My Pleasure

I have to admit, I have not read the entire book, The First Days of School by Harry & Rosemary Wong. But the Drs. Wong say that you don't need to. They suggest you use it as car owner's manual -- and that's what I usually do. For the past three years, I've skipped around in this book and have come away with some really valuable knowledge. 


One of these pieces are:
"The Three Characteristics of an Effective Teacher
An effective teacher...
1. has positive expectations for student success.
2. is an extremely good classroom manager.
3. knows how to design lessons for student mastery." (pg 9)

My goal is to be that effective teacher... sometimes I feel like I'm close to meeting my goal, and sometimes (especially in the beginning of a new year), I'm not so sure. :)


The Drs. Wong also express the importance of greeting your students at the door to welcome them to a new day of learning. This is something that I feel like I'm GREAT at doing... for maybe the first quarter. I want to make sure I am at the door every morning this year! I love seeing their smiling faces as they see me each morning. It absolutely sets a positive tone for the day! ... Except for one thing - when they RUN down the hall at you. I hate starting the day with, "Go back and walk!" It will be a little different this year because I am going to be the last classroom in the hall, so I won't be telling students in other classes to, "go back and walk," it'll just be my own students. I'd like to make sure I say, "Good morning, Johnny. I'm so glad you're here. Go back and walk. Thank you." That way, I'm greeting him/her in a friendly manner, but they still practice walking to the classroom door. 


Having your name, room number, grade level and short message of welcome is also important on the first day. I was able to write my own letter of welcome to families that will be sent out on August 1st. In it, I told my students how to find my room. It was easy because I'm the last classroom on the right, but I told them the color of tiles outside the door, too. Hopefully, this will set my students up for success upon finding their classroom on the first day of school. 


I also LOVE how the Drs. Wong are sure to say "Thank you" after giving directions. This is something that was covered in one of my college courses as well. I find it to be effective when you do not wish to have the student argue or complain. You just give the direction and say "thank you." -- I will try to do this more this year. I will also try to include it on written directions as well. It's definitely a nice touch and leaves no room for unwanted feedback LOL!

I just skimmed the entire book, and I can't find this page, but I'm almost positive this came from The First Days of School. Maybe it is in a newer edition?
One of the other major points I've taken from this book is how to respond to "Thank you." Instead of saying "you're welcome" or "no problem," a person should respond with "my pleasure." What a difference! "No problem" totally negates what you did. "My pleasure" has such a nice ring to it.


How long has it been since you've read The First Days of School? What are your favorite things you've learned from this book?

Awards!

Thank you so much to Joell at Totally Terrific Teaching for giving me this award -- my first one! 

Liebster Blog Award Rules:
This award highlights blogs that have under 200 followers. Here are the rules: 1. Copy and paste this award on your blog. 2. Thank the giver and link back to them. 3. Reveal 5 other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blog.


My five:
1. Mrs. Lilly at Leaping Into First Grade
2. Lucia at For the Love of Teaching and Crafts
3. Rebby at Classroom Compulsion
4. Mrs. Thiering at The Friz in First Grade
5. Kayelyn at Miss Siverhus


I've also been given The Versatile Blogger award by Angela at Hippo Hooray for Second Grade! Thank you so much, Angela!

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you

2. Include a link to their blog

3. Include the award image in your post

4. Give seven random facts about yourself

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award

6. When nominating, include a link to their blog

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated

Seven Random Facts about ME :)

1. My favorite color is LIME GREEN! That's why my theme is frogs... 

2. I am obsessed with Dr Pepper, and it drives me crazy that at restaurants they ask, "Is root beer okay?" when I ask if they have Dr Pepper. A simple "no" would be fine.

3. I love Boxers! I have two puppies named Brody and Bentley, and they are both unusual. Brody is all white. Usually, white boxers are deaf and/or blind, but Brody is neither. He DOES, however, have allergy issues. Bentley is so dark, he's almost black. Boxers are traditionally fawn (light brown) or brindle (striped).

4. I just bought my first house and it is hard work! LOL!

5. I commuted to college for three and a half years out of four. 
7. I had an AMAZING student teaching experience, and I still keep in contact with my cooperating teacher. 


As for the 15 other bloggers, I would like to give it to the first 15 commenters on this blog post who haven't already received the award! So comment away!

