It's been awhile since I updated this blog. I started this last year as a means of writing about my teaching experience and then it sort of just dropped off. I'd like to pick it up again because I think it's important to be reflective in the practice of teaching. So here I am starting off a new school year. I'm tackling another year of 7th graders and I'm super excited despite the struggles I will be facing in a district that has been all but decimated. It's hard to go in in the mornings and not see the familiar face of the secretary. I'm a little nervous about what will happen if I have a student in crisis and there is no counselor or nurse present in the building to help me. That is the joys of teaching in Philadelphia. I have 36 kids among both of my classrooms at the present time. That is a huge amount of children. I just feel terrible because I know that I cannot effectively meet all of their needs with that many kids at once. I'm afraid that I will also struggle with building meaningful relationships because of that too.
One of my big focuses this year is working on building a positive classroom environment. I really enjoy what goes on with morning meetings and responsive classroom practices so I've been trying to make the one of the driving forces in my classroom. The kids have responded fantastically so far and I'm hoping that they will be inspired to continue to stay positive. I once laughed when I was told to look at Harry Wong's "The First Days of School" but now I can see how true it is that you need to just practice and reinforce routines and procedures.
I'm looking forward to using service learning and the Need In Deed program in my classroom again. I'm hoping the students really want to become agents of change and select a community issue that they want to fix. We've had a great start....I'm hoping it continues into the school year!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Friday, December 7, 2012
When are the questions too hard?
So today I faced a dilemma. My special education co-teacher was out today and she had a substitute teacher who came into the room. I had today organized fairly well. First the students would take theirs Ancient Greece tests, then they would write their journal entry, and, finally, work on their Hercules critiques. When everyone was done working on the test, they could go back to completing their box projects (another post about those later!). While everyone was in their various stages of work, one of my students came up to me to ask me about a question. This individual is a fantastic student. She is bright and helpful and wants to please. Her downfall is major test anxiety in which she gets so worked up about every test question. It can be extremely frustrating because when it comes time for PSSA's, I can already tell that she is going to have a major meltdown due to her inability to relax. She didn't understand what the word incorporate meant. In general (and you can disagree with me- that's okay!), I don't like to help students with tests especially when the end result is that they don't come to the conclusion on their own. I would rather see them come up with an answer even if they struggle because it's their own thinking process at work. I feel that they need to work through the material. The other part of it is that when it comes time for the standardized test (which unfortunately is the be all, end all), nobody can help them. I like the wean them off asking for help early so they are prepared to tackle the difficult stuff later on. So I looked at the students and told her that I would use incorporate in a sentence or scenario and I wanted her to figure out what I was talking about with context clues. As I'm trying to explain this to her, the guest teacher jumps all over what I'm doing and then goes on to give her an answer which was the total opposite of what I was looking for. I was pretty aggravated but didn't want to say anything especially in front of the kids. The sub then proceeded to go about how my test was too hard and that incorporate was too difficult of a word for the seventh graders to understand and that the questions were asking too much.
I was a little upset especially because I felt the need to defend the test.
We had been working on Ancient Greece for about a month and half. With the new common core standards, I was pretty excited because I could work at putting together something of a thematic unit. It wasn't perfect by any means. I'm learning a lot of new things working at Labrum and I'm trying not to rely on what is "safe". I like trying to expand and do different things with the kids. So today's test was sort of the culmination of the work we had been doing. I designed it in such a way that there were 6 questions. The students were able to choose 5. They were able to use any notes and resources they had been given to help them formulate their answers. The questions were all open-ended style responses in which they had to provide sufficient reasons and evidence for their answers. I also designed the questions using a Higher Order Thinking Questioning Reference Guide that provides question stems as well as key words and verbs for each level of thinking. I want to start working beyond simple identify and recall questions. My ultimate goal is for students to synthesize and evaluate the material. We had recently taken our first benchmark and I noticed that the questions were pretty intense. Right away, I knew that I had to make a change to my instruction and provide richer and deeper questions.
The guest teacher went on to tell me that the work was too hard and that I was discouraging the kids from learning. I tried to explain that I was challenging them because as seventh graders, I can't hold their hands forever. They need to be able to form their own opinions and think above and beyond. I hate when I get blank stares when I question them and I especially hate when I get the whining of "that's too difficult". I don't back down though because I want them to answer the hard questions and work through the situations.
The question in question:
What can you incorporate from Ancient Greece into your life today? What valuable lessons or things did you learn from our studies? Support your answer with evidence from our class materials.
When are the questions too hard? Am I wrong for wanting to raise the bar for the kids? (I do make accommodations for the children with IEPs) Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!
I was a little upset especially because I felt the need to defend the test.
We had been working on Ancient Greece for about a month and half. With the new common core standards, I was pretty excited because I could work at putting together something of a thematic unit. It wasn't perfect by any means. I'm learning a lot of new things working at Labrum and I'm trying not to rely on what is "safe". I like trying to expand and do different things with the kids. So today's test was sort of the culmination of the work we had been doing. I designed it in such a way that there were 6 questions. The students were able to choose 5. They were able to use any notes and resources they had been given to help them formulate their answers. The questions were all open-ended style responses in which they had to provide sufficient reasons and evidence for their answers. I also designed the questions using a Higher Order Thinking Questioning Reference Guide that provides question stems as well as key words and verbs for each level of thinking. I want to start working beyond simple identify and recall questions. My ultimate goal is for students to synthesize and evaluate the material. We had recently taken our first benchmark and I noticed that the questions were pretty intense. Right away, I knew that I had to make a change to my instruction and provide richer and deeper questions.
The guest teacher went on to tell me that the work was too hard and that I was discouraging the kids from learning. I tried to explain that I was challenging them because as seventh graders, I can't hold their hands forever. They need to be able to form their own opinions and think above and beyond. I hate when I get blank stares when I question them and I especially hate when I get the whining of "that's too difficult". I don't back down though because I want them to answer the hard questions and work through the situations.
