I Control the Tone of My Classroom

I had a tough day today with my kids. They continued to talk over me, they laughed a few times at each other when I gave consequences, and I caught a bit of disrespect from one student in particular who ended up needing a conversation with the principal to get back on track. (I would be more than happy to share the details on that and how I handled it! Just come ask me.)

I typically reflect through conversations with other teachers or people to get feedback and advice. It helps me work through and process everything in my mind. As I was talking about my day and the behavior of my students, Mrs. Hernandez asked me, "When you are reflecting on days like this, what conclusion do you usually come to for why the kids were acting that way?"

My response to her was this:    ME.  I am the reason that they act up. When I am not consistent in my consequences and don't hold them accountable to the norms, they get crazy. When I come in and am in a bad mood and am negative or grumpy towards them, they react in anger. When my lesson is poorly planned and unorganized, my class becomes unorganized and chatty.  I control the entire tone of my classroom. My kids feed off of my energy--both subconsciously and consciously. I have the power and control in my classroom to lift us all up, but I also have the ability, more than any student, to bring us all down to the depths. It's days like this that I remember the full scope of my influence on a daily level. As teachers, we have an immense amount of responsibility. We can crush dreams, and sour good moods with just a few grumpy days and snarky words.

Because we work with people, small or big, its sometimes easy to forget that this is our job. And just like any job, we are charged with putting on a smile even when we feel like crying, with creating rigorous and engaging lessons even when we're tired, and with loving students even when we feel like yelling.

Mrs. Hernandez, Thank you so much for pushing me to reflect even deeper. I continue to grow as a teacher, because of conversations with people like you! And thank you for encouraging me to put this on my blog. :) I appreciate you!

Glencliff Open House

Last night Glencliff Humanities Summer Academy had its first Open House for parents and families.  Each class was charged with creating stations that best showed off the work of their kids and helped get parents involved in the curriculum. As I was walking through the CM classrooms, I saw the most gorgeous uses of space and professional displays of student work. I wanted to take a minute to shout out one classroom in particular and show you guys the student driven and welcoming space that they created.

This was their student work wall. It was downright beautiful. I'm totally stealing it. 

At this station, they engaged the parents and students who came by bringing awareness to a social issue that exists right here in Nashville--Homelessness. They had excerpts of articles from the Contributer, the homeless newspaper, and had their visitors write ideas for things that we can do to make change and help the homeless. 

 They even had a slide show of pictures of them with their kids. :)

They also made the coolest brochures and displayed all of their curriculum! So, shoutout to Room 203 for putting a TON of effort into making your classroom a room that you, your kids, and the entire Glencliff team could be proud of. 

Review, Review, Review!

For the next week or so, most of us will be in review mode. This post is all about review and strategies for how to do it in a fun yet educational way.

1. Students need a study guide. They need SOME kind of handout that tells them exactly what they will be required to know. Study guides can come in various forms. I usually break mine down into question format. (ie. 1. What is a simile? 2. What is a metaphor? 3. Explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor. 4. Explain why authors use descriptive language. etc) I put them in question form, because it gives students directions on what to write for each important term. Sometimes when you just give them a whole bunch of vocabulary terms and skills they get lost and just end up not working through it.

2. Teach students study skills.  Create a mini lesson that tackles study skills and effective strategies to learning and remembering material. For instance, a mini lesson could include instructions on how to make/use flash cards, How to effectively quiz a classmate, or how to best utilize their study guides.

3. Give students  timed mini quizzes (5-10 questions) and grade the quizzes with them. You shouldn't take these for an official grade. These are just for practice. This is also a really great opportunity for teacher modeling and teacher think alouds, so you can show kids how YOU think through and process questions to eliminate answers.

4. Kids LOVE review games. BEWARE: games bring out the crazy, so your framing and behavior management must be really strong. You also need to be strong in your consequences or what was supposed to be a fun game will quickly turn into the worst 30 minutes of your life.

