Celebrating: Student Voice

Last Saturday I spent the day listening to #TheEdCollab Gathering "PD in my PJs" with a cup of hot tea, and my notebook to collect all the juicy nuggets that I learned.

I am extremely thankful for this opportunity to learn side by side virtually with brilliant educators.  The ease of learning at home, being able to pause a session to switch the laundry or answer my phone was a perfect Saturday combination. Another key for me is writing down nuggets of learning and referencing the session numbers.  Did I mention the power of twitter? When you tweet and there is an instant community of learners. #purehappiness All the sessions are archived, so I can go back and listen again, or better yet share a session with a colleague.

One of my favorite quotes “Step back in your classroom and let your learners take center stage” My biggest take away was the reminder and importance of student voice.  This shift in thinking has happened for me over the last 2-3 years; however, I have to be purposeful with creating this feeling in our classroom. The sessions I listened to were focused on writing and honoring the power of writer’s notebook. The importance of teaching my writers that their notebook is a safe place to write anything. A sacred place they can choose to share their thoughts that they may not be able to express verbally.  Writers need a place to capture their thinking with free choice on topics.  Opening a mini-lesson with What Do You do with a Problem? allows all writers to have an opening and a choice to write about a difficult situation.  Some of my favorite picture books for an opening include:

·      First Day Jitters

·      Courage

·      Those Shoes

·      Henry’s Freedom Box

·      The Book Itch

·      OK Book

Continuing to learn to step back as a teacher and reminding myself that writing workshop is a perfect place to allow students to share their voice will be my target the last six weeks of school Thanks to Ruth for encouraging us to celebrate every Saturday. 

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Celebrating: ECT (Enrichment Creavity Time)

It's time for celebrating, and I am proud to share this week's celebration.  Thanks Ruth for encouraging us to choose a special moment and write about it.  I am excited to celebrate with everyone.  Spring break has passed, hopefully winter is over soon, and round 2 of state testing starts next week.  Two weeks of testing which changes everyone's schedule in our building and in Room 234 our schedule will have a celebration everyday after testing.

KA and HD chose to research cancer. Both girls lives have been impacted by cancer in their families.
They chose different kinds and their creativity is making the different ribbons to display each
type. I learned that every form of cancer has a color attached to it.  These displays will be placed in the library
so their learning will go beyond our classroom.

RK built the White House with popsicle sticks.
The roof lifts up and she included facts about three rooms that she was interested in learning more about. 

ECT (enrichment creativity time) has been a highlight of third trimester. Our district has encouraged the entire K-12 staff to include creativity throughout the school day.  We have had district PD on what it looks like and sounds like. I decided learners in Room 234 would be apart of the decision making process.  I posed a question: What do you want to learn more about and how could you use your creativity to share your project?  When you ask a group of fifth graders and allow the gates to be wide open, their responses are amazing.  The best part about the process for me (and them) was it was an opportunity for exploration as well as a chance for each learner to share their project with their peers. The criteria included:

1. Learning goals
2. Plan including a timeline
3. Materials (most supplied from home)
4. Completion and sharing with peers

AM built a rubber band car. He chose this topic because we were
studying force and motion.  He loves science! The best part of his ECT project was that
his car did not run smoothly, and he is still revising his plan. I am confident that he will
revise and share his car with us.

Celebrate: Yes During State Testing Week

Two out of six days of state testing are completed. That isn’t my celebration. Because we aren’t half way there yet.  My celebration is how we prepared for the states test the days prior.  Guess what?  Nothing changed in our classroom.  Reading, writing and word study continued as if there wasn’t a ELA test Thursday and Friday of this week.  We wrote together, read intriguing picture books together because we finished our class read aloud, City of Ember.  We celebrated with watching the move which is PG in class after our principal gave permission and the parents had to agree also  The students brought in pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, snacks and drinks;  We had a party the day before testing. Life didn't change this week in Room 234.  I am always thankful to join in the celebrations from the week.  Nothing is better than sharing and reading about friend's celebrations.  Thanks Ruth for encouraging us to celebrate here. 

