tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81623398375721034002024-03-05T01:22:36.034-05:00Mr. B's BlogFormerly, a 4th grade teacher with a goal of making learning engaging, relevant, and interactive for my students. Currently, I'm an ITRT (aka Instructional Technology Resource Teacher/Instructional Technology Coach), working with teachers to take their teaching to the next level.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-55106471505517329182018-09-04T13:42:00.001-04:002018-09-08T18:33:59.000-04:00Mass Generated K2 Log In Cards: An ITRT Recipe<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Conditional Formatting + Colored Tape + AutoCrat = Easy Logging in for K2 Students</h2>
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<i>Younger students can have difficulty logging in to computers, especially if they don't have prior experience with computers. By using a modified version of <a href="http://christinepinto.com/2016/09/05/colored-tape-rows-on-the-keyboard/">Christine Pinto's template</a>, you can create a bunch of cards at one time.</i></div>
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Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TYfCtKKTLM71VxPu5_9lT02tX9ucL6fPnIMd5zBU9SCb3DPVdg4Ghk3rdQYJHEMBZL86OsQY3pi46JkANTgocb-DmTA1DJvpoHL302Vcb18iYRNhnwRqZ8TMVEtgeKP6OS5zLBOR_GTS/s1600/business+modelcanvas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TYfCtKKTLM71VxPu5_9lT02tX9ucL6fPnIMd5zBU9SCb3DPVdg4Ghk3rdQYJHEMBZL86OsQY3pi46JkANTgocb-DmTA1DJvpoHL302Vcb18iYRNhnwRqZ8TMVEtgeKP6OS5zLBOR_GTS/s320/business+modelcanvas.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>Excel (must be Excel) Spreadsheet of student usernames and passwords</li>
<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gTs--MFiX7i4oJVsth0h9GDfD6YDoBDRxiFUtMeFbGY/copy">Autocrat Template</a> (force copy available at the link)</li>
<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQR27ynZJojZW8pHJRAuZLlsg7rmk_B45IiD4nnBPAM/copy">'To Merge' Template</a> (force copy available at the link)</li>
<li>CombineSheets Sheets Add On</li>
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Skill Level/Time required:</h3>
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<ul>
<li>Intermediate</li>
<li>30 minutes</li>
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Procedure:</h3>
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<ol>
<li>Be sure that usernames and passwords are on two different sheets within your Excel spreadsheet.</li>
<li>On your usernames tab, navigate to Data --> Text to Columns.</li>
<li>Choose Fixed Width --> Next.</li>
<li>Click between each character to draw a line. Hit Finish.</li>
<li>Repeat this on the passwords tab.</li>
<li>On 'To Merge' Template, input students' first and last names.</li>
<li>From your Excel sheet, copy character-separated usernames and paste them into the Google Sheet in the cells entitled "un1 to un19". Repeat this for passwords in the cells "pw1-pw5." Add or subtract cells as needed, and be sure to update any changes on your Autocrat template. </li>
<li>Install/run AutoCrat in your 'To Merge' Template. For explicit directions on AutoCrat, click here for an overview or watch the video directions below. </li>
<li>Open one of the newly-minted sheets. Install/run the CombineSheets add on. Combine all of the Sheets you just created.</li>
<li>Open the same Sheet from step nine. Click the down arrow on the tab and choose 'Copy to...' the new Sheet you created in step 9.</li>
<li>Use the format painter to 'grab' the format from the new tab. Apply it to the entire sheet. </li>
<li>Format as necessary.</li>
<li>Print and (laminate, if desired). </li>
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Implementing with your students:</h3>
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<li>Color code your keys according to the directions in Christine Pinto's original blog post. </li>
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<li>The numbers are red taped, the QWERTY row is yellow, the ASDFG is green, and the ZXCV row is purple (or pink if your color printer went rogue like mine!)</li>
</ul>
<li>Show your students how the colors on their cards correspond to the keys on the keyboard. </li>
<li>Marvel in their success! </li>
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Video directions:</h3>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-57808258573703768202018-09-04T07:00:00.000-04:002018-09-04T07:00:06.891-04:00Making Testicular Self-Exams Standard Practice in Virginia's High Schools<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">"To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." </span></div>
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-Buddha</div>
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<i><b>Looking to access the PSA immediately? <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/testicular-cancer-101">Click here to watch the video.</a></b></i></div>
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Part of being a fourth grade teacher (my full-time job for the past five years) is the dreaded end-of-year “your body is going to start changing” talk. While I spend lots of my free time outside of school being an advocate for testicular cancer awareness through my blog A Ballsy Sense of Tumor, I don't often talk about testicles with my students. </div>
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After completing my yearly lesson, I started wondering if the Virginia health curriculum includes education about testicular self-exams. I did some research and found that self-checks are only explicitly mentioned in one standard in 9th grade: “The student will demonstrate understanding of specific health issues, including the ability to conduct self examinations.” It’s indirectly mentioned in 10th grade: the student will “identify regular screenings, tests, and other medical examinations and their role in reducing health risks.”</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Filming at the High School</i></td></tr>
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In my opinion, these passing mentions are not nearly enough. Doctors recommend that both testicular and breast self-examinations are done once per month when full physical maturity is reached. For some students, this could be as young as fifteen years old. During their eleventh and twelfth grade years, Virginia students are not exposed to any information about the importance of self-examinations, which is when most students will have reached full maturity. The current standards were, in my opinion, not enough. It’s unrealistic to expect students to form the habit of regular self-exams based on one passing mention in ninth grade. This reality is even more alarming <a href="https://www.testicularcancersocietyblog.org/majority-never-speaks-about-testicular-cancer/">when paired with a 2016 study by the Testicular Cancer Society</a> that found over 60% of young men have never been told about testicular cancer. Something needed to be done.<br />
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As a man of action, I decided to write to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to express my concerns and to work with them on a solution. Within a few weeks, Vanessa Wigand, the VDOE Coordinator of Health Education, Driver Education, Physical Education & Athletics, emailed me back. She suggested that I script and star in an instructional video about testicular cancer and the importance of self-exams. Furthermore, she suggested having high school film department students film, edit, and produce the video. I loved that idea, especially the part about having high school students assist, as they are a part of the target demographic I’m trying to reach.</div>
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Around the same time as my discussion with Vanessa, I was at an EdTechTeam Apple Conference, and attended a session by Steven Knight, the Coordinator of Digital Learning for Falls Church City Schools. Since his presentation was all about video production, I approached him about having his students help produce the video. He loved the idea and later shared that he is also a cancer survivor. <br />
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With the technical side of things locked down, I began to work on the script the self-exam video. With the help of my sister, a high school senior, I polled some high school students and asked them what they’d want in a self-check video.According to the results, they’d like something that included a blend of humor, serious information, personal stories, and a how-to. I kept these recommendations in mind as I wrote the script.<br />
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I knew that my story wouldn’t necessarily be the most relevant to high schoolers, since I am ridiculously old compared to them. I needed someone their own age to share his story, so I reached out to Grant Moseley, a current high school senior and testicular cancer survivor who was diagnosed at 17. He agreed to write and share his story.<br />
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In early April, which is also testicular cancer awareness month, I filmed my sections, including my own story, information about testicular cancer, and narrating an animated self-exam demonstration, at George Mason High School under the direction of Steven, Kenneth George (the school’s film teacher,) and his high school student film crew. Beyond the coolness factor of being on camera, I loved seeing the three male students show expressions of intrigue while I shared some facts about testicular cancer. Later, when I spoke with one of the students, he said he had previously heard about testicular cancer but never knew exactly how to do a self-exam before filming. Mission accomplished.<br />
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Full disclosure - while I had my lines totally memorized well in advance, I messed up about 384 times while filming. Something about having two cameras on you is intimidating, but I felt confident in my final takes and in the editing skills of the students.<br />
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My faith in them was rewarded - they actually made me look good! Rather than tell you about their awesome work, I’m embedding the final product below (or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByQI67lBlc4">watch it directly on YouTube here)</a>. While it is 11 minutes long (practically decades in this era of YouTube), it’s well worth the watch!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ByQI67lBlc4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ByQI67lBlc4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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I had a chance to debut the video at the Virginia Health and Physical Activity Institute. In two sessions, I provided statistics, tips, and other information about testicular cancer to a number of health educators and curriculum coordinators. The attendees seemed to enjoy the video and especially liked that it was a comprehensive resource that covered all the bases, with a great blend of personal stories, information, school-appropriate humor, and an animated self-exam demo. Many eagerly asked where it would be located so that they can use it in their own districts.</div>
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Vanessa happened to be in the session and said that the video is posted on Health Smart Virginia, which is an online depository of lesson resources. To access it and other resources, <a href="https://healthsmartva.org/9th-grade#nav_1_4">visit this link</a> and select "Health Smart VA Lesson Plans" under "Health Promotion." Scroll to Unit 27 - Grade 9 - Testicular Cancer 101 Video. These resources are also located in similar places in Grade 10, but it's the same information either way.<br />
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She also said she will send it directly to all health curriculum coordinators across the state, which will hopefully help the video become regular viewing material for all high school grades.<br />
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While I am honored to have made an impact on Virginia’s curriculum, I always want to have as big of a reach as possible when it comes to testicular cancer awareness. In the 50 states of the US (and Washington, DC), only 18 states make a specific mention of testicular self checks in their mandated health curriculums. Of these 18, only two states (California and Washington) include standards that address how to do a self exam in grades 9-12. Consult the map below to see if your state made the cut or not.</div>
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<iframe height="500px" src="https://view-awesome-table.com/-LHP2I8hRe7cG6M_P603/view" style="border: none;" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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If your state has room to grow, please send this blog post or <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/testicular-cancer-101">the link to this educational site</a> (which is also posted on Health Smart Virginia) to the relevant parties in your state. I personally plan on reaching out to the “Vanessas” of each state in hopes to make this a national project.</div>
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In closing, I would like to offer a sincere thank you to all of those who helped support this project, including Vanessa and the VDOE, Grant Moseley, the Moseley family, Eric Manneschmidt (who filmed and edited Grant’s section), Steven Knight, Kenneth George, the high school film students, my colleagues at school who helped review my script, and countless others. This was truly a collaborative project. <br />
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We put forth the effort to produce this video, and now the ball is in your court to watch and share this video. As I said in the closing of the video, together, we can get the ball rolling on discussing the importance of testicular self-exams. </div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-46881955239347471742018-08-24T10:20:00.000-04:002018-08-24T10:20:36.822-04:00Lesson Plan Feedback Form: An ITRT Recipe<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Provide feedback to your teachers on lesson plans (or anything else you'd like)!</h2>
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<i>Administrators and coaches, pick your path - intermediate or advanced - to provide automatic and personalized feedback to your teachers.</i><br />
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Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNKLrQAEQcbZw5QNe2aFAJsyk1ay_dLNSvjDhq00zidoYqxAX9GTSl_ZzYEHcnW-8MBcU4C0aqft3Yfgfc98YXE6TI8stVfcqXo2scjRp6n_FCeTLftWwA9d_Y-trbH9BYq_jv7DbOrXj/s1600/Copy+of+Copy+of+business+modelcanvas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNKLrQAEQcbZw5QNe2aFAJsyk1ay_dLNSvjDhq00zidoYqxAX9GTSl_ZzYEHcnW-8MBcU4C0aqft3Yfgfc98YXE6TI8stVfcqXo2scjRp6n_FCeTLftWwA9d_Y-trbH9BYq_jv7DbOrXj/s320/Copy+of+Copy+of+business+modelcanvas.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>Google Form</li>
<li>FormValues (Google Forms Add On - optional, but recommended)</li>
<li>Google Sheet</li>
<li>Google Doc</li>
<li>AutoCrat (Google Sheets Add On)</li>
<li><b>ADVANCED INGREDIENTS:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>=VLOOKUP (Google Sheets Formula)</li>
<li>CopyDown (Google Sheets Add On)</li>
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Skill Level/Time required:</h3>
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<li>Intermediate: 30-45</li>
<li>If following Advanced directions: 60-90 minutes</li>
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Procedure:</h3>
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<ol>
<li>Create a Google Form that addresses all the area you wish to give feedback on. For this example, my admin wanted to be able to address Teacher Name, Date, Subject Area, Standard Present in Lesson Plan, Learning Intentions/Success Criteria, and Required Lesson Plan Elements (Flow, Opportunities to Respond, Student Engagement Strategies, and Feedback). </li>
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<li>If you are following the <b>Intermediate directions</b>, also include a textbox for teacher email. </li>
<li>If following the <b>Advanced directions</b>, you will set this up to run automatically in step 6.</li>
<li>Using the FormValues Add on for Forms can help if you will be using the same values in Forms over and over. In this case, I used it for teacher name. </li>
</ul>
<li>From the responses tab, create a spreadsheet of responses. Open the Sheet. </li>
<li>Create a new Google Doc and title it 'Lesson Plan Feedback Template' or something similar. </li>
<li>Create a template using the column headers from the Google Sheets within merge tags, which look like this: << and >>. This will help with Autocrat in step 7. </li>
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<li>For the "demographic information," I used two column tables - left containing the prompt (Teacher Name) and right containing the tag for Form response (<<Teacher Name>>). </li>
<li>I used two-row tables - the top row had the "Look For" (How are learning intentions and success criteria evident?) and the bottom contain the tag for the Form response (<<How are learning intentions and success criteria evident? >>)</li>
</ul>
<li>Go to your Sheet from step 2.</li>
<li><b>OPTIONAL, ADVANCED STEPS. IF CHOOSING NOT TO DO THESE, SKIP TO STEP 7. </b></li>
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<li><b>This step allows you to automatically insert emails and specific folder placements. It takes time on the front end, but will end up saving you (and your teachers) lots of time and organization in the long run.</b></li>
<li>Go to your Google Drive and set up individual folders for each teacher that you'll be providing feedback to. </li>
<li>Add a new page to the Sheet you opened in step 5. In column A, put the teachers' names as they appear in the Form. Column B should contain their email addresses. </li>
<li>In Column C, cut and paste the folder ID in for each teacher. The folder ID is a long string of characters after /folder/ in the Google Drive URL. They all look similar to "1P6euIGuXwTiBb4NS40ykzpBR3yc1qsSN"</li>
<li>Back in the first page of the Sheet, add two columns - one titled Email and one titled Folder Reference.</li>
<li>Install/open the Copy Down Add on. It will prompt you to place the following formulas in a row it will create for you. </li>
<li>In the new row, in both columns for Email and Folder reference, you will be writing a =VLOOKUP formula. It will look similar to =VLOOKUP(C3,Sheet2!$A$1:$B$45,2,false). Sheets does an ok job of guiding you what to type in and the optional video directions will explain this more. </li>
<li>After you've done all this, you can join the rest of the class in step 7, and be sure to follow the optional, advanced directions in step 8, so all of your hard work pays off. To be fair, I did warn you that these were Advanced.</li>
</ul>
<li>Install/open the AutoCrat Add on. Run through the steps, using the template you created in step 3. If you set up the template in step 4 correctly, it should be easy, with just a lot of clicking through screens. <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_7Xc6352Xbw8GpenFBCUAE1X__gf_Q1RuRjAhF5FnpY/present" target="_blank">Click here for an overview of the different Autocrat screens</a>. If following the basic directions, you can entirely skip screen 6. </li>
<li><b>OPTIONAL, ADVANCED STEPS. IF CHOOSING NOT TO DO THESE, SKIP TO STEP 9. </b></li>
<ul>
<li>You must set up screen 6 if you have chosen the advanced path. The above tutorial explains how to do it. See, that wasn't too terrible! </li>
</ul>
<li>At the end, choose Save. Depending on what you chose for triggers, once you begin using the Form, the Feedback Docs will be created instantly, on certain time triggers, or run manually. </li>
</ol>
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Implementing with your teachers:</h3>
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<ol>
<li>Bookmark the viewable Google Form somewhere in your bookmarks bar. </li>
<li>Do your observation/feedback for the lesson plan/instruction in the Google Form. </li>
<li>Press "Submit." </li>
<li>If you have followed the intermediate directions, the teachers will get an email with your feedback. If you have followed the advanced directions, they will receive an email AND it will be filed in their individual folder.</li>
</ol>
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Video directions:</h3>
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<i>Overall directions -</i><br />
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<i>Advanced directions -</i><br />
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-34316623939093535562018-08-24T10:19:00.000-04:002018-08-24T10:20:50.823-04:00Pivot Table for Large Assessment Files: An ITRT Recipe<h2 style="text-align: center;">
When you have a lot of data to sort through, a pivot table may be your solution. </h2>
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<i>This recipe would be best for administrators or coaches who have access to building/grade level data, since a typical classroom teacher may not have hundreds of rows of data, which is the value of a pivot table.</i><br />
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Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mx32OnUjy2n0_rPmhRN756B_V8lgrSysXFMrsWUYKWTDPBWmEXXqpUWn_I4s-cjJgJ1_D4zVR9upKTZt5l4cWIJzTl6MTFE1y9SdzmuZt7HN-CdVRaf7I3rhS93C4r_WKzDkBBaecUHn/s1600/Copy+of+Copy+of+business+modelcanvas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mx32OnUjy2n0_rPmhRN756B_V8lgrSysXFMrsWUYKWTDPBWmEXXqpUWn_I4s-cjJgJ1_D4zVR9upKTZt5l4cWIJzTl6MTFE1y9SdzmuZt7HN-CdVRaf7I3rhS93C4r_WKzDkBBaecUHn/s320/Copy+of+Copy+of+business+modelcanvas.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Google Sheet of data </li>
<ul>
<li>(If in Excel, open in Sheets)</li>
</ul>
<li>Pivot Table</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Skill Level/Time required:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Beginner - I promise that pivot tables sound scarier than they are.</li>
<li>10-15 minutes</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Procedure:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Open your Sheet of data. </li>
<li>Along the menu bar, go to Data --> Pivot Table. This will create a new tab on your sheet and open the Pivot Table Editor menu.</li>
<li>In Rows, Add the data you want to sort. In this example, I used 'Item Description' so we could see all the type of questions. </li>
<li>In Columns, Add the 'qualifiers' that you want to count by. In this example, I used 'Correct/Incorrect,' but you can have multiple columns that will nest in each other. </li>
<li>In Values, use the same value as in Columns. Be sure it is set to 'COUNTA.'</li>
</ol>
<h3>
Implementing:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Use this Pivot table to see areas of strength and weakness. </li>
<li>Add in a column with a formula to calculate the percentage correct or incorrect to make it easier.</li>
</ol>
<h3 style="font-family: "times new roman";">
Video directions:</h3>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x_geH5sRXU4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x_geH5sRXU4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<br /></div>
