Happy Snow Day!

On my snow day, I have been reading the book Shifting the Balance. This book is FULL of great information. One easy shift that stood out to me was teaching vocabulary. But first, let me tell you some of the important information in this book. You would be better off reading the book, but here is my simple highlight of information that stood out to me:

We have heard it and witnessed it in our classrooms; student reading comprehension problems typically begin to show up around third grade. Why? Reading comprehension is a listening comprehension problem. (Not listening as in being able to sit and listen). Listening comprehension as in the ability to understand the spoken language. Just because you can read and decode a passage doesn't mean you can understand what the words mean. For example, suppose I gave you a passage in another language. You could probably decode the passage to read it aloud. In that case, that doesn't mean you have the necessary language understanding you need to have to comprehend the text. Typically, when we are looking at reading comprehension, we are using simple texts in the younger grades. Students have the vocabulary background necessary to understand these simple texts. It is not until the texts become more complex that comprehension falls apart, which we link back to the listening comprehension. There are several shifts we can make to support the growth of listening comprehension. One I want to share with you today is:

USE INTERESTING WORDS

Sometimes we shy away from using large, unknown words with our students; however, we don't need to change our words for children. The stronger the words you use in the classroom, the greater the likelihood that students will grow to understand the word, try using it in their vocabulary, and even recognize it in print (Shifting the Balance, p. 27). Some easy shifts in vocabulary usage you can make are:

• Expose to new words- instead of saying, will you pass out these papers say will you distribute these papers. This shift in using sophisticated vocabulary will allow your students to be exposed to new words naturally.  
• Academic language: for example, instead of saying talking marks use the word quotation marks.
• Expose students to books with interesting words and complex language structures
• Allow students the opportunity to discuss stories and books with the class and other students.

Overall the book sums up this point very well with this statement: 

"Remember, exposure to interesting words now is an investment in future reading comprehension."  

Happy Teaching!!

Let's talk about the end of the day...

A couple of years ago, I discovered one of the most meaningful times in my teaching day. It was the end of the day! Yes, I am serious! If you are like me, right now, you probably have visions of student chaos and the craziness of the end of the day packing, and you think I am crazy. But let me tell you about something that changed my entire classroom and the relationships in my classroom. A few years back, I decided to stop my day a little early, pack up a little early and end the day on the carpet. I used that time to have an end-of-the-day reflection. This little 5 minutes practice ended up guiding my teaching in more ways than I can count. There are so many benefits to this practice:

• I was able to identify students' feelings about school and the day's activities.
• I discovered the teaching that they found to be the most meaningful.
• I was able to find out who needed some extra support.
• I could locate the teaching they didn't connect with, so I could make it better.  
• No student was able to walk out of my room each day unnoticed. 

I used this time to ask the students questions about the day. My favorite question that I would ask is, "What was your favorite part of the day?" This little question answered so many questions for me as a teacher. The students loved this part of the day so much that if our time ran too short, they would remind me because they loved it so much. So today, I want to encourage you to give it a try. Ask your students what they love. I believe you will find out so much about your students during this time, and it will become a favorite of your classroom. Below I have included some other questions you could ask your students if you would like to change it up sometimes.

End of the Day Question Ideas:

• What was your favorite part of the day?
• What is something easy for you today?
• What is something hard for you today?
• What is something that someone did that made you happy today?
• What is something you did that was kind today?
• What is something we learned that you loved today?
• If you were the teacher, what would you do differently today?
• If you were the teacher, what would you do the same today?
• What was the best part of your day?

    Over the holiday break, I had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends that I don't always have the time to stop and spend meaningful time with. On one of those days, I sat and talked with my mom, and she asked me how work was going. I responded that work is going great, and I am looking forward to going back to see the students. She made a comment that I will probably never forget. It was perhaps just a typical everyday comment of her observations to her. Still, to me, it hit hard and stuck with me every single day after that day. She said, "I love how you love your job. You are one of the few educators I know that looks forward to going back to work and loves what you do." In my head, I thought surely there are other educators out there that love their job. I know A WHOLE LOT of them. But why is this the perception of the outside world? Because, you know, honestly, the perception on social media of teachers that love their jobs is remarkably, very absent in the current time. I open my newsfeeds to find negative comments about going back to work, this student did this, and that parent did that, and all of the reasons their district has failed them, etc. 

  So fast forward a couple of weeks to my first day back to school. It's a professional development day. Our administrator had us watch a TED Talk on retraining the brain and gratitude and keeping a gratitude journal. It hit me sitting in that meeting; we all have super bad days at work, but what you put in your brain is what you get out of your brain. For the last three years, I have had the practice of keeping a reflection journal. At the end of every day, I have an alarm set on my phone to stop and reflect upon my day. I just keep it in a regular notebook, and I write down the following at the end of every day:

• 3 things for which I am thankful that happened today
• 1 experience I would like to do better next time
• 1 person I would like to connect better with the next day
• 
  

  Reflecting upon this experience helped me see why some teachers' love for their job flows out and why it does not show for some. We all have bad days at work, in life, and with people. However, what you continually put in your brain is what you will get out. If you focus on the negative, you will get out negative. If you focus on the positive, you will get positive. However, research shows you can retrain your brain. It's proven! It is possible to change your outlook. Our administrator challenged us to 21 Days of Gratitude; as educators, let's work on retraining our brain to show the world how amazing this teaching profession really is!