Organizational Bliss

Oh boy...

Today I came across an amazingly wonderful treasure called Littlest Learners. The author who is a 3rd grade teacher and mommy of three created what she calls the Ultimate Teacher Organizational Tool (UTOT) using ThistleGirl Design Graphics which I think are just about the cutest education themed graphics out there. LOVE THEM!

She explained how to create this super cute organize everything binder in several posts. Check out her introduction to the project here! As soon as I saw the cute pages I had to order the set. If you want it too, you can get it here. You get all of her super cute designed pages for $3.00. Yes, that's right....three dollars! That is a deal if I ever saw one. Once you order, you receive the pdf files within 24 hours. I am so pumped to get my hands on all of this adorableness!!!!

She has posted some step by step directions and I am not sure if I tracked them all down, but the UTOT is mentioned in her posts here, here, and here with suggestions of how to put it together and of course you can do with it what you like because the cute pages are enough to inspire any teacher into organizational action! This seems like such a great way to get everything in order for the year. I might even color code the pages to go with my two different class sections.

I have always loved the Thistle Girl Designs every time I have come across them (like on the Busy Teacher's Cafe site) and I was so thrilled to see so many different organizing tools with these cute cute images. yay!

::big smiles up in here!::

I anticipate some major binder envy when I go back to school...

Math Meltdown

 My two closest friends here in Germany are both third grade teachers. They are in the process of working on the 7 page report cards that need to be completed by Friday afternoon and that is really time consuming (to say the least). Because my schedule as a specialist is getting lighter (due to all of the special activities that take place at the end of the year interrupting regular class schedules that don't require support services), I thought it would be nice to offer to cover their math classes today so they could spend some additional time during the school day working on their reports. I have also been trying to help them correct timed math tests since it takes a lot of time to check the accuracy of 80 problems per kid because I feel bad that they are so stressed and I am straight chilling with my less than full schedule.

I LOVE having the chance to substitute, even if it's just for one period and I love the third grade kiddos, so it doesn't even feel like work to me.

One teacher left a lesson and I worked on teaching the kids about long division with remainders. The other teacher had me administer a math test. I prefer having the chance to actually teach, but if I can be the body in the room so that another teacher can have extra working time, I am definitely game.

I used to be the TA in both of these classrooms at the beginning of the year prior to joining the support services team, so I am familiar with all the kids. I have continued to spend a lot of time in one of these classrooms for my new role but I have not been in the other classroom much since early this year. I know the kids' personalities and quirks and I felt really lucky to have that background knowledge today because in the middle of the test there was a meltdown.

One of the kiddos raised his hand to ask for help because he didn't understand how to "check his work" which was part of the directions (they were supposed to multiply to check the division). I told him that if he wasn't sure he should go onto the next problem, but he quickly became upset and expressed concern over not being able to receive full marks for the part he didn't understand. He is really hard on himself and has a hard time moving forward when he is upset by something. I tried to put all of my freak out prevention skills into effect but crouching down to his level, speaking in a quiet matter of fact voice, and coaching him through the options/choices he could make did not help.

The tears welled up in his eyes.

His mouth quivered.

I continued to speak in a soothing voice trying to relay to him that it was important for him to continue on with the rest of the problems instead of giving up and worrying about this one part.

Well....he lost it.

 He basically crumpled over and let out a wail that caused all of the other kiddos to look up from their concentrated states in shock.

I knew from having worked in this classroom previously that his outbursts really escalate quickly and that he has a lot of trouble calming down, so I told him that he would need to come into the hallway with me. The other kids needed a quiet room and I needed to give him some privacy to talk through the difficulty he was having. He sat down in the hallway outside the door and continued to cry.

I crouched down at his level and told him that I could see he was very frustrated about this. I explained that there were two parts to the question and that he understood one, but was having trouble with the other and that it would be a good choice to continue working on the part that he understood even if that meant skipping part of some problems. I gave him the choice of coming back into the classroom to continue the test or to remain in the hallway until he was feeling better.

