Jiru's Classroom: Life in the Classroom

Showing posts with label Life in the Classroom. Show all posts

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Restorative Justice in Schools

Using Dialogue Circles to Support Classroom Management

Thursday, July 24, 2014

A Touching Moment

The below conversation took place after I changed the seating chart.

Boy A: Why do I have to sit right in front of the white board?

Me: The better for me to teach you when I explain the math lesson on the white board.

Boy Z: I would love to sit in front of my favorite teacher, Sister Jiru! (looking at me with adoring eyes.)

Me: Awwwwww...

The Character Rap

Use a pat, pat, clap rhythm.

Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
won't you try to be the best that you can be?
Fairness, caring, citizenship, too.
Do you listen to your conscience
When it tells you what to do?

Can you be trusted? Do you have integrity?
If I give you respect, will you give it back to me?
Do you pursue excellence in everything you do?
'Cause your stakeholders care!
Can they count on you?

Do you weigh things out? Are you judging fair?
Are you thinking with your heart and sprinkling kindness everywhere?
Do you go to vote? One committees do you serve?
Do you volunteer to do your part? Recycle to conserve?

Trustworthiness, respect, and responsibility -
your Character Counts! That's plain to see!
Fairness, caring, citizenship, too.
Know it, love it, do it - now it's up to you!

Website: http://corneroncharacter.blogspot.com/2014/07/cape-up-part-2.html

Color Your World with Kindness

Reflections on State Standardized Testing

I am not the type of person to get depressed when I do not achieve perfection. Life is too short for that.

The most important thing that I learn from the state standardized testing is that I value my students' progress more than their test scores. While I am pleased with my students' perseverance and diligence to do well in the state test, I am especially proud of how they have matured at the end of the school year. When I gave out the state test results to them individually, I told each of them that I was proud of the tremendous efforts they had put in throughout the year. They have become more caring and compassionate towards one another. I wanted to help them be independent decision makers on making smart choices in their lives. Slowly but surely, they came to realized that although they had no control over what they learned in class, they have the power to make smart choices and encouraged others to do the same.

Yesterday, I happened to see their pictures on my camera, and I suddenly realized that I missed them so much. I am truly thankful to Allah SWT that the honor and privilege of educating these kids had been bestowed upon me.

If only the state test also measures every ounce of effort that teachers and students put into becoming lifelong learners.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Reflection on Classroom Decoration - AY 2013-2014

All praise be to Allah SWT, I had an amazing school year! After incorporating lots of ideas that I learnt from teachers' blogs in my math and science classroom, I've grown more confident in the classroom. I am also learning to establish a more nurturing relationship with my students. Although it was a tough year to deal with classroom issues, I am thankful to have the support and mentorship of my co-teacher, Miss R. She is so generous with sharing her 15 years of teaching experience with me.

Here is a snapshot of what worked in my classroom this past school year.

Classroom management strategy: "What Do You Choose?" My students were able to reflect on their behavior and made smarter choices by referring to this chart. It is a real life-saver for me!

I spent the first two weeks of school explaining about the color chart system, students knew to move their own clips down when they broke a rule. No drama kings and queens in the classroom!

I love the Whole Brain Teaching class rules! This is the second year I used it and it worked really well. It took a while for students to get a hang on gesturing the class rules, but they got it eventually.

The hand signal chart on top really helped my students avoid distracting me when I had small group instructional time. My students loved the group rotation for math workshop.

I was not able to incorporate Calendar Math in my daily math classes as often as I like, partly because I was still trying to figure out how to get it done! Allah SWT willing, I will be more confident to do so this coming school year.

On my science wall, I put up seed bags to show students how seeds germinate. I realized that although they have been learning about this process since first grade, they gain new insight as we explore this topic deeper each year. Visual learners such as myself really find this process fascinating!

I didn't include a picture of classroom jobs assignment, but I find that this classroom management strategy worked really well for 4th graders. Students are super excited when it was their turn to be Captain Math and Science Lab Managers, because they'll have super powers of solving math problems and carry out science demonstrations/experiments!

5 Word GPS Challenge - Dave Burgess

Website: http://mathcoachscorner.blogspot.com/2014/07/teach-like-pirate-5-word-gps-challenge.html#comment-form

My five words for this coming school year, in no particular order:
1. Fair
2. Fun
3. Hands-on
4. Team work
5. Imagination

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Lego Quest - Ideas for School Lego Club

Source: http://legoquestkids.blogspot.ca/2012/10/final-challenge-quest-52.html

1. Create a Car / Boat / Plane
This can be simple or extremely complex, it's up to you. The only real rule is that it has to be custom built. Your own creation, not a pre-designed one.

