Back to School Eve

 I usually prefer to post curriculum related content, but today on this Back to School Eve I know that this post needs to be a "different".  After all, isn't EVERYTHING "different" these days.  This Back to School Eve is like no other that any of us have ever experienced.

I'm always excited and a little bit anxious because it means a fresh start.  The school floors will be all shiny and untouched from the hard summer work of our dedicated custodians.  The bulletin boards going down the main hall will be spruced up with a new "theme" for the year to highlight the impending student work that will be coming soon, but this year that excitement is drowned out by anxiety and fear of the unknown.

Let's be honest, most of us don't like the UNKNOWN and I'm certainly a person who enjoys predictability, routines, and structure.  This year I feel like my world has been turned upside down by COVID 19 and nothing...NOTHING is simple anymore.

Certainly there are other educators out there feeling the same way. I went into teaching because I enjoy being WITH kids-not getting to know them through a computer screen.  I enjoy planning with my colleagues through face to face conversations-not through shared documents. I enjoy getting to know families through parent nights-not through virtual meetings. BUT I keep telling myself that this is all just temporary and things will eventually get back to normal.  But will they?

So here I sit on this Back to School Eve and here is what I do know...

-I'm thankful that my family lives close by and that I have gotten to see them regularly-in person.

-I'm thankful that my daughter gets a glimpse of normalcy though band practices during this "Senior Year" even though there may never be a real performance.

-I'm thankful my other daughter has socialization with her ball team to get her through the sometimes lonely days of middle school.

-I'm thankful for a principal who follows the rules, but still "thinks like a momma" and wants school to be as warm and inviting as it can be with social distancing rules in place.

-I'm thankful for a mom and dad who help me get the items I "need" for my classroom, although I never even thought I needed them until this year when supplies can't be shared.

-I'm thankful for a husband who is okay with me spending HOURS on the computer during my time off, not because I have to but because he knows that I need to feel mentally prepared ahead of time.

-I'm thankful for good friends who have spent hours this summer with me discussing what school MIGHT look like and how a teacher MIGHT handle all these new guidelines in a REAL classroom.

-I'm thankful to all the fellow educators and colleagues who have "entertained" my ideas for unit plans and getting started this school year.

-I'm thankful for a church family who recognizes the stress and angst that we teachers have been under this summer just from not knowing what our days and weeks ahead are going to look like...

So, yes I am VERY thankful for many, many things!

But at the same time, I have so many worries going through my mind that I'm quite certain sleep will elude me tonight.

-I'm worried that someone in my family might get sick...

-I'm worried that my plans for learning might not work...

-I'm worried that my daughter's senior year will be disappointing for her...

-I'm worried that my middle schooler won't be successful learning from home-alone-while I work...

-I'm worried I won't be able to turn school "off" when I enter my house each day... (that one has always been a personal struggle)

-I'm worried that some of my friends and colleagues don't feel safe returning to school...

-I'm worried that I may never get to meet some of my students...

-I'm worried that I will break one of the "new rules" unknowingly...

So to get to the point...

I don't know whether to feel excited, anxious or just plain numb but if you know a teacher, if you have children who have teachers, if you just care about teachers at all-say a special prayer of PEACE for all the teachers tonight and send a virtual hug their way because whatever the worries, they are real to them and we ALL just want to do what is right for our families and YOUR kiddos! 

Until next time when I'll be back to posting curriculum stuff!

Insects: Here, There and Everywhere

Standards Progression

Writing Standards

W1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide closure.

W2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

W3.2 Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Digital Publishing Standards

W1.4/2.4 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools and resources to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

W3.4 With guidance and support from adults, use digital tools and resources to produce and publish writing (using word processing skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Research Standards

W1.5/2.5 Participate in shared research and writing projects.

W3.5 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

So in my previous blog Lost In Writing I talked about how I decided I had to revamp my writing instruction.  After many years of struggling with writing, I realized I had to make it purposeful for my kiddos and myself, so I reorganized my writing plans to integrate it with other units of study.  You can read more about that journey here.