He stayed in the hallway.

I felt really bad that he got so upset, yet I thought that I did a good job handling the situation considering he is not a child that I really know very well. I know of his reactions, but I had never before truly been a part of one.

I returned to the classroom and continued to help the other kids with their questions.

After a few minutes, this kiddo came back into the room, took his seat and continued working on his test. I was really really happy that he was able to calm himself down and make this decision.

Since the kids were still taking the test, I didn't want to make a big fuss, so I wrote him a note on a yellow post it.

"I am really proud of you for making the good choice to come back inside and give the test another try."

I simply stuck the note on his desk next to his test paper and continued to the other side of the room, monitoring the rest of the group.

When I came back around to his table, I noticed that he had crumpled my note and shoved it in his desk. He looked at me with a part confused expression and part glare.

But he continued working on the test.

 I was really happy that his meltdown simmered down and did not end up being a complete disaster. Even though he didn't seem entirely thrilled with my attempt to sweetly compliment his choice, I do think that my tactics were a success!! Maybe it was a small success, but it could have ended worse.

What do you do when there is a meltdown in the classroom?

Revisiting ADD

Last week (or maybe the week before) I posted about ADD/ADHD. Little did I know it would bring on my first not-so-nice comment! Especially after considering what the anonymous poster said about the negative effects that children with ADD or ADHD have on their classmates, I decided I really wanted to become more well versed on this particular "disorder." I put the word disorder in quotes because the book I read over the weekend puts ADD in a new light. Although I disagreed with this person's opinion that students with ADD or ADHD should be medicated in order to preserve the rights of the other learners in the classroom, I felt I wanted to dig deeper into the topic because I felt like I was in a debate and I needed to be more prepared with information.

Over the weekend I read Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perspective by Thom Hartmann and I am currently reading Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D.

These books have helped me to better understand the condition called ADD and have introduced a new perspective with regards to students that I may teach who display some of the traits that are associated with ADD.

Rather than seeing a forgetful, day dreamy, disorganized, or spontaneous and overactive student in a completely negative light,  Hartmann poses the analogy of individuals with ADD or ADHD as being hunters in a farming world. He goes back in time to recall traits that were necessary for those individuals who needed to hunt for their food. Constantly scanning the environment, being quick to react, full of energy and ready to conquer their prey were all skills necessary for survival and sustenance. With the introduction of farming, a new set of skills became useful such as attention to detail, patience, focus, and duration of attention because without these skills, crops would fail, which again strikes to the farmer's core ability to survive. When agriculture and farming were introduced, these new skills were necessary and have remained the more "appropriate" skill set with reference to the schooling environment. Students are expected to pay attention for long periods of time, focus on details, have patience, tune out environmental distractions, and persevere at all costs. For individuals who gravitate towards the hunter personality type, which may actually be a transgression of specific "hunter genetics," the school environment is not accepting towards their less focused, more "aware" states of behavior.

The author points out that individuals with this "hunter" personality/genetic makeup actually have many positive traits--their strengths are simply not typically recognized as strengths in the classroom setting and are often viewed as disruptive.

• They're flexible, capable of changing strategy on a moment's notice.
• They can throw an incredible burst of energy into an activity.
• They think visually.
• They love action and thrive in active/hands on situations.
• They are very aware of their surroundings
• .They are risk takers.

As educators, we commonly recognize that there are different types of learners. Although it is difficult to cater to every single learner personality, with the increasing prevalence of ADD and ADHD, I think it is time to make some adjustments to my teaching style to reflect the distinct needs of more active learners. I will wholeheartedly admit that my first graders spent a lot of time on the carpet during instruction. That is hard for them, yet I never really took into account their need to move as often as they probably needed to move. In addition to intermittent songs and opportunities to get the wiggles out, the learning itself also needs to be more active and student centered. This is probably the number one aspect of my teaching that I would like to work to improve next year! I cannot criticize a student for zoning out if their biological nature urges them to move around, be active, and change activities/focus more frequently that my lessons are permitting.

