What Secondary Teachers Learned in 2015

As 2015 draws to a close, I'd like to take some time to reflect on changes I made teaching this year and ideas I discovered.   Secondary Sara had a wonderful idea of teacher-authors doing a "What Secondary Teachers Have Learned in 2015" blog hop, and I am stoked to participate!  My teaching practices constantly change, which makes teaching challenging and fun, and made this post a breeze to do.  Here are my Top Six A-ha! moments for 2015:


#1.  "Grade" as the kids go.
This a-ha moment came when kids were working on graphing.  As I circulated the room, I would stop to confer with a student, and by conferring, I mean look at their work and immediately give feedback.  Right away, I could see if a kid forgot the title, didn't number the y-axis by intervals, or switched the IV and the DV.  It made so much more sense to me to give this instant feedback, instead of toting all of the graphs home, grading them, making comments on them, handing the graphs back, and then watching kids recycle or throw away the papers.  If a student did everything correctly, I drew a star on the top of the page and they handed it in.  If a student made a mistake, I would talk them through it.  Almost everybody would ended the class period with a star on top.  When then next class began to do their graphs, I quickly recorded the grades of the previous class, and then repeated conferring with the new class.  This worked so well for me, I've done the same type of grading with other assignments.  Sometimes I even focus on only a few questions, usually the harder ones, and then don't even grade the simple, low-level questions.  (Shhh...don't let this secret out!)

***See the bottom of the post for a product to help kids practice graphing!

#2.  Do more pairing/sharing and give kids time to talk.
With my students this year, "pairing/sharing", "turn and talk to a neighbor", or "explain to a shoulder partner" has worked so much better than whole-class questioning and answering.  These methods ensure that most (I won't exaggerate and say all!) students have the opportunity to explain their ideas and get feedback from somebody.  Often, after partner sharing, I'll give an opportunity to share ideas with the whole class, and I do get more participation than if I begin by whole class sharing.  You do have to be vigilant as a facilitator- walk around the room, listen in on conversations, sometimes randomly call on a group to share out. 

Collaborative posters comparing cell organelles to things in various locations

Similar to partner sharing is partner drawing or diagramming.  For example, after students work together to draw a diagram showing what happens during photosynthesis, hang up all the diagrams and have students do a "gallery walk"- basically looking at all the other diagrams.  Give each student a small sticky note, sticker, or piece of colored tape to put on a diagram as a vote for their favorite.  Look at the Top 3 together and discuss why they are the best.  Super easy, and has the benefit of positive reinforcement from peers.

#3.  Tennis Balls vs. Felt and Zip Ties
I had seen this done in another teacher's classroom and loved the idea:  putting tennis balls on the bottom of chairs.  This idea works in so many ways.  For one, there is less noise as students move chairs around.  Also, the floors look amazing without the scrapes and scuffs that would normally be there by mid-year.  Also, I have several balls readily available should the need arise.  (This has also proven to be a drawback...the balls come off, and my boys just can't resist throwing them in between classes.)  So while I thought this idea was great, another teacher modified the idea in a brilliant way.  She cut up squares of felt and zip-tied them to her chairs' feet.  It looks pretty cool, and she didn't have to keep hitting up the local college's tennis coach for old tennis balls.  Her daughter set up the chairs in an hour while she was getting her classroom ready.  As far as I know, the felt has lasted a full semester and she also has the benefit of still shiny floors and dampened noise levels.  Let's hear it for anything that helps keep the noise down!

#4.  Skip the glue- use tape instead!

I love using an interactive notebook, but I always had kids gluing them shut.  It's bound to happen, no matter how often you tell them, "Dot, dot, not a lot!"  This year, I invested about $25 in some cool donut shaped tape dispensers.  Don't waste your money on those.  They broke the first time we used them.  I emailed the company (you know them, the ones who make the "good" clear tape.)  They were no help.  But then I found some dispensers at the Dollar Tree.  Who knew?  They've worked well- I bought six and they haven't broken.  My office lets me have as many tape refills as I need.  Taping instead of gluing is faster, less messy, and less of a hassle.  Such a small switch makes a huge difference.  Take the plunge- use tape, not glue!

#5  Freebies abound!
Who doesn't enjoy getting something for free?!?!  Whether you find a usable resource or get inspired by them, free things abound on the internet!  I've started a Pinterest board specifically for middle school freebies!  Feel "free" to check it out!
https://www.pinterest.com/kaichar/middle-school-freebies/

#6.  Buy a Pin Art toy!
My daughter asked for one of these fun toys, and I was skeptical that she would use it after the initial fun of making a few hand shapes.  I can happily report that we have played with this thing almost daily!  We grab items, make the shape, and then guess what the mystery item was.  We can usually tell, but sometimes the smaller items are tricky.  This is just a fun toy- I'm actually thinking about getting one for my classroom.  If only I can think of a way to prevent the boys from making obscene gestures in it...




