Hacking School Discipline

Have you seen the meme with the giant wave and the person standing on the beach looking at it.  It says the person is me (as a teacher) and the wave it next year's school year.  This is EXACTLY how I'm feeling this summer.   I'm not sure that I'll be able to let this year go and forget about school for the summer.  It seems like it's always on my mind.  So in true Darci-fashion, I am diving into learning something new and making myself a better teacher... might as well use that active part of my brain in a positive way!

 I love to try new things but confession.... I almost NEVER finish reading teacher books.  I read about 10 pages and then my mind starts reeling about what I can do that I can't keep reading.  So that usually translates to me having many books going at one time... and this year is no different!  One of the books that I'm reading, that I'll write more about later, is "Leading with Literacy" by Mandy Ellis.  In the book, the author shares that reading and writing are interconnected.  We can't become better readers without working on on writing and vice versa.  So here is my attempt at working on my writing.

I am also reading a book by Nathan May and Brad Wein called "Hacking School Discipline."  I love these "Hacking..." books because they are short and give great short bites to making big change.  When it comes to discipline and classroom management, I feel like I do okay.  I lead with love and that usually works out for me.  This last year was REALLY challenging in terms of behavior.  I know that one of my implicit biases is kids that give up before they are proud.  I have always been a hard charger and have gone over and above.  I know that not everyone is like me, but it just kills me to see people (even little people) with so much potential that don't tap into it.  It just frustrates me to no end.  It seemed like I had a lot of students like this last year.  It's hard to motivate someone who doesn't want to be motivated.  I found myself angry a lot... angry at them, angry at the situations they have been put in to make them feel unmotivated, but most of all, angry at myself for feeling like I want to give up on a little person who needs me to believe in them.  I know that I can't ignore these behaviors but I just got to a point where the battle was just too exhausting.  So when I came across this book, it gave me some pause that maybe this is how we ALL feel better and heal after tough behavior days.  I also know that communication and tapping into our emotions is very important, especially now, so I'm excited to do some learning!

The book is broken into, I believe, 5 hacks... different actions we can do in our classroom RIGHT NOW that will make a difference.  The hack is then split into parts:  the problem, the hack, what YOU can do tomorrow, and a blueprint for full implementation.  The first hack is called "Let's Talk." 
In my current school district, we were trained in a program that is supposed to do the same thing as what this book suggests.  We are supposed to connect to students, hear them, and build relationships.  At the heart of the program, it's a good idea.  But in reality, I didn't feel that I was able to use the program in a way that made a difference for my classroom.  Others have been super successful with it; it just didn't seem to work for me.  Both that program and this book are looking at school discipline through the lens of restorative justice.  In the first part of the hack, the problem, it discussed that students were getting their feelings heard.  Discipline often boiled down to "What did you do to cause this problem?  What are going to differently next time?  Both important questions  and of course what we ultimately want to know, but the message given is "You are a problem and you need to fix it."  This hack suggests that we need to back up a bit and find out why this problem happened and what are the emotions connected to it.  Therefor... let's talk!  Let's start a dialogue. 

Now already, the cynical part of my brain is thinking "When??  Am I supposed to stop right then and there have a convo outside while the rest of the class just magically works on their own??  Well, no, obviously that's not going to work.  I think you have to maybe signal to the students that you see the problem and want to talk but wait for a natural pause so you can give all the students what they deserve in that moment.  The book suggested having mediations after class, after school or before school. ... depending on the severity of the problem.  A couple of years ago, we had a "safe space" in our classroom where students could go to take a moment and calm down.  This might be an option as well to de-escalate the problem immediately until you have a chance to have a conversation. In the situation they give in the book, the problem is pretty extreme and involves removing the students immediately.  But we're the experts, we know what works for us! 

Back to the idea of "Let's Talk".  The book states "By saying, 'Let's talk' and by asking questions, we demonstrate that this meeting is not a punishment; it's a conversation." Here's the questions that are suggested for keeping the discussion focused and on track:

• What happened?
• What were you thinking about when _____ happened?
• Who did this affect and how so?

