Creating an Avatar

The students in my class each have their own blog on our class Kidblog account.  Some of them have been very excited about this and have posted several times this year, but others have been slow to get on board.  Sometimes it is difficult to devote the necessary time to building our writing skills through blogging.  During the two weeks before winter vacation, I reminded my students that ideally blogging should be a conversation.  We took some of our writer's workshop time to read each other's blogs and write comments.

To make their blogs more individual, I had each person create an avatar using either Doppel Me or Build Your Wild Self.  I had not done this with a class before.  In the past we just used the avatars that were available through Kidblog.

The kids LOVED this.  I gave them the option choosing which avatar maker to use.  This lesson also provided a great opportunity to teach the class how to upload a photo to their blog, as well as upload an avatar. 

I found Build Your Wild Self avatars easier to download as jpgs, but both websites worked.  Some of our avatars are pictured above. 

Is It Symmetrical?

We are working on symmetry.  We had one of those moments that I had to change my lesson plans on the spur of the moment.  I had my small groups work with a partner to create a design with geo blocks.  The design had to have at least one line of symmetry.  I photographed the designs they created.  Later I showed the designs to the rest of the class.  We had to determine whether the design was in fact symmetrical.  Students used a yard stick to show where the line of symmetry was.

This lesson turned out to be a home run.  It was a quick and easy lesson.  The kids loved doing it and they were excited to see their designs on the screen and to have them used in a lesson for the whole class.. 

Now we are following up with a lesson I found on Pinterest.  Students are using rulers and other drawing tools to create a symmetrical design.  Here is the link to the original post on the blog Art Lessons for Kids.

Ten Steps to Becoming a Techy Teacher

Friday was a professional development day in our school district.  Sessions were offered all over the city in various schools.  I presented one at our school called Ten Steps to Becoming a Techy Teacher.  When I signed up to present, I thought I would just be presenting to members of our own staff.  It turned out, however, that 39 people signed up from all over the district, including a few people who specialize in technology. That unnerved me a bit!

I am not a technology specialist, I am a teacher who uses technology in my classroom.  I began this journey about five years ago, after taking an on-line class from the local area education association, called "Using the Internet in the Classroom."  My initial interest was in having a class blog or website, and it has grown from there.  Here is my idea of Ten Steps to Becoming a Techy Teacher.

Step 1:  Get Yourself a PLN

Don't try to figure it out all by yourself.  Develop a PLN or Personal Learning Network.  Meet fellow teachers on-line who are more than willing to answer your questions, and share what they know.  I can't tell you how many times I have put out a question on Twitter, Facebook or Plurk and been provided with multiple resources to answer my question.  Here is a post from Richard Byrne about developing a PLN.

One of the easiest ways to develop a PLN is to join a Twitter chat.  I participate in #4thchat each Monday evening.  I learn a lot, and I meet new people who teach the same grade that I do.  I wrote a post a while ago about getting started with Twitter Chats.  Here is a link to that.  Below are two resources to find a chat that meets your needs.

• http://cybraryman.com/chats.html
• Weekly Twitter Chats

Step 2:  Go to Camp

There are lots of technology conferences that go on across the country, but as a classroom teacher, I don't have a budget for attending conferences.  That doesn't stop me however, and it shouldn't stop you.  Instead go to Edcamp or participate in an on-line conferences.  You will learn a lot and I promise you will be inspired to try new things.  

So far I have attended three Edcamps.  I have been to Edcamp Omaha twice, and this fall I went to Edcamp Des Moines.  Here are a few posts describing the Edcamp experience.

• http://daysclassnotes.blogspot.com/2013/09/edcamp-des-moines.html
• http://brentcatlett.blogspot.com/2013/09/edcampdsm-edcamp-des-moines.html

Find an Edcamp near you by visiting the Edcamp Wiki

If you would rather not leave home, try out an on-line conference.  I have participated in Edmodocon and the Reform Symposium.  

Whichever you choose, Edcamp, Edmodocon or Reform Symposium, the price is right.  You can attend any or all for free, and the experience is invaluable.

Step 3:  Make Connections and Collaborate

My students and I have shared some great opportunities collaborating with other classrooms around the world.  Use available technology to Skype with another classroom, or invite an author into your classroom.  For three years my class participated in a Thanksgiving project with other classrooms. Barbara Gilman, @BarbInNebraska, created a wiki.  Each participating classroom created a page about Thanksgiving to share with the other classes.

Some of my favorite ways to connect are through Kidblog or Edmodo.  Currently we are participating in the Global Read Aloud and connecting with other students and educators via Edmodo.

Learn more about the Global Read Aloud by visiting the wiki here.

