5 Ways to Make Science Class More "Fun"

My boys are interested in science, but my older one (who is in school), seems to do a very limited amount of science. I am biased, being a science teacher, but now that summer is here, I signed them both up for a half day, one week, camp at our local science museum. I am so impressed at the amount of content that they can get across to a very young audience (ages 4-6), in a short amount of time (2 hours).

Both of these classes have a very high student-teacher ratio, seem to have a good supply budget, and have students and parents who are invested in being there, etc, but still, I wonder what lessons we can take away from their classes to our classrooms. 

My little guy is doing "Exploring Science". It is a 4 day camp. So far they did one day of living things and one day of chemistry. They saw pictures of X-rays, saw skeletons of some animals, and colored pictures of plants, as well as started a seed. That was all in the first 2 hours. On the second day they made oobleck, tried different things to melt ice, and made a volcano model and read a story about bubbles. 

My older one is doing "The Great Ice Age."  They have already tried different ways to melt ice too, went  into the museum to see the glacier and wooly mammoth, read a story about the first mammoth discovered, and how mammoths used to be hunted, and played with "fossils" in the sand table.  On the second day they made an elk mask, made a diorama of a saber toothed tiger habitat, and he came home with lots of other tidbits -- did you know some plants survived the ice age?!  Did you know there used to be a glacier here?!

A diorama of a sabre toothed tiger.  Under the moss is a volcano! 

A Woolly Mammoth

They were both so excited. My little guy had trouble verbalizing some of what they did and trouble connecting it to what he learned, but I have no doubt that the experiences are good. My older one was so excited to share all of his new knowledge. 

Lessons I think we can take away from this, into our own classrooms: 

- show examples, even if its not an activity, but just show

- read stories and kids books, even to older kids

- make it relevant to where they live

- make it creative, and allow them a chance to express themselves

What I also noticed, because its younger kids and because its not school, they aren't writing anything about what they did.  That is good and bad. They aren't doing any worksheets. But are they learning?  Absolutely!  How do we practice writing and connect to common core?  Maybe do few higher quality writing pieces?  How do we assess their work without writing and worksheets?  Maybe with a rubric and conferences?  Maybe verbal explanations of a project?  This is harder, to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how to do this, in a regular classroom setting. 

Maybe it's just foreign to me because I'm used to older kids?  

What thoughts do you have?

4 Ways to Make Something Abstract Kid-Friendly

During this last week, I went to a museum with my kids and saw this solar clubhouse.

This is clearly a clubhouse made for younger kids, but it is focused on solar energy. I think the size and look of it is immediately inviting to kids, and then when they walk in, the parts are labelled, and explained in fairly simple language. My 6 year old didn't understand all of it but was very interested to read and try to understand. How can we bring this experience to the classroom?

I think we need to keep a few lessons in mind:

1) Size. The size of examples and demonstrations, etc., can really change how it is perceived. 

2) Accessibility, and initial appearance. This is small, at eye level, brightly colored, etc

3) Relevance. Because its a clubhouse, and the examples are plugging in a light or tv, it is more understandable. 

4). This is all done without lowering the level of content. The concepts being explained are still complex and not oversimplified. 

What else do you see that you can take away from that example?  How can we bring this into our classrooms?  I think these are principles that we know, but often lose track of while teaching "curriculum"

Anything you have done that is a good example of this kind of teaching?  Or anything you've seen? 

Thanks! 

How to Reconcile Standards with Students Below Grade Level?

As many of you know, I teach in a district, and a school, where most of my students are below grade level (Title I, Focus School, etc). How do you take your kids from where they are, to where they need to be, when that is as far away (and foreign) as the stars for some of them?

I was in an interesting conversation today about how to address that, and meet the standards/curriculum/state tests.  I see two things mostly happening, and I'd love to hear which side you fall on and why, or if you think there is another position.

Here are the two sides that I see:

1)  Teach the curriculum, at the level that it is supposed to be taught.  This allows those few students who are higher/above grade level to get the opportunity that they should.  Try to provide scaffolding to help students be more successful.  This might come in the form of before/after school tutoring, additional homework, starting out easy and quickly ramping up, or other scaffolding strategies to help students reach that level.

2) Recognize that the course is way over students heads in many ways, and that most of our students don't do homework, so focus on keeping them engaged in class, and feeling successful.  Keep the lessons more at a basic level, and offer some 'challenge questions" for the higher students.  Then put in some test prep strategies, and focus on major concepts to see if you can get test scores up.

