Guide to a Focused Classroom

Guide to a Focused Classroom

by | Jun 7, 2021 | Professional Development, Resources

 LOOKING FOR EASY SUMMER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?

If you are one of the lucky ones like I am, you have been able to enjoy at least a full week from all school-related duties. It has been glorious! My creative itch began to emerge. I was looking to share my ideas with others and decided to submit an idea for a session. Out of that, Cultivate Calm was written.  This guide features a lot of ideas to help you in the classroom.

The idea for this came out of the past year I spent in an exhausted state. I barely made it through. I know I am not alone in realizing how tough it was. I questioned why I was still in the classroom.

I knew I had to make a plan and hopefully help other educators along the way. You will learn:

  • Beginning and End of the Day Routines and Rituals
  • Morning Meeting
  • Time Gaps and Flexible Time
  • Handling Tattling and All Those Questions
  • Teaching Grit and Perseverance

This guide is designed to give you ideas, guidance, and actionable steps to discover what works best for your personality and teaching style. Create your own action plan to start creating calm this week. As with all other teaching strategies you learn and attempt to implement, you get out of it what you put in.

Here’s a peek inside!

 

 

WHAT’S YOUR REASON TO CREATE CALM IN YOUR CLASSROOM?

You are always rushing around in the mornings. You’re always tired and can’t seem to get ahead. Your classroom is chaotic at times and you are ready for change. You should listen to what your heart and brain are telling you. That you need to slow down, you need to reset, and you deserve a fresh start.

What's Your Reason?

Discover your reasons for wanting to cultivate calm in your classroom. Design your classroom to fit your teaching style and needs. Have flexibility in what you do and how you approach your teaching day.

DOWNLOAD ACTION STEPS

WANT TO SEE A SAMPLE CHAPTER BEFORE YOU BUY?

If you are ready to make a change for yourself, I highly recommend checking out this free chapter sample to see if the ideas in the guide fit your personality and teaching style. We know what works best for us. Simplify your teaching by choosing how you will design your classroom.

 

HOW TO TAKE BACK YOUR CLASSROOM

Achieving a functional, calm classroom is attainable if you’re willing to put in the work. You have to be willing to devote your mindset and class time to teach your students to create calm within your class. This is not to say that classrooms bursting with noise and excitement are bad because sometimes mixing it up in your classroom is exactly what you and your students need to stay balanced. We all like to have fun and it belongs in the classroom! Just be aware of your trigger points that exhaust you and focus on creating moments of fun. Schedule them into your day so it does not become a spur of the moment decision that gets out of hand.

One of the most important elements you should build into your schedule is a morning routine. This gives students a chance to work on meaningful work while you get administrative tasks finished. Think about incorporating music into your morning. This can be when students are arriving or after announcements to signal a transition.

Next, have a greeting for when students come into your classroom. Over the years I’ve seen how important and beneficial it is to greet my students at the door. Harry Wong was right, of course!

The next thing you should add to your morning routines is a predictable way for students to come in, put away their things, and begin working on morning work. Those activities should allow students to work on them independently. They can be print or digital. You can also let students self-assess or grade them yourself.

After they finish morning work activities, you can have a choice board available for students to choose various activities. Ideas include EPIC!, Prodigy, XtraMath, virtual classrooms, and many more.

 

FREE Sample Chapter

Morning routines help you start your day with a planned set of activities. Learn more about the variety of options you have to choose from. Curate a list of favorite ideas you love to new things you want to try!
DOWNLOAD SAMPLE

A POWERFUL MORNING MEETING

 

I started incorporating morning meeting into my classroom practice when I was a 1st grade teacher. That was 7 years ago! I knew with my little ones, it was important to review the calendar and include number sense in daily meetings. When I moved up to 4th grade, I knew I had to adapt it, but I was going to continue with it.

I invite you to try this out or adjust it to fit your needs and try it for one semester. See the benefits you will experience when you set up your day with a focused plan. Here’s a peek into my morning meeting components.

RE-IMAGINE YOUR CLASSROOM

 

Take the summer to refresh your mind and soul. Flourish in the summer moments that give us a taste of our childhoods. When things were simpler – or so it seemed to us. Now that we are adults, we must pause and reset ourselves. Listen to what this past year has taught you and move forward with a new perspective.

What parts do you want to hold onto? Which ones are you okay with letting go? Really think about designing your classroom to cultivate a calm and focused classroom. Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying too many. Choose 1 or 2 to start with and build from there.

