Classroom Management

Throughout the past four weeks that I have been lead teaching at Costa Verde, one area of education that has consistently challenged me is classroom management.  Though I have seen many different classroom management tactics in my past practicum experiences, classroom management is much harder to implement than it appears to be.  It is extremely difficult to find and choose the tactics that work best for your personality AND for your students’ personalities.  My first week teaching, I felt like I had no control over the students; everything seemed a bit chaotic.  I am happy to say, however, that as the weeks went on, I began to implement some classroom management strategies that worked for my students and for me.  Here are some strategies I have been successfully using:

1.)    HAND CLAPPING—When I clap my hands to a rhythm, the students have to repeat the hand clapping rhythm.  After they finish the hand clapping rhythm, they must have “bocas cerradas” (closed mouths).  Though it sometimes takes my students a few rounds of clapping rhythms to fully engage in this classroom management technique, by the end, everyone is quietly waiting for the next directions.

    2.)    LOS EQUISes (THE X’S)—After noticing that my students were having a hard time keeping their hands and bodies to themselves during carpet time, I decided to place X’s (Equis5es), made out of masking tape, on the carpet in rows.  Whenever it is carpet time, the students must find an X to sit on, and that X then becomes their personal space.  Before placing the X’s on the carpet I was worried that the students would pick at the tape or ignore it.  However, after using it for just one week, it worked wonders!  I never once had a student pick at the tape, and they all enjoyed picking out an X and sitting down on it.  Furthermore, I noticed a lot more active engagement and participation from students while doing whiteboard activities like shared writing or math mini-lessons.  I am so glad that I decided to put these X’s on the carpet.

    3.)    BEHAVOIR CHART—After struggling in the classroom management department for a while, a colleague from the school office helped me develop a behavior chart.  While I was not too keen on the idea at first, I now am so thankful for the reinforcement it provides in my classroom.  The behavior chart has five spaces that say “día fabuloso” (fabulous day), “gran día” (great day), “buen día” (good day), “hacer opciones mejores” (make better choices), and “contactar los padres” (parent contact).  All the students have a clothespin with their names on it, and they all start out with their clothespin on un “día fabuloso”.  The goal is that all the students will remain at this spot throughout the entire day.  However, if certain studetns are struggling with making poor choices such as distracting their neighbors, running around the classroom, yelling in the classroom, hiding under the tables, etc., they are asked to move their clothespin one space lower.  On the contrary, if I find them working hard, helping their neighbors, paying close attention during class, etc., they are asked to move their clothespin one space up.  This classroom management technique works well for my students because it gives them a tactile and visual way to monitor themselves.  They can make whatever choices they want, but they are also aware of the consequences those choices can bring.  I have seen an increase in behavior awareness from the students and an increase in their intrinsic motivation since using this chart.  At the end of each day I write what space the students ended up on in their take-home planners.  In this way, parents are aware of the choices their children are making during class as well. 

Although classroom management is a hard thing to tackle, once you find a system that works for you and the students, the classroom becomes much more productive and peaceful.

Rain, Rain, and more Rain!

Coming from Wisconsin, it was fairly customary to have 1 to 3 days per winter when school was not in session due to heavy snowfall that made traveling difficult and unsafe.  These days were called snow days, and as a child I always looked forward to them.  In Sayulita, however, snow days do not exist.  Instead, there are rain days.

As it is currently the rainy season in Sayulita, last night we had a very heavy rainstorm.  There was not much thunder or lightning, but there sure was a lot of rain!  It poured and poured all night long.  It rained so much that the roof on our house started leaking, and we had pots and pans to keep the floor from getting too wet.  While I was walking to school in the morning, the water on the sidewalks and streets was so deep that I needed to take off my shoes and walk barefoot; it was up to my ankles!

Once at the school, I quickly asked if school was still going to be in session.  From past experience, I had learned that when the rain is too heavy many roads shut down due to high water content and slippery conditions.  Because most of the roads are cobblestone or dirt, rocks and mud quickly become slippery when it rains a lot.  In addition, because Sayulita is located right next to a river, the river can become dangerously high very quickly.  The verdict of the school day was that there was going to be a two-hour delay due to the rain.  Therefore, school was supposed to start at 10 a.m.  Unlike in the United States, it is difficult to make this information known to families.  Cells phone and internet usage was extremely spotty due to the heavy rainfall.

