Wonderings, puzzlements and queries...

Wonderings, Puzzlements, Queries…   page 37, The Power of Questions, Falk & Blumenreich.

I find it interesting that as I review my weeks, I find a lot more things that bother me about my classroom this year.  Things I want fixed or changed; things that aren’t running smoothly.  It could be kid needs.  It could be the new curriculum.  It could be me and the medication I have had to take.    It could be the testing pressure.  It could be the pacing guides that keep us moving forward, but feeling like there’s a lack of balance in time for students to learn but a need to stay on the pace.  I keep going back to the idea of “taking back my classroom”, like someone has taken it from me.  Behaviors, testing, meetings, pacing guides, they all rob me of my individuality as a teacher, and have been usurping what I know works for me in my classroom with confusion and chaos and less familiarity and less community.

So, here’s my journal of the happenings in my classroom and life. 

*What excites me, bothers me, and/or interests me.

1.  How L can look so intently 1:1 and nod his head that he cares to do his very best  and wants to be my “go to” person, but then in whole group instruction or small group work,  does not attend physically or participate much!  (Get a signal to let him know to get back on track.)

2.  How C can’t focus.  (Have him restate what he should be doing.)

3.  How come I haven’t done a lot of group work in Math yet?

4.  Reading inquiry project.  Can I at least get the WRAP UP step in and have students share from their small groups?

5.  How do I help students take control of their learning/behavior, so I can be facilitator? 

6.  How can I encourage the students who love to learn and love school to continue?!!!!!

7.  How do I get W to ask questions, interact, share, invest himself in class, be honest about his abilities, read more?

8.  How do I get P to realize all the smarts she has and use them, stay focused, make school a priority?

9.  Where’s my repertoire of BRAIN BREAK activities for our long afternoon?  Thinking on the fly…  Creativity..

10.  K – how do I help her become a more valued member of our classroom community?

11.  C – how do I help to show him all the positives about himself?  He so struggles with learning and seeing past black and white.

12.  L – How do I get her to see beyond herself to recognize importance of others/our group?

13.  A – How do I get him to share!

14.  E, A, S, K, J, G, G, S, C, E, K, K, C, E, S – reward all of their awesome effort, help them to identify places to focus their learning.

15.  S – How to get him to have fun!

SUBJECT AREA QUESTIONS:

1.      Where is our best writing?  Why aren’t we doing more?  How do I meet with these kids to move their writing forward?  How does this writing program work?  I miss the writer’s workshop where students wrote and wrote and got good at stamina last year.  I still wasn’t good at finished projects.  Maybe that’s where I should focus.  Conferencing,…process writing…finished projects (or not) that don’t have to be perfect!

2.       Reading Inquiry Project – Can I get them to meet in groups to share from their differentiated reader?  Can we start the WRAP UP?  What does it look like?  How can it evolve so soon it can be an Inquiry Project.

3.      How to make all learning more student centered (it’s about the learning) and less teacher centered (about the teaching)?

4.       How to get a flow to our day where everything fits in and moves from one subject to another without that disjointed feeling?  Why has it taken so long to feel like a classroom community.  We are still saying things and doing things that don’t support each other. 

5.      Where does “Rachel’s Challenge” fit in our classroom.  Acts of Kindness, a kindness  chain.  Books I should be sharing about kindness that will help us realize our goal of kindness in the classroom and in our lives.  Books the kids could read to support this.  A project we could do.

6.      Hooking my kids into reading.  Some already love to read.  Others are not showing stamina in reading.  My read aloud is key.  Series books are key.  Book swaps are key.  Get them going!  Differentiated readers going home with students! – YES!  Do this!  Number  the books, make each student accountable for a book.  Take their interest and allow them to go with it by sharing at home.

7.       Math – more time talking about math with each other. Where’s the investigative element when I am teaching and departing knowledge to them?????   More good math fact practice time to support Rocket Math.  More strategies taught.  Worksheets to support fact practice.

8.       Social Studies – project based, investigative, reading the text like we teach in reading class,…  Less worksheet,   This class is important, but I have less time, so how can I structure so BIG IDEAS will be learned?  CESA History Kit has been good.  Begin my year with it next year!  It’s hands on and investigative; encourages group communication and presentation; and supports inquiry.

9.      Gender Differences – Reading Why Gender Matters? And all it’s implications in the classroom.  Grouping students by gender:  subject area work, reading work, seating chart,…what are the implications?

10.  Learning Styles – to make sure I am allowing all styles to learn equally or to share in a project that best uses the s. learning style.  (visual, verbal, auditory, sensorimotor, music, movement, ….)

11.  Internal drive, motivation, persistence, student interest….how can this all show itself in the classroom? 

GRADING – ASSESSMENT – for conferences or grade book.  I like to have about 10 grades per quarter to base my grade off of.  I have struggled to put grades in the grade book this year.  What

What do I want to examine in more depth?

I am interested in being more project-based and meeting the learning styles of my students.  I am interested in continuing to work on classroom community/Rachel’s Challenge of kindness/Peaceful Bus Program, which happen to be three big initiatives our district laid out this year.  Unfortunately, it has seemed too much to undertake along with the new curriculum.  Yet, they are all related and can unfold simultaneously with some planning.  There are many books to share that cover these themes.  Give opportunities to come back to the classroom and share what they are doing to better their world.

Select one I really care about.

I am interested in focusing on the learning community, responsive classroom, with carryover into being a responsible and respectful citizen in all areas of the students’ lives.  (Tie in with Rachel’s Challenge and Peaceful Bus Program)