A New Project

I realized I never did post pictures of my classroom.  I will definitely do that soon!!

I want to talk about a new project I started with my African American Literature students.  Have you ever had your students doing something in class and everything went smoothly and the students were learning at a high level and were super engaged and you just felt like SuperTeacher?  I am feeling that way about this project.

It's the end of our first unit (on Race and Identity) and I didn't want to give a test that had them regurgitating information.  I also had already had them write an essay comparing and contrasting their views about race before and after the unit, so I didn't want them to do an essay.  But I did want to see what they had retained from the unit.  What was there to do?

This summer I came across the RSA video project featured on Blogush.  I loved the thought, but I was terrified to try it out because 1) I've never made one myself so I didn't think I could teach the students how 2) I didn't think I had the necessary equipment to make the videos and 3) I figured it would take SO LONG to do it.  I just wasn't sure it was worth the headache or the time.

This semester I was lucky though.  I have a very small class (I started out with 12 and now have 15 students) of only juniors and seniors and most of the students I've had before so I don't have any discipline problems.  I don't think I could do the project with a super large class or with a class of students I couldn't trust to do the work.

I used the information from Mr. Bogush's site to create my own information sheet for the students.

I showed the students what an RSA video was by using the Blogush site and showing the videos on my SmartBoard.  The students got excited once they saw what they would be doing!  

I broke my students up into three groups (giving 4-5 students per group).  Each group had one of the questions from the sheet (What is race?  How do we combat misconceptions about race?  How should parents teach their children about race?).  These were all essential questions we dealt with in our readings, writings, discussions, and the videos we watched in class.  Once students were in the group, each group was given a piece of paper and told to break their answer into five distinct parts and to write those five parts down.

The next day, when my students came in, I had them create a staircase outline.  A staircase outline kind of looks like this:

Only my students were told to only have five stairs for their outline (for the five main parts of their answers).  Each "stair" had the main idea on the top of the stair and then they had to write out what three images they would use to convey the main idea underneath.

Once they knew what images they wanted to draw to convey their main ideas, I had them use white boards and paper to start figuring out how to draw.  At this point I realized they needed a little more structure.  I stopped the groups and told them to decide who would be drawing the pictures and who would be doing the voice-over for the narration portion of the video.  I also gave the option for one person to be the "writer of the narration," as a few groups had five people in them and that person ended up needing a job too.  With the groups of four, two were drawing and two would be speaking.

The third day, my students went through a "dry run" of drawing on the white boards and practicing for being video taped.  We got through two groups' videotaping.  I used my iPhone to video them drawing.  They only needed three whiteboard markers and an eraser.

The fourth day, I was going to be gone, so I made that day the "narration writing" day.  They had to figure out how to write out what they wanted to say to convey their five main ideas and to make sure that the images they decided to use would go along with what they were saying.

I went home and sped up the videos on my MacBook Pro using iMovie.  I sped up the film to 5x.  (There is the option to do so by clicking on the options button when looking at the video panes, then moving the scale away from the turtle and closer to the rabbit.)

Notice where it says clip adjustments.  You click that.  Then you need to stabilize the video:

This could take a while.  Then, do you see where it says speed?  Move it closer to the rabbit (I set it at 200).  You may also choose to reduce motion distortion on the video.  Also, click on the Audio tab and turn the volume down to 0% so that you don't have silly chipmunk voices in the video.  It is quite hilarious to listen to, though!

The fifth day I will be back, so we will finish videotaping the last group and we will do the voice-overs for the groups.  To do the voice-overs, the plan is to use a small microphone that attaches through USB to the computer and then to save each audio file.  I then plan to add the audio file to the video file on iMovie (much the same way you would add music to a video or slideshow on iMovie).  Then I can save the videos and we can watch them in class!  

I am hoping my principal will have them added to the school website for others to see :)

The students have been fully engaged with this project.  They have been having fantastic discussions about the content of the class and they have been working together to make the project work.  This project has been a dream.  I wish all of my crazy ideas would work as well as this one did.  

I don't recommend going into a project like this as I did; it's probably best to know what you are doing first.  I am not always the smartest and I don't always follow my own advice though.

If you do something like this in your classroom, I'd love to hear about it!  How did it work for you?  How did you set it up?  

**Once the videos are complete, I will see if at least one group will allow me to upload the video as an example :)

Open House Idea

I know many schools run an Open House Night for students, and that each school has a different definition of what Open House really means.

