No matter what content area you teach, vocabulary is a foundational part. But ever since I began teaching 20 years ago, I have hated vocabulary! The students would check out mentally and go through the motions of copying down definitions and examples, without truly learning or owning the words. Then I would spend so much time creating vocabulary tests and then hours checking and grading them! Over the years, I've found several ways of doing vocabulary that aren't miserable for me or the students. I found these especially helpful when I taught AP Psych, which is a vocabulary-heavy class and test. First I'll share with you the different technology pieces I use to have students practice their vocabulary, and then the strategies I use in class to teach vocabulary. At the end I'll share some free templates and easy resources to save you time! (These links are not paid sponsorships or affiliations, so I get no kickback from you clicking on them. I just use them and like them and wanted to share them!)
Research has stated that student need 7-10 exposures to the words in order to truly learn the word. At first, that sounds incredibly overwhelming! But I've found that giving students a variety of ways to learn the word initially makes those exposure much less daunting. The more ways a student can experience the word, the better. If those ways can be multi-modal, creative, cooperative, and engaging, their brains are even more likely to remember the terms! And psychology has shown that brains also crave novelty... by having several research based practices in your vocabulary toolkit, your students will easily be able to apply them to their own lives and your content area!
Now that I've shared all that with you, I will admit... I still spend too much time writing new tests and grading vocabulary sentences that my students write. But now that I know they are actively participating in the learning of the words and applying them to real communication, I don't mind it as much. My district uses Canvas, so my quizzes are through there. I make a section for matching the word to the definition, and section for multiple choice to fill in a word in a sentence or real life application, and then ask students to use the word in their own sentences (with proper context clues and part of speech usage). Most of the time I give them a timely theme to write about (homecoming, a recent snowstorm, the lunchroom, etc). It's not perfect, but it works for us :)
If you try any of these strategies out in your classroom and love them- let me know! ~ Crista [email protected]
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In my previous blog I covered five introductory elements of positive psychology and how teachers could apply them to their classrooms and lives. Today I'm going to cover the last five and hopefully leave you with some easy strategies and resources to use! To review, the first five were being grateful, being mindful, taking care of your relationships, being passionate, and setting goals. These next five build off of and complement the first five very well! I go back to school in four days, and I'm trying my best to practice these now, when I'm not stressed, in order to make those pathways in my brain stronger for when I am stressed! 6. Practice Self-Compassion. We are so often more harsh with ourselves than we would ever be with our family, coworkers, or students. Under stress, my default self-talk is highly critical and negative. I would NEVER speak to my loved ones or students the way I do to myself. But I've found that awareness of your inner monologue is the first step in changing it. My suggestion for this one is two-fold. First, be curious. Listen to your thoughts and try to objectively describe how you talk to yourself. What kind of language do you use? What tone do your thoughts take? When does your logic trump your initial emotional response? What do your loved ones tell you when you inevitably mess up? Look for patterns. Then, find a positive mantra or two to override the negative talk. Mantras take up the thought space so the negativity has less room to run wild. And the repetition of them help rewire your brain to think and speak to yourself differently. I have loved mantras for years (thanks, yoga!) and have some resources here to surround yourself with positivity. Right now, my mantra is this: -->"I am a strong and capable (wo)man." (from Ted Lasso) Check out these Mantras for Mental Health for teachers on my TpT store. 7. Acts of Kindness. Altruism is defined as "the belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others." Simply put, do nice things for other people without expecting anything in return. I know when I'm in a bad place mentally, I am usually exhausted and depleted from helping others. Teachers are helpers. We help our families, our colleagues, and our students. The last thing I want to do is more help. But sometimes, going out of our comfort zone of normal helping to do something different to make someone else's day better- that gets us out of our head and back into the healthier place of gratitude and relationships. You don't have to organize a missions trip to a needy country- you can do so many small things that are often taken for granted today. Holding the door. Giving a compliment. Picking up a dropped object. Texting someone