 I'm going to give you a few options:

• Jeopardy: a solid classic. Kids love it. The majority know how to play it, so the instructions won't take as long. 
• This is a link to other popular gameshow powerpoint templates  that you just have to type the questions in. Review Game Templates (Jeopardy, Classroom Feud, Wheel of Riches, Millionaire, and Are You Smarter Than Your Teacher?) 
• Hot Seat: get kids into 4-6 rows (depending on class size). You will have pre-prepared questions on a powerpoint. You will need something for students to write on (mini dry erase boards are the best option but paper could work too.) When you project a question on the board, the student in the back of the row will write what they think is the answer and pass it forward. If the next person thinks the answer is correct, they will pass it forward to the next person. If they think the answer is wrong, they will pass it ALL THE WAY back to the back. The only person that can write answers on the board is the person in the "Hot Seat" (in the back). The first team or row to get the correct answer all the way to the front person in the row gets the point. After question has been answered correctly, students will rotate, so every student gets a chance in the Hot Seat. If one team is taking it away, you can also do the first 2 teams to get it correctly to the front. I like this game, because it holds every student accountable, instead of just that one kid on the team that knows all the answers. 
• Review Baseball: The class is broken up into two teams. The first team "up to bat" stands in a line at the front of the room. The "batter" is asked a review question. If they answer it correctly, they get to move to first base. If they answer it incorrectly, it is an OUT. Once team 1 gets 3 outs, the second team is up. Teams score points by getting team members all around the "bases" to home plate. 

When a Difficult Student Has a Good Day

Today one of my most difficult students had a great day. He was answering questions. He didn't complain about the rigorous work load. He even spent a normal amount of time in the bathroom!

I was so tempted to use positive reinforcement to encourage his newly good behavior.  At first I gave him a ticket (part of my individual reward system) for almost every good thing that I saw him doing. Then I stopped myself. I remembered an article that my mom sent me a while back. It's called "Why You Shouldn't Respond When a Difficult Student Has a Good Day" and was written by Michael Linsin.

In the article, he discusses the risk of external motivation with this type of celebration and speaks of students who begin to "view anything and everything positive as work they deserve to be paid for."

The link to the article is below. It's definitely a thought provoking read.

"Why You Shouldn't Respond When a Difficult Student Has A Good Day."

What Building Relationships Really Means

The article below is called "What Building Relationships With Students Really Means."  It. Is. Awesome if you are still confused with what "Building Relationships" looks like for you and your kids. Read it. It's worth it, I promise.

Click on the link below to read the short article!

"What Building Relationships Really Means"

Building Relationships During Instruction

Everyone is telling you right now that "Building relationships is key." "You have to build relationships first." But some of you may be thinking, "Okay, so how do I do that?"

The first thing we think of when building relationships is one-on-one conversations with students. The reality though is this: We have SO many things to do as teachers, and realistically we may not have time to have a sit-down conversation with every single student in the first few weeks. 

For me, the best way to build relationships with students is during class. Here are a few options that you should implement into your instruction: 

1. Tell personal anecdotes about yourself to show them the PERSON that you are during teacher models/think-alouds. 

For example, today during Poet Warriors, there was a brainstorming activity in which we had to choose a family member to characterize. I took this opportunity to characterize my sister, Emily, and tell students more about my life.  Students were able to ask me questions in real time, and get to know me better. Below is a picture of my brainstorming graphic organizer about my sister. 

2. A second way is to give positive encouragement and feedback as you are circulating that room.  For example, while they are drafting a story or constructing their reader's response, I circulate the room and read their responses. (This is also an example of a silent Check For Understanding) As I read their responses, I point to specific things that are good and say things like, "Wow, (name) I really love that you added that figurative language into your poem. It really helps me visualize what you're writing about. Great job!"  This relationship builder is so easy to do, and means more to your students than you know. They SO yearn to be loved on with words and told they are smart and doing the activity correctly. Every time they are doing any kind of student-centered work, you have an opportunity to do this.  (Be genuine in your feedback though. They won't grow if you just tell them you love them.) 

3. Shout outs! If you see a student helping another student, or you see an exemplary answer, shout them out in front of the class! (ex. "Hey guys, I just want to take a second to shout out something that I noticed Anastasia doing. She came in today and immediately started helping her partner with the Do Now without me even asking her to do it. She's really promoting the idea that we are a family. Let's give her some snaps.")  You will also notice that the more you model this, your students will start to shout each other out and further that community that you're shooting for. 