I see pros and cons of both, and would be glad to elaborate, but I'd love to hear what you think?  Which camp do you fall in?  Or are you somewhere else? How do you get students to a level of rigor that they are not comfortable with, when the curriculum demands it?

What is meeting their needs appropriately? What is lowering expectations?

My Perspective: Why I Don't Use KWL Charts

My son recently did a unit on earthworms, in first grade. He learned a lot, and they had a vermicomposting bin, as well as reading and writing about earthworms.  It was a really cute unit, and he learned a lot.

However, they started off the unit with a KWL.  What he wanted to know is "How do worms communicate?"  A very interesting question, and one I didn't know the answer to (chances are his teacher didn't either).  Many times throughout the unit he came home saying "Guess what I learned....but I still didn't learn how worms communicate."

At the end of the unit, a sad boy came to me....we still never learned how worms communicate.

As a teacher, and a parent, I went online and looked it up and discussed with him.  However, how many parents don't have the knowledge or resources to do that? Or how many kids wouldn't ask, but on some level would know that their question hadn't been answered.

What does that teach kids about education and school?  If you do use KWL charts, how do you address the questions that kids come up with that are just not in your curriculum, you don't have time for, or you don't know the answers? 

In a perfect world, we could pursue their interests, but since we are all on such tight curriculum schedules and standards, I think this sets a bad precedent.  What do you think? 

What Are Your Thoughts on The Flipped Classroom?

If you follow my facebook page, you may have seen the discussion a week or so ago about the Flipped Classroom idea.  If not, I'll summarize here:

These comments really got me thinking...on three tangents....(1)what is necessary for a flipped classroom to be successful.  (2) How different is it? (3) Why is it better? (Or why all the buzz?)


(1) I see the following necessary ingredients: available technology to students, motivated students who do homework and come prepared to class, available technology for teachers to be able to provide the instructional videos.  I think the last one is not such a problem.  I do see the first two as a barrier, particularly where I teach.  HOWEVER, maybe this is a place to use time periods like extra help, afterschool, study halls, AIS, or however your class is structured and make it more individualized by providing video instruction?  Particularly if a teacher can't help 20 kids individually.

(2) I don't think its fundamentally different for science.  It seems to be catching on more in math, and I think it is fundamentally different there.  In math, we are all familiar with the model where the teacher does examples, you go home and practice (and get stuck).  It makes sense to 'flip' this.  In science, however, I think there are already a lot of cases where students are supposed to read outside of class, or practice vocabulary, etc, and come to class prepared to do the hands-on part. This could be extended and altered so that it happens even more often, and so that more of the analysis and writing/processing happens in class.

(3) The idea of 'flipping' is very in line with current technology, student interests, and even common core.  Common core asks students to read, but also to analyze information from different sources, and to do more with the information . It allows more individualization, to a point.

Here is a really interesting analysis and discussion, in addition to the two websites offered above. http://plpnetwork.com/2012/10/08/flip-love-affair/

However, I don't see my classes, in my current setting, getting to the point she talks about.  I think the 'flip' might have to be an intermediate step.....

Have you tried it? Have thoughts or feedback to share?  I'd love to hear it as I begin to reflect and think theoretically about next year.  (Cause we have the summers off, right?)

Thanks for reading! 

Be Brave - Grant Writing is Not Off Limits

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take my students in a field trip this past week. I teach in an urban, Title I school. I took my students to Cumming Nature Center, which is about a 45 minute bus ride. It was a great experience for me and them!!

Many of my foreign ELL students got off the bus and made comments like "welcome to Sudan"..."this looks like my country"…"I haven't seen anything like this since I left my country."

Many of my native, urban students had never been in the woods, never hiked, never touched much of the outdoors. They screamed when they were asked to look for worms, complained that the grass and trees were itchy, but in the end they liked it.

I had them fill out an evaluation/reflection and asked them if the would do it again (everyone said yes). Thumbs up or thumbs down (all thumbs up and a few drew in horizontal thumbs). What they learned:
- they learned things like -- woodpeckers live in trees
- worms eat dead things and leaves
- you can find worms and salamanders under logs. The salamander was cute. They didn't know that dropping it would hurt it, and apologized (genuinely) when one girl got scared and dropped it.
- they were impressed that the docent had dirt under her nails and was so excited
- they had fun picking up sticks and learning.
- they loved the beaver dam

At the end, the docent asked them to consider hugging a tree. Most of them did, and some said that was their favorite part!!