</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-43949372556811846922018-08-23T10:42:00.002-04:002018-08-24T10:21:07.303-04:00Paperless Classroom Sign Out: An ITRT Recipe<div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Develop a paperless classroom sign-out system with Google Forms and CheckItOut.</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Keep track of who is where, without the hassle of tracking down tons of sheets of paper.</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybq69K3SbLaWxZvzzJ8Xile91YH2yZ10i6cjW8J8p3pskN4c-4SLqitWnimUj1WxvVeceaph7gLG6sElmFcaJOmcDpYVxvEfMX1vJ1jgMKOHFE96TdvQA1237Ww3Gzn9L3L7oMuBfytRq/s1600/Copy+of+business+modelcanvas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybq69K3SbLaWxZvzzJ8Xile91YH2yZ10i6cjW8J8p3pskN4c-4SLqitWnimUj1WxvVeceaph7gLG6sElmFcaJOmcDpYVxvEfMX1vJ1jgMKOHFE96TdvQA1237Ww3Gzn9L3L7oMuBfytRq/s320/Copy+of+business+modelcanvas.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Google Form (<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/106F0DHQjjsK9gqeXaprz3wKEVyVSsuqq_XoNjROe8eI/copy" target="_blank">for template, click here</a>)</li>
<li>CheckItOut <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/checkitout/ociehaocmpicgbfmogelhdhgjjhjimpn?hl=en-US" target="_blank">(Google Form Add On, click here)</a></li>
<li>Dedicated sign-out device/Link Shortener/QR Code</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Skill Level/Time required:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Intermediate </li>
<li>30-45 minutes</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Procedure:</h3>
</div>
</div>
<ol>
<li>Create a new Google Form.</li>
<li>Delete the first automatically generated question.</li>
<li>Install and open the CheckItOut Add On. Select 'Add/Edit Question Set.'</li>
<li>Select 'Add New' and retitle 'Check in/out set name' as "Students" or something similar. </li>
<li>Change 'Question type' to 'Choose from a list.'</li>
<li>Leave the remaining two boxes alone (or change the second one to 'All students are present.'</li>
<li>Select 'Add.'</li>
<li>Add a list of student names into the first new question CheckItOut generated.</li>
<li><b>Optional:</b> Add a text field for Destination</li>
<li>Set up the viewable Form on a dedicated device or generate a short link/QR code that links to it. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<div>
<h3>
Implementing with your students:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Depending what you chose in step 8, place this device/short link/QR near an easily accessible place. </li>
<li>When students sign out, they select their name in the first drop down. When they return, they select their name in the second drop down. </li>
<li>They don't need to add time or date, since Google Forms will do this automatically. </li>
<ul>
<li>Go to the Responses tab in the edit screen of Google Forms to see this information.</li>
</ul>
</ol>
<h3 style="font-family: "times new roman";">
Video directions:</h3>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IjgCmKH0xTU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IjgCmKH0xTU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-63326758768643725642018-08-23T07:00:00.000-04:002018-08-24T10:21:20.550-04:00Classroom Library Digital Book Log: An ITRT Recipe<h2 style="text-align: center;">
A continuation from <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2018/08/classroom-library-digital-check-out-google-form-gsuite.html" target="_blank">Classroom Library Digital Check-Out System</a>, this recipe will teach you to make a book log for your students.</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A great way for students to track their independent reading, in addition to keep accountability!</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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'Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlntOr3FS329sNKpq8noWcCsqhI9QKJOuSOnF8eXpM1WVv3Qmp2PIRMZE8PCW5sWyGa326d1TQ8bVJ7Ro8W1UIaUCpm9xOAD80AQRy33WgKQeZjXS2G14ZTqI_RXPECbQwhF5PEtEgQ0n/s1600/Copy+of+business+modelcanvas+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlntOr3FS329sNKpq8noWcCsqhI9QKJOuSOnF8eXpM1WVv3Qmp2PIRMZE8PCW5sWyGa326d1TQ8bVJ7Ro8W1UIaUCpm9xOAD80AQRy33WgKQeZjXS2G14ZTqI_RXPECbQwhF5PEtEgQ0n/s320/Copy+of+business+modelcanvas+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Your pre-built <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2018/08/classroom-library-digital-check-out-google-form-gsuite.html">Classroom Library Digital Check-Out System</a></li>
<li>Google Site</li>
<li>Google Sheet</li>
<li>Awesome Table</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Skill Level/Time required:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Intermediate</li>
<li>30-45 minutes</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Procedure:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Be sure to already have your <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2018/08/classroom-library-digital-check-out-google-form-gsuite.html">Classroom Library Digital Check-Out System</a> set up and ready to go. If you have not already embedded it into a Google Site, do so now. </li>
<li>From the responses tab in the Check-Out Form, create a Sheet of responses. </li>
<li>Use the blue Share button to make it 'Viewable by Link.'</li>
<li>Right click on the the '1' vertical axis to add a row under the row. Use the View menu to Freeze rows 1 and 2.</li>
<li>Type 'CategoryFilter' in cells B2, C2, and D2. Type 'Hidden' in cells E2 and F2.</li>
<li>Go to Awesome-Table.com. Sign in with whatever Google account is linked to this sheet. </li>
<li>Select 'Create a New View - Blank.' Select the spreadsheet you were just working on. You shouldn't have to mess with any of the setting, so press 'Create.'</li>
<li>If necessary, press the pencil icon to get into editing mode. Assuming everything was set up correctly in step 4, there shouldn't be much you need to edit. Double check by click on the various drop downs. </li>
<li>Click the share button (it kind of looks like a triangle that is missing a side). Copy the "Link to Share."</li>
<li>Go to your Google Site and create a page for the book log.</li>
<li>Double click anywhere on the page and select 'Embed.' Paste the link you copied in step 9. A preview should pop up and select 'Insert.'</li>
<li>Press Publish on your Google Site. </li>
</ol>
<h3>
Implementing with your students:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Direct them to the page that has the book log. </li>
<li>Show them how they can see their own book log page or other students' pages. </li>
<ul>
<li>This will help them track their own reading, in addition to get recommendations and check on the status of books from other.</li>
</ul>
</ol>
<h3 style="font-family: "times new roman";">
Video directions:</h3>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d4tvBkwvRzI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d4tvBkwvRzI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-12143482536215954832018-08-16T13:02:00.001-04:002018-08-24T10:21:42.264-04:00Classroom Library Digital Check-Out System: An ITRT Recipe<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Looking for a paperless classroom library check-out system, without QR/Bar Codes?</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Using Google Forms and an add-on, you can easily create this user-friendly system.</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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Ingredients:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks2AiGXPYj-MPWUJ4OgMgV6xbWup8IVUWaIpMVoQ5rIRDsozJDOtxq4T3j6R8QFO6-ygWBWTg6-XxhrITbM1MfaOdQ8NNdEB03cqCShWMTAAhKqWgcqW4OfCPYts0Jx7PJkHELUxbd8hy/s1600/business+modelcanvas+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks2AiGXPYj-MPWUJ4OgMgV6xbWup8IVUWaIpMVoQ5rIRDsozJDOtxq4T3j6R8QFO6-ygWBWTg6-XxhrITbM1MfaOdQ8NNdEB03cqCShWMTAAhKqWgcqW4OfCPYts0Jx7PJkHELUxbd8hy/s320/business+modelcanvas+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Google Form (<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/106F0DHQjjsK9gqeXaprz3wKEVyVSsuqq_XoNjROe8eI/copy" target="_blank">for template, click here</a>)</li>
<li>CheckItOut <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/checkitout/ociehaocmpicgbfmogelhdhgjjhjimpn?hl=en-US" target="_blank">(Google Form Add On, click here)</a></li>
<li>Link Shortener </li>
<li>Google Site (optional)</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Skill Level/Time required:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Intermediate </li>
<li>30-45 minutes</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Procedure:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Make a copy of the Google Form Template from the Ingredients <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/106F0DHQjjsK9gqeXaprz3wKEVyVSsuqq_XoNjROe8eI/copy" target="_blank">(or from here)</a>. Make the form as decorative as you'd like.</li>
<li>Add, edit, or remove any questions you would like. Be sure to fill in your class list in student name and edit/add the genres you want. </li>
<li>Install and open the CheckItOut Add On. Select 'Add/Edit Question Set.'</li>
<li>Select 'Add New' and retitle 'Check in/out set name' as "Book" or something similar. </li>
<li>Change 'Question type' to 'Text with Listbox.'</li>
<li>Leave the remaining two boxes alone and select 'Add.'</li>
<li>If desired, move 'Author Name' and 'Genre' below the two questions CheckItOut added. </li>
<li><b>OPTIONAL - </b>Embed the Google Form into a Google Site. (This optional step will help if you choose to make the 'Reading Log' public later - <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2018/08/classroom-library-digital-book-log-itrt.html">directions here</a>).</li>
<li>Use a Link Shortener to shorten the Google Form (or Google Site) URL. Alternatively, link to it from your Google Classroom or class website. </li>
</ol>
<h3>
Implementing with your students:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Direct them to the check out form (wherever you placed it in step 9). </li>
<li>All directions are in the Form: </li>
<ul>
<li>They can select their name and genre from the drop down list. </li>
<li>If they are checking a book out, they will type the full title under 'Check out.' </li>
<li>If they are checking a book back in, select it from the menu under 'Check in.' </li>
<li>They must also type in author name.</li>
</ul>
</ol>
<h3>
Video directions:</h3>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UQYuehSj52o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UQYuehSj52o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-10810695164439750622018-06-18T13:48:00.002-04:002018-06-18T13:48:33.147-04:00Five Firsts in my Fifth Year<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I've never been someone that's had a five-year plan. That just... doesn't give you the chance to be flexible. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-Eric Bana</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's the first Monday of my summer vacation and I just returned from my first morning run. In a few hours, I'll be seeing my first (of many, thanks to <a href="https://www.moviepass.com/" target="_blank">MoviePass</a>) movie of the summer - Incredibles II. Due to my school district moving to a pre-Labor day start for the 2018-2019 school year, this summer is rather short. This year marked my fifth year as a fourth grade teacher. While five years seems like a really long time and doesn't leave much room for "new," I realized that there were five major "firsts" this year. Since I hate blogs that are just personal reflections, I'll also be sharing how these can impact your classroom.</div>
</div>
<br /><h3>
It was my first year in yet another new classroom</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSkV0fxtpl6WIeNiqdpbwF9_ZDVF5d03EP6v-LupHj0gDlnsMse3cDTKJonixvOsmTdYtvu2AoS7V0iFAovkCgh3mK0pDVMeV1ZaX7gFA0461mbO1Ca-bqKLSEJvwTEEJQa1uHFj-06VA/s1600/27324776-9E09-4BEB-99BF-19011FFE0347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSkV0fxtpl6WIeNiqdpbwF9_ZDVF5d03EP6v-LupHj0gDlnsMse3cDTKJonixvOsmTdYtvu2AoS7V0iFAovkCgh3mK0pDVMeV1ZaX7gFA0461mbO1Ca-bqKLSEJvwTEEJQa1uHFj-06VA/s320/27324776-9E09-4BEB-99BF-19011FFE0347.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>First day selfie on top...<br />Final day on the bottom</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
For those of you playing the home game, this year marked my third classroom in five years. <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2016/06/year-3-in-review.html" target="_blank">My first move was due to relocating</a> in Virginia, and this one was so <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/06/one-four-books.html" target="_blank">I could be closer to home</a>. I have to say, a ten-minute commute (compared to my previous 45-90 minutes) is a beautiful thing. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
A new classroom means a new set up, different expectations, and more. I can definitely say that this school was the best fit for me. My students and team were great (I'll expand on these both more later) and my administration was incredible.<br /><br /><h4>
How this can impact your classroom</h4>
</div>
<div>
Don't be afraid to try for a new position. Whatever your reason, be it closer to home, a desired change in vision, or anything else, this shift could be a wonderful thing for you. That being said, I do not necessarily recommend moving classrooms every year, though lugging around so many boxes is a great workout. </div>
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<br /><h3>
It was my first year without 1:1 Chromebooks</h3>
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<div>
The only real "downside" to my new classroom was that I was not permitted to use my DonorsChoose class set of Chromebooks, due to district policies. While I totally get the rationale (devices not owned/managed by districts can become a nightmare), it definitely was a big shift in my instructional practice. I had to share a cart of Windows laptops with another teacher. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
However, around the holidays, <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/12/i-stepped-back.html" target="_blank">I realized this ended up being a good thing</a>. It forced me to switch up some lessons, explicitly teach how to effectively collaborate with partners while using devices, and refine my whole group/small group skills. </div>
<div>
<br /><h4>
How this can impact your classroom</h4>
</div>
<div>
Technology is the tool, not the lone savior. Do not become too reliant on computers, since you never know when they might go away. Focus on the teaching and use technology to augment the lessons, but never make it the only way you instruct.<br /><br /><h3>
It was my first year of having nicknames for every student</h3>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2015/07/connecting-beyond-curriculum.html" target="_blank">Nicknames have been a hallmark of my teaching</a> since I began way back in 2013. It's always fun to say, "Youngblood, your reading teacher is here" and watch the shocked look on her face. However, I've never had a year where all my students have had nicknames. In the past, some students just straight up didn't want them, and in some cases, I couldn't find a organic fit. Nothing is worse than forcing a nickname.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This year, all 25 of my students had nicknames, from the reasonable "Tiny" for the smallest student in the room to the ironic "Trouble Family: Trouble, Double Trouble, Triple Trouble, and Quad Trouble" (the four quietest girls in the room) to the completely random "Jim Boy" for a student whose name was not Jim nor even James. This is a small thing, but helped create a sense of community and belonging in the classroom. Even my "Nemesis" loved her nickname and was in tears at the end of the year when it was all over. </div>
<div>
<br /><h4>
How this can impact your classroom</h4>
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<div>
It doesn't have to be nicknames, but do something that make your students feel special. There are a billion viral videos of personal handshakes for each students, or create something that is you. No matter what - students need to feel welcome and embraced in your classroom. It doesn't have to be a major endeavor, but it has to be noticed by the students. You can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn from you.<br /><br /><h3>
It was my first year that I got along personally and professionally with ALL members of my team</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcFMbhrOs49mt0smhZSi-s_oqptZQhbfgFCVN-JavOLEkRgY-ssUBrviQWNVZirg3bosZS-zHq3q2skMz7c1uXRNjnHLU1GBKvqRzIAC5NMkv0L1cmNIG0-G6Cxtau_qaYa9v23k3IdAp/s1600/superteachers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="960" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcFMbhrOs49mt0smhZSi-s_oqptZQhbfgFCVN-JavOLEkRgY-ssUBrviQWNVZirg3bosZS-zHq3q2skMz7c1uXRNjnHLU1GBKvqRzIAC5NMkv0L1cmNIG0-G6Cxtau_qaYa9v23k3IdAp/s320/superteachers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Super teachers!</i></td></tr>
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This isn't to say I actively disliked past teams. I still keep in touch with many old colleagues, but this is the first year that I felt like all members of my team let me do things "The Justin Way", without pushing their ideas onto me. (The Justin Way is hard to accurately describe, and I have been trying for three years on this blog to define it, to no avail.) We shared ideas and helped each other grow, but in a way in which everyone's ideas were respected and no one was criticized.<br /><br /><h4>
How this can impact your classroom</h4>
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If you're on a team like this, be grateful. If you're not, see what you can do to change the culture. Team dynamics are hard to balance, but pays off in great dividends when they work. Put the time in to ensure it works and be open with your communication.<br /><br /><h3>
It was the first year I felt I had good work/life balance</h3>
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Teachers suck at work/life balance. Not a controversial take, and I was among them in the beginning of my career. This year, <a href="mailto:https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/4-tips-for-teacher-self-care/" target="_blank">I made a commitment to take care of me</a> more and to enjoy my life outside of work. While teaching is a career that requires it to be a true labor of love, it's also important to realize that it is a job, and you work to live. There's no purpose in working yourself to the grindstone if you have nothing outside of work to look forward to. </div>
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How this can impact your classroom</h4>
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Find a hobby that has nothing to do with education. For me, it's <a href="http://aballsysenseoftumor.com/" target="_blank">writing about testicular cancer and men's health</a>, but that's probably not your thing. (Though if it is, hit me up!) It's important to be a person first and a teacher second. After all, you cannot give them your 100% if you're not at your own personal best.</div>
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Set limits on yourself. The ones who should be working hardest are the students - not you, furiously lesson planning and grading papers at 1 am. </div>
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A bonus point as I look to my sixth year in education </h2>
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It was my last year as a fourth grade teacher</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One last selfie in the classroom</i></td></tr>
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It's been a great five years as a fourth grade teacher, and I would say that this year was my best, between the above five points, the end of year academic gains my students made (including the highest pass rate on end-of-year assessments I've ever had), and more that didn't make it in this blog. That being said, this past Friday was my last day in the realm of fourth grade education. </div>
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Starting on August 1, I will be transitioning roles to an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (also called a tech coach, technology integrator, TOSA, or other titles depending on where you live). While I will still be within my same school district, I will be at a different school, meaning this is the fourth change for me (and fourth workout thanks to carrying around boxes). </div>
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I have wanted to pursue this position for a few years, but kept putting it off. I had opportunities the past two years to make the change, but turned it down on both occasions (apparently you cannot get a mortgage if you don't have a signed work contract - who knew). I almost decided not to apply this year since I was having such a great year, but it felt like a good time to make the switch. I am beyond excited to start this new role, but I will miss working directly with my own class. </div>
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How this can impact your classroom</h4>
</div>
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Like I said in the first point, if there's a change in assignment you've been eyeing up... go for it. There's no time like the present. The great thing about teaching is that there are so many different things you can do and still be within the realm of education. If you want to try something new, give it a whirl and know you can always go back if it's not what you thought. </div>
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And while you're changing roles, purge things that won't be directly related to your new job. Hand it off to colleagues or the teacher taking over your room. </div>
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They (and your back) will thank you. </div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-54810174636323918242018-06-09T20:34:00.000-04:002018-06-09T21:29:05.507-04:00A Review of Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning by Bethany PettyWhile I may not have been blogging here much this year (seeing as this is only my second post of 2018), I have been reading up a storm. This is part of a commitment to myself to continue using my time to trying <a href="http://www.aballsysenseoftumor.com/2018/03/pcl25-my-definition-of-surviving-one.html" target="_blank">define surviving life after cancer</a>. I've set a goal to read 100 books this year, and the majority of them have been thrillers, and only one from January to May was about teaching.<br />
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However, I recently received an email from <a href="http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/" target="_blank">Bethany Petty</a>, who I originally connected with through my <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2016/05/breakout-edu-digital.html" target="_blank">former work with Breakout EDU Digital</a> (which gets a shout out in one of the chapters - always cool to see Justin Birckbichler in print, and kudos for spelling is correctly).<br />
<br />