Now, getting down to the nitty gritty!  One of my FAVORITE units of study is life cycles.  I love studying all about the new life each spring in my classroom. One of the highlights of the life cycles unit is getting to watch caterpillars turn into butterflies, ladybug larve develop into adult ladybugs and watching ants work together to build a city of their own.  The kiddos LOVE getting to experience these "wonders" first hand. This was the inspiration for my writing instruction on Insects.

My team and I do our life cycles unit each spring, so the kiddos have been writing a LOT already thoughout the year.  At this point, I often notice that they are getting a little bored with the regular hum-drum of writing so it's a perfect time to dive into some high interest research and some digital publishing.

My students are used to researching at this point, although a lot of it has been shared research that we do together as a class or in groups.  Now is the time for me to turn them loose and see what they can do all by themselves and they never cease to amaze me! Now when I say "all by themselves" I don't turn them loose individually quite yet. I partner them up but the research is entirely up to them at this point. I do not guide them through the process since it's late in the year and they've had lots of practice.  It's also a plus that it's easy to find child-friendly information on insects 😉

After introducing the whole concept of insects vs. spiders and life cycles through reading and science, my students work in partners to choose an insect to research.  I usually give them a list to choose from (after I've reviewed the digital resources that I have available at my school) so I know they will be able to find good, quality information to use for their writing.  My mini-lesson each day is on how to use the different resources for research.  This reinforces the fact that I want the research to be "theirs" so I simply teach them how to navigate the different resources each day. It usually takes us about a week to gather all of the facts, then I move onto the actual writing.

My writing focus for this unit is the organization and text features of non-fiction writing. While we practice using these in our writing, we are investigating how authors use them during our reading instruction.  My mini-lessons include...

-Anchor chart of text features that can be used in non-fiction writing (heading, labels, table of contents, glossary, etc.)

-Writing a good hook and topic sentence/introduction for an informational piece.

-Giving interesting facts about the topic 

-Ending with telling your reader how they can find out more about the topic

-Revising for clarity

-Adding digital images

Finally, to spice things up for the kiddos in my class, this is their first digital project! That's their favorite part!  I choose to have my students do their research and planning on paper, but all of their "actual" writing is done digitally. They turn their information into a digital slideshow using Google Slides and then present their partner project to the class.  They get so excited and feel so grown up as they click through the slides to share all that they've learned.

You can check out the Insects: Here, There and Everywhere along with more writing units at my TpT store by clicking the image below.

Which weather is the worst?

Standards Progression

1st Grade-Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.

2nd Grade-Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

One of personal goals as a teacher this year is to make writing more meaningful for my kids.  In the past I felt like I was just going through the motions. I've always taught writing but I felt like it was a subject that I just checked off each day.  Yes, my kiddos knew how to write, but they didn't seem to write with a purpose so I'm trying to change that this year.

Each year in the winter, my 2nd grade team chooses to teach a weather unit. We spend several weeks observing the weather, collecting data and learning about different weather instruments as outlined in our state standards.  Over the years, we've taken several different approaches to writing during this unit but it almost always includes some severe weather research.  The kiddos are curious and excited to learn about severe weather and as an added plus, we always cover the important life skill of severe weather safety.  This year I decided to change it up a bit and make a switch from plain ole informational writing to opinion writing.  Our kiddos needed some more practice with this genre and when they are excited to learn it can make their writing REALLY great!

First, we complete a chart to find out what the kids think they already know about blizzards, tornadoes and hurricanes.  I typically just put my kiddos into groups and they work together to brainstorm a fact or two about each type of severe weather.  It's always so fun to see what they think about blizzards, because we don't get a lot of snow here in North Carolina so it's a pretty foreign concept for them. We refer back to this chart after we research each type of severe weather to see if what that thought was correct or incorrect and to hit some highlights of some new information that they learned.

Next comes a week or more worth of research.  I usually pull some photos, short reading passages, videos and websites for our research.  We usually research blizzards together, mostly because there seems to be less information on this type of weather.  I always talk to the kiddos about using multiple resources and not just copying the first thing we read.  Each day we review some different resources, THEN compile on information on a research sheet.  We don't go too in depth since I just want them to have enough information to form an opinion and support that opinion with reasons.  Our research stays pretty basic and is usually limited to the following key ideas.