Step 4:  Manage Your Classroom with Technology Tools

I love my on-line planbook.  I can write lesson plans, wherever I may be, and it's easy to use.  Check out Planbook.com.  It's inexpensive, just $12 a year, and is loaded with tutorials to help you along.

For managing files and documents, I can't get along without Dropbox, Evernote and Skydrive.  All three are great ways to store files in the cloud, and access it readily from any computer.

For fun I like to use Instant Classroom as a way to group students for activities, or to randomly select students.

I also use Class Dojo to get rewards and encourage good choices in behavior.  My kids like it.


Step 5:  Practice Digital Citizenship

Teach it to your kids and practice it yourself.  If you're not sure where to start, use the Digital Citizenship Starter Kit from Edmodo.  Check out more resources from Cybraryman or Krissy Venosdale.

Be sure to to check your school district policies regarding Internet use and using student names and photos.  I make it a point never to use student names with a photo.  I also get releases from parents at the beginning of the year, so I have written permission to include students in photos.

Whether you are social networking or blogging, what you put on the Internet becomes part of your professional identity.  Use correct grammar and mature vocabulary.  Proofread! Once it's out there, you can't take it back.  It's also a good idea to Google yourself every now and then.  It pays to find out what websites and photos are being connected to you.


Step 6:  Communicate with Parents, Kids and other Educators

Write a blog.  Make a classroom website or wiki.  Take advantage of tools like Remind101, which is a way to send text messages to parents and students without giving out your personal cell phone number.

Step 7:  Teach Kids to Learn using the Internet, But Keep Them Safe

I work with 4th graders and one of my favorite tools for research is the webquest. This helps students to get to the websites I want them to explore.  A great resource for ready made webquests is Quest Garden.  I usually make my own, and that is easy to do with a wiki.  Here is one we are currently using to learn about mountains:  Mountain Trek

I don't let my students use Google, but here are some of my favorite kid friendly search engines.

• http://www.sweetsearch.com/
• http://www.kidrex.org/
• http://www.kidsclick.org/
• http://www.ask.com/

Step 8:  Teach Kids to Create Content

I love the creative possibilities of using technology.  Some of my favorite creative tools for kids are:

• Kidblog
• Voki
• Storybird
• Bitstrips
• Toondoo
• Storyjumper
• Glogster

Step 9:  Let the Kids Be the Teacher

It can be overwhelming when you are introducing a new tool to students, so don't try to do it alone.  Let the kids be the teachers.  I often introduce a new website to a few students.  Then I let them teach the rest of the class.  We often partner to begin with, before we begin to work independently.

Lots of times, I learn from my kids.  They discover possibilities that I had totally missed.  You just have to be willing to let them explore a little, and listen to what they learn.

Step 10:  Share

Finally, share what you know.  The rest of us will be eternally grateful.  

Edcamp Des Moines

Yesterday, I spent the day at Edcamp Des Moines, and a very awesome day it was.  I have been to Edcamp twice before, both times at Edcamp Omaha.  It is always a day packed with learning and inspiration.  Edcamps take place all over the country.  If you have never attended an Edcamp, I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity.

The day begins with people gathering in a central location.  There are no pre-arranged sessions, the topics are decided at the beginning of the day.  People who are interested in presenting or just talking about a topic sign up in a time slot.  As the schedule fills up, people consider which sessions they would like to participate in.

Most sessions that I have attended may begin with the "presenter" sharing information, but they quickly open up to the participants sharing and contributing their own ideas and knowledge.  This is a kind of respect for all participants that I would like to see present in school district PD.  You always end up learning as much from the other people in the session as you do from the presenter.  That's what makes Edcamp so powerful.

Twitter Handles for just some of the educators who showed up on this Saturday in September.

Edcamp is not just about technology, though I always get great ideas about new websites and apps from these sessions.  This year I attended sessions on

• How are you incorporating your passions into your classroom?
• Engaging all students, even the ones who don't know they want to be engaged.
• Less Us, More Them;  Student Engagement
• How Are You Pirating?  (based on the book Teach Like a Pirate)

You can see there was a definite theme in the sessions I chose.  I am really interested in bringing more creativity into my classroom, and even though I tend to be a very autocratic teacher, I am working toward making it more student centered.

So this is what teachers do on a Saturday.  Here is a link to the Edcamp Wiki:  http://edcamp.wikispaces.com/   Check out an Edcamp near you!

Book Talks and Reading Conferences

We have been in school for three weeks now, and I feel like we are making progress with our reading.  I am working to implement ideas from The Book Whisperer into my instruction, so this week I started meeting with students for reading conferences.   I am required by my school district to teach the little readers that go with the Houghton Mifflin Journeys, so it is difficult to get these in.  I am trying to find a balance between district curriculum and keeping our focus on reading good books that will really engage my students as readers. Since I have thirty students divided into four reading groups, this is not an easy task.