She had just published <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Illuminate-Technology-Enhanced-Bethany-Petty/dp/1945167459/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1528589279&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning</a> </i>through <a href="http://www.edtechteam.press/" target="_blank">EdTechTeam Press</a> and wanted to share her message with the world. I told her I would be happy to read and review her book, though she may not need it since as of this writing, it is the number one new release in the Amazon store for Science and Technology Teaching Materials! About a week later, it showed up on my doorstep, and approximately 24 hours later, the book moved from my "Currently Reading" shelf to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2418209162" target="_blank">my "Read" shelf on Goodreads</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I highly recommend this book.<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Illuminate-Technology-Enhanced-Bethany-Petty/dp/1945167459/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1528589279&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Click here to order your own copy.</a></td></tr>
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This is more about the book being so easy to read more so than it being a short book. Bethany writes in a very conversational tone and shares many engaging anecdotes about her personal experiences as a learner, a teacher, a mom, a friend, and a blogger to back up her points.<br />
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The book is broken into ten chapters, with each one covering using technology to engage, explore, create, communicate, think critically, assess, reflect, motivate, design lessons, and connect. I learned something new from each chapter and wish I had read this when I didn't have just five days left in school, so I could implement them this year.<br />
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I loved that the book was not based entirely on the tech tools, but more on applications of each tool. New ideas that I had never considered before were presented in each chapter. A ton of stickies now adorn my copy with things I'd like to try in my own classroom.<br />
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While the focal point of the book is the "why/how" to use different tools, the "what" tool to use is also addressed. I consider myself pretty in the know about educational technology, but there were about six tools I had never heard of or knew what they did. The 35 tools are helpfully categorized in the "Tech Tools Index" at the back of the book, which made it easy to count up how many I need to learn about soon, but even more nuggets of wisdom are sprinkled throughout the book, making the grand total much higher. Luckily, blank notes pages are included at the end of each chapter to keep it all organized.<br />
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A common fear about print books about technology is that they will be outdated within a year or two. Bethany has helpfully included QR codes (which she shares a number of educational uses for throughout the book) to blog posts she has written about the subject. In my interactions with Bethany, I know she is on the ball when it comes to educational technology, and these blogs will be updated as current technology is refined and new, better tools are developed. Essentially, you are getting two books for the price of one - the one in your hand and the future iterations of her blog.<br />
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Thank you for allowing me the chance to read and review this book, Bethany. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Illuminate-Technology-Enhanced-Bethany-Petty/dp/1945167459/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1528589279&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning</a></i> and look forward to seeing your work continue to grow!Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-28790834730513509822018-02-03T13:00:00.000-05:002018-02-03T17:00:48.962-05:00Digit Detectives: Student-Created Number Talks<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Since the heart of number talks is classroom conversation, it is appropriate for the teacher to move into the role of the facilitator.”</span></div>
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- Sherry Parrish</div>
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<b><i>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before reading this piece, I strongly suggest you read <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/03/talkin-bout-my-numeration.html" target="_blank">my original number talk piece </a><a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/03/talkin-bout-my-numeration.html" target="_blank">here</a>. After reading it, come back here to read about the next level. </i></b></div>
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A critical part of our daily math routine is beginning with a number talk. As a brief recap, they're 10-15 minute experiences where students are presented with a math prompt and have to work out various solutions using only mental math. Most number talks can have more than one answer and follow similar formats. Various norms (such as hand signals) are established to ensure that the experience runs smoothly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Leading the tape measure Estimation 180</i></td></tr>
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<b>One thing I am very passionate about is giving students ownership and control over their learning.</b><br />
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They already <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/07/hot-off-press-student-created.html" target="_blank">write the weekly newsletter</a>, <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/04/setting-stage-for-student-led-morning.html" target="_blank">lead our daily morning meetings</a>, and help <a href="https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/how-and-why-to-implement-a-student-led-flipped-classroom/" target="_blank">develop flipped classroom videos</a>. In reflecting on where I could turn over more control to my students, I realized they could run number talks.<br />
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Teacher's assistant (the student who basically acts as a miniature version of me) is a highly coveted classroom job in Room 31, and it felt like a natural place for passing off the task. Once other students saw the teacher's assistant running the show, they begged that person for a chance. I'm always impressed by how gracious the teacher's assistant is in allowing others to have a chance.<br />
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The number talks all follow certain patterns and routines, based on the specific type (see the original blog post for an explanation of the types). One type that I didn't explain in the original post was <a href="http://estimation180.com/" target="_blank">Estimation 180</a>. This is a fantastic website where various pictures are shown and students must make estimations based on other information in the picture or previous days' information. For example, a student recently led a five-day long continuous number talk about tape measures, in which a new, larger tape measure was introduced every day and the students had to estimate the new measures length.<br />
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Before and after students lead a number talk, I conference with them about what I'll be looking for while they lead. I want them to reinforce the norms and to push student on their thinking, which often times can be as simple as asking, "Why do you think that?" I encourage them to model it as if I were given the number talk.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A physical plan before <br />I converted it digitally</i></td></tr>
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Generally speaking, I open up that day's number talk from <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GTiXZvp2kIC92B5vvd2BslG7YpRB4ornXoB4MdsyvmU/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this Google Slidedeck</a> (feel free to make a copy of it) and turn it over to the student. As I do while I'm leading a number talk, I stay out of it and let them run the show. On occasion, I will put my thumb up (indicating I have an answer I'd like to share). Sometimes I will give a "correct" answer and model my thought process, and other times I will purposely give a wrong answer and see if other students catch it and use the disagreement signal (raising their hand). Spoiler - they usually do and love saying, "I disagree with Mr. B!"<br />
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<b>While allowing students to lead number talks are great, they're still basically regurgitating information I'm giving them. I want them to be creators and true leaders of their learning.</b><br />
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I decided to ask the teacher's assistant for the month of January to start developing some of her own number talks, based on the "Mystery Number" and "Balance the Scale" format (again, see the original post for in-depth explanations).<br />
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Full disclosure - this girl is literally the shyest girl I have ever had in my entire teaching career. Asking her to lead number talks was one thing, but creating one was a whole new ball game. Nevertheless, she stepped up and developed both in a matter of minutes. Since I store all of my number talks on Google Slides, she wrote it on paper and I quickly converted it to digital.<br />
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She absolutely rocked it. I really wish I filmed it, because she did a great job. Her first talk was based on balancing the scale for the value of 12. In addition to her choosing an ideal number (since 12 can be created so many different ways depending on the operations used), I was absolutely floored by the responses of her classmates. We have been working on polygons, and one student said, "hexagon plus hexagon." This opened up further polygon-based discussion, which brought a single tear to my eye.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Leading his own "Mystery Number."</i></td></tr>
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Immediately, former teacher's assistants asked if they could retroactively make some. Of course, I wasn't going to turn them down! The following day, a student created and led another "Balance the Scale," while another did a "Mystery Number" later in the week.<br />
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If you're planning on trying this with your students, I definitely recommend beginning with the two formats I began with (Balance the Scale and Mystery Number), in addition to "Which One Doesn't Belong." These seem to be the three easiest to develop and lead to rich discussion.<br />
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In the future, it would also be cool for students to begin developing some talks in the Estimation 180 set up. This would take a bit of prep work ahead of time, as this would require students to take pictures at home and send them to me. Who knows - this may be on the docket for my February teacher's assistant!Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-88825246209812967692017-12-31T11:39:00.000-05:002019-09-21T18:11:56.594-04:00I Stepped BackAround this time of year, EduTwitter is flooded with end of year reflections, goal setting for the next year, and #OneWord blog posts. I even did <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2015/12/successes-challenges-and-resolutions.html" target="_blank">one in 2015</a>. I contemplated writing one for this year and went back and forth on it for a few weeks. As I sit here on New Year's Eve day, I suppose this serves as an end of year reflection post.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2ctuzf9311YMz_E2mL7zYTN_2Pbb9vrAGzuTH0upz0hdtCoI_wcRlkOrwJ1Euxwf-G5k0jFSleUfh5Xg3G2wzCdaDIy3KKQxDnzUw-8VFL_EDXb6M2GWKRuR4M3DnQvkkrKgG5ThZWEx/s1600/IMG_4946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2ctuzf9311YMz_E2mL7zYTN_2Pbb9vrAGzuTH0upz0hdtCoI_wcRlkOrwJ1Euxwf-G5k0jFSleUfh5Xg3G2wzCdaDIy3KKQxDnzUw-8VFL_EDXb6M2GWKRuR4M3DnQvkkrKgG5ThZWEx/s320/IMG_4946.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Students working together to create a new flip video</i></td></tr>
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To be quite honest, I have not done anything "new" in my classroom this year. Many of my mainstays have remained constant, but analyzed to a higher degree and implemented better. Most notably, my ability to do flexible grouping in small group instruction has improved. I regularly switch up my math groups as we enter into new units, based on informal pretests. Right before we let out for winter break, I assessed all students' reading progress through Fountas and Pinnell and will make some changes to groups as we begin 2018. I've been fine tuning <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/07/my-take-on-flipped-classroom.html" target="_blank">my flipped classroom</a> videos instead of just recycling old ones, in addition to having <a href="https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/how-and-why-to-implement-a-student-led-flipped-classroom/" target="_blank">students create videos</a> for their classmates, which was something I never got around to last year.<br />
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Technology integration continues to be a focal point of my classroom, but with one major change: I am no longer 1:1 Chromebooks. I have to share a Windows laptop cart with another teacher. At first, I hated it, but now I am learning to embrace it, though I do still hate how slow the laptops are. It forces me to be more intentional in how I am using the technology, which is always a good thing.<br />
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I've used Breakout Edu boxes and digital games, a handful of HyperDocs, and other things I love using while teaching. I continue to connect with my students on a regular basis and truly love my class and all their unique qualities. The families are very supportive this year and engage through Remind frequently. Within the walls of my classroom, things are par the course, which is totally ok with me.<br />
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A major change has occurred outside the school building in my life. If you're a regular reader of Mr. B's Blog, you may have been disappointed to see that there was <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/11/when-students-parent-dies.html" target="_blank">only one post</a> published this school year. Technically speaking, that wasn't even a new post; it was a holdover that I just published late. Besides not blogging about education, I've also stopped tweeting about education. In November 2017, I opened a new Twitter account for educational tweets, but really don't use that one anymore.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomKwGAfkZ4PT2_RKh8f9nPHr_ze1dPXR4jP4jpfhxE1T0SyG2h8W0WA3qV4b4UMF8dhJtOxebJjDeC6ZspfrmQVZQSJ-O_PESbESArv_Fb6CMTz_Xs8rWmOW1St7yF40EKshU_BPKq94E/s1600/New+ABSOT+logo+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomKwGAfkZ4PT2_RKh8f9nPHr_ze1dPXR4jP4jpfhxE1T0SyG2h8W0WA3qV4b4UMF8dhJtOxebJjDeC6ZspfrmQVZQSJ-O_PESbESArv_Fb6CMTz_Xs8rWmOW1St7yF40EKshU_BPKq94E/s200/New+ABSOT+logo+%25281%2529.png" width="200" /></a></div>
However, I haven't stopped writing entirely - I just write about a different subject matter now, namely men's health and testicular cancer awareness. As you probably know, I was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago, underwent chemotherapy for three months, and was cleared in remission in March 2017. I've been sharing my journey at my testicular cancer awareness blog, <a href="http://aballsysenseoftumor.com/" target="_blank">A Ballsy Sense of Tumor</a>. My original Twitter account was retooled to focus on testicular cancer awareness. As always, I highly encourage you to check out both the website and the Twitter.<br />
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Is this to say I am not passionate about education anymore? No. I certainly still have very strong feelings about education and what needs to improve about it, but I'm focusing my energy on what I can do in my own classroom with my own students in my school. Those kids deserve my 100% effort while I'm there and I will give them my best. Furthermore, I needed better balance in my life. Education was my day job and my night hobby. EduTwitter was turning into an echo chamber, with platitudes and more of the same, and losing its luster with me. I needed to make a change.<br />
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There are literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of teachers who are tweeting and blogging about education. I don't feel like the community needs another voice, least of all mine. This isn't a vie for headpats or attention. I know I have some cool ideas, but writing about it and endlessly promoting it isn't necessarily how I wanted to spend my time anymore.<br />
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While there are countless educational blogs, there is a huge lack of testicular cancer awareness sites. In writing about my experiences and raising awareness, I've found a passion that does not relate to my profession (although I do have a project in the works that blends the two, so stay tuned) and I feel it has improved me as a person to have separate interests. It makes me a more well-rounded person and a real individual.<br />
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If education is your job and also your hobby, I'm not disparaging you. If it works for you, that's awesome. This is what works for me. I'm also not saying that I won't be writing or tweeting about education ever again. I still have over half a school year to go, and some ideas are swirling around that I want to try out, and may write about when the mood strikes.<br />
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So this is probably a different kind of end of year post than the norm that is being shared on Twitter today, and I am well aware of the irony that I'm writing a post about not wanting to blog about education and then tweeting it out. For now (and the foreseeable future), I've made the decision to spend my non-working hours working on my own passion project and dedicating my time and energy into doing a different form of good.<br />
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When it comes to educational blogging and social media,</div>
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<b><i>I stepped back.</i></b></div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-69791386299924899832017-11-15T08:28:00.003-05:002017-11-15T08:28:40.647-05:00When a Student's Parent Dies<i>This post was initially written in May/June 2017. I've sat on it since then to let the student appropriately grieve, but he's agreed that sharing it may help other students or teachers experiencing the same thing. </i><br />
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I walked into the office on Monday morning and gave my customary greeting to the administrative assistant.<br />
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"Good morning, Mr. B. One of your student's mother called. His father passed away this weekend. He won't be in today."<br />
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Wow. Not what I was expecting to hear. My first thoughts went immediately to how my student would handle this. He doesn't live with or see his father often, but there is no denying that this boy loves his father like nothing else. When his dad comes for a visit, I hear about it for the week leading up and the week after. I knew this would be devastating news to him, as would be for any child.<br />
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This student is one who has had displayed some challenging behavior in the beginning of the year. He came with a reputation, but I made it a goal to see him only in a positive light. Some days, he makes me want to tear my hair out, but I always know he is trying his best and we focus on that. On those days, he always shows genuine remorse for his choices and works to atone for them. He's made considerable growth, both academic and socially throughout the year.<br />
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I sent his mom a quick message on Remind, saying I was sorry to hear of their loss and that they were in my thoughts. She responded a few hours later thanking me for my message and that he would be back to school the next day. What's more, she said he spent the day studying for his upcoming end-of-year assessments. Getting him ready for those tests was the last thing on my mind.<br />
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The next morning, he slowly shuffles into the room. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Normally, he comes in like a wrecking ball or perhaps more akin to Taz the Looney Toon. Today, he was quiet and I could tell his eyes were heavy with tears.<br />
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I decided to forgo the customary handshake and gave him a quick hug. I asked him how he was doing.<br />
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"I'm really sad."<br />
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Understatement of the century, I'm sure. I told him that today he could just take it easy. He started unpacking and began in on his morning work, which was a review sheet about capacity. It was a skill he was very confident on and it seemed to get his mind off of the news.<br />
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While the rest of my students worked on their morning work or ready their free read books, I sat with him and just let him talk when he wanted to. Asking for help on conversions with cups to quarts were interspersed with him gradually revealing more details about how he was feeling. Out of respect for his privacy and trust, I won't be sharing them here.<br />
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What I will share is that I had to step back and just listen to him as a student and a person. Yes, we had state assessments in two days, but that wasn't important. He had a lot to process and he just needed to talk about it. I am fortunate to have both of my parents still living, but lost my grandfather a few years ago. I used that to try to empathize with him, but I know it's not the same.<br />
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I broached the subject of sharing the news with the class. What did he want to do? Did he want others to know? Did he want to share? Did he want me to share? He said that he wanted to tell a few of his friends and I respected that. It wasn't my decision to make for him. The last thing I would want in that situation for a million questions and sympathetic looks from his friends. He also wanted to tell the school custodian, which is a staff member he has had a long-standing relationship with. I told him he could visit him whenever.<br />
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The school counselor, social worker, and principal came in to check on him throughout the day. The message was clear from all of them - we are here to support you.<br />
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During that day, I pretty much gave him free reign. If he wanted to work on his schoolwork, great. If he wanted to talk quietly to a friend, that was fine too. If he wanted to rest his head, I wasn't going to argue. He needed to have time to process his thoughts, but I think he also wanted a sense of normalcy in his day.<br />