2. Monochromatic
Pick a colour, any colour, and use only that colour of LEGO.

Build anything. The sky is the limit. A structure, a sculpture,functional, non-functional, anything at all, but you can only use one colour!

17. Metamorphosis

Transform your design into another in as many or as few stages as you want.

An idea to start your creative process might be to make two objects; the first stage, and the last stage of metamorphosis. Then design an object that has elements of both in it, to show the in-between stage.

This can represent an actual living thing, or it can be a totally invented entity.

21. Buoyancy

25. Bridge

Can you construct a bridge out of LEGO? Your bridge may connect two structures, it might provide passage over a river or roadway. It might be scaffolding, a catwalk, a gangplank an arch, even a branch. The idea is, it reaches/spans/extends a distance. Experiment with how long you can make this extention, while still keeping it stable. Also, try to see if your bridge can hold any weight. You can use coins, cars, LEGO men, whatever you like to place on your bridge to see if they can be held up.

26. Playground

29. 2 Cups of Random Bricks

Take a measuring cup and fill it with 2 cups of random LEGO bricks. Please, no choosing pieces, just scoop them out. What you get, is what you get. Create anything you like out of this amount of bricks. The idea is, everyone will have the same volume of pieces to work with. Can you create a design that is representational? Can you make it look like something? With this random selection of bricks, try to create something. Do it a few times. Choose your favourite construction. Did the design come to you before you started building or did the object appeared before your eyes as you were working.

33. 2x2 Bricks

Grab as many or as few 2x2 bricks and create anything you like. The only rule of this challenge is to use only 2x2 bricks.

35. Maze or Labyrinth

Design a complex, confusing series of pathways out of LEGO, otherwise known as a maze or labyrinth.

36. Food

Make your favourite food out of LEGO. It can be a single food item or a whole meal. I use the word food loosely, basically anything you eat.

39. Occupation

What would you like to do when you're older? How do you imagine yourself spending your days? Create the job of your dreams out of LEGO.

47. Micro-scale

Almost all LEGO creations are miniature or Micro-Scale. But in general, models that are smaller than minifig-scale are Micro-Scale.

The cool thing about building in Micro-Scale is that you don't need a huge amount of LEGO to build something really interesting.

I ask that you please place a penny in your photo to show everyone the scale of your creation. Remember, this design needs to be smaller than normal LEGO arrangements.

48. Functional

Build an object out of LEGO that is a useful household object.

49. Growing

Can you design something out of LEGO and make it look as if it were growing from a real tree, or sprouting up out of the ground?

Create an object, and then install this design in nature. Go out and tie it to a tree branch, or have it growing from the ground.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

World Origami Days

Source: https://origamiusa.org/wod

Let's get the world to fold! Celebrate origami by spreading the joy of paperfolding during World Origami Days, held each year from October 24–November 11, a 2-1/2 week celebration of the international community of origami!. Help us make origami as visible as possible: teach a class, fold on the bus, give your friends origami, exhibit your models. The possibilities are limitless, just as with origami itself.

Teaching shapes with modulars

For World Origami Day I will teach my 4th grade class a modular 12 unit 1/3 single triangle box. I will teach each kid in my class and my teacher (that makes 24) how to make one unit. Then I will put it together to construct 2 of the 12 unit 1/3 single triangle box. That is my plan.

Monday, March 3, 2014

World Peace Game

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Card Game: Swap

Just TRY to get rid of all your cards -- but not so fast! SWAP is the addictive game that's constantly changing hands! Play cards on matching colors... you might have to SWAP hands or race to SLAP the pile! Watch out because SUPER SWAP makes everybody swap hands! Quick play and ever-changing circumstances make SWAP a fun time for everyone!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Closing Circles

Source: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/closing-circle

by Dana Januszka and Kristen Vincent

A productive, purposeful hum fills Ms. Vincent's fourth grade classroom as the school day draws to a close and students complete their end-of-day jobs. Ten minutes before dismissal, when everyone is packed up, Ms. Vincent signals that it's time for closing circle, and the class moves to the meeting area.

