New Year, New You!

I am currently in week eight (yes, eight!) of the 2018-2019 school year. 

My students are currently engrossed in our blogging project. They are reading real blogs from kids their age, the inspiring blog from Braeden's Art, and my own.

Sadly, I haven't updated my blog since this past March. MARCH.

I am not entirely sure why. I could blame the ending of the school year, my family's move, my constant feeling of yuck for the curriculum (which isn't that bad this year), or just the lack of desire to write.

It may be a combination of all of these things or none at all. In any sense...

The start to this year was awesome. I got to continue the use of Jon Corippo's Smart Start. Students are emersed in all the tech, sites, and protocols that will be used throughout the year. Sure, it takes about two weeks of the year, but I gain it back two folds later. You see, when I assign a project I don't have to go over the tech or how to use or create using a tool. It has already been covered and students have the example and steps saved in their Drive. 

Last year, I struggled quite a bit with our new curriculum, supplementing grammar and writing where the curriculum lack, and holding steadfast to not assigning homework. I failed. Failed with grace and style. But I still failed.

I have come back to the wonderful world of #FlipClass. Grammar and writing is lacking in our curriculum, so doing Flipped Class with my students coordinated with The Writing Revolution (a district given text I actually like!) has worked wonders! I am using Edpuzzle for housing my videos as well as using videos already added to Edpuzzle. I get a great overview of what students know, what I need to cover the next day (if needed), and that frees my time to have students put the subject matter into practice. 

I think this year I have found a better balance with the new curriculum, my student's needs, and my time. As flexible as I am, I thought this would have come sooner, but at last, I am here. I feel good. And I can help my students the best way I can. 

Here is to my eighteenth year! 

Fitting it all in....

The new school year is upon us and off and running! I can hardly believe that we are already in the new year!

This year, thankfully, I am able to ease up on the new curriculum and do what I know is best for students. This is and was AMAZING news! Last year my department was given new curriculum and told to follow pretty closely....I am thankful we have been given some leeway. More about that struggle here. 

Although I get to bring back some #eduawesome stuff, I still am lacking the amount of time I have had just two years ago. So I feel as though I am back to the drawing board, AGAIN. How do I teach all I need to in just fifty-five minutes when I used to have eighty-eight?

Our new curriculum is missing grammar and writing. I tried to supplement last year as much as I can. It's difficult as English is one subject, and then literature is another; that is how I used to break down my block periods. Now I have to find a way to bring in the grammar and writing throughout the readings. That shouldn't be difficult, and yet it very much is.

I feel that my seventh graders (and looking at the dismal scores I just received) need a healthy dose of grammar and sentence structure. Doing grammar here and there when needed last year didn't work. Students, although they have had grammar throughout elementary school, don't always remember the rules or even what the parts of speech are. I use and LOVE 8 p*ARTS from Jon Corripo and Cheryl Morris, but once a week isn't cutting it. Plus, if a lesson runs over or the class needs more time on something, the first thing that is moved is grammar.


So how do I do it?

I had to reach out to my AMAZING PLN on Voxer.

I seriously love the ELA peeps on our Flipped Learning Voxer group. They are always inspiring, passionate, wonderful listeners, and full of perfect suggestions and advice. Without them and all of my PLN, I would be lost. They told me what I already knew.


As I am still struggling with fitting it all in. I had to ask my Voxer group "How do I fit grammar, writing, reading, research, listening and speaking all in one period?!"

They said:

You don't.

They are right. I don't. I put things together. Cover topics in multitudes. And perhaps the most important, I do what is BEST for my students.

But as we have entered 2018, I am STILL feeling stuck.

I am still struggling. 

It feels as if I am a brand new teacher all over again. I second guess myself, my lessons, and what I should do next. I keep thinking back to my incredibly low scores from this past year. I NEVER stress about scores! They are a moment in a student's life! But this year, they have crept into my brain, returning over and over stressing me out. They are a part of me know.

Ugh.

In moments like these, I am thankful that I can reach out. That I can talk to other educators that lift me up. Those that remind me that I can do this. That I have before and I will again. 

It's moments like these, that I know I will make it. Sure, it's difficult and I have been down on myself, but colleagues near and far are here helping me along. I have students that make me smile daily. And it is all my students, who remind me why I am here. For them.

2015-New year, new Experiences

This school year has been a whirlwind! I am a new mom, starting a new class, and haven't blogged in what seems like forever!

Time to get back to it!

This year is nuts! I have been teaching for fifteen years now, but this year feels brand new. I was given a new section of eighth grade English students. I have never wanted to teach eighth graders. Never. As much as I have always liked my former students to visit as eighth graders, I have known how "high and mighty" they feel on top of the junior high totem pole. However, the numbers needed it.

In my new class, I only have five students that were in my class as seventh graders. Keeping this in mind, I wanted to keep some of the same aspects that I have in seventh: rules, flexibility, choice, technology integration, etc. But I also wanted to make my eighth grade class like no other. How would I do that without truly knowing the curriculum?