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The next day, he was a little more animated, yet still somber. I was anticipating that he would be like this for a few days, or possibly for the rest of the school year. My job was to be there for him. First, his <a href="http://www.aballsysenseoftumor.com/2017/02/tbt12-return.html" target="_blank">teacher has cancer</a>, and now his father passes away. Not exactly fond memories of his fourth grade year, but I could help him by being a listening ear and not the teacher who was freaking out about the state test tomorrow.<br />
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We played a review game for the end of year history test, which <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/05/tv-game-shows-summer-fun-education-epic.html" target="_blank">involved playing cornhole</a>. He asked if he could help me retrieve the beanbags once they were thrown. I could tell he wanted a specific job to do, so I told him I would happy to have his help. Again, he mixed in some of his thoughts and reflections while answering the review questions.<br />
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That's a big takeaway from this all. He needed time and space to talk things through and just have someone to listen to him. I had to respect that, whether it was me or a peer. The person always comes first and this was the pressing issue.<br />
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On the day he had returned to the classroom, he was signed up to <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/07/hot-off-press-student-created.html" target="_blank">write our classroom newsletter</a> for that day. I asked him if he wanted to do it still and he said he did. When I took it from him at the end of the day to shift it to the next person, I noticed he had doodled on it and had written a small note. With his permission, I'm sharing it here:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wlNP3DDmj-xFc42m0e-2jZGHjk-15XJ6ZfQVl-INuZ6zgtMuW0Vw3qFwun2n5bqL2ht_KdCWSJh6aa5SqCz05vwUBuF6dzzosivEWhOBi7y7u2dEvUBiO4tflmPiEV78Zuy8mc_UsJMg/s1600/IMG_2706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wlNP3DDmj-xFc42m0e-2jZGHjk-15XJ6ZfQVl-INuZ6zgtMuW0Vw3qFwun2n5bqL2ht_KdCWSJh6aa5SqCz05vwUBuF6dzzosivEWhOBi7y7u2dEvUBiO4tflmPiEV78Zuy8mc_UsJMg/s320/IMG_2706.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Fast forward a few weeks later to the end of the school year. I always give out awards to every single students. Some are serious (<i>Most Improved Reader</i>), while others are silly (<i>Duckface Extraordinaire</i>). For this student, I wanted to give him "Resiliency King" for what he faced this year. I asked him if that would be ok with him, as he had still chosen not to share his father's passing with the entire class. He said that it was fine by him and I could share the news with the class. </div>
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Our ceremony began and I got to his name. I told the story of what had happened and he interjected that he would like to speak. He got up and said, "It was a really tough time, but I want to thank my friends and Mr. B for helping me to get through it. Thank you all."</div>
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I don't cry much, but that got me on the verge of tears. It was his moment to shine and he was diverting the attention to others. I would not have expected that from him in the beginning of the year, and I am so proud of the young man he has become. </div>
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<i>Despite me leaving the school, he was the <b>only</b> student who consistently emailed me over the summer. I asked him one more time to his permission before posting this.</i></div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-68792596641193714922017-07-30T09:58:00.002-04:002017-07-30T09:58:51.257-04:00My Take on Flipped Classroom<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The flipped classroom is not about the videos! It is about how you re-envision class time." </span></div>
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-Jon Bergmann</div>
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I've done a flipped math classroom for the past two school years and absolutely love it. I also train other teachers on how to do it in their classrooms, and the above quote basically summarizes how I open sessions. </div>
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The technology with a flipped classroom is easy and can be learned in literally five minutes or less. I personally use Explain Everything on my iPad to create the videos, upload them to YouTube, and have a playlist of all videos embedded on a Google Site with a Sheet detailing which videos my students are to watch. That's the extent of the technology involved, and you can easily replicate that in your classroom.</div>
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However, there's much more to it than just making videos and assigning them for students to watch at home. (You can do an in-class flip, but I've done an out of class flip and it's worked beautifully for my students. Do what you feel is best for yours.)</div>
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<b>The Buy In</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicU9UTcB7RXa5pf8DAyF1ktMos0txpeRNZr9W9pGHfpIXI6uEjjv6ja8AYX1y5aGmAYrMtYUat-XucnYCMp2FCgpxZlezmNrvlN3fHqtq8Vr5Xf9k-yCpOU5ur4irSVmh7kICKEHkZH54s/s1600/IMG_0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicU9UTcB7RXa5pf8DAyF1ktMos0txpeRNZr9W9pGHfpIXI6uEjjv6ja8AYX1y5aGmAYrMtYUat-XucnYCMp2FCgpxZlezmNrvlN3fHqtq8Vr5Xf9k-yCpOU5ur4irSVmh7kICKEHkZH54s/s320/IMG_0926.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Practicing a flip in class</i></td></tr>
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When talking with administrators, have a plan. Mentioning the technology is important, so they know you have given thought to the logistics, but I lead with the why. Math standards get more rigorous every year, with content added constantly. It's hard to properly introduce new material, provide time for guided and independent practice, and assess all in the timeframe of a school day. Illustrating the benefits will help the admin to accept this idea, and it's great to back it up with data.</div>
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After getting the go ahead from my administrator, I next discuss it with the parents. Ideally, I do this at a formal Back-to-School night, but the information is always available on my classroom website, too. When introducing it, I explain what's expected of students at home (explained more in "The 'Homework'" section) and the benefits to both the student and the parents. Benefits to parents include that they can be consistent with what methods are being taught in school, there's less frustration involved (saying, "Go watch your flip video" is less likely to cause a fight than "Go do your worksheet"), and it empowers the parents to have a modeled practice of how to do math. Nine times out of ten, when I have a parent who says they were "hate math," it's because they are fearful that they can't do the math their child can do. A flipped classroom also helps tremendously with communication between the teacher and the parent. The parent can tell you specifically where the student is getting stuck rather than "He doesn't understand decimals."</div>
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Be prepared for some pushback from parents and/or admin. It's something new and they may not fully grasp it. Be open and flexible. I generally ask for ongoing feedback about flipped classroom to the parents in my classroom and they seem to appreciate that. Prepare to overcome some challenges, and you may be pleasantly surprised if none occur. </div>
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Finally, after talking with the adults involved, I lay it out to my students. This is usually the easiest step. I tell them their math homework for the year is going to be to watch YouTube. Once the cheering dies down, I add that it's math-related, which is slightly less exciting for them. However, I then shift into why it's going to be helpful for them. I play up the fact that they can learn at their own pace by rewinding certain parts, pausing, and even rewatching the whole video multiple times over. I share how I nor anyone else in the class will know if they understood it after one watch or sixteen views, which saves them some dignity if they are a student who has traditionally struggled in front of their peers for years on end. The flipside is also true - if they get it after one viewing, they don't need to rewatch it and be bored to tears. Buy-in from the students is usually the easiest to gain, especially if they know you're doing it in their best interests. </div>
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<b>The "Homework"</b></div>
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Like I said, I do an out-of-class flip. I check with parents for access to Internet and devices and I've found that they always have some access. Just in case, I do have backup plans ready (they do it in class during a math rotation or direct them to a public library).</div>
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At home, the students watch the videos. I produce all the videos myself, because I can tie it into my students' interests and the methods I'm teaching in class. My videos aren't super awesome, but they reflect my personality and teaching style that my students get in class. I keep them under 10 minutes so if a student needs to view it numerous times, I'm respecting their time. Rewatching a 20 minute video quickly turns into over an hour of work.<br />
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Sometimes, students create videos during class and then I assign them to the class for homework. I'll expand on this in a later post. </div>
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The videos all follow a "I do, we do, you do" structure. I introduce and model the concept, and then give them another problem and ask them to pause the video. Once they've solved it, they unpause and I magically finish it out. The videos conclude with a "Bring Back to School" problem, which has no provided answer. This is what I'll be checking in the morning and help me create my groups. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Practicing taking notes</i></td></tr>
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While the students watch the video, they take notes. I don't provide outlines or fill-in-the-blanks because I want them to write down what they feel is important. The rule of thumb I tell them is if I write it on my screen, it should be on their paper. They know not to try to write down everything I say, because Mr. B talks a lot and goes off on tangents. </div>
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We practice taking notes as a class for at least three weeks before they're doing it completely independently at home. Each week, we shift from in class practice to more at home, and I find this scaffolding really helps. </div>
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What if a kid doesn't do his video? This is the most common question I get when doing a training session. If this happens, I ask them if they didn't do it at all or forgot to bring in their notes. If it's the latter, I ask them to bring the notes the following day. If it's the former, I give them a choice: do it during math rotations or do double tonight. Generally, most students choose to double up and it's a rare occurrence for repeat offenders.</div>
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<b>The Instructional Shifts</b></div>
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When my students come into our classroom, I check their notes for the "Bring Back to School" problem. This is my first indication of their grasp of the prior night's video. However, it could be their siblings' or parents' work. I also usually have them solve a problem about the prior night's objective, either on paper, a whiteboard, or Google Form.</div>
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This helps me group the students. If a few students misunderstanding a specific element of long division, I can work with them on that rather than the spray and pray mentality of giving everyone the same instruction. I can really focus on what the students need to best address their learning.</div>
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That's the power of the flipped classroom. I rarely introduce a new concept in a whole group lesson, since the video is the whole group lesson. Instead, we're using our math time for number talks and math stations. In our 90-minute math block, we're able to do a fifteen minute number talk, and three 25-minute rounds for math stations. These stations include meeting with me, hands on work, collaboration with peers, and technology based stations. Some stations are standardized, with the ability for the student to self-adjust based on their perceived level of difficulty, while others are individualized specifically for that student.<br />
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The bottom line is that with a flipped classroom, class time is no longer used for passive learning - it's all active while they're in the classroom.</div>
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<b>The Results</b></div>
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We always need to look at the validity of using new instructional methods beyond "it's cool and shiny and the kids will love it." Not much research exists on flipped classroom yet, but I have two years worth of data to support it. In both years, my students experienced large gains in their end-of-year state exams (comparing third to fourth grade), both in average score and class pass rate. My first year of flipping saw about a 20% increase in passing, while both years have seen a 30 point gain. </div>
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While data is great for admin, it's just as important to check in with parents and students to see what they felt. I'll close with a sampling of their responses.</div>
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<u>Parent responses:</u></div>
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<li>Flipped videos have made a huge different to my child, he struggles with reading but is much better at math. The flipped videos allows him to do math without the struggle of reading, he can view a video for as many times as he would like. </li>
<li>An added benefit is that I can watch the video and help him, I have realized that I actually remember more then I thought from my days in math class.</li>
<li>Taking notes is a skill that he is developing as he is watching and he is not surprised by what will asked of him the next day. The videos are short and not overwhelming and it makes it way more fun to do it on the computer.</li>
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<u>Student responses:</u></div>
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<li>I think it is a lot more fun instead of taking home a worksheet you get to watch and video and it makes learning easier.</li>
<li>It is fun because he includes things we like.</li>
<li>I like flip notes because you cannot use the excuse of you lost your worksheet.</li>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-27788730120118185152017-07-05T19:22:00.000-04:002017-07-05T21:06:54.042-04:00Hot Off the Press: Student-Created Newsletters<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"A magazine or a newspaper is a shop. Each is an experiment and represents a new focus, a new ratio between commerce and intellect."</span></div>
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-John Jay Chapman</div>
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Authentic experience is an important element in teaching students to become good writers. In schools, many writing prompts and assignments lack meaning to students and aren't applicable to real life.<br />
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Another problem in education is keeping parents informed of what's going on in the classroom. We design awesome learning experiences, but students may still go home saying “We did nothing today.”<br />
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This year, I killed those two birds with one stone* - a student-created newsletter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNU0JhzQB3xrOin2yYzpTjQdVYGobHewfpX1k3iC9saUACUAtFsJHhSmQt5WBXC3OSwpDox9ETtVuu6TtFn0NmUWnL1dbPg-8vW-qwpgFSwv4H_CuaMT0CQvTL6WZdsH5xrhLTsCnWoCQB/s1600/Untitled+drawing+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNU0JhzQB3xrOin2yYzpTjQdVYGobHewfpX1k3iC9saUACUAtFsJHhSmQt5WBXC3OSwpDox9ETtVuu6TtFn0NmUWnL1dbPg-8vW-qwpgFSwv4H_CuaMT0CQvTL6WZdsH5xrhLTsCnWoCQB/s400/Untitled+drawing+%25283%2529.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Click to enlarge - Note the level of detail in Monday</i></td></tr>
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Each day, a student writes a one page summary of our day. I start at my first student and work my way down the class list alphabetically. By the end of the year, each student produces around six daily reports. Some choose to work on it bit by bit throughout the day, while others do it all at the end of the day during read aloud.<br />
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We don't have a fancy template - just a single piece of loose leaf notebook paper. Originally, I had no maximum limit, but then one student wrote four pages - front and back. After that, I implemented the "one front of page max" policy. This helped tremendously, since it forces the students to write the most important points down without too much flowery, overly descriptive, verbose, repetitive, unnecessary, and irrelevant wordy expressions of written language. (Do you see what I did there?) Identifying main points that belong in a concise summary is one of the reading standards my students struggle with, so this is a good way to give them extra and real practice by flipping it to generating a summary.<br />
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Having them write without a rubric or outline to follow also helps me to glean what the students found most valuable and engaging in class. They may quickly detail the standard math centers, but different learning experiences might be explained in more depth. If I thought something was going to be mind-blowingly cool, and it doesn't even net a sentence in the summary, I usually examine why that is. The one direction I do give was to write as if the reader had no idea what they were reading about. If we're playing <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/05/tv-game-shows-summer-fun-education-epic.html" target="_blank">Cutthroat Cornhole</a> in class, they need to explain what the game is so the readers know what it is.<br />
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Once I have a week's worth of daily summaries, I type them into a Google Form. I don't correct any errors or add any details. I want their parents to see exactly what they wrote, so it prompts discussions at home. I work with a student's mother and she said that their family would use other students' writing to help guide him in what he should write when it was his turn. It makes them more accountable as a writer, as it is solely reflects them.<br />
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From the Google Form, Autocrat (which I set up in the beginning of the year) generates it into an actual newsletter. I didn't have to use Autocrat, but it saved me a bunch of time instead of making a copy of a template, typing, formatting, so on and so forth. I use a three column table - a column each for the day, the summary, and the author's initials. Using a table is helpful so it resizes itself automatically.<br />
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I also had Autocrat tags on the page for the date. A newsletter spanned from Friday to Thursday, so I can type them on Friday morning and not rush to get it done at the end of the day on Friday. The footer also includes my contact information, so the parents have an immediately visible reminder of how to get ahold of me, while the header has our classroom motto (<a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2016/07/digging-hole-building-bridge-and-making.html" target="_blank">"we don't make excuses, we make changes"</a>) as a constant reminder of what we stand for in our classroom.<br />
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There's a section on the newsletter of "Important Information From Mr. B" for assessment dates (and ways to prepare), special events (such as <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/06/revisiting-readers-cafe.html" target="_blank">Readers Cafe</a>), upcoming units of study, or other exciting information. Instead of sending numerous Remind messages throughout the week, I tell the parents to look at the newsletter. This forces them to look at the newsletter and hopefully appreciate their students' hard work.<br />
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A physical copy goes home with each student and it's also posted on our classroom website under the <a href="http://classroom.justinbirckbichler.com/classroom-news" target="_blank">Classroom News page</a>. This way, parents have no excuse to not see it! In the future, I think I'll include a higher-level math task related to our current unit or a discussion prompt related to our class read aloud after the "Important Information" section (if there's extra room) to help promote discussion at home.<br />
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A student-created newsletter is easily adapted for any subject area or grade level. It'll empower your students to be mini-journalists, keep your parents in the loop, and give you an inside look at what your students feel is valuable in your classroom.<br />
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As for me, volume two of the Mr. B’s Agents of SHIELD Classroom Newsletter will be hitting the stands in September. I didn't win a Pulitzer last year, but I'm holding out for one this year!<br />
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*<i>Author's Note: If you've ever genuinely killed two birds with one stone, you have earned all of my respect.</i>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-27660259852628284902017-06-23T21:22:00.000-04:002017-06-23T21:22:24.883-04:0010 Things I Learned By Working for VIPKID<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."</span></div>
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‒Rita Mae Brown</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cat was a word and Conner was in the room</i></td></tr>
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For the past two weeks, I have been working with an online ESL company called <a href="https://t.vipkid.com.cn/faq/about_vipkid" target="_blank">VIPKID</a> (pronounced V-I-P Kid rather than VipKid like I originally thought).<br />
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Basically, what I do is teach English to students in China through an online platform, similar to the Google Hangout interface complete with an interactive whiteboard system. I wasn't sure what to expect when I signed up for it, but the following are ten things I have learned. If you're excited to get started, you can skip this post and <a href="https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=5372447" target="_blank">sign up here</a>.<br />
