Drama, action, and team building: Day 1 middle school story telling

Welcome back

First off, welcome back. Today was my first day back in the classroom with kids. I missed them and yet I was happy to see them go home after seven+ hours. 

My voice already hurts. (CI teachers, you know what I mean.)

Why I did what I did

Earlier I posted about literature and language "basics". After reflecting on my class size and other school changes, I knew I had to do something to build community and get a better "read" on my students. 

Last year I did a "Salva a Sam" with a gummy worm and team building... I can't find the PowerPoint anywhere, nor pictures of it. So I moved on and didn't post about it in detail. Sorry.

I needed to create a story that I could use with my Heritage classes all the way "down" to my brand new 6th graders. So I came up with this story that's "based on a true story". 

Goals:

All my goals are focused on building community through content. This is a key mentality for managing classroom behaviors.

1) Engage students so they leave with curiosity to come again next class.

2) Teach routines. I do a quick talk about what to expect when entering class next time. Thank them for the work they did today. I show them where to look to know what they need to be prepared for class. I also show them the shelf of extras for those times we "forget" things. 

3) This is really another routine thing, but it is so important and I think many teachers forget this: routines for transitioning between instructional methods: can they move from large group instruction, to elbow/table partner discussion, to whole table discussion, to get supplies, and back to focus on the teacher? I use this story to create moments for students to "predict" what come next. I do my count down and get their attention back to me. We share out what our table said. We focus back on me for the story. You can also see who is willing to participate and who is opting out, who is quiet and listening, who is bored...

4) Make them rely on each other. If they have to work as a group, and it's kind of fun, 99% will join in. You can assess: Who takes leadership roles? Who is the problem-solver? Who bends the rules? How do they talk to each other? (Spanish, English, Arabic.... supporting and positive language, sarcasm, punishing language...) Are they asking questions for clarification or just winging it?

Method to my madness

I used Martina Bex's seating cards (slightly altered) to randomly assign seats. They usually end up in a good place to build a new working partnership rather than just always pairing with friends. It is also easier to ignore negative peer pressure when they don't yet care about the other person's opinion.

This story is simple enough for beginning students. I make lots of "Wait!! I never told you what

"mucho" meant, how did all of you know that?!" "Ohhh, so you remember X so you can predict Y." "I didn't know you already knew so much about N." "Do you guys even really need me?!"

My heritage students even ate this up: lots of V/B appearances to help them work on that spelling thing. My 7th grade heritage class stopped after school to say how much they liked it. Seventh graders don't like anything! They enjoyed the simplicity of the story with all the random details I threw in or they clarified. We discussed the word in Spanish for "road kill"; no consensus yet, one student promised to report back on Monday.

This story has no ending and several atypical plot turns. Students have to work together to create the ending, but without language.

The end "activity" they do requires a lot of work between partners and no input from me. It is physical and allows them time to process the story while in class. Plus, it's just fun.

The story

*Edit* Resource now on TpT which includes a day two with student printable to revisit the story and encourage them to show what they know at home.* Price is $1.00.


I am thinking about posting the PowerPoint on TPT for others to use. Here is the synopsis: There is an armadillo and coyote who are both hungry, live near each other, both want to eat but can't eat/find what they normally eat, they go to Burger King, and the armadillo ends up stealing the coyote's hamburger. Does the armadillo escape?! No one knows (see activity section below).

The activity

I scoured Pinterest for good team building ideas (I used STEM activities that I altered last year) but I didn't find anything I thought I could relate to Spanish class and have it accessible for all my classes. I ended up seeing a cool marble track for my own kids to build and as I scrolled I found a paper plate activity that used holes as llama feet. BINGO!

Side note: Armadillos roll into balls to help evade predators. I just finished planning La perezosa impaciente by Mira Canion which also has an armadillo as a character who is kind of a jerk.

Since I will be teaching ^that novel this year, it's a great way to pre-build some ideas and vocabulary.

On paper plates (upside down) I drew a starting line and then made random dotted road around the plates. The circle on the plate is the armadillo's house/ safety zone. I glued poms to act as barriers and bushes. I tried pipe cleaners and it was a pain. Don't try to be that #extra unless you like having glue and hairs under your nails for days. I drew on ponds and then realized I was going to cut them out... so they were cute for a while.

I went to the Dollar Tree and bought the poms and a bag of "wooden beads" in the craft area. Marbles and glass beads can break and be easily pocketed. These are much less appealing to throw or put in your mouth (middle school... remember!?).