1)What is it?
2)What kind of problems can it cause?
3)What should someone do to prepare or stay safe?

We repeat this process with tornadoes and hurricanes. I gradually release the amount of guidance I give them on the research over the course of the unit.  It differs from year to year depending on the independence of the group.

After finishing our research, we take a day to compare/contrast the big ideas for each type of severe weather. This helps the kiddos synthesize all the information they've learned in order to clearly see the differences so they can form their opinion.

Finally, they pick which kind of severe weather they think is the worst and work in groups to brainstorm their reasons why. Then they each write their own opinion piece.

Check out this FREE RESOURCE in my TpT store!

Tiered Support-A Teacher's Perspective

Tiered support-RTI-MTSS...regular classroom teachers are on the frontline each and everyday. They are the backbone of the whole framework, so what do the tiers REALLY mean for teachers? In this post, I'm going to focus on Core (Tier 1) which is often the easiest to look at but the hardest to fix.

I wanted to know for myself what my responsibility is in this whole framework, so I pulled up the resources for my state and dug in.  Yes, I'm just a Curriculum Geek like that! 😊

Our district has been training on this "framework" for years.  They've tried to explain "core" over and over again; yet as a teacher I wanted to really understand what is  expected of ME for each tier.  Below is a summary of my own interpretations of what I found. I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts in the comments below based on your own knowledge and interpretations.

Core support (Tier 1)-The whole idea is based around the idea that regular classroom instruction is supposed to meet the needs of 80% of the students in the school and in your class.  If this isn't happening, then you need to strengthen core instruction. So what does that mean and what does it look like for classroom teachers?

All wrapped up in one short idea-reflective practitioner!  Sounds easy enough, yet this seems to be THE hardest step for most schools and teachers to wrap their heads around (including me).  So I thought, what does this really mean for ME?

For ME, it means each and every time I assess the students in my classroom I compare their results to the 80% model.
-Classroom reading test...did 80% of my students pass or meet mastery?
     If not, then who didn't, why do I think they didn't, and what can I do to try to get them there?                     -Quarterly benchmark...who didn't meet 80% proficiency?
    Why do I think they didn't and what can I do to get them there?

Me admitting that I didn't meet the needs of 80% of my students isn't me admitting that I'm a bad teacher, it's just me reflecting on who, why and what can I do to help those students "get it." 

It's my job, as their teacher!

So I reflect on my environment, instructional practices and curriculum and make changes.  I will admit, when I recently looked at my mid year data, I was not at 80% and that upset me, but not in a personal beat myself up kind of way, just in the way that I want ALL of my students to be successful so what do I need to do to meet their needs?

I started by looking at which students were not meeting the 80% and I noticed my EC students weren't (ok that's not a surprise, they are working below grade level...growing but not there yet and already getting additional support), it wasn't my students who go to the reading specialist (again growing, just not there yet but already getting additional support). For me this go round it was a student who just hadn't been him/herself since returning from winter break so just reteaching wasn't going to be enough to get them going in the right direction.  They needed ME to support their social/emotional well being each and everyday. So I talked to our admin team, talked to the counselor, and scheduled time for the 2X10 strategy into my day and made it a priority (just talk to the students for 2 minutes a day for 10 minutes straight).  Those things are a LOT different than just reteaching, but until I help this particular student with those things, the academics aren't going to change and I'll admit...THOSE THINGS AREN'T MY GO TO when a student isn't performing academically!

Core support doesn't stop there...there's more-AAAHHHHH! More than my teacher brain can hold, right?

It also means me privately comparing myself to my grade level colleagues.  Not in the "she's a better teacher than me" kind of way, but it's ok for us as teachers to LEARN FROM EACH OTHER without being competitive!

 In other words, I need to know where I stand on the grade level. If all of our percentages are close to each other (even if not at 80%) then we are all doing similar things that are working for our classes. We can just brainstorm where is our area of weakness and make curriculum, instruction, environment changes together as a grade level.