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<b>1. It is truly a plug-and-play experience.</b><br />
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After the interview process, which I'll elaborate on later, the whole experience became much easier and meaningful. All of the lessons are already developed, so there is no prep involved on your end. I use the VIPKID app to review the lessons and prior student feedback to get myself mentally prepared. The biggest prep work involves thinking about what props to use in the lesson. A full class session runs 25 minutes, which means you need to be pretty spot on with your pacing (each slideshow is about 25-30 slides long). Once class is over, I immediately leave some feedback for the parents about what their child did and my desire to see the student again, and review for the next class. In total, I'm about to get this all done before my next class begins.<br />
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<b>2. Props do not have to break the bank.</b><br />
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When I was prepping for my interview process, I saw that the demo videos had a ton of props and I began to worry if it was going to be worth the money if I was spending money on props left and right. Truth be told, I have spent a grand total of $1 on props (a pig in a rocket ship that I found in the clearance section in Walmart). I have Simpsons action figures that I can use to teach about family, for clothing, for he/she/they pronouns, and many other concepts. That pig becomes my "it" pronoun, the prop for the verb "launch", and a piglet in the animal life stages lesson. Look around your house for your kids' toysvip or your classroom. I'm sure you already have tons you can use. I did buy a $15 headset/microphone combo, but iPhone headphones also work. I also made a set of alphabet flashcards on regular index cards.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Homer Simpson, father extraordinaire </i></td></tr>
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<b>3. The lesson topics vary widely, which helps keep it interesting.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>In researching the company, I thought I would just be teaching letter sounds and phonics all the time, but that's been a small part of my work. On a given day, I might be teaching about the phonics of A, B, C, D to one student, about insects to another, and about the moon landing to a third kid. It keeps it fresh to me. This is a big difference from teaching fourth grade. Every year I teach the same content to a different group of kids, often teaching the same mini-lesson to multiple groups of students in different ways. This variety of lessons exposes me to a wide range of discussion topics, which is fun.<br />
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<b>4. Teaching from the comfort of your own home is awesome.</b><br />
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My teaching "uniform" consists of a polo and pajama pants/shorts. I couldn't get away with that in a regular school, but the kids only see you from the waist up. Some people go crazy in decorating the background, but I just do it in my office in the house. It's great to have a 30 second commute from my bed to work. Everything I need is right there and I find myself getting into a flow.<br />
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<b>5. You set your own hours.</b><br />
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Originally, I thought I had seen somewhere online that you were required to do a minimum of 15 classes for the company a week. However, there is no minimum. This week, I am doing about thirty classes, but next week I'm only doing six since I will be traveling for most of the week. When I get married later in July and go on our honeymoon, I just won't set the times to "Available." There is no penalty for not being available, but there are some penalties if you say you're available and then change your mind once you are booked. In my case, I am working from 6 am - 10 am everyday (China time is 12 hours ahead of me on the east coast), and plan to do 6 am to 8 am (the time I spent commuting the past two years) when the school year starts. I like that it's in the morning because it gets me up and moving so I don't waste my time sleeping. You can also do evening times, but I'm choosing not to so I have time to relax in summer.<br />
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<b>6. The money is a good source of extra income.</b><br />
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Obviously, the reason people do extra jobs is to get extra money. First things first, it's not a scam or an MLM company (so you won't be stuck with a ton of extra inventory to try to sell to your friends). You're hired as an independent contractor, paid monthly, and will get a 1099 for taxes at the end of the fiscal year. The money at VIPKID is pretty nice, especially when you consider you don't have to plan, grade, communicate with administration or families, or most of the "extras" involved in classroom teaching. You can make between $7-9 per 25-minute class, along with incentives. (So if they offer you $8 per class, you'll really be making $16 an hour, before incentives.) For example, they give you an extra $1 per finished class and then an additional $1 for every class if you complete over 45 classes in a month. 45 classes in a month sounds daunting, but that's really only about 2 classes every weekday. As of the writing of this post, I have made over $300 in about two weeks, with only teaching a few classes every morning. You also get paid if a kid doesn't show up to a lesson (which is how I had the time to write this post).<br />
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<b>7. The most challenging part is i</b><b>nterview process, but it's doable.</b><br />
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The interview process is probably the most daunting experience. When I did it, I had to do an interview with a person in their Chinese call center, in which I had to teach a ten-minute lesson to a grown woman who was acting like she was five. I really hate doing that. Stick me in front of a real child and I'll show you what I can do. I then had to repeat this process two more times (with 25-minute lessons) to two more full grown people. All in all, I completed the whole process in 48 hours. Along the way, they give you feedback to help improve during the lessons and beyond. That being said, none of my classes have been as hard as the interview process was. Imagine that - real kids are easier to work with than play-acted kids. They have changed the interview process slightly since I was hired, so feel free to reach out for extra info.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You'll use lots of gestures</i></td></tr>
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<b>8. It's an immersion program, so you don't need to know Chinese.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Inevitably, when I tell someone that I'm teaching English to Chinese kids, they say, "Wow! I didn't know you knew Chinese!" Spoiler alert - I don't. VIPKID is an immersion program, so you solely speak English the whole time. One of the only requirements is that you're a native English speaker, so if you can speak English, you can do this job. Using props, pictures, repetition, and gestures help to cement the English words in their mind.<br />
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<b>9. Teaching online is way different than teaching in real life.</b><br />
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Fourth graders need a lot of explicit direction, lest it turn into a Lord of the Flies situation. In my normal classroom. I give detailed instructions (unless it's a more creative project or something I want them to figure out on their own), review it, and write it up on the board. Not so much with VIPKID. You want to remove all incidental language. "I want you to circle the letter A and say the sound" becomes "Circle A," while holding your hand to your ear. You'll also use a ton of gestures (called TPR - Total Physical Response). While I'm an expressive person, it's hard to make sure I'm remembering to do this always. I try to remember that the lower level the student, the higher my TPR needs to be.<br />
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<b>10. The Chinese kids truly want to learn and make your job easy. </b><br />
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I've been very fortunate. As of this writing, I've taught about 35 students. 33 of them have been stellar, while 2 have had minor behavior incidents that were easily righted. There is a star system built into the classroom to help reward the kids and I also have a superhero sticker chart to give additional rewards. However, I find I don't need to use these as bribes. They really want to learn and always give it their all. They also show such respect and often will thank me when I give them a star. Many of them can extend beyond their lesson. In a recent lesson about insects, we had a discussion about bee stings and how they're not a fun time. Look for these little moments - they are what make it worth it. It's also really cool to learn firsthand about a different culture from the comfort of my own home. <br />
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<b>Interested in becoming a VIPKID teacher?</b><br />
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So does this sound like something you'd like to do over the summer or in the mornings/evenings during the school year? I really have yet to see a major downside from working with them. The only requirements are that you are a native English speaker, hold a Bachelor's degree, and have classroom teaching experience. If you'd like to sign up, <a href="https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=5372447" target="_blank">you can do so here with my referral link</a>. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me or ask me in the comments below.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-5390240002632428032017-06-21T12:00:00.000-04:002017-06-25T10:17:04.838-04:00One Four the Books<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted."</span></div>
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-Vladimir Lenin*</div>
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I'm a sucker for puns. My "goals" post for my fourth year of teaching in 2016-17 was called "<a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2016/09/going-fourth-into-new-adventure.html" target="_blank">Going Fourth Into a New Adventure</a>" and now I'm laying down "One Four the Books." Go ahead, you may groan. I'll wait four it. At least I had the four-sight to warn you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Last day on top, first day on bottom</i></td></tr>
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Be-four (last pun, I promise) we reflect, let's recap my goals for this year:<br />
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<li>Continue with student-led learning</li>
<li>Amp up 20Time</li>
<li>Improve my instruction/assessment practices</li>
<li>Model growth mindset and help develop it in students</li>
<li>Vlog daily</li>
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My "One Word" for 2016-17 was REFINE. However, in mid-October, that <a href="http://www.aballsysenseoftumor.com/2016/12/tbt01-discovery.html" target="_blank">word changed to CANCER</a>. </div>
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I had (and beat) cancer this year. I was out of the classroom for three months, which made many of these goals hard to meet. To be honest, I fell short on nearly all of these goals. I did not amp up 20Time. It basically was an independent research project again. I started daily <a href="http://vlog.justinbirckbichler.com/" target="_blank">vlogging</a>, until October when my life basically fell apart. I tried to get back into it after returning to work, but never found my flow. </div>
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Student-led learning and my instructional/assessment practices did improve, but not to the degree I wanted them to. I started strong with growth mindset and it remained a theme throughout the whole year. I would say that is the only goal I fully met that I had set for myself.</div>
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I didn't get to try too many new things either. Among the few new ideas were <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/05/tv-game-shows-summer-fun-education-epic.html" target="_blank">some new review games</a>, continual tweaking of Choose Your Own Adventure experiences (read about <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/02/choose-your-own-adventure-active.html" target="_blank">first method</a>, <a href="http://blog.edtechteam.com/2017/05/choose-your-own-story-with-google-forms.html" target="_blank">second iteration</a>, and <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/06/creating-their-own-adventures.html" target="_blank">student-created versions</a> here,) using <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/05/send-home-sheets-with-gsuite-and.html" target="_blank">Autocrat for communicating digital assessment results home</a>, an <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/03/talkin-bout-my-numeration.html" target="_blank">emphasis on number talks</a>, <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/06/revisiting-readers-cafe.html" target="_blank">revamping Reader's Cafe</a>, and some other ideas I never wrote about. Maybe it seems like a lot of new things, but to me, I feel like I could have tried something more. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwBI1RSw4PChPWlzogkmKyA6cnXPlV6m4SOk3HD1xV-BBHJB-ciyJWIPlrgh26SFIinbD_pTGFt6y3siw6vwr7jNGopd6WysNWntadJfD__PVknfzSQlhEg9ohUDoWatKW_G9vpZ5C3Hr/s1600/IMG_2110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwBI1RSw4PChPWlzogkmKyA6cnXPlV6m4SOk3HD1xV-BBHJB-ciyJWIPlrgh26SFIinbD_pTGFt6y3siw6vwr7jNGopd6WysNWntadJfD__PVknfzSQlhEg9ohUDoWatKW_G9vpZ5C3Hr/s320/IMG_2110.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Am I disappointed? Maybe a little. Those were important goals to me back in September, but new opportunities arose from facing cancer (not something you'd expect to hear from a cancer survivor). I got to model resiliency, grit, and a real-life example of growth mindset. I had a perfect example of sharing vulnerability and honesty with my students. They're now prepared to realize that cancer is not always a death sentence.</div>
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It helped me build strong relationships with my students, stronger than they would have been without having time solely dedicated to writing back and forth to them every day as I went through chemo treatments. In <a href="http://daveburgess.com/how-cancer-helped-me-bond-with-my-students/" target="_blank">this post on Dave Burgess's blog</a>, I share about how I learned new things about my students and their lives. I wasn't concerned with their academic growth at that time; I wanted to get to know them deeper as young people. When I returned, I was able to keep these bonds going, but not to the depth I could do then.</div>
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My end-of-year evaluation from my principal said, "Mr. Birckbichler had a school year that would best be characterized as one he will never forget," which is certainly an understatement. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this year. My state test score pass rates were the best I've ever had, and their growth from third to fourth grade was similar in regards to other years. Pass rates have never been important to me, but it's always worth noting that according to the state, I was proficient in my teaching. Growth has always been the metric in which I measure myself in, and I'm pleased to see that I met that goal this year. </div>
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One thing I did much better was achieving balance between personal and professional life. <a href="http://www.aballsysenseoftumor.com/2017/05/cc21-lessons-learned-from-cancer-part-i.html" target="_blank">Cancer taught me many lessons</a> and chief among them was to focus on my personal life before teaching. If I'm not taking care of me, I can't take care of them. I made a conscious decision to not work on school work after school. I went in an hour earlier than normal, and once I left the building, it stayed there until morning. Occasionally, on a Sunday, I would work on lesson ideas, but only if it was something that truly inspired me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC236ao8JiFw_WOEOqebf_aiDe_JLNfqFXsNnqc_uNv0-kWrRLHr5GlkQYgTV2nYtlyQlqkd3mVtGWZSAKkEhRfVq12i4_EOdpTn89z29j2DwYuFJFyy_KNEuY8NgNOzgj1_9fM1PauJR7/s1600/IMG_2138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC236ao8JiFw_WOEOqebf_aiDe_JLNfqFXsNnqc_uNv0-kWrRLHr5GlkQYgTV2nYtlyQlqkd3mVtGWZSAKkEhRfVq12i4_EOdpTn89z29j2DwYuFJFyy_KNEuY8NgNOzgj1_9fM1PauJR7/s320/IMG_2138.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Towards the beginning of my diagnosis, I made the decision let go of many side projects I had been working on, such as the EduRoadTrip podcast, Breakout EDU Digital, and others, to focus on my health. After finishing chemo and being found in remission, I decided to make that choice permanent. While these were fun projects and I enjoyed working on them, they took up a great deal of time - time I could better spend focusing on my personal life or my students. If it wasn't something that had a direct benefit to my classroom or to my own life, I let it go. While this may come off as a selfish statement, I think teachers (especially those on Twitter) have a huge tendency to overcommit themselves to projects that ultimately won't have a meaningful impact. These were my first steps in a concrete plan to be less busy. </div>
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Next year, I'll be teaching fourth grade again, but at a new school. While this is two classroom changes two years in a row, it's important for me to be closer to home. My school was amazingly supportive of my medical leave and I am forever grateful for that. However, part of my goal with buying a house was to have a shorter commute, but I ended up with a longer one (curse you, I-95). My new school next year is 8 minutes from my house, and I passed it every day on my way to chemo. It seemed like a sign I needed to be there. </div>
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I know I referenced cancer multiple times in this post, but it really defined my year and will continue to have a large impact on my life going forward. I try to keep my identity as a cancer survivor on a separate blog (<a href="http://www.aballsysenseoftumor.com/" target="_blank">A Ballsy Sense of Tumor</a>, which I highly recommend reading and sharing with the men in your life) but for a reflection post, I couldn't ignore the elephant in the room. It had a large impact on me, and changed my outlook a great deal.</div>
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So what's the plan for year five? I have no idea as of this writing. My wedding is in less than a month, followed by a honeymoon to Hawaii for some much needed relaxation time (even though I missed three months of work, it certainly wasn't relaxing). I just had another set of scans and <a href="http://www.aballsysenseoftumor.com/2017/06/cc23-scanxiety-and-results.html" target="_blank">I'm still cancer-free</a>. Next year is far from my mind. I know I will make the commitment to maintain a balance and set goals, but right now, I am perfectly happy to embrace the end of the year and the start of summer, just as my four-fathers would have wanted (ok, I lied and this is the last bad pun).<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*<i>Bad guy, good quote</i></span></div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-70439791888763466582017-06-16T06:17:00.001-04:002017-06-20T10:50:59.387-04:00Revisiting Reader's Cafe<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably."</span></div>
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-C.S. Lewis</div>
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Two years ago, my class hosted a Reader's Cafe. You can read the <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2015/06/readers-cafe-nourishing-mind-and-body.html" target="_blank">full blog post here</a> (and you really should or you might be lost in this post), but to summarize, my students chose and practiced reading three books, wrote varying levels of comprehension questions for each books, selected and rehearsed the jobs of host, waiter, chef, and busperson, and ran the Cafe for the whole school.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMN85Fb-MMG49iJjD21yZ8jzVs7kLdDNla5Qm1Uhk37hEW7Zo7xljFcMNrkceaKXnKuzB1dj3N1yd3kG4LKgwiyE0dqXOgLLxlH3__OBLqqQEZ9hojsdzETqW47ysqlL8vWHoWFwY1fZU/s1600/IMG_2975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1600" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMN85Fb-MMG49iJjD21yZ8jzVs7kLdDNla5Qm1Uhk37hEW7Zo7xljFcMNrkceaKXnKuzB1dj3N1yd3kG4LKgwiyE0dqXOgLLxlH3__OBLqqQEZ9hojsdzETqW47ysqlL8vWHoWFwY1fZU/s400/IMG_2975.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We didn't get to host a Cafe last year, due to state testing lasting until the last week of school, but this year we had two weeks between the end of testing and the end of the year. Rather than filling this with movies, kickball games, and other time wasters, we decided to host the Cafe. This year, we made some changes from the original plan. The basic structure and jobs stayed the same, but these changes helped to improve the experience.<br />
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<b><u>INTRODUCING THE CAFE</u></b><br />
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<b>THEN:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaZPwG2LdDjLPoi6Xkyg7W3zf3ozGahMlkpCUHlRkGquhRnjl6aWkfxaQJhoxqnygA6v4e2gxUXtEiDz01gVdrMvtasqrraYFf7nGGTnzp_mL3s9nv-cQ2FuGcAb2p77IuKnuAyBHjkfF/s1600/AC40BF88-0D80-446E-8A52-4B45779341EB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaZPwG2LdDjLPoi6Xkyg7W3zf3ozGahMlkpCUHlRkGquhRnjl6aWkfxaQJhoxqnygA6v4e2gxUXtEiDz01gVdrMvtasqrraYFf7nGGTnzp_mL3s9nv-cQ2FuGcAb2p77IuKnuAyBHjkfF/s320/AC40BF88-0D80-446E-8A52-4B45779341EB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I introduced the Cafe model to my class with a written slideshow and verbally explaining it. I didn't have many pictures from when I first did it with my student teaching class, so I had no real visuals to show them.<br />
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<b>NOW:</b><br />
Introducing it this year was significantly easier than last time. I showed them <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b2VkzO6K8Y" target="_blank">the recap video</a> that we made after the 2015 Cafe and fielded questions afterwards. We still followed the same steps in preparing - choosing books and writing questions first, practice reading the books, explain and pick jobs, and rehearse the whole thing.<br />
<b style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></b>
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<b><u>DEVELOPING QUESTIONS</u></b><br />
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<b>THEN:</b></div>
Students developed comprehension questions, including a mix of literal and inferential questions for each book - one before reading, two during, and one after. They then typed these questions into a Google Doc, which led to a number of formatting issues.<br />