you know is having a tough time to let them know you're thinking of them. Bringing an unexpected treat home to your family. Being kind to others makes our own world brighter too. 8. Cultivate Optimism. Feel your feelings, but don't be controlled by them. There is power in feeling your feelings, but there is also power in looking for another perspective. Cognitive Behavior Therapy will often ask patients to reframe their thoughts. Automatic negative thoughts can be countered with awareness and practice. Optimism does not have to be blind or foolish. We can simply be curious about our experiences and look to at least acknowledge the other side of negative situations. One way that teachers can apply this is asking themselves the question- "But what am I missing?" So your room got moved. That stinks. But now you get new neighbors to bring in different perspectives. So you have lunch duty this year. Opportunity to meet new students and get visibility and thus credibility with them. Your district is implementing a new assessment program. Maybe it will give you data you could never access before to inform your instruction. Yes, all these things are annoying and frustrating. But rarely is any thing or any one all bad or all good. Be curious. What are you missing? This minilesson on accepting things as "Perfectly Imperfect" helps overcome the negativity bias and open up optimism in your life. A newly added 90 minute lesson plan on Positive Psychology: Optimism is in my store now. This station rotation will help students compare and contrast optimism and pessimism, and gives real strategies for improving optimism in life. Check it out! 9. Prioritize Self Care. One of the most important quotes that changed my life was this: "True self care is creating a life that you don't need to escape from." It's not bubble baths and massages (Although I do love them both and they do help my mental and physical health.) But if you're not able to make the right choices to create the life you love, chocolate bars and a pedicure ain't gonna fix that. Now. You ABSOLUTELY cannot pour from an empty cup. So you need to get good sleep. Eat vegetables. Move your body. Take your vitamins. Find a therapist. Go to the doctor for checkups. AND you can also do the uncomfortable work of setting up boundaries to shelter yourself from toxic people. You don't have to work on nights and weekends if you don't want to. You don't have to let people treat you like junk. Taking care of yourself means making tiny, seemingly insignificant choices again and again and again that will eventually lead up to a life you love. What's a small boundary or choice that you can make to take care of yourself today? 10. Think Positively. Lastly, mindset matters. And honestly, all the other 9 elements combine to allow you to think more positively about yourself, your choices, and your life. You cannot bully yourself into thinking more positively. But you can try the little tricks and tips in these two blog posts to add up to more positive than negative in your life. It's foolish and harmful to engage in toxic, forced positivity. No "good vibes only" here... that's honestly unrealistic and makes the very natural feelings of disappointment and frustration be compounded by guilt. There will be crappy parts of life. But people can practice the tools to make themselves more resilient and overcome setbacks along the way. The ebb and flow of life is inevitable. Coping with the tips from positive psychology helps us become happier and healthier throughout the tides of life.
7/23/2023 0 Comments Think positivePositive psychology is a more recent adaptation of humanistic psychology. It focuses on the positive potential of human beings, instead of the old everyone-is-broken-and-needs-to-be-fixed model. It's refreshing, but often counterculture. I'm delving in to this area not only to create psychology lessons and activities for it, but also to apply to my own life and my family. My first lesson, Introduction to Positive Psychology, gives a nice overview of the ideas you'll see in this and upcoming blogs. It begins with an anticipation guide, previews key vocabulary, and has students create their own definition of positive psychology. Each one of these elements of positive psychology is very practical and focuses in on helping an individual find deep meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment in their lives. The founding father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, poses the idea that there are three different types of happy "lives": pleasure, goodness, and meaning. While my resources will focus on helping students understand and apply these and other concepts to their lives, I also wanted to share some ideas for teachers to apply these to their teacher life. I'm only going to cover the first five ideas in this post-- stay tuned for the next set! 1. Cultivate gratitude. A common suggestion is for people to keep a gratitude journal. I suggest teachers keep an anecdote journal of quotes or actions by students, colleagues, admin, or parents. A small, palm-sized spiral notebook fits nicely inside a teacher desk without taking up too much room. Your entries could be "I'm grateful all of 3rd period turned in their homework!" or "I'm grateful my teaching partner covered my duty so I could call the