Monday Musings -April 29

I came across this image/quote on one of my favorite teacher blogs, http://venspired.com/, and I thought it was the perfect message for our time together on Friday as we learned about new iPad apps together.  As I looked around the room I saw engaged educators learning together and having a LOT of fun while doing it!  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard as I did watching those great Toontastics each group created.  

I am so thankful for our Dodgeland family that is here for the same cause, sharing ideas with each other, supporting each other and sharing our passion for learning each and every day. 

Thank you!

Friday Focus - April 26

A very short Memo due to me being sick Thursday...

Events Next Week (surprisingly, not much!)
Thursday - FFA Petting Zoo 8:45-2:30 across from the playground. Ms. Roberts will have a sign-up sheet to schedule your class.
Friday - Mid Quarter reports should go home
*Thursday and Friday are both 4K screening days down in the 4K/speech rooms.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
*SAGE Goals templates are in the shared drive under SAGE goals for K-3 teachers.  These have the corrections you made at the start of the year, but a couple grade levels have realized some of the math may need to change.  Go ahead and either let me know the change needed or have someone from your grade level edit it.  These do not need to be turned in until June 7th.

Monday Musings - April 22

I am sharing a reflection I posted on my other blog this weekend...

Changing Behaviors to Change Beliefs...A Personal Reflection

I recently had to give up drinking coffee due to chronic pain issues.  This was very hard for me to do, because I drank three cups of coffee a day (sometimes more).  Coffee was a staple of my life that I relied on for waking up, getting my ideas going, a pick-me up during the day, my energy when the day's work was tiring, a stress reliever and just the comfort of a warm cup in my hand.  When students at school draw pictures of me, they often include a coffee cup in my hand!  If you, too, are a coffee drinker, then I'm sure you can imagine my reluctance to give it up.

It was not easy, but I did what I was told while dragging my feet, not believing this could possibly help my situation.  I looked for decaffeinated teas to try to trick my brain by still having a hot cup in my hand, but it was so disgusting to me it was no substitute.  On mornings after a late night I struggled to get moving, thinking, "maybe just one cup wouldn't be so bad" but then mentally slapped my hand at the thought.  One day my self-control lacked and while on a drive to a meeting, my car was an auto-pilot and swung 
through the McDonald's drive through to get my favorite mocha frappe as I always do without even realizing it until afterwards.  I'm not one to waste money, so I drank it knowing it was a dumb idea, and later regretted it (both mentally and physically).

Why am I sharing this? Not to whine, complain or get empathy...I promise I'm done with that aspect of my story! I share this, because it made me think of teaching practices, beliefs, and change.  It is often our beliefs 

that drive our teaching practices and our experience leading to changes in our beliefs that changes our practices.  But what about when a change is given to us and we don't want it?  No matter what the change is, change is hard. 

As I think about changes we have made in our building over the years, they haven't been easy.  I recently had a conversation with a teacher in which he talked about how much he doesn't like  change and was skeptical to teach with Daily5/Cafe, but now loves teaching reading and writing.  He had doubts with the new math program, Math Expressions, but now loves it.  Why?  Because he sees the incredible impact that both have had for student learning and enjoys teaching both subjects much more now.  I have heard similar comments from other teachers as well.

If change can be good, then why do we resist change so much? 

Most of us want to continue with what we already know, what we are comfortable with. It is easier that way.    It is what we believe to be "right."  I think some of my mornings could be much more enjoyable if I grabbed a cup of coffee, but then I remind myself of why I had to stop.  As a teacher, it is easy to revert back to old teaching habits or drag your feet on a new initiative, because what you are used to doing is already habit, is easy, and is what you know.  When we stick with the change and then see a positive change in student learning or student behaviors (or changes in whatever the initiative was meant to address), then we are convinced and become believers of the change.  For many of us, we need to change our behaviors to see the results that will impact our beliefs. 

Friday Focus - April 19

A new perspective on our April Showers!

Great Things I Noticed This Week:
*Students learning and practicing strategies to help them handle their anger in appropriate ways.
*A student asking if he can solve a math problem using two different strategies.
*A class reading a few different poems together, referring back to their previously made anchor chart of poetry elements/examples.
*Students used Educreations to show newly learned vocabulary words. They shared them using the snowball method...their groups to share in got bigger and bigger. First they shared with a partner, then with a group of 4, then with a group of 8 and finally the whole class. Not only did they get to enjoy sharing and seeing each others' Educreation, but they got to expand their vocabulary at the same time.
*A HUGE thank you for helping make the Big Blast Night a hit--Mrs. Harnisch, Mrs. Peterson, Ms. Braunschweig, Mrs. Haan, Mr. Mane, and Mrs. O'Toole. I always feel tired just thinking about this event, but am re-energized seeing how much fun the kids had and heard many positive comments/thank you's from parents at the end of the evening.