The biggest take-away from these questions is keep them OPEN ENDED.  We want a conversation where the students work out the problem and you facilitate the conversation. The authors also suggested some core values of a restorative mediation:

• RESPECT: be very clear that we have expectations in our classroom to respect each other and a reminder of your  classroom expectations is a good place to start.  Also, a talking stick may be necessary.  (side note... Adam Peterson, author of "Teach, Learn, Play" has some AWESOME classroom expectations that I am going to lead with next year!)
• RELATIONSHIPS: letting each other have a chance to speak and more importantly HEAR each other gives them a chance to empathize with each other.  There may be an underlying reason for why a student feels how they feel. (This may be a GREAT place to have some LISTENING activities with the students.)
• RESPONSIBILITY:  both parties are involved in a negative behavior and need to own up to their behaviors before they can move forward.  This should probably include logical consequences as well.
• REPAIRING the harm:  what can the students do to fix the damage...letters of apologies, acts of kindness, putting a positive response on social media.  Something has to be done to repair those feelings.
• REINTEGRATING:  be mindful that a student may need to take a little time to normalize... a short walk around the campus, a check in with another teacher, a check in later that day.

I also loved that this process allows the students to take responsibility for their actions but also allows them to learn and grow.

The next part of the hack is what you can do TOMORROW!  Yes!  This is what we all want.  I want to read this and immediately put it into practice!  After reading this process, be prepared to do it... note cards, posters, whatever it takes for you to be able to facilitate these conversations.  A few pointers that I got from this section was to empathize with the emotions and give credit to naming those feelings.  Give emotional feedback!  Assign a plan of action..."we are in this together, we are a family, let's have each others' backs."  The part that I often forget is this next part... inform the "cheerleaders" (I love that term!).  Make sure the stakeholders know what happened and how it was solved.  And then RECORD what happened.  This will help out if the problems continue to exist in the future.

Final suggestions:

• Always give an out if someone gets emotional.  Students are given the opportunity to step away from the mediation for a minute or two.  If they can NOT come back, then the consequences will be set without their input.  
• Be the summarizer... keep the storytelling to "just the facts" and rephrase ideas if they start to become accusatory.  
• Encourage non-accusatory questions:  What was your intention in _____? Was anything else going on?  How are you feeling now?  What do you think would happen if we communicated this way first?
• Ask the victim what they want to be able to restore the relationship.

The next hack has to do with how the rest of the group is affected by this problem using "CIRCLE UP."  I'm excited to read about this.  My daughter, Grace, feels everyone's feelings for them.  When a problem arises, it truly affects her.  I think this is true about most of our students.  So, I think this is going to be a very important step to how we move forward and address the needs of ALL the students!

Well, I'm not sure if my recap was a whole lot shorter than the actual chapter 😆 but it sure makes a whole lot more sense to me!  

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and stay open to communicating with others to build on those relationships!

An answer to your Text Features teaching nightmares

I taught Summer School this year....yeah. It always sounds like a good idea until about Day 9 and then it just needs to be over so summer can begin. Right? Well, as a part of our curriculum this summer, we were working on recognizing, finding, and beginning to use text features. I don't know about you, but I feel like I killed this this year in my classroom! Oh yeah! They could totally find bold words. And the table of contents...they got this! But, as you probably know, Summer School is a whole different carnival!  They have Absolutely. No. Interest. Whatsoever.  How can I make this more fun and engaging??

So what does every great teacher go when stuck? Yes, that's right...Pinterest! Now one of the things that I get really excited about is taking an idea or lesson that is in no way appropriate for my firsties and finding a way to make it work...not just work but get amazing results. It's like the ultimate challenge for me. I LOVE it when someone says, "Oh, this probably won't work for your first-graders." Wwwhhhhaaatt??? Bring it on!!

Anyways...I found this blog post for MIDDLE SCHOOL (challenge!!!) called Text Mapping.  This blew my mind!  How had I never seen this?  Probably because it was labeled Middle School.  Well, here's the general idea.  Take the informational text that you are using in your classroom.  Remember, the ELA/ELD Framework (an awesome document to dive into if you haven't already done so) suggests that in order for our students to be broadly literate, we need to be reading a mixture of half literature and half informational text.  So there will be tons of opportunities to use this strategy!  Back to it... make a copy of each page of the informational text that you are using.  Make sure that your informational text is using the text features that you are wanting to highlight.  The students are going to be using these text copies to make a "map" of their text.  OOOOO!  I just got an idea!  Wouldn't it be fun to make everyone a little pirate hat and eye patch to wear while they are doing this.  Do you get it.... treasure map....text map??

The idea is that you will introduce the text feature that you are teaching with your text.  For example, I will use my shark book to introduce the idea of headings.  We will walk through the book looking for headings and figuring out how those headings help by inspecting the text on the page and looking for connections.  After an introduction has been made and a fun little hand movement has been added to help our kinesthetic learners, we will then move into the Text Map.

Put your students into groups of 4 or 5.  Their first task will be to glue the text into their map.  They glue the pages together horizontally.  Next up, the students work together to find each heading they can on their map.  They highlight each heading and label them.  It might also be fun to add a treasure chest that you copied on sticker paper or maybe a coin to mark these text features.