After doing our best to contact families about the two-hour delay, the rain still had not lightened up and the water on the streets was still very high.  Therefore, a decision was made that school would be canceled, and we would have a rain day.  As I was passing the river on my way home, I could see why it is important to be careful about the rain here.  The river had risen a tremendous amount in one night and had developed a current that was mighty.

Despite the heavy rain, it touched my heart to see how many families still made the dangerous trek into Sayulita to drop their children off at Costa Verde School before they knew about the delay and later on, the cancelation.  Many of the students at the school do not live in Sayulita but in surrounding areas that can be at least 30 minutes away.  It was great to see just how much parents and students value their education and their attendance at school.  It is a blessing to have faithful families and students as a teacher!

The deep water covering the roads!

Pots and pans to keep water off the floor of our house!

Mr. Squegeey...our best friend at the school!

Differentiation

As I continue to lead teach on my own, one aspect of education has become very clear to me… differentiation is an absolute necessity in the classroom in order that all students succeed and feel like they are succeeding.  For instance, in my bilingual setting, it would be very difficult and extremely frustrating for native English speakers and native Spanish speakers to complete the same types of English writing work (what I teach) because some simply have more experience with the English language both in terms of speaking and in terms of writing.  This applies vice versa as well…when completing their Spanish writing assignments, English native speakers would have a very difficult time too and become exceedingly frustrated.  Therefore, being able to give each group a different type of English writing homework (an assignment that follows the same theme and has similar learning outcomes) is helpful in order that students are able to complete the task and feel successful.  

Now, I know that some view differentiation as a tool in which a teacher classifies learners as being “high” or “low” in a particular area (I used to think along those lines as well—I would never want a student to think of him/herself as “low” in an academic area).  However, after working in a school where students have so many different language needs, I now view it as a way to make students feel positive about themselves and the work they do.  If certain work is overwhelmingly hard for a student, he or she will feel frustrated and may begin to dislike the subject or even worse, school.  On the contrary, if he/she feels like he/she can master the task, he/she will feel self-confident and happy. 
Differentiating lessons also makes you, as a teacher, more aware because you have to know your students individually and find ways to meet them where they are at.  Everyone is different and has different needs, strengths, and weaknesses; differentiating lessons is one way students can take into account their strengths and weaknesses in a positive manner.  In my experiences, differentiation has been a way to make sure none of my students are silently slipping through the cracks. 

Although differentiation is needed in a classroom, it is hard to carry out in the younger grades without additional support…at least that has been my experience with it.  When trying to differentiate math lessons for the first graders, it was almost impossible for me to make sure one group was staying on track while leading another group in a mini-lesson.  Many young students have questions or get easily distracted if you leave them unattended for too long.  Today, however, I was blessed with an adult volunteer in my classroom, and she totally made all the difference!  Suddenly, I could differentiate lessons because the volunteer could help one group while I led the other.  We got so much more learning and work done today than ever before, and it was less stressful—both for me and all the students.  We all left the day on a happy note! 

As a future teacher, I have discovered how important and necessary volunteers are to any given school day.  Needing volunteers can be a great way to get parents, other teenage/older students, or community members involved in the classroom.  These people can then be positive role models for the students as well as insurers of their success in school.  I will be sure to contact parents early on in the year to see if any are willing to help out in my classroom whenever possible.

Without seeing the diverse needs of my classroom from learners who speak English, Spanish, or Italian and who either did or did not go to Kindergarten, I would have never realized or saw the full benefits that differentiation can bring about.  I am so glad I decided to try it!

Emily and I paired up our fourth grade and first grade students based on their language needs for a fun buddy reading experience.  It was a big success!

Happy Independence Day Mexico!!

