Student learning is no accident!
For years, the reluctant writers in my classroom were my biggest stressor when it came to teaching middle school writing. There were so many students in my class that just needed to pick up their pencil and write!! No matter how much I begged, some students just would not write… and if they wouldn’t write, it was hard to get… Read More
Are you looking for a cooperative learning structure that will really get your students working together? If so, the jigsaw strategy is for you! Using a jigsaw in your classroom is a great way to teach students to work cooperatively, as they truly rely on each other. Just like all of the pieces of a puzzle are needed to complete… Read More
As a middle school ELA teacher, I became aware very quickly that there are NOT enough minutes in a class period to possibly address all of the Common Core State Standards. After experimenting with a variety of different lesson planning and scheduling strategies, I landed on this. Whether you call them warm ups, bell ringers or do nows- those first… Read More
A while back I took stock of what we were doing as a math department to improve kids’ math fluency. It seemed that every year we had a chunk of kids who came up to sixth grade with amazing fact fluency. We had another chunk who fought with basic addition and multiplication much like struggling readers fought with multisyllabic words…. Read More
Sometimes we all just need a classroom reset. Do you want your students to behave or do you want more than that? If you spend all day managing behaviors, you are EXHAUSTED by 3:00. I know!!! I’ve been there. It takes so much mental energy, so much executive functioning to anticipate every fire that might start- and to put out… Read More
In the next few posts, I’m going to focus on Differentiating Instruction in the Math Classroom. I will give you three strategies you can use immediately in the lessons you already have planned- to reach all of those kids! I promise not to ask you to do ANYTHING that wastes your time. I promise to only save you time.
This is a MUST read. My cousin is a foster parent with five children. She and her husband recently adopted four out of the five siblings! It has been a joy to watch her in this journey—just like it was a joy watching her grow up. I love how she "keeps it real" when it comes to living the life of fostering and adoption. She shared this on her personal page and I reached out to her to share it here because it is just that good and so very relevant.
Edited for privacy:
"Tonight, after 2.5 years of living here, my oldest son sat down at the table with this. He was about to chow down when I stopped him and asked what in the world he was doing.
He said, “I made myself dinner.”
“But it isn’t cooked. I can cook that you know.” (she said)
“Well, I wanted to eat something I used to eat a lot with my old family.”
So we sat down, and I asked him to tell me about it. He said that they wouldn’t feed him due to being passed out (you can guess why) and he would have to make dinner for himself and his brothers (two years old and four months old when they came to us). He said that all the money they had would be spent on cigarettes and other fun things (😬) and so he would find change in their van and would buy Ramen packets at the store down the street (at age six!!!!).
He said he didn’t know how to boil water, so he would eat it like this. And, he actually grew to like it. So, he would break it up for his sibling, and would try to make bottles for the baby (at age six!!!!!!).
Guys. I asked him to make me some. And, I sat there beside him and crunched it down with lots of water because it’s not great—and he just started talking about how the first time I made them Ramen, he wouldn’t eat it, and I told him I remembered. He said it’s because it reminded him of his Ramen packets and he didn’t trust me (big thoughts for nine!).
He said he isn’t sad he’s not with his “old family” (his words) anymore, but that sometimes HE LIKES TO REMEMBER HOW STRONG HE HAD TO BE.
I write this so everyone knows, trauma isn’t healed quickly (sometimes never), an adoption doesn’t erase the past or the memories, kids can change, they will change with love, and to never give up on a kid because “they are hard”.
And then, I walked away in shock, in sadness, and so, so, so proud of how strong my baby is. He’s so wonderful. And, we love him so much."
Friends, THIS is the life experience of kids who come from hard places. THIS is living a trauma-informed life. We can't imagine what kids from hard places have lived through. It is not just about one act of abuse or neglect, it is about living in survival mode and doing it day in and day out. It is about making sure younger siblings are also surviving, even at the expense of childhood.
Trauma infuses itself into every pore. Kids just don't forget it. Their brains and bodies won't let them. Those of us privileged enough (yes, I said privileged) to enter into the lives of children with hard life experiences must be willing to sit down, eat uncooked Ramen noodles and listen. We must not give up.
Our kids didn't.
*via Barren to Blessed
So true... and a great reminder heading into a Friday. Some kids are NOT looking forward to their weekends. Home doesn’t provide relief or safety for them the way it does for so many of us.
👀Keep your eye out for the students tomorrow, who might need a little extra love because it’s Friday. They might push back, they might typically get attention by acting out. Perhaps tomorrow you can give it to them first. Save them the trouble of acting out. Maybe the “I’m glad you’re here today” you greet them with in the morning will help them keep it together through lunch.
What ways do you do for these kids? How do you give them love and support, when their behavior can be so challenging in a classroom?
#Writesolutions #tptfs #igconnect4edu #iteachtoo #teachersofinsta #teachersofthegram #tpt #ntchat #socialemotionallearning #traumainformedteaching #middleschoolteacher #middleschool #schoolcounselorsofinstagram #mathteacherlife #mathteacherproblems #mathteachersrock #mathteachertribe #mathteachersofinstagram #teachingmath #teachmath #mathteachers #fourthgraderocks #iteachsixth #grade7 #grade6 #grade5 #grade4 #mathteacher #iteachfifth #sixthgrade
DEEP discussions.
.
My sixth graders are beginning a “review” unit on fractions. I gave them a quick little 8 question pre-assessment last week that I’d NEVER share with their fifth grade teachers- it’d be too heartbreaking💔💔💔.
.
I know how hard they (& their teachers👨🏻🏫) worked last year- I was even in some of their classrooms. But something happens over the summer. Some of them skated through never really GRASPING what was going on conceptually. And that’s ok.
.
😍Maybe they are more ready now than they were then! That’s why this review unit exists.
.
⚠️We’re going to move on cautiously though. I KNOW better than to let anyone touch paper and pencil just yet. We are going to compare, order and discuss the relationships between fractions for a bit. And nothing more!
🃏This group played ‘Top It’ today and had some aha moments about when numerators are the same. They were able to explain that they were comparing 5 little pieces to 5 bigger pieces, and that the denominator tells you the size of the slice, like on pizza. I like that thinking and I hope it sticks! 💭
Find these ‘Differentiated Flashcard Games’ in my Write Solutions TPT store in blue and in green. Each file includes a deck of cards with visuals and a deck without. I’ve been printing some as is, and a few more sets two/page. The possibilities are endless. Let me know how you would use them in your classroom!
#Mathteacherlife #mathteacherproblems #mathteachersrock #mathteaching #teachingmaths #mathteachertribe #mathteachersofinstagram #teachingmath #teachmath #mathteachers #fourthgraderocks #mathgames #learninggames #iteachsixth #grade6 #grade5 #grade4 #mathteacher #iteachfifth #sixthgrade #fourthgrade #teachersoftpt #tpt #interventionist #mathintervention #teachingfractions #fractionsarefun
Take some time to take care of YOU today.
We Need to Take Care of Our Teachers Before They All Burn Out
www.boredteachers.com
Our teacher friends are burnt out. They deal with chronic stress and exhaustion. Let’s join together to help them rest and recharge over winter break.