BUT what if my percentages are much lower than my colleagues? Does that mean I'm a horrible teacher? Does it mean I'm less capable then my colleagues? Does it mean I got a bad group of kids? NO-NO and NO! It doesn't mean any of those things, it just means that maybe my colleagues have figured out some things that work for their kiddos that I haven't yet and here's the hard part...I MIGHT have to do things out of my personal comfort zone for the good of my kiddos!

UUGGGHHH! THERE IT IS...THE HARD PART! Doing things I'm not comfortable with is not something I enjoy.  All kinds of doubt floods my mind.  How will I make this work? What if I don't know how to do that? How will I teach my kids to handle that, at this point in the year? Can't I just wait and try that next year?

Those are all legitimate questions and concerns BUT you ARE a GREAT teacher...so don't be afraid to shine and try something new in your classroom.

Do a little research like reading an article or blog on the topic, talk to the teachers already doing it and form a plan of action and GO FOR IT!  Who knows? It just might work and if not, then there's nothing lost-just abandon ship and try again.

It's ok to try new things-sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  Just take the risk and GO FOR IT! You might surprise yourself and your kiddos and sometimes all they need is a little change of pace to go along with some reteaching to make a really big difference.

To sum it up, when you're looking at changing your overall percentage of students that have mastered a concept, sometimes all it takes is a little reteaching but if that's getting you nowhere then go a little deeper and try something new with your environment or instruction.

YOU ARE A TEACHER, A REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER AND YOU WERE BORN TO TRY NEW THINGS!

Click "Follow" to be sure you don't miss the next 2 posts in this series...Tier 2 and Tier 3. They are coming soon and you don't want to miss them.

10 more/less and MORE!

Standards Progression

1st Grade

Given a two-digit number, mentally find 10 more or 10 less than the number, without having to count; explain the reasoning used.

2nd Grade

Mentally add 10 or 100 to a given number 100-900, and mentally subtract 10 or 100 from a given number 100-900

*Supporting Standard 

 2nd grade-Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.

This one sounds so simple, yet encompasses so much number sense and understanding!  Where to begin...same place as always, with some math manipulatives of course.

This standard states to "mentally find 10 more/less, without having to count" but that doesn't just happen without some serious instruction and practice where the students do count. They count over and over again until they see and understand the pattern of adding 10 more or subtracting to get 10 less. 

 In 1st grade, the 10 more begins early as the kiddos are adding 10 more to those groups of 10.  This is closely related to the place value standard that has the kiddos counting 10 and some more for teen numbers and multiples of 10 and some more for larger numbers.  When you're doing those activities, it's simple to throw some in tasks where you have the children continue counting past 9 more.  Then that opens the door to "regroup" to make a new group of 10.  It all just goes hand in hand and these place value activities make a smooth transition into the world of 10 more/less. Voila!  Sounds so easy, right? 

Those little firsties can do this in so many forms-using all kinds of counters and tens frames will help to build the understanding of 10 more/less but remember to not just stop there.  Counting is only the first step.  After that, the kiddos have to see the pattern which can be accomplished by pairing those concrete manipulatives with some representational recording of the numbers they are making.  A good way to start is with them doing the counting and the teacher recording the numbers-it's a little neater at first when you record.  So, record a number pattern on the board as your kiddos keep counting those counters.  After a few numbers, call them to the carpet and have them look at the numbers.  Remind them that good mathematicians stop and look for patterns to see if they can be repeated (ding, ding, ding...there's one of the Mathematical Practice Standards). I usually ask them some questions like, 

-What do you see?

-Do you notice a pattern in any of the numbers?

-Can you see something that changed?

-Can you see something that stayed the same?

Some students will see that the number in the tens place changed right away, while others will need to count it, record it and see it many more times before they finally "see" and understand that the number in the tens place changes when you add or subtract 10 (aka, 10 more/less). That's all there is to it right?  You're almost there, but not quite...