Gradual Release of Responsibility

I am close to 15 pages into Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller, and I've already had some pretty big "aha" moments. The main one is changing how I look at the Gradual Release of Responsibility model.


I used to have a print-out of this behind my desk:
1. I do, you watch.
2. I do, you help.
3. You do, I help.
4. You do, I watch.


I loved this. AND it fell so nicely into my weekly lesson plan:
Monday - I do, you watch.
Tuesday - I do, you help.
Wednesday - You do, I help.
Thursday - You do, I watch.
Friday - Assessment of what you do.


After seeing Debbie Miller at the Springboro Literacy Conference, and reading the first pages, I will be changing the way I teach strategies, AND the way I look at this model.


In her book, Debbie talks about taking 6 to 8 weeks to teach a strategy. I was taking one. WHAT WAS I THINKING? I was teaching many, many different strategies throughout the year using my one-week release of responsibility lesson outline. After listening to Debbie, Steph Harvey, and Cris Tovani at the conference and reading this book, I have definitely changed the way I will teach the strategies and the time I will take to do so.


Debbie takes David Pearson's steps, and outlines them like this:
1. Teacher modeling and explanation of a strategy.
2. Guided practice, where teachers gradually give students more responsibility for task completion.
3. Independent practice accomplished by feedback.
4. Application of the strategy in real reading situations.


How did I get such a butchered, simplistic version of this? There are no short-cuts! 


Miller pointed out that Pearson never meant for the release model to be done in exactly this order, every single time. There should be a catch and release of the model -- possibly all in one day, not a systematic escalation, day-by-day throughout one week. It should be an artistic dance throughout the day, week, and unit of teaching.


How do you use the Gradual Release of Responsibility in your classroom?

First Time Blog Hop

1. Ohio

2. 2nd grade General Education

3. Title I Reading Intervention - 1 year

3rd Grade Language Arts and Social Studies - 1 year

This is my second year teaching second grade :)

4. I started blogging at the end of June 2012

5. Search for beautiful FREE blog templates... like mine from Leelou Blogs :)

Back to School Books & Activities

Okay, so I have taken the suggested schedule in The First Six Weeks of School and modified it to what I'd like to do. I found some awesome ideas using one of my favorite books, Chrysanthemum, on Crazy for First Grade. Depending on food allergies, I'd really like to do the Friendship Fruit Salad. I have a hard time slowing down in the middle of the school year and doing fun activities like that, so I'd really like to do one in the beginning of the year. 

Some of the books that are available at my library (the wonderful Lebanon Public Library) and would be great for the first few days of school are:

Listen, Buddy
Chrysanthemum
Lunch Bunnies
Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School
Hooway for Wodney Wat
First Day Jitters
I Don't Want to go Back to School

Are there any first day, must-reads you love?

Read Aloud Books

I don't know about all of you, but I don't enjoy reading the same book twice... And that includes my chapter book read-alouds to my students. I ALWAYS read a part of a chapter book after lunch to my students. I don't stop and ask questions. My kids just sit back and enjoy an ongoing adventure. When I taught third grade, I read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Tale of Despereaux, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, The City of Ember, and The People of Sparks. I can't remember the other ones. 
Last year, to my second graders, I read The Doll People, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant, The Absent Author, My Father's Dragon, The Fairy Tale Detectives, and more that I cannot remember right now. 
Now don't get me wrong. Some books were so enjoyable, they could be repeated - My Father's Dragon. Others were perfect because it introduced the class to a series - The Absent Author. But I LOVE the feeling of discovering the book's secrets WITH my students. For example, in The Absent Author, I'll never be able to discover the author's identity again. I feel like it was so authentic when I was just as surprised as my students. 
I always let my students vote between two books I'd like to read... Sneaky. I know. LOL! 
Since I can't sleep (toooooo many Dr Peppers), I have researched some books that I would like to read... to my students. Here is list I came up with:


The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (by Glee's Chris Colfer)
The Egypt Game (I LOVED this book when I read it myself in 5th grade)
Flat Stanley (believe it or not, I've not read this yet)
Miss Daisy is Crazy
A Mouse Called Wolf
Toys Go Out
Finn Family Mommintroll
Clementine (I had this -and Gooney Bird Greene) available for my students, but they NEVER voted for it)
The Dragon of Doom
Evangeline Mudd
Drooling and Dangerous (looks like a parody of the Wright Bros.)
Gooney Bird Greene
How to Save Your Tail
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little


Do any of you have a similar problem reading the same books year after year? Or are the books just THAT good, that you LOVE to read them many times? What books are must-reads in your classrooms? Have you found new books that you love?