Events Next Week:
Today - Staff Social Lunch, Rescheduled Tornado Drill
Monday - Leroy Butler Presentation at 1:15. Make sure to wear your Green & Gold (yes, this means you can wear jeans on a Monday!)
Tuesday - Grade Level Meetings (see "Nuts & Bolts" for what we're discussing)
Wednesday - Staff get-together at Rolling Stone
Friday - PD Day-more details below

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*Grade Level Meetings: We put RtI on the "backburner" this year as we implemented Math Expressions. Next year (December) is when the state SLD Rule goes into effect, mandating us to fully implement RtI.  To determine what our next steps are, we are going to use Tuesday's meetings to have grade levels discuss/complete the state's recommended survey to determine where we are and where we need to go. I'm not sure how long this will take, so you may also have time to talk math, common core, or whatever else your hearts desire.
*PD Day Agenda:

8:00-12:00 for iPad training with Jenna from Marian College. I'm still working out the details with her on
which apps, but they will apply across grade levels/subjects.  There's a good chance we'll have many more iPads next year, so you'll want to be thinking about how you'll utilize them. :)
12:30-2:00 Cross-Grade Level Meetings for discussions on math-sharing practices from your grade level that they next grade should know, as well as making plans for the remainder of the year. Grades 3-5 know they won't make it through the book, so you will need to come to consensus on what must be taught before the end of the year, what you will skip, etc. 5K-2 are the lucky ones that will finish and need to plan where to go for the rest of the year!
     12:30-1:10 4K/5K, 1/2, 3/4, 5/6
     1:15-2:00 5K/1, 2/3, 4/5
     Rooms To Be Determined

Blogs, Pins & Tweets...Oh My!!!
*Do you love the author Mem Fox? Hearing her read her books aloud is a real treat! She has recorded many of her favorites on her website HERE.
*Great blog post: More Than Listening Centers; Using Audio Books in Literacy Instruction

*Sunday Night's Twitter #Wischat (Wisconsin Chat) had a great conversation on Standards Based Grading. Here are some of the "nuggets" I copied from the chat:

Eric Vanden Heuvel ‏@epvandenheuvel

1h

On a 100 pt scale, students have over 60 different ways to fail- Guskey #wischat

Ryan McLane ‏@McLane_Ryan1h

@MelissaEmler 0 on a 100 pt scale is like giving a kid a "K." They may deserve an "F" but no kid deserves a "K" #Wischat

Kelly Schofield ‏@schofield20071h

Q2 the inconsistency of grades is harmful. Too many times they are used as punishment and not feedback. #Wischat

Ryan McLane ‏@McLane_Ryan1h

If you want grades to mean anything, they should reflect student mastery, not compliance and responsibility. #Wischat

John Gunnell ‏@gunnellAP

1h

A1 - Changing the grading scale is not as important as defining our core beliefs about grading and assessment. #Wischat

Tom Whitford ‏@twhitford59m

A great post shared by @NMHS_Principal about grading practices - http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2013/03/second-chances.html #wischat

Tom Whitford ‏@twhitford57m

Some Great Posts on Grading & Homework by Wisconsin's very own @pernilleripp Check these out after chat - http://www.http://www.pernilleripp.com/p/no-homework-no-grades-no-punishment.html #wischat

Monday Musings - April 15

I always love reading the positive, uplifting blog posts from Venspired.   Here is one of her recent posts that I just had to share with you all:

Education is Full of Hope

There are lots of things we cannot control.  Sometimes absolutely zero control.  People who aren’t in education for the right reasons. Testing mandates. Kids’ troubled home lives. The media’s portrayal of schools. Poverty. Kids dealing with survival over learning math. Budget cutbacks, and then more budget cutbacks. Feeling unsupported by the world.

But there are things we can control.

The way we treat children when they’re with us for the day. The connections we build with our kids. The daily lessons we shape. The story we share that’s our story. The photos we post on our blog. Modeling digital citizenship for our kids.  Creating global connections in our schools.  The comments we spread through social media and open dialogue.  The message we share and live. Reaching out to support others who might not be feeling supported.  The way we treat  our colleagues every single day.   Getting learning out of the textbook and lighting fires in kids’ minds by helping them see just how amazing the world really is. Things we can control.

