Testing Time and ESL

It is a dreaded time of year in third grade (and maybe just generally for everyone).  February-April is testing season in Indiana and third graders actually get the worst of it.  Indiana requires third grade students to take ISTEP (2 times) and I READ.  We are all feeling especially stressed this year with our new Indiana standards, and a new test that is supposed to be hours and hours longer and tougher than ever before.  The test is actually so long that our governor is working on shortening it at the last minute.  Add to that a couple of snow closings and a handful of delays for sub-zero temperatures.

It is a perfect storm of stress.  When I'm stressed I drink too much diet coke and eat too much junk food (all the valentine's candy is long gone so I had to spring for some Easter candy early). And I sort of feel like my creativity is zapped.  Well, nothing will jump start your creativity like getting a new student who doesn't speak English a week before the big test.  I scrambled around today (my new friend arrived without warning) to find some activities for ESL students.  Our school has a subscription to Brainpop.com and thankfully they have an ESL section of their website.  Students can watch videos, practice their English, and take short quizzes on the app.

I also quickly downloaded a couple of free apps suggested for ESL students.  One is called Action Words and it helps build vocabulary for kiddos.  Another is called Fun English.   It looks great and comes with 2 free lessons and 14 games but you have to purchase all the additional lessons individually.  The free content is super fun and useful, though.  A Kid's Academy app, I downloaded looks like it will be basic practice connecting letter sounds with words while giving verbal and picture clues.  

I also read a short article from Edutopia today.  I love it when I read an article and it reinforces everything I've been doing!  I pulled out some old posters and hung them in the classroom to help my new student, but also to encourage my other students to learn and connect with a foreign language.  We will learn and communicate together as best we can.  Nos gusta aprender.

 

#edchat about Class Dojo

Being married to a teacher is exhausting because you work really hard all day (one on her feet is worth three in the seat, you know?) then spend all kinds of time outside of school prepping and grading and building your PLN (got to keep up with the #edchats and #teachersofinstagram meanwhile annoying all of your non-teacher friends and family all over social media) and then you get to rehash it all at home.  It's nice because we can relate and support, but it's tough because it also never seems to stop being about school.

Dickens when they aren't teaching.

I got an email recently announcing that I am a Class Dojo mentor.  While this has little meaning to many people it caused a small spat in the Dicken home.  I was super excited (there are stickers and badges and FREEBIES involved!) but the Mr. was not.  My husband uses Class Dojo in his kindergarten class like a madman (he wrote a blog about it), and he may have felt a tad slighted that he was not chosen as a mentor.  Prior to this email neither of us had known Class Dojo mentors existed but now it's out there and the Dickens are a competitive group of people.  All this to say that at our house and in our classrooms we love Class Dojo!

Class Dojo is a website/app that can be used as a behavior management tool and a way to communicate in a very positive way with parents and students.  We all used to use the old school behavior chart where Johnny moves his clip and misses recess.  A lot of educators are starting to question that method.  The amazing thing with kids is that they come in all shapes and sizes and they just don't all fit into that clip chart model. Class Dojo provides an alternative for the connected generation.

One of my favorite features is the option to message parents and send photos.  I try to send messages to relay accomplishments in the classroom and send the occasional pic.  I get the nicest messages back from parents.  I feel super connected and appreciated when parents message me questions or praise the job that I am doing.  Most parents want that involvement and feedback.  Thanks Class Dojo for making that possible.

Dinosaurs and ChatterPix

After almost two weeks, we finally finished all our hard work on our research papers.  The kids did such a nice job.  See some examples below.

We also completed a Pinterest art project to go with it.  They look super cute!

(Yes that is a stegosaurus getting eaten by a T-rex).

  A teacher's dream come true to have our science flow right into our writing and then a perfect art project to go along with it.  I love dinosaurs and I love these projects.

The final step once our research papers were published was to add a technology element to the project.  The students got to make a ChatterPix from their finished paper.  ChatterPix and ChatterKid are both apps that allow kids to take or choose a photo.  They can make up a silly greeting or use it as a digital element in their school work.  They loved it!  We lost a little steam in the publishing phase.  Typing is hard work for third graders!  But the promise of creating a ChatterPix helped us find the motivation to accomplish our goal.  ChatterPix is free on the app store and my preschool age daughters, my third graders, and my teacher husband all love it.

That Kid.

I have a challenging student in my class this year.  My friend provides daily entertainment and challenges. This is the kind of kid that you do not forget.  My friend makes you laugh out loud.  My friend sometimes makes you cranky.  Above everything else, this kid makes you question how to reach the unreachable student.  The truth in education (and maybe life) is that I cannot force a child to do something they do not want to do.  I can encourage, plead, bribe, challenge, inspire, threaten, punish, cajole....  But I cannot make a child do his/her math or listen in class or even remove his/her head from inside of his/her desk (yes that happens, btw) if he/she is really determined otherwise.  My friend has figured this out.  So what do you do?!  MINECRAFT.

It turns out my friend has a major obsession with MINECRAFT and everything that goes with it.  So, instead of trying to change the subject back to fractions, or conjunctions, I'm embracing MINECRAFT.  I spent some time looking for things to engage students with MINECRAFT and educating myself about this game, because my world at home is still basically Disney princesses. I found some awesome FREEBIES from TPT, including these editable bookmarks from a seller called Prime and Pi.

 I splurged on a paper craft item at Walmart, and we are off.  My friend is responding, but I am learning a lot in the process.   I discovered that MINECRAFT is being used in many classrooms to teach a variety of different subjects.  I'm planning a math lesson next week with it and exploring how to use it beyond simple motivation in the future.

It takes some effort to get to know your students, but it really pays off.  I'm sure this won't work forever.  Problem students can't be fixed by MINECRAFT.  However, sometimes they can be motivated by it.

Research Reports and Super Bowl Predictions

Last week I introduced research reports. We are researching dinosaurs. A little thrill of anticipation went through me as I wrote my objective for the week. Just the thought of my kids' excitement, and how much they will learn gave me a nerdy little chill. I have lots of great books from my years in second grade (there was a running joke during my master's classes about my love of dinosaurs) and the kids have been dying to dig into them.

This will be their first real experience doing research reports. I've done them before with third graders and you might think, research reports? Boring! The funny thing is 8 and 9 year olds can get on board with just about anything. We started on Monday, and they were so into it! I am excited to see how they turn out.

Meanwhile, I had to be out a day last week and I left a fun Super Bowl writing and craftivity for my kids to start with the substitute. I got this for free on teacherspayteachers.com.  Did I mention I LOVE FREEBIES! I'm pretty sure my kindergarten husband and my teaching partners find my love and sharing of freebies a bit obnoxious, but I love them! Of course all the kids (from Indiana, Colts fans, and still bitter about "Deflate-gate") were hoping to see the Patriots lose (see Tom Brady crying below). Poor kiddos!