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<b>NOW:</b><br />
Students still developed questions, but this year, I used Autocrat to generate the question charts and menus. Students typed their book titles, authors, and questions into a Google Form, and Autocrat used the info to generate the question charts (and even the menus).<br />
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<b><u>FAMILY INVOLVEMENT</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVhICFx2cIVPp3wUmGcm8tV3Y1JLtEdHORGJp3v8A5FffxjY1y3PZsr2jPkUg9G57A5GibgIGeFIW7-9tGjXc9MB2enlcpZ-Z8asssZi_h1PyoMkwUEyir1ak7_UCWYZmF2HSIhMbBAdA/s1600/IMG_2891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVhICFx2cIVPp3wUmGcm8tV3Y1JLtEdHORGJp3v8A5FffxjY1y3PZsr2jPkUg9G57A5GibgIGeFIW7-9tGjXc9MB2enlcpZ-Z8asssZi_h1PyoMkwUEyir1ak7_UCWYZmF2HSIhMbBAdA/s320/IMG_2891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>THEN:</b><br />
Eight families attended the 2015 Cafe and had very little interaction beyond that.<br />
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<b>NOW:</b><br />
This year, we had much more support from the families. 26 of 29 students had a family member visit, which was a huge uptick from the eight families who came last time. The parents also got more involved this year. They offered to donate money for food and supplies. One of their parents works in the building and saw that I chose gold as my theme color for this year (I had some leftover supplies from my little sister's Gold Award ceremony). When I came in the next morning, I was greeted with 30 gold streamers, a bag of gold confetti, six star balloons, and four balloons that spelled out READ. I placed these balloons in the hall, which helped hype up the whole school.<br />
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<b style="text-align: left;"><u>FEEDBACK</u></b></div>
<b>THEN:</b><br />
Feedback for readers was non-existent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4Abg-dOQ2d2klVe3n9yVsLUNUjNe8Z2mO19153g3YLXrQ10aUYdJpzVLZWeFKmxC_8X8fiM79cS11aDy9wIYcwjZ-EH_-l5jFPWkdH2mgzJVbkoVfozeh139mhu7NheDd8X6iVLfBvxS/s1600/IMG_2833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4Abg-dOQ2d2klVe3n9yVsLUNUjNe8Z2mO19153g3YLXrQ10aUYdJpzVLZWeFKmxC_8X8fiM79cS11aDy9wIYcwjZ-EH_-l5jFPWkdH2mgzJVbkoVfozeh139mhu7NheDd8X6iVLfBvxS/s320/IMG_2833.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>NOW:</b><br />
The biggest change in the Cafe didn't come from my own work - it came from a student. The Friday before we were to begin presenting to various classes for some practice rounds, a student came to me with an idea. He asked, "Mr. B, wouldn't it be cool if our customers had a way to review our reading so we knew what to improve?" I love student agency in their learning. I said to him, "I like it. Work up a prototype and let's talk on Monday."<br />
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Once I had explained what a prototype was, he was up for the challenge. Come Monday morning, he walked in with a sketch. He wanted customers to evaluate the readers on overall performance, fluency, and expression (which aligned to the oral reading goals for this project). We worked together to polish it and considered logistics. He decided that each reader would give one feedback slip to the people he was reading to and they would agree on their assessment. This student also developed an evaluation slip for the teacher to complete with their class when they returned, with more of a focus on our performance in the Cafe. Of the teachers who responded, we ended up with 15 positive reviews for the hosts, 13 positive reviews for the waiters, 14 positive reviews for the buspeople, and 11 positive reviews for the chefs.<br />
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This student generally steps back and is shy in class. He lets others take the lead, even though he is capable. It was so incredible to see him take charge and truly make something his own and then present it to the whole class. His mom even noticed a change in him:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I really enjoyed the Readers Café experience. It was so awesome to see how much [Student] has grown. I am very proud of him in many ways and I attribute a huge part of his growth to your teaching style and support. He seemed to just blossom upon your return [from medical leave]."</blockquote>
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<b><u>SIZE AND TIMING</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbTDSFse-hA_WsyI-baxZxgrfmHdlsOxaG7OSZ-yMzKtySKkAeNd39p-RCBvHsEcQ-sNjXjuv_9-1CG4FZ5jV9zurvh6Nixwb9HC9fkJU0X-1JrMhoYMGORRUVEmuM8ItywHTiB4ou-JK/s1600/A998E2F4-10D2-4198-8213-2619D8D1432B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbTDSFse-hA_WsyI-baxZxgrfmHdlsOxaG7OSZ-yMzKtySKkAeNd39p-RCBvHsEcQ-sNjXjuv_9-1CG4FZ5jV9zurvh6Nixwb9HC9fkJU0X-1JrMhoYMGORRUVEmuM8ItywHTiB4ou-JK/s320/A998E2F4-10D2-4198-8213-2619D8D1432B.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>THEN:</b><br />
My former school had roughly 500 students, in about 25 classes. We were able to fit all of our rotations in two and a half days, with five minute transition times between classes. These times soon became chaotic as we waited on different classes. Both the hosts and the waiters dismissed the customers, which was overkill.<br />
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<b>NOW:</b><br />
This school is over 900 and over 35 classes in total. We had to modify our timing and increase to three full days to accommodate nearly double the amount of customers. Rather than having a 5 minute rotation time, my students had 30 seconds. This actually was a huge blessing. Students had no time to get off task between rounds and helped the whole experience flow much more smoothly. Additionally, the hosts would help get the next class ready as the waiters did the dismissing. This helped give everyone something to do, as the chefs would be refilling the food and the buspeople finished washing and drying dishes.<br />
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<b><u>CONCLUSIONS</u></b></div>
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This year's Cafe was even more successful than the 2015 one. The feedback slip really helped to tie it all together. Our final tallies are below, along with the promo video we produced afterwards. I look forward to continually tweaking the Cafe model to be even better in the future. I'd like to hand over the logistics (timing, amount of food to buy, etc) of the Cafe to the students, which would add a level of math integration to it. On Twitter, I saw someone had adapted it for a Math Cafe model and I am interested in that. Perhaps I'll do a Math Cafe before winter break and continue with Reader's Cafe at the end of the year. Stay tuned to find out!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Final 2017 Numbers:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">787 students</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">39 family members </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">32 visiting classes</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7 boxes of Goldfish</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2 bags of animal crackers</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3 bags of pretzels</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4 boxes of Cheez-Its</span><br />
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-92185629612178315462017-06-09T20:17:00.000-04:002018-02-11T11:22:30.492-05:00Creating Their Own Adventures<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm still a kid inside, and adventure is adventure wherever you find it."</span></div>
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-Jim Dale</div>
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A personal favorite activity this year has been using Choose Your Own Adventure stories that go beyond the point and click variety. I first tried a method with Google Slides during my medical leave (<a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/02/choose-your-own-adventure-active.html" target="_blank">detailed here</a>) and then stepped it up to the next level by using Google Forms (explained here in my <a href="http://blog.edtechteam.com/2017/05/choose-your-own-story-with-google-forms.html" target="_blank">guest post on the EdTechTeam blog</a>).<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFzB8tFEKesO-7oJDbV3QazrK9hou0Zsr2lBSjxsWDVDLyvCYWMnEllhHliFSLLpJL6idbcafVwO5ZXPCYJ5xzozMRCzvLVRuDc63DFEHPw_uzmDDnTfSViIUuID9GaEAJC2NSa-90tA-/s1600/IMG_2836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFzB8tFEKesO-7oJDbV3QazrK9hou0Zsr2lBSjxsWDVDLyvCYWMnEllhHliFSLLpJL6idbcafVwO5ZXPCYJ5xzozMRCzvLVRuDc63DFEHPw_uzmDDnTfSViIUuID9GaEAJC2NSa-90tA-/s320/IMG_2836.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting started on the paper template</i></td></tr>
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It's fun to make them and read their arguments, but ultimately students are still consuming the material more so than creating. I wanted to take it further - my students would build their own Choose Your Own Adventure story in Google Forms.<br />
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My students have never created any Google Forms and their exposure is limited to using the ones I've created for them. For this reason, I decided they would first map out their storylines on paper and then transfer it to the Google Form.<br />
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I provided them a template and gave minimal directions to them. Some students jumped right to it, while others struggled. I found many students couldn't grasp the divergent thinking associated with managing multiple storylines. Here are a few tips I found helpful in providing aid to these students:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fixing the template. Yes, my desk is a disaster. </i></td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Be intentional with your word choice. Sometimes I would say, "Finish this section with two choices." Some took this as "You can have pizza or chicken and the pizza can be cheese or pepperoni." Technically, this is two choices. I shifted to saying, "Give a choice with two options."</li>
<li>Physically pointing on the template was a giant help to some students. I would point at one column and say, "This can go here or here. What choices would make sense in your story?"</li>
<li>A few students found it helpful to list all of their <strike>choices </strike>options first, and then go back to fill in the details in the story. If they chose this, I encouraged them to put the options on the top of the grid for that template. </li>
<li>Sometimes, students benefited from just starting over entirely. Keep plenty of extra copies on hand. </li>
<li>Some students needed more guidance than others, and that's totally ok. While some grasped the branching immediately, others didn't. A few students wanted to just write a linear story, while others were making choices and neglecting other paths. I worked with them to understand it for the first few steps and gradually pulled back the scaffolds.</li>
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<li>On my side of things, the template definitely needed work. The cool thing was I was able to modify the template as the students went along, incorporating their feedback immediately. For example, originally the template just had a bunch of boxes with designated sections it would correspond to on the Form. I realized more directions were needed. One of my students helped me make these changes, including typing more clear directions (such as, "Start with option 1 from section above" and "End with two options") and simple formatting. The final completed template can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SL5g1JvDPwA3F2hkb6Xzj8DXmJuxYztnw0RH_8Rz3O8/copy" target="_blank">be accessed at this Force Copy link</a>.</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Transferring from paper to Form</i></td></tr>
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Once students were done with their paper template, they moved onto the Google Form (<a href="http://bit.ly/cyoastudent" target="_blank">accessible here at this Force Copy link</a>). On the paper copy, each section had a marker on the top corner that said "S1, S2..." These corresponded to the sections on a Google Form. I had already linked the sections in the "Go to Page Based on Response" settings, so students didn't need to worry about that. (In the future, if students were more comfortable with Forms, I might teach them how to do this themselves.) Again, some tips for success:</div>
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<li>First things first - it wasn't smooth sailing to start. Some students had a hard time figuring out what to put in what section of the Form. There were two camps, both of which ended up being successful:</li>
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<li>"The Scrollers" who would put in a full storyline (visiting Section 1, then 4, then 18, etc) and then go back up to the top to do the next path</li>
<li>"The Straight Liners" who matched section numbers on the template directly to the sections on the Form</li>
</ul>
<li>Students will delete sections, and the proper branching along with it. Generally speaking, they could figure out where to relink it by consulting the template, but they needed to learn how to do that first. Overall, they picked up on Forms very quickly, which is awesome because some adults struggle with it. </li>
<li>They loved adding pictures and it led to a good conversation about copyright and using the images Google provides right in the search tool in Forms. </li>
<li>Again, this template needed work on my part. Originally, the section titles said "Choice 1, Choice 2, End of Path 1, etc" since I just modified the template I used. I realized that I needed to match it to what their template said, so I replaced them with S1, S2, etc. This didn't help students who had already made a copy of the Form template, but helped other students after I made this change. </li>
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<li>One student made the suggestion to replace the S1 with "You chose..." as a way to make the story more cohesive. I really thought this was a good idea and many of the students went back to edit to reflect this idea. </li>
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When they were all done, I had them submit their hyperlink, their name, and title of the story on a Google Form. I used the =HYPERLINK and =IMPORTRANGE formulas in Sheets to make a master list of all completed games for students to try each other's stories (<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o6ZCiqDs0yKX5f2zY_5oYjh5tbfz8jxes0RhBBt62PM/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">viewable here</a>).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnt8XvLHCoybwXzxM5tYDsxTWy6KP2FhDS3jO8Ptx-pQIWqT9622kVTfShEyAg14qq_90KNkOV3JZBvR-hCvPpAWkwB81RG7m7t5G7Jjljlq7HlQG-ZiRQayPNV4oq8I-6oXyFXdyp3Mj/s1600/IMG_2844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnt8XvLHCoybwXzxM5tYDsxTWy6KP2FhDS3jO8Ptx-pQIWqT9622kVTfShEyAg14qq_90KNkOV3JZBvR-hCvPpAWkwB81RG7m7t5G7Jjljlq7HlQG-ZiRQayPNV4oq8I-6oXyFXdyp3Mj/s320/IMG_2844.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Testing and making edits</i></td></tr>
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This was the really cool part. I saw students paired up doing each other's Forms and giving feedback as they traveled through the story paths. The "player" caught mistakes like incorrect title formatting, misspellings, unclear paths, improperly linked choices, or other things and the "builder" would open their copy to edit for changes. It essentially removed me from the feedback loop, and I am 100% ok with that. Peer feedback is crucial and critical to growing as a creator. </div>
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How long did this all take? When all is said and done, students had a maximum of two and a half mornings to work on it, or roughly four to five hours. We're at the end of our school year and had some end-of-year assessments and projects to finish. Rather than defaulting to the "Free Read" when they were done, this was the "Fast Finisher" work. It's a really good idea for this because once a few students are done, they have more to explore on by completing other's adventures. In my class of 29, if everyone created a Form with 16 possible outcomes, there would be a total of 464 different variations before students completed all of them.</div>
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This was just the first experience and I know further iteration is needed. Next year, I plan to delve into this more and earlier in the year. I think it can be a really incredible for experience for the students and get them thinking in different ways. I definitely saw students being pushed and strive to improve their craft, which is awesome when you consider we were at the end of the school year.<br />
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How can you implement this in your classroom? What modifications would you make?</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-50941325784532196392017-05-27T07:47:00.001-04:002017-09-18T13:52:18.593-04:00TV Game Shows + Summer Fun + Education = Epic Review Games<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"By playing games you can artificially speed up your learning curve to develop the right kind of thought processes." </span></div>
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-Nate Silver</div>
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It's the end of the year for many of us. It's a time to review old learning, but kids are probably sick of the same old pony tricks. I recently wrote <a href="https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/4-active-review-games-kids-love/" target="_blank">about four of my favorite review games</a> for Kids Discover to play with my students, including Scavenger Hunt, Scoot, Basketball, and BoardRush. This past week, we played two more that I wasn't able to include in that post. Looking for two games that combine physical activity, collaboration, competition, cost-benefit analysis, review and fun? Read on for two ideas to use in your classroom.<br />
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<b>Survivor </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz90EurGPCAs3Ipo53I2vDrGVXfkdbefkpdAnmq8PP5YGBo20-otvpwK9IX9Yd5y75vXpwHcMFyLrh49pRQUL-yTrxvtEItvuYgTKBqm4bw_Ij6R8fc-8JSdPGDSfaqGVI5W5Flo1I0ZXe/s1600/IMG_2713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz90EurGPCAs3Ipo53I2vDrGVXfkdbefkpdAnmq8PP5YGBo20-otvpwK9IX9Yd5y75vXpwHcMFyLrh49pRQUL-yTrxvtEItvuYgTKBqm4bw_Ij6R8fc-8JSdPGDSfaqGVI5W5Flo1I0ZXe/s320/IMG_2713.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been playing Survivor with my students for years, in both math and history. It's a favorite for both them and me, but I only bring it out once or twice a year. Why? It's a time-intensive game, with a number of rules, that works best as a culmination of an entire curriculum rather than a unit. It's almost important to note that it's a learning tool - overdoing anything will kill it for kids.<br />
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It's partially based on the CBS game show, but this game has many more layers to it and no chances for immunity. Under the rules we've developed, players start with 10 "lives." When we play this in history, I give them printed pieces of paper labeled Charters to reinforce the impact of the charters to the Jamestown settlement. They're also put into different groups, based on influential famous Virginians.<br />
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They we delve into the rules:<br />
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<li>A question will be asked and each team needs to discuss and send their answer to me. (I've used whiteboards for this, but recently I've been using <a href="https://app.theanswerpad.com/teacher" target="_blank">The Answer Pad</a> to have them send me their answers digitally.) </li>
<li>Teams that get the answer correct gets to steal 2 Charters from another team. They can take them both from the same team or split them up and they get to add the charters to their total. </li>
<li>Before they take away Charters, they will get to increase the number by throwing a ball into a small white basket within a larger green basket. (We also have used a cornhole set since it was left in my room from the following game.) </li>
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<li>If they land in the green basket, they can take 3 Charters total. </li>
<li>If they make it into the white basket, they can take 4 Charters total.</li>
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It's amazing watching them strategize with other teams and form alliances to start knocking out other teams. The most recent time we played, one team was knocked out about four times by the end of the game. (This led to some feelings of sadness from the team that kept getting eliminated, but I reminded them that it was just a game and they could have chance for revenge later.) If a team is knocked out, they have an opportunity to rejoin the game by getting an answer correct and tossing the ball. If they make it into the white basket, they earn 5 Charters back.</div>
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Along the way, I throw in different challenges (called Hardships to tie in with our history theme) and bonuses (also called bribes to the King). Some challenges include having to give up charters to a specific team based on the team's namesake (such as all players depositing one Charter into Maggie Walker's bank to reinforce that she was the first African American woman bank president) or losing charters entirely to me (to help show the impact of the King of England taking unfair taxes from the colonists). For some bonuses, I ask additional questions to earn more charters or extra tosses, or have them engage in a bidding war for different sabotages, such as blindfolding other teams or buying all of the other teams chances to shoot. The highest amount of charters offered to me wins.</div>
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At the end, we have one final speed round, in which teams can earn two additional points per question. I usually take first correct response for the point, and often award ties. Playing The Final Countdown or Eye of the Tiger isn't required, but highly recommended. </div>
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<b>Cutthroat Cornhole</b><br />
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Cornhole is possibly my favorite summertime game, tailed closely by Kan Jam. The other day when I was pulling my car into the garage after work, I saw my set and began wondering how I could bring it into the classroom. Later that evening, I was discussing Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network with <a href="https://twitter.com/mskraushaar" target="_blank">Katie Kraushaar</a> (since I apparently am obsessed with game shows) and Cutthroat Cornhole was born.<br />
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The premise is simple - we play cornhole in class and answer review questions. However, that's too basic. Five questions are given per round. For each correct answer, each team earns a point. The students are grouped in four teams (Black 1/2 and Yellow 1/2, based on the colors of my beanbags). At the end of the round, teams get to choose what they want to do with their points:<br />