doctor for my own child." The more specific you can be, the better. Try not to repeat one- ever! One way that I heard this question reframed was changing it from "what are you grateful for" to "describe when you last felt gratitude." The shift goes from listing things to experiences, and makes the exercise more personal and meaningful! I have two minilessons on gratitude you could use with your students. My Introduction to Gratitude resource and Expressing Appreciation resources (these include meditations and application activities too) are on my TPT store for you to check out! 2. Practice mindfulness. In its essence, mindfulness is being present in this moment, not worrying about the future or ruminating in the past. Teachers have to many things to do and think about, that it is so easy to let your mind wander. One mantra that has helped me is "Be here now." Pay attention to the students that you have in front of you- it's the most important time you get with them. Don't think about the copies you need to make, or that ominous question your administrator dropped on you this morning. You and your students both deserve you to be focused and present. Check out this book for a great visual of this lesson! {The Three Questions by Jon H Muth} Mindfulness can also be used as an overarching concept that includes many other topics within it. This resource bundle gives you a lot of options for way to cultivate mindfulness in your classroom and in your life ! 3. Foster relationships. Teachers, find your person. You don't even need a tribe. Find one adult who you can stand for longer than 5 minutes and who shares your teaching philosophy. Teacher work rooms and lunchrooms can be toxic places of gossip and complaining. Avoid anyone who is an energy vampire, and seek out someone who fills your bucket. Then don't let them go. Text them a funny meme. Leave a compliment on a sticky note. Bring them a surprise coffee. Open up to them, and make sure you're trustworthy with their baggage too. While avoiding everyone might seem like the safest option, it is ultimately not the happiest or most fulfilling. 4. Pursue your passion. You've all heard of Simon Sinek asking people to find their "why". Too many teachers rely on external motivation from student successes or relationships. Instead, find your passion through yourself and your own unique strengths and talents. Teaching also tends to focus on a negativity "fix them" mindset for professional development. If you are lucky enough to be given choices, choose to foster your strength, not fix your supposed "weakness". You'll find yourself much more passionate and engaged if you do this. Maybe your niche is creating spot-on formative assessments. Maybe you rock the engagement strategies. Perhaps you go wild for some hands-on manipulative ideas, or differentiation, or social-emotional learning... you get the point. Find what sets your soul on fire (in the teaching world) and do more of it. Then spread your spark to the others around you! My newly added lesson Positive Psychology: FLOW covers the concept of using your skills, passion, and purpose to find meaning in your life. The activities begin with a graphic organizer to learn from the "grandfather of flow" himself, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in a TEDtalk. They will then watch a second video about other criteria for creating a flow state. A self-reflection worksheet allows them to think about and plan for flow in their own lives, and a hexagon card sort finishes the lesson to review how all the concepts relate together. The concept of flow is my new obsession, and I'm telling everyone I can about it! 5. Set Goals. Education is often a goal-oriented space. We set goals for state testing, individual attendance, participation, test scores... it's not hard to find. How often do you get to set a goal for you and only you? A goal that you care so deeply about that you don't need to re-read your write up of it to remember what you said? This might not seem like much to others, but at my new school I made it a goal to bring my lunch every single day. And I did. I also had to stock emergency PB&J uncrustables in the freezer for days I forgot, but I saved SO much time and money by putting this goal out for myself. In my experience, SMART goals don't help. I find them to be too cumbersome. Instead, I like to focus on creating healthy habits that will ultimately lead me to my overall goal. This summer I vowed to get into shape and lose weight to relieve my chronic back pain. I didn't make a smart goal. I chose something meaningful, then cultivated my habits to get me closer to that goal. I did it the old-fashioned way...diet and exercise. Those healthy habits helped me lose 35 lbs in 6 months, and I feel so much better! For an introduction to habits, I created this resource to use with my students. The priority list activity within it is one of my all-time favorites! When we change our mindset to embrace our full potential instead of dwelling on the lack, we can refocus ourselves on a healthier, happier path. Gratitude, mindfulness, relationships, passion, and goals are essential. Don't let me tell you what to do- try it for yourself and see how it can change your world, one choice at a time. Choose to remember one positive over all the negatives. Choose to refocus