught these things year after year and now it is your responsibility to do them without being told. No excuses!"  I know this might sound harsh to some, but I promise you after just a couple of weeks you will see a dramatic drop in students forgetting to do these basic things.  I find the key for me is to stick with the expectations and be consistent in not accepting work that doesn't meet the standard.

Now, I also know there may be some students you need to make exceptions for.  But, in general, if something makes it on to your No Excuses list, everyone is usually expected to do it.  What you have on your list can be tailored to the grade level, students' abilities, and the expectations you set in your classroom. You know your students best, so you have to create a list that works for you. The list can be added to as the year goes on, but I generally focus on things that have been taught in previous year(s) and are reasonable expectations of my students.

Is this something you think would work in your classroom?  

What would be on your No Excuses list? 

Or, do you handle this issue in another way 

that might be good to share?

Carpet Manners - FREEBIE

I have a nice, big carpet in my meeting area for my friends to sit on.  When I had a full class of 5th graders, we always had to sit close together.  The biggest problem was making room for each other and keeping our hands and feet to ourselves.

This year, I meet with about eight students on the carpet.  That would be eight students max.  This leaves plenty of room to spread out and create some new problems that I never really had with a full class.  Problems like kids sitting way at the back of the carpet no matter how many times I remind them to move up.  I even had one child rolling around on the carpet during the lesson. Rolling as in tucking his legs and arms and rolling like a Weebles from one end to the other!  This called for some carpet rules STAT! Here's the poster I made that is taped to the bottom of my chart stand.

Rather than come up with more rules, I went with carpet manners. Manners sends the message that it is all about being polite to others and ready to learn!  I'm sure we all have different behaviors we expect, but for my kids these seemed to be the ones that were most needed.

1. Sit Pretzel Style - There was a lot of lying down on tummies or on their sides with head propped up in their hand.  I'm okay with this for some carpet work but not when I'm giving direct instruction.  We also sit M&M style sometimes, but I didn't add that to the poster.  This is an example of what we call M&M sitting, even though its just one M:

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I think it is sometimes called a W position, but M&M sounds more fun!  I have some kids that prefer to sit this way.  Honestly, I would have to break some bones to make my legs do this now!  :-) It is totally for young knees only!

2.  Face the Speaker - This means the teacher or turning to any other person speaking. With my small group, we usually sit in a semi-circle so that helps this work a lot.

3.  Place Materials in Front - Notebooks, pencils, novels, etc. sit on the carpet in front of you until needed.

4.  Listen Actively - I had fun modeling what active listening does and does not look like with the kids.  They were completely offended when I turned away from them and started looking around the room or looked down and began playing with my shoes while they were talking to me! Got my point across rather quickly!

5.  Raise our Hands to Speak - I don't always need this one as with such small groups we often have more natural conversations that don't require hand raising.

The poster is just a Word document on two pages that I printed, taped together, and laminated.  If you would like a copy of Carpet Manners for your own, you can download it by clicking HERE.

Meaningful Cooperative Learning

I've noticed over the years that I tend have my friends do a great deal of cooperative work in all subjects.  It isn't something that I've done intentionally, but it is something I am very comfortable with and find it to be a very valuable learning experience for my friends.  However, it took me a long time to do it right.  Or, at lest what I consider right for me.  Below are some methods I use when having my friends work in cooperative groups.

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Tactical Pairings
Some of my cooperative work involves pairs while other times I will have groups of up to four friends.  It depends on what they will be working on.  However many I group, I generally practice what I call Tactical Pairings.  I have a learning objective, and I need to create the best team possible to achieve that objective.  Sort of makes me feel like a Navy Seal commander!  :-D

Truthfully, random pairings seldom make an appearance in my room.  When I first started teaching, I used things like partner clocks where I could just call out a time and they could refer to the name on their chart/clock and partner with that person.  Over time, I came to realize that this sort of random pairings was not providing optimal learning opportunities.  Now, there is always some thought behind who works together.  My pairings can be higher and lower ability students, a linguistic learner with a visual learner, or two students with similar strengths.  The possibilities really are endless.  Most often, I look at learning styles.

When making cooperative groups, the first thing to take into account is the activity requirements.  For example, when we were working on owl pellets, part of the project was to create a teaching poster.  This was a perfect opportunity to pair a linguistic learner with a visual learner.  The poster project allowed them to combined their strengths to create an effective final product.  Another example would be an assignment that requires your students to build something.  This is a perfect time to partner your visual/spacial and logical/mathematical learners with your linguistic or kinesthetic learners.  To learn more about Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, you can click here and here.