The First Six Weeks of School

I LOVE the Responsive Classroom approach. My curriculum director was kind enough to send me to Responsive Classroom I AND Responsive Classroom II in Columbus. RC is a week-long institute during which you are able to work with grade-level colleagues. An RC professional teaches you certain concepts and allows you to put yourself in the place of the student who is learning in an RC environment. During RC I, we focused on Morning Meeting, Take a Break, and Interactive Modeling. During RC II, we learned about Guided Discovery, Teacher Language, and Academic Choice.

I feel like I have purchased nearly all of the books published by the NEFC (Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.), but that's only because they have so many valuable resources -- For example, The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete. I love how they focus on community-building and modeling appropriate behavior BEFORE getting into the academics. It really lays the foundation of expectations and allows for more seamless teaching for the rest of the year.
I have used the Responsive Classroom for two years, and I have seen that it works. 

Anyway, I'll hop off my soap box now, and focus on what I really wanted to write about for this blog entry: The First Six Weeks of School. This book is a must-have for first year teachers and a wonderful gift for veterans. It's an easy read because you don't have to go through the book word-for-word, cover-to-cover. For example, I just need the Primary Grade (K-2) chapters. 

Today, I started off reading Week One for the Primary Grades (K-2). They give a wonderful overview of what week one should look like across the grade levels. Then, it lays out a sample schedule of what it should look like in the primary grades - even going so far as to add the names of games and songs that are included in the appendix. After the sample schedule, the authors talk about, in detail, the different parts of your day - from what Morning Meeting looks like in week one to guided discovery of basic school supplies. You might be thinking (much like I was when I first learned about Interactive Modeling and Guided Discovery), "Second graders already know how to use a pencil and crayons." And you're right... to a certain extent. Kids have (hopefully) been using pencils and crayons for YEARS. However, they haven't used them in YOUR room under YOUR expectations. Maybe you prefer that they keep their crayons in their cubby, but last year's teacher wanted crayons kept in desks. This is your opportunity to set your expectations of how students should retrieve, use, and put away basic school supplies. You might also think, "Pencil sharpeners are self-explanatory. You just put the pencil in." Then, in October, your kids are driving you crazy telling you the sharpener is jammed, the shavings collector is full, or that their pencil just won't sharpen. These things could be avoided if the students are trained how to use the sharpener in the first place. These first six weeks of school is exactly the time for these discovery times. 

I would like to follow this Sample Schedule a little more closely this year. I tend to just "jump into" Morning Meeting and end up cutting various components to fit my schedule. One thing I have been learning about the Common Core Standards is that it requires students be able to speak (or write) wisely on a variety of topics. I am also finding that certain (usually low-income) students have very little conversational experiences at home. So why was I cutting the "Sharing" aspect of Morning Meeting? Students need to be able to communicate with one another intelligently, and these skills aren't always taught and learned at home. Morning Meeting is a perfect time to teach and hone these skills. Including shared readings of poems and songs also encourage literacy skills that are taught throughout the day. Why not incorporate them into Morning Meeting? 

Establishing rules and routines of when to become silent and how to ask to go to the restroom are crucial. I love using a music wand chime to call for silence and attention. It sure beats raising my voice or crossing a room to turn out the lights. I learned from my student teaching cooperating teacher an awesome bathroom signal. When I am not teaching, students go to where the passes hang, choose the appropriate pass (boy or girl), lift it and wait for my signal. I nod or shake my head. If I nod, the student places the pass on their desk and goes to the restroom. This works so well because no words are exchanged. Also, if I'm wondering where Johnny is, I will see the pass on his desk, and know right away where he has gone. Something I noticed, however, is that certain students used the restroom as an avoidance of things they didn't like. For example, I had a student who HATED writing. I did everything I (and my colleagues) knew to help him, but he still wanted to avoid writing. Also, when students got "bored" during Read to Self, they would try using the restroom, and then their friend would watch closely to see when they got back and were ready to meet them at the door to hold up the pass. This is something I will be working to correct this year, but the original bathroom pass routine works well and my students pick it up quickly because of Interactive Modeling. 

