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Professional Conversation w/ Other School Personnel

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Professional Conversation w/ Other School Personnel

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Last week I took the time to briefly talk with Mrs. Bailey, one of the helpers here at Southside. She comes into the classroom everyday to help some of the students, goes out to recess with us, and helps out in other classrooms too. She has relationships with all the students and I can tell by their interactions that the students feel comfortable around her.
One of the things I learned more about while talking with her was the schools renovation that took place last year.  I was interested to hear that the renovation started right before COVID-19, so there was school still in session at the start of the renovation. I could only imagine the huge distraction to the classrooms and students that occured while this was taking place. One day at recess Mrs. Bailey showed me photos of what the school used to look like and I was so surprised! The renovation made the school so much bigger and looks super nice! I'm very grateful that I was able to do my cliniclas here at such a beautiful school! :)

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The first assessment I saw was a diagnostic assessment called MAP testing. It was given to all of the students a few weeks into school and tested them on their Math and ELA skills. I have also seen some formative assessments on writing and math. For the writing assessment, my CT uses a rubric to grade their writing and will use their scores to see what the majority of the class is struggling on. The first few times he graded their writing they had a lot of sentence fluency and structure mistakes, but as they do more practice their writing is improving. My CT does math assessments every day at the beginning of class using a website called Plickers. The class will solve some math problems and use their Plickers sheet to submit their answers. By using Plickers my CT can see exactly who is struggling and will pull those students aside during daily 5 to help them correct those mistakes right away. Instead of having to grade their math work the night after and helping them the next day, he is able to help them the day of which is really great.
One assessment I don't see is spelling tests. I remember in elementary school I would constantly be doing spelling tests and I have not yet seen those in my clinical. I'm not sure if they do it on a day that I am not there, but I am interested to figure out more about that.
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-reading-assessment-guiding-tool-instruction#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20example%20of,student's%20oral%20reading%20fluency%20rate.
As mentioned in this article, my CT also does reading groups and will pull some students aside and ask them to read aloud a short passage to hear their sentence fluency. I have only seen him do a few students that have lower reading levels, and it would be interesting to hear all of the students read aloud so that I can hear the different types of reading levels.

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Early Reading Assessment: A Guiding Tool for Instruction

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How do you choose the best method for measuring reading progress? This brief article describes which assessments to use for different reading skills so that you can make sure all students are making progress towards becoming readers!

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One of the big things I have noticed that builds community in the classroom are DoJo points. My CT has whole class DoJo points where every time he notices the whole class being productive, or showing social intelligence he will add points to the whole class category and they try to get to over 1,000 points a day. I think that really helps the students keep eachother on task because they all want to reach 1,000 points, but only reach that if they are all working together as a community.
I have also noticed other 3rd grade teachers go around and ask each other questions like, "Have you taught this lesson yet?" or "How did your students do with..." And I think that when teachers work together and ask others for help or their opinions, it builds community for that grade level.

https://www.weareteachers.com/build-classroom-community/
The link above lists some great ways to build a better community in your classroom.
Doing some of these whole class activities will help build the community and make students feel welcomed and comfortable with each other.

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12 Ways To Build Strong Classroom Community

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A strong classroom community is integral to students’ success.

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I think the best way to organize a classroom is to have the desks in groups. 3-4 desks in one group can lead to a lot of student-student interactions and discussions. I remember when I was in highschool and middle school a lot of the desks were in rows and I didn't like that because I was never able to bounce ideas/thoughts off of my classmates.
The desks in my clinical classroom are also in groups with the teachers desk in the back of the classroom. I think that having the teachers desk in the back is good because the teacher can see all his students when at his desk.

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As I was researching some activities to do for student engagement I came across what is called a Quick Write. The students would write down three questions or points that have been raised by the lesson so far. This can be done in between, before, or after the lesson and is a great way to fill "dead time", where students are waiting for a lesson to start.

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Over the past couple of weeks, I have definitely seen which students are the most engaged in class and which ones tend to lose their focus and stare off into space. The class I am observing is very well behaved so the majority of the students are always participating, always helping one another, and always listening. There is one student in particular who is constantly sitting up nice and tall, eyes on the teacher, and quietly listening. But student engagement isn't just about who can listen to the teacher's directions, it's about who can give their full attention and be ready to learn.

My CT was reading a story to the class this week and one thing I noticed he did was move to a different spot in the room every couple of pages. It was a pretty decent length book, so moving around the class while reading helped the students regain focus because they would have to turn around in their chairs instead of staying still in one place the whole time.

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Student-Student Interactions:

All throughout the day, my CT has the students doing turn and talks or small group work at their pods. When students are talking everyone is very respectful towards each other and giving them their full attention.

During the Plickers activity, a student couldn't find his Plicker sheet. So another student in his pod started helping him and looking through his desk to try to find it. The student wasn't even asked to help him, but she was being kind and decided to help her classmate!

Student-Teacher Interactions

In the morning on 9/23, my CT had to have a talk with all of the students about staying on task, following directions, and being engaged. He was saying how it is around that time of year where students may feel like they don't have to listen all the time and start losing motivation. The students were quietly listening to him and being respectful during the whole talk.