I think they will remember and understand a lot of ecology better, but I also think there is something so therapeutic and healthy about spending time outside. Many of my students don't get to do that. They live in areas where it's not safe to go outside and play.

I learn as much from seeing them in this setting and seeing what they learn and know and are interested in as they do. One student said he wants to live someplace like that when he grows up. He wouldn't be able to say that, if he had never been exposed!

This was made possible due to the Target field trip grant. If you are considering applying for a grant, do it! Figure out, really, why this will benefit your students, write it down, and apply. It's work to apply, and work to do the permission slips, lunches, bus, medical forms, etc but its worth it!!

If I can ever help you with a grant application or ideas for field trips, please let me know

Is There Value in State Testing?

Enough has been said about state testing that I will keep this short.  There are so many things that I could say, and most have been said.  I'll keep it short.  As I watched my students endure 3 days of ELA testing, followed by 3 days of math testing, two things came to mind that I wanted to share:

1. If you haven't seen this, please read it.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/17/eighth-grader-designs-standardized-test-that-slams-standardized-tests/

She makes some excellent points, and this is very clearly an authentic assessment of a student who can read, write, think critically, be creative, and contribute to society.

2.  We are placing so much value on these tests, and basing teacher's evaluations, student's RTI needs, etc.  There is one major catch (well, more than one, but one that I haven't heard a lot of discussion about).  We read and hear about students who are very stressed about these tests.  I have also seen this.  Many of my students are also very stressed about the state tests too.  However, there are quite a few other students who did not take it seriously.  And in all honesty, why should they....

• they can't really study or prepare well for it, since we don't have much information about it
• they won't get feedback from it, since they will be confidential even after testing is completed
• These tests don't figure into their grades, like Regents exams do.  Regardless of how they do on these tests, they will go on to the next grade.

Teachers pay and evaluation rating may be weighted heavily on these tests, but students won't really see much effect, regardless of how they do.  They need to sit through 9 hours of testing over 2 weeks (if they don't have extended time), but how does it effect them in the long-term?  What is there incentive to take it seriously?  It would be great if there was some intrinsic value or incentive for students to do well on these tests. 

Do your students stress about it?  Do they see the value?  

(from theclosedcampus.org)

What Have You Heard About Early College High Schools?

Ok, I just set a goal regarding blog posts, made it public, and failed.  That's very unlikely me, but true....between state testing, catching the flu, and just generally being overwhelmed it didn't happen.  I am revising my goal to 2-3 blog posts per week.  They will cover the topics I mentioned before, but may not always be on those days.

Have you heard of Early College High School?  One opened in my area a few years ago (3, I believe).

I had heard a few good things about it, and a few good news stories, but not a lot.

I applied for transfer this year and was lucky enough to be offered a position there for next year.  I am currently teaching middle school in (based on test scores, for whatever that's worth), one of the worst schools in the state. I have learned a lot, but would like to go back to high school and go somewhere with a little more support/positivism/motivation, etc.  In the interview and job search process, I learned more about these Early College High Schools.  Its a very intriguing concept, I think.  I would like to share some of what I learned with you, and see what you think.

Here is a link to a news article about Early College High Schools

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/education/edlife/bard-high-school-early-college-a-second-chance-for-disadvantaged-youth-in-newark.html

And here is a link to a website about Early College High Schools in general.
http://www.earlycolleges.org/

Early College High Schools focus on taking students from urban districts, disadvantaged students, and not always high achieving and putting them on a path to college.  Students at these schools may not be high achieving, but they choose to be there, and have higher aspirations.  Students are put on track to take college classes before they graduate from high school, so they graduate high school with college credits.  They are challenged in a more stable/secure environment, and allow students to enter college more prepared for success.  They build local partnerships with colleges, do a lot of college visits, and get kids onto college campuses from a young age.

I am very excited to be at a place where kids choose to be there, and where they are held to high expectations.

Some people say that Early College high schools are not all that they are cracked up to be....that you are not giving kids enough foundation, and taking struggling students and putting them up to higher expectations that they are not ready for.

Maybe its a different measure of success (http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-10-27/news/for-the-early-college-high-school-initiative-success-is-more-than-just-a-high-school-diploma/)?  If so, that's still better than many of our local schools are doing.

Do you have any experience with early college high schools?  What do you think of the concept?