At my school, Open House Night means the teachers stand outside their doors and greet students and parents as they come by to see where their classes are.  We also help direct people to the right locations and assist with locker problems.  There is no specific plan or order to where the students/parents go and we aren't expected to sit down with anyone and "talk shop."  I think it would best be called a Meet and Greet night.

I came up with an idea for this year's Open House Night: I created magnets with my email, webpage, and directions for setting up Remind101.  The magnets were made using simple print-your-own business cards.

I hot-glued little round magnets (which I found at Walmart) to the backs after printing and tearing out the cards.

I would upload a picture for you, but my information is on them.  Sorry everyone!

They were a great little something to give the parents and students as I introduced myself.  One parent said that he could tell I'd been teaching a while.  I'm not sure if it was my confidence in introducing myself or the fact that I had created contact information cards.  Most parents flew right past me and stuck their heads in my door.  When I would go up to say hi, they would be startled and tell me they thought I was a student.  Looking young is going to be great for me when I'm sixty!

So if you are looking for a great way to impress people at Open House Night, think about creating your own contact cards.  They are super easy to make and are fairly cheap (100 business cards cost $13.00 and the magnets cost $5.36 for 50, so about $11 for 100).  Less than $25 for 100 contact cards; I have about 100 students and not all of my students took a card, so I'll have some left over for next year.

At less than 25 cents per card, it's much cheaper than having someone else make them for you.  They might look fancier, but the cards below, created by Purple Trail, cost .67 a piece!

Anyone else do something neat for Back to School or Open House Night?

Creating a Virtual Classroom Library

I have loved moving into the newly renovated school and having my new, beautiful room.  I will upload pictures to show you my classroom tomorrow.  One negative of being in a new building is that we aren't allowed to bring in any furniture.  As in, I'm not allowed to bring in my own bookcases that I bought at Target a few years ago.  They are nice; they are still new looking.  There's nothing wrong with them.  But the powers that be have said no.  Because of this, I can't bring in my classroom library.

For a while, this really, really bothered me.  I think it is VERY important that my students have access to books.  Students don't get better at reading without reading and they can't read without BOOKS.

I have found a way around the entire problem though (I think).  I found this program that will allow me to scan in my books using my MacBook's built-in camera.  It will visually show up on a virtual bookcase and, using Amazon, give me the price, a synopsis, basic info on the book (like page numbers), and the ability to check out the book to people on my contacts list.  The program is called Delicious Library and version 2.0 is only $10!  It is only available through Apple products, though.

I set up my actual bookshelves in my office with the books and I turned my list of books from the program into a PDF file that I uploaded to my classroom website.  This way students can see my virtual library.  I can electronically keep track of which student has which of my books.  I can even (supposedly) publish the entire thing to a website, but I haven't figured that part out yet as I am not technically inclined.

This way, I can still allow my students access to my books without having "clutter" in my classroom.  I'm hoping it will be a win-win.  I plan to give book talks about a few of the titles every few weeks so that my students remember that I do have books available for them to check out.  I also plan to make a poster to hang on my bulletin board that will highlight a few titles I think they will like.

Here's an image of part of the library:

How cool is it?  Any suggestions for me as I try the virtual classroom library?  I could take any help I can get!  Also, if you use this product and know how to publish to a website using v2, let me know.  I've gotten as far as putting it in a folder on my laptop.  I don't know how to do anything other than that!

Bringing Your Lunch

There's nothing like a teacher during lunch...racing around trying to make copies while simultaneously heating up your meal then running to the lunch room to eat and barely having time to hit the restroom before those twenty minutes are up.

When I first started teaching, I was naive and though that it would be easier to eat the school lunch.  WRONG.  First, it tastes awful--at least it does at my school, anyway.  They must not be allowed to season any of the food and I'm not just asking for salt here.  I'd be okay with some Mrs. Dash!  Second, I always have to elbow my way past a bunch of teenagers to get through the line.  As a teacher, I don't have to wait in line, but I feel like such a jerk cutting in front of the kids.  Third, whatever I make at home just HAS to be better than whatever mystery, overly-processed junk they serve.

To make my life easier, I've bought a few tried and true products that I absolutely need in order to have my lunch and eat it too.

This one is obvious--a lunch box/bag.  I like the ones by Built because they have such cute designs and they are made of this super-easy-to-wash material.  Everyone always thinks mine is a purse.  I must admit, I have two lunch bags--one for my breakfast and snack and one for my lunch.