4. Whole-Class shout outs. If a beautiful moment happens during your instruction, if student participations is way up, or just if nobody fell asleep today in your class (small, but a celebration nonetheless!), take a moment to call that out and tell them how proud you are of them. 

5. Questions. Sometimes I see a student write something that I want to know more about, or I want them to think deeper. I just go crouch in front of their desks and ask them to tell me more about their answer. That quick one-on-one interaction may be content-centered, but it also does a lot for your personal relationships. 

6. Talk about things that are interesting and relevant to your kids.  As sad as this is, your kids have probably not read Harry Potter, they probably haven't heard of TLC, and most disastrous of all, they probably have never seen or heard of Saved By the Bell.  Don't try to force your own interests onto them. Get up to date on what THEY are reading, what THEY are interested in, so that you can participate and lead conversations. You will rarely find me with an adult book. Teen fiction is always in my hands. While I do enjoy the books, I don't read them for me. I read them, because I want to be able to talk them up to my kids and have meaningful discussions about them with my kids. If you are looking for new teen fiction titles to read, look at one of my earlier posts about the books every teacher needs in their in-class library or look on Amazon and pay attention to the ratings of the book. If over thousands of people loved it, chances are you and your kids will too. 

7. Plan for activities that allow students to express themselves and tell their own story. The curriculum for the summer lends itself so well to this, but when you enter into the year, give your students a chance to tell their story and express themselves in a meaningful way. (This can be done in any content area. Not just English!!!)

Pinterest is your new Best Friend

Pinterest is your new best friend. There is an endless amount of resources and websites for teachers on Pinterest, and I don't care if you are a boy. You need one. Now. You can thank me later.

I have already pinned TONS of Teaching materials. My Teaching board is larger than any other by far. (Even the board I had for my wedding. True Story.) 

If you are starting your Teaching Pinterest board, follow me for inspiration and resources.  Search: Caitlin Quandt, and I should be the only one to pop up.  My amazing teacher hero of a mom also has a stacked Teacher board with resources for all content areas, because she is an Instructional Coach in Rutherford County. Follow her too! (Sharron Hofer) 

GO GET A PINTEREST! and then search whatever it is you are teaching next (theme, inference, characterization, even specific text titles) and prepare to be flooded with ideas and even lesson plans! 

Teaching Theme and Inference

THEME

This summer, there has been a huge focus on THEME. My students were having a hard time distinguishing between THEME and the main idea.  So, I decided to use one of my favorite Pixar short films to illustrate the idea of theme.  

The theme for this short film is "Treat others how you want to be treated." or "What goes around comes around." 

The video is fun, engaging and with the right questioning, students can easily tell the difference between the Theme and the Main idea. Yes, this is a video about birds being mean to another bird (main idea), but what is the deeper lesson that the animator is trying to teach us?  

I also typically have an anchor chart in my room that looks like this 

Themessage --> The Theme is the Message. 

INFERENCING

In the last couple of lessons, we have also encountered inferencing which can be tricky for students. I tell students that inferencing is just making assumptions based on evidence. Authors don't just come right out and tell us everything about the characters and the plot. Instead, they give us clues that are hidden in the details of the story that we have to add together in order to get the full picture.  I also try to find videos in which students must use inferencing to understand the message.  Pixar shorts are very useful, because there is typically no dialogue. 

This Pixar film is perfect for inferencing.

The next one is great for inferring right from the get go... Infer the setting, the profession of the man, what might happen, character feelings based on actions and expressions, etc. 

 The video below is adorable and shows an example of inferencing gone wrong. :) 

English Learning Resources

Since the Cliff is an EXTREMELY diverse community with a high English Learner population, a lot of corps members have asked, "What are some strategies for teaching middle school level texts to students who don't speak English or very little?"  