<ul>
<li>Bank the points for use in a later round</li>
<li>Spend 1 point to throw a bag (per bag)</li>
<li>Spend 2 points to make other team throw with non-dominant hand</li>
<li>Spend 3 points to block one bag from the other team</li>
<li>Spend 4 points to make other team wear blindfold for all their throws</li>
<li>Spend 5 points to take two steps forward to throw (per bag)</li>
</ul>
The points from the question answering do not count for overall scoring. The only points that count are the points scored in cornhole, and we follow the <a href="https://www.playcornhole.org/aca-official-rules-of-cornhole-corn-toss/" target="_blank">"cancellation" rules</a> of <a href="https://www.cornholebags.com/" target="_blank">cornhole</a>. Black 1/2 are working together against Yellow 1/2.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Note the blindfold. Heads up!</i></td></tr>
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I was sure that my students would start spending their points immediately. However, for the first three rounds, not a single bag was thrown. Eventually, some teams ventured to spend their points on some standard throws. </div>
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Finally, one team purchased a blindfold and then the real sabotages began. Pro tip: make sure everyone is looking before a blindfolded kid throws a beanbag, and don't be afraid to guide them to the right direction. We had one kid take a beanbag to the face since she wasn't watching the throw, but she was unharmed overall. </div>
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In the final round, one team had saved something ridiculous like forty points. They spent them all in one fell swoop, effectively buying every sabotage and advantage. Unfortunately, the school day ended before we could watch that carnage unfold. </div>
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<b>Final Thoughts</b></div>
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While we know that time is precious and we don’t want to waste a moment of instructional time, it’s also important to infuse learning with physical movement. The investment in activity will surely pay off in heightened engagement and <a href="https://www.districtadministration.com/article/instruction-motion-brings-pe-classroom" target="_blank">an increase in achievement</a>. Students have an allotted time for Physical Education classes, but 45 minutes once or twice a week isn’t going to cut it, especially with the CDC recommendation that children and adolescents get a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/children/" target="_blank">minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every single day</a>.<br />
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It's also important to note that these games do not have a prize for the winning team, aside from bragging rights. To me, playing a review game in class is reward alone, and I don't believe that everyone needs a prize for every single little thing. I rather my students be engaged because they want to demonstrate their knowledge and have fun playing a game rather than working towards some sort of extrinsic motivation.</div>
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These games may sound a bit complex, but the kids genuinely love them and it's worth it. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about them. Try them out for yourself and let me know in the comments below what modifications you make for your own students. </div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-69288912837653851182017-05-06T19:27:00.004-04:002017-05-06T19:27:50.613-04:00"Send Home Sheets" with GSuite and AutocratDue to being a 1:1 Chromebook classroom and my general feelings on the importance of technology integration, my students take many of their assessments (or "opportunities [to show our learning]" as we call them in class) with Google Forms. This is great because it cuts down on the amount of paper I need to print (and the time spent copying, handing out, collecting, etc etc.)<br />
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However, with students completing their assessments completely on their Chromebooks (including receiving their score, feedback, and some immediate remediation), parents and families don't get to see their child's results like if they had a paper/pencil assessment and thus can't work with their students to help them improve. I do check and send home their written work for math assessments, but many history and language arts assessments are completely digital. If we truly want parents working with their students at home, we need to be sure that they can see where the students have made mistakes, along with the questions and correct answers.<br />
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One of my favorite Google Sheets Add-ons is Autocrat. It's a powerful tool that essentially allows you to create a mail merged Doc from a Form/Sheet.<br />
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For a brief bit of background knowledge on Autocrat, it operates with tags that appear like this: <<response>>. (I sometimes call the tag arrows "carrots.") You create a Doc template with <<tags>> in place of things you want inserted from the Form/Sheet. For example, if I wanted to ask a question about what a student thought the capital of Virginia was, I would put <<Virginia capital>> or something similar on the template Doc, and when I run Autocrat, it would fill it in with their response (which would hopefully be Richmond!) This can be set up to run automatically, and once you get the hang of it, it's incredibly easy to use. I'll admit that Autocrat isn't the easiest thing to explain in a blog post, but the video tutorial will make more sense.<br />
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Using Autocrat, you can make a Google Doc that inputs each student's responses from a Google Form assessment, along with the question and correct response, which I call a "Send Home Sheet." You can then print them or have them automatically emailed to parents for them to review and help begin remediating. Watch this video to see exactly how to do it.<br />
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When all is said and done, it takes roughly 5 minutes to set that all up. Copying and pasting from the response sheet saves lots of time in the "mapping tags" step, and keeps the formatting in nice and even columns.<br />
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Part of the benefit of doing assessments on Google Forms is the elimination of paper. This method seems to directly conflict with that, but in the long run, it's still less paper. My students recently completed an assessment that was 23 questions. If each question (and all four to five answer choices) were printed, it would have been 7 pages.<br />
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However, but using some clever formatting on the "Send Home Sheet," it ended up being 1 page front-to-back (lots of the saved room came from not having to print all the answer choices and the fact that a three column format is more efficient than one question per row). For my class of 29 students, I was able to print all of their "Send Home Sheets" in less than 30 pages versus the over 200 pages it would have required to print paper-based assessments. If you opted to send the results directly to email, no paper would have been used at all. (Personally, I use a Drive app called PDF Mergy to combine all 29 "Send Home Sheets" into one PDF and print that.) <br />
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Furthermore, by using the Quiz feature on Google Forms or Flubaroo, I didn't have to do any of the grading by hand. I'm a big fan of letting technology do as much of my rote tasks as possible so I can focus on using the assessment results to work on remediation.<br />
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Finally, and possibly most importantly, some parents aren't ready to accept that they might not see their student's work. This is a valid feeling, because if they want to help (and we need them to play a vital role in their child's education), they need to see where the gaps are. "Send Home Sheets" allow the best of all worlds - less paper waste, more time for the teacher to work on more important tasks, and gives the parents something tangible to review.<br />
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Give it a whirl in your class and let me know in the comments below how it works out for you!Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com91tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-20511203612916970082017-04-17T18:02:00.000-04:002017-04-17T18:02:55.707-04:00Setting the Stage for Student-Led Morning Meetings<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Everyone has highs and lows that they have to learn from, but every morning I start off with a good head on my shoulders, saying to myself, 'It's going to be a good day!'."</span></div>
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-Lindsay Lohan<span style="font-size: x-small;">*</span></div>
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One tenant of our classroom routine has always been morning meeting. While I was doing my student teaching, my cooperating teacher introduced the idea to me. She said that she found giving them an overview of the day helped put their minds at ease and allowed them to focus on their work instead of wondering what was coming next. When I got my own class, I decided to continue with this concept. In years one and two, morning meetings were short - a brief overview of the day, followed by a reminder of the classroom expectations. </div>
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I changed things up in year three. I added some elements to make it into a more holistic experience. We still begin with the daily schedule, but then follow it with a page from <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kid-Presidents-Guide-Being-Awesome-ebook/dp/B00L1AAFIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492436955&sr=8-1&keywords=kid+president+guide+to+being+awesome" target="_blank">Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome</a>.</u> This book was a gift to me from Greg Bagby and holds many snippets of wisdom that kids can relate to. After the page is read, the students reflect and do a "turn and talk" to discuss what they thought. Some volunteers also share their ideas with the whole class.</div>
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After that, we have time for open sharing. This might sound like wasted time, but think of how many times a kid can't concentrate on a math lesson because he wants to share about something he built on Minecraft. This five minutes in the beginning of the day helps save hours of time throughout the week.</div>
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Sometimes, this sharing time becomes a very deep experience for the students. This is the time I chose to <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2016/11/i-have-cancer-telling-my-students.html" target="_blank">share my cancer diagnosis</a> with the class, but an even more powerful example comes from when one of my students decided to share about her disability. She led a great discussion about why her bones formed the way they did and how it impacts her life. It was her choice to do this and helped the class understand her better. </div>
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Following sharing time, I say the first part of <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2016/07/digging-hole-building-bridge-and-making.html" target="_blank">our classroom motto</a> ("We don't make excuses,") and the class finishes with "We make changes." The students are then dismissed to their table groups to begin working for the day. In total, morning meetings last from 5 to 15 minutes, but can run longer if the sharing time becomes something especially meaningful.</div>
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Mid-way through year three, I wanted to make it a student-led experience. We had already <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2015/11/student-leaders-sharing-success.html" target="_blank">done student-led conferences</a> so I knew they were capable of being leaders to their parents. Being a leader in front of all your peers is another valuable skill and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. </div>
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Since we had been doing Mr. B-led morning meetings in the same routine for a few months, the students knew what to do. My lesson plans are posted on the <a href="http://classroom.justinbirckbichler.com/home" target="_blank">classroom website</a>, so they can read the schedule to the class. We've worked on having the students share the specific activities we are going to be doing ("Today, we'll be playing Quizlet live to review the American Revolution") versus "We have VA Studies today" (of course we do, we have it every day!)</div>
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Each day, the next page of Kid President is read and discussed, and the student places the bookmark on the next page for the following day's reading. Some leaders choose to have a turn and talk, while others call on volunteers to share thoughts. It's a great way to throw in some extra fluency and public speaking practice for the morning meeting leader. </div>
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Last year, I had a student who had difficulty decoding words on the fly due to a reading disability. Knowing that he was sensitive to this, we figured out which day he was going to be the morning meeting leader and photocopied that page from the book. He and I rehearsed during lunch and he practiced at home with his parents. When it came time to read from the book, he did so with flying colors and no one was the wiser. Those little tweaks are needed to make sure each student feels successful in their leading experience. </div>
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The class decided that we would limit sharing to four sharings per morning meeting. As the students in the audience share, the leader is tasked with responding to the comment either with more questions or something to acknowledge the thought (beyond "okay"). This helps to build a stronger sense of community and conversational skills. It makes the person who shared feel valued and respected. </div>
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After sharing time, there is a time in which I get to speak to the class. I share anything that may have been missed from the lesson plans, remind them of upcoming important dates, or reinforce any improvements that need to be done. I try to keep my part short, because I want the focus to be on the leader instead of me. </div>
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I also provide specific feedback to the leader, highlighting things they did well during morning meeting and what they could improve upon for their next cycle. (We just go in reverse alphabetical order, so each student will get numerous opportunities each year. Now, I start student-led morning meetings within two-three weeks in the beginning of the year after I have led some morning meetings so they understand the routine.)</div>
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One thing I would love to see improve (and welcome suggestions on) is getting the students to share "real" things. It's great to hear that Johnny had soccer practice, but after hearing it twelve times, it loses its luster. I want my students sharing momentous accomplishments and what challenges they face, either individually or as a class. It's hard to prompt them into doing that without making it feel forced or fake. Let me know in the comments below how you accomplish this in your class.</div>
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Since transitioning to a student-led experience, I've seen students flourish in this role. It ensures every student gets many opportunities to be the leader and helps them to overcome any "stage fright" they may encounter. They clearly take my feedback to heart, because students do a much better job of sharing detailed lessons and responding to sharing comments than they did in the beginning of the year. </div>
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We have roughly 36 days left in the school year, which means each student my class will be able to be a morning meeting leader at least one more time. I'm looking forward to their personal best from each and every one. </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*I don't really think Ms. Lohan is a good role model for education, but this quote works pretty well here. </span></i></div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-75730595327664821182017-03-19T08:59:00.000-04:002018-02-03T17:03:58.550-05:00Talkin' Bout My Numeration <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The power in the Number Talks comes from inspiring each child to think and make sense of the mathematics they are presented. They are never trying to figure out what the teacher wants. Rather they are totally engaged in their own sense making process."</span></div>
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- Kathy Richardson<br />
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<b><i>AUTHOR'S NOTE: After reading this piece, check out the companion piece "<a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2018/02/student-led-number-talks.html" target="_blank">Digit Detectives: Student-Created Number Talks,</a>" which details how I turned over ownership of number talks to my students. </i></b></div>
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This year in math, we have started each day with a number talk. I first learned about number talks last year when I was taking a Stanford online course about building mathematical mindsets with Jo Boaler and Carol Dweck. At their core, number talks are 10-15 minute experiences where students are presented with a math prompt and have to work out various solutions using only mental math. The teacher acts as a facilitator, never agreeing or disagreeing with any answers. </div>
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To do number talks successfully, there are some norms we established. When a student has a solution to the problem, they place a thumb on their chest. If they have more than one answer, they put up additional fingers. This is done rather than raising hands so other students who take a little more time to answer don't feel overwhelmed when they see lots of hands in the air.</div>
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We also have signals for agreeing and disagreeing. If students agree with each other, they give the "hang ten/surfer dude" signal. This provides affirmation to the student who answered and shows we are a community of learners. On the other hand, if a student disagrees with an answer, they raise their hand. They are welcome to disagree at any point, as long as they do so respectfully and support their disagreement. </div>
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In addition to the norms, we also have a variety of "frameworks" we use for number talks.<br />
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<b>1. Which One Doesn't Belong: </b>These are mostly based on the examples from <a href="http://wodb.ca/">wodb.ca</a>. In this format, students are presented with four images. They may be numbers, objects, shapes, or anything else. Of the four, they need to decide which one does not belong and support their answers.<br />
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In the example to the right, students could say the bottom left doesn't belong because it has no numbers, the top right doesn't belong because it has no individual minute lines, or the bottom right is the outlier because it is not in the one o'clock range.<br />
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We did this particular one in the ninth day of school. One student who had not been participating in number talks regularly put his thumb up. When I called on him, he said, "The top left one doesn't belong because it is an acute angle and the rest are bigger." We had never touched on angles yet in the year, and it's a fifth grade standard. It floored me to see a usually disengaged child come up with a more advanced term. The other thing I like about WODB is that there are no right answers. As long as students can support their case, it's a valid thought.<br />
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<b>2. Balance the Scale: </b>In this scenario, I draw a rudimentary seesaw on the board. On one side, I put a box with a number in it and two empty boxes on the other side. If you can't see where this is going, students have to balance the scale by putting things in the empty boxes to equal the value of the filled box. As we progress, I add more filled boxes on the right and empty ones on the left to increase the level of challenge.<br />
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I tell the students they can use any operation and whole numbers, decimals, or fractions (even though we haven't started operations with decimals or fractions.) Students took risks and tried adding and subtracting decimals and fractions. Some were accurate, others were inaccurate but were caught by peers, and others were incorrect but no one (aside from me) caught it. However, it is important to me not to correct them because the number talk is not about being right or wrong.<br />
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<b>3. I Notice/I Wonder:</b> I don't have any picture of this particular one, but we did a number of them during our graphing unit. When using these with graphs, I would take two days to do each one. On the first day, I would show the students a graph, but axis labels, scale, and title would be covered. To the right, there was a T-Chart with "I Notice" and "I Wonder." Their Notices were things that they observed and Wonders were questions they had. On the first day, they usually Noticed things such as the varying bar heights, the labels were missing, and the trends. They Wondered about the labels and why different trends were happening. Many made predictions for what it could be.<br />
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On the second day, I fully uncovered the graph. Inevitably, nearly all of their Wonders from the prior day became Notices. I didn't show them this until we were all done, however. They noticed even more and then were able to articulate stronger Wonders now that they had all the information.<br />
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<b>4. Addition/Subtraction Strategies:</b> Apparently I dropped the ball on taking pictures of this style, too. I also need a better name for it. More or less, I project an addition or subtraction problem on the board. Students solve it using a variety of strategies, including the traditional algorithm, expanding into each place value, and rounding to different values and adding/subtracting back in at the end.<br />
