Mystery Skype

If you haven't heard of or participated in a Mystery Skype yet this year, I HIGHLY recommend it.

The basic premise is this: the teacher links up with another class (organized via https://education.skype.com). The class "meets" at a previously designated time, taking turns asking each other yes/no questions in order to narrow down the location of the other class. The students all have jobs, and after a few practice runs, it all runs like a fairly well-oiled machine.

I've noticed an increase in students' ability to ask more and more effective questions. They learn not to ask about a specific state until they know the time zone, relevance to the Mississippi River, etc. They learn to work together, utilizing a blend of digital and print sources.

My kiddos still switch jobs here and there, hoping to find the right fit. It is truly the embodiment of student-led and directed learning! (Hellooooo evaluation!)

Here is some photographic evidence of fun: 

My Logical Reasoners, busy reasoning and goofing, apparently. 

A different class of Logical Reasoners 

Mapper Extraordinaire! 

Tracking what we know! 

Genius Hour

I finally felt that one of my classes were ready to start talking about Genius Hour. I made a Prezi with a few inspirational quotes and ideas to get my fifth graders thinking. Then we watched a video about Caine's Arcade, followed up by a TED Talk by young Caine himself. 

I asked my class to write something that they are passionate about or would want to spend the next quarter discussing. The responses that they wrote on our "Wonder Wall" were, in a word, astounding. 

Here are few for your enjoyment :) 

Two boys want to work on a Genius Hour project to "kill cancer." When asked about why, they shared that it was because of their 2nd grade teacher, who just last year, finished up her second bout with cancer. I love their passion and I can't wait to see what happens with these amazing kids. 

Whole Brain Teaching

I've been pondering this post for some time now, not quite sure how to start it and what exactly to share. When you find a teaching tool that you absolutely love, it's so challenging to decide what is important and why others should adopt it, too. 

But here we are. 4 weeks into school, I just sent home Progress Reports (as if that's not crazy enough). 

Day one of WBT was fabulous. I taught the 5 Rules and the kids were incredibly engaged. In the past, I've approached classroom rules as a community. We would brainstorm expectations for behavior, what the students thought was important, etc. Then we'd make a few rules based on what they all wanted from their classroom. Sure, it's research-based. Sure, they feel "a part" of it all. And trust me, I really don't mean to offend anyone who uses this strategy, because I had used it for the past 6 years, but I think the students ultimately know that we have a secret "rule agenda" with this practice. Either way, I feel that the students aren't as invested in the rules as we hope for them to be. But wait! There's hope! WBT rules engage the students from minute one with gestures. I think they secretly love that while they're talking about rules, they're allowed to be loud and active. 

I implemented the Score Board right away as well. I've seen a lot of success with it, although I definitely need to practice more often with the appropriate ways to do an "Oh Yeah" and "Mighty Groan." (if this sounds like a foreign language to you, don't hesitate to click on the links throughout this post to watch some videos).  

"Class, Yes" is one of the best parts about WBT, and it's really just the attention-getter. I see a lot of success with this aspect of the framework, but I have a group of social girls who take an extra 20 seconds to turn their heads. It drives me crazy. I'm wondering if it's appropriate for me to give a Teacher point as a result of that small group. Chris Biffle says not to do it for one student, but what about a group? Maybe I just need to take a look at my seating chart. 

But hands-down, my favorite part of WBT has been "Teach, Okay." When I give the signal, students turn and teach (either mirroring each other or taking turns) whatever concept I just introduced. The ideal timeframe is: 

1. Teach for 45 seconds
2. Teach, Okay
3. Reteach or add information
4. Teach, Okay

For some concepts, I give the gesture (especially if they're ones we're going to return to time and time again). For others, I've put that on the students. For example, in my Social Studies class, we studied the Maya this week. I don't have the energy or creativity to create a gesture for everything, so when students did "Teach, Okay," I had them make up gestures for the concepts they were teaching to their partner. The kids really took it seriously and I could tell that they were thinking about what was in their notes and how they could turn that into a gesture. Luckily, my principal was doing a walkthrough eval at that time, and she was really impressed with how much was going on in the classroom. 

She's always said that "the ones who are doing the talking are the ones who are doing the learning," and with WBT, the students are doing SO MUCH talking!!! Add in the kinesthetic benefits, and we are set for a great year :)

The beginning.... Whoa.

I haven't posted in several weeks, and I apologize! I went on vacation for two weeks and as soon as I got back, had to begin working in my room.

So after an amazing two weeks out of the country, I walked into my classroom and this is what I saw: 

 

So while I was away, my carpet was replaced with tile.... And everything was literally tossed back into the room. It was one of those moments where I was so overwhelmed by what I was looking at that I didn't even know where to start. 

After putting in a few long days (and they had to be long; I only had a week until the first day!), the room finally felt close enough to ready. Here are a few before and after pictures: 

Cute, right? I finally learned how to sew in a straight line, so the curtains that I bought five years ago were sewn and installed :)

Flash forward to today. The first day. Honestly, I had a lot planned and felt good about the day. But you're still nervous. This is Year 7 for me, and I'm still nervous on the first day. As a result, we always read First Day Jitters. If you haven't read it, it's a worthwhile first-day read. I won't give it away, but I encourage you to check it out. 

