Week #2 It's About to Get Real-Update

The first week of school was filled with smiles, excitement, new school supplies and dreams.  However by Friday issues were starting to rear their heads and the middle school drama was beginning to emerge,  Facebook drama, stressed out kids and hot tired teachers were the theme of the day.  The week had been very hot and humid and this 100 year old building becomes a brick oven under those conditions.  Everyone was thankful for the 3 day weekend and hopefully a cooling off in the weather would begin.

Now we are back for week 2 of school and the kids are quiet and a bit sleepy.  It is still hot and humid and that affects energy levels.

I am energized and excited to implement a variety of new strategies this year.  After reading about and researching growth mindset I feel like it would be an excellent strategy for my math intervention group.  There is a lot of research supporting growth mindset and data showing increased motivation, improved behavior, and increases in math and verbal achievement test scores.  Growth mindset originates from three decades of work by Carol Dweck. I am currently reading her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

I see so many students that are only in 7th or 8th grade yet they have totally given up and decided that they will never be good at math or even school in general.  It is so disheartening to see 12 and 13 year olds decide at their young age to quit and not put forth effort because they truly believe they will never be successful at the math curriculum for their grade level.

I have read a few negatives regarding growth mindset however the positive seems to out weigh the "nay" sayers.  I will be continuing my research and planning on implementing this strategy with my intervention math group.  I will report back as I use these techniques and we will see how it impacts my students' motivation and ability to stay focused when they fail.  I hope to see them continue to work on challenging skills until they have mastery.

Have you used growth mindset in your classroom?  I would appreciate any comments(positive or negative) regarding your use of growth mindset in the classroom. Thanks!

 

Update:

 

The students began learning about growth mindset by analyzing how they feel when school work is difficult or challenging.  We discussed the differences between fixed mindset and a growth mindset.  After a lively discussion they designed their own motivating poster. 

 

Labor on Labor Day

Labor on labor day...it doesn't seem right. On September 5, 1882 aproximately 10,000 workers participated in America's first Labor Day Parade in New York City.  In 1887 Oregon became the first state to declare Labor Day an offical holiday, soon the rest of the nation followed.  Labor day weekend is dedicated to the hard working individuals who go off day after day to  a job, giving it their best and precious moments of their life.  Some of us are lucky enough to be doing what we love and getting paid for it while others force themselves to engage daily in a job that defines drudgery.

 I feel blessed that I am able to work in a field that I am passionate about, education.  Just like everyone else it isn't easy getting up when it is still dark and pushing myself to keep moving as I get ready for work.  However once I am out the door my mind is racing with a multitude of ideas and plans for the day.  I really love what I do.

This weekend is supposed to be a break from our hard work and yet I foolishly planned a rummage sale.  The heat was horrendous and once again I was up at the crack of dawn to "work".  I had driven around the night before and placed signs directing people to my rummage sale.  Soon they starting coming, yes, before the appointed time of 9:00 am.  It was OK though, we were ready for them.  As the day crawled on the temperature and humidity index rose.  The eclectic collection of remnants of past decorations, dishes and furniture slowly began to sell.  I had no regrets parting with any of the items and it was a relief to see them find a new home knowing I would not have to lug them down to the basement when the sale ended.

For some reason that remains unknown, Labor Day weekend is a popular weekend to hold a rummage sale here and the neighborhood is filled with sale signs as people use their 3 day weekend for selling and shopping at neighboring garage sales.

Originally I was going to do the 3 day rummage sale, however after sweating and wishing I was somewhere else and doing something else I decided I am done after tomorrow.  So Monday, Labor Day, I will enjoy the day and honor the American labor movement movement by appreciating the opportunity to sit back in thankfulness. 

The Best Teaching Tool Ever

 

 

 

You are looking at the best teaching tool ever!  

At least for today when the temperature is 90 degrees and the humidity is 90 plus.  Children walked in the door looking as fresh as a daisy and walked out looking like melted crayons.  It was hot! 
 Thus, the fan became the best teaching tool of the day.  Although it was only pushing around hot humid air it created an illusion of being cooled off and that was enough to keep all of us persevering.  In every classroom there was the low hum of numerous fans in the background as you walked through the building and it was music to our ears because it meant moving air.
Take note, I am not complaining because only a couple of months from now Wisconsin will become an artic tundra of ice and snow.  They are predicting a drop of temperatures into the 70's after Labor Day so this sauna won't last much longer.  So, kudos to the inventor of the fan!  We wouldn't have survived today in this old brick two story building without it.