Teams of two or three. Each team member must always be holding the plate. One hand per person. Three fingers max, per person. A wooden bead starts at the starting lines and needs to get to the circle using the route drawn; no "off-roading".

I write groups with fastest times on the board for infamy and glory. Sometimes I write points next to

finishing teams to reward the teamwork process (not time or successful completion of the task). Team with the most points gets 10 extra credit points... We're SRG, there are no points. No one has noticed this yet. I'm going to ride it out until they figure it out.

Fast finishers can trade plates with another group since they are all different.

Key take aways

I am monitoring class engagement, circling where necessary, and limiting details to increase comprehension.

I watch students as they do table talk. We explicitly talk about the transitions, "Class, thank you so much for having eyes on me and voices off when I got to one. That was seriously impressive." "Oh no, that didn't work. Let's try it again."

The physical activity requires all members to participate or the armadillo won't make it home. LISTEN FOR THE WAY KIDS TALK TO EACH OTHER.

Build routines using stories and predictions and group shares and choral responses.

PLAY WITH THE KIDS IF YOU CAN!

Classroom Management

In my past professional life I worked with mentally ill children

As a previous social worker and psychology major, I worked at a full time mental health facility for children ages 10-18 during and right out of college. Here I worked on the unit where 10-12 kids lived full time. They had a variety of mental health needs requiring intense therapy, medication management, and even an on-campus school. I worked with kids to identify their ABCD's (Antecedents, Behaviors, Climax, Decompression), helped kids through their tough moments while trying to keep everyone safe.

I learned a lot via trainings on managing mental health needs, verbal deescalation techniques, and behavior triggers. These couple of years really helped me mature as an adult and definitely impact my teaching today. 

Goal: Share my biggest learning moments, my "tricks" in my classroom, and some resources I use to keep me going.

Warning: Many of these ideas require you to "give up" parts of your day. It's an investment; put the time in now, make you're life easier through out the year. If you are thinking about all the barriers in your way, you're right. You need to overcome the barriers, that's why you're stressed. Find one thing to work on and do that.

My current teaching reality

I used to be a #deptof1 in a small rural school with small-ish classes. This comes with the "price" of knowing my students deeply, which complicates teaching and makes it wonderful at the same time. Now I am back to my urban school with a total roster of 400+ students (my personal responsibility divided among 12 class periods- 6 classes a day, meeting every other day).

I teach native speakers, SpEd students, TAG students, and everyone else all mixed together in a beautiful melting pot of what America is supposed to look like. I also have very large classes. Some are easier than others to work with.

1) It all starts and ends with love

No matter what certifications, methodologies, intervention program implementation, it all starts and ends with love. You MUST LOVE YOUR KIDS, GENUINELY. 

Like your own children, you must always love them AND you don't have to always like them.

If you don't look at your school kids with love, then stop teaching. Kids know when you're faking it. So don't. If your hardest kid came up to you with a bad cut, a bloody nose, or that "I'm gonna puke" face and your 1st reaction isn't to help them, then stop teaching (helping can mean hand a garbage can or Band-aid to the kid, or even write them a pass to the nurse).

2) You were never hired to teach content, you were hired to teach students

You don't teach math. You don't teach Spanish. You don't teach music. You teach students. Period.

We all know educators wear approximately 4,971.25 hats every day. You teach students. Hopefully you teach students your content while modeling positive citizenship. 

You are in a school. You want kids to take risks. This means they will fail... and your space is the safe space for that failure. Sometimes failure means an incorrect solution, sometimes failure is making fart noises in the back corner of your room. Academic and social failures require reteaching.

3) Stop relying on Admin to "take care of it"

Watch this YouTube clip of Brian Mendler talking about that kid in class that you send to the principal. You will laugh because it is so incredibly true. 

I'm not talking about the non-negotiables: physical contact, targeted bullying, and unsafe behavior and/or language (going to kill myself/others). 

The kid with the cellphone, the kid who doesn't. stop. talking. ever., the kid leaning back her chair for the billionth time... that kid. There is a common denominator; kid. I know adults who still act like this, how can I have reasonable expectations that my middle schoolers have their lives together!?

Sending a kid to the office does a few things: 1) tells the kid they aren't worth your time, 2) shifts all power away from you, 3) lets the kid take the "out". Mendler is artful when showing the interaction between the student and administration. The kid promises to behave thirty minutes after the incident, goes back to class, and does it again. Welcome to what I call the escape cycle. Students can be escaping a multitude of things, but being out of your room is part of the escape.

It's hard to make progress when you're running in a circle. Forward movement requires being with the student.