The hunter/farmer idea really got me thinking about the fact that ADD which is labeled as a "disorder" is really no such thing. Students have been criticized and punished for something that is not within their control. If a child who is blind cannot help their lack of vision, a child with ADD cannot help the particular way in which his/her brain functions. The behaviors that accompany ADD are not intentional and there are definitely strategies teachers and parents can employ to help students who experience them.

In a section called How to Turn a Disorder Back into a Skill, the author recommends a few ways for hunters to be a bit more successful in our farming world:

• Organize your time around tasks
• Train your attention span
• Break your work responsibilities into specific "goal units"
• Create "distraction-free" zones
• Exercise Daily

As a teacher, I may not be able to alter a child's brain activity, but I can certainly help to break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. I can allow students opportunities to take breaks from work in order to move around rather than constantly staying seated. I can incorporate more movement into lessons so that students are not always expected to be sitting and behaving. I can be a better teacher for students who need something a little different from me.

I still feel as though medication is not the answer. Sometimes it might be, but there are other avenues of treatment to explore as well. This book truly supports the idea that nothing is "wrong" with students that have ADD, they are simply wired differently. I strive to be a very open minded person and teacher, therefore, to me, differences are always welcome.

Classroom Management

I am trying out a new classroom management system this year. Not entirely creative since I purchased a pre-packaged pocket chart that includes different colored rectangles for each student and nameplates, but the idea is the make the expectations as clear as possible in an effort to reduce the amount of time spent handling discipline and disruption related issues. 

Each student has their name on a pocket that includes colored cards: green, yellow, orange, and red. The idea is that all children begin the day on green and remain on green if their behavior is in accordance with the school and classroom rules and expectations. Students who remain on green all week might be eligible for random surprises or privileges. 

If a student becomes disruptive, he/she is given a warning and must place the yellow card at the front of the pocket. If the first incident is more severe than being disruptive the warning step may be skipped, going directly to the orange card and a time out.

If another problem occurs with the same student, they move their orange card to the front of the pocket and are given a consequence such as a time out away from the group. 

Another incident results in the red card being moved to the front, another consequence (longer timeout, perhaps in another classroom) and a note sent home to parents. 

I have not used a system like this before, however I think that it hold students accountable for their behavior and allows them to know exactly what consequence results from what behavior.

I feel very strongly that communication with parents is an important part of being successful, so parents will be required to sign and return the note sent home to acknowledge that they received it. 

I just finished reading Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. MacKenzie, Ed.D. I found the book to be very interesting and learned a lot from it. MacKenzie describes four different kinds of discipline styles: punitive, permissive, mixed and diplomatic. 

The Punitive Approach is firm, but not respectful. This type of approach to discipline typically results in angry and resentful students who want to retaliate and engage in power struggles.

The Permissive Approach is respectful, but not firm. This type of approach to discipline results in kids not knowing when they are really expected to stop because they may receive multiple verbal warnings but no clear actions to support their words. The only way students know when to stop is by testing the limits and seeing what they can get away with.

The Mixed Approach is neither firm nor respectful. This type of approach to discipline is inconsistent and does not provide students with a clear message regarding expectations.

The Democratic Approach is firm and respectful. This approach to discipline achieves guidance goals with the least amount of conflict and greatest amount of cooperation. An essential component to this approach is clear messages with limited choices. It focuses on teaching and learning which is guided by the teacher who provides clear limits, acceptable choices, and instructive consequences that hold children accountable for their actions.

Reading about these different approaches made me think about how I typically handle situations in my classroom. I would have to admit that I probably employ the mixed approach more than anything else which is exactly why I am spending more time now to plan out my behavior management strategies so that I can be consistent and clear.

I am hopeful this new system will work and will update as the year goes on. My main goal is to recognize positive behavior more frequently and focus on the good things I see in the classroom so that students are more likely to engage in positive behaviors that enhance their learning.