And these little babies are snack sleeves.  They are reusable ziploc baggies.  They are made of the same neoprene food-safe polyethyline vinyl acetate material as the Built lunch bags and close with velcro.  I wouldn't recommend using them for long-term storage of your food, but to pack your lunch they are perfect.

I like these ice mats much better than the hard plastic ice packs that some stores carry.  These are less likely to squish my food.  Since the teacher's lounge with a fridge is fairly far away and I don't want to waste any of my precious twenty minutes with walking halfway across the building, I use these to keep certain lunch items cold.  We aren't allowed to have mini-fridges at my school.

I love storing my food in glass, as there is no chance of chemical leaking when I heat up my food in the microwave.  These are Pyrex brand and I love mine.  Just remember to be careful when removing these after being heated; they can get really hot!  I've had mine for at least five years now and they are great and don't leak.

Even though my Pyrex dishes don't leak, I don't take a chance if I'm bringing soup or stew to work.  Instead, I use a microwave-safe Thermos.  They are awesome.

I don't actually have one of these, but I saw them at the store and really, really wanted one.  If anyone uses these, let me know what you think!  It's cool that it comes with a spoon/fork (not a spork, those are different) and the thing is collapsible, which is great for saving space in my cabinets.  And I am big on my food not touching.  If I knew for certain this would fit into my lunch box, I'd already own it.

I must also admit that I keep a box of plastic spoons in my desk drawer. I don't know how many times I have brought some yogurt or pudding for a snack or as part of my lunch and then realized that I had completely forgotten a spoon.  It's so annoying!  Because I had done this way more often than I am comfortable admitting, I bought a box of spoons to keep at school just in case.

I am in love with my Tervis.  I own two and I keep them at school.  I fill them up at the beginning of the day and try to drink both of them by the end of the school day.  It keeps me hydrated.  Both of mine have my college and grad school (respectively) on them, but I thought this bird one was so cute, I had to pull it to use in my post.  Oh, and I made sure to buy the straws too.  It was very much worth it.  I am a notorious klutz and spilling would happen without straws.






I have loved bringing my lunches (and breakfasts and snacks) to school.  It keeps me eating healthier, it makes it easier for me to count my calories, and it tastes better.  If you have something you use that makes taking your lunches to work easier, let me know.  I'm always ready to use new ideas!

Planning My First Unit of the Year

Planning is hard.  It takes a long time, but doing all the work up front keeps you from running around like a chicken with its head cut off later on.  And trust me, you do NOT want that!

I always start my planning by listing my units, typically on a piece of paper.  Then, I look at how long those units typically take.  For new teachers, you are going to have to guess on this one or ask a colleague.  Always leave a few days as leeway--you never know when you're going to have a snow day, an unexpected pep rally, or you may just take longer on a particular lesson one day.

Once you know how many days each unit is going to take, you can make a rough pacing guide.  I had been using a calendar and I would just write the dates on the piece of paper next to my list of units, but then I read Stephanie's post at Eat.Write.Teach and I loved how much prettier it looked!

I had to try it of course:

This is just a rough draft of my first semester in one of my classes, but now I know about how long everything should take.  Now that I know this, I need to break down each of my units.  I usually take this one unit at a time, as this part is the most time consuming.

First, I list all of the skills I plan to cover in the unit.  Based on this list, I can create my Big Idea and my essential questions.

Then I list all the activities I do in the unit (or plan to do).  For example, in my first unit, I plan to: teach the plot chart and the terms my students should know regarding short stories (characterization, setting, point of view...); read Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets, The Leap, The Bass The River and Sheila Mant, The Pedestrian; plot chart a movie and a short story; analyze point of view; use textual support to answer questions over the stories; use context clues to figure out unknown words and make inferences; analyze author's choice in terms of pov, words, character actions, etc.

Finally, and this is where my philosophy regarding grading kicks in, I put it all together and make sure I'm adequately giving my students a chance to practice and have plenty of formative feedback.  Here's what that sheet looks like:

Let me explain the method to this madness!  Using my pacing guide, I plug in all the classwork, homework, quizzes, and tests I plan to give for the unit into a calendar.  I just make a table in Word.  Then, I color code it.  Blue is classwork or homework; Green is a formative assessment; red is the test.

I add up the points and then I list how it would be entered in my gradebook.  Yes, you will notice that even though one activity is listed as a formative assessment, I enter it as a classwork grade and not a quiz.  This is a philosophy of mine: not all formative assessments are quizzes.  Sometimes I just need to know where a kid is at in a particular unit and I don't want to count it as a quiz in the gradebook.