My suggestions: Talk about the situation that is frustrating for you with admin or your support staff (find one). This is a situation you don't like, not the student. Double check that this student doesn't have special accommodations that need to be met. If you don't find admin helpful, make your own plan and keep them in the loop anyway.

Always welcome the student back to class at the door. Say hi to the student every chance you see them. Wear them down will all the love in the world.

4) Fly-by teacher

I have practiced this since before teaching: the fly-by. The power struggles Mendler talks about in the first clip can't happen if you're not there. 

Steps for the fly-by:

1) Distant reminder- do the non-verbals: "the look", point and shake your head, a quick verbal redirection and thanks for complying if that kid can handle it ("John, we are all listening now. Thanks."). Move on.

2) Proximity- Walk to get close to the student. Some kids follow along at this point. Once they are on-track for ten seconds-ish, high five them. Move on. 

2b) Prolonged proximity- This is your communal space, but it's still yours. If you are a confident teacher, you need to make them feel uncomfortable using your space incorrectly. I have taught sitting in a chair right next to a talkative student. Not like the row over. Our chairs looked like a bench. I slowly moved away as the student was meeting expectations. DO NOT STOP TEACHING. This is not a spotlight moment for the student. 

3) Redirect and move- Get to a natural pause ASAP or make one happen. "Class, do a quick draw of a tree in your notes, GO!". I walk by the student and give a very quiet and clear direction to the student, "John, you can chose not to participate but you can't make the choice for anyone else." THEN WALK AWAY.

So what if John calls me a b*tch? He's 13. I'm 30+. I'm not trying to be his friend and my feelings aren't hurt.

So what if his friends hear him call me names? Let him save face. He will comply or quit, most likely. The eventual "quit" is not immediate but a result of consistency.  

Mendler talks about this in a quick two minute clip here. It sounds so simple, but I have watched mental health professionals, principals, counselors, and numerous teachers feed in the power struggle. I know I do it too. It's hard.

4) Supply drop- Much like dropping relief aid from planes, I often deliver supplies to students. Even if it's day 34 and the kid is intentionally not getting the supplies. Let them have that win. Eventually you will have a relationship to talk to them about the choices.

I keep plain paper and pencils near my desk and out for student use. I drop a pencil (sharpened by the squirrely kid in the last class) and paper off and say nothing, just keep on keepin' on. 

I had a student last year that had poor attendance (I was his first period teacher every other day) and would 100% shut-down. Sleeping, non-verbal, and would kick the desk leg. After a semester of doing the supply drop off, saying hello to him every day, he wrote his name on the paper. By the end of the year, he completed more than 50% of his work in English with correct answers. 

5) PRAISE THE GOOD BEHAVIORS

Stop being so negative. The 3% of "naughty kids" in your classes take-up 90% of your time. The "good kids" know this and are annoyed; more than you are. (Side note- "naughty" and "good" are words we need to stop using. It's really more about disruptive and compliant behaviors, not the overall value of the kid.)

I had an associate in my room from time to time and a educational researcher in my room this year. Both noted how often I label the behaviors and values I see happening in class. This is so crucial. 

We spend all this time telling kids what not to do that they may not know what to do at this point. Teach the social curriculum explicitly. I don't mean with Core-aligned lessons.

"Tanner, thank you so much for being helpful and giving Mia a handout for me."

"Monroe, it's so caring of you to push-in your chair. Oh, and Leo, and Marcus, and George. Thank you."

"It is so awesome that Bl'aire was willing to shout-out her answer. Girl, you seriously owned it! That is AMAZING!"

"I see about three people who were responsible by putting their names on their papers. Those are my favorite kinds of people."

"This group is doing a great job being communicators. They were asking all sorts of questions!"

Also remember to be specific and praise the behavior. The behavior is what I liked, I always love the kid. When the kids own the behaviors, you see the shift (over time) to their natural/innate behaviors. By the end of the year, my kids push their chairs in without being asked, one kid always gathers materials for the group, kids are automatically picking up one piece of trash to exit the room.

Also tell kids very quietly during work time what you like about their behaviors. Individual and "private" praise really lets some of your kids realize you notice them all the time and are always watching... yup, sounded creepy. You get it.

6) Chatty Cathy

If the kid is going to talk, give them purpose. They talk to me; I jump in the conversation during groups and then redirect the whole conversation. I point out what I just did. Sometimes, when I get a good group, I make a friend the police and that person has to keep the Cathy on track (know your kids before doing this).