This may seem like a lot to manage, but I have a fairly simple way to do it.  At the beginning of the year, once I get to know my friends a bit, I take a class list and jot down each students' learning styles.  I also make a quick note if there are any students who should not work together.  I revisit this list at the beginning of each marking period and make any necessary changes.  Then, when it's time to group my students, I just grab the list and call off pairs or groups.  Again, you have to keep in mind what the requirements of the project will be to create the most effective pairings.  Having the list ready to go allows me to make tactical pairings or groups quickly without any real planning before hand.

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Agree or Defend
Talk is not encouraged in my cooperative groups, but conversation is required!  I want my friend conversing on the topic at hand.  Earlier this week, I paired my friends to work on a social studies project using elevation maps.  They had several questions to answer.  My friends know they have to discuss the answers before they can write the answers.  This means they have to both agree on the answer or defend their answer to their partner.  It makes for meaningful conversation.

 I should mention that the rule in my room is that when working in cooperative groups where each member produces their own work, they can have the same answers or they may choose to go with what they think is correct even if it doesn't agree with their partner.  Ultimately, they are responsible for their own work.  However, having to agree or defend their answer before writing it down forces them to explain why they think they're correct.   Not only do they have to be able to support a reason why they are right, they have to be able to articulate it to their partner.  This is higher level thinking at its best! Also, if they are incorrect, it is usually realized in the course of the conversation and fixed.

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Key Words & Phrases
When we start an assignment, I will often write some key words and phrases on the board.  These are the words I would expect to hear in their discussions as  I walk around, as well as written in their work.  These words will be a few important vocabulary words pertinent to the lesson,as well as some words meant to help the lesson flow.  For example, in addition to vocabulary words I might add a few new transition words and phrases.  When they are using these words and phrases, they come to own them.  They will incorporate them into their own oral language.  As I walk around and listen in on my groups, I will often stop and prompt them with questions such as:  Is there a key word you could add to what you just said?  Hmm, I see the word *** on the board, how does that fit in with what you are doing? It allows me to guide them in their thinking as well as forcing them to use stronger vocabulary.

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Choice
Offer your friends more than one way to complete an assignment.  An example would be the elevation maps my friends were using.  They had to create an elevation map.  There was no getting around that.  However, they had the choice of creating a map in several different ways:  flat contour lines, raised elevation using stacked paper, color physical maps, or maps using patterns to denote elevation.    Having choice makes for a happier student who is more willing to learn.  Also, your friends will almost always select a choice that fits one of their learning styles.

I find in literacy, there are numerous way to provide choices that fit different learning styles.  I have paired students who have similar learning styles and just from that know exactly what project they will pick.  This happened recently when we were doing a character study.  I grouped my friends who had similar learning styles.  Then, I offered  the same assignment that could be done by writing and singing a song, drawing and labeling a life-size picture, writing a letter to the author, or acting out a scene from the book.  Something for everyone!  Not only did they have fun with this, but I had active learning and participation happening while everyone was working in their strength. 

And. . .

In addition to the strategies above, I have my friends interacting when just sitting at their desk for teacher directed lessons. Let's face it, not every lesson can be a project.  Sometimes, we just have to teach.  There are many ways to keep them actively involved, but one of my favorites and most effective is. . .

Turn & Teach
When teaching a new concept, particularly in math, I will often stop midway through and have one student turn and teach the concept to the other students.  My friends sit in groups of four, so they are always partnered.  I will ask them to turn and teach their partner how to do ***.  They have to pretend their partner knows nothing at all about it. However, if they do make an error, the partner is allowed to stop and help.  I then walk around and listen in. It lets me see who has it and who doesn't.  You have to know it to teach it!  This really only takes a minute or two, and then we move on with the lesson.  The next time we do it, the roles are reversed.

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So. . .

Overall, it might seem like I put a lot of (too much?) time and thought in my cooperative groups.  Well, I do and I don't.  I do in that I always try to make sure my groups are put together with purpose.  I don't in that the tips above are second nature to me at this point.  Having the list of my friends' learning styles makes it easy to make pairs and groups.  Once my friends are used to having to discuss, not just talk, with their partners, it becomes habit for them.  A good one!  I don't have to put much time consuming thought or planning into my cooperative groups.  And, as teachers, we never have time to waste!  Nor do our students.  This is why having cooperative groups that provide a real learning opportunity for our friends is so important.