Road Trip in My Mind

Teacher's Road Trip

Moving down the highway into blue sky, billowing clouds and lots of green scenery; its a road trip! The wind through my window gentlely tugs at my hair matching my mood of freedom from style and constraints. I can just feel all my worries and issues behind me as I surge forward.  Rythamic movement pulls me down the highway and away from it all.  I follow the road as it gentlely turns and twists through the countryside when suddenly a big red octagon shaped sign pops up in my line of vision.  On the sign are the words:  STOP! It's August 27th Back to School! 
Yes, it was only a road trip in my mind as I try to escape the reality of summers's end and the fact it is time to return to school.  Regretfully, I can't hide from the reality any longer and I awake to the jarring ringtone on my cell phone's alarm.
The first 3 days will be teacher meetings and some allowed time to get classrooms ready.  As the days go by and classrooms are whipped into shape the excitement will grow and we will be ready to welcome our students and the magical chemistry the blend of their personalities bring.  It is here and I am ready for it.

 The road trip will just have to wait until next summer because Back to School here I come!

#Loyalty

Happy National Dog Day

 

Dogs.. Our most loyal friend.  This is my new "puppy".  She is 8 months old and she has wiggled her way into the hearts of our family.  There have been challenges with her as we soon learned being the owner of a German Shepard is much different than that of a Labrador retriever.  Our previous dog of over 11 years was a docile overly friendly lab.  This pup is definitely a pack dog and needs us to be assertive pack leaders.  She is smart, affectionate and loving to our family; however she is very aloof and on guard with strangers.  After a close call where she attempted to nip at a neighbor we began working with a trainer. He actually "trained" us.  It has involved a lot of rethinking on our part as far as dog training goes.  Our dog experience was limited to our laid back lab and this truly was a different breed and personality. We learned how to teach her basic commands such as heel, down and sit.   Working with the trainer taught us the importance of consistency, patience, and taking control.  Ironically all the same important strategies and techniques in discipline and guiding children (no, I am not comparing children to dogs).

Every time I walk in the door her delighted greeting melts away my cares of the day and I am so glad we have her. The daily training and consistency has paid off and she follows commands beautifully.  So, before I go on and on about my wonderful "puppy" I will close with "Happy National Dog Day" to all dogs and dog owners.  Give your dog an extra treat today!

 

Are You a Scaredy Squirrel?

Teachers, what is your Monday Motivation?  What gets you out of bed and out the door at the beginning of the week.  We like to focus on the positives that motivate us.  A passion for teaching, improving students' lives, and providing skills and opportunities for our students are some of the many reasons we are motivated to teach.  Let's be honest, we are also motivated by fears and anxieties.  We all have bills to pay and lives to maintain as well as that of our families and those fears are motivators too.  What motivates our students on Monday morning?  What gets them out the door and into the school?  Sadly, many of our students have other things that get in the way of any motivation to attend school.
When you go to school do you think of the fears and anxieties your students experience regarding school and how it impacts their ability to learn?  Test anxiety, math anxiety, and social anxiety are just a few of the many issues that impact our students' learning style.  Many students shut down and learning stops.  I am amazed how some of my toughest older students who daily face challenges in their day that would devastate me don't even blink an eye about their situation.  The violence, death and drugs are their "normal" and yet when faced with a difficult math problems they quit and refuse to try.  They feel threatened when school presents academic challenges and they hide from facing the possibility of failure in their noncompliant behavior or refusal to work.
What can we do for our students who lose all motivation because of anxiety and fears in school?  Talking to students, building relationships, and helping them to strengthen their confidence are all effective techniques to help them overcome their fears.  There is always that one who is so badly scarred by past failures they refuse to respond to your best efforts.  So with this question in mind I had a sudden insight during my bedtime story reading with my son.