your brain on what is right here, right now. Choose to cultivate a relationship with another adult to support and be supported by. Choose to find what makes you passionate in your teaching and explore it even further. Choose to look forward into the future to set a goal, and then honor yourself by achieving that goal. Positive Psychology Concepts5/8/2023 0 Comments Hang in there...We're almost done. We can see the finish line. We can taste the freedom. But we still have two major district tests and three weeks of real class left. How can I keep myself and my students fully engaged up until the end of the semester? I can't make any promises, but I can share what I'm trying in my classroom, and I hope you can find something worthwhile too. 1. Doodle, color, or draw. Not all my students like art, but many of them do like to doodle or color while they are listening, waiting, or thinking. I changed my seating arrangement in my classroom back to table groups, and have highlighters, Twistable colored pencils, and random pens at each group. But the key has been to add outline font and icons to our readings, graphic organizers, and worksheets. It adds a layer of silliness to the day, and I have some juniors who come in every day now and ask, "can we color today?" Yep. As long as we are learning while we do it! 2. Movement. If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know I'm a bit of a control freak. One of the ways I keep things orderly is by assigned seating charts! The kids hate not being able to choose where they sit, but they focus so much better when I make good choices for them :) However, this last month I let them choose where they sit when they come in. That means the first few minutes of class they can sit by their friends and have some freedom. And then, when we are done with our bellringers, I find a way to make them move into new groups. Sometimes I have them number off within their groups. Sometimes I have them mix and mingle to share their bellringer, then whenever the music goes off they sit wherever they happen to be. But most of the time I get them into some sort of line and count them off into their new groups. Today we lined up by shoe size. Yesterday it was by the first letter of their last name. A few days ago it was their birthday month. It's a nice way to break up cliques, get them moving and talking, and adds an element of silliness as well. Click here to get my FREE Ways to Group Students 3. Group work. This works really well if you've developed a culture of collaboration within your classroom. Unfortunately, this year being at a new school with some crazy life surprises, I didn't do this as well as I wanted to. I still have students who are afraid or refuse to share or participate. But I have a ton of kids who crave social interaction and discussion, and group work motivates them and makes the class pass faster. My favorite strategy is hexagonal thinking discussions, but I also use jigsaws, stations, and various forms of small group discussions. Today for fun we did our discussion using a coin (flip) and dice (roll). There were six questions on one side of the paper (heads), six on the other (tails), and students took turns flipping and rolling to see which question they were to think-write-share. 4. Hands On Projects I'm not going to lie, I get a little jealous of my math and science and FACS friends. It seems their content areas are so much more hands-on than Language Arts. Reading and discussing are so... cognitive. But when I told my students that they were going to do a good-ol-fashioned collage project, they literally cheered! A few weeks ago, to study for the national AP test, I had my AP Lit students create a simple 9-square foldable chart. They were struggling-I was giggling! But even the most simple graphic organizers can be turned into foldables to add a level of novelty and engagement for the students. *NOTE* For your fidgety students, maybe consider leaving a few post-it notes at your groups. By the end of class today I had two origami swans, a frog, and a mini fortune teller. All while they did their work! 5. Engaging Concepts and Content Nothing compares to this. All day, every day. But especially at the end of the year... save the best content for last. Create a relevant unit based on a concept they care about and can personally connect to, then use it and essential questions to frame your content. My juniors are studying "The Pursuit of Happiness" as we read various non-fiction and short stories. From Dr. Heidegger's Experiment to Emerson's "Self-Reliance," they are constantly asking how we create happiness, how important it is to be happy, and whether they agree with the authors and characters or not. Sprinkle in a little social psychology, and it's the perfect recipe for an engaging unit to end the year. Other concepts that have been engaging for students at the end of the year have included:
Can I end with a little secret? I use these strategies all year long. Every one of my units is designed with concepts and essential questions. I use movement every day since we are on a 90 minute block. All of my worksheets and graphic organizers are doodle- or color-able. And I try to do one jigsaw, one station, and one structured small group discussion each unit. Pick one, try it, and see how it works for you!