The Power of the Sun

Oh my!  I can almost taste the end of the school year!  Only 43 days or, as I like to think of it, only 8 more Fridays!  It has me thinking about blogging over the summer.  I've not carried this blog over a summer.  I really started in this past August.  I was able to do a lot of posts about getting ready for school and then the school year sort of generates its own topics.  I have to be honest, I'm sort of wondering how I am going to do this over the summer.  Do any other teacher bloggers out there have any suggestions?  I might do a post later requesting some ideas!  For now, I'm sort of thinking along these lines:

1.  I want to do a lot A LOT summer reading of kid books.  My friends read more than a lot, and I haven't been keeping up with their books so well.  This should give me some book related posts.
2.  I applied to teach summer school this year.  Over my 15 years teaching, I've probably taught summer school eleven out of the fifteen years.  I like it because it runs in the morning, so I am done by 12:00.  The school is also about five minutes from my house, so it's an easy gig in those respects.  Experience tells me summer school will provide plenty of topics!
3.  Okay. . . stumped!  I usually do some revision of my curriculum over the summers, but I am so done for this year.  I don't even want to think about curriculum over the summer!  Having said that, there are two professional books on my shelf that I just haven't gotten to, so I might tackle those over the summer.

I'll have to see how it goes.  I always have a slight panic that I won't have a topic to post about, but something always pops up.  :-)  I just know I want to enjoy my summer this year more than ever!

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How funny is that?  I really am planning to do a lot of "what I think I do" with a good deal of "what I really do" thrown in!  I honestly believe that summer vacation for teachers isn't a perk but a psychological necessity!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Does your classroom get a lot of sun?  I have to say that my classroom does.  I'm on the second floor of the school.  If you look out my window, there is a really pretty courtyard below, but when you look across you have a clear view to a pretty area of woods.  I have a really nice view.  However, in the afternoon my classroom is flooded with sunlight.  In the winter it's really nice, but in the summer it makes for a very hot room. 

One thing I haven't really paid attention to is how much it fades the posters in my room.  I think I don't notice it much because all my bulletin boards are covered in Fadless bulletin board paper.

Do you use this stuff?  I love it!  It truly never fades.  I can go years without replacing the paper as long as I haven't put too many holes in it. :-)  I think it's well worth the money.  I know some people like to use fabric, table cloths, or other things for bulletin boards, but I'll stick with my Fadeless.  They even have many different patterns if you are looking for more variety.  The only other time I switched it out was to use newspaper to cover a current events bulletin board.

Anyway, this is the job chart that hangs in my classroom.

I made this after looking at prepackaged job charts.  I wanted something smaller and something I could customize to the jobs in my classroom.  Here's a closer look.

 I just made a two column chart in Word and typed in the various jobs I wanted.  Then, I found clip art that matched and stuck it in.  When I was done, it came to two and a half pages that I just glued to two pieces of 12x18 construction paper.  Then, I laminated it all and stuck on some magnetic tape.  We just write on it with a wet erase marker.   Notice that pledge is crossed out?  It was a classroom job, but our new principal decided morning announcements to now include the pledge so we all say it at the same time.  Nice, I guess, but it took a popular job away from my friends.   You might also notice that I left some blank spaces at the bottom.  This works out great if you decide to add a job at any time.  It's also great for special jobs that may only be for a period of time.  For example, when our Student Council runs a special collection, the job of collecting the supplies becomes a job.

Anyway, I really bring up my job chart to say that is how I noticed how the sun has been fading my posters.  Here is glimpse of the back of the job chart.

See that bright blue?  That's what color the chart was in front, too.  Not any more!  I need to redo my job chart.  I'm thinking I might use the Fadeless paper this time.  It will be sort of flimsy as the Fadless isn't as thick as the constructin paper, but I think the laminating will help it hold up. 

By the way, see the big X next to the job of Plants?  That job is to water the plants once a week.  The X?  Yeah, we killed them this year.  I hadn't really paid much attention to them until one day I noticed all our plants, with the exception of one, were dead.  Seems I had two forgetful friends take that job two months in a row.  Not good for the plants.  I told them it was surely a good thing we didn't have a class pet! 

See you next post!

Planning the Impossible

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, but it's been a crazy week.  In NJ, we have off today and Friday for the New Jersey Teacher's Convention, and of course Veteran's Day.  I'm not going to the convention, mostly because I brought enough school work home with me to fill those two days plus some.  There just isn't enough time in the day. 

