my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Resources for National Writing Day….errrr…Week!

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Happy Monday! We have some amazing learning specialists that work with our campus who are practically mind readers. I had a writing day post ready to go and then I received more resources so I’ve added hers below as well. (Thanks, Laura Moore!)

 

We all know writing is a life-long skill. Students are writing in all content areas and sharing their ideas through writing. As a former fourth grade writing teacher, I know the struggle to include as much writing as possible. Even if you’re not a writing teacher, you have the opportunity to add writing…as well as increase a students vocabulary. Take advantage of that academic vocabulary and get creative!

 

Here are some ideas to celebrate National Day on Writing:

  • Roll a story! During your literacy centers, have your students get creative with this writing freebie. It would be easy to turn this into a science or math center as well!
  • Create a writer’s checklist! As a class develop a checklist of all the attributes you want to see in each piece of writing. Have it available in a “writing center” with fun paper, colored pens, stickers, etc .
  • Let the “best” writers do a guest post on your classroom blog. Want to see some kids care about their writing? Give them a global audience.
  • Collaborative writing. Have a journal that can used for a class story…you begin with one sentence and then pass it around throughout the day and have the student create the story, line by line. Share at the end of the day!

 

 

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/happy-national-day-on-writing-2014/

 

 

write on!

Amber

Lane check…who is your “check in person”?

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I love my daughter’s day care. They care about her, they love on her, some days they even fix her hair in these amazing ponytail/braid/thingies. (If you’ve seen that curly-haired energetic baby girl of mine, you’d know that is an impressive feat.)

One afternoon last week, I pulled into the drive of her school, and again experienced the dilemma of where to park to run in to grab her. There are two lanes under a large carport, and then an outside “lane” that is the fire lane. One half under the carport is clearly labeled, “no parking”…and being married to a fireman,  I know you’re not supposed to park in the firelane. The dilemma comes in that every day there are people parked where I think they shouldn’t be parked. And every day I just pull up behind one of them and go get my girl.

How many things do you do in the course of your day because everyone else is doing it? Things that you may or may not think are correct but that you do none the less, because it’s what others are doing?

That afternoon, I grabbed the office manager and asked her what the correct protocol was for parking. (Inside carport, or fire lane is fine…for the record.)

It made me wonder again how much happens during an instructional day that we do, not because its right, or what’s best for students, but because it’s what everyone else is doing. I challenge you to find a “person” (if not a complete PLN!) that you can check in with that help keep you in the right lane…the one where you’re supposed to be, not just the one everyone is in.

 

vroom, vroom,

Amber

It’s not the snap shot you should remember, take time to watch the movie!

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Have you ever been guilty of making a judgement about someone? Maybe a coworker? Or a student? A parent who was defensive or absentee? Someone who did something you thought was “wrong”?

I saw this video that my favorite Canadian George Couros posted on FB this weekend and it really reminded me of how often we make generalized judgments about someone based on one interaction we’ve experienced with them.

We encourage students to make mistakes, the proof that they are putting themselves out there, trying new things. As a teacher, I know I made mistakes. I am so thankful that I had supportive, encouraging administrators who saw beyond those mistakes. They saw my heart, my passion, and that my intent was always with the best of intentions. They saw ALL of me, not just an error I made. That snapshot didn’t define me.

Each year as an assistant principal, I have grown, I have learned, and I have done the very best that I can. Have I made mistakes? Absolutely! There’s no manual that comes with this job. You are dependent on those around you to help guide, lift you up, and support your efforts. I hope that you are able to say the same. There’s toxicity in surrounding yourself with people who won’t look past a moment to see the bigger picture. In my role, I challenge myself daily to see the BIG picture, and how I can help empower our entire staff to see beyond where they are (or were!) to where they can be. Their movie isn’t finished yet. 

As an educator, before you make decision on someone you know, work with, or work for…take a minute to question their intent. Do you KNOW that person or are you just basing your decision on a single snapshot of their career? What would the whole movie say? 

 

tissue grabN,

Amber

How can we all keep the kindergarten spirit?

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Last week as I was walking through classrooms, I came across this kinder kid who was working feverishly on the carpet on a project. As I smiled and walked around the room, he waved me over and asked if I wanted to see his invention. “See this? I made it up, because I needed something that could go real fast. I didn’t have it, so I made it up. ” In addition to just being adorable, I was impressed with his creativity and that matter of fact attitude. It doesn’t occur to a kindergartener that you shouldn’t just make up what you need. 

Personality is encouraged. Scribbling is encouraged. Sharing is talked about daily.

Expectations for all are high. The ability to have FUN while working each day is natural. Forgiveness is second nature. Independence is being forged each and every day.

No one questions mistakes in kindergarten…they are expected, encouraged, and even enjoyed. There are new discoveries every day. The most basic of discoveries blow their mind.

They’re not too cool for anything. They love their teachers. Teachers are hugged and called mom, more than once. Kinder teachers present life lessons as smoothly as they do math, all with the patience of Jobe.

The natural chaos of “learning” is anticipated….and enjoyed.

What if every classroom was  like a kindergarten classrooms?

kinder loveN,

Amber

So you want to have a class blog…

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Below is a SAMPLE first blog post…this is one that I used with my fourth graders many moons ago that started off our blogging adventure. (Feel free to use!!) During class we’d discussed the many do’s and don’t’s of our classroom blog, and also how we wanted others who read to “see” us. It was a VERY long conversation! Students knew that other adults, as well as other students, would be visiting our blog and they wanted to come across as intelligent as possible, 🙂

By setting the “tone” for what and how we wanted the blog to work, the expectations were in place before we’d even logged on. In addition to the student safety pieces we’d discussed, we also talked about web netiquette and what made a “good” comment versus a “blah” one. Also, spelling errors weren’t a focus for my classroom, I was more interested in what thoughts they were trying to convey rather than whether or not they spelled them correctly. Each teacher (and class!) can make that decision for themselves. That being said, students were way more critical of each other than I could have been about their errors on the blog.

There are so many support systems out there, like #commentsforkids. That stream on twitter will generate more traffic for your class posts to help show your students what a global audience can really look like! There are also a multitude of blogging platforms out there…blogger, kidblog, wordpress, etc. Do NOT be scared of blogging with your students!! I can’t stress this enough! You have complete autonomy of your “space”.  I always set my comments settings to where I had to go in and approve them before they could be “seen”, to ensure no personal info was shared. I used a generic title & my kids didn’t use their real names. It was a safe space!

Good luck with blogging in your classroom! I hope you see as many benefits as I did from the relationships that I was able to develop from both my students and my parents throughout the years.

________________________________________________________________________
i_love_bloggingIt’s time to get blogging! We’ve talked about the different do’s and don’ts for blogging…but I wanted to add a couple more here. Read through these and post a comment about the rule you think is MOST important and why.

1. Don’t give out any personal information like telephone numbers, home address, school name or parent’s office address.

2. Don’t use your real name as your log on name.

3. Make sure you’re not simply typing “Yeah” or “That’s right” or something equally boring.

4. Learn how to use “smileys” to show how you are saying things. Read the smileys sideways – they make a face. 🙂 or 🙂 is a smiley face. You are happy and smiling when you speak….let me see that personality!

5. Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life.

Be ethical. Don’t believe anyone who says, “The only ethics out there are what you can get away with.” If you encounter an ethical dilemma in cyberspace, consult the code you follow in real life. Chances are good you’ll find the answer, 🙂

OK, put these rules to the test and comment letting me know what you think!!

Bloggingly,
Mrs. Teamann