Happy Learners in Rm. 234

Celebrating: 28 Years of Teaching

I'm celebrating 28 years of teaching and the confidence to stand on my own two feet. I'm celebrating choosing to keep my #OLW quest for another year and not giving up on it because I knew that I was going to have more opportunities to follow my quest this school year.  It feels good when you write a blog post on Friday night, and you can look back over your school week and know that there were several amazing opportunities for the learners in Room 234.  State testing is looming around the corner and starts this week, but I didn't change my thinking and definitely didn't change my lesson plans.  I stayed the course and everyone in our class will be ready for ELA test next week because they are all readers and writers.  All of us have the confidence that we need to stay focused on strong literacy instruction along with continuing to to read thoughtful and amazing books.  I celebrate 28 years of teaching and the confidence to stand on my own two feet. Thanks to Ruth for encouraging us to celebrate throughout the week.  I'm excited to read other celebrations from the week. 

The mathematicians were hired for the week to work at Carter Candy Company. They spent two days building containers to hold 24 boxes of chocolate. There were six different combinations.  On Friday, they are trying to figure out which container will work best for shipping the chocolates.  I am celebrating 21learners who are all working together to try and problem solve.  I am celebrating how several students used different strategies and were able to share their thinking.  After all life is a box of chocolates.

Celebrating Being on my Quest

I held onto my OLW - quest for 2017.  I knew that I wasn't finished with the journey that I would be on to as I continue as a student of writing.   I am excited to be celebrating Ruth's writing courses.  She hooked me when I watched her first video and she discussed how overwhelmed she was with grading 100 writing assignments. I've read several different articles about becoming a stronger teacher of writing, and for now,  I have a system that is working for me.  I am quite excited about it because it's manageable which is the key to implementation.

Collaboration:  During our workshop, we discussed what were the key components that everyone focused on while writing their informational essay.  My writers came up with a list of five. Done, simple,  and most importantly easy to assess.

• strong opening (lead)
• content specific vocabulary
• body - flow and stronger sentences
• choosing important evidence
• strong closing (wrap it up)

Grading:  I have 26 writers in my class this year, and I read and evaluated 6 a night which I could manage.  I had a goal, and I succeeded. I only graded for the five components and wrote down notes for each writer, so I could gather information to inform next week's instruction.

Grouping:  On the fifth night, I looked for patterns which would be a an important review for mini lessons.  I have read several articles about writing partners, and intentional talk.  

I've had some time to reflect on this process, and I am celebrating my quest for being a stronger teacher as well as implementing several ideas that Ruth has shared with us.  I am anxious to return to school on Tuesday and share the plan for the week with my writers.  Thanks friends for sharing in this week's celebration and continuing on my quest with me.  

This warmed my heart as I read Tara's comment.
I am thankful to have friends like Ruth and Tara to lead
me as a writer. 

Celebrate: Yes to Parent Teacher Conferences

I am thankful for a long busy hard week.  That doesn't mean that I am not exhausted and barely made it through yesterday teaching. We just finished parent teacher conferences which are in the evening at my school for two nights from 4:15-9:00 if you're last conference ends on time.  Spring conferences are different for me.  When I speak to the parents, I know their child much better.  I know what their child likes to do in/out of school, their friends, their favorite subjects and areas of growth that we will focus on as we complete the second trimester of fifth grade.  I am celebrating that my parents genuinely were interested in the areas I mentioned above and not test scores.  Test scores are not a dirty word in my vocabulary; however they are a small part of the puzzle.  Nothing makes me happier than when I share celebrations that include:

• --- is a vivacious reader reading twice as many books this trimester.
• ---is a stronger mathematician and persevered with long division
• ---is a growing writer who is writing longer paragraphs with amazing vocabulary
• ---is a historian who loved our European Explorer unit
• ---is a wordsmith and collected 28 idioms in her word notebook
• ---is a friend who is willing to help all students when they struggle with learning
• ---is a hugger and everyday before she enters the room I get a good morning hug

This week I'm celebrating parents who support teachers and appreciate our hard work. I am thankful that I had a busy, tiring week, and I am anxious to read other celebrations.  Oh yea, and take a nap too.