What Do You Think About Controversial Report Card Policies?

I don't know how your school does report cards.  My school district has 6 marking periods for report cards.  Each is approximately 6 weeks long. Most districts have 4 approximately 9-10 week marking periods.  This change was done before I started working there, for a number of reasons that I'm aware of:

• With six marking periods, the need for interim (5 week) reports is gone.  We are suggested to send progress reports home, but its not required.
• With six marking periods, kids will have a better chance of being successful (each marking period counts less).

We also have the restriction that no report card grades lower than a 50% can be given.  Even if a student has hardly shown up to class and has an average in the single digits earns a report card grade of 50%.  This is also to increase incentive for later in the year.  If a student has a 50% for a marking period or two, its not that difficult for them to still pass.  

Many people are frustrated with this policy.  I get it.  Some students honestly work and earn a 55%, or even a 50%.  What do our grades mean?  And what are we grading?  

This has given me a lot of room for thought on what we are grading.  I think there is a place, in a way, for this.  Students do still need room to be successful.  They can't go back and redo the earlier work, really, but if they are to pass a final exam they will still need to learn a lot of the content.   The final exam counts 25% of their grade for the course.  Many times, if they just squeak by, they don't pass the final.  But this policy gives them incentive to keep working for the rest of the year.  They don't give up, because they feel they can still pass.   It doesn't seem quite fair, but what is the alternative. 

Does your school have a similar policy?  What do you think about a minimum grade?  Do you agree or disagree. 

Many of the students in the district where I teach have a very difficult marking period because they have family members in jail, or they have to move because they have gotten evicted, etc.  How can they maintain the expectations of a "student" all the time? Is that a reasonable expectation on our part? 

When I was a first year teacher, and very frustrated over state test scores, another teacher who had been in the district a long time talked to me about how "they may just need to take the class twice to pass, they are learning a lot, but maybe need to see it again."   That has echoed in my head many times.  As frustrating as it is, we (and our students) sometimes need to take a longer range/bigger picture view, particularly in the face of adversity, and keep plugging away towards a goal, realizing that we have a long way to go and a lot setting us back. 

What do you do to keep yourself comfortable and happy at school?

I haven't been very happy at my current school this year. Because of that (and I'm hoping to transfer) I haven't wanted to settle in and I haven't wanted to buy things related to school or to keep at school. I relented this week, made a trip to the dollar store, and myself and my kids have been much happier. It makes my day go more smoothly, and at makes me happier.

Here are a few items that I bought:

The tootsie rolls are for the kids for prizes (I do a lot of free prizes, discussed in another post) but sometimes it's good to have something material and small to hand out for prizes. And I'm sure I'll eat a few :).

The soap is for myself and my students. Being a science room, there is a sink but no soap or paper towels.

Band-aids are for my students. I don't know if its the same where you are but kids get a hangnail, paper cut, or some other minor injury and they are very upset, disruptive and want to Go to the nurse. Rather than write them a pass, and have them miss half of class, I can often hand them a bandaid and have them sit down and stay in class.

Some of the others are for me. I'm finding it to make a huge difference that I'm comfortable. I can put my hair up mid-day, rather than waiting until the end of the day when I get home, and the same with lotion.

To add to that list -- pencils. But I don't get those at the dollar store. Watch your staples stores in August. They usually have a two or three day sale when packs of pencils are a penny each. There is a limit of two, but with a teacher ID, the limit is raised to 30?? That is another situation where, although I want kids to have pencils and return borrowed pencils sometimes its better to just give them something to write with and keep class moving!

(If my policies seem harsh, remember I teach middle and high school).

What do you keep in your desk or classroom to keep yourself and your kids comfortable and keep class moving smoothly.

To me, it was a good use of a few dollars!

Here's Something You Can Do To Create Additional Review Time

When is your state testing? Our ELA is April 15-18 and math the following week. Then science has two parts: a performance test at the end of May, and written test June 4th.


Here's the catch, here in NY we are in school until late June. After the big push for state testing is done, we still have two months of school. This year, with spring break early, that is a long stretch without a break. Kids are likely to shut down and lose interest after testing, and when the weather turns.

I will address how I change class after state testing in a couple weeks. For now, one last post on test prep, in a non-traditional sense.

How can you get a little extra time before your state test? Here's a strategy you may or may not be using. ASK!!!