The question in question:
What can you incorporate from Ancient Greece into your life today? What valuable lessons or things did you learn from our studies? Support your answer with evidence from our class materials.
When are the questions too hard? Am I wrong for wanting to raise the bar for the kids? (I do make accommodations for the children with IEPs) Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The Classroom Theme
Every year I'm all about a classroom theme. I find it fun to take the time to come up with an idea and center classroom decorations around it. This year it is super heroes. I was really struggling with what to do this year when it finally hit me. After spending all summer watching Avengers, Amazing Spiderman, and The Dark Knight Rises, I thought that I would incorporate my love of comic books into my classroom.
I feel that taking the time to invest in "decorating" pays off. I teach seventh grade and it can be a really challenging year. I have found that taking the time to create an environment that is exciting as well as colorful and bright can really drive behavior. I think it tells the kids that you care and that you took the time to create a beautiful and engaging environment. Granted it has cost me some money but I look at it as an investment. I never mind going into my own pocket if it means I'm going to avoid other issues down the road. It pays to have sanity.
This year I spent a lot of time scouring craft stores and flea markets for materials. I was most proud of my city scape that I affixed to the wall. I created it out of butcher paper and scraps. It took about two hours to put together. The worst was gluing all the "windows" onto the paper. I found super hero fabric at Joann's and used that to create my table cloths. The Spiderman stand up was an awesome find. I discovered that with my husband at Columbus flea market in New Jersey. There was a vendor who had tons of super hero stuff and he gave me fantastic deals on items including the stand-up. He sold it to me for ten dollars!
This is my city scape wall when it was a work in progress. I'll have to post a finished version!
Along with my super hero theme decorations, I add in little things to go along with the idea. We called our rules "The Class Code of Honor". I filled the front bulletin board with quotes from various super heroes such as the piece of Spiderman gold "With great power comes great responsibility". Often, as I teacher Literacy, I will pull in comic book references. I have a Captain America apron that I found from Williams-Sonoma on sale for six dollars! (I wear it to hold tickets, pens, cell phone, etc...also keeps me from getting dirty because I have chalk boards). I've developed a little bit of a reputation as a comic book nerd but I know the kids secretly think it's cool. I hope!
The other theme I used in the past was a beach theme where I hung pool toys from the ceiling and hung grass skirts from the doors.
This is a palm tree that I created out of ribbon and a silk plant when I was working at Pastorius school. This bulletin board eventually read "Riding the Proficiency Wave".
I can't even begin to think about how I will top the super heroes!
I feel that taking the time to invest in "decorating" pays off. I teach seventh grade and it can be a really challenging year. I have found that taking the time to create an environment that is exciting as well as colorful and bright can really drive behavior. I think it tells the kids that you care and that you took the time to create a beautiful and engaging environment. Granted it has cost me some money but I look at it as an investment. I never mind going into my own pocket if it means I'm going to avoid other issues down the road. It pays to have sanity.
This year I spent a lot of time scouring craft stores and flea markets for materials. I was most proud of my city scape that I affixed to the wall. I created it out of butcher paper and scraps. It took about two hours to put together. The worst was gluing all the "windows" onto the paper. I found super hero fabric at Joann's and used that to create my table cloths. The Spiderman stand up was an awesome find. I discovered that with my husband at Columbus flea market in New Jersey. There was a vendor who had tons of super hero stuff and he gave me fantastic deals on items including the stand-up. He sold it to me for ten dollars!
This is my city scape wall when it was a work in progress. I'll have to post a finished version!
Along with my super hero theme decorations, I add in little things to go along with the idea. We called our rules "The Class Code of Honor". I filled the front bulletin board with quotes from various super heroes such as the piece of Spiderman gold "With great power comes great responsibility". Often, as I teacher Literacy, I will pull in comic book references. I have a Captain America apron that I found from Williams-Sonoma on sale for six dollars! (I wear it to hold tickets, pens, cell phone, etc...also keeps me from getting dirty because I have chalk boards). I've developed a little bit of a reputation as a comic book nerd but I know the kids secretly think it's cool. I hope!
The other theme I used in the past was a beach theme where I hung pool toys from the ceiling and hung grass skirts from the doors.
I can't even begin to think about how I will top the super heroes!
Every hero has an origin story...
Greetings reader! Thank you for stopping by to take a look at my blog. I was recently inspired to start this blog by spending not only endless hours on Pinterest, but also by a colleague of mine whose blog I will link to here. Make sure you check her out here at http://new-in-room-202.blogspot.com/
My name is Stefanie Crilley and I'm a 7th grade English and Social Studies teacher in Philadelphia. I recently started working at Labrum Demonstration Middle School and the journey has been nothing less than exciting. I've been an educator for roughly eight years now and I find that I just never know enough. I love learning and working to improve myself. I've decided that I would like to start blogging about my experiences particularly as a means of reflection for what occurs in my classroom everyday.
The name of my blog comes from this year's classroom theme which is comic book super heroes. I have always loved comic books and they've been a huge inspiration in many of the things I've put together this year.
I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with you!
My name is Stefanie Crilley and I'm a 7th grade English and Social Studies teacher in Philadelphia. I recently started working at Labrum Demonstration Middle School and the journey has been nothing less than exciting. I've been an educator for roughly eight years now and I find that I just never know enough. I love learning and working to improve myself. I've decided that I would like to start blogging about my experiences particularly as a means of reflection for what occurs in my classroom everyday.
The name of my blog comes from this year's classroom theme which is comic book super heroes. I have always loved comic books and they've been a huge inspiration in many of the things I've put together this year.
I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with you!
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