After they hunt down all of the headings, the next step is to create their own.  This summer we were creating a book about deserts.  Yes, can you imagine, four long weeks about deserts.  By week 2 I had to use creative words to introduce the topic of deserts or be met with groans at the hated d-word.  However, we were going to get this book done and make it as fun and meaningful as possible.  We went into the pages that we had started writing and brainstormed possible headings for each page.  This part was a bit tricky for my firsties, but the point is to experience how headings work.  And I think that they really started to get the purpose and how to use these text features.

Even better, I would say that we were going to work on our text maps and I would be met with cheers!  Hooray! I can't wait to try this strategy out with my class this year and see what amazing learning comes from this hands-on activity?  How do you like to teach text features?  Let me know!

Want MAGICAL ideas??

I'm kind of a blog head... I feel like I should go to confession about it.  In fact, my mom and I talk about these bloggers as if we know them personally.  Apparently people like us are referred to as blog stalkers in the blogger world... I prefer to believe that I am considered well informed on others' teaching ideas :)

All joking aside, I love to read blogs about teaching... and man, there are so amazing ones out there to read.  My favorites...Teacher to the Core...I strive to be a teacher like Katie Knight!...Mrs. Jump's Class...Deanna Jump is part of my normal vocabulary and a minor celebrity in my and my mom's worlds...A Teeny Tiny Teacher...Kristin is super funny and if you do nothing else, you have to read her Halloween story.



While perusing through my favs the other night, I came across a call out for a book group....and get this, it's about creating MAGIC in the classroom!!!  As well as other things like engagement, FUN, and the death to worksheets.


Image from kickinitinkindergarten.com

If this sounds like just the ticket for you to get started on your MAGICAL adventure...hop on over to Kickin' It In Kindergarten to get the details (http://kickinitinkindergarten.com/book-study-work-sheets-dont-grow-dendrites-starting-february-28th/).

I'll meet you there!

The Magic of the Olympics

I love the Olympics!  I don't know about you, but there is something magical about them.  Maybe it's the music (don't you find yourself humming it constantly during that time??).  Or maybe it's the pride that is bound to come out for your nation.  Or maybe it's the shear talent and determination of the athletes.  Whatever it is, it is magical...

"We live in a world full of magic and wonder.  We just need to take the time to embrace it." Kim Bearden said it best in the book "Crash Course."  Our students want to be able to experience that magic.  It takes a little more thinking outside the box, but any lesson can become magical.  Think about it you learned that way... wouldn't you remember those lessons?

Image from jeremyrenners.blogspot.com

With that in mind, I wanted to end our measurement unit with a bang (and get in a little more practice as well).  We could have just done some more measuring worksheets.  We could have compared our pencils or our crayons.  We could have measured our desks of the sink.  But that seemed so mundane.  And while I'm lucky that I teach first graders and they are game to do just about anything, it's so much better with magic.

Cue the Olympic music.  Many of my students didn't know much about the Olympics or had never even seen them.  The students were told that they were going to compete in the Winter Olympics this year in four events.  They wanted to do their best because medals were rewarded.

Now, I realize that I am not the first or only person to do Measurement Olympics in my classroom.  But it was the magic that was injected into these eventsthat made it just a bit different.
country.

We started off by creating flags for our countries and making our winter ski hats to keep us warm during the events.  Blaring the Olympic anthem outside in our quad area, all my students jogged with the torch passing it off to their fellow classmates while the rest of us clapped and cheered for them and I used my official announcers voice to introduce each one.

When they entered the class for our first event, our classroom had been transformed.  And while I can't transform my classroom to the extent that they do at the Ron Clark Academy (due to lack of funds and the 4 year old at home who likes to see her mama every day), I can make it as spectacular as I can.

A giant sign with the Olympic rings on it adorned the front of every event.  A snowy mountain scene stretched out behind the event area.  Chairs and desks stacked together created a grandstand for our spectators to enjoy the events.  Each event has a sign that mimicked those of the actual events.  But most of all, I had been transformed from their loving teacher to an outgoing Olympic commentator and announcer.  The sillier the better!

From what I hear, RCA is also big on sounds and music making it a true experience too.  I'm still working on this piece.

Yes, this took a bit of extra time, but WOW, it sure was worth it in the end.  My kids had a blast!  They looked forward to math all week long.  If we can create that kind of magic during our lessons...not every lesson, but just a few here and there... how much more engaged and excited would our kids be?  How much more would they retain?  How much more would they love school?

"...when we take the time to create the illusion, the results are worth every effort we've made." (Bearden, "Crash Course")

How can we create more magic and make everyday lessons more exciting?  Think of the possibilities!