Each day, I had one reading group use their small group time to give an impromptu book talk about one of the books they were reading.  I had also planned to meet with two students at the end of each day for book conferences, but most days I ran out of time.  Instead, I used all of my small group time on Friday to catch up on conferences.

For the reading conferences, I had students bring their reading notebooks and the books they were currently reading.  Instead of sitting in my usual spot at the end of the table, I sat with the students along the side.  I called two students at a time.

Each time I met with a group, I observed the same thing.  The kids started out cautiously, expecting me to quiz or grill them about the books they were reading.  When they realized that our goal was to just talk about the books.  I saw them begin to visibly relax and participate in a discussion about the books they are reading and have read.  This was true during the book talk time and during the conferences.

It made me aware of how much of the time, I am not listening to what kids think and have to say.  It is an eye opener as to how we block kids from being fully engaged in the learning and how rarely they are actually invited into a conversation about the things they are learning.  I know that I am a good teacher, but much of the time I am so intent on helping my students achieve learning goals, that I don't permit them to help shape the path that we are traveling to get there.

I am so thankful that I read The Book Whisperer this summer, and I am enjoying the way it is transforming my teaching.  It's important to stop and smell the roses along the way.  Not only do my students benefit, but I am benefiting as well.

Six Favorite Tools for Classroom Management

Tomorrow will be day twelve of our school year.  The testing if done for now, reading groups are meeting, and we are settling into our routines and schedule.  I am pleased with my group and the way they are taking responsibility for their work.  We have already completed our Top Ten Facts project, and students are taking turns presenting their poster.  I wrote about the Top Ten Facts Posters here on my Day In the Classroom blog.  Now that I have the computers back in my classroom, I am introducing my students to blogging, with paper blogs.

Sometimes it is difficult to remember all the tools I need to set up at the beginning of a new school year, and this year I added one or two new ones. Some are high tech, and some are definitely not.  Here are some of my favorites.

1.  Creative Ways to Line Up
With 30 students, I like to break up the group for many tasks.  That was made easier by this idea I saw on Pinterest for Creative Ways to Line Up.  You can download the cards and list by visiting I Love To Teach.

2.  Class Dojo
For behavior management, I like to use Class Dojo.  With Class Dojo, you create an avatar for each student.  You award positive points for good choices, and deduct points for poor choices.  If you are interested in learning more about it, you can read my post from last year here.  I just read a blog post criticizing this tool, but like anything it can be used well to reinforce the behaviors you want, or it can be used poorly in a punitive way.  I like it because I can give specific reminders or praise in a calm way.  By the end of the day or week, I have a record of specific behavior choices.  My school has an award system called Paw Prints, and I award them based on the points students earn on Class Dojo.  You can share this information with parents if you choose too.  Sometimes it can be enlightening.  Patterns may emerge, or sometimes I realize how many times I am giving reminders to some students.   My kids like it!  I don't usually project the avatars onto the screen during work time, but the kids like it when I do.

3. The Name Box
We do lots of partner and group work, so I am always looking for different ways to group students.  I have some high tech and low tech approaches to this task.  I set up my name box this week.  I use this all the time to form groups or call on people.

4.  Instant Classroom
Using Instant Classroom is a high tech approach.  You will find it at www.instantclassroom.com and you can use it to group students

or select students for a task.

I will warn you that sometimes this website is a little slow, but we like to use it on good days.


5.  Partner Wheels

Another tool I like for picking partners is my Partner Wheel.  This is another idea I found on Pinterest, and I blogged about it here.  I haven't made my wheel for this year, but here is a picture of the one I had for a previous year.

6.  Planbook.com

Then there is my most favorite of all, and that is www.planbook.com.  I love using an on-line planbook.  I like the fact that I can access it at home or from school.  The website has great tutorials to help you set up your planbook.  I always print mine off, so that there is a copy available to a substitute, and I like to check things off as I go.

Some of my favorite features are the templates.  You can set up templates so those things that you need to put in your plans all the time are automatically there.  I also love the fact that if I don't get to something that I had planned to do, I can extend the lesson plan for the next day, or bump the whole plan over to the next day.  Since I always over plan,  I use this feature all the time.  It means I don't have to keep rewriting the same lesson plans.  It is also inexpensive, just $12 a year.  If you've never tried it, check it out.  You can try it for the first thirty days free.  I wrote more about Using an On-line Planbook here.