2/17/2023 0 Comments Be the light"If it doesn't work out after you've tried all that, maybe it wasn't mean to be a part of your story," I told her. She held back tears and gave a small smile. "You give really good advice, you know that?" she said. "Thanks for caring about me." This was the last conversation I had on my way out the door on Friday after school. A student had left class, then come back to tell me about something going on in her life. I listened, sympathized, and supported the only way I know how. I know it didn't fix her problem, but maybe it empowered her to be a little more resilient and accepting. This conversation is what sparked my most recent blog here. Teachers have a unique opportunity- dare I say, obligation- to support the emotional and mental wellbeing of their students. We are with them for a large part of their waking hours. While our paycheck comes from planning, instructing, and assessing the content and standards, our humanity can never be separated from it. Nor should it. Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that every teacher should pour their heart and soul into each student's troubles and try to fix them. That would be exhausting, ineffective, and blur the lines of professional boundaries. But. We can and should pay attention to students as humans. We all know that building relationships help students succeed academically, but it is my belief that school is also about learning how to be a good human. They need good role models: someone to listen when they are struggling, someone to see past their fragile façade when something is really wrong, someone to connect them with supports when they don't know what else to do. Context: this year I am at a new school, where none of the students knew me. I've had a really hard time getting them to trust me, open up to me, and understand my goals and values for our classroom. Finally, this week, it seemed like the barrier dissolved and they let me in. I think it also came at a time where, here in the Midwest, the cold snow, lack of sunlight, and stircrazy anxiousness all hit a peak. We had a ton of fights, absences due to sicknesses, apathy, disrespect, and the overall tone of the building was just on edge. It was this week that I was humbled and overwhelmed by the emotional needs of my students. One of my girls asked me to buy a big bag of gummy bears from her for $5 so that she could afford dinner before the choir concert and there was no food at home. One of my students burst into tears because her failing grades made her ineligible for the dance that the rest of her friends were going to, and she knows she's smarter than that. My own child refused to go to lunch because all of her friends were sick and she's scared to death of germs. One of my boys who works full time to support his family found that his mom is uprooting them to move out of state for a new boyfriend. I overheard a girl call her dad for a ride because she missed the bus, and witnessed him cuss her out full volume, refuse to come get her, then hang up on her. One student said to a friend at lunch, "I don't understand why my parents leave me alone all the time, then get mad when I fend for myself. What else am I supposed to do?" We truly, honestly, never know what heavy things other people are going though. Students are people too. Before any of this happened, completely unrelated, I had made an update to my mental health bulletin board this week. I found the timing to be odd but appropriate, and I just hope that even one person felt inspired or uplifted for even a moment. I took the idea partly from The Semicolon Project, an anti-suicide initiative. Their website states: "A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you, and the sentence is your life. PS: You Story Isn't Over." I also took a phrase from the musical Dear Evan Hansen, which has themes of mental health and suicide prevention. If you haven't seen it yet, at least listen to the soundtrack. If you don't have time for the whole soundtrack, just listen to the song "You Will Be Found" by Ben Platt. I cry every time. Click here to find the ready-to-print Suicide Prevention Bulletin Board resource on my TPT storefront. I think back to the conversation Friday afternoon with my student. I know what she shared with me, but I don't know a lot of what she's dealing with beyond that. All I can do is see the person in front of me and treat them like a someone who matters to me. My sincerest wish is that all adults use their position to be a light for others who might be walking in darkness. To spread the message that tomorrow needs each and every one of us to make the choice to stay here, even when things get tough. That we are not alone in this journey through the difficulties of life. That every person matters.