One of my favorite first day activities is Saving Fred. I heard about Saving Fred somewhere online (okay, it was Pinterest), and found a picture of a great  resource that Becky over at Fourth Grade Fanatic made (link here: http://4thgradefanatic.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-week-fun-saving-fred.html?m=1). The link to the resource didn't work for me, so I did make one of my own. Please know that this resource was not my idea! Credit goes to Becky! 

Basically, Fred is a gummy worm whose boat capsized before he could put on his life vest. The goal is to use a paper clip (each student gets one) to get Fred out from underneath his cup and into his life vest. 

It's such a fun activity and the kids have a really good time. After the activity, the kids complete a flow chart, description of events, and discuss the problems that they had. This is a good time to see what their writing skills look like, too. 

ps- Sorry about the Groucho Marx "stickers" - I sent home the Internet/photo permissions today, so until those come in, it's Marx faces! 

pps- I introduced Whole Brain Teaching procedures today, but I'll wait and do a more detailed post about that at the end of the week. But lets just say it's made for a very engaging first day!   

July Currently

Okay, I alluded (ha! "Stressed about"may be more appropriate) to several of the things on this currently, but I finally looked up and found directions on how to actually DO a currently in this blog post, so here it is!!

Listening - Jake Bugg is an indie guy that is played on our local radio station, and his album is $5 on Amazon this month! Matt Nathanson is a hottie tottie whom I've loved for years, and is promoting this album in Columbus in November, so I'm learning the new stuff :) 

Loving - Today was one of those days. It stormed and poured all morning, but the afternoon was beautiful! After last summer's drought, I swore I would never complain about the rain again (I like green grass too much!). 

Thinking - see previous post for the list. I love the first week of school, so I always strive to make it the most productive time. I know a lot of other teachers use it just to get to know the kids and sort of ease into the school year; I don't believe that this is the best approach. I love to get to know the kids, but we have to start off the way that we want every day to go. Hence my preparations :)

Wanting - Let's be honest. This one probably isn't going to happen. I've just got too many other things going on, hahaha. But don't we all like to come home to a clean house?

Needing - I'm going to have to scheme in order to get into my classroom. But I can get some things laminated and set up beforehand. 

Tips, hints, or tricks - I've realized that I am extremely ADD when it comes to work things. I'll start one project, see something on Pinterest that sparks my memory, and I'll be onto something new without finishing the first thing. Yikes. Get that mess under control, Gab. 

Now it's your turn! Download the currently and head over to Chickadee Jubliee's blog for instructions!

As always, thanks for giving my little blog some of your attention today :)

The ever-growing To-Do list

Seriously. It just keeps getting longer. 

What you're seeing is actually Page 3. Page 3. In July. And really, this is only the outline for my first week of school. You oughta see the list of things to accomplish before the kiddos come. 

Typically, my to-do list really gets hammered out during the first week of August, so why am I working on it NOW? 

Well that's because I'll be going on a little thing called VACATION next week :D After vacation, I will have exactly one week before the first day of school, so this is officially the shortest amount of time I've had to prep for the school year. I'm feeling stressed in a new way, since my classroom is being used for summer school. Oy vey. 

I always love finding new teacher blogs. Teachers have so much knowledge and experience to share; it is such a blessing to find one or a few who mirror your teaching style and personality. Thanks to the world of Pinterest (my summer PD), I came across Mrs. Ripp's blog, a 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin. She posted a similar list of first week activities, which mine resembles quite a bit! She has some phenomenal ideas in this post. 

What does your to-do list look like? Is anyone else feeling the crunch? 

Whole-Brain Teaching

Also known as "Power Teaching."

Last year, visiting a friend who teaches first grade, I saw the cutest little sign on her door. It talked about how they're a "whole brain" class, which means they'll be loud and repeat their teacher - A LOT! I was interested in this, but didn't give it a whole lot of thought (simply because once school starts I feel like I don't have enough time to think about anything new!!).

But here it is summertime; oh sweet, sweet summertime. With a hearty internet connection and a few hours to spare, I dove right into this Whole Brain Teaching phenomenon. Whole brain teaching, the brainchild of Chris Biffle of www.wholebrainteaching.com, focuses on engaging students in their learning throughout the entire lesson. It requires active participation, repetition, speed, and enthusiasm. As we all know, during a lecture, students drift off, doze off, daydream, and who knows what else. In order to combat this, the teacher employs certain techniques to grab the class' attention, involve them in the lesson, and to reinforce learning through peer teaching/review.

I feel that I could not possibly share all of the benefits of whole-brain and power teaching here, in my own words. I encourage you to see it in action. Click here for a link to Chris Biffle's YouTube channel. He shares 8 video lessons on whole-brain teaching and how to implement it, as well as countless examples of whole-brain teaching in action.

If you employ whole-brain teaching in your classroom, I would love to hear about your experiences!!! Comment below to share successes, struggles, how you implemented it, etc.

I'm beyond excited to implement this in the fall. Stay tuned :)