What I mean by this is ask other teachers. Of course, you can't take over their class time, but there may be ways to either integrate, or have them help. Our librarian and tech teacher sometimes have downtime and time on the computers, when I don't always have computer access. Turns out they don't have much curriculum, especially in library, and in tech are very wiling to integrate other subjects to teach tech skills. I was able to give the librarian and tech teachers lists of websites and ways the kids could earn extra credit by doing science review and extra science work. I used quizlet, brainpop (activity and quizzes), and even some sites with review questions.

Wow! Just created individualized additional science review time!

Take A Closer Look at Scaffolding - It Will Make You Think

Sorry for the delay. I just made this new blogging plan and then got behind in week 2!! Anyway. I'll catch up :). And try to do better :).

I had an interesting conversation today with another teacher that prompted me to write this. In one class I have a huge range of abilities. It is a 7th grade class with 13 special Ed kids, about 8 ELL's (without support) and a few regular students. Just by chance, in that class are the highest seventh graders that I have as well.

As you might imagine, this sometimes leads to some behaviors, which I have been working on. This includes kids being out of their seats, talking nonstop, and generally being very distracting with any equipment (throwing, hitting, etc) and any other type of distractions you can imagine.

The conversation we had focused around scaffolding. Maybe some of the behaviors would decrease with more scaffolding. I agree that they probably would, but at what point am I no longer teaching at the correct level? Am I still hitting the 7th grade standards? How much scaffolding is appropriate? If kids are totally shut down and are just playing around and sitting there with a blank paper, is it a scaffolding issue or a behavioral issue? Also, how does this benefit the higher kids?

I think I will try some of the scaffolding strategies that were suggested to see If they help with the behaviors, and then maybe try to pull some away. One idea that I don't do a lot of, but was suggested to me, is ways to make the lesson or activity self-checking. For example, if students are stuck -- where can they go for help without me, on their own. Some of the strategies were to give them a card or a covered paper at their table that they could check answers or get a hint if day are stuck. Or to let them work to a point, and then go over a portion of it, allowing the to finish the rest of it. It involved taking a very close look at what the objective of the lesson is. Lastly, another suggestion was to ask more open-ended questions that would allow everyone to be successful to some degree. Some students could write more than others.

How do you differentiate, when all are trying to reach the same end state test/curricular goal? How do you determine when more scaffolding a needed?

Please leave your feedback in the comments

5 Simple Steps to Alleviate Student Stress and Increase Confidence

Hmmmmm. We are now approaching state testing time. It's not here yet, but its coming. That leads me to several thoughts. I'm not going to get into the politics of testing....I think we all know where we stand on that and are sick of discussing it. I'm going to focus, instead, on how to prepare kids, and how much of our preparation is not about content.

Kids get stressed about so many aspects of testing. It is so important to take away their anxiety! For this reason, it's important to practice and coach them, make them familiar with all aspects of it. These include things you may not think of. Here are some ideas:

- room arrangement. If you will be moving furniture, or seats, do it at least a week ahead of time so that's not scary.
- what will the test look like? If possible, make your unit tests and tickets out out of past state tests. Not from a test bank, but actually from the test. This way they look the same.
- what will the format of the answer sheet be. Make sure they are familiar with this and how to fill it out well ahead of time.
- let them use class time to study, with structure. For example, I took 15 minutes of class this week to have them get into partners and quiz each other in vocabulary words. They could either read the definition and have their partner guess the word, or give clues and guess the word. They got really into it, and started competing and cheering each other on! A the end we talked about ways they could study vocabulary at home. Many realized they could do this with other family members, or even on the bus.

So simple, but they need to be explicitly taught these skills and made to feel comfortable and confident.

First Year Friday Featured Guest - Check it Out

I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a guest blogger in the First Year Friday Feature - advice for first year teachers. Feel free to read it, and check out the blog in general. Amber has some great resources and features on her blog.  Just click on her blog button below.

  http://sssteaching.blogspot.com/2013/03/fyff-science-in-city.html

How to Help a Struggling Writer Want to Write

My son is in first grade.  I want him to work on his writing, which he hates.  He hates both the mechanics of writing (putting pencil to paper), spelling, etc.  We went to a local museum and he saw an ad for a kids writing contest, grades K-3.  He decided he was going to enter, and win.  Kind of a funny choice for someone who hates writing, but he was set on it.  He came home to start, and very very quickly got frustrated when he made mistakes, had to erase, the paper got messy, etc.