There are a few quick fixes: 

1. Seat them beside more advanced English speakers, so they can translate some of the instructions. 

2. Use a TON of pictures and hand motions. 

3. Give them Glossaries for the text of all the words they might not be familiar with. 

4. Differentiate the text by going through and changing some of the words and syntax to give them access to the text. 

5. Make an effort to learn their language, especially some commands/questions that will be useful. (What is your name?, Where is your homework?, No, Yes, How are you?, Good Morning, Be Quiet, Please, and Thank you)  

Beyond the quick fixes above that are generally only bandaids and cannot sustain meaningful English learning in the content areas, I searched for some online resources. These are the three sites that I thought had the most helpful advice on EL instruction.  

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/strategies-teaching-english-language-learners

https://uteach.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/files/SixKeyStrategiesELL.pdf

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/14342/

Engagement Through Videos and Competition

Our students are SO visual and (whether they show it outwardly or not) practical. When I say "practical," I mean that students need to know the real-world purpose of what they are learning in order for them to be 100% engaged.

Yesterday, we read "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. My initial plan for today was to  teach a mini lesson about similes and metaphors, then go back into the text ("Eleven") to find and analyze them. However, after bouncing ideas around with one of our ambitious corps members at the Cliff (thanks, Stevie!!), I decided that my lesson needed a little more pizazz as well.

Stevie mentioned a video about similes and metaphors in pop songs that can be found on Youtube. (This is the one I used https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1c6zF9aJxs . I skipped through some parts of it for time's sake.) I thought this idea was brilliant and a great way to show students that similes and metaphors are ALL around us! They're in every rap, song, commercial, movie, etc. The video was perfect for getting them excited about the topic, because they saw that similes and metaphors aren't just for boring old English classes. Lil' Wayne and Katy Perry use them too! 

After the video, we played a game that I called "Race to Eight." Instead of going back into the text as a class, I put them into groups of 3-4 and made it a competition for the ultimate prize..... CANDY! (duh) The group to correctly identify 8 of 15 or more similes in "Eleven" won the candy.  

Videos and competitions are great ways to engage students, hook them in to what they're learning, and motivate them to participate!

The Essentials for Your In Class Library--(As dictated by the great Kelly Gallagher)

Essential Books for the Classroom Library

Kelly Gallagher (my hero) says that these are all of the books you absolutely HAVE to have in your classroom library. I have read/ my kids have read most of the books on this list, and LOVE them. If you want your kids to enjoy reading independently, get some of these books. Now!                        
(Check the levels first to make sure they are right for the grade you teach.)

Title                                                                     Author

American Born Chinese                                      Gene Luan Yang

Bottled Up                                                           Jaye Murray

Breaking Night                                                    Liz Murray

Bronx Masquerade                                              Nikki Grimes

Bruiser                                                                 Neil Shusterman

Cardboard                                                            Doug Tennapel

Chew on This                                                       Eric Schlosser

Cinder                                                                  Marrisa Myer

Copper Sun                                                          Sharon Draper

Crank                                                                   Ellen Hopkins

Divergent                                                             Veronica Roth

Eleanor & Park                                                    Rainbow Powell

Enclave                                                                Anne Aguirre

Everlost                                                               Neil Shusterman

Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl                               Jesse Andrews

Paper Towns                                                       John Green

Perks of Being a Wallflower                               Stephen Chbosky

Room                                                                  Emma Donahue

Runner                                                                Carl Decker

The 5th Wave                                                     Rick Yuncey

The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian  Sherman Alexie

The Battle of Jericho                                           Sharon Draper

The Compound                                                   S.A. Bodeen

The Eleventh Plague                                           Jeff Hirscaye

The Fault in Our Stars                                        John Green

The Giver                                                            Lois Lowry

The Glass Castle                                                 Jeanette Walls

The Land                                                            Mildred Taylor

The Last Book in the Universe                            Rodman Philbrick

The Last Lecture                                                 Randy Pausch

The Maze Runner trilogy                                      James Daschner

The Road                                                              Carmac McCarthy

Touching Spirit Bear                                            Ben Mikaelsen

Tyrell                                                                    Coe Booth

Unwind                                                                Neil Shusterman

We Were Here                                                     Matt de la Pena

Wonder                                                                 R.J. Palacio

Wonder (for elementary)                                       R.J. Palacio

Wonderstruck                                                       Brian Selznick

Four Corners

Last Friday, we did one of my favorite activities to do with students.  It's called "Four Corners" 

First, I gave the students this questionnaire. 

