The Year Comes to a Close

 The boxes are packed up, the containers are closed, the kids are saying good-bye and goals have been reflected on.  The stars that once hung on the ceiling are down in a pile on the desks, waiting to be moved to the portable on Monday.  We are switching classrooms at Creekside Elementary and a new year awaits. 

Teaching is so cyclical and we are at the close of another year. I will luckily get to see most of my students again in the fall with smiles on their faces, sharpened pencils, and new school supplies.  We will go through routines again, catch up about summer trips, and begin another learning year and journey together after "Meet Your Teacher."

In teaching there is an open and a close.  You can compare data in test scores and data on exit tickets from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.  Did the students grow in their understanding of geometry?  Do they know how to do algebra?  

But in the bigger scheme of things, a lot of social-emotional learning is also happening.  Did the student learn how to make a friend and keep a friend?  Did the student learn how to laugh until their belly ached, write poetry, express their feelings or persist when life got hard?  How do you measure friendship and compassion?  These are important growth areas for children as well, and are arguably just as important (if not more important) than geometric equations on a test. 

I hope when the students look back at this year of SAGE and PEP, they will remember the year they collaborated to make a Rube Goldberg machines, got really into books, made a new friend, learned how to code a microchip or code a game on scratch. I hope they learned to have deep book discussions and work with others to create plays and puppet shows.   

Some of my special 5th graders are leaving this year, and of those, I have taught some since they were second graders pretending to be foxes on the regular. I remember teaching others how to read the word "tiger" and now they are moving onward to middle school.  

My role is a unique one in the school.  I get my kids year after year (as long as they don't move) and I am able to really see how they grow, learn and change.  It is a gift.  I don't have them as long during the day or week, but I get them over years of their elementary school life. I am lucky to have such a role and get to work with funny, quirky, fun and thoughtful kids.  I hope they have a great summer.

Coding on Scratch

 We live in Issaquah, Washington.  It's home to Microsoft, Amazon, and Space X.  All around me I find people who work in the computer industry, many of whom code in some capacity.  My students hear mom and dad talk about coding, the latest round of lay offs at Microsoft, see mom and dad work until late at night and push to develop the latest update.  They are around computers, computer science, robotics and engineering daily.

We embrace the coding and work to have the kids figure out ways to integrate it into their learning.  One of the platforms we use is called Scratch and it's a program that was developed by MIT a while back.  Students can code video games, videos, informational platforms and use simple blocks to learn so much.  

The beautiful part about coding is that it fits well into a growth mindset, as students often make mistakes while coding, have to debug their ideas, learn from others and even research ways to get around their problems on the computer.  My students learn at a rapid pace and also are available to help others.  Scratch translates well to coding robotics later- we use EV3s, Microbits, and also Lego WeDo kits with other block coding programs.

Today I watched as a class of 8 and 9 year olds were transfixed and enchanted as they watched witches glide across the screen, build mazes, and try and retry calculators that were built by the scratch platform.  

I am going to develop some lesson plans around scratch and math at some point.  Any ideas around how I can integrate the two components?  

Maybe Not Math.... But Creative Writing in SAGE

 I watched as K. colored her backdrop to her play in a multitude of colliding colors.  Her brain mixed and mashed the colors that splashed out slowly and deliberately onto the butcher paper.  P., her partner, sat under the table with her fox ears on, and golden red eyes focused on editing the play they created on a  screen.  Her legs were folded and she was intensely reading and rereading the script.

The topic was a science fiction play originally set on a corn farm but moved to an outer space little-known planet.  It involved talking dogs and cats and a lack of carbon dioxide, a queen named Shinoka, with a patch of white blond hair and the survival of alien species hanging on by a thread.  

The girls work bit by bit, a little moment of focused intense concentration followed by stories in their heads and ideas about scenes and backdrops and future plays.  The girls negotiated every line, every event, and every act with passion and purpose.  Heated debates ensue, but the script goes on and the play unfolds. 

"No, I am Shinoka's character and I get to decide what she says, " states K.

"But don't you think it would move the story along if she replied with a "woof?" replied P.

"Maybe...."