So once my kiddos start seeing the pattern then we continue to practice it, with guidance, in small groups and independently. I also make sure MY STUDENTS have plenty of opportunities to practice writing those number patterns themselves.  We practice skip counting by 10's (even though skip counting isn't an actual 1st grade standard I still do it to help solidify the pattern of the numbers) from any given number 23, 33, 43.... 

Finally when I think they've got the pattern down pat, we discuss the different ways this might look.  I show them some skip counting patterns with 10 more/less. I relate it to some +10/ -10 equations, and finally give it to them in chart form for the true mental test! 

Confession of a place value geek...no base 10 blocks were used in the building of this understanding for those little 1st graders.  It seems like it would be so much easier (I know), but I have to remind myself that I must build number sense and understanding of quantity of numbers for those little kiddos and the best practice for building that understanding is counting  all those individual little counters up and down, over and over again.

Now, onto those 2nd graders...hopefully they come to you with the complete understanding from those wonderful 1st grade teachers; however, in all reality we know stuff just slips out of their little brains over that summer break and as much as we try to convince them that they "did learn it in 1st grade," somehow we sometimes have to do some review and then it all starts coming back to them :)

So in 2nd grade, I know it's going to surprise you...but I still don't start with base 10 blocks (insert eye roll 🙄) so once again even though we are doing larger numbers, I still have them count 10 more/less with individual little counters but that doesn't always involve building the WHOLE big, huge 3 digit number.  We might just say the number, then count on 10 more/less like say 346 then use counters and count 347, 348, 349, 350, 351...until we have added/subtracted 10.  In the beginning, I record the number pattern for them as we practice just counting on 10 more/less from several numbers.  Then we have the same discussion as mentioned above.  In 2nd grade this concept usually comes much quicker and some kiddos already have it thanks to those wonderful 1st grade teachers doing such a thorough job (thank you 1st grade teachers). After that we do finally break out the base 10 blocks and practice adding/subtracting those tens rods and eventually move onto the hundreds flats.  We practice skip counting number sequences, adding 10/100 more/less with equations and finally in a chart form for the true mental test!  

                                             

We're almost there...one common issue for the 2nd graders is not being able to cross the hundred.  Now, you might have noticed that I didn't mention the good ole hundreds chart in my above description and that's because it's just not my tool of choice.  While completely acceptable and I do use it, it's just not the first tool I pull from my tool belt.  It is especially helpful when you have some kiddos that just can't seem to "see" the pattern. It's a very tactile tool that allows the kiddos to move up and down to see how the numbers get larger/smaller.  Now in 2nd grade, we use a 1000's chart to help cross over to the next hundred. Some kiddos just need to touch, say and move from the first hundred to the next in order to help them understand how to cross over when learning 10/100 more/less.

And there you have it, fellow teacher friends...mentally finding 10 more/less than a number without having to count! Easy as pie!

Place Value

Ahhhh...place value-the basis for our whole number system!  What a FUN thing to teach!  I love teaching place value in 1st and 2nd grade because there's so much to do with it...build number sense, use lots of manipulatives, explore expanded form, read and write word form, compare quantities, the list goes on and on.

Standards Progression:

1st Grade: Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones. 

2nd Grade: Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones.

Here's a glimpse into the way I choose to teach place value in my own classroom.  I begin with building number sense for my little kiddos.  This is SUCH an important step in their understanding, especially in 1st grade.  It's so easy to jump straight to the base 10 blocks but I have found that is not enough. Some math gurus even suggest that base 10 blocks should not be used in 1st grade at all because of their abstract nature.  My little kiddos need to UNDERSTAND what those base 10 blocks represent and they need to understand the quantity represented by the numbers being discussed in both 1st and 2nd grade.

To build this number sense in 1st grade, I've used lots of different objects and representations to build the understanding of ten and some more or groups of ten and some more.  We use counters, unifix cubes, and any other manipulative that is easy to count with tens frames (concrete), and circling groups of 10 and some more in pictures (representational) before EVER moving into base 10 blocks (abstract).  To some this may seem like a waste of time but for me I want to be sure my students understand the CONCEPT behind those base 10 blocks and have good number sense so I choose to spend a good amount of time on this first step before moving into blocks and for some kids that doesn't happen in 1st grade at all.  While doing all this counting, we practice relating the number we say to the written form to start building the actual place value understanding.

