Starry Eyed @mrsprovo-blog - Tumblr Blog

My classroom, all ready for kids on Monday! Putting it together has been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. My classroom is my “happy place.” I can’t wait to share it with my new fourth graders!

artedish

The Most Humbling Profession

It’s 4:30am. Here I sit, at the desk of my childhood and begin to (re)imagine my curriculum for the coming year. I know a lot more than I did two years ago I suppose, but I’m still without answers.

It’s a wonder how a classroom filled with 32 pairs of eyes can momentarily paralyze the quickest, most intelligent adults I know… that even after four years of preparation we draw a blank when Aliyah turns around and back hands Jamal, or feel lost at how you will teach DeSean to read when he’s made it to 8th grade without ever learning.

I don’t have any tips or tricks for new teachers. I screw up about a hundred times before my kids even walk in the door.

My one piece of sage wisdom is this:

I look back on where I began and laugh at my own arrogance. I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time, but to come before a group of children in genuine fellowship your ego has to take a dive.

Allow yourself to be a beginner.

There is so much peace in that thought. The joy of starting out each morning with “I know nothing” and seeing how you can close each day with “I know something more.”

Everyone builds up their first year: I will be the first FYT to not ________. I will have the perfect classroom, great management, and lessons that engage and excite my students while also *insert trendy education verbiage.* I will move mountains each day in the classroom with my innovative pedagogical strategies.

And hey, you might be.

But never forget that our students must humble themselves every day in order to learn. When DeSean stumbles through a passage in front of the whole class, he’s laying bare his failures for all to see. He is 14 years old, and doesnt know that “then” is then. His classmates laugh. When Aliyah struggles to allow you, the adult, to help resolve her conflict, she’s confessing not just her own faults but also those of the absent woman she calls mom. She has had to raise herself.

They will succeed and fail in front of you each day. Can you allow yourself to do the same?

We all fail in little ways all the time, that’s human. But there will be times that a mistake will hit you in the chest like no other; it could break your spirit.

These are the times that you will need to remember that we all are just beginning.

ophidian-and-blossom

iamlittlei

Just to be clear

If you think it’s appropriate to take time out of your day to throw shade at a hard-working, devoted teacher who justly highlights the good work they do for real kids every day, get the fuck off of my blog.

We get paid shit. We work more hours than is healthy. We routinely get no credit even in our buildings for the work we do. Nationally, we’re regularly scapegoated and villainized. We spend out of pocket, out of our meager pay checks, for our kids. We are expected to be martyrs. We are expected to “do it for the kids” while not asking either reasonable pay or professional respect.

For anyone to come into a teacher’s blog and criticize that teacher for pointing out that the work of teaching is worthwhile is outrageous. I have no interest in being followed by anyone who is annoyed by teachers daring to celebrate being good at caring about and for our kids.

tumblrofthrones

maisie_williams Explain dat @sophiet

allisonunsupervised

a freebie for the teachers

Subtitle: Why Teacher Supplies Matter.

So, tomorrow is the first day of school, and all I know for sure about two of my little ELL English classes is that they will diverse in all the ways:

I have kids who can understand some but can only speak minimally and probably won’t, twins who have been here for four years but refused to commicate for at least two and may or may not play along, kids who can understand and speak on a basic level but may not have spoken English much at all for three months, kids who can understand and speak but not so much write, and kids who can understand and speak fluently. I also have kids who have known each other for years, kids who are incoming freshmen, both sides of a family feud, and one girl whose first day in an American school is tomorrow.

I wanted some kind of introductory ice breaker that did not require speaking or on-the-spot participation but would provide me some level of information about who these kids are.

SO.

Summer conversation is trite on the first day of school, but it’s also something beginners can handle and maybe the only thing these kids have in common. So I’m going to (note the future tense) make Google slides of labeled pictures with typical (and not so typical) summer activities. The kids who can and will can help me make the lists. Then, with whatever conversation we can manage, each kid can use the markers my generous tumblr friends resupplied me with to write on the charts that I made tonight and laminated with a little tabletop machine I bought myself last Christmas. We can make sentences, read sentences, find a partner with the same sentences, some variation on icebreaker whatever.