 

Take care,

 

Find Your Passion and Create Your Side Hustle

Find Your Passion and Create Your Side Hustle

by | Apr 24, 2021 | Professional Development

 I WANT MORE OUT OF MY CAREER

I realized that I need some type of creative outlet in addition to my work that I do in the classroom. After a year of pandemic/hybrid/remote learning, I need to scratch my creativity itch. I have debated leaving the classroom altogether, but realize that is not what I need right now. I do need to find balance in my career where I can branch out and use my talents and nurture my passions. 

I found Daphne Williams of The Teacher Career Coach, joined her community and invested in her course that teaches teachers how to find their next path – education related or not. While some day I know that I will leave the classroom because it is not my forever job, I devoured her information about creating a side hustle and how to use your transferable skills in other ways.

I have always enjoyed technology and am self-taught in most technology apps, image creation, website design, and other tech related elements. After doing some soul searching, LOTS of reading, and writing down my thoughts and goals, I have figured out that having a side hustle is my best option right now for finding more passion in my career and in my personal life.

I decided that creating courses for other teachers to learn from is what I want to try. I watched, listened, and wrote down everything I was soaking up from Daphne through her course and podcast. I also watched Michelle Emerson from Pocketful of Primary to learn how to manage my time better and be more productive. Angela Watson’s podcast called Truth for Teachers has been a validating source for me as I deal with all the things that have happened over the last few years.

I gained enough confidence to submit a proposal for a professional development session for a virtual conference. I was thrilled and terrified when my idea was selected! I’m excited to see where this will take me; even if it is just a learning experience. I enjoy sharing what I know with others, so I’m looking forward to sharing how I created a calm morning routine that engages students and creates community. However, it is a little terrifying to speak in front of your peers!

 

 

Cultivate Calm: Routines and Rituals for a Focused Classroom

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS LOOKING TO CREATE CALM IN THEIR CLASSROOM

I am creating a ebook guide for teachers to use for reference during the professional development session. I will be releasing the guide for everyone after the presentation on June 9th. Sign up now to get on the list to receive the free download. Here’s the details about the session:

Our learning environments have drastically changed and we are facing different expectations and situations. One thing we can rely on for a source of stability and familiarity is to build routines and rituals in our classrooms by giving students the tools to help create the calm environment we all crave. Achieving a functional, calm classroom is attainable if you’re willing to put in the work. Be willing to devote your mindset and class time to model and teach your students to create calm within your class.

This talk is designed to give you ideas, guidance, and actionable steps to discover what works best for your personality and teaching style. Create your own action plan to start creating calm this week. As with all other teaching strategies you learn and attempt to implement, you get out of it what you put in. Are you ready to make a change to calm?

 

What's Your Reason?

Discover your reasons for wanting to cultivate calm in your classroom. Design your classroom to fit your teaching style and needs. Have flexibility in what you do and how you approach your teaching day.

DOWNLOAD FREE GUIDE

The Roadmap

This outlines the topics that will be presented during the professional development session “Cultivate Calm:  Routines and Rituals for a Focused Classroom.” This guide will serve as your roadmap to creating your most focused classroom yet. Being intentional about creating your students’ learning environment is a critical element of supporting our students.

DOWNLOAD YOUR GUIDE

LOOKING TO MAKE A CHANGE YOURSELF?

If you are ready to make a change for yourself, I highly recommend checking out the free roadmap to see the list of topics that will be covered. These topics, strategies, tips, and action plans allow you to have the most autonomy given each person’s unique teaching situation.

Join me in figuring out your next passionate path. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

 

Cultivate Calm in Your Classroom
Roadmap

This roadmap will give you the pathway to creating a calm and focused classroom.
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    How To Overcome Overwhelm In Your Teaching Job

    How To Overcome Overwhelm In Your Teaching Job

    by | Jan 23, 2021 | Professional Development, Resources

    A GROWING ISSUE

    I started to write this post on July 19, 2020. As I sit here on a quiet, dreary October evening, I realize that I have managed to hold it together through the 1st Quarter. I read a few posts by Angela Watson the other night that really struck a cord with me. She has been my “cornerstone” and go-to person since I found her website about 10 years ago. I was beginning my career as a teacher and was searching for quality information that fit my pedagogical style. A few of her blog titles caught my eye. I was feeling hopeless the other night endlessly perusing the internet for nothing in particular. I was shocked when I came across a post from Angela saying she was taking a sabbatical. She didn’t know when she would be back officially, but committed to appearing again in 2021. My initial thought was shock, but then I thought “Good for her! I wish I was strong enough to do that right now.”