When students raise their hands to participate, the teacher always gives a positive comment even if the answer is not fully correct.

EX: "Okay great you're on the right track but what about..."

During Daily 5's the teacher takes 2-3 students to the back desk and does guided reading with them.

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https://englishteaching101.com/fun-classroom-activities-using-technology/

In this article, there are a couple of technology activities that students can do. One that stuck out to me was having the students create a Kahoot! Students love working on Chromebooks and doing activities that involve technology, so having them create their own quizzes would be fun for them. After the students make their Kahoot! they could quiz their classmates, so it would also be good student-to-student interactions.

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Times have changed. Gone were the days when teachers deliver the same old lectures day after day. Now, everyone expects teachers to integrate engaging, educational and fun classroom activities using technology. Why not, technology has become the best learning tool in the classroom making more students engaged in the lesson, improving collaboration and making learning more fun!

The good thing is that the Internet is loaded with tools that can enable teachers to bring a sense of fun and engagement to their lessons. However, it is important to seamlessly incorporate these activities into the lesson and not force yourself to use them only for the sake of using technology.

Here are some ideas for leveraging technology to kick those lessons up a notch!

Fun Classroom Activities Using Technology

1. Write Illustrated Stories

Let your students create their very own personalized stories using a variety of colorful and vibrant Illustrations that ignite creativity. Story Bird and Story Jumper are two great websites that allow students to bring creative writing into the 21st century with technology.

In these websites (which are especially great for students who are not good at drawing), students write and illustrate a story using the wide assortment of backgrounds by simply dragging and dropping a series of images onto the page.

With a classroom account, teachers can create assignments, and review and comment on submitted stories. They'll also be able to arrange for printing and purchase of any student created work. Talk about becoming young authors!

2. Create their Own Quiz

Challenge your students to create their own quiz using Kahoot!

Kahoot is a student-response gamifying tool that lets teachers create multiple-choice quizzes and polls and is a great way to incorporate fun and games in the classroom! It provides quick, real-time results and gives students instant feedback on their devices without anyone being called out individually.

I use this platform mainly to review concepts and vocabulary. My students always ask to play Kahoot again and again so I decided to establish a Kahoot day for quick revision and informal assessments. I also have them write their own test questions and allow them to create their own Kahoot quiz and take lead during the game.

3. Produce Book Trailers

Book Trailer Project is a digital storytelling activity for middle school or high school students after they finish reading a book. Students need to take the key idea from the book to create a short video that persuades people to check out a book they have read.

Doing the book trailer project requires students to summarize, synthesize and analyze the book and put that analysis in their trailer. Furthermore, having students create book trailers is a great way to incorporate technology in the classroom and encourage reading. Thus, book trailer project is a great alternative to boring book report assignments, and can easily be done individually or in groups.

Check out this post to read the step-by-step guide in doing the Book Trailer Project.

4. Photo Scavenger Hunt

Students are handed a list of things that can be found within school grounds ranging from very easy (ex: a world map) to moderate (ex: a student reading a book) to difficult (ex: a lizard). Vary the amount of points for each level of difficulty.

Then, students are instructed to take photos on their smartphones or tablets and cross off the items they have found. They can form teams or work individually. Each team should decide who's phone or camera will be used to take scavenger hunt photos. It should be the same phone for all of the team photos.

The winner is the player or team that find the most items on the list.

Optional: I try to combine this activity with the elements of the Treasure Hunt game. For example, I give clues or unlock new challenges when a team has successfully emailed their photo to me.

If you want to take photo scavenger hunt to the next level, you might want to check out Goose Chase!

5. Web Quest

Webquest is an inquiry-based approach to learning and a perfect way for teachers to begin integrating Internet searches into their curriculum. It provides an authentic, technology-rich environment for problem solving and information processing.

A web quest guides students to search the Internet for specific information. For example, in a webquest called What Is the Most Serious Problem Facing Earth? , student teams vie for funding from the fictional Help Our World (HOW) Foundation. Each team builds a case for a critical environmental concern. Which threat is the most critical? Which team should be awarded the foundation's $1 million grant? (see more here).

There are tons of already-constructed webquests out there like these ones from or you can create your own based on your lessons. A well-designed webquest lets you turn your students loose on the web for a specific project and get results that both you and your students will love.

6. Hunt for QR Codes

This game is similar to the classic treasure hunt game except that students have to search the school for QR codes which contain questions or clues to the game.

Playing this fun activity is easy. First, I prepare a list of questions from the topics that I want my students to learn or revise. Then I create and print the QR code for each question and place them across the school.

Students are put into small teams or pairs with one person owning a mobile device. They need to download a QR code reader first which is free on App Store or Google Play. Internet connection is not required once they have the app since the QR codes decode as text files.

