Book Boxes

I haven't been here in awhile. The end of the school year is SO crazy as we all know.  Testing, testing, and more testing.  On top of that, there is all the field trips, projects, game days, and PAPERWORK to be done.  Well, here I am 4 days into summer vacation and what I have decided to do? Prepare for next year! Yes, I know what you are thinking but hey I love my job!

I have struggled with book boxes since I began using The Daily 5.  I had a system worked out for the past few years but have come realize all its limitations.  Not all books would fit in the tubs I was using, especially hard covered books.  If there were too many books in a tub it would not fit back on the shelf.  Books would get bent and badly beaten up in these tubs. I decided I needed a new system for next year.


I considered the plastic magazine holders.  I thought about how I sometimes I see 2 or 3 on clearance at Target or Walmart.  But then I realized, who am I kidding, if they didn't all match it would drive me CRAZY.  If you knew me, you would completely understand!

I've heard over and over again about the super cheap magazine boxes that Ikea sells but the state I live in does not have Ikea.  In fact, they were raved about at the Two Sisters Workshop I went to in March.  However, a few months ago I was in Denver and stopped by Ikea (YAY!) to look at some of those famous 5 for $1.99 cardboard magazine boxes.  Well, as much as I love the price, I do not love that I have to go over 600 miles to get them.  I decided to give in and I bought 30 of them, toted them home with me and shoved them in a spare room at home and shut the door.

Now, fast forward to today.  Here I am on day 4 of vacation and I am thinking about school, school, and more school.  I am excited to prepare for next year but thought what could I do from home to pass some of my boredom.  I pulled out my book boxes and started thinking how I could make them last through the whole year, possibly longer.  I decided on duct tape.  Target sells all sorts of great colors and I thought this would be perfect!  I really wanted to get the cool designed tape but it was too expensive!  I gave it a try tonight and I am super excited about the outcome.  I posted some pictures below.  I bought purple, red, blue, and green.  Not only do I think these will last, but these great colors will add some brightness to my classroom.  I am excited to try them out next year! :-) 

Motivation

I just recently had a bit of a "disagreement of opinion" with someone over motivation.  This person insisted that children who have little parental support and/or involvement in their education do not have enough motivation to perform well on their own, therefore they need incentives to do well, such as prizes or parties, or whatnot.  Well, I cannot disagree more!  

I stated that why would you toy with a child's intrinsic motivation by saying "if you do well on this test, I will give you -fill in the blank-".  I just do not feel like that is what we should do as teachers.  This person responded to me- oh you must work in an area with high parent involvement, you don't know what it is like in my district.  Again, wrong! 

I work at a school in a very poor area.  I have students who would rather be at school than at home because their home environment is not a good one.  I have students who eat breakfast and lunch at school and that is all they get to eat each day.  I have students who have parents who work two or three jobs just to pay rent so they do not have time to be involved in school.  None of this means that my students will not succeed unless I bribe them to!

I learned recently to LET GO, to GIVE IN, and to TRUST my students to make the right choices.  They understand- even at first grade- that there is a cause and effect for everything.  My students know that if they choose not to read then they will not become a better reader.  They also know that they need these skills and that they need to work hard to get them.  All of this is not because I gave them a prize or a party, but because I express to them each and every single day the importance of what we do in our classroom.

After writing all of this, and thinking through this conversation again and again, I am reminded of one of my favorite professors from college.  He was very big on the motivation research in education; the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the how's, why's, and what's behind it.  I'd like to think he would be proud to hear me say all of this right now :-).  


Children are likely to live up to what you believe them to be...

Guilt...

I've had a lot of guilt feelings this past school year.  I walk by other teachers' classrooms and see these beautiful arts and crafts projects hanging in the windows.  I stop and think, hmm, I don't do those things in my classroom- I'm a terrible teacher!  My children have no finished product to take home (except the occasional celebration or social studies unit that allows for it).  Then I begin to argue with myself about where I can fit these things in.  Where can I cut time out of to make time for arts and crafts.  Reading? Writing? Math? Absolutely NOT! Then I finally give up and just sulk about it for awhile.  

I have to ask... What are these kiddos really learning from cutting and pasting leprechauns or pots of gold? Honestly, not much.  If they are lucky, their teacher reads them a good story first or makes them write about their creation.  I'm sure they enjoy the experience of the scissors, glue, markers, crayons, and glitter. And after that, I bet they go home and are super excited to show their mom and dad what a beautiful project they made, and guess what else, I bet mom and dad are even more excited to hang it on the fridge for a while until the next beautiful project comes home and the last one gets shoved in a drawer, box, closet, or even thrown away.