THEN, we’re going to do the same kind of thing with school activities and the four domains of language– reading, writing, listening, speaking– so I can have an idea of who they think they are as students or English speakers. The kids who can write paragraphs will. The kids who can write sentences will. The kids who are learning the basic verbs will, and then copy my sentences.

The whole shebang would have sentence stems, more pictures, a detailed writing assignment. That will probably happen eventually.

BUT, I am pretty happy to have thought of a basic structure that will help and require everyone in that mixed bag to participate and get to know each other a little regardless of language.

We are going to Seattle on Monday and I am so excited. We're going to the Elliot Bay Book Co. and Powells in Portland. We're all going to see the Seattle public library. I'm so happy that my husband is a box nerd too. ;) articran

#book trip #seattle #portland #catsofinstagram #booklr

batmansymbol

OKAY TUMBLR. IT'S TIME TO SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Reblog this if you pronounce “.gif” as “GIF.”

NOT JIF,

GIF.

And here is the link for the opposite.

WE SHALL SEE WHICH ONE PREVAILS.

classroomchaos

TEACHER ADVENTURES: Classroom decoration with Etsy

The 2015-2016 school year begins in two weeks and I was inspired to look up some decorations for my classroom. I decided to look at Etsy.com for some inspiration. I have not ordered from any of these shops (yet), but if/when I do, I would consider these. Here are some Etsy shops you might like (and in no particular order): 1. Echo Literary Arts: Posters on literary devices, inspirational quotes from authors and books, posters on various literature, and posters on punctuation. The style is unique! 2. Get Your Nerd On: Periodic table poster fun! Combine a few periodic table elements here and there and you find punny words. There are also clever reading and grammar posters, I personally like the punctuation posters. 3. Little Blue Bird Create: Oh, the Little Blue Bird Creation has these stacked blocks made to look like books. I can not describe it any better and I do not have my HTML language down yet to post a picture, but click on the link and you will see what I mean. 4. Grammatical Art: This shop is also one of my favorites! As the shop description states, it is “grammar and science prints, tees, and cards for the nerd in all of us.” There are various prints and posters that can live up to a very Big Bang Theory themed classroom. I especially like the deals, like purchasing 3 prints for one price. 5. Little Life Designs: Colorful and printable wall art that, in my opinion, fits the elementary and middle school setting. Fun and vibrant stuff here. 6. Etchy Things: This shop has customized stamps! Because our high school’s mascot are bulldogs, I wanted to look for a stamp that reflected my high school’s spirit and I found it here. This shop also has 7 (more or less) customized stamps for teachers, including a set of school subject stamps that would be great for middle school and high school students. 7. Megan Lee Studios: Decor for that cool science teacher! I teach english, but if I had that cool science teacher friend, he/she would definitely have stuff from this store in there. There are Science Gifts, Art Prints, T-shirts and more, but I highly recommend you take a look at the posters that reflect scientists from across the decades and world. 8. Amaginarium: Quirky and corky boards for those U.S. History teachers. Amaginarium (I can say that shop’s name daily) are United States of America shaped corkboards. Pretty cool. 9. Modern Switch: I am not going to lie, but I can probably decorate a light switch cover myself but I probably would not be able to design them like the ones I found in this shop. Most of the shop has single or double light switch covers and my light switches come in 3’s, but maybe it is something you like! And last, but definitely not least (because these are not posted in any particular order) is… 10. Teacheropolis: This might be something to consider, as described it is “…a simple and economical way to keep your class door ready for lockdown drills and real emergencies without class disruptions from the opening and closing of a traditionally locked door.” I like to keep my classroom door locked, but occasionally I keep it unlocked but hate the hassle of locking it when I need to. A contraption like this would allow me to simply unhinge/hinge as needed. It is something I am looking into. SO there you have it, some of my Etsy store favorites for teachers who want to add a little something different to the classroom. There are many other shops on Etsy that are similar to what I mentioned above, I just figured I would share what I researched for decorations for my own classroom. Of course, I do not plan to limit myself to Etsy as I plan to also look into Teacher Pay Teachers. But for now, this was fun!

weareteachers

Blog post at Brilliant or Insane : See Mrs. Jones. She has a fantastic idea for a new assignment. It’s going to be challenging and engaging and fun. Before she can give[..]