12/17/2022 0 Comments Journal Prompts for All ContentsHow often do you write for yourself as an adult? As a teacher, do you ever model thoughtful, non-graded writing for your students? Too often we focus on learning to write "correctly" or assessing content knowledge that we overlook the importance of writing to learn... to learn about ourselves, the world, and life- past, present, and future. In my class, we write every day at the beginning of class. Sometimes it's directly related to content or skills we are covering, but more often I see powerful student writing come from personally relatable concepts and big idea questions. I get to know my students so well through these writings. It takes 5 minutes right at the beginning, and the students know I don't grade on grammar or "correct" answers. For many of them- even some of my roughest boys- this is a safe place to express themselves and release thoughts and emotions. I didn't think I would read everything everyone writes every time... but I can't not read them all! I love it! Writing is such a personal action. They know I read and interact with their as a human, not as a grader. It builds relationships and trust between us. It's worth the class time to do, and it's worth my personal time to read and respond. Here are some of the generic journal prompts I wrote for other content areas (I teach ELA this year): ELA:
MATH:
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
ARTS (Art, Dance, Music, etc)
Also, this is not mine, but I've used it as a resource for essential questions and journal prompt inspiration in the past: www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/examples-of-essential-questions/ The logistics: They use one piece of paper, date each entry, and write for 5 minutes (I use a timer religiously). This time gives me a chance to check in with students who were absent as well as take attendance. In some classes they want to share what they wrote with their table partner, and in others they want to keep it to themselves. Either is fine! They add to the sheet every class period with a different dated entry. I only collect at the end of two weeks. I'm on an A/B block, so this means they usually have 5 entries. I read and interact with their answers, commenting on commonalities we have, asking questions, giving suggestions about life, etc. If they wrote, they get full points. If they are absent, they can always hop online and see the question for the day they missed and make up the points. That's it! So easy. I've had many students tell me that they always read my comments. If I don't comment anything, they get mad! It's truly such a relationship builder.
I hope this list helps you get started with journaling in your classroom! Let me know how it goes! ~Peace 11/8/2022 0 Comments Inspiration StrikesI really wish I was one of those teachers who has everything perfectly planned out weeks in advance; copies made, grades up to date, everything aligns... you know the ones. But I've come to embrace that I am not that person. My brain doesn't work like that. Fortunately (unfortunately?) for me, my brain is constantly thinking about a thousand things at once. So while I'm in the shower making my mental grocery list, I'm also thinking about an upcoming lesson. And sometimes, during this mental "free time", inspiration strikes. Sometimes, that inspiration strikes 10 minutes before class starts. While it's not ideal, I've learned to lean into these moments of last- minute musings and trust my gut. I've been lucky that most of the time, these sparks of creativity have worked in my (and my students') favors. Full transparency: this happened to me this last Monday, right before class. My AP students were coming in to do their 3rd book club meeting, and I don't like to have them do the same thing every time. I knew I wanted them to do something with important quotes from their sections, but I didn't know exactly how or what that would look like. Then, as I'm eating my mini-cucumbers for a snack, it came to me. Inspiration. The muse. A spark of creativity. I have no idea what caused it, where this came from, or any logical explanation for it. Does this happen to you too? If you know, you know. So I followed my instinct and ignored the little anxiety devil on my shoulder who was doubting me the whole time. "It's not good enough," he said. "They won't like it," he warned. But I did it anyway. I typed up my vision, printed off a few copies, and gave it to my students. They. Were. Engaged. Their groups were discussing which quote(s) would be the best choice. They were debating what the appropriate tone word was to capture the essence of the quote. They offered ideas for the cause and effect of the quote, which is personally my favorite part. And they stayed on task, flipping through their books and having academic conversations together, the entire 20 minutes. When I asked them how they liked it, they were honest. They loved it! I always ask their feedback on things we do in class- especially if it's new. *Don't be afraid to ask students how they felt about things* They will be brutally honest, but it's what you need to hear. The best compliment is when they say, "It was so hard but I learned so much from it," or "it made the time go so quickly, I didn't even know I was learning." Take their feedback. good or bad, and use it to improve your lesson. They are more insightful than you know. I realized what an amazing formative assessment this one-pager was. I could quickly judge- by their interactions and their product- which groups had read and understood the sections. I plan on using this in the future for independent reading check quizzes as well as small group discussion and accountability. You can check out the resource new on my Teachers Pay Teachers store :) Hang in there- It's almost the end of DEVOLSON (Dark Evil Vortex of Late September October November) and we can do hard things.