This whole summer, we will be exploring the kinds of things that make us who we are. This questionnaire helps get students thinking about what kinds of things have made them who they are. After giving students 4 minutes to complete the questionnaire silently, I have them stand up. 

In each corner of the room, I have placed 4 different signs--Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree.  After I read the statement out loud, students are expected to move silently to the corner that with the answer that they chose. 

This activity could be used along with other anticipation guides, icebreakers about their interests, when/if you discuss the education gap and privilege with your kids. The overall format of Four Corners can be applied to your lessons in so many ways.  The thing I love most about it is that it's a way for your class to start to see their similarities and differences and get to know each other. 

Building Relationships Through the Bad Behavior

So, last week, just like any teacher on week one, my kids tested me.  They always want to see where my boundaries are and test the limits of their behavior. Though I have to admit, I wasn't expecting it on day one.

One of my students, who we will call Jeff, was 16 years old and in the 8th grade. He was the tallest one in my class, talked constantly, and had tons of energy. Right away, I knew Jeff could be a potential challenge.

All was well until we began the Mclead Reading Assessment.  It was clear to me, based on the questions he asked me and his defeated behavior during the assessment, that he is a struggling reader.  Most of the time, when students have a hard time behaving it's either because they don't understand the directions, or the task is difficult and they don't want anyone to know that they are having a hard time. So, instead of asking questions to figure it out, they act out.

His behavior before the assessment was pretty standard for day one--shouting out, talking to friends, cracking jokes. However, after the assessment his attitude and behavior took a nose dive. In our activity after the test, he laid his head down at his desk and told me outright, "I don't understand why we have to do this stupid poem anyways. I'm NOT doing it."

I calmly bent down and quietly asked him to meet in the hallway to talk. I like to talk to students out in the hallway to remove them from their friends, so they don't feel like they need to show out and be tough. Typically, it's not a big deal and this resolves any issue, because it's not just for me to tell them what's what. The conversation is to understand why the student is acting this way and what I can do to help and/or resolve it.

Well, Jeff was NOT having it, just like he was NOT doing his poem. He stood up, threw his paper across the room, and slung the door open with a huge thud, and proceeded to walk down the hallway. Once he was calm, we finally were able to get to the bottom of things.  He said, "Reading just isn't my thing, Ms. Q. I'm not good at it. I don't like it, and I'm not writing this poem." So I told him that it seemed like he was having a hard time getting started, and in poetry, that can be the hardest part. I asked him if I wrote down some options of how he could start, if that would help. He said yes, and we were able to continue the class from there.

I went home that night, and Jeff haunted me. After school, I found his old school secretary and asked her everything that she knew about him, so I could understand him better. I also asked some of his classmates about some strategies that other teachers have used to help Jeff.  After hours of reflecting over how I can make the next day a better day and asking around about his back story I decided that the next day, I would place Jeff in a new seat, completely isolated from his friends, so he could focus better.  I also resolved to be more consistent with consequences for not following the norms, and to have a framing conversation with Jeff before class started in the morning, so we could start on the right foot.

The next day was much smoother, but still had some bumps and bruises. I was extremely relieved that there were no blow-ups though! Building relationships is key. Students need to see that you are willing to hold them to high expectations and not them slip. They need to see that you care enough to repair the relationship when it's been damaged. They need you to be the adult and stay calm ALWAYS. Most of all though, they need you not to give up on them when they are at their worst. These things are not always easy, but if you commit to them, your classroom culture will grow into a place that is warm, loving, encouraging, and safe.

Day One = DONE!

Day one is in the books, people!  Thank goodness. Those first day jitters never go away no matter how long I teach.  I want to share a few things that I did to make sure that I was ready for Day one.

1. First and foremost, I decided on the rules/consequences for my class.  Today, I explained each Expectation (code word for "Rule"), and was overly explicit about what each one looked like, so there is no room for interpretation.  