My daughter and I had fun making images of a twisty straw, a stapler, and her hand.  :)

*** https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Graphing-Practice-25-Quick-Graph-Sheets-for-Bar-Line-Pie-Graphs-1880986

Enjoy reading some other tips and insights from other teacher-authors at the following links:

An InLinkz Link-up

Every Student, Evey Day!

A few years ago, I started reflecting at the end of the school day where my attention had been on that particular day.  I realized that some kids got more than their fair share of my time- as I corrected behaviors, re-taught, and signed passes.  Some students got more appropriate attention- the outgoing kids who were fun to talk to, who volunteered answers, who asked thought-provoking questions.  But in every class, there was a ghost student.  You know the one- he or she does the work, doesn't bother anybody, doesn't ask questions.  At the end of the year, you wonder how it is that you went a full year and don't really know this kid.  There were also several students who weren't quiet and shy, they just didn't want to engage with the teacher or the class.  Talking in front of other kids is risky; pre-teens don't want to be wrong in front of their friends.  Some don't want to chance being rejected, for example, by raising a hand, but not getting picked.  In some classes, there were days when I didn't personally interact with half the class!  It bothered me.

I made it my mission to make contact with every student in my class, every day.  With class sizes of 24 kids, give or take, you would think this would be easy.  And it is easy, but it is also extremely easy to overlook those quiet kids.  You, the teacher, have to realize those ghost kids are there and make the effort to engage them.  You have to somehow keep track of who you engage with.  I have come up with a few strategies that work for my class (6th grade science!)

1.  Use name sticks!

This seems like an elementary idea, but it works for  middle school too.  For each class, write every student's name on a popsicle stick.  Decorate an empty can for each class, and you're ready to go.  I pull out names almost every time that I ask a question, need a helper, or want a "volunteer".  3 - 4 names come out for the warm-up or bellringer question, a few more as we read, a couple to help pass out papers, a few to give examples of answers, connections, a few for the exit ticket, and at the end of class, I have called on every student for one thing or another. 

2.  Use all-class response cards.
I got this idea from reality tv.  In the four corners of a piece of paper, I wrote the answers A, B, C, D.  On another paper, I wrote True, False, Yes, No.  I copied these back-to-back, cut them out, hole punched them, and tied them together.  I made 30.  They are quick and easy to use with power point questions, verbal questions, questions in a book.  Make sure that you tell students not to reveal their answer until you say to!  This system gets everybody involved in answering, and you can see right away if most of the class is getting what you taught.

3.  Use a dice to pick volunteers. 
My lab desks are pushed together to make tables of four, and my tables are numbered.  Each table also has each seat numbered 1 - 4, so I can roll the dice to pick a particular seat after the table is chosen.  I love rolling the dice (I know, "number cube") to pick tables for various things.  Lining up for lunch, reporting out to the class, getting supplies.  The kids love being chosen, because then they get to roll the dice for the next selection.  It's such a small thing, but they love rolling the dice too.

4.  Confer with kids weekly; track it!
Our district is heavily into the workshop model, which encourages daily conferring with the students.  Conferring looks like different things to different teachers, but what it boils down to is talking to kids about what they know.  You can print off a spreadsheet with each student's name, and write the date in a box each time you talk one-on-one with them about their learning.  If you do this weekly, you're doing better than me!  Meeting with each kid every two weeks is more doable for me right now, although ideally, I'd meet more.  I still have those high maintenance kids taking up more than their share of time, but this way, I can at least see when it's been a while since I've given personal attention to somebody.  I have a colleague that uses the free app Evernote to keep track of her conferring.  She loves it and is able to type in notes, take pictures, and all kinds of cool things with it.  I prefer the paper-pencil tracking, but Evernote is a great option for people who prefer technology.

5.  Pick helpers of the week.
I have on the left side of my white board each class listed with two helpers for the week chosen by randomly pulling out their sticks, of course.  I only fill out the calendar for as many kids as I have at a time, so if a new student moves in, they are added the next go-round.  You would think that middle schoolers wouldn't care so much about this, but they surprised me again by loving this idea.  They check the semester calendar all the time to find out when they are the weekly helper.  They are the ones who get to return things to the library, sharpen and keep track of my pencils (see my January 3, 2015 post!), take make-up work to the office, make emergency copies, and anything else special that pops up.  They really look forward to their week.  

 These ideas aren't earth shattering, but just having them in mind helps me make sure to involve every kid, every day.  There are still days when a kid walks out and I think, "Wow, I didn't even talk to him or her!"  But those days are fewer now than they were a few years ago, and that's progress.