    Then I realized that if I am going to survive this school year and remain in the teaching profession, I have to actively decide to practice self-care as well. Mine is going to look different, but that’s okay. I have been fighting a dreading sense of loss of normalcy in teaching and was able to read comments from other teachers around the world who are experiencing the same thing as me. Our profession can be a lonely one to begin with, but the current state of our world has exacerbated the loneliness and despair of what teaching has become.

    Time has dredged on. Now I find myself sitting back down to write with two weeks to go until Thanksgiving. Where did the time go? Now, we are hearing word that we need to brace ourselves for the possibility of returning to remote teaching. Even though I’ve lost my excitement for the job at this time, I find myself enjoying those small moments of joy being with my students in the classroom. Knowing that I might not be able to help them in person soon makes my time with them now more important than ever. With all of the uncertainty happening around us, it is so important that we choose to live our days in a certain way. We must choose joy. We must choose what we can control and forget about what we cannot. We must choose to show up each day and give our students the best we can. This, my friends, is what grit is all about.

    Our kids need us more than ever now. What will you do to help make that one child’s day a little better? What can you do better for your kids that requires grit from you?

     

    CHOOSING TO CHANGE

    Now that 2020 is behind us and as we are looking forward to a new year, new presidency, and a new way of doing things, I have to remind myself how lucky I am to work for a district that has allowed us grace while we figure it all out together. My to-do list still continues to be endless and I work to check off and cross off tasks, meetings, and responsibilities. I found myself needing something more – a balance that worked for me and my lifestyle. I’ve been teaching for 7 years and I feel like I have earned my right to have a better work/life balance. My mindset has to change because that should be something that everyone strives for instead of earning your right to it.

    Our literacy coach/3rd grade teacher (she was put back into the classroom to support our need for an added 3rd grade section) offers book studies for those who are interested. The title of this month’s book – “Balance Like a Pirate:  Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator” by Jessica Cabeen, Jessica Johnson, and Sarah Johnson. I didn’t hesitate to sign up for this group, knowing that this is probably exactly what I needed right now. We are two weeks into discovering our four quadrants in life and what fuels us as educators. I’m excited to see what action plans we can come up with to help balance our lives professionally and personally. I have realized that this is part of the grit that I need to keep me going forward. I have to work on myself and really devote time to self-care instead of just talking about it. I NEED the balance, but I have to choose it and make changes to get there. It is a work in progress.

    I feel that enough time has passed for us to be able to look at 2020 in hindsight, take stock and reflect upon what we learned during that time, and forge a path for moving forward that gives us balance in our lives as teachers while nurturing our personal lives as well. So, when we are facing the unknown, let’s find grit in these uncertain times for our students, our families, and ourselves. Find one thing you can do to persevere through these times and make it a habit or part of your daily routine.

    Student-Centered Writing Projects

    Student-Centered Writing Projects

    by | Jul 20, 2019 | Writing

    PLANNING AHEAD AND THINKING ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE

    While there is still a month left until school starts, it’s time I start to slowly face reality that a new school year is approaching. I’ll be in a new grade level and a new building. I keep reading a Ben Franklin quote that says “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  Let’s just say relaxing on the couch and sitting on my back deck drinking coffee are much more enjoyable! Looks like I need to start preparing. This year, I want to transition into a student-centered classroom that reflects community, collaboration, and respect. I want to do things differently because I’m entering in my sixth year of teaching and it’s time I put all of my research and experience into focused practice.

    BENEFITS OF A STUDENT-CENTERED CLASSROOM

    “A simple change can touch a single person, or it can affect thousands or millions of people” (Barnes, 5). This is known as the butterfly effect. As teachers in the classroom, we can promote a powerful future with the decisions we make in the classroom today. The intrinsic motivation that guides us throughout our lives can be nurtured because people are motivated by three things:  autonomy, mastery, and purpose” (Barnes, 22).

    In a student-centered classroom, students construct their own learning through implementation of the constructivist learning theory. Student-centered classrooms focus on creating a learning environment that engages students through autonomy, mastery of content, and a purpose for growing their minds. They focus on intrinsic motivation, a results-oriented learning environment, providing immediate and consistent feedback, evaluating student growth, and reviewing performance. Academic choice and sharing control are major components of this management style. You have to be willing to give up a little control for this to work!!

     

    A COLLECTION OF RESOURCES

    My intent for this post is two-fold. I want to share resources with all of you and I want to create a place to go for all of my resources I want to implement in my classroom. I hope to try out, add, and update this post as often as necessary to reflect current practices that provide authentic learning opportunities for the students we serve.

    I hope these resources I have gathered will support your student-centered classroom.

