Love and Logic

I am moving to a new school this year. One that has a religious focus and kids from all over the world, a school that is exactly what I love.

My previous school was great and allowed me to do fantastic things, but one thing it did not have was any kind of behavior management system or behavioral program in place.  The expectations I had in my classroom were not the same as the administration's or even some of the other teachers.  I struggled with creating an accountability system that worked because there was no consistency.

This year, I have decided to return to love and logic.  I don't know what it is about being in a religious school that makes me feel more inclined to love my kids. I really really liked my learners at my last school, I wept saying goodbye to some of them, but did I love them?

When I was teaching in the US I worked in an inner city religious school where we had behavioral problems left and right. Our administrator chose to focus on love and logic, rather than on rigid lists of good and bad.  I will always admire his choice as it changed the dynamics in lot of classrooms.
This is not a revolutionary idea, it does not require props or gimmicks, it is simply refocusing the idea of behavior in the classroom on logical consequences and leading your learners with love.

If you have not yet read this book, please do and then let me know what you think.

~Ms. Michelle Louise

Pre-Writing Anchor Charts

I love anchor charts.
Let me say that again, I love anchor charts!  There was a big push at my school this past year to stop using so many anchor charts, focusing more on digital anchor charts which can be immediately shared with the learners' iPads and eliminating "extra clutter."  You can imagine how ruffled my feathers were hearing about that!

I do not think that the same anchor charts should be up all year, so I have done what other teachers have, and created an anchor chart binder which we practice using as a reference source.  The more you practice this skill, the more the students will do it on their own. By the end of the year my anchor chart binder had been thoroughly thumbed through. (Make sure you have an easy to understand index and that your pictures are in sheet protectors so they don't rip from use.)

I modeled mine off of this one from teachingmyfriends.blogspot.com

Since the start of the school year is just around the corner, I thought I'd share some of the anchor charts I use when beginning my writing workshop. We start with a "Cherry or Pit" story about their summer so I can assess their strengths and then we begin talking about different ways to generate topics for writing.

Generating Ideas:  Stones in the River
I have my students create a river in their writer's notebook that is filled with boulders, stones, and pebbles. We discuss that boulders are the important people, places, experiences and things in our lives and that the stones and pebbles are smaller bits of these.  This serves as a bank of ideas that learners can come back to and use for creating their narratives and stories.

Pre-writing Strategy One:  Mapping
This is the first strategy I introduce and the one that most learners return to when they construct texts on their own.  It is very straight forward and the kids love hearing the stories that emerge as I walk them through the process using examples from my own life.

Pre-Writing Strategy Two:  Timeline
This strategy can be a struggle for some learners as it is very liner and not very "exciting," but for other kids who are drawn more towards structure, this is a great strategy to share. (I teach this second so that both styles of learning are addressed early.) You will have to review what "chronological" means and walk learners through this process of ordering twice before writing.  Choose a fun and interesting story to keep your learners engaged. 

Pre-Writing Strategy Three:  Sketching
This model is used to engage those learners who are not naturally drawn towards writing.  It allows them to incorporate their artistic side with their text.  I have a lot of fun talking and drawing my story with my kids and particularly love sharing the story of my very fat cat, Teeny. (I also use Amelia's Notebook as a model text at the start of this writing session.)

These are the three main strategies I use when starting my writing workshop. I'll add more anchor charts in the near future.
Happy writing!

~Ms. Michelle Louise

Teachers Pay Teachers

First of all, let me say how impressed I am with all of the teachers who keep a consistent and up-to-date blog out there! Bravo! I clearly lost my gusto amidst lesson planning, assemblies, and keeping my 5th graders focused on their year long goals.

I did start spending more time on crafting items for TeachersPayTeachers, so if you get a chance, please take a look at some of my items. Everything that I make, I use! If you have something that you'd like made, please don't hesitate to ask me.  Here are a few of the items I've made and rational behind them. (If you click on the images, they will take you to my store!)

I hope you enjoy!

~Ms. Michelle Louise

I have been leading an after school activity for first graders for 2 years now.  I call it "Stories and Me!" and it is a great way to have fun with little ones while still putting an emphasis on reading.  Each session starts with a healthy snack, roll call, and then a read aloud. After the book (filled with lots of active engagement and funny voices) we do a craft activity related to the book, clean up, then have a sweet snack, and go home.  This all takes place within an hour and is just plain fun!  Since I'm moving to a new school this year, a friend asked if I could pass on my binder of activities so that she can carry on the tradition.  I decided to type it up for her (since it was a little scattered about) and then decided other people could benefit from it as well. So here you go! 15 Weekly Book Activities!

My new school is a huge advocate for parent volunteers. In fact, rumor has it that parents get into arguments about how limited their time is in the classrooms! I am a little worried about managing such...helpful parents, so I created this binder.  The idea is that volunteers can come in, open the binder, learn about our class, fill in a sheet about their role and responsibility, work with the learners and then give me feedback so that I know where to go next. Hopefully this will be a fabulous tool in the classroom!