Above all? We can control what we see when we look at a situation.  Education.  Do we see a hopeless outcome where it all seems lost? Where the bureaucracy creates some kind of cloud of doom?  Or, do we see education is not hopeless. In fact, it’s so full of hope that it’s busting at the seams.

That hope?  It’s in the kids we teach.

Friday Focus - April 12

Great Things I Noticed This Week:
I thank you all for your continual focus on making every moment count with your students.  In the past week I saw several instances that demonstrated this...
*A teacher stopping the class to rehearse procedures of how to get in to groups. Another had students come back to the carpet and show the right way to go to the table for their book club.  Yes, they should know how to do this at this time of the year, but in order to keep moving forward for the remainder of the year the teacher recognized that an extra two minutes to practice will save time in the long run.  This could probably be said for almost any procedure.
*A class practiced their "number flashes" as they waited a few moments for art class. I saw another class reading while waiting for music.
*A class was ready to go at the end of the day, with a minute to spare before the bell.  The teacher asked students to turn-and-talk to share their favorite thing they learned that day.

Events This Week:
Today- 3rd Quarter Dodgeland Pride Assembly at 2:15. Ms. B's class will be leading us all in a fun song that they've been working on for us.
If you don't have Friday night dinner plans our Dance/Cheer Teams are having a fish fry at the Reeseville community center 5:00-8:00 with a silent auction.
Monday- Last day for expenditures
Tuesday- I'm out of the building for Effectiveness training at CESA 6
Thursday- Tornado drill (see Mr. Modaff's email for details)
Family Fun Big Blast Night 5:00-7:00. We are still in need of help!!!
Friday-Staff Social Lunch 3rd grade

Planning ahead: our originally scheduled Elementary Professional Learning Meeting for April 22 has now turned in to a district meeting that Dr. Thompson will be sending emails about.  I had planned for our meeting to be cross-grade level discussions, so I will move those to our PD Day on Friday, April 26 instead.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*We are in DESPERATE need of help for the Family Fun Big Blast Night this Thursday.  Helping out just means you show up, stand next to a bounce house or some other giant-inflatable-fun-thing and "man" the line of kids waiting for their turn.  At this point in time it's just myself, 1 teacher and 1 parent.  We need help to make this Family Fun event happen please! Let me know if you're available, even if for just a half hour.
*We are still missing some books in the book room (just 1 book from a few sets that make it hard for reading groups). Please remember to use your named clips when you take books from the book room. We don't know if the books are missing or if you forgot to use a clip.  I will be putting a clip board in to write books down that you know are missing (maybe a student didn't return it) so we know what needs to be reordered.

Blogs, Pins and Tweets...Oh My!!
*I've had a few people ask "How do you read a tweet?" Here's my attempt to show you parts of a tweet that may be confusing:

Whenever you see @_____ It is a person's "name" or "Twitter Handle."  If you see anything with #, it is the "hashtag" that helps categorize the tweet and make it easy for people following that topic/hashtag to find things they are looking for. Feel free to ask if you still have questions.

Now since that was just a screenshot of the tweet the link won't work, so here's the link to Donalyn Miller's post: Accepting My Reading Slump.

*The Responsive Classroom Youtube Channel  is filled with video clips of teachers/classrooms of morning meetings, energizers, and other great clips. 

Read about this anchor chart HERE

Monday Musings - April 8

As we enter the final quarter of school, I realize this can be a challenging time for us, as both staff & students get ‘Spring Fever’. We have been working hard for 7 months and we’re getting closer to the end of the school year. Now is when we must do our best work. We must finish strong and carry out our momentum until the last day. Keep in mind, the more you stray from your classroom routine/schedule, the more antsy your students will get. If you keep focused, they will follow your lead!

As we approach the final weeks of the school year, it is easy for many teachers to get into that familiar habit of wishing that the year would end. I want to encourage you not to fall into that rut and make the last quarter enjoyable and productive for your students.

Friday Focus - April 5

Great things I Noticed this Week:

• 5K students making inferences while looking at pictures, sequencing them and then describing what is happening using sequencing words.  (Look out Common Core, we're not afraid of you!)
• 4th grade students visiting the middle school band period to see what band is like. They got to go right next to older students as they played to see what their instruments were like and ask all kinds of great questions as they consider band. 
• 1st graders SO excited to check out library books that they found their books right away and spent the final 10 minutes of library time reading!
• Several students excitedly telling me about what summer school classes they are signing up for. Thank you for your help in "advertising" their options and getting them so excited!