Do you believe in magic?

Envious.  Wistful.  Jealous. That's the best word to describe it. Reading about all those bloggers going to the Ron Clark Academy. We were in Atlanta this summer for a wedding and I could have gone...Georgia Aquarium or RCA?? Hmmmm, the 4 year old won out. But someday....

So in place of experiencing first hand, I am reading "Crash Course" by Kim Bearden, one of the teachers and co-founders of RCA. It. Is. Awesome. Love love it! Short chapters...because who wants to read something long at the end of the day... But long in inspiration,

The first chapter us about creating magic in your teaching. I have really taken this to heart this year. How do I get my kids to truly experience their learning. Not just listen, but be transformed to that place. Make their learning real. 

Magic. It's showing on the excited faces whenever I welcome them onto Air Force One and open the Olympic event for the day.  It's in the running from clue to clue, excitably chattering about what the clue could mean.

This time tomorrow, come on back and see where the magic took us today.

How do you create magic in your classroom?

The Happy Day Project and Jilly

I have the most amazing friend from college.  She has 4 beautiful children and an amazing husband.  She is the most real mom that you will ever meet...and it makes us moms feel like we are all in the same boat.  She writes an incredible blog called liferearranged.com.  If you haven't checked it out then you MUST!  It is touching, heart-warming, funny, and real.

As part of her blog, Jeannett has introduced me to http://www.thehappydayproject.com/  Each day, you do a random act of kindness for someone different.  Last year, my class seemed to need a little kick in the heiny about kindness without cause, so I instituted The Happy Day Project in my classroom...on a smaller scale.  We wrote letters to soldiers.  We made cookies and packed them up to give to our neighbors (although who knows how many of those cookies made it to the neighbors house).  We made cards for a family member.  It was a blast!  And the kids' beautiful little hearts just shined out of their bodies.  It was awesome to witness.

Meanwhile, on liferearranged.com, Jeannett was fundraising for the Epilepsy Foundation.  Her beautiful daughter Jilly, who my class just FELL IN LOVE WITH, has very severe seizures as a result of epilepsy.  They were going to walk in the End to Epilepsy Walk in November in Los Angeles.  We wanted to support them so my kids and I videotaped us reading a poem of support for Jilly.  It was so cool to see how amped they were to support someone that they had only met through pictures.

Fast forward to this year, same time....

The Happy Day Project is beginning again, but this time we are starting it with a BANG!  (more on the Happy Day project coming soon)  I decided this year that we were going to have our own mini walk to support Jilly.  So I wrote the note home to my families and asked them to support our little event by gathering donations from friends and neighbors.  We were then going to walk for 45 minutes in support of Jilly and ultimately the Epilepsy Foundation. In the process of getting these notes out, my friends sidled over to see what I was up to...and now more classes were participating. Well, yay! Now maybe the $100 I was hoping to raise will turn into $300. This is what happened when the walk started this morning...

More and more kids kept coming out...one class after another.

More and more kids. Out there to walk for a little girl that they had met and fell in love with through 5 pictures. They wanted to support her.

Our purpose of our walk was to raise money and awareness for Epilepsy...but something much greater came out of it.  Our kids were proud to be there.  They were proud to be supporting something that wasn't about them.  They were happy to see each other and happy to be outside.  The excitement and feeling of community was contagious....and overwhelmingly amazing.  Seriously, it was not that hard to organize this event.  The amount of time that it took write the letters home

and make the signs was far outweighed by the happiness that we had created at our school.

Oh and did I mention that it was raining that morning...NOOOOOO!  We are in a drought!  Why is it raining on the one day that it can't??  But you will not believe it...

Sunshine.  Just in our little corner of Watsonville...

But that is not even the most amazing part...

WE RAISED $1500 FOR THE EPILEPSY FOUNDATION!!!!!

Our little walk-a-thon.  Our one idea.  Our $2 here and a handful of quarters there.  

FIFTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!

It just goes to show...

you can make a HUGE impact with just a little bit.

Excited to be in blog world

My daughter and I are starting a new adventure and are so excited.  We are always trying new things and this is our first blog.  I am teaching kindergarten after 18 years in first grade and my daughter, Darci teaches first.  We both have loved trying new things together and this is another newbie for us.  We come from a very crafty family and that transfers into our classrooms too.  I am always told how colorful my classroom is and how much learning they see happening in our room.  I am in my room so much that I really need it to be bright and cheerful.  I will try to show you some of my favorite projects that we do in our classroom at this time of the year but today I am at the end of my 4 days off for Veteran's Day.
  We hope you enjoy our  blog and come back often!