Classroom Differentiation in Small Bites: Management in Jan.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 



Welcome to this Differentiation 101 series.

If this is the first of the series you are reading, check out the first two as well.  They are the foundation.

 





 

Is this your room?

Students return from winter break and everything looks and feels like August!

 

Welcome BACK!

           Are you ready to head right back out the door?

 

    Okay, so we all love teaching and know the first days back may be a bit chaotic or the extreme opposite, heads on table, no movement, no brain function! After all, they have been staying up late and eating pounds of goodies.  Oh, maybe that was just me! It is all of us, teachers, administration and the students.  We now have to deal with reality.



Be Prepared

First and foremost, walk into your day prepared.  Be ready...lessons plans complete, copies made, strategic plans thought through for the behaviors that may occur,  AND hold a class meeting. This meeting I have found is best suited for the very first period (or minutes if departmentalized) of the first day back.  Don't wait to see if they are going to remember how to behave.  BE PROACTIVE!!

 

 

Class Meeting

 Hold a class meeting as a proactive approach.

 



Step 1 ~

  Find a way to sit together.  Yes, even middle school, high school and college classrooms can do this.  Turn the tables to make a circle; find a spot to sit on the floor; live in a warm climate (not me) then go outside and sit together.  Whatever you do, it should feel like everyone has a part, not the teacher up front handing out rules.

 

Step 2 ~

   Since this is Jan. the students can tell each other the expectations, consequences, and appropriate examples.  Give a scenario or ask for an expectation.  Then allow students to pair share the details.  Finally, share out thoughts.  I usually hit the areas needing reminders not everything. 

 

Step 3 ~

    Finish the meeting with a cheer, high fives, "We can do this!" chant or some other celebration you normally do.  Idea here is to leave the meeting with a positive thought that we can and are able to be successful in this structured environment after our non structured vacation. 

 

Step 4 ~

    Gentle reminders as you are transitioning and mini celebrations throughout the day and week. 

Let me hear about your way to re-enter the new semester. Have you ever had a class meeting?  When or why do you hold them? Why is it important for differentiation to come prepared?
 





Recycling the Overhead Apron

I love cleaning out the drawers and cabinets before school starts. It is my cleansing process, which prepares me for the coming year.  This year I found my old overhead apron. 

WALA! Just want I needed!!! Pockets ready to hold stuff.

Supplies for the creation of my newest organizational tool.

Glue the button magnets on the back.  I am a bit obsessed with magnets and my hot glue gun!!!

Finished product.  I have since used a white paint pen to record what would be in each pocket.

Yellow: Student name sticks - "choose" and "done"

Red: Sticks with brain breaks - sitting breaks, standing/moving breaks, "walks"

It's place in the whole picture.

 

 

 

Keeping track....

   I have seen colored cups and tickets on desks for how to keep track of students who come and go.  Then I saw on a website and Pinterest that a teacher used magnets on a piece of metal.  She suggested a flat cookie sheet.  LOVED THE IDEA!!!  Students come and go all day.  I am sure it is the same in your room.  I am good at remembering the regularly scheduled places and times.  However, DIBELS testing comes and kids are in and out.  Band lessons rotate every week.  It makes me dizzy! 
   So...I drove right down to the Goodwill (love it for recyclable/reusable items).  Could not find a cookie sheet. :( Did see tv trays.  The ones I bought are smaller than the usual but I thought they were different. Stopped by ACE Hardware to buy spray paint and painters tape.

                                   (Sorry, cannot seem to get it to rotate and stay rotated!)

  Then went to work.  Sketched how I wanted the layout to look.  Taped up the parts I was not going to paint maroon and went to town on spraying.  The maroon did not cover well.  It took several coats but all the others were only one or two coats.  Waiting between coats and between colors is VERY important.  Green was dry to the touch.  However, when the paper was taped down it did not all come back off.

              

   After all four were painted, I used Sharpies to decorate, divide, and label the parts.  Since the main objective is to know where my students are located, I make various sections for them to place their magnet when leaving the room.

                                        

 

 

   The pictures no matter how I try are not coming out well.  I hope you get the idea. I plan to use the Command Velcro wall hangers to put them on my wall. My magnets and glue gun are at school which makes it hard to finish this project.  I will be using flat round glass beads used for the bottom of aquariums or vases to write their numbers.  (Each student is given a number which is used for various organizational areas in the classroom.)  Magnets will be hot glued onto the back.  I will then be able to use the glass beads year after year.  

     When I finish this and put it up, I will add an up date.  Maybe with various pictures of this year's classroom set up.  I am going with an extreme sports theme.  Any ideas?  Seen any on the internet?  Love to see what ideas are out there! 

 

 



How did a post about Cleaning up music TURN to rewards systems?

"Clean up, Clean up, everybody do your share...."  

