Golden

I always enjoy a good color personality test, especially one that's not complicated or lengthy.  Tori from Tori's Teacher Tips is sharing one on her blog, and I couldn't help but link up.  

I am...

According to the test...

At work: I believe that work comes before play, even if I must work overtime to get the job done.

(Amen!  It's hard to enjoy playtime if there's work to be done.)

In love: I am serious and tend to have traditional, conservative views of both love and marriage.

("Wuv.  Twue wuv."  Thank you Princess Bride.)

In childhood: I wanted to follow the rules and regulations of the school.

(I have always been the ultimate rule follower.  No doubt the naughty kids probably drove me crazy when I was little.)

Some golden adjectives:

loyal

dependable

prepared

thorough

sensible

punctual

faithful

stable

organized

I love all those adjectives until I read about the other colors and am envious of some of the characteristics that aren't natural to me.  Regardless, I embrace my golden personality!

If you're curious about your own color, head on over to Tori's blog and join her linky too!

Saturday Sayings: Hope Doesn't Cut It

I double dog dare you to try this.  It's a humbling but helpful experience.  After looking at my lesson plans, I believe a pattern emerged.  The things my students did that actually helped them become better readers and writers were the experiences where they were authentically engrossed in real reading and real writing.  The things that did not get a star were the few activities that were about literacy.  Regie Routman calls this "stuff."  Activities about literacy aren't necessarily evil, but I can't say for sure they moved my students on the literacy continuum.  I simply hope they did.  My goal is to increasingly do less of what I hope makes them better readers and writers and more of what I know will guarantee their growth as members of the literacy club.  Hope just doesn't cut it.  

Now it's your turn to get out the lesson plans.  Be brave!  I promise it won't hurt...too much.

I consider myself blessed today to share this Saturday Sayings post with a few other wonderful teachers.  I know Kimberley and Crystal will have some inspiring words to share with us all.  I'm off to be inspired!

Kimberley

Crystal

Love and Some Logic

Love and Logic is easily one of my favorite classroom management resources.  I haven't posted about it much, but it's on my list of things to share more about in the future.  (Here's a little previous post on arguing, and this one is about our one class rule.  Both ideas are Love and Logic gold mines.)

Love and Logic puts out an email newsletter for parents, which often applies to the classroom as well.  Each one provides a helpful tip.  It's easy and free to sign up.  Click on the picture if you're interested.
  

Depending on whether the tip is useful for parents of first graders or not, I like to create a parent version to send home each week.  I simply copy and paste, and it's ready to go home.  Click on the picture if you'd like a copy.

There are moments when my classroom needs an extra dose of Love and Logic.  If yours does too, you should take a look and see how this resource can help your class as well.

Making it Right

A few years ago I felt the need to teach my children how to say sorry.  This scenario wasn't quite cutting it for me.

Kid 1: I'm sorry.

Kid 2: It's okay.

First off, I'm not sure Kid 1 really meant it or knew what they were even sorry about.  They'd simply learned that saying sorry was the key to getting off the hook.  Secondly, Kid 2's response was sweet but not necessary, because it wasn't okay for Kid 1 to treat them that way.  

This is the way the conversation goes now.  It definitely requires a little more thought than the scenario above.

This is up on our wall.  When there's a need for an apology, the kids head over to the make-it-right spot and take care of business.  It's certainly not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.

Saturday Sayings: Lessons Gone Bad (Plus Guests)

How many times have I finished a lesson and said to myself, "Well, that didn't go so well."  It happens to the best of us, whether we've been teaching for 19 years or 1.  In my opinion, numerous variables can play a part in the demise of a lesson, but I believe Debbie Diller makes a good point here.  If I spend my time during a lesson fighting off-task behavior and dealing with several interruptions, I have a responsibility to reflectively ask myself these three questions:

• Was the task too hard?
• Did I explain and model the task well enough so that the students understood what to do?
• Did I make the purpose of the task clear?

I can witness to the fact that typically my least effective and most frustrating lessons are not the children's fault.  Their behavior was a direct link to my teaching.  Maybe the task was too hard.  That problem can lead to all kinds of behavior issues.  Maybe, and I think this is very common, they simply didn't know how to do what I wanted them to do.  (Regie Routman says, "I do it.  We do it.  We do it.  We do it.  You do it.")  Sometimes we send them off without enough practice to handle the task independently, and thus they don't handle it well at all.  Maybe they didn't even know why they were doing what I asked of them.  If there's no real-life meaning to it and I haven't made it clear, it's much easier to be off-task.  Granted, there are moments when I feel like I do everything right and don't see the results I want, but most of the time, Debbie Diller is right about this.  Without beating myself up, I need to be reflective and recognize the part I play in those lessons that don't turn out like I had hoped.  Selah.  

I've got a pair of lovely guests today.  Sara and Christy would love for you to pay them a visit this morning.  I'll be on my way soon, because I know what they have prepared for us is definitely worth reading.  I'm thoroughly looking forward to their Saturday Sayings.  How about you?

Sara

Christy

Valentimes? (cute video)

One of my goals in life is to teach the world how to pronounce  the word "valentine."  When I say the world, I really mean the world of six-year olds.  This week my little ones got the speech about how our mouths get a wee bit lazy at times and don't quite say words correctly.  "Guess what guys?  There's no such thing as valentime."  Gasp.  It was pretty funny a few days later when one of my boys made sure to tell me that he brought his valentinnnnnes (with a heavy emphasis on the n) to school that day.  Nicely done.

This video is proof that little people do not know how to pronounce that word.  It's a funny video anyway, so you might as well watch.  Enjoy!

Happy Late Valentime's Day!

Thanks Stacy from Simpson's Superstars for inviting me to join your linky today.  If you have something from V-day to share, you should link up as well.

Persuasive Writing Meets Small Moments

I have proof that first graders can write persuasively about things they care about.  They just needed someone to give them the opportunity and to then appreciate their really bad first efforts.  This quote says it all. 

(Click on the quote to read a post about this here thought.)

Honestly though, their really bad first efforts quickly morphed into something worth reading and publishing.  I'm amazed at what they've been able to accomplish less than ten days into the unit.  We have had some help along the way.  Lucy Calkins and this book by Sarah Picard Taylor have been very helpful. 

Without them, I would have never thought to teach the mini-lesson I taught a few days ago.  Up until now, we've been relying heavily upon backing up our opinions with reasons, which is exactly where I've wanted them.  (We had to do something about the excessive use of "pretty please" which just isn't as convincing.)  A few days ago they learned that a significant small moment can also be used to support their opinions.  Honestly, I wasn't sure if they would embrace the concept.  Little did I know.  Check this out. 

Dear Mom, I love you mom.  Remember when we went to the flower patch and we were picking flowers together when I was three?  It was fun, really fun.  That's why I love you, and you are the best mom in the world.  I really love you.  Love, Dejia   

I've already decided Dejia's letter will be a perfect student sample to share when I teach this lesson next year.  I'm so glad I was able to accept their first bad efforts.  It's paying off!  

I'm by no means a persuasive writing expert, but if anyone is curious about additional posts on the topic, check them out here and think about purchasing the book I mentioned above. It's a great resource.