Lastly, allowing students to illustrate their hopes and dreams for the year is something I have skipped. I really think that I lost something valuable because I didn't do it. Students are able to think about the coming months of school and decide what they most want to accomplish. I've always done a brainstorm, but this year, I hope to have them draw the picture AND write a sentence explaining their hopes and dreams. TA-DA! Built-in writing assessment for the beginning of school!

I realize this has been a long post, but what are some of the things you do during the first week of school? 

SimpleK12's FREE Webinars

WOW! Two posts in one day? Yes, ma'am! 

I just attended two of SimpleK12's free Webinars. The first one was about vocabulary and the second was about integrating technology and kinesthetics AT THE SAME TIME.

The vocabulary webinar highlighted Quizlet.com. At this free site, you are able to create custom vocabulary lists and have your students study and play games online. You can track your student's progress (if they have accounts), print flashcards, embed the games on your classroom website, and test spelling skills. Something else that is kind of cool is that students can access your vocab lists on their iPod or iPad. 

This might be something I will use. I'm not sure yet. The presenter included other, similar sites that might be more appropriate for younger students. This included SpellingCity.com (with which I am familiar) and Wordia. Wordia is new to me, but has many different games and activities. I'll have to look into it.

The tech and kinesthetics webinar was FANTASTIC. Our presenter was from Honduras and works with high school students. Many of the things he said and suggested would be for high school, exclusively, for the use of Smart Phones (QR Codes, access to Twitter during school hours, etc). However, many of the members of the webinar gave great ideas for use in the primary grades. One thing Jose (our presenter) suggested was adding icons in a PowerPoint/Mimio/SMARTBoard presentation that give students the signal to do something physical every time they see it. For example, there were icons for "jump," "hug someone and tell them they matter," "send a message" (could be a Tweet OR a handwritten note), "change seats," and "share a thought or idea." I use Mimio almost exclusively in my classroom, and would love to add these icons to get my students moving. A member suggested playing 4 Corners as a game where each corner represented a different answer to a multiple choice question. I LOVE BrainPopJr. and my kids LOVE taking the quizzes at the end of the videos. This would be a perfect physical activity during these times. Jose also suggested giving students the option of solving a problem you give the class OR choosing to do a physical activity. Not sure how this would work, but I think the members were saying this would be a great option for questions that have no right or wrong answer. Jose reminded us that neither the technology nor the physical activity is the focus of the lesson. That SEEMS like a "common sense" comment, but it's a nice reminder.

Finally, and I'm pretty sure this was very unintentional by Jose, but I learned so much about TweetChat.com. Previously, I had no idea how people followed conversations for #edchat or #2ndchat or any other chat. DUH! There had to be an easier way than what I was thinking. Lo and behold, there is! TweetChat. I LOVED it. I can't wait to participate in more chats.

SimpleK12 has so many FREE webinars... They're worth a look. I learned a lot in my two, half-hour sessions. 

Just a thought :)

Time to Buckle Down!

Now that my house warming party is over, I can concentrate on school stuff! I am obviously frequenting Pinterest; Classroom Freebies; Classroom Freebies, Too; and many other websites. I am in the middle of too many books to list! I feel like I really need to focus and buckle down. We can get back into our building on August 1, and since I'm moving to a new classroom, I will be a busy, busy lady! I have about two and a half weeks to read, read, read! I want to read the The First Six Weeks of School again, The First Days of School, The Morning Meeting Book, Growing Readers, Reading with Meaning, Of Primary Importance, AND look over my Responsive Classroom I and II resource books again. A daunting task, I know... I guess I better get started.


What books and websites are helping you?

Learn With Me!

Hello! My name is Miss Jenna Fuerst, and I am a 2nd grade teacher at Madison Elementary in Middletown, Ohio. My wonderful Curriculum Director has sent me to so many professional development workshops and conferences, and I have created this blog to keep track of and make note of books I am reading and things I am learning. Mostly, it's just so that I can put my thoughts into words, but if you'd like to learn and read along with me, that would be wonderful! I'd love to hear (read) your thoughts as well!