coaching students Archives - Teacher's Planning Partner

Getting Your Mojo Back

May 1, 2017 by Instructor Leave a Comment

Is your creativity lacking? Are you feeling less than inspired? This happened to me recently, and it stinks. How do you get that mojo back?

One of the advantages of planning the materials and lessons for the quarter in advance is that you begin by plugging in those favorite lessons that can sometimes be forgotten when you get caught up in a myriad of job requirements minutia.

It can be too easy to fall back on worksheets and boring lectures. You begin to think, “I’ll just control the lesson by talking. Now, not only have I bored my class to death, I’m bored, too.”

One of the sure-fire ways to get inspired is to peruse some of your favorite teaching resources to remind yourself of some of the gems you have discovered and used in the past to inspire students as well as yourself.

The following are a few of my favorite resources:

Hollas, Betty. Differentiating Instruction in a Whole-Group Setting: Taking the Easy First Steps Into Differentiation. Peterborough, NH: Crystal Springs, 2005. Print.

The activities in this book get students moving, talking, and thinking. I love the step-by-step instructions and the way the author describes each activity, accompanied by an explanation of how the activity is differentiated.

Burgess, Dave. Teach Like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, 2012. Print.

The title says it all. Gathering ideas from this book is a shot in the arm. I have reread parts of this book when I want to re-energize my teaching.

Gallagher, Kelly. Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling & Mentor Texts. Portland, ME: Stonehouse, 2011. Print.

This contains great writing lessons that engage students and get them excited about writing for a variety of purposes.

Medo, Mary Anne and Marko, Jane Elizabeth. Classroom Strategies for Dynamic Teachers. Milwaukee, WI: Stone Cottage, 2007. Print.

This is a great reference guide when you’re looking for practical strategies to teach a variety of skills for a variety of contents.

Serravallo, Jennifer. The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2015. Print.

This is what the author calls “…a book of ‘reading recipes’… a clear, concise cookbook is a great model for what on-the-go teachers might need to pick and choose strategies, to target what each reader needs, and to support their differentiated instruction”

Letuchy, Sargy. The Visual Edge: Graphic Organizers for Standards-Based Learning. Print.

This resource contains comprehensive graphic organizers that are great visual tools for teaching the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Sometimes the descriptions of the CCSS can be difficult to understand. Letuchy’s descriptions that accompany each graphic organizer are very helpful. Personally, I have found these graphic organizers to be useful formative assessment tools. You can obtain a copy of this book through our website: www.TeachersPlanningPartner.com

Actions That Sabotage Teaching

May 4, 2016 by Instructor Leave a Comment

While waiting in line for a tasty gyros sandwich, I watched a mother and a little girl in front of me. The girl was about three years old, and she was desperate to climb to the top of the counter. I watched as the girl reached while grunting and groaning to get to her destination. Her mom told her that she should not sit on the counter; the girl continued to struggle. Mom repeated that the girl should not be on the counter – more grunts and groans. Dumbfounded, I stared at Mom as she reached down and picked her daughter up and placed her on the counter. Speechless…simply speechless…

How many times do we place the kid on the counter? We tell our students one thing while our actions enable our students to continue the undesirable behavior. The following is a list of moments that reflect my own struggle with the temptation to place the kid on the counter:

Wanting students to listen to directions, but giving directions without waiting for their attention.
Telling students to not interrupt the lesson, but allowing the interruption. For example, when students forget supplies, how often do we disrupt the whole class to address the missing pencil?
Expecting students to be ready for class on time, but not following through on consequences when students are tardy.
Requiring students to participate in group work, but allowing them to coast by rewarding them with the same grade that the rest of the group receives.
Allowing students to bully us for an answer the moment the work becomes challenging for them.

Why do we do this? It’s easier than teaching appropriate behavior and following through on expectations. We want the annoying mosquito buzzing in our ear to immediately go away.

Are we more concerned with reaching the finish line than we are with stopping to take precautions like a review of classroom expectations? Bottom line – stop rewarding unacceptable behavior; stop giving in so that the buzzing will stop. Be mindful, and for heaven’s sake, don’t put the kid on the counter!