Setting Up Our Reading Notebooks

We've been in school for just a week and a half now, and the class has had an opportunity to become familiar with our classroom library.  Our next step was to set up our Reading Notebooks.  I always use a reading notebook, but this year I am following Donalynn Miller's suggestions in The Book Whisperer.  I like to use composition notebooks instead of spirals, because you don't have the problem with the wire in the spiral notebooks unraveling and getting tangled up.  In the front pages of our notebooks we set up 

• A tally List for the genres.  Students tally the books they have read as they go, and keep track of the genre requirements.
• They keep a reading list, and record books they have read, attempted and abandoned.  Each entry includes the title, author, date the book was finished and the students assessment of how difficult the book was to read.
• A Books-to-read list:  Students plan for future reading.  They record sequels that are yet to be published, recommendations, or books they have previewed and want to read later.

For the genre tally list, I found this one on-line.  I had to reduce it to fit into our notebooks. Each student will be required to read at least forty books during the school year.

Our 40 book requirement will include:

• 5 - Realistic fiction
• 2 - Historical Fiction
• 3 - Mystery
• 3 - Adventure
• 1 - Poetry
• 4 - Books recommended by friends, which could be almost anything
• 4 - Fantasy and science fiction
• 1 - Graphic Novel
• 2 - Biography, autobiography or memoir
• 5 - Informational
• 2 - Books by the same author
• 8 - Chapter books of their own choice

Any book over 350 pages can be counted as two books.

I am allowing them to record the books we read together, so they already have Fourth Grade Rats recorded.  We completed our first read aloud on Thursday.

That is followed by two pages that we will use as we learn about the characteristics of the various reading genres.

I used the reading list and books to read list from the Fountus and Pinnell's, Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3 to 6.  Students will use these pages to plan for future reading, and to keep track of books they are interested in reading.  

  

The rest of the notebook will be used for reading response.  This may be in the form of letters, character sketches, or other tools that I will come up with as we go along.

As suggested in The Book Whisperer, I set up a reading notebook for myself.  Instead of writing reading responses, I will set up a page or pages for each of my students.  Then I will use this space to keep notes from our reading conferences.  If I have space, I think I will write a brief summary of the books I am reading.  That will help me with book discussions.

I have already discovered that having my own reading notebook is a great way to model the tasks I want them to complete.  

I informed the class that I am also setting that goal of reading 40 books for myself.  When the class was doing some silent reading on Thursday, I took some time to choose a book for myself, that I had not read before.  I chose Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.  I didn't realize it before, but one of my advanced readers had also chosen this book.  She was absolutely thrilled when she saw that I was reading it too.  She has checked with me several times since to see how far I am, and to talk about the book.  Experiencing her excitement to connect about a book, was eye opening, and showed me just how beneficial this is going to be for my students.

One of my goals this year is to be open to trying and reading new books myself and in genres I don't usually read.  I've taught fourth grade for fifteen years, and I have lots of favorite books that I enjoy sharing with the class, but I realized that I've been a little stuck, and haven't ventured into some of the newer books.  I'm going to make more of an effort to read books the kids are reading.  It will also enables me to discuss the books with them.

I noticed that one of my struggling readers had checked out Bunnicula to read.  Bunnicula is one of my favorite books, so I decided to use that as our next read aloud.  She was excited that we were going to all read a book that she had selected.  

I am finding myself taking more time to notice the books my students are reading and to engage them in conversation about their books and interests.  I showed them some of the non-fiction books I am reading on subjects I am interested in; knitting, gardening, canning, and Argentina (because my son is going to school there).  Then I asked them to make lists of the non-fiction topics they would be interested in reading about.  I used Tagxedo to make a word cloud of those topics, and I took the list to our school library, where I checked out 23 books on as many topics as I could find.  In this way I can supplement the non-fiction section of my classroom library.

I feel like I am doing a much better job sharing my enthusiasm for reading.  Already the class is doing well at choosing books to read during those transitional times in the classroom.  I already do Daily 5.  I think it's going to be much easier to get that going now that we already have such a great start with our independent reading.  

Setting the Tone

Today was our sixth day of school.  Over the past week, we have done a lot towards establishing expectations and setting the tone for our classroom.  An important part of that is creating our social contract. I wrote about that last year here.  All classes in our school do this.  This was part of our training from Capturing Kids' Hearts.  This is the third year we have done this with children at all grade levels, and I could really see the benefit from that previous exposure.  I divided my class into small groups.  I asked four questions.

1. How do teachers want to be treated by students?
2. How do you want teachers to treat you?
3. How do you want to be treated by other students?
4. How do other students want to be treated by you?

Working together they brainstorm words that answered these questions, and what a fabulous job they did.