   I have to confess, I use to sing that song regularly in kindergarten.  When I taught kindergarten...I am too old to remember what I did or sang in kindergarten. Now, in the intermediate grades I use music but it is on a cd. I am NOT singing. (Kindergarteners are very forgiving...4th graders not so much!)  However, I do dance in class. (For a future blog)

    A parent was impressed when I turned on a song at the end of a party last year and the kids hit the floor until the song was done.  The magic song...(drum roll in my head)..."Yakity, Yak." Now you know I am old!  Actually, I decided to google it.  It is definitively old! It came out in 1958 by The Coasters.  So, 8 years before me. But it WORKS! They hear "Take out the papers and the trash..." and they know it is time to get the room clean. (I tried linking the album cover to amazon.com.)

   Music is used for transitions in the room as well.  Weird Al's early works are amusing for the 4th and 5th graders.  "Just Eat It" before lunch is a favorite.  Maybe it has more to do with lining up for lunch.  All kinds of TV show and cartoon themes are a hit as well.  I used Mission Impossible in kindergarten when cleaning up after math centers or Daily 5.  The para in the room at that time, LOVED it!  I chose that one because there were days that I thought the mission of cleaning up would be impossible, but they always proved me wrong by the end of the clip!

   Lately, I have been looking for great songs to simply play softly in the background that convey positive character traits or uplifting messages.  "Fireworks" is a newly acquired song.  I use many Disney movie songs:  "A Whole New World,"  "Just Around the River Bend,"  "Be Our Guest," and many others.  I just heard one by Brit Nicole about how special "you" are.  I think it is called "Gold."
Some oldies like Bobby Bear's "Daddy What If" convey a message I want them to understand, "There is someone who cares that much."  So many of our children do not hear that enough.

    My husband's sermon last weekend (4/29/13) was centered around the song by Whitney Houston, "Greatest Love of All."  Top hit of my time.  The gist of the sermon was that it is not all about you.  We have moments where we celebrate certain people like graduations and confirmations.  However, for a fulfilled life, it is not about ourselves.  When we are all about loving ourselves, life is not going to be all that it can be.  Houston's song is about loving oneself.   (Okay, I can hear the teachers now...what about have a good self esteem?)  Let me ask, where has giving every child an award for just showing up to the Y athletes gotten us? We have young adults who believe it is just "owed" to them for showing up.  No work needed.  I believe we do a disservice to our students when we do not note and award true growth and effort. Teaching students to work towards rewards who are being trained to change behaviors/social skills is another area when rewards can be used or misused. 
    ....Lets get back on track!  The point I was headed towards before the unexpected right turn is that the sermon made me think about not only instilling positive character traits but also to find songs that will plant a seed of charity to others and building relationships that build up.  I have been on the look out for family values (positive songs about parent and child relationships like Will Smith's rap "Just the Two

  of  Us.") and  music strengthening friendships.  Girls especially need help seeing how to create an atmosphere of cooperation.  The friendship ones are harder to find.  

 

    It takes time but is worth it. Music can play a major part of your classroom or home.  Every weekend, I woke up to hear classical music.  It soothed and smoothed the mornings. I am sure that was in my mom's plan.  Later in the day, current or 60's music played. It was more upbeat and many times dancing occurred.  I still find myself using dance music to uplift my mood.  Music touches the soul of all.  I encourage you to use it and share your finds especially ones about friendships.  Oh....JUST thought about the Disney movie Fox and Hound.  Need to go google its soundtrack.  Chat later....

 

Kim

  

PS.  I just found out that Eric Jensen has a book on Amazon all about music for the classroom. Top Tunes for Teaching  Check it out! It is in my cart as I type.
   
  

Liebster #2

I have to say...it is fun to find others who are in the beginning of blogging along with you.  However, I sure took my time!  But I am finalizing my commitment for the Liebster award.  These are the 11 blogs that I recommend for others to check out.  They are all current at the time of composing this
post.  I believe non of them have been nominated for this award as well.  At least, I did not see the award graphic.  ENJOY!!


http://desiclassroomcafe.blogspot.com/
   Great ideas and I love that she finds time to laugh in her room.

http://www.hootsnhollers.blogspot.com/
    It looks as if this is a new blog with very cute owls.

http://www.historyquesters.com/feed/
   Wow, this is a superb resource!  She has many terrific ideas to keep students engaged in Social Studies. 

http://fantastic5thgrade.blogspot.com/
   This sight is "fantastic." 

http://theideagal.blogspot.com/
   I liked the active learning portrayed here.

http://blog.techwithjen.com/
   Super tech information

http://the-lightbulb-lab.blogspot.com/
     Very bright and colorful blog that has great primary ideas.

http://techsentfrommyipad.blogspot.com/
    This teacher thinks outside the box. (QR codes and iPad toons to engage the students.)

http://crunchywithketchup.blogspot.com/
    Really like the graphics offered for sale and ideas this 5th grade teacher uses.  The graphics are different than most which is what makes me attractive to me.  Good for older students. 

http://sparkingthemind.blogspot.com/ 
    Like the Monday Morning cartoon! Caught my eye as a person, I want to follow.

http://teachesthirdingeorgia.blogspot.com/
   The mosaics offered by this teacher would be a welcome addition to my extra activities file.