When all are seated in the circle, Ms. Vincent raises her hand, the class’s agreed-upon signal for attention. The students stop their conversations and listen as Ms. Vincent asks, “What’s one way you helped others today?” After a pause for thinking time, she invites the children to share their responses. Next, the students stand for a group celebration, creating a “Circle of Hands .” Then they sit down again for an activity called “1, 2, 3, Pop,” which determines the order in which they line up at the door for dismissal. When the last student joins the line, the class is ready to make a calm, pleasant transition to after-school life.

The end of the school day can often pose some unique challenges. Teachers can feel rushed to get students out the door in time for dismissal. Students often have low energy, and some feel anxious about the afternoon’s activities or their evening at home. Some are even hungry! It can be difficult to end the day on a positive note with so much going on.

The closing circle routine is a manageable way to peacefully wrap up the day and send students off feeling a sense of accomplishment and belonging. Like Morning Meeting at the beginning of the day, closing circle brings a sense of calm, safety, and community to students and teachers. The routine also helps students practice reflecting on what’s meaningful to them about their schoolwork, their classmates, and themselves. After a five- to ten-minute closing circle, students leave school feeling excited about their accomplishments and looking forward to the next day’s possibilities.

Six Tips for Great Closing Circles

We’ve found the following guidelines crucial to success in our closing circles. Keep them in mind if you try this routine:

1. Set aside ten minutes.

You don’t need a lot of time to have an effective closing circle—ten minutes should do it—but you do need to protect that time from intrusions. All the day’s other activities should be finished ten minutes before dismissal. If you allow things to eat into closing circle time, the routine will feel rushed rather than calm and reflective. (To learn about how to find time for closing circles, see “Finding Time before Dismissal.”)

2. Everyone takes part.

Every student and adult in the room should participate in closing circle. This is not a time for children to finish assignments or to complete end-of-day jobs. For a sense of community, every class member needs to be part of closing circle.

3. Come with empty hands.

Children usually pay better attention if their hands are empty and their belongings out of sight. If students need to have backpacks or papers nearby, we tell them to put these things behind them, outside the circle.

4. Teach closing circle routines.

As with any classroom procedure, the expectations and routines of closing circle need to be carefully taught, modeled, and practiced with students. Interactive Modeling is an excellent technique for doing this. Simple and direct, Interactive Modeling allows students to see, hear, and experience exactly how to complete tasks that are key to a successful closing circle, such as finishing class jobs and packing up before closing circle begins, responding to the signal, forming a circle, sharing and listening to reflections, playing games, and lining up.

Even if you’ve taught these skills for Morning Meeting and other activities, it will be helpful to reteach or review them for use in closing circle.

5. Choose activities that foster reflection and celebration.

We use a three-part structure for our closing circles: a reflection, a celebration, and a closing. These components build on each other:

Reflection—The teacher cues students to reflect on their learning for the day or to set goals for the next day. This can be as simple as going around the circle to answer an open-ended question, such as “What’s one thing you want to work on tomorrow?” It might also be an activity that involves reflective thinking. (For an example of such an activity, see "Fostering Reflective Thinking.")

Celebration—The whole group does a quick, lively song, chant, or cheer celebrating the community’s effort and accomplishments that day. You can celebrate hard work and learning, living up to class rules, working to solve problems together—there are many possibilities. (See an article on fun, quick celebrations for some ideas.)

Closing—The group does a brief activity that ends the gathering and makes the transition to dismissal. This activity could be a song sung while putting on winter coats, hats, and boots or a fun way to send students to line up a few at a time.

6. Focus on positives.

Closing circle should help students and teachers end the school day on a positive note. Focus on naming accomplishments and setting goals; don’t use this time to discuss what didn’t go well. You can help set a positive tone for closing circle with a reflective question, such as “How did we follow our rules today?” or “What’s one thing you enjoyed learning about today?” On a particularly challenging day, a closing circle that focuses on learning from mistakes or on naming changes each person plans to make may help everyone end the day feeling better. Just keep in mind that your choices for closing circle activities should leave students feeling calm and positive, with renewed energy and enthusiasm for school.

Leaving School Feeling Good

Closing circle is an effective strategy for bringing closure to the school day in a fun and meaningful way. By ending the day on a refreshing, reflective note, closing circle reinforces the sense of community and safety that teachers strive to develop. Students leave school feeling good about themselves, each other, and their work and looking forward to the next school day.