It is nearly midnight, and Emily and I just got back from the Mexican Independence Day celebration that Sayulita put on.  Let me just say…it was amazing!  We were invited to the celebration by some co-workers at the school, and we were so happy that we went!  We started off by going out for some fire stone oven pizza.  We all shared a “Princesa” and “Sayulita” pizza and boy was it delicious!  After eating, it is common for the plaza (the center of the city) to fill with friends and family as they wait for the Independence theme festivities to begin.  Everyone is talking and laughing and having a great time!  The kids are running around and playing.  It was so fun to see all the little ones stay awake so late.  Ice cream and frozen fruit bars are a popular tasty treat!  The plaza is decorated beautifully with Mexican colors and flags; there is also a large stage set up where music is playing for people to enjoy.  While we were waiting we enjoyed some frozen bars and ice cream and chatted with our friends from the school.

Once 11:30 pm rolls around, men and women ride around the plaza on horseback, wearing traditional clothing and carrying flaming torches.  A short speech is then given about how Mexico gained its independence and everyone shouts “¡Viva México!” many times which means “Long Live Mexico!”  A large fire display pronouncing “Viva Mexico” then explodes and fireworks begin to be shot off.  Afterwards the plaza is filled with dancing and anything else people want to do for the night! J

Throughout the festivities, I felt the warmness that is brought about by a small community.  I saw many of my students and their families celebrating Independence Day, and they all ran over to talk to Emily and me.  In a small, homey community everyone is so friendly and welcoming.  It is great to be able to see my students and their lives outside of the classroom and to participate in community events and festivals with them!  It reminds me that we all have unique characteristics and lives outside of the classroom!

Tomorrow morning is the parade that ends the holiday! 

Entrance to the Plaza

Plaza Decorations

Sign that explodes after the speech

Fireworks finale

Math Strategies!

This past Monday Emily and I had the pleasure of moving into a new house!  It is a very nice house—bungalow in style with a very beautiful scenic view of the ocean from the porch.  Though there is no air conditioning, we receive a wonderful breeze through the windows because we are up in the bluffs/mountains of Sayulita.

This week one area I have been focusing on in my teaching is helping my students learn different math strategies for completing addition problems.  Because we do not have the traditional math manipulatives at Costa Verde School—like base-ten blocks or Unifex cubes—I have been trying to help students recognize and master different ways of solving addition problems.  Drawing pictures is the strategy I have been focusing on when working with the second grade students.   While teaching students how to use pictures to solve math problems, I realized that it is VERY important to teach them how to keep their drawings organized as well.  When the drawings do not stay organized, the problem does not stay organized either and thus the drawing process is not a useful tool for solving the problem.  The second grade students loved using drawing to solve math problems.  They even asked me if they could do more problems for homework!  It was exciting for me to see them having fun while doing math. 

In addition to the second graders, I have been teaching my first graders strategies for solving simple addition problems as well.  The strategy that seemed most successful and fun for them was using little spool beads to act as counters.  I taught them how to count out the amount of spools they need for the problem (ex: 1 + 7 needs 1 spool in one pile and then 7 spools in a second pile) and then to count them all in total to find the answer to the addition problem.  The students seemed to really enjoy using the spools while practicing addition and their answers to the problems were more accurate than when they used their fingers as a strategy to solve addition problems.  Again, I think organization is the key!  I have learned with both my second and first graders that teaching problem organization during math is just as important as teaching how to actually do the problem.  Organization cannot be taken for granted or assumed as something the students will automatically do.  Before teaching math by myself this was not something I really realized or thought much about.

Another thing I learned from teaching math this week is that repetition is necessary in order to help students master a new concept.  I think that often it seems boring to have students do that same type of work more than one day in a row.  However, it is beneficial for them.  They need to practice the same concept over and over again (yes in slightly different ways each time) in order that the concept is engrained in their brains.  I feel like before my experience of lead teaching, I often thought I would not be considered a fun teacher if I did not have a novel activity for the students to work on each day in math.  That is, I thought the students would find me boring and would be bored.  This week I discovered that that is far from the truth.  Students get excited when they catch on to a new concept and want to keep practicing it.  Sure, it is good—and often necessary to tweak a math activity so that it isn’t completely the same each time, but the concept should stay the same.  Repetition and practice is important in math!