I love persuasive writing and I love seeing what my learners feel passionate about to try to convince other people to believe what they believe.  I made this poster (and learner notebook) pack because I didn't like the boring typed posters we had for our 5th classrooms. I also wanted something engaging and interesting looking for my learners to put in their writing notebooks. Thus, this was born!

These two sets of reward cards have been my best sellers by far!  I was getting tired of food or store bought rewards for individual behavior, so I created these two sets of cards that were big hits in my classroom!  I laminated them so I could reuse them again and again. The kids really like them and so does my wallet!

These book labels were made out of sheer necessity. The classroom I inherited had poorly labeled and organized book baskets. They were ugly and unappealing, I couldn't imagine any child going over and choosing a book from the baskets that were (at the time) on the shelves. These labels were the very first things I made when I got into my 5th grade classroom and I feel that they accurately reflect most upper elementary school classroom libraries.  

Once I had my book basket labels made, being the OCD person I am, I had to make classroom labels that matched. These are the results.

The last item (other than a free poster) is one that I created for my lower elementary friends.  They wanted a cute and friendly "Star of the Month" poster which learners could fill in share with their classmates. This pack includes a poster for each month, sheets to nominate different stars, and student fill-in forms. I think it's very chic and may use it in my new classroom as well!

The Seven Days of Christmas

We are only 7 days away from winter break (if you count today).  As always around this time of year, my learners were starting to get a little restless and to treat each other not so nicely all the time.  While I tried to stress again and again global citizenship and with freedom comes responsibility I decided it was time to break out a behavior chart in order to earn some holiday classroom cheer.

After scouring Pinterest, I realized there was nothing quite what I needed, so I decided to create something of my own. Here is our '5C Christmas Tree of Goodness and Kindness':

Each morning we talk about how our actions impact others.  Sometimes it's reflecting on a short reading, other times its sharing something positive we have done for others.  Starting our day off thinking about our actions has really helped guide my learners in making better choices.

Our christmas tree has 5 main layers (the top is for the star that we are going to make as a class) and we will use the two sides of the door as decoration space as well.  Each day, the students have the opportunity to earn an ornament for completing their homework on time, helping their classmates, and practicing goodness and kindness.  At the end of the day, the students are given an ornament which they take home to color and then add to our tree the next day.

Our goal is that each student will have at least 5 ornaments on the tree (out of 7 possible days) which will earn them a movie morning of 'Elf' and hot chocolate. The students who haven't earned that right are going to work with another teacher either tutoring younger students or helping around the schools o they can practice goodness and kindness.

So far the kids love it!  Our classroom is getting decorated, spirits are lifting, and it feels great to work towards a common goal.

I've hung this sign by the tree, please feel free to use it in your own classroom.

Happy Holidays!

~Michelle Louise

Book of Inspiration

Sometimes teaching is an overwhelming job. I truly feel that most teachers hold themselves to the highest expectations and stretch themselves very thin.  We love our students, our colleagues, our families, and our friends, and sometimes its hard to find the right balance, especially when our kids start push our buttons.

This past month we had 2 straight weeks of indoor morning and lunch recess... The kids were cranky. I was crabby. I lost my focus on the joy in my classroom and needed a reminder of why I do what I do.
That is where this little gem came in and saved the day:

My aunt was a fantastic teacher and she told me when I first started student teaching to keep a box or book of all the good things that happen in class--emails, letters, student quotes, random thoughts about teaching--and that whenever I felt down, I should pull out those tokens of joy and look at them.

This notebook was bought in a stationary shop when we first moved overseas. The cover says: "Wrote Down Something That Make You Happy Every Day."  That alone makes me smile every time I read it!

This little book has expanded and grown so much that it has a HUGE binder clip on it and I think I'll need to make a new one next year.

Here are a few of my treasured pieces that will hopefully make you smile as well:

A book is easy to keep in your desk but any box or container will do. A little bit of happiness is always right at your fingertips. Enjoy!

~Michelle Louise

First Day Jitters Blog Hop!

I've decided to join Fierce in Fourth's First Day Jitter's Blog Hop!  Every year right before the first day of school I get butterflies--I have a hard time sleeping, I wake up extra early, I giggle for no reason at all...it's kind of like Christmas!  My three First Day Jitters are:

1. Learning how to use Mac products in the classroom effectively.  Our school just acquired MacBooks and iPads for every classroom and I feel very lost as to how to use them other than as substitutes for PCs and notebooks.  I don't want to let my kids (and self) down!

2. I just moved to fifth grade after teaching 2 years of fourth grade and I'm worried about getting back into the swing of things teaching older learners again. They sure seem a lot bigger!