Interesting…

teachingintweed

This is brilliant.

allisonunsupervised

My schools are ¾ through a transition to standards based grading– in other words, deep in the bitter, overcomplicated, legalistic weeds. This cuts all that crap and makes my teacher heart happy. What a relief.

girlwithalessonplan

I think I could get on board with this. But I’ll say the dreaded G word…how does this translate into a grade?

allisonunsupervised

Our high schools have a grading scale that convert the 1-4s into a grade, thereby defeating the entire purpose but neatly answering your question.

mchotdog

A student blows up at a teacher, drops the F-bomb. The usual approach at Lincoln – and, safe to say, at most high schools in this country – is automatic suspension. Instead, Sporleder sits the kid down and says quietly: “Wow. Are you OK? This doesn’t sound like you. What’s going on?” He gets even more specific: “You really looked stressed. On a scale of 1-10, where are you with your anger?” The kid was ready. Ready, man! For an anger blast to his face….”How could you do that?” “What’s wrong with you?”…and for the big boot out of school. But he was NOT ready for kindness. The armor-plated defenses melt like ice under a blowtorch and the words pour out: “My dad’s an alcoholic. He’s promised me things my whole life and never keeps those promises.” The waterfall of words that go deep into his home life, which is no piece of breeze, end with this sentence: “I shouldn’t have blown up at the teacher.” Whoa.

Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, tries new approach to school discipline — suspensions drop 85% (via mchotdog)

what a radical idea yo

(via matthewdgold)

Bam. Kids “misbehave” for actual, real, valid reasons. And have feelings.

(via amydentata)

For fuck’s sake, it takes the people in charge so long to figure shit like this out! Good for Lincoln High!

(via psychetimelapse)

This needs to be the policy EVERYWHERE…

(via 3dela)

Preach.

(via

butchdragon

)

So this past year, I was absent one day, and I had a note from my sub that a student was very disrespectful and stormed out of class. The next day, I pulled the student to the side, mentioned the note, and asked for his side. And the kid was like, “I know I shouldn’t have stormed out, but the sub was being ignorant and I felt like if I stayed in the room I would blow up worse.” We had a pretty productive conversation after that. So, when you can, take the time to acknowledge and understand kids’ feelings. Especially teenagers.

(via powwhamteaching)

I love this so much. I wrote a research paper about this topic. I would love to be the teacher who reaches out to the student instead of worsening their problems by kicking them out of a safe place.

(via mrsprovo)

My husband is a classic example of kids like these. As a child he had a lot of anger outbursts at school. His freshman year of high school he went from a straight A student to D's in a single semester. He had a father who was physically and emotionally abusing him and both of his parents neglected him to the point I can't believe he lived to be an adult. Unfortunately no teachers reached out to him like they should have....

mchotdog

A student blows up at a teacher, drops the F-bomb. The usual approach at Lincoln – and, safe to say, at most high schools in this country – is automatic suspension. Instead, Sporleder sits the kid down and says quietly: “Wow. Are you OK? This doesn’t sound like you. What’s going on?” He gets even more specific: “You really looked stressed. On a scale of 1-10, where are you with your anger?” The kid was ready. Ready, man! For an anger blast to his face….”How could you do that?” “What’s wrong with you?”…and for the big boot out of school. But he was NOT ready for kindness. The armor-plated defenses melt like ice under a blowtorch and the words pour out: “My dad’s an alcoholic. He’s promised me things my whole life and never keeps those promises.” The waterfall of words that go deep into his home life, which is no piece of breeze, end with this sentence: “I shouldn’t have blown up at the teacher.” Whoa.

Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, tries new approach to school discipline — suspensions drop 85% (via mchotdog)

what a radical idea yo

(via matthewdgold)

Bam. Kids “misbehave” for actual, real, valid reasons. And have feelings.

(via amydentata)

For fuck’s sake, it takes the people in charge so long to figure shit like this out! Good for Lincoln High!

(via psychetimelapse)

This needs to be the policy EVERYWHERE…

(via 3dela)

Preach.

(via

butchdragon

)

So this past year, I was absent one day, and I had a note from my sub that a student was very disrespectful and stormed out of class. The next day, I pulled the student to the side, mentioned the note, and asked for his side. And the kid was like, “I know I shouldn’t have stormed out, but the sub was being ignorant and I felt like if I stayed in the room I would blow up worse.” We had a pretty productive conversation after that. So, when you can, take the time to acknowledge and understand kids’ feelings. Especially teenagers.