I view my role as facilitator in the adventure of script writing. I show a video about character arcs, explain archetypes and symbolism, and lean into problem and solution.  I try to step back a lot though so my students have freedom to create, collaborate and come up with their own product free from adult neurotypical ideas.

By May, a semi-edited script is complete. Characters are being created and backdrops are forming.  Relationships are being built and a new idea comes to life in the classroom.  Friendships and forming and the small moments of compromise and promise occur.  

The process takes time and is slow.  I remind myself that I am one small step in the long journey of life and will do my best to help my students find and keep their authentic voice and creative ideas.

The Book "The Anxious Generation" and Teaching Project Based Learning

 I packed up my white bag with my planner, heavy laptop, water bottle and favorite pen and headed to the door, ready to blast my Audiobook again.  I have been listening to The Anxious Generation nightly and have been soaking up each and every word.  The basic premise of the book is that our kids and students are becoming more depressed and riddled with anxiety due to our smart phone culture and a lack of in person play.  It's not the most uplifting book, but I definitely recommend it if you are a parent.

The idea that students are struggling more socially and emotionally now than ever before resonated with me, as it is something I have witnessed in my own home and also in the classroom.  Students seem to need more coaching on collaboration and teamwork today than they have in the past.  Some are arguing about small things, reluctant to settle disputes independently without adult guidance, and need more help when working with others than ever before.  Are the kids not getting along because they have not spent enough hours playing?  Did they spend too many minutes on a device or studying for test or studying alone for a math competition?

I watch as my two sons play their video games between their nightly baseball games and practices and wonder... did I provide enough time for the kids to go out and explore?  Are they making friends in the real world?  Is there a way to change their activities so they can play more and have more free time to experiment outside, test their limits, and learn who they are?  These are critical moments for my sons to develop their personalities, and I wonder if I am blowing it with too many scheduled activities. 

Ah, parenting is difficult.  There is no manual and life today is vastly different from yesterday.  I think life without the smart phone might have been easier, less distracting, and going back to basics seems like a logical solution to some of these problems.  The Anxious Generation discusses how more time is needed without adult supervision so kids can work through problems, find their identity, and make lasting friendships in a confident manner.  If adults constantly intervene when problems arise on the playground or in the streets, children do not learn to solve problems for themselves and grow their autonomy. 

This idea of play can take a different form in the classroom.  Rather than worksheets, strict rules and independent work, we can incorporate more Project Based Learning and Problem Solving and open ended exploration.  In my classroom, we already focus on Project Based Learning time, as it has been shown to help gifted kids develop social and emotional skills needed in the work force and it encourages them to think deeper about problems.  I will continue to implement this time within my schedule and additionally, I will ask my students to reflect on how their collaboration time went.  

I am reminded how important it is for students to be able to work together in the job force as well.  I can not think of many jobs that are conducted in complete isolation, and  the give and take needed in the work force is a skill that must be developed, just as logical thinking and number sense must be developed.  My students need to be able to work together to be considered for a promotion in the future, interview well for a top job, or gain happiness in a close net social circle. 

The longer I teach, the more certain I am that social skills and collaboration skills are equally, if not more important, than intelligence. 

That Testing Time of Year

 The sun is finally out in Washington State and the rain is subsiding for a bit.  As I walk to and from my portable, I notice the smiles on students faces, kids digging in the garden, and the excitement of spring ramping up.  It is the best time of year, but also stressful for students and teachers.  The SBAC is approaching fast and teachers and students alike are studying, planning, creating "boot camps" for review and mapping out the days and weeks ahead.

"What does that mean for SAGE and PEP?" the class I teach, you ask. Well, it means that we are also trying to ferociously wrap up units and review content before the tests hit.

When my students are testing, there are sometimes weeks where they miss instruction.  The tests matter when looking at class placement, as they are advised to take specific math or science courses depending on results.  They also can affect whether or not a student is allowed to sit for the CogAT test and appeal a result the following year.  The SBAC is used as a screener, and if students are not in the top 5% of the district scores, then they are not invited to test in October when referral season comes around.

Additionally, in the past, if a student showed that they were behind or struggling with content on a standardized test, then that individual was invited to attend summer school.  I do not believe that is the current practice within the district, but it was offered once upon a time.