Well, that’s all I have for now!  More to come later this week!

2nd Grade Drawing Strategies

 

Our beach view from our new bungalow.

 

The First Week Alone (9/5/13)

Hi again!

I have almost made it through my first week of teaching by myself!  I must say, it is much more challenging than I ever would have imagined!  I am exhausted!  For the past two nights Emily and I stayed at the school very late in order to get our classrooms set up for the open house that took place tonight.  Open house was a success, so that was great!

In order to create our beach-themed classroom for open house and the rest of the year, the first graders and I made fish to hang from the ceilings, painted fish on the white walls, filled the open fireplace space with seashells, and hung blue streamers to resemble curtains from the windows.  With the help of local artists, we also painted beach scenes on the walls.  By the end, our room really felt like the beach!  In order to make the room more cozy and classroom-like, I (with the help of some other Costa Verde staff), rearranged the classroom furniture.  Although there was not an ample amount of furniture, we rearranged it so that the students have a rug/carpet area, a work area, a cubby area, a game playing area, and a reading area.  In turn, I also have a desk area with a book shelf behind it for all my teaching books and supplies.  Going through the process of rearranging the classroom was a very important experience for me because setting up a classroom to create an ideal learning environment is not as easy as it looks—especially when space is limited.  There are so many small details to think about, such as: Should I leave the games out at all times or store them away until it is game time?  Are all of my books appropriate for the reading levels of my classroom?  Is there space for students work to be displayed?  I was reminded to think about all of these things as I was setting up this classroom.  All of the hard work was not in vain, however, because when the students came into school this morning they were so excited about how their classroom now looked!  They loved all the different areas.  Because there were different sections in the classroom, they felt like they had a bigger classroom.

Another thing that I noticed about rearranging the classroom so that it feels as if there are different sections/rooms is that it keeps the students on task more.  Before rearranging the furniture and materials, students had easy access to the books and games.  Because they had easy access to these items, they naturally would play with them instead of doing their work or listening to instructions.  I found myself constantly having to remind them of what they were supposed to be doing and focusing on.  That all changed however once the room was rearranged so that there were section-like areas in it.  Because the students could not see the books or easily reach the games, they had to focus on the tasks at hand.  Therefore, we accomplished more work today.  Having a square rug on the floor also gave them a visual cue and reminder as to where they were supposed to be seated while we were doing whiteboard work.  As a result, there was a lot less wandering around.  It was also very helpful to have a table in the library section of the classroom and in the game section of the classroom.  Having two extra tables gave me space to work with small groups during reading time and gave students some extra space to complete work in the event that they were being easily distracted.  I am so glad to have had the opportunity of setting up a classroom.  I am now a true believer that thoughtful arrangement of materials and furniture in a classroom can motivate students and contribute to their academic and social success in school.

Although I had a lot of fun and exciting moments during this week of teaching, I have been struggling a lot with language barriers.  Because I do not speak Spanish fluently and because very few of my first-grade students speak English, it feels hard to teach—especially English Language Arts.  It is hard to teach students who do not speak English how to write and read in English.  Furthermore, classroom management has been a bit difficult because I’m not always sure how to say the words I need in Spanish and when I speak them in English, the students do not always respond.  Right now, I am working on the alphabet—letter by letter—with the first-graders since the alphabet is a bit different in English than it is in Spanish.  This seems to be a good place to start.  However, I feel as if I am running out of fun activities to do with it, and the students are beginning to get bored.  I also feel bad because some students already know the alphabet well in English so the work is a little too easy for them.  It is very hard to meet everyone’s needs.  I am still figuring out the best way to reach this goal when there is only one of me.  I think centers would be a great idea and tool so long as I had a good system that helped the students manage themselves.  Currently, I am still figuring out how to make that happen in a way that is appropriate for their age and developmental level.

All and all, this week has been lots of learning for me!  It is much different to have to plan, assess, set-up, and manage a classroom all alone than it is coming in and working in another teacher’s classroom.  I feel that my eyes have been opened even more to the complexities of teaching.

The fish the first graders painted on the wall.

The completed fish scene.

Part of our beach mural.