Well, I must say- I think I've finally come to my senses.  Reading and writing arts and crafts are cute, but you probably will not find those in my class this year, next year, or probably ever.  My students may not come home with the latest creation that their teacher was so excited to find online and share with all the other teachers at their grade level.  My students probably won't have a box at home labeled "1st Grade" filled with all the scissors, glue, marker, crayon, and glitter creations for that year.  


So what, you ask, will my students come home with?  My students will come home with the ability to read!  They will come home with the confidence to pick up a book and read it to their mom, dad, brother, sister, or anyone because they know they have all the tools needed to tackle that book.  They know that they will be able to read the words and understand what they read- and if they do not, they know that they will have strategies to help them figure it out.  My students will not struggle come the next school year because their teacher cut down their reading time to fit in another arts and crafts project.  My students will take home the knowledge gained from the HUNDREDS of books they read all year in my classroom.  They will take home the ability to sit down and read on their own for 15, 20, or even 30 minutes, even though they are "only 6 years old".  They will take home the feeling that their teacher believes they are an AMAZING reader and cannot wait to read with them again tomorrow.  


So, next time I walk by those windows I won't feel guilty anymore.  I will feel proud that I am giving my students something that some teachers will never give them- the time, energy, effort, and excitement of becoming life-long readers. Good-bye guilt!

WOW!!!

I am enlightened, inspired, and EXCITED!  The Daily 5/CAFE workshop was absolutely amazing.   I had read both books prior to attending.  The Daily 5, I read about 3 years ago and then again, for the 2nd time, last summer.  CAFE I finished reading for the 2nd time about 4 weeks ago.  After attending the workshop I felt like- wow! I had all the pieces to the puzzle, I just didn't know how they fit together.  All the research that the two sisters use to support their work was absolutely on target with everything I never knew that I always knew!

How many times have you been teaching a lesson and you're kids slowly fall apart, one by one they all lose focus and you end up getting no where with the lesson.  According to the brain research shared by the sisters, children can only maintain upper level cortex thinking for about the same number of minutes as they are age in years.  So then I have to ask myself, why on earth have I been trying to hold my students' attention for 20-30 minutes "mini" lessons?  They weren't so "mini" were they!?  Just because I am "required" to use a scripted, boxed curriculum, does not mean I am required to use it like "they" say I should.  I can use this program, with all it's content, and do what is best for my students at the same time.  I can break it up into pieces and not only make my life easier but help my students to enjoy learning and get much more out of each lesson. 

"Guided Reading"- what does it mean anyway? Guiding children to become better readers. Why then, does it have to be done by level? It doesn't!  I always thought that was the only way, but it's amazing how 6 kids who read the same "level" of book need 6 very different things to guide them.  The workshop helped me to see the importance of strategy groups and one-on-one conferencing with my students.  I never thought that I could reach my students the way that I can now.  Just in the first week of trying this "new" way of teaching reading, I not only was able to meet with every one of my 21 students 3 times within one week, but I was also able to meet with my struggling readers every single day.  Just by working my students into strategy groups, cutting the time in half, and meeting with students one-on-one, more than half of my class is now able to articulate their personal reading goal and they are actually trying to practice that goal independently. 

I feel like I am in 7th heaven with all of this.  I am more excited than ever to teach reading.  Teaching reading has been my main interest for a few years now and I feel like now it is truly what I am passionate about.  I am excited to continue trying these new ideas in my classroom and I cannot wait until next school year when I can start from the beginning of the year.  I will be interested to see what a difference it makes in reading progress and behavior in my classroom. 

I absolutely recommend this experience to anyone who can take advantage of it.  The two sisters really know what they are talking about and if this is not developmentally appropriate then I don't know what it!

Wow! My first post- this is a lot of pressure!  So, a little background, I have been sitting here staring at this "blogger" page for four days trying to figure out just how this all works.  I wanted to start this blog because I felt like it is such a great way to be a more reflective teacher- something I always strive to do.  The question "why?" always gets me.  I know why, I just have a hard time expressing it.  I want to be able to share the "why's" and "how's" and "what's" of my classroom.  I want to share amazing resources and exciting news!  I am so excited to begin this journey and hopefully you will enjoy following me.

With that said, the beginning of my journey starts here- Spring Break 2012.  I am anxiously awaiting the 17th and 18th as I will be heading to Phoenix, AZ to attend the Daily 5 and CAFE workshop given by the sisters themselves!  I have been embarking on the Daily 5 and CAFE implementation journey for the past two and a half years and I am IN LOVE WITH IT!  What an amazing resource!  So, please stayed tuned for highlights from the workshop because I am sure I will have plenty to say!