Three Ideas to Teach More by Talking Less

March 31, 2016 by Instructor Leave a Comment

Why do I sometimes have the impression that my students are baby birds with their mouths open waiting for me to fill them with wormy pearls of wisdom? Oh yeah, because sometimes I just talk too much, spewing out maggoty messages to fill my students’ heads with knowledge. It could be, once again, I’ve been tangled in helping my students create the perfect product and have made the rookie mistake of focusing on the endgame instead of focusing on the process of investigation and inquiry.

After reflecting on this problem, I’ve come to the conclusion there are several factors in play: teacher assessments are often based on products, contests that are won based on products, school assessments are based on data gathered from final assessments, and let’s be honest; focusing on a product rather than a process is easier to control. We teachers are evaluated and assessed on outcome, which is easier to measure than the process. How can we focus on the process?

We can allow our students to struggle.

While it is uncomfortable to not immediately answer when a student asks a question, it’s okay for students to wrestle with a problem…better than okay, this struggle is what grows the brain and allows students to become resilient and persist when the going isn’t smooth and easy.

My co-worker Bonny has a rule that her students are not allowed to ask for help until after they have tried to solve their question for about five or ten minutes. At first students angrily complain,”Why aren’t you helping me? Isn’t it your job to tell me how to do this?” (Yikes, have we been teaching them it is our job to immediately provide any and all answers?) After students have unsuccessfully tried getting us teachers to do their work, they often dig in and try. If students are still frustrated, ask students to make their questions specific. This encourages them to think about what they need and where there is confusion. Support students with guiding questions.

We can ask our students to summarize their learning.

When students struggle, ask them to summarize what they think needs to be done. This will give you insight as to where the confusion lies. Address the confusion with a question instead of explaining everything. For example, if a student does not know how to write a reflective, thoughtful conclusion to their essay, instead of rushing in like a star quarterback, explaining every detail, coach them by showing some examples, allowing them to examine good writing techniques.

We can require students to self-evaluate their work instead of addicting them to our praise.

Instead of telling students what they have just learned, ask them to reflect on what they gained from the process. Too often students wait for the nod of approval and acceptance from the teacher. We are turning our students into praise addicts. We should be teaching our students how to evaluate their own success, building their self-confidence instead of making them dependent on external validation.

When we keep our mouths shut, we help our baby birds build intellectual, problem solving muscle, and soon these birds will mature and fly on their own.

Word Power!

January 11, 2016 by Instructor Leave a Comment

Words equal power, so when people on Facebook and Twitter posted pieces on one word resolutions, I thought, “Oh, yeah, this is groovy.” Winter is all sludgy and freezy and the next significant break is months away, so my teaching energy could easily be poof, soot, gone. This one word resolution idea might keep me on track.

I thought if the one word resolution works for me, it would work for my students as well. I shared the one word idea with my students and how it could inspire them throughout the year. The students dove in and generated a list of powerful words.

Now, students were faced with the task of choosing their word. “One word? Just one? Can’t I choose like five? This feels too important to just randomly choose one word.” Many students stalled, unable to choose the one guiding word. I confessed that I had not chosen my word for that same reason. My brilliant virtual assistant, Beth Milligan, helps her clients focus on a successful year by using the one word resolution tool. Additionally, she suggests clients define their top three goals for the year as well as a theme to tie it all together.

Maybe my students should set a few goals. I asked my students to put their resolution word on the back burner and concentrate on their goals. Again, students rose to the task and generated goals.

While my students set goals for improving their athletic skills, or earning better grades, or maybe trying out for plays or cheerleading, I modeled for my students by writing my own personal goals using a document camera. When I reviewed my top three goals (reconnecting with friends, not letting work pile-up, and the traditional “I’m going to get healthy this year”), my first thought was that these goals seemed to have nothing in common. Then, “Bam,” the word balance jumped out at me. I need balance in my life. Since I came to this conclusion while thinking aloud in front of my students, my students started to find that after they set their goals, their words were easy to pick out, too.

Apparently, starting with goals aided in gaining clarity. Students excitedly shouted out words like “commitment”, “focus”, and “drive”. One girl looked at her goals, decided they would require much effort to accomplish, and said that the word “commitment” was her obvious choice. Another student said that the word “focus” would help him accomplish his goals.