Like many parents, we have had a nightly bedtime story at our house since day one.  Now that my son is 8 years old it is sometimes silent reading and sometimes read out loud at bedtime.  The other night he elected to read Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt.   If you haven't read the book, Scaredy Squirrel is a somewhat neurotic squirrel who is so fearful of the the world and its imagined dangers he refuses to leave the safety of his tree.  He fears a variety of dangers some realistic(poison ivy) and some are very impossible dangers(sharks).  Scaredy squirrel had a packed emergency kit, structured daily schedule and an emergency exit plan.  As my son read the story I was struck by the parallel to life, particularly school life. Actually, it reminded me of myself at times and fears I didn't want to face yet life forced me out of my "tree".
 I thought back to my search for other techniques to reach students who did not want to discuss the impact their fears had on making progress in school.  I realized how books could be a strategy to reach these students.  A simple read out loud with stories like Scaredy Squirrel could start the conversation so many found difficult.
As an adult I found myself relating to the struggles Scaredy faced with his fears and the limitations it placed on his life.  I was reminded of many people I knew as we read about his rigid schedule and rules he placed in his life to create a feeling of security.  Yes, it is a story for younger children and yet it could be a powerful tool with older students who can analyze and explore the similarities between Scaredy Squirrel and themselves.  In the story's end Scaredy Squirrel  accidently falls out of his tree only to discover that "nothing horrible happened to him in the unknown world."  A simple but powerful analogy for students to discuss and relate to life. 
I have used some children's books in a similar way with 8th graders in the past and found it to be successful.  There are always a few who scoff at being read a picture book however after the first couple of pages they are quiet and engaged as the magic of the story and its illustrations sweep them up.
Scaredy Squirrel can just be a starting point for a literature study of books related to struggles and facing fears.  There are many excellent books at a variety of grade levels that relate to this issue.  Within the safety of a book children can explore and face their fears.  They can see they are not the only one with these feelings and they can read about triumphs in the battle to overcome their anxieties instead of staying stagnant in the security of not approaching the "unknown".  Powerful discussions can take place in the analysis of the story's plot and details.
As a special education teacher who works with students from 1st to 8th grade with a wide variety of labels I wondered how this analytical discussion could be approached with younger students. This was the inspiration for my newest TPT product.  I developed materials that would help younger ones explore these topics as they worked on a Scaredy Squirrel theme in math, reading, and writing activities.  The writing and reading work focuses on story details and explores the fears Scaredy Squirrel faced.  If you are interested please check it out at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literacy-and-Math-Fun-with-Scaredy-Squirrel-2025556.

Hope you find this to be an interesting and effective approach for some of your challenging students.  An analysis of Scaredy Squirrel could easily be incorporated into literature and writing time.  Building strong positive relationships with our students are critical to the learning process and discussion on this topic is one step in that multifaceted relationship.

Vocabulary's Important Role in Teaching Math

As teachers we all recognize the importance of vocabulary in reading and writing, yet sometimes we neglect the important role it plays in math.  We get very focused on teaching skills and strategies when we are teaching math however for some of our students mastery of math vocabulary impacts their success in math.  Many of my special education students struggle to recall math terms that we use in math, especially the higher grade levels.  I found that by creating math fluency strips students had a tool for quick visual reference of terms.
  I laminated the math terms we were using for our unit on triangles and angle relationships.  I attached the strips to a binder clip and had it available as a tool for students who had difficulty remembering the difference between an isosceles triangle and an equilateral triangle.  Each math term has a definition with a visual representation. 

In addition to the first set of strips I created a second batch of fluency strips identical to the first set; however these strips had blanks in the definition.  These strips I used in my math centers for additional practice of the terms.  Students practiced individually or with a partner on the “fill in the blank” set in math centers.  My students began to gain confidence with their knowledge of the terms through this repeated practice. 

Students were able to refer to the fluency strips as we completed classwork.  Students were also able to take the strips home to use for reference when doing their homework. Students began to display more confidence and success through the use of the math fluency strips. The fluency strips have definitely had a positive impact on many of my students' math progress and I am currently in the process of developing more for my other math units. 

Click on the link to try out my triangles and angles fluency strips for FREE with your students: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Fluency-Strips-for-Triangles-and-Angles-Vocabulary-1765089