The tests are long and tedious.  I remember watching my little eight and nine year old third graders writing five paragraph essays, typing away on the computer, honing their ideas, and trying to elaborate to the best of their ability.   They were tired and I was tired and everyone was exhausted at the end of the tests.  The days kept going and going and these little people had to be silent for so long.

Today not much has changed in that regard.  The kids get through it, and generally do fine.  

Differentiating: Knowing Your Student and Knowing the Standard

 There is no right or wrong way to differentiate.  

Today I threw a problem on the board for my first and third graders to attempt to solve and sat back and watched.  Some dived into it.  Some copied it. Others sat there with a deep frown contemplating where to start. 

There are many philosophies and ideas on the subject, but when it comes down to it, all it means to differentiate is meeting students where they are at. 

 Every person is unique and interesting and different and thus, they will need different things in math or any subject for that matter.  Just because someone is the same age as another individual, does not mean that they know the same content or need to work on the same logical reasoning process, thus comes the idea of differentiating.

If you really break it down, in order to differentiate you need to know two things.  A teacher needs to know his or her student and also the standards you are teaching.  

There are many ways in which a student can know a student.  She can get to know their interests through conversations, letters, surveys, get to know you activities and observation.  

A teacher can also get to know a student's constantly changing knowledge base through consistent use of pre-assessments and daily checks in through exit tickets and observation.   

Once a teacher knows the student, they can figure out what comes next.  If a student can only approach a problem and solve a subtraction or addition problem in one way, maybe a teacher move would be to dig deeper into the math practices and have the child make a model or draw a visual representation of the problem.  

If the child struggles with explaining his or her thinking, maybe as a teacher, you cut down the practice volume and ask the student to really show their work in depth and in multiple ways within one problem.  

If a child has difficulty working with peers, and this is a goal area, maybe that child has a partner for math daily and in conferences you are working on sharing the workload, listening, making eye contact and teaching the student to ask leading questions.

Additionally, if a student knows the grade level content, works well with others, can explain their thinking and show their work in multiple ways, then it is time to accelerate.  The student can then be exposed to above grade level problems.  The teacher might pull the student aside and give them a problem that is a little bit challenging and the student does not know how to solve.   The teacher can then ask what do you know about this problem?  What is a possible way to approach it?

The teacher does not show the student how to solve the problem and then ask the student to solve it exactly the same way, as that does not engage the learner in deeper thinking or problem solving but rather asks a student to merely mimic a solution strategy.   

Students need to engage in productive struggle and be pushed in order for learning to occur.   If a student does not engage in productive struggle then they will suffer as an adult or older student when a problem comes along.  Panic will set in.  Productive struggles helps students self regulate and adhere to challenges in the face of complexity.  

The Power of Starting with a Question

 Everyone loves a little mystery in life and most people like to think hard.  I have noticed my lessons go best when the learning target is stated at the end.  When I teach with an inquiry lens, and let the kids discover the math and science, engagement goes up, learning increases, and all students push through to learn at greater depths.

When I start the lesson with, "Today I will teach you how to add fractions," I notice that half my class tunes out and the other half already knows how to do it.  

In order to have students engage in productive struggle, we as teachers and parents, need to present our students with problems that they truly don't know how to answer.  They need to play with the numbers and explore concepts without someone telling them how to do it.  Students need to try and fail and be okay with that because later on in life, they will encounter problems that they need to solve, and they need to have the logical reasoning skills to tackle them head on.

Today, one of my students was trying to add fractions for the first time.  He has not been taught how to do such and I was watching as he logically thought his way through.  T. drew two models of fractions and then was trying to figure out how to cut them into the same sized pieces so he could add them.  T. told me that he had learned about equivalent fractions on i-ready and he was trying to use this concept to add.

I did not tell him any of this.  I watched as he crossed out numbers, sketched brownies on this graph paper, erased and tried again.  At the end, he was close, but mis-named the numerators because his sketches were not accurate enough.

At that point, we talked about ways to draw accurate diagrams for equivalent fractions and he eagerly solved the problem.  The teaching point was at the end and he was satisfied to have tried something hard and found a way to come up with an answer.