What one word will guide you when you feel your teaching is veering off course and your workload feels overwhelming? The day after my classes completed their goal setting and one word resolutions, one of my students pulled me aside to tell me she had been in a horrible car accident the night before, but that everyone was alright. She confided to me that her one word was “survive”. Yikes, survive? Without context, that word made me wonder what she might be tangling with. She assured me that she saw this word as powerful and protective; if it were a stone, it would be her talisman. Wow, we both agreed that words can be powerful!

What Do School Administrators Really Want?

July 29, 2015 by Instructor

When you see an administrator poke her head in your classroom, do you catch yourself standing a little taller, your voice starts to sound like a radio announcer for a classical music station, and your gestures become more animated? If you aren’t working with a group of kids already, you quickly walk over to a student group, nodding your head furiously just to show you are coaching the heck out of that cooperative group. Yes, we know we do this because we want our administrators to recognize how darn lucky they are to have us on staff.

With the mountain of teacher evaluation requirements, we have a pretty good idea of what administrators need to see, but recently I had an opportunity to ask prospective vice principals what they really believed made a great teacher. Their answers were similar. They want teachers who use data to drive teaching decisions, know content, and are technology savvy (or are at least willing to learn). The number one quality they looked for in a good teacher was a teacher adept at building relationships with his or her students. Their message was loud and clear; if a teacher doesn’t care about his students, he’s toast.

Building relationships with your students can be the most gratifying part of your job. These are just a few of the strategies I’ve used to show my students that I care:

● Learn your students’ names early.

● Smile when they enter your classroom (even on days when you don’t feel like it). Make it clear you are glad they are in your classroom.

● Be sure to touch base with them as they are working. Checking in with students and asking them guiding questions when they are struggling is a powerful way to show you care.

● The Two-by-Ten approach works well with students who present you with a challenge. I have been using this successful technique for years. One of my teammates used this approach with a student who had trust issues with teachers. It is supposed to work after ten attempts; it didn’t. My determined co-worker decided to forge ahead, and on the twelfth try this student started to converse with her. Eventually he sought her out for discussions. How cool is that?

The famous school poster quote, “Your students don’t care how much you know until you show how much you care.” – anonymous, is to be your guide if you truly wish to be the kind of teacher an administrator would be proud to have on staff – more importantly – the kind of teacher you wish to be, even if a principal isn’t peeking in on you.

Master Teachers are Present in the Moment

June 30, 2015 by Instructor

During lunch my coworkers and I share snippets of celebrity autobiographies which can be quite entertaining. One celebrity described her mother’s excessive lifestyle; another star described a mind-blowing epiphany she had while making toast – entertaining, indeed.

Reading teacher biographies can also be entertaining but there is an added bonus of learning what master teachers do to ensure their students’ success. Many teacher autobiographies feature idealistic teachers determined to make a difference in challenging schools filled with students who are overwhelmed with the struggles of poverty. There isn’t anything these super teachers aren’t willing to do to connect with their students such as taking the coolest field trips, chugging carton after carton of milk just to elicit an answer from reluctant students, or demonstrating military trained round house kicks that would put Chuck Norris to shame.

Their determination inspires me; however, many of these star teachers are single, and soon after they perform teaching miracles, they write books and leave their teaching careers in the dust.

What about us teachers who are in it for the long haul, who want to achieve amazing results with our students, but would still like some personal time to hold hands with someone we love? There is at least one phenomenal teacher who has shown immense dedication to his students, authored books, and has continued to teach – while married – Rafe Esquith.

Rafe pours his passion into his teaching, and he describes how he does this in his book, Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire . My favorite message gleaned from this book is to be truly present when working with students. The title of this book was inspired by an incident where Rafe was so intent on helping one of his students understand a science concept that when his hair got too close to a Bunsen burner, it caught on fire. Rafe was so intent on proving to his student that he would not give up on her, that he did not notice his flaming hair. Another student alerted him to his follicle fire.

I love this reminder of the importance of giving students your full attention. When I coach my students while they are struggling to learn new concepts, I will be present when they share their ideas with me. This action always helps me build strong relationships with my students. If that doesn’t work, I can try to impress them with my smooth Jazzercise moves.