     

     

    Writing Centers

    Students love to be creative! Give your students opportunities to create their own unique approach to writing. These ideas are a great way to reinforce student-centered learning.

    Mystery Bags

    Encourage vivid imaginations and terrific tales through thoughtfully curated items that will peak curiosity.

    Build a Story

    Integrate language standards and have students brainstorm parts of speech. Students draw cards or fill-in-the-blank to create stories.

    Memory Twists

    Check out The Thinker Builder and discover an exciting way to engage your students in writing by taking a memory and twisting it into fiction!

    Emoji Writing

    The Teachy Teacher has a great idea to get your kids writing! Roll, write, and laugh while creating one-of-a-kind stories.

    Comic Books & Graphic Novels

    Use templates, storyboards, and organizers to ignite creativity. Create your own or research your favorite teacher resource website!

     

    Treat Jar

    Create a treat jar full of writing prompts on different types of paper.

    Projects & Games

    Student-centered classrooms thrive when academic choice is an essential component. By allowing your students to choose activities based on their interests, you are giving them an opportunity to construct meaning through completing tasks that require complex thinking, analysis, synthesis, application, and creativity.

    Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales

    Your students can research and create their own stories using Scholastic’s Myths, Folktales and Fairy Tales Internet Project! Teacher’s Activity Guide

    A Classroom of Published Authors

    Give your students an opportunity to showcase their work through publication. Try Bare Books or Storybird for paid options. Flipsnack, Lulu, or Tikatok for free and subscription options.

    Appeal to the Senses

    Choose a few lessons to appeal to the senses.  Let them smell, feel, touch, taste, and hear writing!

    Emoji Writing

    The Teachy Teacher has a great idea to get your kids writing! Roll, write, and laugh while creating one-of-a-kind stories.

    Comic Books & Graphic Novels

    Use templates, storyboards, and organizers to ignite creativity. Create your own or search your favorite teacher resource website.

     

    Treat Jar

    Create a treat jar full of writing prompts on different types of paper.

    Teaching Strategies

    Explore various strategies that deepen your students knowledge and application of writing skills. Student-centered classrooms that rely on flexibility and current needs will see engagement and products that reflect critical and creative thinking.

    National Writing Project

    Visit the National Writing Project website to explore resources about teaching all aspects of teaching writing.

    Classroom Technology Integration

    Explore this collection of ways to engage your students through authentic writing opportunities.

    The Writing Strategies Book

    Jennifer Serravallo has created an “everything guide” to developing skilled writers. This gold mine offers excellent lessons that will have your students begging you to write!

    RAFT Writing

    Build confidence in your students by providing them with a visual acronym for effective writing.

    Cultivating a Student-Centered Writing Classroom

    Shaelynn Farnsworth shares her “10 Tenets of a Student-Centered Writing Classroom.”

     

    It Starts with You!

    Research student-centered learning and why this 21st-century model will bring out the best in your students.

    RESOURCES

    Barnes, Mark. Role Reversal:  Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom.

    ASCD, 2013.

    Moving Grade Levels

    Moving Grade Levels

    by | Jul 2, 2019 | Professional Development

    FROM PRIMARY TO INTERMEDIATE – FIRST TO FOURTH GRADE

    Choosing to move grade levels can be exciting and overwhelming. I recently had the opportunity to apply for a fourth grade position in the same district I’ve been teaching in for 5 years. I am so grateful for the opportunity, yet my mind stays full with all the “stuff” I have to do.

    You may be reading this and wondering how you are going to get it all done, too! I don’t know about you, but my mind works best when I “brain dump” or enjoy a little mind mapping to keep my mind right.

     

    REFLECTIONS

    I need to be honest with myself and get my priorities straight because I know that I am in for some major shocks moving from a primary building (PreK-2) to an intermediate (3-5) building. Woah! I haven’t taught intermediate grades for four years and now that I will be entering my sixth year in the profession, I feel confident that I can ebb and flow with the changes. After all, fourth grade is what I’ve always wanted to teach. 😉 It’s where I got my start – as a 26 year old student teacher.

    Yes, I was a little older when I entered the teaching profession. Not unlike other adults who are figuring out their way to their passion. Mine was just a little delayed.

    I earned my Bachelor’s degree in English – but without a teaching degree. Teaching high school wouldn’t have been a good fit for me and the wait list to get into the elementary program would have had me graduating with a Bachelor’s degree after about 7 years! Wait. What?!

    That’s why I made the decision to just graduate in 5 years and go back for my Master of Arts in Teaching. I did and here I am with five years of self-contained classroom teaching under my belt. Where does the time go?

