The fear of the first math test of the year...

I know it seems late to have finally had our first math test this year, but that's the way it is. Between an intro unit assessing where they all are and a slow go with place value, adding and subtracting - we have only just got there.

I always have a fear giving that first test because the kids,  no matter how prepared I feel they are, I feel they never fully show their potential on that first test.

I think it partly lies with their anxiety for the first test. They are either completely distraught about the idea of a test which impairs their ability. You can almost feel those kids quaking in their boots when you hand out the test.

The other problem lies with the children who are overconfident or are completely unaware of how well they understand the material. These students do not prepare or ask the right questions. They run into issues with little mistakes and usually end up with at least 2 grade levels below where they expect themselves to be. 

As I sat marking the test I soon learned who was who and I started to get that feeling that maybe I missed telling the whole class something or maybe my new math group system actually doesn't work... You know that feeling as you keep marking the same silly mistakes. But when the tests are finally tallied up and it turns out 2 kids got perfect marks, most students had a C+ or higher and your usual suspects are a C or lower, the fear subsides and you feel good about your math teaching again! :-D

Best thing to happen ever!

I have tables! No more desks. No more garbage being stuffed into endless abysses.  No more puking desk disasters. You've all experienced it.

I understand that nothing is perfect and there will be huge limitations to this as well but right now they are so shiny and pretty!

The kids were nervous and had no idea what to expect. But when they sat in their new spots they were so happy.  Some comments were along the lines of,  "No one will tell me my hands are on their area any more"  or "I actually have room to work"  or "There is space for my body underneath".

The beginning of Daily 3

Well after spending June reading "Daily 5" and the "Cafe", by the sisters, I was like anyone who has read them. I was inspired! The summer was spent figuring out how to make it work in my grade 5/6 classroom.

I knew it was a great solution to the problems I always ran into with students all working at different levels, copious numbers of ESL and students with special needs. But the logistics of time with an intermediate classroom and the idea of changing my teaching style 180° was a little more than daunting.

In the past few years of teaching I have learned that my teaching conscious can't let me be lazy and if I know that something is better than I have to go do it. So I spent the summer figuring the logistics and here we are 5 and a bit weeks with these new students and I am absolutely loving the change.

I do 'daily 3' 4 afternoons a week, though 2 of this afternoons it is only for 45 minutes and one hour respectively. The other two afternoons it is the full 2 hours. It will end up giving me 6-7 rotations per week which are about 30 minutes of independent work time for students. We have been building our stamina since the first day we were together. We can do 30 minutes of independent reading and about 22 minutes of writing. I have only just launched word work today, though that being said they did 25 minutes without any trouble today.

I am in the process of setting up groups and teaching mini-lessons to get cafe really under way. I believe it is the heart of the instruction and definitely my next challenge!

Do you use the daily 5 or cafe in your intermediate classroom?

Ready to get going!

I don't think I have ever been this eager to start a school year with a new bunch of kidlets!

It has nothing to do with the bunch of kids though and everything to do with how I'm going to teach them this year.I have so many plans after being inspired by many amazing colleagues and of course, Pinterest! I spent way more time organizing my classroom, though it is not evident from this picture...

This was after Day 1 of working and the goal was the lazy susan's in the middle of each Tribe. I love this idea which I got from my wonderful mother (it is circulating Pinterest as well). My favorite part is the fern in the middle. It is absolutely amazing how much it changes the feel of the classroom.

In our school, the kids all bring their own supplies. I would love to collect money and buy all the supplies for all the kids, but I can't get everyone on board. I get it, I wouldn't want to do the extra work if the system worked for me. But a girl can still dream! So my hope is to recreate that idea by collecting all of my students pencils, pens, highlighters and paper to create a communal supply of stuff. My hope is that it is yet another strategy for building the classroom community, as well as helping all the students to have supplies all the time.

Here's hoping that my brilliant plan is successful!

The Beginning of a Journey

Well this is the beginning of a new journey that I am hoping will add to my continued journey as an intermediate teacher. I really consider myself a life long learner, as I encourage my students to be, and as such I spend a lot of time reflecting on my teaching and my experiences with my students.

I am a 6th year teacher, though have had a class for 4 years. The first two years of my teaching career were spent doing the dog's breakfast job in a school which included, resource support, ESL instruction, aboriginal student support and covering classroom teacher's non-instructional time. Currently I am teaching grade 5 and 6, though I have taught grade 4 as well. I love this age group because I love their curiosity about the world and the depth in which you can cover material. They are in that gap between kid and teen and they are just discovering who they are as people.

In this blog, my hopes are that I can explore some of my new ideas, tell how some new initiatives are working and share things that I think are working well. Thanks for reading!