I had a small brainstorm.  Maybe he could type it on the computer, edit his mistakes, and not get so frustrated.  It would also take away the whole problem of writing (ok, so he doesn't get practice on that, but at least he's practicing spelling and making sentences).

I started him on googledocs.  I chose that because it automatically saves, saves edits (so things can be undone) and can be accessed from any computer.

He loves it!  After a few days, however, he realized that he had an email account associated with his google docs account.  Uh oh.  Ok, so gmail does not have parental controls, I've looked.  I've monitored closely.  He has been emailing me, my husband, my parents, his other grandparents.  He can't wait to check his email and write back.  He has used google docs to share the story with them, and keep adding to it.

So.....is that authentic practice?!!  How to make middle school level as authentic as that?  It seems to me, that for reading and writing are easier to find authentic practice.  Now I need to think about how to do that in my class.

And....has anyone ever used google docs, or a better kid-friendly website or application for kids?

5 Steps to Change Testing And Get Amazing Results

How do we making testing (even unit tests) a growth and learning experience, instead of just an exercise that frustrates kids and takes up time? Here is one thing that I do. I saw it from my amazing mentor when I was student teaching, and have since modified it for my own use, but I think you will be amazed at the results.  Here is what I do.  I don't do it too early in the year, as kids have to learn procedures and expectations/testing behavior, etc.  I also don't do it all the time.

• On the day of a chapter test or unit test, treat it just like a regular test.  Make them put everything away and work quietly on their own to take the test. 
• After some time (anywhere from 10-15 minutes, or as the first 1-2 people finish). Usually I like to shoot for when most kids are maybe 2/3 of the way through.
• Have them work with a partner (either they pick or I pick - depends on the class). 
• They need to go through their test, with a partner, and agree on their answers.  No copying.  As you walk around they must be discussing their answers if they have different answers, and why they think that's the best answer.  
• Sometimes I leave it at that.  Sometimes I have a group where I really give them a new answer sheet, and that's what they turn in. 

Why do I do it?  Because as you walk around, you will hear kids having those valuable conversations that don't happen as well under other conditions. They take it very seriously because its for a test grade, and they listen to each other.  You hear kids saying "But it says NOT"  "what does this word mean?  Oh...."  "remember when we did this in class...."  "I think its this because I remember"  

Also, its cuts down the number of kids who just randomly guess, quickly pick answers, or leave blanks down almost to zero.  Maybe you don't have those kids.  I always have.  They get an extra scaffold as they really work through the test questions, and they look closely at the language and choices in a way they don't usually. It also gives them a lot more confidence to work with a partner.  

Try it. If you do, please let me know how it goes :) 

6 Ways School is Like Working Out

I had surgery on my shoulder last May.  At the time, I couldn't work out for 4 months afterward.  In an effort to save money, I cancelled my gym membership.  Then, I rode my bike some at the end of the summertime, and did some hiking.  Once it got cold, and school started back up, I did almost no exercise. I know I should, but between being busy, tired, not having the membership....it didn't happen.  I tried a few times, and didn't stick with it, even though it felt good when I was doing it.

Last weekend I bought a new workout video, on a great sale.  Then I got sick.  I first used it today.  Afterwards, I had a thought.  My working out (or lack of), is very similar to my students work habits.  They haven't yet established the habits to be successful in school.  They want to, and are proud of themselves when they turn in homework, or do well on an assignment, but can't sustain it.

So what can we do to help them sustain these behaviors long enough to become habits??

What other things help people develop new habits:

• We have to motivate them to want that change-- engaging lessons, connections to real life, goals, etc
• We have to provide lots of positive reinforcement
• Make it an enjoyable experience
• Provide support for them to succeed (help with homework, flexibility)
• Make these efforts sustained - it takes a long time to develop new habits.
• Keep this analogy in mind. I think its easy for us, as teachers, to think that once we've told kids something, or by the time they are a certain age, they should have school habits well established....maybe not.  Remember how hard it is to learn something new.  

What if they don't?  What if they haven't been successful in learning these habits?  Or what if its not something that is reinforced at home?

What Does it Take to Be Successful in Middle School? Be Crazy

To get middle schoolers attention, I think you need to be a little bit crazy.  That's not my strength.  My strengths are lesson planning, differentiation, and building relationships with the kids, but not being crazy and off-beat and entertaining.