This is how I was feeling as I worked on lesson plans this morning:

I know the nature of our job is that we bring work home to grade each night and do more grading, planning, and preparing over the weekends as well.  From day one as a teacher, I knew this was the deal I signed up for.  I was telling a friend about the crazy amount of work I bring home, and she said that that's why we have prep periods and we could work during our lunch if we really wanted to get our work done during the day.   And before you ask, yes we are still friends. :-)

I tried to explain to her how my prep period can be totally eaten up with just one parent phone call.  Or busy gathering work for my absent students.  Or playing peacemaker for an issue my friends may be having.  Or in a meeting with the principal.  Or in a meeting with the child study team.  Or working on an additional project that our PTO thought would be fun for the kids.  Rarely am I able to spend my prep time planning, grading, or preparing.  That happens, almost always during my lunch, and after school or at home.  As I said, I understand that's the nature of the job.   And while it seems I have had to bring more and more home than ever before, my real issue today is the amount of instruction we are asked to do within a time frame that doesn't expand.  It seems that we are asked to squeeze more instruction in our day with less time than ever to accomplish it.

Specifically, I'm talking about my literacy block.  I would love your feedback on this.  I have literacy instruction from 10:45-12:40 each day. 1 hour and 55 minutes.  Here is how my administration requires us to break it down:

10:45-11:15  Centers-This is where my friends work independently on center activities while I pull small groups. (30 minutes)
11:15-11:30  Word Works with the full class (15 minutes)
11:30-12:05  Writing Workshop (35 minutes)
12:05-12:40  Reading Workshop  (35 minutes)

To me, this is an impossible schedule.  You can't possibly do Reading and Writing workshops effectively in 35 minutes each. And  yes, we are expected to fit in all the components of each workshop in that 35 minutes. Notice too that there is no transition time built in to this schedule at all. I can't even squeeze any time out from either end because my friends are at special until 10:40 and then have lunch at 12:45.  To say my colleagues and I are beyond frustrated with this schedule is an understatement.

I bring all this up because this morning I have been working on plans for next week.  To date, I've been fudging my plans a bit.  I've been skipping centers some days to make more time for workshop or doing one or the other workshop on some days.  Not ideal.  So, today I thought I would plan following the rules.  It just doesn't work. 

This is where I would really appreciate your feedback.  Do you think 35 minutes for workshop is reasonable?  Am I out of line? What is your literacy block like?  Any suggestions on how to make this work?

Respect and Brownie Points!

How do you motivate your class towards good behavior? 

I'm not one for a list of class rules. 

I just have one:

At the start of the year my friends and I brainstorm a list of good classroom rules.  I write down everything they say.  By the time we are done, the board is covered in rules.  We take the time to discuss each rule and why it is important.  I then relate that rule to respect.  After discussing each rule, I erase it and replace it with one word.  RESPECT.  It is amazing how respect covers pretty much everything.  Respecting classmates, property, feelings, pretty much anything you can think of.  It's a pretty powerful lesson for my friends because, by going over all the rules they brainstormed we've pretty much covered anything that can or could go wrong.  The best part is that in the end the board is covered with the word respect.  It's a powerful visual.  We finish the lesson by making a small poster of that one word and hang it in the room.

This pretty much gets my friends through the year.  This year, I decided to add a twist with some positive reinforcement.  This year, my friends can earn brownie points.  It's not easy, but they earn brownie points if they get a compliment from another teacher, a substitute, doing something above and beyond, and pretty much anytime I see something I really like. :-)  Here's our Brownie Points tray.

I tweaked a sign I found online to say "Sweet Behavior Earns Us Brownie Points!"  The brownies on the sign are from a box of Little Debbie's brownies.

For the pan, I went to the local dollar store and found the perfect pan.  Perfect because it's small and only cost $1.  Finally, I Googled "brownies" in search of the perfect brownie.  I just copied, pasted, and printed  a bunch of them on card stock. I made them smaller to fit twenty on the pan.  Twenty is a reasonable amount for my friends to earn.  How real looking are these brownies?

As you can see from the top picture, my friends are close to the reward.  I'm just not sure what the reward should be!  I told my friends that when they reach twenty brownie points, we would brainstorm a list of rewards and decide on one together.  So far, they keep telling me they want brownies.  How funny is that? I'm sure the list will get bigger when the actual time comes.

Oh, by the way, my friends can lose brownie points.  We did lose one from this tray for some misbehavior in the hallway.   I try not to take them away, but once in a while you need to practice a little tough love!

For some reason, in my school, the marble jar is very popular as a reward system.  There are a lot of teachers that use it. When the marbles reach a certain level, the class earns a reward.  As for me, it's all about the brownies.  How can brownies not be better than marbles? :-D 

How do you reward your friends?