I do the same thing with my 2nd graders only with larger numbers. We review groups of 10 and some more with those same items (counters, unifix cubes, tens frames, pics of objects) and then move into 100 and some more.  Yes, this is messy!  Yes, it's a little crazy with all those manipulatives going every which way!  Yes, it's necessary to build the concept and number sense of a hundred and some more. Here's a picture of our cubes right before we were getting ready to move into base 10 blocks.

I started by giving my 2nd graders 2 handful of cubes then we worked together to make groups of 10. We discussed how it was more efficient to count by 10's than 1's to get our total number. I also intentionally slide the groups of 10 together to make 100, so they could begin to understand recognize a hundreds flat.

If you have students struggling with place value, you might try going back to this step.  It is often the missing link to their understanding and some kids need a LOT of time with this step in order to build their number sense and to learn to "trust" the pattern of numbers.  Grab those counters, bears, beans, cubes, etc. and have them count and group and write the numerals so they will build that number sense and true understanding of how numbers and place value works.  Your students will reap the benefits for years to come.

So 1st and 2nd grade teachers, I hope you will join me in taking a step back and building number sense before jumping straight to those beloved base 10 blocks 😉

Flexible Seating-Getting Started

Flexible seating is one of those things that a teacher has to WANT to do in his/her classroom in order for it to work. For many like me, it's a leap of faith.  There's so many things to think about and consider before making this change in your classroom. Here's the list that I used when considering whether or not to "take the leap."

1-Why are you considering it?
2-What will you do with the kids stuff?
3-How will you manage it?
4-How do you get the seating options?

1-Why are you considering it?
Are you looking to spice things up a bit for your students? Do feel there is a need in your classroom to change some seating options to help students perform or behave better?  Does it look really cool when you walk into teacher's classrooms that do flexible seating? These are just a few of the questions to consider when trying to decide whether or not to give flexible seating a try.

If you feel your students just need a change, then you could try just rotating a few seating options through your whole class.  I often do this early in the year when getting my kiddos ready for the most extreme seating options (aka-the yoga ball).  I just keep a checklist up front on my board or easel and choose 1 student before lunch and 1 student after lunch so everyone can give it a try. As a class we discuss and practice how to use the seat correctly and I  follow up with the students after everyone has had a chance to try it out to get their thoughts.  Surprisingly enough, I've had children pass on their chance to even try some seats.  I've also had kids who loved the special seats but are able to tell me it was a distraction to them. So letting everyone try it out is one way of introducing flexible seating into your classroom in small doses.

Another way to introduce it in small doses is to place the flexible seating options around the room for use during centers, group work or partner activities. I have several colleagues that choose this method of incorporating flexible seating into their classrooms because they just aren't comfortable with the controlled chaos of having all those seating choices everywhere for the entire day.  This helps get the kids used to it, while not causing a huge change in your classroom set up. Then you can go ALL IN a little later.

Finally, you can do like me and go ALL IN!  I'm an ALL IN or not kind of girl anyway, but my purpose was and is to help my little wigglers to stay focused in any way possible so they will listen to me, so I ditched my desks (not all, just most) and did a major rearrange.  If you're willing to take the plunge then go for it but if not please feel reassured that it's okay to start on a smaller scale and work up from there. You can see an updated panoramic shot of my classroom below.

2-What will you do with their stuff?
This is a very important question to think through before going ALL IN with flexible seating. Before flexible seating, all my students had a desk of their own and that is where they stored all of their notebooks, journals, etc.  When I made the switch to flexible seating, I got rid of most of my desks which meant now I had to find somewhere to put all that stuff.  Just the thought of it gave me butterflies!  Luckily, my classroom was designed with lockers that included cubbies on the top for each student.  I chose to clean out all of the rarely used stuff and make room for the necessities in the cubbies.  After all, my old way of thinking didn't want that much up and down in my classroom going to get stuff every time we switched subjects but I knew I was going to have to make a change.  Now pencil boxes, journals, folders, etc. all stay in the cubbies. This can be daunting but dig in and you'll figure it out. Think like one of those fancy home organizers that gets paid the big bucks and just think about 1)What do your students need daily? 2)Where is the convenient place to store it?  Teachers are terrific at organizing so think outside the box and you'll have it figured out in no time!

