Making Our Littles Feel Special

It's an ever growing challenge.  Each day we have a handful of students that just don't seem to have the support from home and they crave it from us.  These are our kiddos that dread academics of any kind.  They have little to no motivation because in all honesty, who cares how they do at school?  Some are simply trying to survive.  I have tried to teach intrinsic motivation, given pep talks--you've heard the ones:

"You are defined by your actions, not your circumstances."

When your nine and your home life is unstable, these aren't exactly the words that are life changing.  We also need to realize that we can't change lives with fancy tag lines, but through OUR actions.

For these kids, an emotional bond gives them a reason to try and further more a desire to please.

I have found a few simple strategies within my own classroom to promote a positive climate.  It has shown change in even the most unreachable reachable little.  Here are a few of my favorites!

ClassDojo is amazing on so many levels, but this new addition is a simple way to highlight the positives.  This February, ClassDojo just released this free download and teachers are loving it! "Shout Outs" correlates right along with PBIS pedagogy.  Notice the positive, and the students will continue that behavior in the hopes of more positive feedback. This could be handing out small notes in passing or creating a classroom "Shout Out" board to recognize students publicly in your classroom.

Check-In/Out Systems are not a fix-all strategy, but it's a daily effort to stop and simply say, "Good morning, _______!  I'm so glad you're here!"  It lets the student know that he/she is noticed and acknowledgment goes a long way.  These are usually for my littles that need a little extra guidance in organization due to a lack of parental involvement at home.  The ones that never have their homework done, get their planner signed, etc.  Rather than handing out consequences that really should be for the parent, I stop and go through what is needed to be successful that evening.  We go through the take home folder, organize the homework to ensure they have what they need and send them on their way.  This takes minutes during the pack up time of the day, but is extremely helpful for that kiddo that is on his/her own after school.  The next morning we check-in and I praise them for having completed what was assigned the day before!  These may be the kids that need a little extrinsic motivation to get started (piece of candy, ticket, whatever!), but eventually the positive praise you give them will be all the motivation they begin to desire.  

Tootling NOT Tattling! is a fantastic strategy from SCSD Behavior Matters.  You can click here to learn more.  It teaches our littles to see the good in each other and to recognize those behaviors by sharing on the Tootling board. 

Morning Meetings are one of my favorites.  A teacher colleague shared this goodie with me a couple of years ago and it has completely altered the climate of my classroom.  Here are the basics:

1. Circle Time:  Classroom gathers in a circle each morning at a predetermined spot in the room. 
2. Greeting:  Each student says "Good morning, ______" to the person to his/her left and then right until everyone has been greeted.
3. Student Shares:  1-2 students share something special going on at home, in sports, anything that matters to them followed by 1-2 questions/comments from peers relating to the shared topic.  This allows students to practice speaking and listening skills including volume, eye contact, responding to questions...invaluable time spent each morning.
4. Teacher Shares:  I always share something personal to allow my littles to get to know me.  Funny moments with my husband, goals I'm working towards, favorite recipes I'm trying...there are really no rules!  Letting them get a sneak peek in your personal life reminds them you are a real person and they can open up to you about their own lives. 



Click here to learn more about implementing
a morning meeting into your classroom!

5. I end the morning meeting with a quick preview of the day and give my students time to ask questions about any schedule changes, upcoming events, etc.  This actually decreases questions asked throughout the day, saving me instructional time, but more importantly it helps my students that rely heavily on routine.  They feel more in control when they know what the day will hold.

These are a few ways to make your littles feel special.  Trust me, they are simple and effortless, but make the biggest impacts on your students.  

Have any strategies that work well for you and your littles?  I'd love to hear about them!  Comment below and share with your teacher friends that would love these ideas! 

Modifying the Standards & a Little Bit of Ourselves

Sometimes the best remedy for an exhausted teacher is a few days of R & R.  Does the soul good. Am I right?  And then comes Sunday evening when you can barely turn your mind off, thinking about the week to come.  "How can I change this from last week?"  "How can I help 'fill in the blank' really get this?"  These thoughts, my friends, are on every teacher's mind on most Sunday evenings.  It's how we roll.

Well, this particular Sunday evening I was mulling over a standard that is loaded with necessary skills for students to master  RL 4.9.  This standard requires students to compare and contrast treatment of similar themes through the pattern of events.  WHAT?!  I love my littles, but these littles aren't the deepest wells that were ever dug.  And are they supposed to be?  Mind you, they're 9.  9!  Identifying theme was challenge enough, let alone thinking about how authors display them in different ways?

Sheesh. 

I showed my littles a strategy that worked best for my brain.  I had plotted events, color coded circles, it all made perfect sense!  Or so I thought...what seemed so clear to myself and others in the classroom, was just too much pizazz for my low and high students.  I needed to simplify.