When I student taught in middle school, my supervising teacher had been (honestly) a magician in Vegas before he became a teacher.  Every really good middle school teacher seems to have a "gimmick" or a way to get kids attention, whether its something consistent, or something out of the blue....Surprise candy, music, old stories, etc....some kind of "cool" factor.

When I was in 8th grade, my Social Studies teacher was a retired long-time army man. He still looked and acted very military, and that was entertaining to 8th graders.

My husband told me a story about someone he knew.  This person had broken ribs and had a cast on their torso, but it didn't show under his shirt, so the kids didn't know it was there.  It was a windy day and his tie kept blowing up and getting in his face.  He grabbed the stapler off of his desk and stapled his tie to his chest.  He said the kids behaved perfectly the rest of the day.


I know another teacher who keeps some blooper videos and funniest home videos on a flash drive. He will sometimes play them to get kids attention, or as a reward at the end of class.  Here is a compilation of funniest America's Funniest Home Videos to get you started...

When we have spirit week I do dress up, and the kids get a big kick of out it.   But how to carry some of that through the rest of the year?


Do you think that's an integral part of teaching?  Especially of teaching middle school?  What other funny stories or unique teachers do you know of?

Homework: A Controversial Topic That Will Make You Think

As we approach the second semester (midterms are this week, then we start the second half of the year).....I am rethinking my approach to homework.  I teach 7th and 8th grade in an urban district, at a very low performing school.

Every summer I re-think my approach, I have done real research, and keep coming back to the same conclusion.  This may be the year that I change it.  And not only change it, but change it mid-year.

Please add in the comments what type of homework you assign, how you grade it, or any other thoughts you have on homework.  I would love to hear your feedback!

I generally assign homework that students should be able to do independently, to reinforce the topics we are learning in class.  I often assign work from the textbook (read 2-5 pages, and answer a couple of open-ended questions, or interpret a diagram or 2, or do the reinforcement work that comes with the textbook).  I also often assign vocabulary practice (draw pictures, use in sentences, etc).  I am very lenient on accepting it late.

Our district mandates that homework counts no more than 10% of the overall grade.  I have always made the argument to kids that "that's a whole letter grade."  That will bring you from an F to passing, or you can't get an A without doing homework.

I still feel that way, and I think that kids need to practice outside of class in order to raise their overall skills, and to "catch up" to other schools.  If we have such low scores now, how are we going to catch up by doing less.

Here is the catch.....

• Only a small amount of kids (maybe 25% if I'm lucky) do any substantial amount of homework, the majority don't do any
• We are under a huge amount of pressure right now to raise scores and to put in 110% (or more)---we are having 2 grade level meetings, an RTI meeting, a co-teaching SPED meeting, a subject meeting, a committee meeting, and sometimes multiple parent conferences during a week.  This leaves next to no planning time that is actually free.
• We are also being requested asked to turn in formal lesson plans, and to help provide tutoring during lunch to raise achievement.
• I am exhausted and very stressed...something needs to change!  

I am considering not assigning homework anymore, but doing more of the 'homework' in class.  I would make a shorter lesson, start homework in class, and those that don't finish would have it as homework to finish at home?  

Or making a standard homework assignment every week that is due - perhaps Wed to Wed? 

I would love to hear any of your suggestions.  I have this week of midterm exams to figure out my strategy.  

However, I am starting to think that even for all the reasons that I believe in homework, its not a good use of my time to come up with homework (even though I don't spend a lot of time on homework), and to correct and grade it, etc, if kids aren't doing it.  Maybe time and energy is better spent somewhere else, and maybe if its not working, then I need to revamp how I'm thinking about it.

How do you structure homework?  What types do you give?  How often?  What feedback do you have?  

Do You Have New Year's Resolutions/Goals for Your Classroom?

This school year has been a year of trying new things and starting over to try to get things working better....

I wrote about some of my upcoming goals for the classroom in my guest blog post here at

I have one more to add after a conversation with another science teacher, and the SIOP training that I went through earlier this year.  I want to try to make the day's agenda and learning objectives more transparent to the students. I do have an agenda board posted, and we spent time on it at the start of school, but I am assuming by now that they know its there.  I think I may be wrong.  I'm going to devote 5 minutes each day on those business parts of class:   -- agenda and objectives   --classroom jobs   --checking in on classdojo points and giving time to cash in for prizes   -- organization (table of contents, attaching things into journal) and making sure they have homework written down I will report back here in a couple weeks and see if it makes a difference....