Now, students need to search the school for these clues and scan each QR Code to get each question. They must then work together to find the answer to this question. The team that brings the most number of answers wins the game

Try this Pokemon Go-inspired QR Hunting activity that I made!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: No-prep ESL Vocabulary Games for Young Learners

7. Generate Word Cloud

A word cloud is a list of words arranged randomly and forms into a shape. It is a great way for students to summarize information, increase vocabulary and make connections between concepts. I love creating word cloud with my students because they are fun and easy to make!

There many word cloud generators online but the ones that I like the most are and .

8. Sing with Lyrics Training

is an awesome website to learn a language with music! Students will watch and listen to a music video and fill in the missing lyrics of the song. The website has a huge collection of songs in all genres and caters to different proficiency levels such as beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert.

9. Present Using Infographics

Incorporating infographics in the classrooms is one of the best ways to engage students in the lesson while having fun at the same time.

Allow your students to digest complex information they have learned by creating eye-catching infographics. It can help students learn to interpret data, organize ideas, and make important connections. There are different free web-based applications that students can use to create infographics such as Piktochart and Venngage, but my students find Easel.ly very user-friendly.

10. Celebrate Diversity via e-Pals

Help students develop real-life writing and learning experiences, learn the format of a friendly letter and the proper etiquette of online communication. By integrating a letter-exchange program in the classroom, they can also learn about other cultures, languages, and geographic areas that align with the curriculum in your school.

There is a website called ePals connects K-12 classrooms in more than 99 countries to share content and ideas and collaborate on projects (including pen pal exchanges). Teachers create a profile with a brief description about who they're hoping to connect with and why; and can search for partner classrooms by language, age, and keyword, and can also factor in region/country and class size. Once connected, classes can communicate through a private workspace on the site.

Setting up classes is time consuming but once they are in you are good to go. Finding classes to work with can also be time consuming and frustrating due to the lack of responses from my requests but once you are connected it is so worth how excited your classes become.

Or, in the spirit of letter exchanges, you may want to join our yearly Holiday Card Exchange Project.

11. Scene it with Storyboard!

We are all familiar to this classic learning activity where students write and draw a story in a comic format but did you know that they can do it easily online? Storyboard That is an online storyboard creator that offers hundreds of scenes and characters organized by time period, as well as a variety of styles of text bubbles to fill the storyboard frames. Students can print their saved storyboards or download them in a PowerPoint version.

13. Publish an e-Newsletter or e-Magazine

Creating a classroom newsletter can be an excellent way for students to develop their language skills and to learn how to work cooperatively. They build vocabulary through writing and through interacting with others in the class.

Let students create a list of topics that they wish to write about in their newsletter. Allow them to work in collaborative groups and assign students roles such as "writer," "editor," "researcher," or "graphic artist."

There are many apps and websites that students can use to create their newsletter. Microsoft Publisher is the oldest one I know that is easy to use and free. It has the emphasis on page layout and design rather than text composition and proofing. Other web-based apps that are worth looking are Adobe Sparks and Canva.

They can print out the newsletter or convert it to PDF and attached to an email to share their newsletter with the school and with family members.

Are you on Pinterest? Pin this post!

How do you use technology in the classroom? Let us know in the comments!

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13 Fun Classroom Activities Using Technology

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Times have changed. Gone were the days when teachers deliver the same old lectures day after day. Now, everyone expects teachers to integrate engaging, educational and fun classroom activities using technology. Why not, technology has become the best learning tool in the classroom making more students engaged in the lesson, improving collaboration and making learning more fun!

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jnGNpKwG_o6xzWYW19OzzJmoD3mKNW7dO7TfbnuUQCU/edit#gid=0

So far I have only been in clinicals for about a week and a half, but I feel like I have already gained so much valuable information. I have learned some tips on time management while doing lessons, student participation, and having patience in the classroom. One of the main takeaways that I have noticed so far is that technology is a major advantage. My CT uses an app called Plickers where he can take his phone and scan students answers and automatically see if they are correct or not. He uses that data to see where each student is at and see what the class as a whole needs to work on.

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Create a new spreadsheet and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Sheets to edit Excel files. Free from Google.

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I think making connections with students at the beginning of the year is very important. You want to create a welcoming environment and make your students feel as comfortable as possible. A couple of ways to make connections with your students are:
-Attend student events.-
When I was in school I thought it was so cool seeing my teachers at my games or other events. It is also great for the teachers to talk about the next day and ask their students how their event was and talk to them about it.
-Share your own stories-
Telling stories to students will help them connect with you. If you talk about your two pets at home, they may also jump in and say they also have pets at home. Sharing stories is just another way to relate to your students!
-Spend 1-on-1 time with students-
Make students feel important by talking to them 1-on-1 in the classroom. Going up to a student and asking them how they are could make a students day.

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I had a great first week and I got to know some of the student's interests and hobbies.
-One of the students really enjoys art and making crafts and told me that she does a lot of art projects with her mom. When I went to the Art class I noticed that the student really took charge and I could tell that she was really engaged in the art lesson.
-The class did a reading lesson on a book that included Chinese culture, and I noticed that the students seemed genuinely interested to learn about their culture.
-One of the students asked me during recess if I knew their sister because I "looked the same age as her"