    I have noticed in the past year or so that my ideologies and practices are changing. For the better, though. I have become more thoughtful in my practice and am starting to take on projects that I believe have meaningful outcomes for myself and my students.

    After recently finishing up two courses through Advancement Courses about Cultivating and Managing Student-Centered Classrooms, I feel more grounded in my professional practice. Our world is changing and my district is in the process of restructuring the type of professional development they are offering to us. So, I decided to take control of my own PD so I can give my fourth graders the best learning experience possible.

    WHAT WAS I THINKING?

    This question has rolled around in my head a few times, but I have to remind myself why I chose to leave a grade level I was comfortable teaching.

    Content. Maturity. I was ready for a change! I liked teaching first grade and had an amazing team, but I was ‘comfortable’ teaching. Meaning – I felt like a robot teaching, but I already had everything prepared and it was like a walk in the park.

    So, what was the problem? I was not challenged as a teacher. So, were my students? Probably not. This was my wake up call. While I was not burned out, I had become complacent. I was frustrated that I was not able to take my students to a higher level because it was developmentally inappropriate. I loved teaching kids to read; however, I missed teaching kids to interact with what they read and reading to learn.

    Retention was always something that broke my heart. I never again want to have to tell parents their child will need another year of foundational skills because they were unable to make all of the connections during our year together. Those conversations are difficult and while most are not surprised, you always question yourself if you made the right choice. You question if you did everything you could. You question the interventions. You question everything. In the end, you have to believe that you are supporting that child with what he or she needs. That’s the mission I have as a teacher.

    WHAT WILL I BE DOING TO PREPARE FOR A NEW BUILDING, GRADE LEVEL, AND TEAM?

    While I spend this summer on the couch (although it’s about time I started doing something to prepare for the new year), I will be organizing and purging materials that will serve a purpose in my student-centered classroom. I have accumulated so much stuff that half of it is outdated and links no longer work that it’s a mess!

    The DELETE button is my new favorite thing!! It feels good to look at “stuff” that is organized in meaningful ways. Beautiful, color-coded, alphabetical order. HA! My OCD is showing. =) There is just something so simple and calming about organization that allows you to give your best.

    I will also be organizing and labeling my classroom library. I have 4 large plastic totes and 8-10 paper boxes full of intermediate level books collected over the years and gifted to me by librarians and retiring teachers.  That is the major summer job I gave myself. Ugh! I remember doing that for my first grade library. I vividly remember glaring at my living room floor as piles of books lay helplessly in organized chaos.

    Now, I know I said organization is calming, but I never said the process was great! It is a huge task to organize a library. Where do I start? Well, I’m going into a new grade so my first attempt may not be my last as I adjust to my students’ needs throughout the years.

    I will organize my library by:

    • Genre
    • Accelerated Reader (AR) Level (my district/grade level uses this tool)
    • Special Interest
    • Student Created books

    Special Interest books will be interdisciplinary with cross-curricular ties to our current literacy and social studies units.

    The student created books will be published books from students that would like to share their work with their peers. Throughout the school year, I will be providing my students with opportunities to self-publish their work. I will be researching different platforms available for free that will have the capabilities I’m looking for. I have a few in mind to start, but let me know if you know of any great self-publishing tools for students to use! I plan to revisit this topic in a later blog post and will focus on student-centered writing projects.

     

    CURRICULUM

    What about curriculum? The great thing about this is that the fourth grade team is AWESOME!! They have been working hard to create curriculum guides and share their notes and resources in a common space. I have had access to the curriculum since May and you better believe it has become like a second job for me to read and understand my new curriculum.

    I am so excited to be teaching fiction and nonfiction, literature, and biography series! I get to teach about Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King, Jr.! I also get to teach Science! So much has changed with that – and to be honest – I haven’t spent much time looking at it. I do know they will be using an engaging platform called Mystery Science.

    If you’re like me, you have been pouring over your Teachers Pay Teachers cart and previous purchases to put together the best resources for making this year awesome! Is it bad to say that my cart total is somewhere around $350?! YIKES!! Since my focus will be implementing a student-centered classroom, I have collected a variety of resources that will make my transition smooth and provide the best authentic learning opportunities for my students.

    Here’s what I found:

    BACK TO SCHOOL ACTIVITIES & MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT

    CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT & STUDENT-CENTERED CLASSROOM

    CURRICULUM & RESOURCES

    Well, there it is. I can’t wait to post my back to school reflection after I have put everything into play that I have been researching for years!

     If you have anything to share about moving grade levels, I’d love to hear about it! Especially any tips for moving from primary to intermediate.

     

    Enjoy your day,

     

     

     

     

     

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