As we all know, teachers set the tone the very first day of school. So I wanted to do something special, something different with my eighth graders. I have been successful with a first day scavenger hunt with my seventh graders, but since the eighth graders knew the campus well, I needed to up my game.

Enter the "Instagram Scavenger Hunt".

Because my students knew the school and knew who I was (even though I didn't know them!) they were comfortable and ready to explore. As students entered, I played Weird Al's "Word Crimes" and welcomed them to the Duck Pond. 

Once the bell rang, I introduced myself and told them we were now going to go on a scavenger hunt. They were floored! They were ready for the challenge.

Even the staff on campus were excited and involved! Here is our principal, Mr. Webb with students taking a "groupie".

A student example of one of the challenges of making "OJHS" in nature.

Students had a great time and loved using their phones and Instagram accounts or the classrooms. Definitely worth doing again!

Now my challenge is creating a photo challenge that is content oriented OR have my students create one!

What could you create as a photo scavenger hunt? I would love to hear!

Connect Parents to your Class with Class Story!

It's the time of year...

The Back-to-School commercials and sales are here. Parents are taking their children to the mall for new clothes and supplies, while teachers prepare their room, syllabi, and lessons. Schools are having their Round-ups with students checking out the campus, seeing their classrooms, and getting their books.

Even I have been in my classroom prepping for the year. Organizing desks, updating my blog and website, and generally getting PUMPED for the year.

Who else is getting pumped? ClassDoj!

I love ClassDojo! ClassDojo is a great way to encourage students, engage parents, and, importantly, save time! Students of all ages love it! Trust me, my seventh grade students even love it! The love the "ping", the rewards, and the instant feedback they receive. Okay, and they can customize their monster avatars too! Parents love it for the same reasons!

But ClassDojo has ANOTHER new feature for us educators! First it was groups, now it is.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

A Class Story!!

Yes, you heard correctly, now parents and guardians can feel like they are in the action of your classroom!

PARENTS CONNECT WITH A WALL YOU SHARE!





Now you can share with parents all that is #EduAWESOME in your classroom with text and picture updates! Unlike other social media sites, ClassDojo only shares with those parents and guardians that are connected to you and your classroom. Plus, YOU can see when parents see your wall as they can "like" your posts.

Have an idea for Class Story? AWESOME! ClassDojo will be asking YOU for what features you would like to see for Class Story, including video and audio notes.







LOVE what you are reading? Starting August 5th, you can sign up to be a beta tester of ClassDojo Class Story. 

Genius Hour-Introduced!

It's here! Genius Hour has been introduced and I can't even begin to describe how excited my students are!

To hook my students, I had to show The Kid President:

The Kid President had them. They laughed! They understood when he said, "We were made to be awesome." We were! Now it is time to "Create something that will make the world awesome."
 

 

"Create something that will make the world awesome."

After the talk that got my kids talking....I asked them, has there ever been a time in school when YOU got to learn about something you truly wanted? When you chose what to learn?

The room erupted into chatter, laughter, and a resounding "NO!" by all students.Then came my moment to say, "Well guys, that is exactly what is going to happen."

I have three classes (we have a block English schedule) and for a moment the room stood silent.

They didn't believe me...at first. I then went and described the Passion Project. Each student would have Genius Hour to research their passion. That even I would join them on this journey. We were going to discover our genius because as the wonderful and inspirational Angela Maiers says:

They were floored! Excited! Ideas began pouring forth! Discussion, empowerment, pure excitement....about learning!
Here is a screen shot of our Wonder Wall on Padlet with just a sample of ideas for projects:

Our journey begins next week! Our first hour of Genius Hour. I can't wait and more importantly, neither can my students!

I have always known the importance and power of student choice in the classroom. But to give students the ultimate choice of directing their learning?! Even more powerful, important, and inspiring of all!

Here's to next week!

The Great idea....that wasn't.

Like every teacher who hears a brand new and great idea....I wanted to try it out. IMMEDIATELY.

And like many out there....I don't always think my actions through.

Today, that happened. 

During a #Smartee chat, I heard of a great idea of using dry erase markers...on the student's desks. Genius! This way students won't have to waste paper when working out problems in math, combining sentences, or simply completing some review or practice questions. Why hadn't I thought of that?!

Of course I wanted to try this with my students!

So today, during my interjections and conjunctions lesson, I asked my students to take out their dry erase markers. "Our boards too?" a student asked. 

"Nope!"

My students were SO excited to be doing such a taboo thing as writing on their desks! They were into the lesson and their desks. Little did I know....that my desks were not the easy to wipe off kind of desks, but  the kind that literally soaks up the marker!

Epic. Fail.

All I could do was laugh! I made a mistake. I tried something new and it did not work. 

But at least we had fun in the process!