The solution?
I took a step back and thought, "Well, what do they know?"  and "What's the simplest way for them to show me what they know?"  The more I reflected on my current teaching strategy, the more I realized it wasn't the standard or CCSS expectations that was hindering my students.  It was my color-coded conundrum that was holding them back.  For my low students, there was far too much to process and the task needed to be broken down for them.  For my high students, I was requiring too many steps for an already simple task for them that they could complete in their head.

Simple and to the Point

I began teaching additional strategies to help my students learn to compare and contrast what they were reading.  My color-coded master piece wasn't a one-size fits all strategy, and I had to start looking at it as one of the many...NOT the ONLY.

I'll walk you through a few texts that helped me reach my lower and higher level students that struggled with the whole group lesson strategy.  All texts used can be found on Reading A-Z.

Strategy 1:  One Skill Focus
My lower level group struggled comparing and contrasting all at once.  We focused on comparing two texts to find only the similarities as their modification.
Here's how it went:

1. Read two texts that share the same theme:  working together gets the job done.            (Where'es Whiskers? & What Can We Do?)  
2. As reading each text, highlight evidence that shows the characters working together
3. Repeat for the second text, highlighting evidence that shows the theme
4. Brainstorm ways that both stories show this theme (orally) and jot down notes on a post-it

Strategy 2:  Cut to the Chase 

My higher level group was beginning to get bogged down by the "paper-work" of creating an organizer to show similarities and differences.  The skill was easy, but showing their thinking was taking up most of their time.  This group was ready to apply the standard skills right after reading.

1. Read two texts that share same theme:  trick others and they will want to trick you right back.  (Coyote and Beaver & Coyote and the Salmon) 
2. Read 1st text and plot major events from the story and debate theme shown
3. Repeated with 2nd story--plotting and discussing similarity between theme
4. Collect similarities between events in both stories on a post-it
5. Collect differences between events in both stories on separate post-it

After we made these adjustments in classroom strategies and modifications, my students were more confident in the standard itself.  I had been humbled.  Sometimes it's not the standard that gets in the way of our students' learning.  Sometimes, it's just our one-shoe-fits all mindset.  

How do you reach your littles when they just aren't getting it?  Comment below to share your strategies!

Making Difficult Simple

Vigor not Rigor shared an enlightening analogy to help put the Common Core Standards in perspective.

The Common Core is a standard staircase , with a standard slope, a standard number of steps, each rising a standard distance, and it is designed to challenge the climbing skills of “standard” students.

 Since the CCSS are a cumulative K-12 program that functions like a ladder or staircase of learning, they must be taught in sequence as acquisition of each new skill is dependent on mastery of skills learned during the prior school year. 

Each anchor standard is broken into sustainable skills for each grade level to build upon.  It sounds manageable until a student misses a grade level skill mastery.  Now what?  They move onto the next grade level, expected to move onto to the next stair step, jumping past the last they missed.  While this provides a bit of a challenge, it seems do able.  These are the students that probably need additional support within the classroom, and may even qualify for Tier 2 support or Title.

The challenge becomes how?  What do we do to help them bridge the gap between the skills they are missing to be successful in mastering the more vigorous skill.

There is still a good chance we can catch them up a "stair" (skill) or two if we are strategically planned and ready to take a step back.  

Prerequisite Skills

Whether you are working with general education students that are a "stair" level (skill) behind or working with SLD students that are multiple grade levels behind--understanding the prerequisite skills for each standard will help that child bridge the gap.  

For example, let's use a standard like:

RI 4.6: Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

This can be simple if students understand point of view, text-based information, and comparing text, but what about the ones who aren't there yet? What about the ones that haven't mastered those prerequisite skills?

The first step to identify which prerequisite skills are linked with the anchor standard from which it was formed. 

RI 4.6 ANCHOR STANDARD:  Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Then comes breaking down each standard leading up to the grade level expectation.  What skills are required from the previous standards that must be mastered before reaching grade level expectations.

Anchor Standard Broken Into Bite Size Chunks

This standard requires students to:

• understand point of view:  first introduced in 2nd grade (RL 2.6-RL 4.6)
• pull out important information from the text:  4th grade skill (RI 4.6-RI 4.6)
• analyze text content:  begins in 3rd grade (RI 3.6-RI 4.6)
• compare two texts over the same topic—provided different accounts (RI 4.6) 

Click here to purchase this set of prerequisite skill organizers to implement in your classroom!

I have used this "stair step" strategy to work with students in small groups and whole group.  It helps me as the teacher realize what is making the skill so challenging--maybe it's not the skill at all!  Maybe it's the prerequisite skills that just haven't been mastered yet!

What have you tried when your kiddos just aren't ready for the grade level standard?  Comment below to share your strategies!