Indoor or Outdoor Recess?

Yesterday a student spoke up as I strongly encouraged him to go out to recess. Little did he realize that it had been about three hours since I had a personal break and I needed to have the recess/lunch time to complete a couple of items. Instead he would have preferred to spend the time inside playing a card game or working on the computer.

Transitions have been a persistent struggle during the past few weeks, and I've been wishy-washy about this. While I need to have a break now and then as an adult and educator; I also value students desire to stay inside to continue beloved activities such as building, rubrik's cube contests, computer games, origami, and more.

I've supported a mostly inside-outside recess choice this year as my room borders the playground and I can stand at the door and watch students in both places. Also, for my students who like to build and create, I know they look forward to that inside time for creativity and friendship. Yet rather than coming up with an effective schedule of inside/outside recess, the schedule changes daily based on multiple factors outside of the classroom.

What's a teacher to do?

Yesterday's student comment is the catalyst for change. I need to make the inside/outside recess choices clearer. I have to be more explicit about when students can choose to stay inside and when everyone has to go out. Since children are not allowed to be in the room unsupervised, I have to determine the times when I can't supervise both indoor and outdoor recess--times when students all have to be outside or inside due to supervision issues.

I'll put this on the agenda for our next student-teacher class meeting so we can reach a resolve that meets my needs for a working break now and then as well as students' need for inside time to build, create, and play.

This is often how issues arise in school. Students' persistent behavior and comments demonstrate a need, and then together teachers and students work to meet that need in ways that matter.

Nineteen Days plus Five: End-of-School-Year 2015

There's nineteen days left of school plus four days of a system-wide inservice and one day for clean-up. We're getting close to the finish line and the choreography matters a lot.

Today was a terrific day including a lengthy, 2.5 hour writing charrette and play practice. Tomorrow we'll sing songs, practice the play, and research/write some more. The next day is almost all play and after that it's almost all reading/writing biography reports and a special biography-related performance.

That brings us to fifteen days which will include the following:

• biography projects and presentation
• STEAM activities
• field day
• field studies in the city and country
• visiting naturalist
• human body systems introductory unit
• portfolio work and end-of-year letters
• book fair
• quiet reading
• buddy time
• school picnic
• fifth grade day and clap-out

The inservice time will focus on STEAM and ELA. I'll put my "next-year" hat on during those events.

There's also report cards, clean-up, ordering, move-up letters, and move-up day too.

As I keep saying to the students, it's worth the extra effort at the end of a test, project, or special event because you feel so good when you do a good job and live up to your expectations. It's that time of year when I'll take my own advice. Onward.

Addition
End-of-Year Checklist

Workshop Morning

This morning students will engage in a lengthy focused workshop related to their biography project work.

We'll begin with a meeting that reviews the biography project work steps.

Then students will work in the classroom and outside tech lab to read, research, take notes, type text, and edit with teachers and classmates.

I hope to have lots to one-to-one edits as students move towards final project markers for this signature fifth grade project.

Tending Ideas: The Idea Garden

Idea blossoms motivate the garden's care. 

One idea leads to another and the idea garden grows.

Also one idea affects another and thus ideas evolve.

Mornings are spent weeding and pruning the idea garden as well as sowing new seeds.

Why all the effort?

Because when the seeds are nurtured, the results bloom with incredible joy, beauty, and promise.

An idea garden is a garden worth planting and tending.

Grade Level Team: Proposing a New Model

This model is a stepping stone to models of greater student response and service. The schedule above reflects a typical student schedule. The specific model mentioned below is more tailored to our teaching/learning context. 

Our fifth grade level team has employed a successful team teaching model this year. Two teams of two teachers worked together to lead a team of 44-students each. We divided up the curriculum and worked to target the teaching in dynamic ways. We deemed the model successful since students' scores were strong; students and families were happy, and educators felt supported with the collaborative model rather than the old-time one-teacher-one-classroom model. What also made this model successful was that all four teachers, in concert with special educators and teaching assistants, collaborated with Response to Intervention (RTI) efforts to better personalize and target the program to meet every child's essential learning goals.

This symbol captures the focus of the model.
________________________________________________

This year, due to a school reconfiguration, we will only have three fifth grades and we want to continue the team approach to teaching. That meant we had to make a proposal that proved we would successfully teach all of the core curriculum with attention to time and every child's needs. The three classroom teachers worked together to create a model program. The program created times for teacher specialty and times for collaborative approach. For example, one teacher will take charge of the overall math program and teach the core curriculum, but all teachers will be involved in math teaching since another teacher will manage the weekly math skills lab, and every teacher will be involved in approximately two hours of Math RTI each week. Similarly one teacher will take charge of social studies/writing and another will lead reading/science research, but all teachers will lead groups during RTI literacy times each week. Further, each week students will engage in a social studies and STEAM lab activities, multiple specials, and some differentiated study/tier three time.

There are many reasons why the team is excited about this model.

First, this model creates a strong team at fifth grade. Rather than looking at one teacher versus another, parents, students, leaders, and colleagues will work with the entire team. We'll maximize our individual strengths and complement each others' challenges to present a strong grade-level program.

Next, the fact that each of us is not teaching all subjects means we will have the time to dive deep into a couple of subjects and lead the team in that realm. For example, as the math teacher, I would target my professional learning on math study, and share what I learn with the team. Similarly the writing and reading teachers will lead my work in writing and reading. This is a good fit for the way research, resources, and pedagogy quickly change and evolve today.

Further, rather than host all curriculum materials in one room, we'll focus our rooms to match the learning. For example, the writing/social studies teacher will host laptops, writing tools, atlases, globes, and multimedia composition tools/spaces. The math room will store the math manipulatives and STEAM materials, and the reading room will house book sets. At our school, students are used to moving fluidly from one room to another so I imagine our materials will move in and out of rooms as we integrate our studies within and amongst the target areas. In addition, the reading classroom happens to be right next door to the library and the writing and math rooms are across the hall from tech labs. This is advantageous to the focus of each space.

Also, students will have the benefit of learning from many diverse teachers which will be a good match to our students' multiple styles, interests, needs, and personalities.

The teachers are committed to working as a team and presenting a team approach beginning with move-up day letters and transition meetings. Together we want to establish a model that supports all students and families well.

The proposal has been presented and now we await approval. We're excited and hope that our enthusiasm and planned investment are supported. Let's see.