3-How will you manage it?
It's decision time...Do you want to assign seats? Do you want students to stay in the same place all week? Do you want your students to pick new seats daily? Is it important to you for them to have a "home base?"  To be honest, I've done all of the above.  In my current classroom, the students choose a new seat each day and that is their "home base" but for me it changes throughout the year.  At BOY I often have mostly chairs and tables, then I introduce the more "fun" choices by using the checklist system mentioned above.  Sometimes I have students who aren't making good choices about where they sit and who they sit with, so I assign them a seat (at least temporarily) after a discussion with them about whether they think their choices have been good/not so good and why.

 I feel that it's important for my students to have a "home base" for the day so they know where to leave their pencil boxes, coats, etc. I still say "Go to your seats..." and they know where to go.  However, unless we are taking tests, my students spend very little time at their "home base" seats.  Nearly all of my mini-lessons are at the carpet, then group/partner work is usually an opportunity for them to spread out in places they choose around the room (which includes some of those seats that other students picked for the day as their "home base").  They only time my kiddos are usually at their "home base" is during independent work or if they choose to go to their "home base" during group/partner work.

Another thing to remember is that there will be a lot of movement throughout the day if you go ALL IN with flexible seating.  I must admit some days it still drives me CRAZY but I have to take a breath and remind myself that I'm doing the flexible seating to help the kids!  I have  a hard time sitting at the same table, in the same chair, listening to the same person at professional development sessions and I have to remember that my students feel the same way!  Here's an overview of the movement in a typical lesson for my classroom..."Bring your word list (from your cubby) and your clipboard (from a class bin) and pencil (from your seat) to the carpet."  I teach the lesson, then..."Now you may choose a partner spot to work together."  They work together, then..."Now complete the independent practice at your seat." Yes, it's a lot of movement but that's a win-win. Not only are you giving your students the opportunity to work in places that are most comfortable for them but they are given a lot of chance for movement.  Remember those little wigglers?  That's exactly what they need and you are the awesome teacher giving them that chance to move and wiggle.

Something else to consider is what your "rules" will be for flexible seating.  There are lots of good resources out there if you need ideas.  This is where you have to be willing to set aside some class time to teach the kiddos in your class HOW to make good seating choices and work in some follow up and accountability. One thing I do is check in with my kids from time to time with a Student Seating Inventory.  I have them think about where they work best and who they can be around to do their best work.  I use a google form but you can see a PDF version below.

4-How do you get the seating options?
Start by looking around your house or storage building. Are there some bar stools you haven't used in years? If so, add them to your classroom.  You can talk to your custodian and ask them to show you some of the unwanted items they have in their secret hiding places. Local discount stores have a lot of the items (stools, yoga balls, etc) that are reasonably priced.  Especially if you have to start with the cheap stuff (like me) be sure one of your rules is to use the seats appropriately and keep tools (pencils, scissors) away because these items aren't meant to last forever with day to day kid use.  Once you get your feet wet, then you can begin to talk to your principal or PTO to see if they would help you purchase some "school quality" items.  Plus, if you're good with data, you could have some behavior data to present them as you make your case for flexible seating. Most items aren't very expensive. You can find Yoga balls for $5-$10.  Wiggle seats are less than $20 online.  Stools can be $5ish. I'm currently still trying to get funding for a stand up table (I have one meant for older grades that is raised but it gets wobbly quite often) and those durable cushions (that are about $50 a set) for floor cushions.

 

One word of caution, please don't talk it up and get your kiddos all excited about flexible seating,  let them try it out and then take it away completely.  Remember the point isn't to be a reward or punishment. It's about HELPING the children who need it. It has been my experience that if you're having management problems, then it would be more appropriate to take away the seating choice that is causing the problem, address it with the student(s) having the problem or spend a little morning meeting time reteaching your procedures for making seating choices and using them correctly.  Once the kids have experienced the freedom and independence of choice, they will not be fond of giving it up.