The more times a word was listed, the more important it is to the class.  I used Wordle.net.  This is a great tool for this project, because the more times you enter a word, the larger the font.  Those words stand out immediately.

Everyone in the class signs the social contract.  I like to jazz this up a bit.  Since everyone had a "hand" in creating the social contract, I had them trace their hand on drawing paper.  They were to write their name on it, and make it fancy, and then decorate the hand print however they wanted to.  I got that idea from, you guessed it, Pinterest.  I had seen hand prints used as a wreath.  I wanted to see their names, so we arranged them all over the poster board.  

I am really pleased with the way this came out.  It will hang on the inside of our classroom door for the entire school year.  From time to time, I remind them of the contract we made.  This is a great tool for setting the tone to safe and productive classroom environment.

The Book Whisperer

Over the summer I read The Book Whisperer, by Donalyn Miller.  Many people in my PLN (Personal Learning Network) have talked about this book, and it has been on my list of books to read for a while. When I saw it on the shelf at the public library, that clinched it.  It is just the inspiration I needed.  I am now reading it a second time, and making notes.  Donalyn Miller writes

"Providing students with the opportunity to choose their own books to read empowers and encourages them.  It strengthens their self-confidence, rewards their interests, and promotes a positive attitude toward reading by valuing the reader and giving him or her a level of control. Readers without power to make their own choices are unmotivated." 

This is certainly not a new concept.  In fact I used to teach this way, though maybe not as well.  We used to read all the time.  I did readers workshop.  We were always engaged in lots of great books.   But over the last couple years, and especially last year, I felt that I lost my way.  Last year my school district adopted Houghton Mifflin, Journeys.  There was more and more pressure to limit reading instruction to the reading series, and to narrow the instructional focus to tested common core standards.  The pretesting and post testing schedule was relentless, and I saw my students shut down more and more.

Last year was not a good year for me.  Missing more than five weeks of school, because of an accident and broken bones, certainly did not help, but it was more than that.  I feel strongly that in our desire to increase "rigor" which is a word I hate, by the way, and make students and teachers accountable, we have taken the joy and excitement out of learning.

My goal is to put it back.  So this year I am working to balance the requirements of my school district with what I know kids really need.  I have to teach my conscience.  The whole reason I got into teaching was to share my love of learning.  I think The Book Whisperer is the road map I need to get back on track.  I will be writing other posts about this book, as I learn from it and try new things in my classroom.

We just started school on Thursday.  Our homework that first night was to complete a reading survey that Ms. Miller includes in her book on pages 202-203.  It is the Reading Interest-A-Lyzer, based on the Interest-A-Lyzer by Joseph S. Renzulli.  I started trying to make a copy of the survey from the book, and then I had the good sense to Google it.  I found a downloadable copy here.  This is going to give me a starting place for learning about my students as readers.

Here are some of my other goals for the year:

• Immersion:  Students need to be surrounded with books of all kinds and given time and opportunity to read them every day.  

• Conversations about reading, what is being read and what students are getting from their books need to be an on-going event.

• Demonstrations:  Teach daily reading lessons using authentic texts like books, articles, and textbooks, designing every lesson around the skills that readers really need to develop reading proficiency. 

• Expectations:  expect students to read every day and to read a large volume of books. The goal for the year is 40 books.  I will allow them to count the books we read together as part of that number.  

• Responsibility:  Students need to make some of their own choices when pursuing learning goals.  Set reading requirements at a certain number of books per genre, but students have the freedom to choose which books.

• Employment:  give students time to practice and apply the skills taught.

• Responses: provide immediate non-threatening response on student progress.

At this point in time, I'm not sure how all of that will look, but I am excited about this journey.

Each Monday I participate in #4thChat on Twitter.  I was a little concerned about setting the reading goal at 40 books.  It seemed high for a fourth grader, so I was asking some of the other 4th grade teachers what they required.  Donalyn Miller responded in a tweet that I should set the goal at 40 books.  We live in a pretty spectacular world, when you can get advice directly from the author of the book you are reading. You gotta love technology!

Have you read The Book Whisperer?  If so, how have you used it in your classroom?

Schoolhouse Centennial

Our school is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this school year.  The original part of the school building was built in 1914.  There have been two additions since that time.

In recognition of 100 years, each child and staff member received a centennial t-shirt on the second day of school.  We all wore them to our beginning of year assembly.  Afterwards, we went outside and had our picture taken by a photographer from our school district.  What an awesome start to the school year!

Photo taken by Des Moines Public Schools

Our building was remodeled nine years ago.  At that time new windows, air conditioning, and an elevator were installed.  I was on the committee that planned the renovation, and we worked hard to maintain the integrity of the building.  I love the original woodwork and hardwood floors.  It is a beautiful building.  We look pretty good for being 100 years old.