Events Next Week:
Friday (Today) - 3rd Qtr report cards go home
Tuesday - Grade Level Meetings (See "Nuts&Bolts" for details)
Wednesday - I will be gone all day at CESA 6 for Effectiveness Project Training
Thursday - I'm gone half day for AWSA.
  12:30-1:00 "Captain Wattage" presentation for 3-5th grades in the gym
   1:05-1:35 "Captain Wattage" presentation for K-3 in the gym
Friday - 3rd Quarter Dodgeland Pride Assembly 2:15
Looking further down the road...
April 15th-last date for expenditures
April 18th-Big Blast Family Fun Night (I'll be looking for help again!!!)
April 22nd-Leroy Butler guest speaker presentation to K-5 at 1:15

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*Tuesday's grade level meetings will be on discussing formative assessment.  You'll find this article in your mailbox to read before Tuesday. Please also plan to bring one example to share with your grade level on how you formatively assess your students.  This could be verbal or bring a hard copy to share with us.

Blogs, Tweets and Pins...Oh My!
*Looking for series book ideas for transitional readers? HERE is a great list from Franki Sibberson at Choice Literacy.
*Great blog post/videos on Book Clubs- Book Clubs: In Our Kids' Voices 
*

Dr. Justin Tarte @justintarte: 

Blogging allows students to write for an authentic audience (rather than just a teacher), while also teaching digital citizenship. 
* Fun idea for partners or turn-and-talk...Peanut Butter and Jelly:

*An Expert Chart during a non-fiction reading/writing unit:

Descriptions of both these pins can be found at THIS BLOG

Blog Post on Summarizing found HERE

Monday Musings - April 1

As I enjoyed the 4 day weekend to catch-up on work (school and home-related) and just relax with family I struggled with coming up with a Monday Musings topic when I was really just hoping for one more day of Spring Break.  But then I recalled The No Complaining Rule, a book I read by Jon Gordon and shared with you at the start of the school year in this post.  As we return from a short Spring Break and gear up for the final stretch of the school year, I thought it would be the perfect time to review the No Complaining Rule.  I know I've "broken" this rule a few times ;)

I've read a number of books by Jon Gordon and have never been disappointed.  His books are quick reads, but always inspirational with powerful, positive messages.  I recently read The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work.  Who doesn't encounter issues of complaining, whether it's your spouse, a colleague or even yourself?

Complaining is very prevalent, however, the negativity it spreads is like cancer.  In Gordon's book, he shares the cost of negativity:

• Negativity costs the U.S. economy between $250 to $300 billion every year in lost productivity according to the Gallup Organization. 
• 90% of doctor visits are stress related, according to the CDC, and the #1 cause of office stress is coworkers and their complaining, according to Truejobs.com
• A study found that negative employees can scare off every customer they speak with--for good (How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath). 
• Too many negative interactions compared to positive interactions at work can decrease the productivity of a team, according to Barbara Frederickson's research at the University of michigan. 
• One negative person can create a miserable office environment for everyone else. 

This list could go on, but I'm sure you get the point: Complaining breeds negativity, and negativity makes it difficult to accomplish anything. So, how do you handle the Complainers?  One could imagine handling complaining this way...

Gordon's book is all about putting The No Complaining Rule into effect with suggestions to do instead of complaining (replacing a bad habit with a better practice):

1. Practice Gratitude

2. Praise Others

3. Focus on Success

4. Let Go

5. Pray and Meditate

(The list with descriptions can be found here).

The most memorable part of the book for me was an explanation from the "yard guy" on how he eliminates weeds. Instead of attacking the weeds with chemicals he uses an organic mixture that "creates an environment where the good grass can grow healthy and strong."  This allows the grass to grow and spread to the point that the weeds get crowded out and can no longer grow.

What does this "organic mixture" look like in schools?  For the adults, I see this as building on teachers' strengths, creating an environment in which teachers are constantly learning together and from each other.  Teachers share new ideas, or read some of the same books together, and even observe each other's classrooms to help improve the teaching and learning in their own classrooms.  For students this is also building on strengths and positives, versus focusing on wrongdoings and consequences.  For many schools this is being done through PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) or character development programs.  This year our school is going to use the "Bucket Fillers" theme, which I thought of the entire time I read The No complaining Book.  We already have a positive culture in our building, but I am excited to see what this theme will add to it as we focus on praising others and celebrating our success.

I would highly recommend anyone read this book.  You can find additional resources here whether you have read the book or not.  And I challenge you to take a Complaining Fast. Start with just a day and then try a week of No Complaining!  Focus on the things you "get to do" instead of "have to do" and turn your complaints into solutions.