~Peace~ 7/9/2022 0 Comments Class Values: RevisitedMaybe you're like me, and you tweak and update everything, all the time? This fall marks my 20th year teaching. I'll be at a new high school, with different students, colleagues, admin-- and expectations. I've always been lucky to have great students in my classroom, and I think part of that is because I take time at the start of every school year to teach expectations. I learned early on that too many detailed rules just invite students to find a loophole. That is why I lean toward a few (3--4) classroom values, and general rules that correspond with them. I took some time this summer to update my expectations and wanted to share them with you here! Maybe your district is also like mine, and after COVID quarantine, your students came back to school a little...unruly? wild? disrespectful? disengaged? Fill in the blank with your frustration-of-choice. Our district decided that consistency and communication of expectations would help improve student behavior and teacher satisfaction. So we are all going through behavior training from Safe and Civil Schools, specifically their STOIC framework and their CHAMPS expectations. But the most useful part of this, for me, was solidifying my values and rules once again. Heading into the unknown of a new school, I wanted to make sure I was clear in my expectations for the classroom. If I were to pick only ONE classroom value, it would be respect. The ONE rule that would go with this? Be kind. Unfortunately, I've found that doesn't always cover all the nuances of the classroom. So this year I focused in on these four values: Safety, Honesty, Respect, and Success. I like my classroom to be clean and inviting. I hate being lied to, and I hate when students cheat. I preach respect and strive to model it in every interaction I have. And finally, I want my students to be successful humans who can communicate: read, write, speak, and listen. These four core values create a well-rounded high school ELA classroom that I want to come teach in every day. Underneath each of these values, we were guided through creating rules. Now these rules should be stated positively: what you WANT students to do, not what you don't want them to do. For example, I used to teach freshmen. They have the habit of being a little "handsy" with each other. Instead of saying "Stop touching each other!" my positive rule states: "Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself." This is clear, and creates a safe environment in my classroom for personal space. Instead of "Don't cheat," my rule is "Do your own work." Respect looks like this: "Allow for everyone's voice to be heard" or "value other people's opinions." Then, when something inevitably comes up in class, I can simply remind a student- "You're not making respectful choices right now when you use that kind of language." They can't really argue their way out of that one. Something that comes with moving buildings is...redecorating a new room! While I'm excited to have a new space (with windows!) I promised myself I wouldn't step foot in the room to start decorating until August. But I did make the giant bulletin board of my values and rules, since our district is expecting us to have them posted and explicitly teach them at the start of this year. My room is going to be grey and white, with accents of goldenrod yellow and black. I also love anything polka dot. I don't have a lot of choices around my area for bulletin board letters either, so I just made my own. There is something so soothing about cutting and pasting ;) Then, I put everything together into a resource for my TPT store, so that others can maybe use what I'm doing to set up their class expectations! If you end up purchasing and loving this, I'd love to hear your success stories in the comments! Whether this is your first year in the classroom or your 20th, I hope you find what works for you with your expectations. It is only fair to you and to the students that you are all on the same page with how to act in the classroom. Your students deserve a climate where they can all learn, and you deserve a climate that you are excited to come teach in every day. Best wishes for an amazing start to your school year!