This will be my 24th year at this school, and I really love it here.  We have the best school song anywhere.  It was written about ten years ago by Judi Brown, who was our art teacher at the time, and the students.  She worked with each class, so that all the students and staff had a hand in writing this song.  We don't have many assemblies, but when we do, we always sing it.

I can already tell that this is going to be a Turtley Awesome school year.

This shirt was worn by one of my girls.  I wish I had thought of this.  I think I'm going to have to add this caption to our classroom door.

A Herd of Turtles

Tomorrow is officially the first day back to school for teachers, but most of us have already been in our classrooms numerous times.  One of the things I accomplished this week was making and installing my door display.  Doing these creative tasks gets me excited for back to school.  I always like to have a display on or around my door that includes student names.  Last year it was owls, and this year I opted for turtles.

I am partial to turtles.  I have them all over my yard as yard art. I have them in my home. I have them in my classroom.  For me turtles represent patience and tenacity. I started thinking about using them on my door at a math PD this summer when I saw that Common Core Standards talked about teaching children to persevere in problem solving.

First I had to figure out how to make them. I am not an artist, so I broke out my scrapbooking drawing books and Googled "How to draw turtles."  Using those ideas I practiced drawing turtles.  I wanted a cartoon turtle that was friendly looking.  After sketching several I came up with four that I liked best.

I went over the lines with a black permanent marker and erased all the stray pencil lines.  I cut them out and mounted them on cardstock,  then I photocopied them to make my pattern.

I made two copies of my pattern.  The first I copied onto various shades of green and brown cardstock for the turtle bodies.

The second set of patterns I cut apart in order to make a shell pattern for each turtle.  These I ran onto various shades of pattern scrapbook paper.  I have a lot of money invested in scrapbook supplies, and I am trying to use up my stash.

Then it was just a matter of cutting out the turtles and shells and gluing them together.  I glued the patterned shell right on top of the solid card stock turtle.

Stick Out Your Neck and Learn!  Take Risks, Try New Things, Persevere, Be Patient, Do Your Best.

I took them to school and arranged them on the door.  On the inside of the door, we will hang our class contract.

Welcome to 4th Grade

Yesterday I designed my welcome cards for my new group of students.  All classroom teachers in our building send a letter or card to everyone in their incoming class.  We have done this for a long time, and all our students look forward to hearing from their new teacher before classes begin.   I designed my cards using the program, The Print Shop by Broderbund.  I use Print Shop for lots of things.  This year I decided to use one of my photos from my photo blog for the cover.  For several years I have done a photo a day project, though I haven't kept up very well this year.  If you're interested you can see my photos at http://barbaraspics365.blogspot.com/.  

On the back of the card, I include a suggested supply list.  Inside I tell students about some of the things we will be studying during the year and give them the link to our classroom website.  This gives families the opportunity to explore our website ahead of time.  I also remind them about open house, which is held prior to the beginning of classes.

The advantage of using Print Shop for this project is that I have a template I can work from, without having to start from scratch every year.  I pull up the old file, change fonts, alter dates and details, and decide on a new cover design.  You can use art from the Print Shop program, but usually I don't.  Last year I used www.imagechef.com to make a word mosaic using the students names.  You can see that here.  Other years I have used my Stampin Up stamps to create a design. You can see that and read about some of the other ways I use Print Shop here at at my old blog, Day In the Classroom

I am pleased with the way they came out this year, and it always gets me excited about going back to school.  I really do enjoy the creative parts of setting of my classroom.  I will mail my cards on Monday.  I like to have them arrive about a week before school begins.

Edmodocon 2013

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to participate in a world wide conference with 25,000 attendees from 170 countries.  I didn't spend long hours in airports or on trains to get there.  I did it from the comfort of my own living room.  Edmodocon took place on the west coast, but almost all of us were on-line attendees.  Even some of the presenters gave their presentations from distant locations.

If you are not familiar with Edmodo, it is a website that works much like Facebook, but it is for educational use, and it is safe and secure to use with students.  Students use a code to access the group.  No one else can get in.  Here is a very quick overview of the website.




I have used Edmodo for the past three years.  I was already aware that I had barely tapped it's potential. We have used it mainly for book discussion and to do webquests.   Edmodocon made me aware of just how much potential there really is, and it's amazing!