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This is done all in their heads as I write what they said. I like it because it helps them to develop mental math and strong computation. I am excited to try it with multiplication and division and will start those soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxF08AKvDL-y0PTLZB08wUY1rM5lcU2kOMku9i0680cWI5VwoLjz8TgcNBEGeJfOtivrVcyK4fBbNX_FHpjokoPqQI8sl6ulUmsz659RMaYCG8D2uDF38OyBV2zIJWPpCw9q6d2uwynxf/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxF08AKvDL-y0PTLZB08wUY1rM5lcU2kOMku9i0680cWI5VwoLjz8TgcNBEGeJfOtivrVcyK4fBbNX_FHpjokoPqQI8sl6ulUmsz659RMaYCG8D2uDF38OyBV2zIJWPpCw9q6d2uwynxf/s320/IMG_1058.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>5. Mystery Number:</b> This one is by far the favorite one for students and me. I give the students clues for numbers one at a time. For example, it may start with "I am a six digit number." Students then generate a few options for this clue. We reveal the next clue ("My tenths and my tens are the same digit".) We go back to the original guesses and eliminate any options that no longer work. In the beginning, students only were thinking whole numbers so usually they would all be eliminated. They've since learned.<br />
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I keep revealing more clues until the final clue is revealed. Each time, we will eliminate or carry over old guesses. At the end, sometimes I have prompted them into one correct answer, but often I leave it to multiple numbers would work.<br />
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This one really grows their brain, especially when they have six clues to use. They'll catch themselves before anyone can disagree, by saying something like "Oh wait, my tenths isn't the same as my tens. Change them both to a 3."<br />
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Another framework I want to try is "Would You Rather." I just saw this idea on Twitter the other day. It was something along the lines of "Would you rather take your little brother Trick-or-Treating for a flat $75 payment or $1 for every four houses." Students would then craft arguments based on their choice.<br />
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The number talk doesn't always have to explicitly connect to the lessons for the week. It's more about getting their minds into a mathematical mindset and developing strong number sense. It can be used to review old skills, reinforce current, or pre-assess upcoming topics. The students enjoy them and it's incredible to see the connections they make.<br />
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How could you use a number talk with your grade level? How could this concept be adapted to other subject areas?</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-46305467718195214022017-02-10T20:36:00.002-05:002018-02-11T11:22:30.470-05:00Choose Your Own Adventure: Active Engagement Edition<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Life is either a great adventure or nothing."</span></div>
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-Helen Keller</div>
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One of my favorite genres to read as a student was a Choose Your Own Adventure book. In these books, you read a page and follow the directions at the bottom. Maybe you would have to choose to eject from a falling aircraft or chance a crash landing or perhaps you could shoot a laser beam at the alien or try to run away from it. Either way, I usually ended up dead, kind of like my experiences playing Oregon Trail. Luckily, you could always start over.<br />
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As I became a teacher, I found out you could do similar tasks with Google Forms and Slides, either through "Go to Page Based on Response" or linking to different slides, respectively. However, my issue with that was the same I had with the books: It's a passive experience. While the reader needed to make a choice, there was little active engagement beyond that.<br />
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<b>Bringing it into 2017</b><br />
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While I was out being treated for cancer with chemotherapy, I wrote to my students every day. After a few weeks of this, both the students and I needed a change from back and forth conversation. I thought back to my obsession with Choose Your Own Adventures as a fourth grader and wanted to mimic this, but with more of an active role.<br />
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I realized I could use Slides, but give them the story piece-by-piece each day. This way, they were making a choice and also engaging with the story beyond a mouse click. Before they would get the next part of their story, they would need to make a choice AND defend it. This helped build argumentative skills and persuasive writing elements. The "Master Deck" of <i>The Winter Expedition</i> <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aq-xHCwZRnwvXE_zFJjDD4ohCSTjD9eHScY608OdRXE/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">can be found here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiUp3_t-wGFR9MqnGfHM9ynsUzOCZYS3gPk4pyJWii0qnN42NQ1f56j8dlxBiBAfyc40u6Q14oJuPTaTL2MZ4GykxcO-F8rTUfkz4g72TWumjMR3froUfWhxqrwR_uHVjLzyu4qQ9XuU3/s1600/Screenshot+2017-02-08+at+12.05.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiUp3_t-wGFR9MqnGfHM9ynsUzOCZYS3gPk4pyJWii0qnN42NQ1f56j8dlxBiBAfyc40u6Q14oJuPTaTL2MZ4GykxcO-F8rTUfkz4g72TWumjMR3froUfWhxqrwR_uHVjLzyu4qQ9XuU3/s320/Screenshot+2017-02-08+at+12.05.46+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The students didn't disappoint. They crafted strong arguments for why they chose to pick up the ice pick instead of the flashlight (my favorite being, "With an ice pick, I can break things and breaking things is kind of my thing") or why they thought going towards a mysterious odor was better than a growling ("I could just cover up my nose to block the smell, but the growling might be a bear." Plot twist - the odor was a monster. Sorry, kid.)<br />
<br />
While I was struggling to get 2-3 sentences in response to "How is your day?" I would get two paragraphs solidifying their choices. It definitely helped improved their writing skills, especially their skills of persuasion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ziLo7HyeW9RiBarag8iYyR9ahyyRMrUCRUmKeMtlV7BUXUDHanoRJRkmdf6QNqbJhgu92zac5NQU9CBDtMR-wg-Yaq2x6tkTMtAAXSFv4NZrSKfDALX6JY4JCJzVqvHx1JHBpIgHA0iN/s1600/Screenshot+2017-02-08+at+12.06.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ziLo7HyeW9RiBarag8iYyR9ahyyRMrUCRUmKeMtlV7BUXUDHanoRJRkmdf6QNqbJhgu92zac5NQU9CBDtMR-wg-Yaq2x6tkTMtAAXSFv4NZrSKfDALX6JY4JCJzVqvHx1JHBpIgHA0iN/s320/Screenshot+2017-02-08+at+12.06.32+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The final slide asked them for their feedback on the experience. Of my 28 students, about 25 of them preferred this activity to their normal writing to me, with many of them saying they enjoyed being put into the story and having to make a choice. Some even mentioned how they enjoyed having to defend their pathway.<br />
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I realize as a classroom teacher, it might seem overwhelming to have to paste in new parts of a story each day, but it could easily be done during part of a planning period, during lunch, or in the evening. In total, once it was set up, it only took about half an hour to read each response and paste in the next section. I'll trade half an hour a day for more active engagement in writing.<br />
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<b>So how do you do this with your class?</b><br />
<br />
I've developed <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FjXVIpauSdw6rgse6mB58Zn0-t-qfvl9mZI4mZzAt-Q/copy" target="_blank">this Doc for planning</a> it all and this <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_yQS1yjUYO5LpYHy9UlfFRVcwOBojZulX8gqeq4KF7U/copy" target="_blank">Slides template for designing</a> each slide. (Clicking on those links will give you a force copy of each document.) Both templates have directions on what to do. I recommend starting with the Doc and then transferring to the Slides; that's how I laid it all out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiF2Bh92svvbg1vb1DXH1x2vNrRoTxzhGItCd6X0RTNcTAnDjey8-IupwhiLDmPz0YIhSia0q47aWCKhpc_jMeDtAn90H_B75NePTwYFxvk41EdttSdN_0hxCVxQCPLllrGTJWacFT8Ar/s1600/Screenshot+2017-02-08+at+12.10.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiF2Bh92svvbg1vb1DXH1x2vNrRoTxzhGItCd6X0RTNcTAnDjey8-IupwhiLDmPz0YIhSia0q47aWCKhpc_jMeDtAn90H_B75NePTwYFxvk41EdttSdN_0hxCVxQCPLllrGTJWacFT8Ar/s320/Screenshot+2017-02-08+at+12.10.15+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Once you are done with the "Master Slides," make a copy and delete all but the starting few slides. That's what your students will start with and you'll add to it from there. Attach this new Slidedeck onto Google Classroom as "Make a Copy for Each Student" so they each get their own deck to work on.<br />
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I also made <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUtnSckHdr0" target="_blank">this screen cast to explain it all</a>, since I wasn't sure if the written directions were enough.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xp5nHyTwFEVV5b51e7qH6_lLrvfGsJIhCSE_-qNlMuGXBlFTImifbn5BOl-coLRlyHjgwSEa4IlssMWUqTSM1DBfot-p9Bba7byJ3liQN-rJD1oisGeGKzbFjz9mgPD9LbKznDIBfyC0/s1600/Screenshot+2017-02-10+at+11.07.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xp5nHyTwFEVV5b51e7qH6_lLrvfGsJIhCSE_-qNlMuGXBlFTImifbn5BOl-coLRlyHjgwSEa4IlssMWUqTSM1DBfot-p9Bba7byJ3liQN-rJD1oisGeGKzbFjz9mgPD9LbKznDIBfyC0/s320/Screenshot+2017-02-10+at+11.07.07+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One student already started on making his own<br />versions on Google Docs</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Try it out, tweak it, do whatever you see fit. The students will enjoy it and I will be challenging mine to develop their own CYOA stories to send to partners. If you have questions, feel free to reach out via Twitter, email, or the comments below.<br />
<br />
<b>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Check out a second (and easier to manage) iteration of this project, <a href="http://blog.justinbirckbichler.com/2017/06/creating-their-own-adventures.html" target="_blank">using Google Forms, here</a>. </b><br />
<br />
Now it's your turn to make a choice:<br />
<br />
<b>Do you share this article through Twitter to your online PLN or email to a colleague in your school? Why did you make that choice?</b>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-41425604494131671422017-01-11T16:49:00.003-05:002017-01-11T16:49:43.336-05:00Small Group Collaboration in Google Classroom Made Easy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDIcqs96d1RxB5F-8ATiQeos4j3vSePOrVe9wkzBDdj6gzuXceRKwM_n2KVpo4Ua4Ri1m1psqNnZIAJXVmKvCNukKpW8itIw6K1z2SJe2N3ac1QsoZpyTO4tr5n5ZGt_LPZlF_PqO7Buj/s1600/Screenshot+2017-01-11+at+3.41.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDIcqs96d1RxB5F-8ATiQeos4j3vSePOrVe9wkzBDdj6gzuXceRKwM_n2KVpo4Ua4Ri1m1psqNnZIAJXVmKvCNukKpW8itIw6K1z2SJe2N3ac1QsoZpyTO4tr5n5ZGt_LPZlF_PqO7Buj/s400/Screenshot+2017-01-11+at+3.41.05+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Google Classroom has come a long way since it was first released. In my first year of teaching, I used Edmodo, but I was one of my district's early adopters of Classroom the following year when it debuted. In my opinion, Classroom has been superior to Edmodo in every way except for one.<br />
<br />
I couldn't assign to individual students or small groups, which was one feature that I extremely enjoyed about Edmodo. If I wanted my students collaborating in a small group on Classroom, I would have to post an assignment with one Doc for each group and project a list of who was in what group. The whole class would have edit access to each group's Doc, which led to some problems (and also lessons on digital citizenship).<br />
<br />
We've all been there; 25+ fourth graders on on shared Doc is just asking for trouble. Asking students to share Docs to each other is manageable in some cases when the usernames make sense, but some districts use a string of letters and numbers for each kid. Simply put, small group collaboration wasn't the easiest or most intuitive thing to do natively through Google Classroom.<br />
<br />
<b>That all changes today.</b><br />
<br />
As part of a onslaught of <a href="https://blog.google/topics/education/new-google-classroom-features-make-it-easier-learn-teach-manage-and-build/" target="_blank">features released in a new GSuite update</a>, teachers can now assign assignments to individual students. This makes individualizing work much easier, but I began thinking. It's being touted as a differentiation method, but I see power in it as a collaboration tool. Could this be the solution to my "small group collaboration" struggles?<br />
<br />
If you're good at reading blog titles, you already know the answer.<br />
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After tinkering around with the new "Assign to Individual Students" feature, I found that you could assign one Doc (or Sheet or Slides or whatever) to a group of students (let's call them Ben, Brett, John, and Josh) and set that file to "Students can edit." Ben, Brett, John, and Josh can now collaborate on that Doc, without anyone else being able to access their work. Ryan can't get on accidentally (or purposefully) to delete or modify their work, nor does Ryan even know it's been assigned to the gentlemen. Each student only sees their own work, and doesn't explicitly know who else got the same assignment, unless they are collaborating together.<br />
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The instructional implications of this are boundless. My students often write scripts for mini-skits together, and now each group can have their own meeting place. Do your students do collaborative research? They can work together without other groups disrupting them. Co-authoring a short story would be a breeze, and would making a presentation with a small group. Making collaborative math Slides would be as easy as pressing Assign. Think about how you want students collaborating in small groups - this can be a powerful tool to make that happen.<br />
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Below I've included a video tutorial of how to do this and also written out directions.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>Video Directions:</u></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bYX77UOfyW8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bYX77UOfyW8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<u>Written Directions:</u></div>
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<ol>
<li>Make a new Assignment in Google Classroom, just like you would for any other assignment. Title it, write a description, add a due date, etc. </li>
<li>Attach a Drive file (Doc/Sheets/Slides/etc).</li>
<li>Just above the title, choose the drop down menu that says "All Students." Uncheck "All Students." Select the students you want to receive this file. </li>
<li>Change file permissions to "Students can edit."</li>
<li>Press Assign. Your work here is done. Allow the students to take charge. </li>
</ol>
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How can you see this being used in your classroom?</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162339837572103400.post-49259688579996909202016-11-20T15:18:00.000-05:002016-11-20T15:18:55.180-05:00I Have Cancer: Telling My Students<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lllNTurrZSC4H9viFCdaM6Vi4RzHQh2btgpMW9DyvXDI3CfDobsnoyCTr0fVTGL2TwyPlkU1MzjiSkdN4pluwWTGKng9n73oDhNJc13HtH_kFEbECY1ewPECWPfEP2wzkX2I2k3zyjDv/s1600/IMG_1208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lllNTurrZSC4H9viFCdaM6Vi4RzHQh2btgpMW9DyvXDI3CfDobsnoyCTr0fVTGL2TwyPlkU1MzjiSkdN4pluwWTGKng9n73oDhNJc13HtH_kFEbECY1ewPECWPfEP2wzkX2I2k3zyjDv/s320/IMG_1208.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>After being out for so long, I was<br />happy to see I made the "Did You Know"<br />board!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I hadn’t seen my students in nearly two weeks and I wanted to get out of the house. I also knew I had to come clean to them about my surgery.<br />
<br />
As I arrived to school, I met briefly with Brian and the school counselor, Laura. I asked them to both join me for morning meeting as I shared the news and to look over the letter I was planning to send to parents. They both said they could be there and that the letter looked good.<br />
<br />
The students began trickling in at normal time. I was greeted with hugs and smiles. Carson, whose mother works in the building, was first. He came in to drop off his stuff and saw me. A second later, he ran out of the room to get the other “teacher kids.” When Sophia walked in, her face lit up and she rushed over to me. Many were surprised to see me with a cane, but this surprise would pale in comparison to what was to come.<br />
<br />
The late bell rang and the video announcements rolled. Knowing that the transition would not be easy, I started in on morning meeting. I rattled off the normal, mundane things - expressing how happy I was to see them again, thankfully they earned good sub reports, and detailed the daily schedule. I shared that I would be a little slower in my movement but the cane was helpful. Brian and Laura walked in and took a seat. It was go time.<br />
<br />
“So I wanted to tell you more about my surgery. The whole reason I had to have surgery is because I have cancer.” Somehow, being on the other side of those words didn’t make it any easier.<br />
<br />
Instant tears from some. Bewildered looks from others. Awkward glances from most. I continued.<br />
<br />
“The important thing for you to know is that this is curable. I will need chemotherapy, which is a form of medicine that will kill all the cancer. I need to do this so I get better. I don’t know how long I will be out, but you will be taken care of. Mr. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Hoover, the fourth grade team, and all your old teachers will support you. You have each other. I know it is not easy to hear that your teacher has cancer. I want to answer any questions you have.”<br />
<br />
Hands shot up. Was I in pain right now? Yes, from my surgery, but not from cancer. How did I know something was wrong? I felt something wrong on my body and went to the doctor. How long will you be out? I don’t know. Will the chemo hurt? It might, but I can handle it. Would my hair fall out? It might, and that would make me sad, but I would survive. (Later, a student came up to stay that if I lost my hair, he would shave his. He has a buzz cut already, but the sentiment was cute.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwneJnH_f2pBaZU7ChlAZTJO0Sk7FyhfxnezE1k7pOu-wd3vYOf1tvoroXai43ijWb9h_Al3hXKGz9D3S4J9DUhyxfyMwx4miJsNj5g_R_dh2Hm1WM9f_1rdANmz7XSmUm2cqXh1-NYzfA/s1600/IMG_1207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwneJnH_f2pBaZU7ChlAZTJO0Sk7FyhfxnezE1k7pOu-wd3vYOf1tvoroXai43ijWb9h_Al3hXKGz9D3S4J9DUhyxfyMwx4miJsNj5g_R_dh2Hm1WM9f_1rdANmz7XSmUm2cqXh1-NYzfA/s320/IMG_1207.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Laura reading <u>The Can in Cancer</u></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Many students already had experience with cancer from grandparents and other family members. In most cases, as with my own grandfather, cancer got the best of them. I reassured them that it most likely wouldn’t happen to me. They had their stories; I had mine. Blending stories and the straightforward facts seemed to be the best way to handle this.<br />
<br />
A somber silence hung over the class. I gave them a moment to process.<br />
<br />
“Right now some of you are angry. Maybe you’re sad or shocked or confused. You might be blocking it out. All of those are ok. When I found out, I went through all of those emotions. I want you to know that I am here for you. If you have questions today, ask. If they come to you tonight, have your parents message me whenever. I will answer questions you have whenever I can.”<br />
<br />
A hand went up, “Where is your cancer?”<br />
<br />
Crap. I wasn’t prepared for that. “It was in one part of my body and has spread to others.”<br />
<br />
“Yeah, but where did it start?”<br />
<br />
Brian stepped in to save me. “Some part of this cancer Mr. B wants to keep private. Your parents will be getting more information and can discuss further details with you.”<br />
<br />
There were no more questions at that moment. I realized it was a good point to stop and try to transition to Virginia Studies. Operative word being try. We were starting a new unit about Jamestown, Halfheartedly, the students began on a Jamestown HyperDoc. I couldn’t blame them. Who can focus on the reasons for settlement when they just heard that news? After giving it an honest effort, it was time to take them to gym.<br />
<br />
After gym class, we happened to have guidance. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Laura had planned to do a lesson on cyberbullying, but switched it to discussing more about cancer. She had brought a book called The Can in Cancer, which was a cute story about a boy who went through cancer. It helped the kids relate, and she then took the students to do something secret for me. (The next day, I’d find out that they had created inspirational posters to cover our classroom walls.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPL2jgOeRJgLZvnryIDGV5Cy51_P3rOeEUPPd2RrBfD18P9jozYWwMNMccL2e1Sk6SEeexB1stSutJlJ7uAKpAbSd3GXi3QKT7fo-9u7eVQxDbUoMWzIOep9nbBTS3ERwnXfQ5FS4z6E6y/s1600/IMG_1217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPL2jgOeRJgLZvnryIDGV5Cy51_P3rOeEUPPd2RrBfD18P9jozYWwMNMccL2e1Sk6SEeexB1stSutJlJ7uAKpAbSd3GXi3QKT7fo-9u7eVQxDbUoMWzIOep9nbBTS3ERwnXfQ5FS4z6E6y/s320/IMG_1217.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Can In Cancer" posters</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The physical teaching of the day was ok. I had to teach from a chair for part of the day, which is not my usual style. The kids quickly became attuned to my pain attack face and would rush to grab me a chair. They wanted to help me stand up and bring me things. It’s really cute and awe-inspiring to see how students will look beyond themselves to help others in need.<br />
<br />
To put it simply, I knew telling them would suck for both them and me, but I always preach honesty and openness to them. I couldn’t be a hypocrite. Although my students were filled with emotion that day, I was more or less devoid of it. Was I masking it? Maybe for their benefit. Had I still not fully processed this momentous thing had been thrust upon me? Most likely. Despite my uncertainty in my feelings, it was the right thing to do. Paired with my budding desire to become an advocate for under-discussed men’s health issues, I knew I had an opportunity to model open medical discussions for my students.<br />
Maybe none of them would be touched by cancer beyond me, but at least they would have a good example for how to deal with trying times.<br />
<br />
<i>In early November 2016, I was diagnosed with Stage IIb Nonseminoma cancer, a form of testicular cancer that has spread to my lymph nodes. I had surgery to remove the original tumor, but it had already spread. Soon, I’ll be undergoing chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer. I am documenting my journey from discovery to being cancer-free on <a href="http://aballsysenseoftumor.com/">aballsysenseoftumor.com</a>.</i> <i>I invite you to join me as I process and move through this. </i>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14865736068982313940noreply@blogger.com61