4/2/2022 0 Comments Facing FailureThe world is filled with adversity: poverty, crime, violence, neglect, war, hunger, homelessness... the list goes on. The key to overcoming obstacles is said to lie not in programs or grants, policies or politics... but in ourselves. People who are resilient will overcome obstacles when others simply give up or give in. I'm thrilled that my senior English curriculum is focused on the theme of Resilience this quarter. What better theme to send my seniors out into the world with? Be realistic. Be mindful. Be resourceful. Embrace failure and learn from it. Go forth and change the future. Currently I'm working on transferring my resilience lessons into TPT resources to share with others. The first one I have is Facts About Failure. It includes thoughtful discussion questions about the ups and downs of failure, an article to read and discuss, and *super cute* posters that take the ideas from the article and pair them with a positive mantra! Check them out on my TPT store here :) Who would have thought that such a great theme would come at such a pivotal time in my life? I've had a *ton* of crappy stuff happen in the past two weeks that has made me super bitter, jaded, and angry at humanity. I'm just disappointed in people. I expect people to treat me like I'd treat them... but I am seeing that doesn't always happen. My heart hurts at the jealousy, selfishness, and pettiness I see around me (mostly adults ya'll... mostly adults). And then I find out... I will most likely be displaced from my job. UGH. All that piled on my heart, and I get to teach my seniors about resilience. When life kicks you when you're down, how do you find the strength to get back up again? And again? And again? A few of the ideas that I want to share with you from my research include the following:
So I am healing as I am planning and teaching. I'm realistic that while my situation sucks, I do have a variety of options to move forth with. I know that this will help me make my life more meaningful by forcing me to choose what it is I really want to devote my time to. I'm being creative by looking at opportunities that scare me to death (college adjunct online? changing districts? stay-at-home-mom?). I have a snowball's chance in hell, but I'm still putting myself out there to try all options. My sarcasm and dry humor is at full force; memes are especially helpful with this ;) And I'm journaling my thoughts to help me see where I'm exaggerating, jumping to conclusions, playing the victim, or limiting my options. In my senior English classroom we are talking about how relevant these learnings are to their lives. They've never really been able to process the trauma of COVID and the shutdown. Some are in abusive relationships, living on their own or homeless, dealing with severe depression or anxiety, in danger of not graduating... the list of struggles goes on and on. And yet they continue to take another breath, take another step, go through the motions. They are literally in the "fake it till you make it" stage. I polled them on which elements of resilience they were best at. While the results varied, I was surprised to see that they feel they survive on creativity and humor. They liked my memes too :) Our students are going to be okay-- most of them, anyway. And I am so grateful that I've had them this year, and they've had these lessons, to know that there is hope. They can grow their resilience through intentionality and experiences. And by sharing these resources and lessons with them, I too know that I will be okay. No matter what comes of my current situation, I will rise. Words matter. If you work with students, please know that nothing matters more than the words you speak to them. Important adults become a child's inner monologue. They talk to themselves the way that others talk to them. I know. It's a huge responsibility. More than content or skills, I want my students to leave my classroom knowing that I care about each and every one of them as people. So I use my words carefully to build them up. I let my students know I believe in them. As a leader in my school, I want all our students to know they are capable of so much more than they think they are. The world is too negative, too toxic, too harsh. People are too quick to judge and tear each other down. Our words as teachers, day in and day out, carry so much more weight than we realize. So much potential for good. At the top of a hallway in my school, there used to be a dark, ugly, lonely corner. Long ago abandoned by the counseling department when they moved offices, this ugly little corner greeted each one of our students as they trudged up from lunch to go to their afternoon classes. It was downright depressing. So I asked permission, and I took it over. I thought to myself, if the majority of our students see this space day in and day out, how can I use it to bolster their mental health and well being? So I made it my own. The first part of the year it was basic mindfulness strategies and resources. The second part I featured mantras to help students move past stuck emotions. This last part of the year I wanted them to be surrounded by positive words to help build their confidence. The corner has become a pretty popular little attraction. So much that the afternoon after I finished the latest display, someone took one of the "you are..." signs for themselves. I like to think they needed a little boost to remind themselves of their potential (or maybe they gifted it to someone in their life who needed that reminder even more). Needless to say, I have loved the response from students.
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AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
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