Teaching Seasons

Teachers typically get observed by their supervisors once a year. It is their "grade" so to speak. My very first observation in Texas as a new teacher was whilst teaching a lesson on seasons. I had just moved down to El Paso from Minnesota and was teaching First Grade. My assistant principal sat quietly off to the side as I used some ancient technology to show different "seasonal" pictures to the class whilst students would call out the season shown. It was a review lesson and I felt my students knew their seasons well enough that we would all come out looking brilliant! We came to a picture showing white on both the trees and ground and my students called out "SUMMER!"

Arghhh! I was so frustrated thinking that we would need to start all over and get winter down. To me it was obvious: white in the trees and on the ground was snow! Later, as the two of us sat together critiquing the lesson, my supervisor gently told me that in the spring and summer, Texas has cotton in the fields and cotton coming out of the cottonwood pods. Texas doesn't have the same four seasons as in Minnesota. This taught me a valuable lesson, however, and I know now that when the weather conditions are just right, I have to "seize the moment" and get those seasonal reviews taught. Today was a perfect, stereotypical "fall" day and we all went outside as I tried to get the lesson reinforced before it changed and we were back to the heat of summer!

We took a walk around the school looking for and identifying signs of autumn. We saw leaves turning colors and some were falling to the ground. The weather was wet and windy. The birds were gathered around looking for food as they continued south. Perfect, right? Yes...

And then some eagle eye from our class spotted this in our parking lot...

The Bradford pear trees had green leaf buds and white flowers... NOT signs of autumn...

Arghhhhh!

Buddy Class

Learning is a social activity... and to behave appropriately in many social situations is a learnt skill. So when I tell you that we have ANOTHER buddy class, please do not think that I am avoiding teaching your children. There are very specific outcomes I have in mind when I plan to meet with a buddy class. On Friday, we went from WPS to our sister school, Windermere Elementary where the 3rd-5th grades are taught. Ms. Price, a 3rd Grade teacher, and I intended to start buddying up back in September but it has taken us this long to finally get a plan together and find a good time for both classes. Our intention is to meet once a month for social learning outcomes as well as academic goals. This month our academic goal was to share our writing for the purpose of telling our buddies about who we are and what we like to do. (An informative writing prompt.) Our social goals were to learn to be a leader (for the 3rd graders) and to learn to make friends with someone older (for the 1st graders). It is also important to me that the students become familiar with WES as it is the school the majority of the students will attend when they get to 3rd grade. There is typically a drop in achievement when instruction is broken... I guess that's "education-ese" for saying that when students start a new school or a new grade, they don't learn much in the first few weeks while they adjust to the new expectations. It is doubly compounded when they go to a new grade in a new school which is what happens to our 2nd graders when they move to WES for 3rd grade. It is my hope and intention that my students become as familiar with WES as they are with WPS... ergo, we have a buddy class at WES.

Having said all that, I just want to say that we had a really marvelous time with our new buddies and we are looking forward to going again in December. The students were so happy to share their writing... well look...

"Book It" at Pizza Hut

One of my most favourite promotions as a teacher is the free personal pan pizza for reading offered by Pizza Hut. I mean, really, can you think of a more perfect combination than reading and pizza? And Pizza Hut has been doing this for years! My children did it when they were in school and I have done it just about every year that I have been a classroom teacher. But this year I knew I wanted to add a little something more to the incentive. (Truthfully, I need no reward for reading, it is it's own reward in my book-- pun, intended... but all the same, offer me a pizza and I am over the moon!) For students, that added incentive of getting your own pizza can be the reason they read every night. This year, though, I decided that I would meet my students at our local Pizza Hut and make it a celebration-- as well as a way for parents to meet the other parents in a more social setting. (I know, right? How can people be inhibited in a classroom? Hmmm?)

On Thursday evening, the last thing I wanted after a very tiring day was to still be "Ms. Klein", but I had a lot of good reasons for wanting this to succeed, so I drove off to our Pizza Hut on Pecan Street...

and had the most wonderful time ever! Oh yes I DID!!!

I even had a canadian bacon pizza with Rootbeer instead of my usual pepperoni and Diet Coke. (Thanks, Ridge for the suggestion!) Totally went out of my comfort zone that night! You know what? I have some amazing students and incredible parents in my class this year and the time passed very quickly with lots of conversation and laughter. Eight students and their families were able to come out and celebrate their children as readers. And somebody even paid for my pizza! How's that for super cool? (Yeah, Mrs. Mosley thinks she's clever with her sly questions but I can think deductively as well as inductively... Thank you, Mosley family for the free pizza!) I can't wait for December!!! Maybe more will come. And maybe I won't get mixed up with the dates and our 3rd grade buddies can join us... who knows... Pizza Hut, "I'll be back"!

50th Day of School

The 100th Day of School gets a lot of play in most elementary and primary schools, as it should. There are so many mathematical concepts that can be taught and experienced in a very hands-on, child friendly way. But all the same, why should 100 get all the attention when the 50th Day of school holds such potential? Brilliant! At least that's what I thought when I read an educational blog written by a teacher who celebrates the 50th Day of school by "going back to the 50's"... so I swiped her idea and we had a wonderful time "Rockin' Around the Clock" in our classroom on November 3rd.

Yes, we actually learned more about even and odd numbers, skip counting, perimeter, vocabulary (slang), money exchanges, alphabetical order, changes over time, and the social upheaval caused by rock and roll (Yakety, Yak... Don't talk back). And, of course, we had a sock hop at the end of the day where we twisted, strolled and mashed potatoes. We listened to Doo Wop and Classics from the beginning of rock.

We sang, we counted and we role played... and the day ended too soon. I had far too many activities planned than hours in the school day. But, never fear, the fifties lasted a decade and we can fill up 9 more days with more great learning about math, science, social studies, music and P.E.!

I love this job!

Pumpkin Math and Science

Halloween has the potential to be one of the most harrowing days of the school year... okay the days that follow can be disastrous as well... ANY WAY, taking all that excitement and channeling it into learning can be challenging. But this year, I had absolutely one of the best teaching days EVER! You might remember that ealier in the month, we went on a field trip to the Pumpkin Festival where the students learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin. We revisited that learning on Halloween through our pumpkin study. I kicked it off by having the students hold the pumpkin that I'd purchased. It was a medium pumpkin but it was no lightweight by any means. The students all agreed that even though the pumpkin "wasn't heavy", it would sink in water.

HA!! (I know... my poor fish probably had a mini-heart attack! Sorry, fishies!) But the students were amazed... and immediately hooked into the lesson! We measured the pumpkin every way we could...

...height

...circumference. Yes, I used the word. Then we defined it and measured it.

...weighed it...

And talked some more about the life cycle and sequenced it using both a non-fiction, a fiction book and video

And last but not least, we used geometry to design our jack-o-lantern...






What a great day spent learning...