Trust

“Trust is a little bit like love, when you give it, you receive it.”  In my opinion, this quote from Houston and Sokolow defines trust. Trustworthy people confide in others who will be true to them.  I agree with the chapter when it states that trust is the foundation which our relationships are built on. As I evaluate my deep relationships, I see a common thread which is trust. .

I am very lucky to have had the same best friends for over 20 years. I have three friends who I have grown up with. We can share anything with each other. We are four totally different people who are constantly intertwined. I am truly myself with these ladies. I had wonderful friends in college, but the relationships did not seem to compare to my “old” friendships. We know each other inside and out and it always feels good to be yourself. I can trust that we will have each other no matter what. I also have a newer friend who I can confide in. We have so much in common, so it is always nice to travel through some challenges together. Once again I can be myself with her and I feel her trust. Considering Houston and Sokolow’s analogy of floors, my husband is also on the top floor.

A few years ago I met someone who I did not trust. I felt that she saw the world as a “zero game”. Sokolow and Houston explain that these people cannot be trusted. They feel like they need to knock others down to feel good. I struggled to get along with her because of the distrust that we had for each other.  As I got to know this person, I felt that her own insecurities made her feel like she had to compete with others. Our relationship built into something positive, but because of the shaky foundation, I never opened up to her.  

I feel that if we all support each other and accept others for who we/they are, great things can happen. I catch myself trying to fit into multiple pairs of shoes at times. I want others to see me as someone I might not be. This needs to stop. I am going to end this blog with some wise words from Houston and Sokolow’s chapter on trust, “The world is made up of a lot of imperfect people trying to move forward.” We are all trying to do the same thing....let’s help one another!

March - Best Writing Strategy

In 2005 our district adopted a writing curriculum called Step Up to Writing. I love this program and totally believe in their simple tools. This curriculum teaches the basic steps to developing solid paragraphs through complete sentences with topic sentences, important details, reason/details/facts and conclusions. Kindergarten teachers start their morning routine with a letter written to their classes using the step up model about what they will be doing that day. First grade works with complete sentences, transition words, and developing five sentences paragraphs. At the second grade level our goal is to have most of our students leaving second grade with the ability to develop an eight sentence structured paragraph. By the time a child is in fourth grade, they are writing five paragraph papers with topic and conclusion paragraphs. This curriculum builds a solid foundation for writing throughout the years. I feel that the continuous building with shared language is what our students need. They are more focused on the content of their paper rather than the structure. As a kids I remember the stress that accompanied writing. I always knew what I wanted to report, but the structure of the paper made me feel uncomfortable. Step Up to Writing is helping our students become solid writers. This anchor chart is not from Step Up, but I feel that it does a great job of explaining how writing can be set up!

Tech Plan

As a teacher it is very important to keep up with technology. Students need to be introduced to new tools that help them grow as learners. As teachers it is our responsibility to expose our students to different ways of learning. While researching exercise and the brain I came across a great statement from Eric Jensen that I feel also applies to using technology in the classroom. This is a little excerpt from my ROL.

Eric Jensen shares his opinion when he states, “It is astonishing that the dominant model for learning is still, “sit and git.” It’s not astonishing, it’s embarrassing” (1998, p. 60). Strong environmental influences are changing the way our students think and process information. Teachers need to change their teaching styles to accommodate the learners who are entering their classrooms today.

Naturally students gravitate towards new technology. They enjoy the quick, entertaining applications and results that the new tools provide. I work with a team of very experienced teachers. I see the fear that they have for new technology tools. I do not want that to be me. I know that if I do not make a plan for myself, I will wind up feeling uncomfortable too!

Technology Plan/Goals

• Find a new tool monthly. I find a new tool to implement monthly.
• Through Website, Tech For Teachers
• Research Blogs
• Attend Appy Hour
•  
• Stay Updated!
• My child will be a kindergartener next year, so I think that it will be easier for me to stay connected!
• Be OPEN to try new things!

eBooks

The new tech tool that I used last week was the use of an eBook for my entire class. As a school we are celebrating I Love to read month through activities and lessons that surround the Olympics. Our media specialist has purchased some eBooks that our classes can choose from. He purchased a few fictional stories that focus on winter sports such as figure skating and snowboarding and one nonfiction book about the Olympics. The book that our class sampled on Friday was the nonfiction Olympic fact book titled, The World of Olympics by Nick Hunter. He purchased the book though the Capstone Library site. Viewing the book was very simple; just a few clicks. I found this way of reading beneficial in three different ways. First, the book started with a catchy theme song which pulled the kids right in. The Olympic song made them feel that they had the stadium. Next, the book allowed them to follow the highlighted words as the audio progressed through the book. They were part of the reading experience. And lastly, I really enjoyed that they were able to view the pictures of the landmarks and events as the book explained them. It was really cool to see a nonfiction book presented on the big screen. I allowed the audio reader to read on Friday. I think that in the future I will read the book to the kids. I felt that the reader did not have as much emotion in her voice as she

 could have. I also felt that how they presented their information on the side bar was very helpful. It would be easy to select books for your class with the information that they provided. This is what the side bar listed for The World of Olympics...

 

ISBN:978-1-4329-8504-2

Copyright:2012

Author:Hunter, Nick

Illustrator:

Dewey:796.48

Grade Range:3 - 5

Interest Range:3 - 5

Guided Reading Level:T

Lexile:980L

Publisher:Heinemann-Raintree

Brand:Heinemann-Raintree

Series:The Olympics

Language:English

Runtime:23 min 47 sec

ATOS^TM (AR^TM Level):6.9

AR^TM Quiz Number:144920e

 

This type of technology integration is not very high on the SAMR model, although, I do feel that it is another way for kids to access literature. Students are able to follow along and we do not need twenty five copies to do that. They also enjoyed the idea of experiencing something "new". I will definitely think of purchasing a few ebooks for my class throughout the year.