Cathy is always my errand runner. Take this to the teacher across the hall. Turn the lights down, answer the door, find my green Expo. If Cathy talks, Cathy moves. Keeps Cathy away from friends. Cathy will get tired of being volun-told to do "everything". Tell Cathy you thought s/he was bored because of all the talking so you always pick him/her. Thing may turn around.

I find Cathy on her time. I go sit and "talk with Cathy". I say how nice it is to get all the chatty out now so it doesn't have to happen in class. More times then not, I will walk and talk the kid before school starts. Walk in the hall, away from people, and talk. Not always about class, but it generally gets there.

I asked a building admin to com sit and supervise my class while they were working on something. I started to pull my Cathys out one by one and walked and talked them. They were great for a solid class period after that. It was the foundation of our love:hate relationship (I love them, they hate my expectations and my insisting they meet them).

This last year, one of my biggest Cathys spent a lot of walk and talk with me. I figured out this kid's life is falling apart, has no adult influence at home, is looked to for answers from everyone, and basically doesn't get to be a kid. The chattiness lasted all year but it gave me some compassion when my patience was just about gone.

7) Restart

My kids know my policy is a fresh start every time they come in my classroom. I had one kid tell me to leave and walk back in when I was super crabby. He was right, I needed it. I also apologized for being so crabby with them and then gave the class representative a high-five as our restart.

I spent a total of 4 full teaching classes with my 7th graders this year walking the kids to hall, explaining expectations, and re-welcoming them individually to class. I called home and explained to their parents their choices and recommended early morning make-up to practice being in class to not waste learning time any more.

If a student needs to exit my room for a "buddy room". They don't re-enter until I can talk with them at the door. We quick process, high five or fist bump, and they walk in anew.

8) Get adults in your room

When kids see adults enter classrooms, they receive a few messages: 1) this class is important, 2) is this adult here for me?, and 3) these adults really are on a team.

You also need to go into other teacher's rooms during your plan. Have a presence beyond your classroom walls.

Ask teacher coaches, counselors, other teachers with relationships with your kids, the VP, your formal observer to come into your room at any time; or plan out a time in advance. When kids see more adults, they tend to behave more. 

If your admin is not supportive, you have to make your own support network. 

Hopefully this helps

None of these things are earth-shattering. These are, however, strategies rooted in research to work with difficult classes.You are the adult and you have to teach more than curriculum. The opinions of children will not define you; they can hurt your feelings, but these do not define you.

If I have to pick two pieces of advice to implement: reinforce the positive things and avoid the power struggles with the fly-by.

Book Review: Juliana

Disclaimer: This is an unsolicited review. I purchased my own books and the link at the bottom provides me ZERO compensation.

Reviews (via my students):

Storyline: 3.9/5 “It was a good story. I understood pretty much all of it. Because it was easy the story is kind of simple. But SUPER interesting. I Googled to see if some of it was true. I learned a lot about bats even though that wasn’t the point.”- 6th grade student, Novice-Mid ish

“I really like how Juliana is just herself, like nobody is going to stop her. She still did some dumb stuff which I can relate. You do you, Juliana. You do you.” -7th grade student, Novice-High ish

“My favorite class is science and I got to do that here. So awesome. The book was mostly easy to read. I really liked how it’s based on a true story, like movies.” -6th grade student, Novice-Mid ish

Classroom Function (my opinion):

FVR Potential: This novel is an FVR favorite in my classroom. My students feel confident reading it which is much more important to me than having the best storyline on the planet. My fast finishers like to pick this up and then see what’s true and what’s not (albino bats? animal tunnels? Family groups among bats?).

My recommendation is to buy a minimum of 5. Students can support each other and discuss content. My original single reader was the source of some middle school drama.

Whole Class Potential: I love this story, I don’t think I could teach it whole class. I do think this novel has excellent potential for small group or café style readings.

I have a few reasons for being hesitant to teach this as a whole class novel. 1) My students call me (affectionately?) the Crazy Charades Lady when we read as a whole class. My arms aren’t in-shape enough to be a bat. 2) There are beautiful illustrations in every chapter. I find students rely heavily on the pictures instead of listening and following along for acquisition. 3) My knowledge of bat culture is limited to the kind that hang around Robins. 4) I really want to work on an interdisciplinary unit with our science teachers to increase background for this story, and the curriculum doesn’t line-up in a non-forced way.

I think this book would be great when teaching in café style, or literature circles. It would be a great for students too advanced for Capibara but not quite ready for Tumba. The visual cues from the amazing illustrations would provide scaffolds for advanced students needing to reach up or even for struggling students in a second year class.

Summary: Buy the book. It is worth it! Here is the Amazon link.