3. Supporting my gifted learners.  Every year I sent out with the goal to create enrichment projects and to spend more time with my gifted learners.  But every year I end up spending lots of time with my low level learners and leave my high level students alone since they already understand the materials.  I'm worried about giving them enough of a challenge. 

Thank you for stopping and reading! I hope you link up!

~Michelle Louise

First Week Organization

Getting Organized.  With all of the rush and the worry of the first week, it is easy to get disorganized.  As a teacher, this is super frustrating when it happens.  You go to find an assignment, or paper, or you forgot what you assigned for homework because your room becomes chaotic. We all know that our classroom needs routines and you need engaging activities to keep your kids focused.  Here are a few tips for keeping that first week running smoothly by getting your organization in place.

1. Create a homework board.  Divide it up by days of the week and subjects.  Assign a student to fill in the board as soon as an assignment is given.  You can always go back and modify it later, but this gives the kids an immediate and constant visual, and takes the work off of you.   Establishing this routine from day 1 eliminates questions at the end of the day regarding homework.

This tool has proven to be immeasurably helpful throughout the years. I list my assignments online for parents and kids, and I use that board to keep everything in order.  I no longer have kids who can come in and say they were absent and weren't aware there was homework.  Parents have stopped in and checked my board because their kids claimed to be homework free for the night.  Having a week long planner also helps me see if I am giving too much or too little homework at any given time.

2.  Binders and folder holders are your friends.  Every subject I teach has it's own binder and folder holder. I used hanging folders for two years and destroyed my materials.  They got squished, crushed, folded, and I was constantly pawing through them trying to find what I needed.  Finally, I wised up, spent a little money, got binders, protective sleeves, and my teaching life became much easier!

~My ever growing reading binder...look at all those pages!~

Does this take time? YES.  You have to be diligent about not letting papers pile and pile and pile up! I go through all of my binders before the first week of school to review what I have, check if I need copies and add information I've created over the summer.  I try hard not to keep loose sheets of paper or to 3 hole punch papers and put them in the binders, otherwise, it's pretty much like keeping your work in hanging file folders.  Each item is in a plastic sleeve and they are sorted according to a particular category.  At the end of each day, I collect all of the papers around the room, sort them back into their binders (or put them in the daily folder) and then I breath easier because I am not chasing down loose sheets of paper.

I use binder holders to keep all of my resource material together.  Again, hanging file folders destroyed a lot of the resources I had spent a lot of money on. Here's how I keep my folder holders right now.  (I am working on creating nicer binder covers, indexes, and folder holder labels):

This helps me keep everything out in the open, teachers, parents, even some kids have asked to look through the books I have.  I don't forget which resources I have or which subjects I can use a workbook   with.  Parents who want to further challenge their kids at home, can easily browse through my materials.

3. Organize everything BEFORE day one! I am constantly amazed at teachers who come in at the start of the school year and leave cabinets filled with piles of art supplies, drawers filled with who knows what, and then complain about their disorganization halfway through the year.  People! Organize yourself!  Spending 2 extra hours to organize, label, and sort your materials will give you peace of mind for months, if not the whole year!  You will know exactly where everything is!  You won't have to scramble, dig, and cause more mess than needed.  Purge and clean! Even your desk should have some semblance of order.

4. Create an organized library.  I walked into a classroom the other day and the library had absolutely no order! Can you imagine what kind of chaos will happen when the kids get in there?!?
To prevent this from happening to you, spend some time after school and get your library together. Do not let your kids use it until you have it complete.  Put an "Under Construction" or "Coming Soon" sign which will build positive suspense.

Some schools have certain ways they like their libraries set up.  We have freedom to set up our libraries as we want and working with upper level elementary school learners I try hard to steer clear of leveled baskets and stickers as it isolates the kids who are above or below their peers.  (I tried the leveled books once in a 5th grade classroom and NO ONE touched the lower level sticker books, even though there were learners who knew that was their "just right level".)

I try to promote authors, series, and themes as best I can.  Go through your library and sort books by authors first.  The ones with lots of books, get their own book baskets. I keep these by my reading chair and try to promote a different writer each week.  Next, organize your series.  One bookshelf in my room has all the series, another is sorted by themes (identity, friendship, school stories, award winners, etc.), and the last holds picture books, magazines, and poetry.

This set up gives my learners the opportunity to browse the baskets they want without the stigma of being a high or low reader.  They can take the basket and find a Just Right book for them inside.

I am very lucky to have a TA who listed all of the titles in each basket to create a catalogue for my students to quickly skim and to help them put their finished books back in the right place.  You could get a student, parent volunteer, or friend to help you put this together.  At the end of the year (or at break) you will have a quick Cheat Sheet to help your library get back in order.

I think that is enough for now.  The main thing to remember, get organized NOW and save yourself a headache later!!!

Best of luck!
~Michelle Louise