Edmodo is a fantastic way to engage and empower students to take responsibility for their own learning. I witnessed my students enthusiam for using Edmodo in May.   Last year was not a very good school year for me.  Because of an accident, I missed more than five weeks of school recovering from a fractured ankle and foot.  We had a new reading series and lots of curriculum changes, and my school district is heavy into testing, so I was very stressed.  For those reasons, I did not introduce my students to Edmodo until almost the end of the year, after all the testing was done.

We had a story in our reading book about spiders, so my goal was to do a webquest, and give the kids an opportunity to research and read about spiders.  I showed one reading group how to use the website.  They taught the rest of the class.  When the first group was learning, the rest of the class was practically climbing over their desks to see what we were doing in reading group.  For the next three days, students shared their learning, carried on discussions about spiders, and figured out how to post links to the websites they were finding, so that everyone could see them.  The class was totally engaged!

This was an epiphany for me.  This is why I teach!  I made a pledge to myself, that in spite of district requirements for pretesting, post testing, common core or whatever, I will keep these kinds of learning experience at the forefront of my students' educational experiences.  One of my goals for the summer was to learn how to use Edmodo more effectively, and to introduce it to students and parents early in the new school year.

At Edmodocon, Patrick Fogharty talked about shifting students into collaborative and creative roles, and that is exactly what I want to do.   One idea I really liked was to have students create videos to teach the class.  I can see that working well with math.  It would also be a great way to share book talks and book recommendations with the class.

My first goal, when I get back to school, will be to make sure we have the Edmodo app on all our iPads and that we have shortcuts on all the laptops.

Here are just some of the possibilities that I need to explore:

• Use Edmodo to communicate with parents.  Provide parents with a code that enables them to see what their student is doing and saying.
• Edmodo has a Classroom Planner to organize projects and due dates. Use it.
• Digital Citizenship resources are available. Use them to plan lessons the first weeks of school.
• Use badges to award students for their hard work.
• Use Google Docs, Evernote and Edmodo together.
• Embed Padlet (which used to be called Wallwisher) for brainstorming and discussion.
• Give quizzes using Edmodo
• Use Edmodo for homework, and run a computer lab for students without internet access
• Explore some of the new apps that Edmodo has added, including Go-Animate (though to be honest, this is probably too expensive for me to invest in)
• Explore Gobstopper, which is an e-reader.
• Participate in the Global Read Aloud
• Join some of the Edmodo on-line communities
• Collaborate on a project with students from another school

That's a lot!  That ought to keep us busy.  Are you an Edmodo user?  What are your favorite projects and uses for this fantastic website?

New Floor Plan

Yesterday, I went into my classroom for the first time since I closed it up in June.  My goals for the day were to put the supplies away,  and to arrange the room.

Putting supplies away didn't take long, because there weren't many of them.  I did check in the office, and fortunately, I do have more coming.  The kids will bring in lots more.  Our students bring notebook and copy paper, dry erase markers, notebooks and composition books, pencils, pens, and glue.  Oh yes, and most important tissue!  Each grade level decides on their own supply list.  I ask for only the basics, but it is always enough to get us through the year.  The only thing I usually have to ask for during the year is tissue, because some years we go through a lot of that.

The trick this year is trying to figure out where to put 30 student desks.  That is five more kids than I had last year.  I have been in this same classroom for nine years.  For the first time last year, I moved my reading table to the center of the room and arranged all the student desks around it.  I really liked this set up, because it put me closer to everyone.  When I was working at the table with a small group, either for reading or math, I could much more easily monitor what was going on in the rest of the room.  I just didn't see how I could do that with 30 student desks.

I like the arrangement I came up with.  I still have room to walk between pods, that is when there is no one here.  We'll see how it works when the chairs are pulled out, and kids are sitting in them.

I kind of like setting up my classroom for fall.  Everything is clean and uncluttered.  Our newly polished hard wood floors gleam.  Our custodians are fantastic!  It is the opportunity to try out new ideas.  We will have open house before school begins, so my strategy is always do the surface stuff that makes it look like I know where everything is and am ready to begin.

Next step, create the cards I will send home to students welcoming them to 4th grade.  I want to get those mailed by the end of next week.  There are also lots of other creative jobs I do at home, like making name tags, desk tags, bulletin board design, and a display for the door.  I make them at home, and when I get to school, I can easily install them.

August 19th is our official back to school date for teachers, but we will all be in there lots of times before that.

Our Castle Project for 2013

It's the middle of summer vacation, and I'm just getting around to writing about some of our classroom projects for the 2012-2013 school year.  So much for my pledge to be more regular in writing posts for my blog.  I do have some really good excuses, but you'll be happy that I'm not going to waste time making them.