2.  Second, I decided on a few different ways that I could get to know my students.  I gave a student survey that asked them about their interests (both school related and not). I also had students introduce themselves and tell me one thing about themselves. The last thing I did for day one was conduct an icebreaker where students each get 2 starbursts. If they chose RED=biggest fear, YELLOW=favorite memory, ORANGE= their hero, and PINK= favorite place in the world.

3. Third, I ALWAYS make a powerpoint about myself with pictures of my family, me as a kid, my dogs, my college, etc. Your students love to hear about you and your personal life. They want to know you. Telling them about yourself and the things that are dearest to you is the first step to building relationships with your kids. 

Depending on how much time I have with them the first day, this list might get longer, but these are my top 3 I HAVE to have for any first day of school. 

Kelly Gallagher is my HERO, and he should be yours too!

  

                So before we even get started for the summer, I need to share one of my heroes with you.  Kelly Gallagher is a reading and writing EXPERT. Everything he says is gold. No lie. He has written several books. Below are a few that I have bought and implemented in my SS class for reading and writing strategies.  I love his books, because he doesn't just talk about the importance of reading and writing. He really breaks it down for you in a way that you and (more importantly) your kids can get behind. He also includes specific strategies, activities, and frameworks that you can bring into your classroom and weave into any content area class. 

The first book of Gallagher's that every teacher should read is called Readicide. 

Readicide explains what schools and teachers do to rob children of the joy and magic of reading. While you're reading it, you will have a ton of lightbulb moments about your own reading habits and the reading habits of your students. It also gives instruction on how to get students invested in reading again. 

The second book could definitely be used alongside this Readicide. It is called Reading Reasons: Motivational Mini-Lessons for Middle and High School. It has PRE-PLANNED mini-lessons (with handouts!!!) to help you motivate students to read. Who doesn't love a lesson that is planned FOR you? 

Number 3 is another book about reading, but also has a focus on writing and how writing deepens reading. We all know how hard it is to get students to go back and read a text deeper than they did the first time. This book shows you how to deepen comprehension AND how to improve writing at the same time. Gallagher convinces you that reading and writing can not be taught separately. They each improve the other. 

The last book I haven't read, but it comes highly recommended from another ELA teacher at my school who will be teaching at KIPP next year. It is called Write Like This and is apparently chocked full of writing strategies to help groom students into better writers who can make it in the real world.  

Hopefully Kelly Gallagher will become your hero at some point in your teaching career, whether you teach ELA or any other content area. 

Welcome to Nashville Institute 2014!

Hey Middle School Humanities!

          My name is Caitlin Nowell. (You might hear the kids or other staff members refer to me as Ms. Q or Caitlin Quandt. I just got married in November, and transitioning to a new name is still in the works.)  I am a 2012 Corps member, and your Model Classroom Teacher this summer. I will be teaching and modeling 8th Grade ELA.

Background Information:

I'm originally from Tullahoma, Tennessee, and graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (GO VOLS!) in 2012. I joined the corps right out of college and began teaching 7th grade Social Studies at Cameron Middle School. My second year in the corps, I taught 8th grade Social Studies. Like I said, I just got married in November, and my dog is my puppy child. Seriously, she is. If you are a dog lover and miss your dog back home, you can love on Scout any time. :)

She is the cutest, cuddliest, sweetest dog of all time. 

You know you just fell in love....

In my classroom, I had a huge focus on Literacy in the Content Areas and ran my classroom more like a Humanities model (History taught through ELA Common Core Standards). I saw HUGE growth in my kids and ended up with the highest SS scores my school has ever seen. It was not because I was awesome. It was because I supported literacy in a meaningful way, and the SS TCAP has a huge focus on reading comprehension. So, if you are someone who is teaching middle school ELA OR SS I have TONS of resources that you can draw from to present texts to your kids and make them like it.

This summer, I will be posting different strategies that can be used both in your ELA classes and your SS classes in the Fall. If you have any questions at all during or after institute, please don't hesitate to ask me!

Best,

Caitlin Nowell
caitlin.quandt@gmail.com