I set up my gradebook with 20% of the grade going towards classwork (aka practice); 20% going toward quizzes (aka What do you know right now?); and 60% going toward tests (aka You should know this now).  For each unit, though, I will have more classwork than what is listed in this chart.  That's because I grade things like bell ringers, articles of the week, and other in-class writing and participation that doesn't necessarily fall into the skills I am teaching for the unit.

But back to the chart.  I then list the Big Idea and essential questions.  Then I list the learning targets I have for the unit.  Finally I list how I plan to get the students there.  It ensures I don't accidentally leave out a skill I *thought* I was teaching.

I've only done this for a few of my units, as I started this process late last year.  I want to wait to finish it as I have a student teacher this year and I want her to walk through the process with me as she will be helping me teach my classes.

I feel like this post was more rambling than helpful.  If you got through this whole thing and need me to explain anything, please ask!  It makes sense in my mind, but I'm not sure if it will make sense to anyone else.

For THOSE Days

As teachers, we all have THOSE days.  You know, the ones that make you want to bang your head on your desk, cry uncontrollably, or tempt you to turn in your resignation letter.  Those days where you question why in the world you ever thought you could teach.  Don't worry, we all have those days.  And if you are new to teaching, those days will (unfortunately) come.

I happened to have an awesome cooperating teacher for my student teaching experience, and of the myriad things she taught me, this one little tip has helped me over and over again.  Ms. P, you probably will never read this, but thank you.

Ms. P suggested I start collecting all those little notes from students, parents, administrators into a binder.  I opt to call it my Warm Fuzzies binder.  Whenever I find a little note on my desk, a grateful email, or a hand-drawn picture, I keep it.  I put it in a plastic sleeve and I place it in my Warm Fuzzies binder.

Over the years, this has become more than one binder, but I still go back and look at some of the original notes written by my very first students that semester of student teaching.  There's nothing that warms this teacher's heart more than re-reading notes like the one from a particularly shy student saying, "Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself."  I tear up every time.

So here's a look at my original Warm Fuzzies Binder.  I suggest you make one for yourself.  You won't regret it!

**My name and the names of students, parents, etc. have been smudged to protect identities.

If you do something like my Warm Fuzzies binder, please share your idea!

Summer Cleaning

I didn't realize how much I had accumulated until I was forced to move my classroom.  Twice.  And I will have to move it one more time before school starts.  Ahh, the reconstruction of a school.  It did show me how much I was holding on to that I really, really don't need.  In an effort not to lose a lot of what I owned, I took it home.  Boxes and boxes of it.  Now, as the school year looms ahead, I am realizing that I need to go through and weed out things I don't need.

It's amazing how we teachers (normal, sane people with neat, tidy houses) can end up with three boxes of pens with no lids, or some such nonsense.  But how do you know what to throw away and what to keep?

This is the set of guidelines I have been using in an effort to de-clutter and simplify my teaching "stuff":

For reading books:

1.  Did at least one kid read it last year?  (That weeded out quite a few books! I kept a few books that kids didn't actually read but I thought a kid would like.)

2.  Is it grade-appropriate?  (Notice how I snuck in that CCSS jargon!)

3.  Is it ripped or torn up?  (If so, toss it and replace it later.)

For curriculum binders:  (If you don't know what that is, I keep all the handouts, notes, etc. from a particular unit in a binder all together so I have at least one copy of what I did in the past.)

1.  Do I still teach it or plan to teach it in the next year?  (If no, then donate to another teacher or toss.)--Let me tell you, this step was PAINFUL.  All that blood, sweat, and tears in the trash (okay, not blood, but you get the idea).

2.  Do I have multiple copies of anything?  If so, toss the extras.

3.  In terms of handouts, is there an entire class set or just 2-3 extra copies of something?  (If not a class set, toss)

School Supplies:

1.  Will you use it in the next year?  (If no, find it a new home.  Best thing to do is write "FREE" on a box and put it in the teacher's lounge.  At most, give it a few hours and that stuff will be GONE!)

2.  Do you have more than one of these and really only need one?  (No, you do not need 2 staple removers.  Yes, you do need 3 boxes of dry erase markers.)


I am halfway through this process now.  It is taking me a while because a few things I know I should get rid of I'm having a hard time letting go.  I just have to keep reminding myself that I won't use it and if I keep it, it will make it harder to find the stuff I really DO need.  Anyone else have this problem?  I'm not like this with my stuff at my house!