Persistence

I definitely needed PERSISTENCE this week! This is when and how I used it....

P - pushing through the ugly flu bug!
E- Evaluating what was important and taking baby steps!
R - Remembering that I CAN DO IT, and EVERYTHING will get done!
S - Stop and think.... a good attitude is worth so much!
I - Include others...I can take help from others
S - Students.....keep pushing them to try their best to succeed
T- Tackling the changing schedule because of COLD days
E - Everyday has challenges that require persistence
N - NEVER give up on a task that seems too big
C - Connecting with parents at conferences
E - Excellent Advice from Einsteins!

The  Persistence Einstein image caught my eye! I needed a coworker to tell me to slow down and take a day to recover from the flu at home. I took today off and went into conferences later. I feel so much better and my attitude has totally changed. I do need to take care of myself. He told me to get some rest and recover. I am glad that I did that, so I can finally feel like myself again!

Haiku Deck

Quick, Cool and Easy are three words to describe the new technology tool that I was introduced to! Haiku deck is simple and very attractive! I can't stop making the slide shows, and  my five year old is addicted too! He has made a slide show about zoo animals, toys, and sports! This app is so user friendly that he can navigate through it with a few clicks!

At our last test data meeting, we discovered that our weakness in math is number sense. I decided to use Haiku deck to help me out with this weakness! I created a five page slide show titled, Numbers for your Noggin! For every day of the week I created a slide that tackled basic number sense skills.

Monday - basic identification of numbers
Tuesday - Before, After, and Between
Wednesday - Odd/Even
Thursday - Greater Than/Less Than
Friday - Review of Monday - Thursday

Each slide had five questions that covered the skill listed above. The backgrounds are decorated with math/number pictures. The content is very basic, but it looks entertaining because of the Haiku presentation styles. I used Air server to project my ipad on the board. We went through the daily slide  together on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday I gave them a matching worksheet where they filled in their answers. I will continue to use this same slide show, editing the dates and the problems within the show. I think it is a great way to start math. The kids enjoyed the quick review and I hope that this will help with our weakness in number sense!

February Group Post, Favorite Behavior Management Tool

When kids play games, what do they like to be? Kids love to be "it" and they will jump through hoops for the opportunity! In my classroom the kids sit in groups of five. Each group is given a letter and their letter is placed on the board. Throughout the week kids can earn points for their team. They earn points by following directions, listening, helping peers, keeping our classroom organized and clean, and quality work. Kids can earn individual points (Example..."Wow, Jack thanks for helping Mike pick up his crayons, you've just earned a point for your group" ) or group points ( "the group that has their area the most organized gets a point"). The group with the highest number of tallies per week wins! Together they pick a community building game of their choice, such as four corners, whomp it, zoo keeper, cat and mouse and so on. I then create a way for each member of the team to be "it". They love it! The whole class gets rewarded with a game that has so many benefits for all! The kids are up, moving and building relationships! Everybody Wins!

Tech Tools! Schoology and Brain Pop Jr.

I have used these two tech tools throughout the year, but last week I used them to a different level! Schoology is “facebook” for our classroom. Parents in our district join their child’s classroom page for updates and communication. Parents can view upcoming events, pictures, lessons, spelling lists, special links and websites that teachers recommend. I love it! It is a quick and easy way to communicate at a high quality level. I am very lucky this year! All of my parents have access to the internet, so this is the only way that I communicate with them. It saves on paper and time!

Last week my students studied special Americans. They read books about several special Americans and also used brain pop as a research tool. Brain Pop Jr. is great! It gives the students a 4-5 minute video/tutorial about information at their level. This reminds me of the TV show, The Office! I love when Michael asks fellow employees to explain things to him as if he were a third grader! I want that sometimes too! Anyways, I love knowing that every video on Brain pop will be at their level of understanding. My students watched short videos about Special Americans. They watched the Rosa Parks and Abraham Lincoln videos. They then created a poster about a special American of their choice with a partner. We did not have the IPad cart that day, but if I had the cart, I would have allowed my students to choose a special American from Brain pop to learn more about. This is a great research tool.

When they students were done with their posters, we put them up around the classroom and had “Special American Museum.” Half of the kids walked around to view the posters while the other half stood by their posters to explain and give facts about their special American. As they were doing this, I was walking around taking videos of the presentations. I put them on Schoology, so the parents could view the videos, and so my students could view their peer’s videos to learn more about other Special Americans! Two tech tools in one lesson!

January Group Post - Art and Math TOGETHER

Over the past three years, I have been involved with a Math Grant through the Minnesota Art's Board. It is called Math SmARTs. I have been working with another teacher and several Saint Cloud Artists (Tile and Dance) to create lessons that infuse art into math. This has been a great opportunity for myself and my students. Students are able to see that math is everywhere. The sessions are split into dance and tile lessons. During the dance lessons students use their bodies to create 3-D and 2-D shapes, Equilateral shapes, symmetry and asymmetrical movements. They are counting as they are moving and using "math" vocabulary the entire time. Movement is so important, especially for our kinesthetic learners. The students have a deep understanding of how their bodies are shapes and geometrical figures. The visual art lessons explain that math has been present in architecture for thousands of years. The students create real tiles that show symmetry, intersections and midpoints. They also create a tile that is split into seven pieces making a tangram. They use rulers to measure and create their tiles. Using math in creative ways has been eye opening for my students. I will continue to use the strategies that I have learned from this grant, when the money runs out. It is so beneficial for our students to use their bodies to create shapes and movement. I also believe that exposing them to why/how math is used in the real world is beneficial.