Responsiveness

Is that even a word? Oh well. I am all about the Responsive Classroom this year. I have always been an "affective teacher," as you probably know if you follow my blog. This year, I am learning even more about the components of a Responsive Classroom.

A Responsive Classroom:
1. Values each individual in the classroom. That means teachers, staff members, and students.
2. Has Morning Meeting every day.
3. Uses language such as: " I notice that half of the students are making a smooth transition. I'm waiting for the other half," as to not single anyone out.
4. Takes the time to build the classroom community.
5. Has class meetings when needed.
6. Is built around mutual respect.

Having a Responsive Classroom is not as simple as reading the book and doing the activities. It takes passion, desire, and time. It may not be perfect right away. It may never be perfect. But, with that passion, desire, and time, I can guarantee you will be pretty impressed by the results.

This year, I am continuing to incorporate Character Education Lessons into my Responsive Classroom. The combination of the two is essential to create my close-to-ideal classroom.

Take a brief look at the greeting portion of my Morning Meeting. My kids love it!

Productivity!

Hello Blogosphere! It's been too long since I've blogged, but I swear, I have good excuses! I went on two vacations (plus two weekend trips), took two classes, and tutored. This has been by far, my most productive summer...hence the title of this post.

Productivity also describes how the beginning of the school year has been and will continue to be for me. I reorganized all my closets at school. This was no easy feat. They are very deep and much of the stuff all the way in the back was from the teacher who used to be in my room. (Little embarrassed that I didn't deal with this a teeny bit sooner, but I'm moving on) What matters is, now my closets are organized with current material. Very productive.

Tomorrow is our first building in-service, where the morning's focus will be on Morning Meeting. Any Morning Meeting fans out there? I have been doing Morning Meeting since I began teaching and the impact it has had on my students has been large. This year, I will make more changes and update what I've been doing, which does provide me with excitement. Seriously.

So, stay tuned...

Happy New School Year!

Got Character?

Well, unbelievably enough, the end of the year has arrived! With that, I tend to ask the kids questions about their year. I like to know what they liked and what I can make better for next year. So, one day during morning meeting, I asked them what they thought of our daily morning meetings. I was floored to hear some of their mature and insightful responses. I knew that I had to capture their candid comments on video. I then decided that I should ask them to reflect on more aspects of our classroom. So, that's what I did! Their thoughts were unprompted--they were completely their own. Here is the movie I put together:

Those Moments...

I had one of "those" moments last week. Those moments where you think to yourself "wow, this is really working. My kids are really succeeding. I am doing a good job!"

Let me back track. In January, I wrote a blog post about how I teach math this year (and every year from now on!) I teach math in 3 small groups; a remediation group, a middle group, and an enrichment group. The lesson's objectives are met in each group, but the activities and delivery vary, depending on the kids' needs.

Trust me when I say that teaching math this way is harder than the traditional way and requires me to be "on" the entire time. However, my kids are succeeding in a way that I have never seen before. The students needing remediation receive one-on-one or two-on-one help from myself and the special education teacher or assistant. The kids in my middle group get remediation or enrichment depending on the need. In fact, sometimes when I'm helping a student, students who grasp the concept readily are teaching it to students who need a little more help.  Finally, my enrichment group is challenged and excited every day.

Last week, I taught a lesson about factors. I knew that my enrichment group would grasp this concept immediately, so I took the lesson to the next level. Take a look at the video below!





     I love when I have "those" moments.

Walking in Someone Else's Shoes

To a third grader, walking in someone else's shoes is such an abstract thought. Teaching empathy is necessary in today's schools, though. Kids have to be able to relate to others and understand the way that they feel. This is what helps today's youth grow into productive and respectful citizens.

With that being said, I made it a point to have a class discussion about the horrific tragedy that occurred in Japan. With technology creating a global learning environment, kids need to be exposed to current events from around the world. But more importantly, I wanted my students to understand what Japanese children and adults were experiencing.

Then, my unit on empathy started to come together. After much discussion about empathy, my grade level partner and I put our heads together and came up with a culminating activity that allowed our 3rd graders to process the definition of empathy, and how it related to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Walking in Someone Else's Shoes

The students chose 2 different shoes. On one shoe, the students collaged words that dealt with empathy. On the other shoe, they described why they had empathy for the Japanese people.