After a tough month in October, I can say that I think things are slowly starting to change for the better in my class. So far this month I have been able to implement more writer's workshop techniques in my class. Before we let out for the Thanksgiving holiday, I had some students write some some really good pieces about what they were thankful for this holiday season. A few even tied in some Social Studies content about being thankful for freedom, civil rights, etc.. (yay!). It was really a proud moment. I realize that I need to celebrate these moments more in my classroom. I believe it will help students to feel encourage and motivated about their learning.
Starting in December I will be moving from teaching ELA and Social Studies to teaching Social Studies and Math. I feel encouraged to teach math considering we just finished our math course with Dr. Smith. This will be a great opportunity to start teaching math through CGI.
The toughest part about this school year has definitely been the social dynamics within my classroom . I've been able to increase the time I spend with students and build teacher to peer connections. Moving forward I do want to focus more on building peer to peer connections. I've decided to take the last 10 mins out of the day to start a new ritual of team building with my students. I think incorporating a small activity at the end of each day in which students are able to work together will start to build the positive connections within my classroom that has been missing. In addition just taking opportunities for us to spend time together talking during lunch, bus duty, etc... will help students to form those bonds with me and each other.
I'm really trying to stay positive for this second semester. The first semester was very rough but I'm determined to have a positive second half of the school year. Cheers to December!!
Hey Ashely! Wow! You have had a rocky Fall in terms of all of the changes you have so gracefully rolled with. I didn't know you would be teaching math now, either. I can personally say that I learned SO MUCH in Dr. Smith's class and I hope you have the same experience. Also, I love teaching math. It's my favorite part of the day.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of having a set time to do team building. Reminds me of connections in conscious discipline. I think it's awesome you're setting time aside for your kids to develop emotionally and that isn't something many teachers do.
I admire your courage so much. I honestly would never guess from the poise you show in class that you have had so many changes thrown your way. I feel like we should have been more supportive! I should have been more supportive! You're awesome... xoxo
I'm glad to hear that things are slowly getting better, Ashley. It can be a slow process so I know it's hard to stay patient. You have been through so much in your teaching journey and your flexibility and courage are so inspiring. You have taken on each challenge with so much courage and I hope that you're proud of yourself.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you're focusing on what really matters -- the relationships that you're building in your classroom and the social dynamic. Something that I really struggled with last year was encouraging the students to interact with each other in a respectful and meaningful way. Even if we have deep relationships with our individual students, it's not as powerful for peers to build relationships with their peers. After all, students in the third grade are in the middle of making a transformation into caring more about peer attention and acceptance rather than just caring about the teacher. We have a really important role to help build their communication and problem solving skills so that they can be successful in their relationships now and in the future. This is so hard, though, and it takes a lot of time. I'm realizing that just having them practice "I statements" one or two times is not going to do the trick. There is no shortcut and for some students it's going to take months and months of practice. I'm so glad that you're taking time out of your day to do some sort of team building activity. If you need any ideas, I recommend looking in the "Morning Meeting" book under the activity section. Even though you won't be doing a Morning Meeting, you can still use the activities that they recommend in there. I have used some with my students this year and they have really loved them. Sometimes just a simple game will really bring the class together.
I feel like we should collaborate more, especially since we both teach third grade! I know it's been such a busy semester and it's not like we have extra time to sit down and discuss things, but I think we could both benefit from talking through strategies, lesson plans, and curriculum. We can talk more tomorrow night about this -- I'm very interested! Keep on keeping on, Ashley! You're an inspiration to us all.
YEAY!!! I am so glad everything is looking brighter for you.... I know next semester will be so much better, especially because you are already moving forward with your relationship with your students, and have a strategic plan to help improve the relationship among them. I know that your action research project also has to do with classroom culture, and that will also be a huge opportunity for relationship building growth.
ReplyDeleteDuring the summer when I did my literacy camp, I made sure I incorporated community building activities that allowed for our group of upper grade elementary students to share about themselves, so that we would get to know each other better. We played trust games, we did culture quilts, Where I am from Poems, maps of ourselves, and thoughts, we created standing structures with straws and marshmallows. A handful of these activities were taken from the morning meeting book.
I really suggest that you try all of these to build culture among peers. Once they start getting to know each other, and find similarities among them, they will develop more love and empathy for each other.
I am happy that you are excited to teach math. I completely agree with you that we are able to take math to a deeper level because of Dr. Smith's class, the way she view and delivered math instruction was so incredible, and I am sure you will be able to make a huge change in your students through your math instruction, I wish I could help more with it, but I don't teach math, but I am sure Joy, Kelsey and Allaisia will be more than glad to help you :)
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you and happy for you. Some of the things you've shared with me about how your students interact with each other and with adults have been so reminiscent of what 'I see happening at my school. I know exactly how tough that can be, but I know that switching to a new grade and a new school and new subject(s) have made things even harder to cope with. Cheers to YOU for staying positive and moving through this!
I'm excited that you are getting to teach math, and especially that you'll get to use CGI. I think it's great that you are getting experience with teaching all these subjects, even though I know that for a teacher, all of these changes aren't necessarily ideal.
I really admire your ability to remain calm and grounded and I know that your students benefit from this quality of yours, too. Keep pushing, you're doing so well!
Change is tough. It's often hard to accept - at least for me - but it is very much in the nature of what we do! That's a big change but I am so glad that you have the math knowledge to fall back on. Be encouraged that you are not totally starting from scratch. You have so many resources at your fingertips to help you.
ReplyDeleteI was also really encouraged by your team building. I would love to do more of this with my class. It is so important and something that so easily gets lost as you try to teach standard after standard. I love that you are taking the time and making a point to do that. It is going to make such a huge difference.
Keep up the good work. You are a rockstar.
Ashley, you are simply the epitome of cool, calm, and collected. I know that sometimes we have a tendency to wear the face that says everything is okay when we are battling lots of things at once. You have remained strong from the very beginning with all of the changes that have come your way. You are well respected for that.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you are choosing to positively look at the the idea of being asked to change contents in the middle of the year. With that attitude, you are sure to attract a positive learning experience. I am looking forward to talking with you about you plan to incorporate CGI into your math instruction.
Love, Tenagne