(via powwhamteaching)

I love this so much. I wrote a research paper about this topic. I would love to be the teacher who reaches out to the student instead of worsening their problems by kicking them out of a safe place.

#teacher goals #love

from-student-to-teacher

Academic Vocabulary

Kate Kinsella’s website on vocabulary strategies and graphic organizers for working with students.

mollyrockstar

On the Right Side of History

When history happens, I buy the newspapers and save them for my future classes, as primary source documents.

I will buy the papers tomorrow. You can bet on that.

And I imagine myself saying, decades from now, “Can you imagine what it must have been like before everyone was allowed to marry the person they loved?”

And I imagine my future classes and their outrage, their incredulity, that we lived so long with this injustice.

The ignorant nonsense we have been hearing for the past decade over this debate will be alien to them. They will not be able to imagine the tired arguments to which we have become accustomed. They will only know that everyone can get married and why the hell not?

But that is far in the future.

This fall, however, is close. This fall, I will (at last! at last!) be able to stand in front of a classroom and know this one dream, finding one’s soulmate and marrying him/her, is alive for EVERY kid in my class.

Finally.

Congrats, America. You got it right.

Happy Pride Weekend, ya’ll.

mrsprovo-blog

This is an excellent idea and an excellent post! ♡

mollyrockstar

Top 5 Classroom Management Tips From Two Old Ladies Drinking Cocktails

Sometimes my students ask me, “Ms. S, what do you do for fun?”

And I say, “Nothing. I just sit in a chair and think of you.”

Those little turds believe me. Nearly. Every. Time.

Which may be because it is not so far off. Sure, in the summer I do fun things like visit with my charming and beloved nephew and his almost (butnotquite) as charming and beloved family. And I see my friends. And I take more yoga and I sweat more when I’m on my bike and I attend the beautiful weddings of beautiful people whom I am fortunate enough to know.

And I sit in bars, eating nachos and drinking bloody marys and talking about teaching with my teacher friends.

Then we make lists.

Here, then, are the TOP FIVE most important rules for classroom management, as prepared for new teachers, compiled by Ms. S and Ms. F, with assistance from the wonderful world of breakfast cocktails.

Number Five:

Be genuine. Be yourself.

Students can see through the bull. They can find the nugget of truth. So let that nugget be your whole. If it is funny, laugh. If it is inappropriate, shut it down. And, whenever possible, if you don’t believe in a rule, don’t enforce it. Which brings us to…

Number Four:

Only have rules upon which you can follow through. (There is really no way to avoid ending that sentence in a preposition, so all ya’ll other English teachers can stop judging me. And yes, I know it is not my first in this post. It hurts me more than it hurts you. Believe it.)

Pick your battles, my friends. Then do what you say you will do. Don’t promise punishments you cannot fulfill because you will lose all credibility. Unless you just want to issue utterly preposterous edicts, such as, “I will shoot you in the neck with a poison dart,” or, “I will put a curse on your family for seven generations.” If they KNOW it can’t happen, then they get the point and you lose nothing.

Number Three:

Befriend the aggressor.

We are burying this one in the middle because this is the controversial one. The trouble with controversial actions such as this, is sometimes they are a good idea. If the kid is the loudest, funniest, most troublesome one, then that kid probably needs love. I know I did. A little attention and appreciation breeds a lot of loyalty with a “bad” kid. And no one has your back more than the class clown, once you have proven you are worthy of affection.

Number Two:

Be fair, not equal.

fair= treating people in a way that does not favor some over others

equal= not changing : the same for each person

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/)

Got it? Good.

Number One:

You are going to f*&k up.

Sorry, pal. That is just the truth. You want to meet a teacher who does not f*&k up? Then you are going to find one who does not take risks, think for herself, try new things, or treat people as individuals. Who wants to be that guy? Just go easy on yourself when it happens. Visit a friend. Have a drink. Eat some nachos. In the words of Scarlett O’Hara, “After all…tomorrow is another day.”

artedish

#3 has my total support. It works. Changed everything for me last year.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Starry Eyed