We completed our Castle project for this year on May 1st, just in time for Core Knowledge Night.  My school is a public school and we teach all the regular school district curriculum, but we also teach much of the Core Knowledge Curriculum as well.  As part of Core Knowledge, we learn about the Middle Ages in 4th grade, and the culminating project is when my students build castles.  It is done as homework, and we do lots of writing to go with it.   We write about why castles were built. We write about the kids’ thinking and planning for their castle. Kids write a description of their work to be displayed at Core Knowledge Night. At the end we write fairy tales about what happens when an evil wizard shrinks us and our castles become real.

The kids and families never cease to amaze me with their creativity. I have seen castles made of wood, cardboard, Styrofoam, sugar cubes, marshmallows, sand (that was not such a good idea), clay, craft sticks, and rocks.  Every year, there is some new idea that I would never have thought of and have never seen before.  Last year we even had one made out of Rice Krispy Treats.

On the day the castles are due, we invite students from other grades to come see them, which is why kids come into 4th grade asking when we’re going to build castles.  I make it a point to tell families that they may assist, but it should be mostly the child’s work. When students bring their castles, we always interview them about how they planned and built their castle. When asked what they liked best about the project, many respond with something they did with their parents, so family help is an important component.

I am a big consumer of manilla folders, and I use them for this project. I staple step by step directions for the project on the left side of the folder. On the right side I include diagrams labeling the parts of the castle. We do several in-class lessons about the parts of the castle, and whether it was for offense of defense. I also include ideas about possible ways to construct a model. Most of my ideas come from the books, Knights And Castles, By Teacher Created Materials and The Middle Ages Independent Learning Unit, By Lorraine Conway.  A more complete list of the books I use for this unit are on my Medieval History for Kids post on my Prospecting for Treasure blog.

This year I moved toward having more of our resources on-line.  You can see that, along with the planning sheet and schedule we use for this project by visiting my class website at:  

http://msdays4thgrade.weebly.com/castles

If you are interested in learning more about Core Knowledge, visit the Core Knowledge Foundation Website at:  http://www.coreknowledge.org/

The Jacobson Symposium

Saturday, I attended the Jacobson Visiting Scholar Symposium at Grand View University.  This was an opportunity that was offered free of charge to area teachers.  I am so glad that I decided to go.  The keynote speaker was Dr. Laurie A. Henry from the University of Kentucky.  She talked about literacy and how that has been impacted and changed because of technology.  It was thought provoking.  I also attended one of her sessions later in the day about Literature Circles.

Later in the morning I attended Steven Hopper's  session about Social Media in the Classroom.   He is @thinkteach on Twitter.  It really inspired me to get back to using Edmodo.  If you are not familiar with Edmodo, it looks much like Facebook, except it is much safer for elementary kids.  Only people with the group code can access your posts.  I have not introduced Edmodo to this year's class at all.  In the past, I have used it to discuss books with reading groups.  I also have used it as a webquest.  Yesterday I realized that I have not tapped most of it's potential at all.  It can be a good communication tool with parents, and can be an excellent tool if you are interested in doing a flipped classroom.  It is a great way to get reluctant writers to participate in discussion and write responses.

The afternoon was set up as TeachMeet Sessions.  Sessions were short and presented by many of the participants.  This is similar to EdCamp, which I love.

I learned about QR Codes from Jen Wells.  This is something I just haven't understood in the past. I downloaded apps to my phone, while we were there, and now I'm set to go.

I was intrigued by Jeff Mullin's ideas for using music for classroom management.  I am definitely going to give this a try.  He plays certain tunes to signal transitions, or time to pass in papers.  He uses Playlist.com, which I plan to explore.

Jess Dow presented a session about Weebly.  I have a Weebly classroom website.  Sometimes I have trouble keeping it up to date.  Okay, most of the time, I have trouble keeping it up to date. I picked up some great ideas from this session about adding PDFs for spelling words, and embedding links to videos to help parents and kids with math skills, like partial product multiplication.  These ideas will make my website a much better resource for kids and parents alike.

Dr. Lindsay Grow and Jen Wells talked about Enhancing Vocabulary with Online Visual Tools.  Here are just some of the tools I plan to check out.

Graffiti Creator

Word Mover

Trading Cards

Visual Thesaurus

Tag Galaxy

Wordnik

Visuwords

Lexipedia

Grapholite

This is fun.  What do you love?

This was an awesome way to spend a Saturday with great people, inspiring ideas, and good food, in a beautiful building.  This is the first of what is to become an annual event, and I will definitely be signing up next year.

Skittles Fraction Challenge

We had a lot of fun today finding fractions of sets using Skittles.  I found a great free download on Teachers Pay Teachers for this Skittles Fraction Challenge.  It was a great way to reinforce skills we had been working on, and afterwards, the kids got to eat their math.