I hope this list has helped you in thinking about and planning for flexible seating in your classroom so you'll be all set to go ALL IN!

Word Problems-Now What?

The first step in TEACHING your kiddos word problems is making sure you are familiar with the different types so you can help your students understand them.  Here's a quick review of the types.

Add To-have an action that adds something (ex. friends at a table and more join)

Take From-have an action where something is taken away (ex. birds in a tree and some fly away)

Put Together/Take Apart-Add or take away parts from a whole (ex.boys and girls in a class)

Compare-Compares the difference between 2 given sets (chocolate chip vs. peanut butter)

Now, how to teach these to your students.  Pick a type and start familiarizing them with the language of the problem type. Yes, I said use the names of the problem types with them. Now I know this can be scary at first when the kiddos look at you like you've grown 3 heads (especially in kindergarten) but don't give up!  Over time, they will become familiar with the vocabulary of the different types and the problem type is what actually helps them to understand the words in the problems.

Before jumping into word problems, I always make sure I've already been working on the concepts of adding, subtracting, part-part-whole and comparing (more about that later). Also, I make sure we've used a part-part-whole model with bars with basic computation since it's my personal model of choice for working with word problems. You can use number bonds and other models, but I choose to stick with the bar model for my students because it works with all the primary problem types and can be used for upper grades problems too-so to me it's the universal model for word problems.

Here's how I teach each problem type.

1) Teach the concept behind the problem type (K/1/2).

2) Practice the problem type with numberless word problems using labels and a model (1/2 grade)

3) Practice the problem type with the unknown in each position (as stated by your standards).

Let me explain...

Teach the Concept

In other words, they have to understand what happens to numbers when you add or take things away. This is where the manipulatives come out.  I read aloud several word problems and have the kiddos really act them out using cubes, counters, etc.  In 2nd grade this helps my students make the connection between the concrete and the representational form. I did this same thing in 1st but spent more time on the concrete before moving to the representational (on paper) form.  

It might look like this for an add to problem.  I read aloud, "There were 7 cubes on the desk.  The teacher walks by and puts 3 more cubes on the desk.  How many cubes are on the desk now?"  As I read the problem aloud, the kids count out the cubes and act out the problem.  I usually show them the problem on the board and they practice listening to me read it, then they practice trying to read it themselves. As a class we discuss the important information in the word problems and practice marking it to show what is important.

Practice with Numberless Problems

If you've never used numberless word problems then I cannot begin to explain to you how powerful they are when teaching the problem types.  This is my "go to" strategy for those kiddos who struggle with word problems.  A numberless problem is just what it sounds like, you take a word problem and leave out the numbers.  I show the word problems on the projector screen then just delete the numbers. On some problems you'll need to adjust the wording a little bit so that it makes sense but oh my goodness, this forces the kiddos to make sense of  THE WORDS!  

Here's an example for a take from problem.  I read aloud, "There were some oranges on the kitchen counter. Mom came by and threw some of the oranges in the trash. How many oranges are left?" I have the children practice drawing a bar model and putting the labels in the correct place with NO NUMBERS.

Once they get good at no numbers, then we are ready to add in the numbers for the next step.

Practice Finding the Unknown

According to the state standards, in 2nd grade we teach the unknown in ALL positions for each type. This differs depending on your grade level so dig deep in your standards to know what is appropriate for your grade level.  Here's the breakdown based on the state standards for my area.

Kindergarten-Add To/Take From result unknown, Put Together/Take Apart total unknown and 2 addends unknown

1st Grade-Add To/Take From change unknown, Put Together/Take Apart addend unknown, Compare difference unknown

2nd Grade-Add To/Take From start unknown, Compare bigger unknown, compare smaller unknown

Here are some examples of what the final product might look like for each problem type.

So there you go!  This is how I teach the word problem types in my classroom and it works for me and my kiddos.